#it doesn't know how to make more of them since dorian was the only one who knew their composition. and so blamore only has a limited amount

[devswritingcornerorsmth]

Yandere!Hector/Reader Headcanons

i was writing a fic but my computer crashed and deleted 1.7k words of fanfic so I'm making headcanons instead to give me motivation to rewrite the fanfic!

tw: stalking, obsessive behavior, suggestive content, hector being creepy, hector talking bad about himself, mentions of somophilia (nothing ever happens but hector thinks about it), gaslighing, dead dove content

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! if you find any of the content above triggering, PLEASE do not read!! if you click, read, and become uncomfortable or smth don't blame me, i tried to warn you.

= The first time Hector sees you, he knows that you're the one. Out of everything, you came up to him first, turning on the thermostat to cool yourself off from the heatwave. He did as you commanded, gently blowing out a nice, cool breeze as you worked in your office. He couldn't help but stare at you as you worked, resting his head in his hands.

= He's both excited and horrified when you scan him after so long of waiting and watching everything you do. Hector doesn't introduce himself just yet, staring at you from the grate until you're about to walk away. He calls out for you and apologizes for not saying anything. He greets you and is surprised when you respond positively.

= Speaking with you was the highlight of his week, hell, maybe even his life. Hector follows you back to your room through the vents, watching you get ready for bed before laying down.

= A surge of jealousy goes through Hector at the thought of Betty holding you. It should be him! He should be down there, cuddling you, keeping you, touching you, loving you... But he knew he could never. You would find him ugly and never scan him again, maybe replace him.

= Hector fantasizes when all the objects are Realized, leaving just him and you. They wouldn't be able to stop him from loving you how you should be loved. He thought about when Dorian leaves, how he'd be able to finally sneak out and touch you as you slept. He had to take a moment when he realized how horrible that thought was, covering his mouth as if he were about to vomit. It was your fault you were making him feel like this, but he didn't want to stop feeling like this. You were a drug that could make him sober.

= His stalking grew more intense and bolder, almost getting caught a few times by the other objects. Hector never takes anything; he can't when your clothing is sentient or when your trash hoards it away. He ends up stealing from Fantina's shrine, causing her to scream and freak out, accusing everyone in the gym room.

= Speaking of the gym, it's always nice and cool in there, so you never use Fantina, just him.

= Hector loves when it's warm outside, watching you get all hot and bothered before you have to turn him on and save you from the blistering heat. He will sometimes tease you and not turn on, watching you sweat and walk around in loose clothing. He quickly turns it on when you start heading up to the attic to see what's wrong.

= When you're gone, he makes the house a living hell, turning up the heat to extreme temperatures to make everyone miserable. Everyone becomes irritable and sweaty, blaming you for leaving the heat on. Hector does feel bad when some of the objects snap at you, like Freddy and Mac. Skylar has to step in to calm a few of them down and explain that it couldn't have been you since Dorian, Curt, and Rod saw you leave without touching the thing.

= When/if you confront Hector about it, since he's the HVAC system, he lies and apologizes, his voice shaky. He doesn't want you to be mad at him, please don't be mad at him, he's only doing this because he loves you!

= Whether you believe him or not is up to you, but you tell him not to do it again.

= The other objects start to feel worried. They can sense the change in the house. The objects you're close to tell you to be careful, that something is wrong, and to keep an eye out.

= Hector tells you not to listen to them, telling you that everything is normal. He can see all over the house, and everything is fine! Just stay with him. Stay close to him. Please.

---

it's late and i got a HUGE headache so i miiighhttt post a part two to this if i feel up for it idk jaybe jaybe not.

thanks for reading mwah mwah sorry about creepy hector

[lususnatura]

OOH... i might have just come up with a new plot-line for blamore, and it is kind of diabolical, NGL 👀

[barufisher]

i do think that for me personally. there is no version of taash's storyline that i can get down with except one where they reconnect with their qunari side. my main problem with their arc is that it perpetuates this idea that someone has to "choose" one culture, that they have to turn their back on parts of their identity in order to be the right kind of trans (the white western kind) and all of it just makes me so viscerally uncomfortable. and to be clear this is not me like... trying to make anyone feel bad, there are parts of taash's story that i personally connect with as well, like there is nothing wrong with the way taash does gender in general and there's nothing wrong with it resonating with people. it's when we put it all together in context within the game that it becomes a problem for me.

we know the qun does not have the same ideas around gender as the rest of thedas, we know that their identity, including gender, is connected to their duty. and so it doesn't make sense that taash's mother cares about them wearing dresses. why would she care about that. i'd ask if we've ever even seen any qunari in dresses but i'm pretty sure we've only seen three qunari women total and two of them are in veilguard and are scholars wearing what i personally consider a robe. the third is in trespasser and is ben-hassrath, and is definitely not wearing a dress. if anything, their mother should be concerned about the fact that they fight, since the whole point of leaving for rivain was to avoid taash being designated as a soldier. and to be fair, we get this a Little bit with the fire-breathing. but everything else about shathann's disapproval doesn't make sense in-universe.

and we also already know about the aqun athlok, which shathann even tries to bring up but the game shouts her down because....? i get that shathann is meant to be overbearing and kinda shitty, but this is not the way to do it. all this does is imply that aqun athlok is "wrong" and not as progressive as this other identity that rook has to teach taash about (and that also isnt even specific to rivain, or related to them connecting to their rivaini culture. it's the shadow dragons that teach them all of this along with rook. in general transness and the nonbinary identity are not integrated into the world in any meaningful way which makes it feel even worse). there are various cultures that have their own specific gender identities that do not adhere to the gender binary, and taash should have been given the chance to connect to their own culture in this way. and even if they really wanted to make it so taash just didn’t feel right with aqun athlok, that identity still should have been properly discussed as an option and handled with respect, rather than so carelessly thrown aside as “wrong” (though again not a depiction i would personally like but it would still be better than what we got).

and just. i really disagree with the idea that gender identity under the qun is More Rigid than elsewhere. it’s different, as we know from comments from iron bull and sten-- and we could argue in circles about inconsistencies with the things they say, obviously there have been retcons previously in an attempt to better develop the qunari beyond what we see in origins and da2, but i think this kind of development is a good thing, and is exactly why the regression with taash irritates me so much-- but when we look back at characters like warden tabris, dorian and his father and tevinter's obsession with bloodlines, the entire experience of playing f!hawke in da2 (and also da2 literally has a whole subplot about women being murdered for like 3 years and no one cares. these games just have a misogyny problem lol) and even tarquin in veilguard commenting about how his father forced him into being a soldier because he's a man(!!)-- there is a lot of rigidity, expectations, and violence around gender throughout thedas. but for some reason these rigid gender ideals and a lot of this gendered violence is held up as the status quo and not challenged at all by the writers in the way the qun repeatedly is. the exception being dorian (though you're still incentivized to forgive his father), but a lot of the characters in tevinter-- magisters, templars, the literal black divine-- are still allowed complexities and to be the good guys working with the shadow dragons, a grace not given to any qunari character besides iron bull (who ultimately still has to leave the qun or die later). i’m not trying argue that the qun is perfect and can never be criticized-- i like the flawed characters and societies within dragon age. but the qunari also deserve to be given the same depth, complexities, and engagement as everyone else, too. and it’s worth pointing out that it’s always the qun that’s depicted as backwards for the same harmful “rigidity” every other culture in the game reinforces.

and ultimately with the way the game inserts this very modern, anachronistic, and condescending language in a poor attempt to be as "correct" as possible to "teach" the player, while simultaneously writing such a careless, racist arc about their culture kinda just , makes me feel like they were actually trying to imply that one identity is more correct and progressive than the other. or, if nothing else, it's a bias that got amplified due to their unwillingness or inability to engage with taash's character beyond using them as a mouthpiece for corporate "representation."

there absolutely are people out there that are like taash, who don't necessarily have or want a connection with certain parts of their culture, and maybe they do identify closer with one aspect of it over another. this is all fine! this happens in real life, everyone has different relationships with their identity and heritage, there is no universal experience, and people are allowed to write about their own. but the thing is. this is dragon age. and taash was written by weekes. and both dragon age as a whole and weekes specifically has a repeated pattern of racist writing when it comes to depicting the qunari. and taash's quest along with the way the antaam are portrayed-- faceless, voiceless, basically naked bodies for you to kill-- makes this a series of poor choices that i don't feel generous enough to excuse.

and it sucks. so bad. that this happened. i want to like taash so bad. but.... man.

anyways if you read this far you should read this article, which is far more eloquent than anything i could write and really dives into the whole "civilized versus savage" binary that we see in a lot of fantasy RPGs and is really epitomized in taash's quest-- in dragon age, it's always the qunari and dalish elves versus a (usually white and/or human) andrastian:

[shiori42art]

Omg who is the father?? Emil's got purpleish eyes and slightly ashy hair, so someone with similar traits...

OKAY I CAN'T HIDE IT ANYMORE! It's Ayato! It's that damn Kamisato Ayato! And Thoma (who's his lover!) is having the time of his life with so many babies! 😂 The twins are a danger to society (They are Hiroki and Haruki) they are mischievous like their uncle Venti! (Ayato can't stand any of this...) Decarabian just wanted to join Dorman Port with Inazuma Port and things happened... He also demands heirs because the ZhongVen babies are not enough! (?) Poor Bard just wanted to be with his beloved personal guard, they are the ones who suffer the most! But in the end they have Cecilia, hehe~ I still don't know how Decarabian will react to that last baby...

To refresh the AU I leave a little summary!

In this AU Venti and Dorian (Bard) are twins! Dorian was born first so he's supposed to be the next king when Decarabian retires or dies lol (Deca is the dad here) BUT this AU is Omegaverse and omegas can't rule without an alpha! so Decarabian makes an arranged marriage for Dorian (At first I made him a beta, but I changed it to omega lol) he's initially set to marry Zhongli who is the prince of Liyue (Osial is the dad, he's evil!) BUT during a trip to Sumeru Dorian gets infected with a withered area and contracts eleazar disease (His joints are fucked up, he has a fever and he's unwell, you know) so Decarabian doesn't want his son to have that much responsibility and stress with his illness! so he names Venti the next heir to the throne and it's Venti who marries Zhongli! they must have descendants lol (At first they don't get along very well but they end up falling in love!) On the other hand, with the arrival of Zhongli to Mondstadt (Osial doesn't like Zhongli so he forces him to stay there giving the throne of Liyue to his other daughter, Ningguang) SO! Zhongli brings Dr. Baizu to help Dorian, he cant cure him for the moment but he does keep his illness stable and he is much better! Since he is sick he always has at his disposal his personal guard who is Brend (Knight) they fall in love after spending so much time together!! BUT THEN Ayato who is an important noble of Inazuma has been watching the twins for a long time, his plan was to get Venti but as things changed now only Dorian is free so he makes a trade deal with Decarabian who seeing that his son is better decides to prepare this wedding! Ayato doesn't really want to get married, he just wants the port of Mondstadt and some other things, but Decarabian forces them to have heirs (He wants to have more harpies, he's not happy that Venti's first son was a dragon! It's Menogias lol, then he has Xiao and Alatus (The Red Xiao) who are harpies) anyway, to sum it up, Dorian has a discussion with his father and confesses his love for Brend! Decarabian is willing to kill Brend so Dorian accepts the marriage as long as they leave his beloved alive! THE WEDDING IS VERY SAD, Thoma also suffers because he loves Ayato, and well, time passes and they have the fox twins but Decarabian wants harpies! so they keep trying until Emil is born! The good thing about this marriage is that Ayato does not force Dorian to leave Mondstadt, they take turns with their children as if they were a divorced couple omg. Also, it's funny that the twins adore Thoma and Dorian! They can't stand the poor Ayato 😂 On the other hand, Decarabian's favorite grandson is Emil because he is a mini Dorian with the same dark feather color as his grandfather 🥹✨

For the moment thats the important! Thanks for reading! I love this AU, I actually started writing a fic about it but it all started in a roleplay with my homie. 🫶🏻✨

[hiccupscloud-26]

June Hicth Prompt: #hiccuping out pt 1

Hey everyone, welcome to PART 1 of the Hicth Prompt! I'm so excited to bring this to light! This part is actually a little over 5000 words, aka, the longest one-shot I've ever written (probably because the format is 5+1, lol).

In order of appearance: Dorian, Tele.machus, Riddy, Orfeo, Ari

CW: multiple cases of hiccups, loud hiccups, fast hiccups, hard hiccups, some burps in the beginning, mentions of arousal, mention of violence (implied, not shown), mention of LGBTQIA+phobia (implied, not shown), mention of alcohol, old meme used as a conversation, negative self-thinking/internalized kinkshaming self(?)

I also want to dedicate this to @writingforfishes as I had originally planned something for their tumblr anniversary, completely lost motivation to do it, and I felt bad because without them, I wouldn't have this blog, I wouldn't have this community to talk freely about hiccups with, and I wouldn't have had the courage to post any of my hicfics. So here's a little something as a thank you for being here and being your awesome self, though, it's kind of at the end, lol!

Now without further ado, I give you the story. Enjoy~

Fandom: EP.IC, Modern AU, 5 +1

Five times Tele.machus makes Dorian cure his hiccups and the one time he doesn't

1

First Semester, Week 4

Dorian walked into their shared dorm to see their dorm mate, Tele.machus, lying on his stomach on his bed reading a sociology book.

“Hey,” Dorian greeted him.

Tele.machus heard the voice and perked up slightly, “Dorian, hey! How was class?”

The newcomer felt their heart flutter slightly at the cute display. Ignoring it, they shrugged their shoulders, dropping his bag to the ground before slamming himself down on the desk chair, “meh, boring. It's just the same old shit I did in high school. Wasting money on math I already know as a requirement for game design and development.”

Tele.machus frowned sympathetically, “aww, did you try testing out of that class?” He closed his book and sat up in his bed, sitting criss-cross-applesauce.

“I did,” Dorian rolled over and grabbed a Monster from their shared mini fridge, cracking it open and guzzling down their sorrows.

Tele.machus couldn't help watching in anticipation, watching their Adam's apple bob with every hard gulp. Dorian took a breath, releasing a loud burp.

“Dude, gross,” Tele.machus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“What?” Dorian forced out another burp, “it's totally natural to burp, man.”

“You could at least excuse yourself, have some manners,” Tele.machus groaned as he cringed.

“Fine fine, your majesty,” Dorian rolled their eyes amusedly as they jokingly bowed, “excuse me *brrrrhup!*...*hiiip!* oh shi-*HILP!*” Dorian's eyes widened at the abrupt hiccups that followed.

They started fast and hard, the only sound filling the room. His whole body shook with the force of each one. Dorian felt his heart racing, his face flushed as they got lost in the moment. Dorian very much enjoyed having the hiccups. They could definitely feel the instant arousal buzzing between his thighs.

Dorian rested his hand on their chest just in time for the next, “*HICKOLP!-HICK!-HIMPK!*” that echoed through the room. His chest lurched forward against his hand with each spasm. His hiccups were always so strong and forceful, which gave them all the more reason to love them.

As he'd almost gotten lost in his body's incredible, rapid movements, they'd heard a tiny squeak.

“T-try holding your breath,” Tele.machus looked at them, an unfamiliar shyness they hadn't seen since they first moved in last semester.

They honestly forgot he was even there, so caught up in his chest movements and the sounds of his “*HUCK!*”s and “*HUGGULP!*”s and everything in between.

Dorian swallowed thickly, “w-*HUCK'L!*-why?”

Tele.machus blinked confused, staring at Dorian and the way their body was jolting spontaneously-

“Because- they're annoying?” Tele.machus squeaked, closing his eyes, feeling a little overwhelmed with his own arousal. He wasn't expecting this at all today. Not from his super attractive dorm mate that he definitely didn't have a crush on…

Dorian suspected that wasn't really the reason, but they'd obliged, holding his breath until the hiccups resolved themselves. They rubbed their chest, already missing the sensation, but they didn't want their roommate to be uncomfortable.

“They're gone,” Dorian said unnecessarily, “you good?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Tele.machus nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

Dorian giggled before rolling themselves back over to his bag to get started on some homework.

2

First Semester, Week 5

Dorian and some random guy barged into the dorm room close to midnight, drunk and making out sloppily. Tele.machus glared up at them, cringing slightly. He yawned, grumpy that he'd been very rudely awakened.

“Guys, come on, this is a shared space!” Tele.machus groaned, rubbing his eyes.

Dorian released the sloppy kiss to stare flirtatiously at Tele.machus, “ya wanna join the fun, Telly?~”

“Don't call me that…” he huffed, thankful that the room was dark enough to hide his blush, “and no, I'd rather you take your make out session somewhere else.”

“Aww, lighten up, man,” Dorian complained.

“Dude's just jealous cuz he's got no bitches,” the stranger scoffed, forcing his lips back onto Dorian's.

Tele.machus rolled his eyes, not going to entertain that. He turned toward the wall, covering up his head with a pillow, trying to block out the smooching sounds and moans.

Eventually, he heard a loud “*HUCKULK!*” and a yelp of pain.

“Owww, what the fuck, dude, not cool!” The stranger cradled his bleeding lip.

“Shit, I-*hmkmk!* fu-*HUCK!-HULP!*” Dorian's diaphragm kicked into high gear, all the alcohol catching up to them.

Tele.machus bit his own lip, hearing the spasms. He'd love to be able to see them too, but if he was ever going to go back to sleep, he needed them to stop.

He heard the door slam closed, leaving a hiccupy Dorian in the room.

“Ass-*HOLP!*...*ICKOLP!*-guh…*HOUP!-HIYUP!*-ah, fu-*HUGGUH!*-fuck,” Dorian rubbed his chest, still feeling horny from the make out session, and now even more from his own body.

“Dude, hold your breath, t-trying to sleep here,” Tele.machus’ voice rang out.

Dorian startled, again forgetting this was a shared room, “right, right, sorry…oh, actually? I think you startled them out of me.”

Tele.machus wondered why they sound so bummed about that fact. Keeping his thoughts to himself, he fully let sleep take over him.

3

First Semester, Week 8

Tele.machus and Dorian were out in the cafeteria hanging out with their friends for lunch. Dorian was doing most of the talking, though, extroverted as they were. Tele.machus was quietly eating and listening.

Their friend group wasn't too big. Including himself and Dorian, there were five of them altogether. Riddy, Orfeo, and Ari had known them since orientation. Riddy and Orfeo were dating, apparently having known each other their whole lives.

Tele.machus watched Riddy snuggled up to Orfeo's arm as she was engaged in the conversation. He couldn't help but imagine that being himself and Dorian someday….if he would ever gather the courage to ask them out.

Anyway, what were they even talking about? Did Riddy just say something about snakes?

He shook his head bemused and glanced at Dorian, who was smiling and enthusiastically adding onto the conversation. With the way their eyes lit up as the word vomit just spewed out of them, Tele.machus could not only see the passion, but he could feel it too.

“...one day, I'm gonna have a snake of my own,” Dorian was boasting.

“As long as you keep it away from Riddy, she's allergic,” Orfeo held his girlfriend protectively.

“I'm pretty sure anyone would have a bad reaction to a snake bite, honey,” Riddy reassured him, caressing his cheek. “Snakes are poisonous.”

“I thought snakes were venomous,” Tele.machus contributed before biting another forkful of room temperature macaroni and cheese, cringing disgustedly–seriously, why was the food here so bad yet so expensive?

“Same difference,” Orfeo shrugged.

“Wha-...that sentence contradicts itself,” Ari pinched her brows unamused, “anyway, if you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, then it's venomous. Simple.”

“But then…what if it bites me and it dies?” Orfeo tilted his head, pure, innocent confusion on his face.

Ari blinked slowly, glaring at Orfeo, “that means you're poisonous…were you not listening to me?”

“Okay, but what about if it bites itself and I die?”

“That's some sort of voodoo, dark magic.”

“Fair enough,” Riddy nodded, “so then, what if it bites me, and someone else dies?”

Ari furrowed her eyebrows confused. Tele.machus quietly chuckled, pitching in, “that would just be correlation, not causation.”

“But what if we bite each other and neither of us dies?” Orfeo scratched his head.

“That's kinky,” Tele.machus rolled his eyes.

Dorian was mid-swallow of his food when they heard that and started laughing and choking at the same time. Tele.machus’ eyes widened in shock, quickly patting his back to dislodge any stuck food.

“Oh my gosh,” Ari facepalmed and sighed disappointedly, “I'm surrounded by idiots…”

Dorian was finally able to calm down his laughter, though a few more coughs erupted, “whew, kff…that caught me off guard, kff…kff-*HULP!* kff-*HEEKULP!* k-*HUP!-HU'UCK!-HIIIP!*-” Dorian covered their mouth as the onslaught of hiccups threw his body around.

Tele.machus could feel the force of them, just from the hand he still had on his back. He shivered, willing his hand to move from their spasming body.

“Whoa, those are some intense hiccups, dude,” Orfeo chuckled, “you good?”

Dorian nodded through a “*HMLK!*” Even when he was trying to muffle the sounds, it was still very clearly audible.

Tele.machus watched the way his chest popped out and their neck caved in. It was such a beautiful sight to see. But he wouldn't be able to watch much longer according to the instant arousal between his thighs. He readjusted his position, standing slightly before sitting back down.

It didn't help…

“Y-*HUCK!*-yeah *HUUUP!-IP!* y-*MLKMP!*-you ju-*HUP!*‐just ga-*HAULKMP!*-mm, gave *HIP!*-”

“Here,” Tele.machus handed them his water bottle hurriedly, “d-drink this.”

Dorian glanced at Tele.machus, somewhat sensing some sort of panic as the latter stared at him and the water with a certain urgency. They opened the bottle with another strong “*HNGKUP!*” before drinking the water slowly.

The whole table was silent, all seemingly waiting in anticipation. When no sound or jolts followed, Tele.machus internally sighed in relief.

“What I was trying to say was that you gave me the hiccups,” Dorian chuckled, “but I can always count on Telly to cure me. Thanks, bud.”

“Don't call me Telly,” Tele.machus pouted, “but, um…you're welcome.”

“Wait, how did I give you the hiccups!?” Orfeo squawked and Tele.machus blocked out the rest of their conversation, just reliving the moment that happened seconds ago.

Accidentally feeling the power of Dorian's hiccups was definitely the highlight of his day. But now he felt like a pervert. Feeling aroused without their knowledge or consent. But arousal was a natural reaction in the human body. He couldn't help when he'd feel it…right?

Dorian must've had some kind of psychic powers or something because they looked at Tele.machus and whispered in his ear, “you good?”

Tele machus quickly nodded and forced a smile, “mmhm, just…really hate the cafeteria food here sometimes.”

“That's not what I-”

“Hey Dorian, you gotta check this out,” Orfeo interrupted the moment to show them a video on his phone.

Tele.machus would forever be grateful for the airheadedness of Orfeo.

4

First Semester, Week 10

“I don't need you picking fights for me, Telly,” Dorian frowned as they began the process of patching Tele.machus' wounds.

Tele.machus just muttered angrily, looking away fuming. Dorian sighed, grabbing an alcohol pad and dabbing it onto the wound on his cheek.

“Ow!” Tele.machus hissed and flinched away.

“Sorry, I'm sorry,” Dorian frowned, “I have to disinfect the wound.”

“I know, it just…hurts,” Tele.machus pouted, going back to his original position.

Dorian nodded understandingly, dabbing the pad against his cheek again. Tele.machus hissed again, but stayed still.

“What did this guy even say to get you so amped up?” Dorian asked. “I mean, I heard most of it, but then he whispered something in your ear…”

Tele.machus grimaced, looking at Dorian, but not directly in the eyes, “he told me that my dad's dead and gone and he called my mom a…very nasty slur and then mentioned how he wanted to sleep with her.”

“The fuck?” Dorian practically gagged, “I'm sorry, seriously, what the fuck?”

“Yeah, so that's when I kinda lost it,” Tele.machus looked away, “along with him being an asshole about your pride pins. I'm sorry he broke them.”

“It's alright, I can always just buy some more,” Dorian shrugged and finished cleaning the wound on his cheek before bandaging it. “How do you two even know each other?”

“He used to be my babysitter when I was a kid and mom would be busy with work,” Tele.machus explained.

Dorian's jaw dropped, “what?”

“Yeah…he wasn't exactly the best babysitter, but he was the only one available at the time,” Tele.machus cringed. “Guess he finally got enough money for college.”

“He's gotta be at least thirty, then…” Dorian theorized, “what's he doing beefing with someone ten years younger than him?”

“The guy's a jerk,” Tele.machus snarled, “he's probably always wanted to kick my ass, but had a fake reputation to uphold.”

“Damn, that sucks, man…you didn't deserve to be around that shit,” Dorian frowned before they grabbed his hand gently, “but, uh, I'll be as gentle as I can. Still, it's going to sting a bit.”

Tele.machus nodded, “mmhm…I'm rea-gah!”

“Sorry, element of surprise is best I read,” Dorian smiled sheepishly as he continued dabbing his knuckles.

Tele.machus squeezed their hand at the pain and Dorian soothed him with reassuring words as they'd gingerly wrapped bandages around his hand. Once they finished with the first hand, they gently grabbed the other.

“Good job so far,” Dorian praised before he offered, “Do you need a break before I continue?”

Tele.machus shook his head, “n-no, it's probably best to just get it out of the way.”

“Oka-*haup!*-kay?” Dorian looked confused, a hand on his chest. They rarely got singles, but with the lack of any more to follow, they brushed it off as a fluke.

Focusing on trying to dab the alcohol pad on Tele.machus’ knuckles as gently as possible, he suddenly hiccupped again, touching the pad to Tele.machus’ skin, making him wince.

“Shi-*HIP!-HILK!*uh -shit, *HICKOLP!*,” Dorian looked at him sympathetically, but noticed how stiff he'd gotten. “So-*HAULK!-HUP!*-guh, sorry the-*HEEKULP!-HEEK!*-these just cam-*HMPK!-HMKGMP!-HUUUP!*-ooh, came outta n-*NGK’UP!*-nowhere.”

Tele.machus watched as the hiccups wracked through their body right in front of him. One after the other, a symphony right in his face. He blushed profusely as Dorian continued cleaning up his hand.

“Holding your breath usually works,” Tele.machus whispered, biting his lip, keeping his eyes locked on his hand.

“Tru-*HOOP!*-ooh, true *HULP!-HUGGUP!*-ah,” Dorian nodded, though they didn't want this random case to end just yet. “But what-*HUCKULK!*-ngh, what's the ru-*HUP!-HUNGK!-HIUP!*-haa, rush?”

Come to think of it, Tele.machus always rushed them when it came to curing their hiccups. At first they thought he was uncomfortable, but could it have been something else? Was he afraid of the hiccups? Were they triggering for him?

Dorian looked at Tele.machus, seeing him staring at them–or more like through him?–with a blank expression, a poker face.

“Telem-*MMK!-MLKMP!-HMMMP!*‐mm, Telemach-*UP!‐HULP!*-us?” Dorian called his name worriedly.

Tele.machus then did something neither one of them had expected. He closed the gap between the two of them, kissing them on the lips. Dorian's eyes widened in pure shock, but they kissed him back, a hand caressing his unharmed cheek. Tele.machus closed his eyes, slowly pulling them closer to him, deepening the kiss before realizing what he was doing and he gently pushed them away, breathing heavily.

They both sat in silence, for a while, just staring at each other, jaws dropped, just breathing heavily.

Dorian broke the silence, “Tele.machus? Wha-”

“Sorry, I'm sorry!” Tele.machus panicked, quickly standing up, “I, um…it got rid of your, uh…problem. But, um…I should probably go-”

“Wait, it's okay, don't go,” Dorian tried to catch his hand, but they were too late. Tele.machus got away.

Dorian placed their fingers on their lips softly, blushing slightly. Their heart skipped a beat as he still felt his lips on theirs. The passion that was there. That kiss was definitely more than just a cure. Did Tele.machus have feelings for them? Did they have feelings for him?

5

Second Semester, Week 0

It had been weeks since the kiss and Tele.machus hadn't talked to Dorian since. He'd been avoiding them. He knew their schedule so he knew what time to be at their dorm to avoid a conversation.

Dorian was disappointed that Tele.machus had stopped talking to them. Even though they reassured him that the kiss could be forgotten if he so wished it to be. At this point, they just wanted their friend back.

The start of the second semester arrived quickly and as Tele.machus was busy unpacking his bags from winter break with his mom, he hadn't registered in his brain that Dorian was returning at some point.

And apparently it was sooner rather than later as he'd heard the beep of the key card embedded in their student ID and the click of the door opening. Tele.machus turned to see Dorian. They were bundled up in a warm hat, scarves, gloves, and a fuzzy heated jacket.

“Hey,” Dorian tried once they realized Tele.machus was going to stay silent.

“...h-hey,” Tele.machus stammered and waved, “erm…how was your break?”

Dorian slowly smiled as he shed all of his winter layers, “it was good. Dad took me and my siblings to this awesome ski lodge, it was a lot of fun. Poly tried doing so many tricks, but kept falling on his ass, it was hilarious!”

“That's good,” Tele.machus smiled slightly.

“How about yours?” Dorian asked curiously, closing the door and setting his luggage by their side of the room. “Do anything fun?”

Tele.machus shrugged, “not really…mom and I kinda just stayed in and- oh! Actually, I have a surprise for you…”

Dorian's brows raised, honestly touched, “shut up, you serious?”

Tele.machus searched through his bag and pulled out a little red and green striped gift bag. Standing back up, he handed the bag to Dorian, “merry Christmas- i-if you celebrate-”

“Yeah, I celebrate,” Dorian nodded and accepted the bag. Before looking inside, he looked at Tele.machus suspiciously. “Wait, I'm supposed to still be mad at you for not talking to me for weeks…”

Tele.machus winced and looked away, blushing profusely, “u-understandable, honestly…b-but just read the paper first…”

Dorian raised an eyebrow, but obliged. They took out the folded piece of paper and unfolded it, finding a very nicely written note. “You have amazing handwriting.”

“Thanks…” Tele.machus said distractedly, fidgeting with his fingernails.

“You want me to read it out loud?” Dorian asked.

“If you want to,” Tele.machus shrugged, seeming more shy than before.

Dorian nodded before dramatically clearing his throat, his body instantly spasming afterwards. “*HUP!* Oh wow, *HILP!-HUCKUP!-HYUP!*-oof, *HNGKLP*-”

Tele.machus squeaked and glanced at them, “you, um…okay?”

Dorian nodded again, “ye-*HEUP!*‐yeah, sor-*HORK!*-sorry, *HIC!*-cups again-*NLGK!*” They tried to swallow them down.

“C-could…you maybe…hhhhold your breath?” Tele.machus sighed, pinching his fingertips to distract himself.

But he couldn't ignore the way his body was reacting to the spasms. Seeing Dorian's chest jolt and his neck caving in was an art form. Even the rare times their stomach would pop out drove him off the wall.

Dorian looked confused, “w-*HIGGUH!*-why?”

“Please, Dorian…I can't…” Tele.machus shut his eyes tightly, squeaking, balling his hands into fists so tight, they left crescents on his palm.

Dorian went over to him concerned, holding his hands and releasing his fists to relax them, “he-*HULP!*-hey, hey *HIP!-HOLP!-H'GUP!*-uh, I'm-*M'GMP!* right he-*HEEK!-HERK!-HUCKUCK!*-oof, here.”

“Dorian…I-” Tele.machus took a sharp breath in. He looked at the note that was still in Dorian's hand. He exhaled slowly. “Screw it, impromptu speech.” He looked at Dorian, who jumped with another muffled “*HMM'MMK!”* and he looked away. “But please…I can't concentrate with those…”

Dorian sighed, interrupted by a “*HULP'K!*”, before nodding in cooperation. They sucked in a breath and held it. They both waited a moment and exhaled slowly at the same time.

“Okay, they're gone,” Dorian nodded.

“Right…” Tele.machus still couldn't quite look into their eyes, but he looked in their general direction, “what I wanted to say…what the letter says is…” he fumbled over his words. He took a deep breath and started again, “I'm sorry for avoiding you for weeks. After we…after I kissed you…I panicked and thought you'd never want to hear from me again…but still, I hurt you, and you're my friend, I'd never want to hurt you…but I did, and I'm so sorry, Dorian…”

Tears welled up in Tele.machus’ eyes as he continued, “I promise to do better, I won't…run away next time, I'll communicate with you and we'll work it out, whatever it is. I hated not seeing you and not talking to you…you're really fun to be around.” He chuckled wetly as Dorian gently wiped Tele.machus’ tears.

“Thanks, I try to be,” Dorian winked, making Tele.machus chuckle quietly, blushing slightly. “But it's okay. And honestly? I just want my friend back.” They shrugged.

Tele.machus nodded, “o-okay, yeah, yes, that can be arranged. Friends.”

“Cool, and you know~” Dorian smirked, getting closer to Tele.machus’ face, “I wouldn't be opposed to moving our friendship into…something more.~”

Tele.machus’ eyes widened and he blushed profusely, “s-something more?” He squeaked as his brain supplied him with ‘too close, too close, hot person is too close, help-’

“I mean…I know I offered for that kiss to be forgotten, but…all I've ever wanted to do since then is to kiss your lips again…” Dorian glanced at his lips.

Tele.machus felt like his heart was lodged in his throat. He swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of that lump in his throat. “O-oh, really?” He stammered, incredibly flustered.

“Really,” Dorian nodded and bit his own bottom lip, “so, may I?~”

Tele.machus nodded his head, “y-yes…you may.”

Dorian smiled and closed the gap between them, hugging him close as they kissed him. Tele.machus was quick to reciprocate the action, wrapping his arms around his neck, playing with their beautifully-dyed blue hair. They kissed for what seemed like hours, but in reality, was only a minute or two.

They both released with bright smiles on their faces, both breathing heavily and blushing slightly.

“Gosh, you're such a great kisser,” Dorian admitted, resting their head on his shoulder.

“Me?” Tele.machus chuckled incredulously, “you're the first person I've ever kissed.”

Dorian's eyes widened and they moved their head to look at Tele.machus incredulously, “you're telling me…I was your first kiss?”

Tele.machus nodded and looked away, blushing profusely. Dorian smiled and gently nudged him, “awww, well you're a natural.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Tele.machus shrugged, picking at the sleeve of his sweater.

“It's funny, one day, you'll be telling the story of your first kiss, and you'll be laughing at the fact that you wasted it on curing me from some random hiccups,” Dorian snorted.

“Y-yeah…”

“Speaking of…”

Oh boy, here it comes.

“...I've been meaning to ask you,” Dorian looked at the man who refused to meet their eyes, “why are you always so quick to cure my-”

“Cuz I like them!” Tele.machus blurted out before they could finish, his face impossibly redder. “I-I mean, not just yours specifically, I mean…I like hiccups in general. Sorry! I know it's weird, but-”

“Well, that's a relief, I thought I was making you scared or anxious whenever I had cases,” Dorian placed a hand on his shoulder, “and me too, actually. I love hiccups, both having them and hearing someone else have them.”

Tele.machus looked at Dorian, so much hope filled his eyes, “r-really? I'm not…I'm not alone in this?”

“Oh, Telly, of course you're not alone,” Dorian smiled kindly at him, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Tele.machus let out a huge sigh of relief and hugged Dorian tightly, finding solace in knowing that someone else understood him and what he was feeling.

Dorian smiled and hugged him back.

+1

Continuation of 5

The two of them hugged in silence before Tele.machus dragged them over to his bed and they both sat down.

“Do you mind if we, um…talk about hiccups? Or is that too weird?” Tele.machus asked.

Dorian chuckled, "First off, that isn't weird, second off, I would love to, cutie, but don't you want me to open your present first?”

Tele.machus gasped and blushed embarrassed, “yeah, yes, of course…” Then he muttered, “completely forgot about that…”

Dorian chuckled again and reached into the bag, taking out some kind of jewelry box. “What is it?”

“Open it,” Tele.machus begged them excitedly.

Dorian opened the box and gasped, his eyes sparkling at the sight of what looked to be a custom-made pride wristwatch. They gingerly held the watch in their hands, looking at all the shining gemstones reflecting the gold around the wristband and the colorful gemstones surrounding the face in a rainbow pattern. (I'm bad at describing watches, so here's a photo)

“Tele.machus…this…this is beautiful,” they said just a little over a whisper. “Where did you find this?”

“Well, I, um…went searching for your pride pins that Ant.inous broke,” Tele.machus told them as he sat back, watching Dorian try it on. “For some odd reason, there were none available? I dunno, it was weird, anyway I started searching for other pride gifts, and I went down a whole rabbit hole until I found this clockmaker and I thought, huh, a wristwatch…that'd be a cool and unique gift.”

“I found the address and saw it was a two hour drive from my house,” Tele.machus continued, “I figured, I didn't have anything better to do and it would be worth it because you're worth it, so I packed a bag and hurried to the car, driving all the way down to the shop.”

“Tele.machus, you didn't have to do all of that for me,” Dorian looked at him, eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

“I wanted to,” Tele.machus admitted with a shrug, “but anyway, I found the shop, and I told the guy–his name's Otto, lovely guy, pure golden retriever energy, hehe–exactly what I was going for and we kinda brainstormed until we came up with that beauty. He said he'd have it done by the end of the week. His price was reasonable, but shit, man, he deserved way more than what I gave him because he did an amazing job on it.”

“And I love how quiet it is,” Dorian sniffed, “the tick tick tick noise can keep me up at night sometimes.”

“That's why I put that in the request,” Tele.machus smiled, “and get this-” he sat up excitedly, “when I went to pick the watch up, he had these insane hiccups, like…I honestly thought he was going to die from a lack of air supply.”

Dorian snorted into laughter, “seriously?”

Tele.machus chuckled and nodded, “yeah! They were just hitting him, one after the other. I don't know how I made it out of there in one piece.”

“Were they worse than mine?” Dorian asked curiously.

Tele.machus thought about it for a moment, “in terms of speed? I think so. He'd sometimes get these really fast and long clusters…but the loudness factor goes to you…maybe.”

“Was he okay?” Dorian asked, slightly concerned.

“He said he was fine and they didn't hurt or anything,” Tele.machus shrugged, resting his head on Dorian's shoulder, “he said he's prone to them so he's used to it.”

“Man, I would've loved to be there to witness that,” Dorian admitted solemnly. “But honestly, I do need to tell him how amazingly he did on this watch. Wonder if he has a website so I can give him a five-star review…”

They admired the watch, holding it up to the light and watching the shine of colors sparkle beautifully. Dorian hugged Tele.machus, “thank you for having it made for me…I love it.”

Tele.machus gasped and smiled, hugging them back, stroking their hair, “of course. I'm really glad you like it.”

After another moment of hugging, the two of them sat back against the wall. Dorian looked at Tele.machus with a smile, “alright, appreciation of gift moment is checked off the list, time to talk about hiccups?”

Tele.machus giggled and nodded his head, “yeah!” He felt excited, but also nervous at the same time. He'd never talked so freely about hiccups with anyone. “How do you wanna start?”

“Well-” Dorian, on brand, was interrupted by a “*HOLP!*”

Tele.machus’ eyes widened as they both stared at each other, Dorian's head jerking back with another strong “*HUNGK!*”

“They came back…” Tele.machus whispered.

“Mm-*HMMK!*-mmhm,” Dorian nodded, “they *HUP!-KMP!*-mm, tend t-*HMLKUP!*-tend to af-*ICKOLP!-HIP!-HUGGULK!*-oof, at som-*HMK!* point aft-*ERK!* I cure them-*MMMK!-HUP!*”

“O-oh…” Tele.machus muttered, his brain complete mush as he'd watched and felt the hiccups shake the bed. He instantly felt the urge to tell them to cure himself again, but he'd thought back to the conversation he'd had with Otto.

If he could get through a somewhat sensible conversation with a hiccupping Otto, he should be able to do the same with Dorian.

Granted, Dorian was more his type, and age for that matter, and at this point they might possibly be dating?

“You-*H'GOOP!*-ooh, wan-*NNNK!-HINGK!*-want me *HEEEEP!* to *HIIUUURP!*-heh, cure *HERK!-HUP-HIK!*-”

“No!” Tele.machus blushed at his volume of the word, “I-I…I mean, no…not this time…no more accommodations, I can hold a conversation with somebody with hiccups.”

Dorian smirked, his head jerking through a silent hiccup, “don't wor-*HERK!*-worry, they wo-*HOLK!-HUP!*-won't be so ba-*HAUK!‐HAUGLK!*-bad after a bi-*HIK!-HUCKULP!*-bit.”

Tele.machus made a very conscious effort to focus more on the words rather than the way their body jolted.

“U-uh-huh…”

Dorian chuckled softly, “they a-*HAUP!*-always start o-*HOK!*-off fast an-*NGK’UP!*-gff, and loud t– –till they calm *MGLK!* down a bit, se-*HEEK!*-ee?”

Tele.machus blushed and nodded, “I see…interesting…do they hurt at all?”

Dorian shook his head, “no-*HOLP'K!*-nope, I don't think I'd *HULP!-HUP!* be able to en-*HNGK!*-enjoy these if they hu-*HURK!*-hurt. What about *HUP!* you?”

Tele.machus shook his head quickly, refocusing, “uhh, me?”

“Yeah! *HUNGKAH!*-ooh, what are yours l-*HUCKULK!*-oof, like?” Dorian sat up, readjusting their position.

“Oh, ummm…honestly, I rarely ever get them,” Tele.machus shrugged, “I think the last time I've had them was…sixteen? Seventeen? Though I have had some random singles every once in a while and those don't hurt.”

“That's goo-*HOOK!-HIOK!-HUOLK!*-mm, good,” Dorian patted their chest. “Do you prefer *HICKUCK!* having the hic-*KOLP!* hiccups? Or hearing-*NNNGK!* others’ hiccups?”

“Oh, I definitely prefer hearing others’,” Tele.machus confessed, “I do like having my own, but after the first couple of minutes of having them, I kinda get tired of them, hehe.”

“Un—understandable,” Dorian chuckled, their hand still on their chest, “aww, I ki-*HIPulp!*-kinda feel like they're star-*urk!*-starting to go away. They g—get pretty quie-*hep!-hip!*-quiet and so-*hokf*-soft when they're trailing o-*hok!*-off…you wann-*ngk!-nnkup!*-na feel them before they're go-*hok*-gone?”

‘Yes, yes, more than anything, yes!’

“N-no thanks,” Tele.machus blushed, “maybe next time.”

Dorian nodded, “that's fair.” They grinned, rubbing their chest. They jolted softly at one last silent hiccup before the case seemed to resolve itself. “Aww, looks like they're gone. They don't really last that long, honestly, which you would've realized, had you not made me cure myself constantly.”

They gently nudged Tele.machus, who blushed, “yeah, yeah, sorry! My brain literally freaked out every time and my first thought was to offer you cures as fast as possible and-”

“I'm only teasing, Telly,” Dorian giggled and kissed his cheek, “now, what would you say if we continued our little kissing session from earlier, hmm?~”

Tele.machus blushed more, stammering in a flustered mess. He ultimately nodded and the two of them completely forgot about unpacking all of their clothes that afternoon.

Fin~

[brakingpoint]

i missed your answer but happy day of the lord i'd love you to rank drivers by hotness because i think you're hilarious

you know what it's been like three days of the lord since you sent this but i've finally got bevved on one of them so let's go. i do not believe in rankings so i will instead be offering my commentary in current drivers championship standings order

max verstappen - i wont lie i know he's not everyone's cup of tea but i do find him quite sexy. do not understand the overwhelming tit hype on this website because this man would have to clench for his life to fill a victoria's secret training bra but it's fine because his beautiful autistic rizz and enchantingly bold nose make up for it. points deducted because i can tell his skincare routine is dish soap

lando norris - 2019 lando norris is like, i am honestly too old to have found him sexy if i'd been into f1 at the time bc even though we're only like 2/3 years apart in age he looks about 5 years younger than me. but i can completely get how if you were like 16 at the time he would seem like the cutest boy on the planet. like up all night era one direction vibes you know. unfortunately his 2024 styling with the weird desperate attempt at facial hair makes him look like a man who uses snapchat for evil

charles leclerc - objectively beautiful man crafted by the gods themselves but i can't honestly say he makes me feel anything carnally. i look at him as i would a marble sculpture in a museum

oscar piastri - he is not a bad looking guy but he does nothing for me. partially an age thing and partially his complete lack of rizz. he doesn't have time to be sexy he's got a job to do and that job is scaring the pants off lando norris every time he's within DRS range

carlos sainz - sometimes i think he is one of the top 10 sexiest men ever to exist on the planet and sometimes i think he looks like that really angry eagle off the muppets. he's got to work the right angles

lewis hamilton - much like charles leclerc he is someone who is so deeply objectively sexy that it almost reverts to me feeling nothing wait a second somebody just beamed psychic images of those interviews from like singapore 2019 where he had his hair up but with a couple bits framing his face so gorgeously and now i can't form words or think of anything else

george russell - the thing you have to understand is i went to oxford and i went clubbing a lot in oxford and so i have made out with a number of george russell lookalikes that is easily in the double figures. and i have zero regrets

sergio perez - he's not sexy he is like a cabbage patch doll whose nose i want to boop so fondly as i very gently whisper in his ear to DRIVE FUCKING FASTER

fernando alonso - i don't find him sexy but at the same time i can understand why lance stroll does

nico hulkenberg - i feel like you either have to be a really really straight woman or a really really gay european man to find him hot. and i am unfortunately neither

lance stroll - i'm refraining from answering until he grows his hair back out. at which point i will still refrain from answering but moreso for my own dignity

yuki tsunoda - we must not underestimate the rizz of a man so short he could be a back up dancer on sabrina carpenter's short 'n' sweet tour. i can unequivocally say i would

alex albon - you see physically he is not really my type but being engaged in conversation with him for more than five minutes would have me so horny i can barely breathe. i just love a dork yknow. i feel like i'd match with him on tinder by the strength of his bio even though his selfies are a bit shit and then i'd be actively drooling throughout the entire date

daniel ricciardo - in 2018, yes. in 2021 onwards, no. was he in some sort of reverse dorian grey situation where his portrait has gotten both hotter and attained better f1 results? who knows

pierre gasly - if he brings back the long swoopy hair with the frosted tips we are back in fucking business quite frankly

ollie bearman - i know he's technically an adult but he looks so young that even including him in this poll as an aside feels noncey to me

kevin magnussen - i have nothing to say. next

esteban ocon - he's tall, i suppose

franco colapinto - once again it's an ollie bearman situation where i can objectively acknowledge that he's a handsome lad but i've been following him since he was 19. i CANNOT see him that way.

zhou guanyu - i feel like his inherent swag is wasted in f1 i'd probably fancy him a lot more if he was some rando catwalk model i saw reblogged onto my dash precisely once when he was walking the runway in dior's latest collection at paris fashion week or something

logan sargeant (rip) - i really can't knock the people who fancy him because i feel like if you're american making out with 5000 guys who look just like him at college parties is my equivalent of making out with a ton of george russell impersonators at oxford. but thus i cannot see it due to our vastly different life experiences

valtteri bottas - he's hot in the way that like i walk into a gay bar and see the posters of men in leather jockstraps plastered around the place and go you know what this is not targeted to me but i can see why this is hugely titillating to the people these pictures were actually put up for. he's the closest to 1980s gay porn we have on this grid and i have to hugely respect that even if he's not my personal type

bonus liam lawson round - he looks like he was meant to debut in a boyband circa 2014 but accidentally got locked in a portaloo before their first recording session and they just kind of forgot about him there and he's just stumbled out into the daylight right now for the first time in 10 years and he's a little startled and hasn't learned about modern fashion yet but he's still kind of hot to people who would have desperately fancied luke from 5SOS were they above the age of seven at the time that band debuted

[jujus-bizarre-blog]

SOC and CK allegories for the queer characters (and other thoughts)

I was going to make a separate blog to yell about books but I decided to do it here.

I AM NOT DONE CROOKED KINGDOM AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS SO EVERYTHING I SAY IS HAVING ONLY READ HALF THE BOOK SO FAR.

The Grishaverse doesn't seem to have any form of homophobia, but SOC and CK are chalk fulllllllll of what I can only see as plots that mimic queer experiences for the queer characters in the main group.

We have four queer characters (that I know of at the moment): Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Kuwei.

So let's start with the obvious, three of the four are Grisha. Obviously not all Grisha are queer, but all the Grisha in the party are. This gives them an automatic plotline of "hide who you are".

It could be said that since Nina is Ravkan she wasn't raised that way, and no, she wasn't. However since leaving Ravka she has been forced to hide for her safety, and not only that but she is frequently told she's "too much" which sounds a lot to me like what some people say about queer people when they think queer people should be less queer. Also Matthias is all about being "traditional" and "proper" and Nina's whole thing is that she is neither. Traditional and proper sound a lottttt like some people's arguments to be homophobic.

Jesper's I think is rather obvious. His father has a clear concern for his son being Grisha since it can put your life at risk. In Jesper's argument with his dad he goes off and asks his dad why did he never let him go to Ravka where he could be himself and learn about himself and his powers. Oh not to mention the fact that him and his dad talk around him being Grisha like it's some sort of virus that can be caught by simply speaking the word.

Kuwei's took a second to hit me but when it did I was like "ah yep, makes sense" and this is probably because it took me a hot second to realize Kuwei was queer. Yeah, apparently him being jealous that Jesper only looked at Wylan a certain way didn't tip me off... ANYWAY THOUGH. Kuwei is also told to hide who he is, but his dad goes the extra length of literally making a drug to help him hide himself. Is it giving anyone else Dorian's dad from Dragon Age vibes??? Blood magic for the gay son???

FINALLY, I will talk about my baby, the character I love more than anything else. Wylan. Here's the thing about Wylan, while I was reading SOC I wasn't sure if homophobia existed in this world yet and I was half convinced that his dad disowned him because gay. While his dad obviously didn't do that, I still think at the end of the day it portrays an experience that is very similar. Wylan is shamed, hidden, and ultimately his dad tries to have him killed, all because he can't read. His dad loathes him over such a stupid reason, especially since Wylan is absolutely brilliant at tons of stuff and the cutest lil guy. But I think it's that hatred of his son over something so trivial that really lends itself to being about something else entirely, Wylan being queer.

All four of our queer characters in the main group have different plots, but ultimately they all circle around the idea of hiding who you are and being ashamed of who you are. That sounds like a very common queer experience if you ask me.

I don't know if this was intentional or just a huge coincidence. As a writer myself I am all too aware of how easily accidental metaphors and symbols can happen. But I think about it a lot as I'm reading so I wanted to shout about it either way. I also have no clue if this is a common idea or not, I just know when I pointed it out to my friends who had read the books prior, one of who loves and reads them yearly, they both kinda went "oh damn, you right," but didn't see it before I mentioned it.

Anyway, if I missed things (or you wanna yell at me about how wrong I am, which is usually the more likely option) I'd love to know thoughts :)

AND BONUS THOUGHTS

This one is super obvious but I just wanna say it. Jesper is ADHD and no one will change my mind in the history of ever. This man cannot sit still, has been described as having limitless energy, and he seeks constant immediate gratification in the form of gambling and adrenalin rushes. COME ON MAN. I know I know, there's a lore reason, something something Grisha not using magic blah blah. No. No. He is ADHD and you cannot tell me otherwise. And I love him dearly.

Also, not a theory or anything but, y'all, I love Wylan so much. I just wanna give him a hug and a lollipop and tell him it's okay. He's so cute.

[wolfstarshipping]

wolfstar wips

So I'm using the @hprecfest day 12 prompt "a WIP you're following" to post a short rec list of WIPs that has been sitting in my drafts for so long now I even had to remove a fic that had been finished in the meanwhile!

Something rotten in Grimmauld Place by @plecotusauritus (8,802 words, Hamlet AU) This is a wolfstar Hamlet AU, need I say more?? I've never much cared or thought about Hamlet since I read it in school but this fic (almost) makes me want to reread Hamlet and I can't wait to see where the story goes next, I love the atmosphere this fic captures, the lovely writing style and just seeing all these characters we know so well fit into the plot of Hamlet is so, so cool!!

the oldest recipe for parsnip soup by @eyra (10.639 words, modern AU, christmas fic) Getting another fic by eyra for the holidays has been such a wonderful treat! I love the whole setting and the characters of this fic so much already, especially Sirius!! And the writing and all the descriptions are so, so beautiful, as always, highly recommend checking it out!!

Welcome to Aphrodite by @de-sire-blog & @rhabarberjunge (18.957 words, magical AU, secret identities) this is one of those fics I've read a while ago, but I keep thinking about it because I loved it so much. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but the premise is Sirius finding a hidden, adults-only club that makes people's secret desires come true, and of course Sirius's secret desire is Remus... It's hot, it's fun, and it's incredibly angsty, I love it.

Stitched into My Skin by @squintclover (19.297 words, canon divergent AU, memory loss) I love the heartache and all the bittersweetness that comes with memory loss fics so much already, and I am so obsessed with the way it's been done in this fic. The premise of the fic is Peter casting a memory loss charm on Sirius on October 31st 1981, which leads to Remus raising Harry and randomly coming across Sirius years later, only Sirius doesn't remember him. I'm so intrigued by the first few chapters already and can't wait to see where the story goes next!

Marauder FM by @hollyivydruzy (26.402 words, modern AU, radio AU, enemies to friends to lovers) I know I've recced this fic before but I will never shut up about it because I love it, and especially this fic's Remus so, so much! It's an iconic, funny radio AU set in London, and I wish the radio shows from this fic were real because I would listen to Sirius's radio show every morning if I could. I just love the vibe of all of them working at the radio station together and the slow burn enemies to friends (to lovers) is so delicious!

The Patchwork of Us by @tracingpatternswrites (27.502 words, modern AU, enemies to lovers, co-parenting Teddy) This is such a lovely fic about Sirius and Remus navigating the difficult situation of co-parenting Teddy after Tonks dies, I love the domesticity and the enemies to lovers vibe of this fic so much!

The Picture of Sirius Black by @lynxindisguise (30.049 words, Dorian Gray AU) okay anyone who has ever seen my blog knows how much I love lynx's writing, which is why I am also obsessed with this fic, even though it's a genre I'm usually not that familiar with. It's a Dorian Gray AU, it's gothic horror but especially the first few chapters are also giving victorian romcom with murder sideplot vibes (and I mean this as the biggest compliment), this fic will make you laugh and cry and want to murder some of these characters yourself maybe.

Only Fools Are Satisfied by grumposaur (@pancakehouse) (38.353 words, modern AU, tennis AU). I really love the exploration of Sirius's family dynamics in the context of him being a professional athlete in this fic, and Remus with his tanlines and freckles is everything!!

Neon Moon by @krethes (47.698 words, modern AU, cowboy stripper Remus AU, Las Vegas) I didn't know how much I needed Remus to be a stripper and a cowboy before I read this fic, but now I do and I love him!! The whole premise of them meeting at a strip club while Sirius is out on James's bachelor party is so iconic, and the vibes of the fic are just overall excellent, highly recommend checking it out!

on another ocean by @colgatebluemintygel (118.148 words, modern AU, backpacking/interrail, friends with benefits) Where do I even start? This is an incredible fic, one of my all time faves, I've reread some of the chapters several times now and am so obsessed with this fic's Remus in his socks and sandals, driving Sirius crazy with lust. Also I will not spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but the scene in the budapest chapter in the club bathroom features one of my favorite Sirius moments of all time, across all universes haha.

marginalia by @spindrifters (266.547 words, magical AU, canon divergent AU - Grindelwald won, slavery AU) I'm having a hard time trying to put my love for this fic into words in just a short paragraph. This fic is so unique in its setting, and it's so beautifully written and asks & answers the question "what if Grindelwald had won?" in such an incredible, highly political and also very immersive way, if you haven't read it already I really recommend checking it out (as well as the already complete Tedromeda spinoff set in the same world, history books!!!).

Staying Strangers by 3amAndCounting (319,368 words, modern AU, texting fic, university AU). This is one of my comfort fics, I love a good texting AU, this is quite a popular fic anyways but if you haven't read it and like modern AUs & texting fics (though it isn't all just texting) go check it out!

[mercysought]

hi skells can u kindly tell us about asharen's relationship with the rest of the inner circle? who she does and doesnt trust? who she views as a friend versus an acquaintance?

character questions! // accepting // @martyrmarked

For you, nik, always ✨

It's been a very long time since I've played Inquisition so I am fully going off vibes and pure memory. I need to replay this game at some point, it truly has been nearly ten years lmao I have something written on her page without many details but looking at it I don't know how true those things are anymore.

The one thing I will say which encompasses them all however is that Asharen is a trusting person, she has a trusting nature for better or worse (truly more often for the worse)

Let's start with the folks that she considers her closest friends:

Cole, who is literally her best friend, the person that she is likely closest to and the one that is basically the first person who she talks to about her crazy ideas for rift artifacts. Cole is such an important person for who Asharen eventually becomes.

Dagna, while technically not in the inner circle, Dagna is instrumental to be able to craft the lyrium needles that eventually become Asharen's signature way of using rift magic. She is her sparring partner, and the person that she knows is always willing to talk about topics that most would consider boring. She is in the inner circle to me

Varric, The Iron Bull and Solas are the three people that she takes consistently out with her on missions. She likes their sense of humour and it's always a pretty good time. She likes hearing Varric's stories and likes his sense of humour, very smart in things that she excelled in the clan and makes her understand how much she actually doesn't know about finances lmao; the Iron Bull is literally unlike anyone she has ever known, she likes his relaxed attitude towards things and Solas just knows so much about magic and history that it makes her head spin. They are all incredible at what they do.

Josephine, as the only other "antivan" there (if Asharen can even be considered such) and the first person that actually tries to engage with her culture in a respectful manner? And coming from a human? It's nice. It doesn't surprise her that it would be an antivan woman that would do it, her experience in Antiva City does say that they are more knowledgeable and open than others. Still, Josephine becomes the arm that she leans in when it comes to politics. Even if Asharen does get angry at her because of the Florianne's box debacle.

Friends:

Sera is someone that starts off on a rocky foot for obvious reasons but they eventually become friends - Sera is fairly younger than Asharen (I think they put Sera at 18-21 and Asharen is around 33 by Inquisition) which gives her the impression that this is probably what she sounded like to her older siblings. Sera one day made the mistake to prank the Inquisitor and got at least ten of Leliana's pigeons just loose in her small room in the Inn. It's not what Asharen would like to have done but they become more creative with the pranks

Dorian is someone that she takes a while getting warmed up to but it's hard not to be charmed by him. Also, he is frighteningly intelligent and it's impossible to not want to drown him with questions on his research on the magic that eventually led to Redcliff. This period of Inquisition is a lot about Asharen finding about herself and her interests and Dorian helps a lot in this. However, I would say that they become closer at the turn of Veilguard since Dorian does become someone that she reaches out frequently. That being said, their first conversations around each other's cultures does make her want to scream inside, but she listens and they have discussions which would likely be closer to debates in other circles than anything else. A later stronger friendship.

Cassandra in the weirdest of ways I think that Cassandra can potentially help Asharen a lot. Their faith are obviously not the same, they do not operate the same way but there is a lot of turmoil that is happening with Cassandra's story which does inform her own experiences once the Vallas'lin information is revealed. In a way, I can totally see conversations with her on matters of faith molding and informing her own opinions on where she eventually lands on the Evanuris and the future of the dalish. Asharen never thought that she'd be able to have those sort of conversations with a human much less the right hand of the divine. But she knows so little about it and I think if nothing else, Asharen would be there to give her a warm hug and a shoulder if she needed it after the Seeker's situation. So a much later friendship for sure

Acquaintance & Advising roles:

So here is where things are a bit more complex and harder for me to pin down.

I think that Thom Rainier (Blackwall) 's betrayal of trust doesn't land as hard because they aren't necessarily close during Inquisition. However, it still hurts. And I just think this kinda speaks to her trusting nature (and her lack of knowledge about the wardens) that she never saw it coming. It is actually just a taste of what is to come, but speaking to him and taking him to help atone for what he has done and eventually join the wardens does set a precedent, doesn't it?

With Vivienne she respects the woman, it's impossible not to, but her opinions about mages and what their future should look like makes her head spin and she cannot find common ground where either of them can give ground. The dalish have their own set of beliefs of magic (which can vary from clan to clan) and after all that they learn about the circles and the templars, especially with the information that comes out from Redcliffe and what happens to the Tranquil? It's hard. Vivienne is brilliant and Asharen leans on her for any and all knowledge specifically about how to handle the mages within the circle and the templars she will give the Inquisitor because it would be foolish not to. Asharen helps her with the heart of the wyvern and offers her shoulder if Vivienne ever wants but I don't think they are ever friends. There is deep respect, but friendship seems out of reach.

Leliana is quite closed off, I think that Asharen would be too focused on too many other fronts to attempt to peel those layers of ice unless her attention was pulled or an opening was given which I don't think Leliana would often do. She trusts that Leliana is the best in the business though and would not want to have her as an enemy.

Cullen is a complicated one. She respects him and his knowledge and respects so much where he is now, it takes quite a lot to turn around and attempt to unlearn a lot of things that have been (at times) literally beaten into you. She tries to meet him with compassion because that is what he also met her with the first time they spoke in Haven. Even if she was taught as a child to run from people like him, and hide. In the strangest of ways I do think they could become friends, especially if they both try to improve on their chess skills. I will say, there are exceptions to this, or making this friendship harder / easier depending on who is in her life. But this is default state.

And here is another thing which I find important to bring up: Despite how it all started, Cassandra, Leliana, Cullen and Josephine represent something so important to Asharen and how Inquisition becomes what it does to her and how it paints the world.

The first few days in Haven post the first trek up the mountain, the way that they do try to comfort her when they can't find her brother and keep trying to find him (my headcanon, don't @ me but I think that Cullen would have asked their soldiers and Leliana would have kept contact with their scouts trying to find Ren), it's important. They are human, not mages, they owe her nothing, they are important people in their organizations and she is just a dalish girl with a mark in her hand who might have caused this disaster. And yet they still try to help her and find her brother. They still listen to what she has to say and consider her words.

It is important and it matters. It shows her that something that she thought would never be possible can be. That is really what the whole story of Inquisition is for Asharen.

[lordgeneralsix]

ok... so I have finally finished veilguard after about 90 painful hours (two playthroughs). im not gonna write an actual review about all of my detailed thoughts bc it'll actually take days, this is just to at least get my general thoughts out and see if anyone else feels the same or if ive actually lost it.

overall it is the weakest dragon age game story-wise, and I'd give it a nice lukewarm 4/10.

(i wrote this post right after I finished the game on the weekend so maybe I sound a bit harsh, I tried to edit it to be more reasonable lol but I didn't really want to delete this since I do still stand by a lot of this)

I really tried to go in with an open mind, bc I always want to experience media in full before making any kind of judgement, but about a few hours in I had this horrible feeling that once again this was another soulless, rushed game, and I still don't feel any different after finishing the game.

what stuck out to me was that there's no sense of urgency despite what the plot is, serious topics are not treated with care as the writing overall is shallow, and the gods as well as any other enemy you encounter are just cartoon villains (and apparently the lore retconning, but I'm not well-versed enough to dissect that so I won't).

I can't take this plot seriously when it feels so disjointed and forced and lazy. and I see no point in caring about anything when choices literally don't matter. no say in who you recruit, no say in the relationships with them and they have almost no awareness of rook, definitely doesn't matter if you have allies or not bc they show up anyway, and only four companions are locked into unavoidable decisions where one of them bites the dust no matter what (which is strange bc why are harding and davrin forced to die no matter if they're at hero status while bellara and neve can literally survive blight if they're at hero status), so it's impossible to try to strategize for better (or worse) outcomes with all the people you've gathered when there's only one right answer that the game pretty much tells you instead of letting you think for yourself (and side note this game does an incredible amount of hand holding). the game actively tries to trick you into thinking your choices matter with the onscreen notifications, but nothing matters bc the devs clearly had only one story in mind and for some reason lied that it had "complex choices".

also rook in general wasn't interesting as a protagonist bc they were written to be perfect. they always know what to say and are so supportive of everyone. they never struggle with anything. not even with leadership beyond "man leading a team is hard :/" but it doesn't actually show how hard it is by having actual volatile conflict between the companions* or showing how their plans sometimes fail. which, if we actually had choices that mattered, would have helped develop that struggle. also? what's with everyone being so friendly? I'm not gonna get into that but everyone is so eerily nice and it's been said a lot but yeah, the world is extremely sanitized and devoid of any real conflict aside from the gods I guess.

*(like off the top of my head cassandra fighting with varric and accusing him of not being on their side or how the inquisitor can literally punch dorian and solas if approval is low enough or fenris and anders bordering on killing each other is not the same as lucanis and davrin distrusting each other or people being uncomfortable with emmrich's necromancy. it just scratches the surface of conflict and never goes anywhere)

and let me say real quick again, there's nothing wrong if they wanted to make a more rigid story about being a hero. it's been done a million times and it can be executed well, but if you do that you need to make sure you 1) don't lie to people and 2) actually flesh out your (especially main) characters and plot to give people a reason to care. look at dragon age 2. hawke is a fixed protagonist with their own life front and center. they ultimately only have two choices (siding with mages or templars), but it works bc the game took time to build up the conflict straight from act 1 so by the time chaos happens in act 2 and 3 you understand why bc it's Been brewing the whole time. it just makes sense. the villains as well have sound reasons and feel real instead of being evil just bc. the story is more grounded, yet you have choices. you decide if hawke ends up alone or not. you decide how they approach situations with force or diplomacy. there's none of that in veilguard. a game that supposedly took 10 years to make. when dragon age 2 took almost 16 months (yes I know da2 also has problems like the fact that the templars are always proven right but this isn't the place to dissect that).

I want to be fair though and I do want to restate what I enjoyed about the game. the cc (though would it kill them to have more variety in face textures like age and body types beyond average.. also no colour wheel... especially since they claimed their cc was so good), the map progression/visuals/exploration (how certain places become more blighted overtime), the factions (though I feel there should have been more content for your faction, and helping them or not should have mattered more), the combat (did not feel like a slog, pretty fun and mindless), the companions (bellara, davrin, emmrich, harding, and lucanis had solid personalities and stories despite my complaints. neve was not memorable and I just feel sad for taash's bad writing), certain parts of the story were good, the intro and the point of no return sequences were solid, and the ending didn't feel rushed or boring compared to inquisition. and yes, I do appreciate that rook can be trans, I just think a little more subtly and care would've been nice.

another thing I did like and predicted was that varric died at the beginning of veilguard, and for a second I actually enjoyed that because i thought we were finally (a bit too late tho) getting some depth to rook and their own struggles of accepting his death and carrying this weight without him. and while I do think maybe they should've taken more time to establish the mentor/mentee relationship so we really feel rooks regret, I still think it was at least the right direction where in their grief they still see him, giving advice and narrating their journey.....but then it turned out to just be solas manipulating them the whole time, immediately destroying any emotional weight this reveal had.

whenever bioware has good ideas they shoot themselves in the foot and make it about solas. it's like nothing in the world exists without solas being involved somehow, and that is just incredibly boring and uninspired to me. not to mention solas just being an insufferable ass the whole time, which is fine, but it's not even in a compelling way like he used to be. he became so ugly by the end and the fact that the devs consider redeeming him the "good ending" and not giving him what he deserves is very telling and once again shows their own bias is king over good storytelling (solas' feelings should not come into play here, whether you/your companions live or die should determine good/bad ending since solas is trapped no matter what, only difference is who is trapped with him. idk but I personally think different endings actually means different outcomes). i will not go into the bs of the secret post credit scene, bc frankly I'm fed up with bioware's shitty writing and I won't be playing their next world ending space aliens game (unless they miraculously pull a good story out of their ass but lbr).

overall the bad outweighs the good for me. it's fun to play as a game, it's a decent fantasy game, but the story just doesn't do anything for me. sometimes I wonder if dreadwolf was a completely different game and was scrapped for veilguard last minute. maybe this was yet another inevitable industry fuck up and maybe there was a good story planned at one point. idk. all I know is bioware lied. respect and credit to the poor devs and writers who actually cared and to those who were kicked from the project, but in the end bioware promised too much and delivered too little.

[vodkacheesefries]

Started as a simple Avatar reference, felt like it needed something to help it end, then I decided to color it, and now I'm tired of looking at it and I don't want to shade it and since I know myself and my particular brand of ADHD I know I *probably * won't finish it SO here it is.

Anyway! Emrys and Solas have the same kind of relationship with each other that you would find between a really strict private school teacher and a student that's really intelligent by nature, but is unable, or unwilling, to apply themselves. So they don't really like each other, but they don't like. HATE each other. It's complicated and I enjoy thinking about it because it's funny. (I promise I actually really do enjoy Solas as a character, I find him very compelling. I'll have to draw something with them both in it now)

More info dumping about Emrys below the cut bc his story has changed so many times since I first played as him and he deserves some updated lore, but this post is already long enough as it is :D

Emrys was only 17 when the Conclave happened. This is less for in game reasons and more because I don't really enjoy Inquisition. How do I fix that for myself? I drop a Dalish teenager into the role of Inquisitor and imagine the shenanigans that ensue and it becomes 10x more entertaining.

He was apprenticing to become a fletcher pre-Inquistion. I do think he continues this after the events of Trespasser, but he's sort of stuck between two worlds; the life he wants to lead with his clan, and the responsibility that has fallen on his shoulders to stop Solas. Because of that, I don't think he can feasibly make it his career, but he has a natural talent for it, and he makes his own arrows and bows.

He has an older sister, who if you've followed me long enough, you know is Bronwen (she was my "canon" Inquisitor for a hot minute but then "Dear Cullenites" came out and Cullen's voice gives me the ick now. I know it's not his fault and I don't begrudge the character, but I just can't do his romance anymore lmao)

She's the Keeper of Clan Lavellan and since their parents died when they were young, she practically raised him. She is fiercely protective of him and storms Skyhold at the earliest opportunity believing she needs to free him.

He has a few different prosthetics (one for daily use, one for battle etc.). They were all made/enchanted by Dagna (and later, Bellara) so their fingers can open and close, and his elbow and wrist can bend/rotate. They're not perfect, and they have malfunctioned on him at inopportune times, but he's grateful for Dagna and Bellara's help all the same.

If he's at home, he usually doesn't wear them. After 10+/- years he's quite comfortable with just his right hand, and the prosthetics can be heavy and cumbersome after a while.

Apart from battle, he mostly puts his prosthetic on when he's out around other people. This is both so people don't stare, and to help him blend in a little. Slide a glove over the fingers and no one can tell the difference.

SPEAKING OF BELLARA--Since he was a teenager in Inquisition and I didn't care for his romance options anyhow, and I can do what I want, they do become a couple. Rook introduces them after the final confrontation with Solas so Bellara can help him fix his damaged battle prosthetic.

Emrys is only a couple years younger than her, and they get along swimmingly. He begins loosening bolts or "denting" plates on his prosthetic as an excuse to go and visit/spend time with her. She eventually calls him on it and the rest is history.

I imagine once they become official he begins to travel with the Veil Jumpers, happy to finally put his life as the Inquisitor behind him. He takes up fletching duty for them.

He very briefly brings it up here, but his closest relationships in Inquisition were with Varric, Dorian, and Blackwall, and he keeps in touch with all of them regularly.

The Iron Bull, Vivienne and Leliana intimidated him. He does develop a friendship with them each as he ages and grows into his own, but as a teenager he does give them a respectful berth around Skyhold.

He enjoys pestering Cassandra and Cullen because they're both devout Andrasteans and incredibly tightly wound and it's easy for him to get under their skin. (He's a little shit sometimes)

The only person I think he truly would not get along with is Sera. The first time she says something negative about the Dalish it puts a sour taste in his mouth for her and he has zero interest in spending time with her after that. I don't know that they would ever grow to be like BEST friends, but they'll buy each other a beer and exchange life updates if they're ever in the same city when he's older.

[crossdressingdeath]

I feel like a lot of the retcon criticism aimed at the writing comes from a lack of trust. Like, the Crows /could/ be a very different organization from the one Zevran grew up in but because there aren't world state options, the writers can explain how the organization got from point A to B without contradicting something. Because of that, the audience can't trust that it was a writing decision to show change over time rather than a retcon. Morrigan's relationship to Kieran and the HoF is in similar position. Obviously the writers have my sympathy for trying to write for a setting where world shaking consequences are in quantum state but Watsonion explanations are always going to lose to the Doylist reality of the rough development cycle. It's real hard to suspend my disbelief about big cultural changes when I know it's not the same writers making a deliberate choice by but a different crew trying to make the best of rough situation. (Legitimate retcons like Dorian's contact with the Mortalitasi don't help either.)

I'm gonna be real: I don't buy it. For one it is absurd to say "we didn't get worldstate choices so I don't believe the suggestion that a part of an organization (which as a whole we can never do anything to influence) is different from the part Zevran was talking about twenty years ago" (I do believe the Crows were partially retconned at some point but that's just because the way Zevran talks about cells and bidding for contracts doesn't match up to the houses as we see them and that change happened pre-DAV; things in DAO were retconned as early as DA2 as part of the jump from standalone to series). You can argue that Kieran and the HoF not being mentioned causes problems, but it was never going to be more than an offhand reference at the absolute most on account of how the HoF can be twenty years dead and Kieran might never have existed; why do people care so damn much about the fact that Morrigan doesn't tell this person she—let's be honest here—barely knows about them so that Bioware didn't have to write multiple versions of an inconsequential conversation? I'd be significantly more annoyed if she paused to tell this colleague she speaks to all of four or five times her whole life story and everything she's been doing in the decade since the last game. I don't even buy that Dorian interacting with the Mortalitasi was a retcon; it's not like he gave Quiz his whole life story, unless I'm forgetting something he never says he hasn't interacted with the Mortalitasi, and something being established later that does not contradict what was established prior is not a retcon; that's called "new information". Writers are allowed to add that.

Sure, development was rushed. Yes, it was a rough time that involved a lot of changes to staffing. But that doesn't change the fact that a large portion of the fandom seems to be taking the worst possible reading of everything that happens and isn't explicitly spelled out to them in small words just because they can. Come on, do you really need the exact way A became B laid out in plain text to believe that the situation now is different than it was two decades ago? Or have you just decided that you don't like it so it's a retcon and are justifying it after the fact with "well the dev cycle was rushed"? Watsonian explanations only lose out to Doylist ones if you decide they're going to, and that's your choice to make, but don't come into my inbox and tell me that that's a more rational way of engaging with a story than "it's been twenty years in-universe since the last time this was mentioned in detail and things generally don't stay the exact same for twenty years".

[adoribullpavus]

EXCITING NEWS GUYS

i have started development on my first ever renpy game. i'm so excited since this is something i've wanted to do for a while now, but renpy always kinda scared me. but i've finally put it into action and i'm really looking forward to the journey ahead.

the game is still in extremely early development, but i have planned an outline of the plot, written some scripts, and have come up with so many ideas i want to share with you all.

as you can see, it is a dai fan game. if anyone knows if i can get sued for this, please let me know lmao

i don't want to give too much away but here are some features i'm planning to include:

you can choose from 17 different characters to play as (12 will be available straight off the bat, and 5 will be secret routes that are unlocked via other routes). these are all characters from inquisition.

you get to decide who your character ends up with, or even stay single if you want to be.

you can end up in a polyamorous relationship with (almost) free reign as to which characters that relationship includes.

no two routes are the same. each route will have the same plot but you can make it your own through your choices. remember; just because picking option b worked for your dorian playthrough, doesn't mean it'll work when you're playing as cullen.

there are a LOT of choices that genuinely impact the direction of the story.

each character has a bunch of different endings and they're all carefully tailored to your decisions.

as the game is still in early development, with only a faint outline holding it together, plans can change. however, as far as i know, this is how many endings each character can have:

the dorian route has 8 endings and 7 secret endings.

the iron bull route has 11 endings and 6 secret endings.

the varric route has 10 endings and 6 secret endings.

the cullen route has 10 endings and 5 secret endings.

the sera route has 6 endings and 5 secret endings.

the leliana route has 11 endings and 7 secret endings.

the cole route as 3 endings and 4 secret endings.

the josephine route has 11 endings and 5 secret endings.

the blackwall route has 10 endings and 3 secret endings.

the cassandra route has 9 endings and 6 secret endings.

the solas route has 10 endings and 3 secret endings.

the vivienne route has 3 endings and no secret endings.

i have tried to provide as much freedom as possible when it comes to pairings, but there are a few exceptions:

dorian and sera are still gay/lesbian and can only be romanced by characters of the same gender - so naturally they will have less endings as their options are restricted.

cole doesn't have a lot of romantic endings as there were only one or two characters i felt comfortable writing him with (so far only dorian has a cole romance ending, and cole has three secret romantic endings). this could change in the future but definitely not for characters such as varric and solas who cole shares a very parental relationship with., or for vivienne due to the power difference between them that would make me extremely uncomfortable to write.

vivienne also doesn't have a lot of romantic endings but that's more to do with the fact i struggle to write her in romantic scenes. again, this could change.

the rest are all free to romance whoever they want. cullen can romance a man (or two or three). cassandra can romance a woman (or two or three). basically there's no such thing as straight in this game. go nuts.

i will keep you all updated as i progress. the game will take a long while to create and i would appreciate any advice/help/suggestions etc to make it enjoyable for everyone. i would also appreciate the support from you guys as i dive into my first game making experience.

but just remember i am a single 20 year old girl who's doing this in her free time. i don't have a huge team behind me so the game is going to take a lot of time and effort to become something playable.

follow the tag ' #the dai kissing game ' if you want to keep updated on the game's progress.

thank you guys!!

[fleouriarts]

time for a jamie and co LORE POST!!!! here's them with their (immediate) families. all the actual lore and such below

JAMIE: only child with a single mom. since furries in this universe can only have kids within their taxonomic families, adoption is really common among smaller families like prionodontidae. however jamie's mom erica really wanted a bio kid, so she ended up marrying another linsang who she liked... well enough, but not that much. they get divorced when jamie's a little kid. she had jamie at an older age; by the time he's in college her markings have already started greying, which is why she looks a little dull next to him. nowadays she works as a teacher and she loves her son vewy much :3

SANTIAGO: santiago is the only one in the main cast with different species parents. cross-species kids are just the species of either parent with a 50/50 chance cus i don't feel like dealing with hybrids... HOWEVER sometimes genetic fuckshit happens. because of said genetic fuckshit, santiago grew to a cow size instead of a sheep size. i couldn't fit all the family relations shit on the actual image but emilio is santiago's OLDER brother (hes 25) but people always assume hes younger because santiago is a giant. magnolia and amapola are twins and both 8. mariana is either a teacher or a librarian (haven't figured it out yet) but she used to paint when she had more free time which is how santiago got interested in painting and eventually went into fine arts. jorge is a plumber and emilio is a graphic designer. santiago is the first in the family to leave their hometown (key west) for a degree (emilio went to a local college) and his mom + sisters were SOOOOOOOOOO SAD so he comes home to visit as often as he can. also since he is in family bovidae he has several cousins/aunts and uncles/etc that are different species. all i know for sure is that one of them lives near jamie and co's college and is some sort of antelope (leaning towards bongo bc i like them). also using this poast to announce that i changed santiagos outfit here is his new cute flowers and bees sweater look

JOHNNY: her family works on a chicken (and other assorted birds) farm, the chickens are for both eggs and meat while the other birds are just for eggs. this is actually a common set-up in the dorian furryverse, it's hard to farm livestock as a carnivore (because all the livestock are deathly afraid of you) so herbivores usually do the job even if they can't actually eat what they farm. johnny's parents are sorta "confused but got the spirit" about her being a butch lesbian. jimmy is an ass about it but he gets better. shoutout to this horse color calculator for helping me figure out which coat colors were plausible for them

NULL: null has an older brother and does not talk to their parents. sakichi is six years older than null and they were never very close; their parents treated sakichi as the "successful" child and null as the "problem" child. they're also quite conservative. null realized they were agender in high school but stayed closeted at home, they planned to come out to their parents immediately once they got to college and were able to support themselves. something happens that instead makes them come out a few days after their graduation and they get kicked out. null doesn't know where to go and ends up living at johnny's farm for the summer before college (sakichi lives far away doing some tech job and so can't take them in). the clantons are basically null's family at this point. once null legally changes their name they remove their last name entirely (it probably says X on their documents just cus there has to be SOMETHING there). sakichi and null see each other very occasionally, and sakichi still talks to their parents, but only when absolutely necessary. it's not malicious, he'd just feel too guilty cutting himself off from them completely

ARGYLE: argyle is an only child with well-off parents, his mom is a lawyer and his dad is a quirky ancient history professor. his parents are like EXTREMELY doting so they were secretly kinda glad that he came back home so they could see him more often. argyle was really scared that they would hate him for going into a less stable field, but his parents love him to death and are ready to support him in whatever. suzanne was probably a nightmare at pta meetings i'll be so real

[minty-mumbles]

Shifting Hues (Ch. 5: Pink Blush)

Summary: In all the eras of Hyrule's history Wild has travelled to with the heroes of courage, red is considered a feminine color.

Wild likes the color red. 

Or: A fic that follows Wild’s journey to discover themselves

A/N: Hi It's been over a year since I last updated this fic 😂 😭

(Read fic on AO3)

~~~

Wild is glad to be back in their own Hyrule. They had missed the wild and unexplored land. The other eras they’d visited were each beautiful in their own ways, but nothing would ever compare to Wild’s homeland. 

But most of all, they had missed the people from his era. Especially Riju and Zel. They miss their other friends too, but the easy acceptance they’d found in Riju and Zel was something that Wild longed for every day.

The heroes exit the latest portal near the end of the Lanayru Promenade, and it takes them less than an hour to reach Kakariko, passing by the great fairy fountain and the shrine that overlooks the village. Wild makes sure to keep a careful eye on Hyrule as they walk through the forest, making sure that the traveler doesn't stray from the path. Wild knows if Hyrule finds his way to the fairy fountain, there’s no way they would make it into town tonight.

They enter the village quietly without any ceremony. Wild can’t help the smile that creeps onto their face as they move further into town. This has always been one of their favorite places in Hyrule. Nothing could beat Hateno, which would always hold a special place in their heart, but Kakariko would always be a close second. It had been the first populated place Wild had stumbled across after they’d come back to life, and the people here had welcomed them with open arms.

By the time the group of heroes got to the village proper, the sun had already begun to set, bathing the whole town in a golden glow. The only person still lingering in the town square beside the guards is a single child sitting next to the communal bonfire that burned around the clock in the town square. Soft flute music drifts toward the group from the child’s direction.

The child’s playing is calming as it echoes around the quiet village. It isn't anything remarkable- only a simple melody- but the notes were clear and even. As the group moves closer, Wild realizes that it’s not just any child playing, but Koko, Dorian’s daughter.

Wild smiles at the sight of the young girl, noting that her playing had improved incredibly since the last time they’d heard her practice.

Wild’s had a soft spot for Koko ever since they’d helped her learn how to cook a few dishes when they’d first come to Kakariko. That had been back at the beginning of their journey when they’d still been relearning how to function. Both Wild and Koko had grown a lot since they’d met, and they’d both taught each other many things, even if Koko’s lessons tended to be less intentional, and more along the lines of social norms that Wild picked up by observing her.

Wild veers off the path they had been taking to Impa’s house, and the rest of the heroes followed him curiously. Koko doesn’t look up as they approach, focusing intently on her music. Wild stands next to her patiently, content to wait until she either stops playing, or recognizes them. 

They can tell the moment Koko realizes who’s approached her. Her music, previously calm and steady, squeaks horribly as her even breathing turns into a yelp of excitement. Wild’s ears instinctively pin back under the assault of the piercing noise.

“Link! You’re here! Zel said you might come but she didn’t know for sure.” Koko’s enthusiastic greeting is muffled as she jumps up and shoves her face into their stomach, hugging them tightly. Wild can feel a bright smile creep across their face as they hug her back. 

She quickly pulls away, completely ignoring the other heroes, who are now milling around behind Wild aimlessly as they wait for them to be done with their chat. She lets go of the hug, but keeps a tight grip on their hand. 

“Are you going to stay for a while? Cottla missed you! Koko missed you too. Koko wants you to teach her more recipes!” Wild smiles. Evidently, the girl hadn’t dropped her endearing habit of referring to herself in the third person yet. It wasn’t anything to be worried about. The Sheikah language didn’t have an “I” pronoun- everyone just referred to themselves by their name. It made sense that Koko, learning Hylian as her second language, would have trouble remembering that.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know how long I’m staying this time,” Koko pouts at that, but perks back up when Wild says, “But I’ll make sure to come visit you again before I leave if you’d like.” 

She bounces excitedly. “Yes, yes! And teach Koko recipes?”

“And teach you recipes,” Wild agrees. Koko beams impossibly wide at that, and Wild’s heart flutters with joy. They’ve always liked kids. Wild is too rambunctious and travels too often to consider having children of their own- and they’re too young for that anyway- but all the children they’ve met on their journey seemed to love them. It probably helps that Wild’s a little loose-handed when giving out honey candy behind their parents’ backs. 

“I don't want to interrupt your practice for too long, I just wanted to ask if Zel was here or not. But it sounds like she is?” They hadn't really expected that. From their conversations with Zel the last time they saw her, they’d half expected her to stay in Hateno until Wild was back from the adventure permanently.

Koko nods. “Yeah! She’s been here for a week. She tells great stories to Koko and Cottla when Daddy is working.” Wild has to suppress laughter at that. Zel had never been a particularly skilled storyteller. The “stories” that she was telling the children were likely simplified versions of popular novels Zel had read before the Calamity. But they weren’t going to ruin Koko’s fun by telling her that.

Instead, they ask, “Do you know where she is right now?”

Koko obliges, pointing up at Impa's house. “Probably up there. She’s been staying there.” Wild squeezes her shoulder in thanks and gently tugs their hand out of her iron grip.

“I need to go talk to her, but I’ll see you again before I leave if I can, alright?”

“Okay! Bye Link!” She chirps in farewell and settles back down where she had been sitting previously, picking her flute back up.

Wild smiles at her, and impulsively says, “My name is actually Wild now.”

“Oh, okay!” Koko nods enthusiastically, taking it in stride. “Bye, Wild!” 

Wild turns to finally walk to the big house, and they hear Koko’s playing pick back up. The sound brings a smile to their face.

Wind jogs to walk next to them as the group crosses the town center to the stairs up to Impa's house. “She was cute!” He enthused. “What’s her name?”

“Koko,” Wild replies. “I’m friends with her father.”

“That’s nice,” Legend inserts himself into the conversation from Wild’s other side, but it seems he has another topic in mind as he immediately asks, “Why did you tell her to call you Wild?” 

Shards of ice form in the pit of their stomach as dread starts to build inside Wild. Legend continues, apparently oblivious. Wild wonders if the veteran is actually oblivious, or if he can tell Wild is uncomfortable and just doesn’t care. “You don’t need everyone to call you Wild. Other people can still call you Link, you know. We only call each other nicknames because it’d be confusing otherwise.” 

Wild takes their time answering, taking a moment to gather their thoughts before they speak. Their name is something that they’ve spent a lot of time thinking about since their conversation with Zel.

It’s not that they hate the name Link. Wild told Zel they didn’t like it, which is partially true, but they really have nothing against the name itself. It’s just that Link is an undeniably masculine name, and Wild wishes they weren’t so undeniably masculine to others. When they introduce themselves as “Link” it feels like somehow they’re only confirming people’s first impressions of them.

But even when Wild puts aside the gendered association of the names, ‘Wild’ is still their favorite of the two. ‘Wild’ is a name given to them by people they know, care for, and love. The name carries more of their heart with it than ‘Link’ ever will. ‘Link’ will only ever be the name given to them by their parents. Their parents, who had likely never known that Wild wasn’t the man they thought they were.

The name “Link” carries too much heartache for Wild to bear.

All these thoughts flit through Wild’s mind in seconds. Wild doesn’t necessarily want to tell Legend all of that though, and they wouldn’t even know where to start if they did, so they eventually settle on telling a partial truth, trying to be nonchalant. 

“Well, I like the name Wild. It suits me a lot better than Link ever did, I think. I’ve decided to keep using it even after we part ways, so I might as well start telling people now.” 

Legend is stopped from any further questioning by the group’s arrival at the stairs up to Impa’s house. The two guards stationed there cross their spears, stopping them from climbing the steps. 

Normally, they would let Wild pass without question. Everyone knows who the hero is, after all, even if Wild didn’t know all the guards by name. But with such a large group trailing after them, Wild isn’t surprised they’re stopped for questioning. 

They’re also glad they’re stopped. The guards’ questioning gives Wild a reason to stop their conversation with Legend.

~~~

Their reconciliation with Zel is short and sweet. They can talk more later when they don’t have a whole group of people watching and they have some privacy. Impa, Paya, and the other heroes don’t need to see a long teary reunion. The group came here for a reason, and Wild won’t waste their meeting time with Impa by being distracted by Zel.

After they share a short embrace, Wild kneels on one of the floor pillows set in front of Impa’s seat. Zel takes another, kneeling next to them. They can hear the rest of the heroes follow suit, likely at a loss for what else to do. 

Wild winces internally, and silently apologizes to the other heroes for their knees. Wild and Zel had taken the only two available floor pillows, leaving the other heroes to kneel on the bare hardwood flooring for however long this meeting would take. Especially Time and Legend, the two members of the group that had the biggest issues with their joints. Wild would have to put the cookie recipe Malon had given them to good use as an apology. 

But respect must be shown to elders, regardless of any potential pain, so Wild does not stand again as they wait impatiently for Impa to address them, carefully restraining their fidgeting. 

Impa takes her sweet time getting a good long look at all of them. She eventually speaks, sounding exasperated. “And what have you done this time, hero?”

Wild sputters in protest as chuckles come from those sitting around them. “Me?! I didn’t do anything! It’s not my fault this time.” 

Impa hums dubiously, but there's a glimmer of amusement in her eyes that tells them she's only messing with them. “This situation is something that exceeds even my understanding. The goddess’ intentions can be difficult to comprehend, but I believe there must be a good reason for calling you all so far from home.” 

The implication that Impa knows who Wild’s companions are does not surprise them, even though they know Zel wouldn’t have told the elder anything without Wild’s permission. Impa always seemed to have knowledge that she shouldn’t. Either that or she was very good at pretending to understand what was going on when she didn't.

Impa lets silence fall over the room again. Wild is too respectful to break it, and the other heroes, thankfully, follow their lead. Wild would consider Impa their friend, but kneeling before her while in her house and seeking her council, they can’t help but fall back on politeness.

As Impa considers the group, Wild lets their eyes wander.

Paya is standing silently at her grandmother’s side, her eyes downturned modestly. Wild hadn’t gotten a chance to say hello to her yet, eager to talk to Impa first. They would have to catch up with her later. 

Paya gives no sign that she is confused by her grandmother’s words, simply standing quietly to the side. She looks unassuming, and if Wild didn’t know any better they might assume she was simply Impa’s handmaiden, but they do know better. Paya is Kakariko’s next chieftess and the Champion of their people. She may look timid, but Wild knows she’s anything but. They wonder what she thinks about this situation they’ve found themselves in. 

A glance to Wild’s side leaves them suppressing a smile. Zel is also staring at Paya, though not for the same reason Wild had been. Zel is too well-trained to let her expression so on her face but though her expression is stoic, there’s a light flush over her cheeks. Wild files that information away for later.

“Who else knows about this?” Impa eventually asks. Her expression and tone of voice still give no hint to how she feels about any of this. Impa is Wild’s friend but her scrutinizing stare makes even them feel uncomfortable. They can’t imagine how the others must be feeling.

“Riju knows,” Wild says. “We spoke to her briefly the last time we were in this era,“ That finally gets Zel to stop staring at Paya, and turn her head slightly to look at them. 

If she hadn’t been to visit the chieftess in a while, she probably wouldn't have known that Riju was aware of Wild’s situation at all. It wouldn’t be the kind of information Riju would have been willing to send to Zel in a letter. Though the mail routes had vastly improved since blood moons started growing increasingly rare, the risk of interception was still too high.

“And the rest of the Champions?“

Wild shakes their head. “Only Riju. We haven't had time to visit the others in person, and it’s not something urgent enough to go out of our way for. There’s nothing they can do to help us. I thought Zel could explain at the next council meeting.”

Zel interrupts. “The only reason I’m in Kakariko at all is to meet up with Paya so we can travel to Zora’s domain together for the next Council meeting. It’s only in a few days.” 

Wild can hear Warriors mutter behind them. “That’s good timing.”

Zel continues. “It’s a good thing you showed up when you did, Wild. The meeting wouldn’t be the same without you.” She sighed, a combination of exasperation and fondness. “As much as I love the rest of the Champions, the meetings can get a bit drab. If I must find a positive side to Hyrule being destroyed, it’s that I don’t have to sit through meetings like that all the time. There are only five council meetings a year, and they never last long.”

Wind interrupts. It earns a hissed reprimand from Warriors, which Wind ignores. “Why would Wild go to these council meetings?”

Zel’s lips twitch down, but she’s too well trained to let her emotions rule her face completely. “Why wouldn’t Wild attend? Wild is the Champion of Hylians. You know this, correct?” 

There’s a murmur of agreement from the heroes. The group even used ‘Champion’ as a nickname for Wild quite often. Wild only now realizes they had never really explained what that actually meant. If they had to guess, the rest of the heroes had assumed that the duties that came with that title were similar to how the position of champion had operated before the calamity- primarily as a liaison to the ruling Hylian monarchy. 

“Then why would he not be allowed into the Council of Champions?”

“I think we were all under the impression that the title of Champion was largely ceremonial.” Warriors offers.

“If you had asked me a hundred years ago I might have agreed with you…” Zel trails off regretfully before continuing. “I’m sure Wild and I can tell you more about his duties as Champion later. For now, we should see if your travel plans will even allow you to accompany us. If not, I will be able to take over your duties, Wild.” 

Zel continues to talk, but Wild quietly checks out of the conversation as their mind strays toward the preparations they would need to make before they leave town. They know Zel will cover for them in the conversation if any questions are directed toward them.

Zel had spoken so smoothly that Wild hadn’t even processed what was wrong with her words for a moment. They aren't a he. They aren’t a man. Zel knows that, so it hurts a little to hear her call them that. 

But then Wild remembers their audience. They aren’t alone here. Of course Zel would call them a he. They had asked her to keep quiet about what they had told her, so she would honor their wishes, and that includes using the wrong words to talk about them in front of other people. 

It still hurt for some reason. 

Wild twists their hands together in their lap. They usually habitually refrain from fidgeting like that. Even though they’d lost their memories of standing perfectly still in countless meetings when they had served as the princess’ bodyguard, some habits remained. But sometimes, like now, they just couldn’t be bothered.

When Wild zones back into the conversion, they hear Zel continue to talk. While they hadn’t been paying attention, the conversation had clearly moved on. 

“-When it’s the Domain’s turn to host the Council, they often throw a party to celebrate the continuing good relations between the peoples of Hyrule. I’m sure King Dorephan and Prince Sidon wouldn’t be opposed to a few extra Hylians tagging along, especially if he knows you are Wild’s companions. The two of them are rather good friends.” 

Wondering how they had even gotten on the topic of the celebrations Sidon liked to throw when the champions were all gathered in the Domain, Wild gently lays a hand on Zel’s shoulder to interrupt her. Sometimes she didn’t realize when she was taking over a conversation, and even after a hundred years and the system of government changing significantly, very few people were willing to interrupt the former princess of Hyrule when she spoke. 

Impa and Paya are at least used to it, and watch her with fondness in their eyes, but the rest of the Links look a little bit like they had been run over by a horse.

Zel meets their eyes and flushes when she sees the quiet amusement directed at her. “All that to say,” she says, addressing the rest of the heroes and waving her hands sheepishly. “I’m sure you will be welcome in the Domain. There is no need to worry about anything like that.” 

Oh, had that been a concern? Maybe they should have paid a little bit more attention to the conversation. 

That particular worry would be something to address at a later time, though.

Impa speaks for the first time in a while, apparently done with letting them talk. “Zel, my dear, why don’t you escort our guests to the inn? I’m sure they could use something to eat and a comfortable bed for the night, and not all of them are needed to explain the strange happenings of late. I will fill Wild in about the meeting while you do so. When you return, the two of you can tell me more about this situation that our dear Champion seems to have found himself in.”

Ah, right. They still haven’t plainly told Impa exactly what was going on. She clearly has an idea, but whether it was accurate was up for debate. 

Zel stands, and the other heroes follow her lead, clearly grateful to get off the wood floor. Wild remains seated. Zel nods down to them and rests her hand on their shoulder for a moment, giving it a squeeze. 

She spins around, ushering the rest of the heroes out of the house. Before they’re even out the door, Zel is already chattering away excitedly with Sky, no doubt interrogating him about the founding of Hyrule and what his Zelda was like.

The other heroes look a little steamrolled as they file out, but Wild’s come to find that’s a typical reaction to meeting Zel for the first time. She was a rather intense person and could be frazzling to be around with how enthusiastic she is about almost everything.

Gods, Wild loves her.  

Impa sighs, but it sounds happy, not like the stressed sighs they’re accustomed to hearing from her. Wild tilts their head. Impa notices their questioning look and says, “She’s certainly relaxed since she first came to stay here after the Calamity was defeated. I barely recognize her as the quiet and reserved princess I knew a hundred years ago. It’s truly been a pleasure to see her so carefree.”

Wild doesn’t respond, only contemplating that for a while in silence. They suppose it’s true. Zel has changed a lot, and mostly for the better. Many people they knew from before the calamity had, including themselves. 

“You’re a lot like that too,” Impa continues after a few moments of silence. “You’re not as chatty as she’s become, certainly. It’s not in your nature. But you're much happier now than I ever thought you could be. I’m… grateful to have lived to see it.” 

There’s a look in the elder’s eye that says that she has much more to say, but instead she sits up straighter, shaking her head. “Ah, you don’t want to listen to the rambles of an old woman. Now tell me, young hero, about this new quest you’ve been sent on by the goddess.”

~~~

The talk with Impa and Paya takes a long time. Zel finishes settling the other heroes into the inn, and returns shortly. Impa and Paya grill the two of them for details about the black-blooded monsters, the portal, and the shadow for nearly an hour. By the time the two of them had finished asking questions, it was dark out.

Impa offers to ask Dorian to host Wild for the night, but they insist that isn’t necessary. They don’t say that they would be sharing the guest room Zel had been using, but they’re pretty sure Impa got the message.

Impa and Paya bid them both a good night, then disappear to speak to the other elders of the village about the news Wild had brought. Wild trusts them to be discreet about it. The general population finding out about the shadow would only lead to widespread panic.

Wild and Zel don’t head to bed up to their room immediately, instead leaving to sit by the fire outside. It’s a nice place to spend some time relaxing before heading to bed, with the smoke keeping any bugs away. 

Koko has long since abandoned her previous position, no doubt being called inside by her father. In fact, aside from the singular guard at the entrance to the Impa’s house, the two of them are alone. Everyone has gone inside to get ready for the night. It leaves the pair to enjoy in blissful silence alone.

Zel takes a seat on one of the simple wooden benches arranged around the fire. WIld heads over to the small pile of firewood stacked nearby and grabs a few logs. They toss another log of the fire, flames licking eagerly at the new offering, then head back to sit next to Zel. They forgo the benches and sit directly on the ground in front of her, leaning back against her legs.

They sigh, forcing any lingering tension from the day to leave their body. Zel’s hand soon finds its way into their hair, as they knew it would. Zel loved playing with their long hair, and would get her hands on it given half a chance.

It takes nearly half an hour of silence and descending darkness before someone breaks the peace.

It’s Zel, and she says, “I’m not a woman right now.” 

Wild sits up a little straighter. This would be a conversation that required a little more focus than the doze they’d been in for a while. They’d half been expecting this after the conversation they’d had the last time they’d seen each other. Wild shrugs. “Are you a man, then?”

“No, I’m not a woman or a man. I’m not either.”

Wild nods thoughtfully. Zel tugs on their hair lightly in admonishment, seemingly having moved on to actually braiding their hair and not wanting Wild to mess it up. Wild huffs in indignation at the pull, but Zel hadn’t pulled hard enough to hurt so they didn't say anything. 

“So what should I call you?”

Zel is quick to answer. “Call me they, like I call you.” 

“And your name?”

Wild can feel them shrug. “Zel is fine. It’s not very feminine. Not like Zelda is. It’s why I decided to go by it in the first place. It still suits me, even when I feel like this.”

Wild agrees, verbally this time, so as not to incur Zel’s hair-tugging wrath. “Got it.”

When Zel finishes with his braid, she snaps a band around the end of it, ensuring it would stay neatly pulled back, at least for a while. She pats their shoulder, letting them know she’s done and they can get up now, but they don’t. 

Instead, Wild tilts their head back until their head rests in Zel’s lap, peering up at them. Zel looks back at them, happiness and relief dancing in their eyes. Their posture is lighter, less burdened than it had been before Wild had gone on this latest quest.

They’d missed Zel, but maybe having some time away from each other to figure themselves out had been good for both of them. 

~~~

Early morning sun shines through the large open windows of Kakariko’s training hall, built in to allow fresh air in so the building wouldn’t become stifling from dust and the fighters’ body heat. The sunlight illuminates the dust that had been thrown up in the air by their fight.

The two of them are the only ones in the hall right now, so it’s almost peaceful. Usually, it rings with the sound of clashing blades and thwacks of bo staffs hitting each other.

Paya smiles at Wild and congratulates them on a good fight as she leads the way off of the sandy-floored sparring ring. 

Her smile doesn’t shake anymore when she looks at them, not like it had back when Wild had first met her. Back then, she had jumped at every little movement they made, and could barely talk to them. Someone had once told Wild that she had a crush on them, but personally, Wild couldn't see it. She had acted more scared of them than anything else. Thankfully, she seems mostly over it- whatever it was- by now. 

She still stuttered, but Wild had come to learn that that wasn’t because of them, but that she naturally stuttered when she spoke. It had lessened quite a bit, but never gone away completely. 

Absolutely demolishing the famed hero in the sparring ring would make anyone less scared of them, Wild thinks, and Paya’s beaten them more than enough for that.

The last spar with Paya had gone well. Wild’s sweaty and covered in sand, and they're pretty sure they're going to be sore tomorrow, but they're satisfied. They hadn’t won, but they’d lasted a significant time longer than they usually did. Paya stops before they reach the training mats that cover the floor in the front part of the hall. She takes a seat on one of the benches separating the sparring ring and practice mats. Wild sits next to her, gratefully taking the water skin she hands them. 

Wild takes a breath, letting the adrenaline drain out of their body as they calm down, letting their muscles relax. They see Paya doing the same, and take the moment to examine her.

Paya doesn’t carry the same worry and tension in her as she used to before Wild helped Zel defeat the Calamity. It’s a trend Wild’s noticed across all of Hyrule. Everyone is more relaxed now, as if their biggest worry has been solved. Wild supposes it has been, with the defeat of the Calamity. 

The change is even more pronounced in the Champions and rulers of the different tribes of Hyrule. Some of them have more personal reasons for the change, like Wild and Zel, but for most it’s simply the burden of constant anxiety being lifted. Some of them had never known a world without the Calamity.

Paya was coming close to taking up her Grandmother’s spot as leader of the Sheikah. She had been slowly taking on more and more of Impa’s duties lately, including the title of Champion of the Shiekah people.

The Sheikah being excluded from having a Champion to represent them in the first place had been a mistake neither Zel nor Wild had let stand when the Council of Champions was being formed. There might not be a Divine Beast for the Sheikah Champion to pilot, but their tribe had been the ones to build the machines in the first place. And anyway, they weren’t going to let who got a spot on the council to be determined by what a ten thousand year old civilization thought.

There’s no way they could exclude an entire tribe of people from the council. The Council met several times a year to discuss issues, broker trade deals, and secure alliances. Leaving the Sheikah out of that would be idiotic.

Becoming the Sheikah Champion isn’t the only duty Paya was starting to take on. More and more everyday duties around the village fell onto her shoulders. Impa still served as one of the Village's elders, but Wild wouldn’t be surprised if she named Paya the Sheikah’s leader soon. The twenty-one year-old is more than ready for it, in Wild’s opinion. She would make an excellent leader.

She’s proven herself in battle as well, if the battle scars littering her body indicate anything. Paya currently only wore pants, sturdy shoes, and a tight sarashi for modesty- typical training clothes. Her clothing leaves plenty of her skin exposed, and shows off the numerous scars scattered across her body.

Not all of them are large- some are simple nicks that came with living a working life. But some are more jarring, and tug on Wild’s heartstrings. They hate to think of the pain that must have come with gaining the larger scars. 

Wild wears the same clothes. Men usually wear the sarashi around their waist, or go completely shirtless, but Wild is pointedly wearing it around their chest as women do. Technically, they don’t need to wear the sarashi. They didn't have anything that needed to be covered for modesty, after all. But they liked wearing it anyway. 

Paya finishes with her water, and meets Wild’s gaze. Wild’s ears perk up. The cool-down period has finished, and now comes the instruction. Paya dives straight in. 

“You’re light on your feet, Wild, which can b-be an advantage in s-some fights. But I think you sacrifice your s-stability for speed. It m-makes you a formidable opponent, but one- one who’s easy to get off balance.” 

Wild nods, and Paya continues. “When I wen- went for that low swing, I was able to m-make you stumble. I could have taken you to the ground then, but I didn’t want the fight to en- the fight to end so quickly.”

Wild acknowledges her advice, the slightest bit sheepishly. “A lot of people say I’m too flighty for my own good.”

Paya smiles and continues. ”Then you know it’s something you n-need to work on. You n-need to- need to learn when to focus on s-s-speed and when to be more grounded.” She looks at them with a challenge in her eyes, and Wild knows that she’s about to invite him to spar again.

“Zel said I might find you here.” 

Warriors’ voice startles Wild, who had been solely focused on the Sheikah in front of them. Paya- who had been facing the opposite direction with a clear view of the open door- doesn’t flinch, so Wild knows she had seen the other hero enter the hall. 

After their heart stops pounding from the combination of their leftover adrenaline from the spar and Warriors’ unintentional jumpscare, Wild internally glows with joy at Warriors using Zel instead of Zelda to refer to their friend. Of course, they hadn’t expected anything else from him. Warriors was observant, and would have picked up on everyone calling them Zel, and he would understand better than most the importance and meaning of a name.

When Wild turns to look at him, they see Warriors standing behind them, dressed in only his tunic and pants. He’s missing his iconic scarf, along with his chainmail and armor. He’s holding one of the Bo staff that hung on the racks scattered through the hall. “Are you still up for another round?” He gestures with the staff over toward the center of the fighting ring. 

“Which one of us are you talking to?” Wild asks, despite knowing full well that Warriors had been talking to them and not Paya. They smirk internally. It would do Warriors some good to fight an opponent who’s an expert with a weapon that Warriors isn’t as proficient at. 

Or at least, Wild’s pretty sure Warriors isn’t very familiar with the Bo staff. They'd never seen him use one before, at any rate. Warriors, along with the other heroes, mostly stuck to swords. 

Sure, Sky was extremely efficient with his whip, Hyrule used his magic on the battlefield to great effect, and Legend was surprisingly deadly with his hookshot, but for the most part, the other heroes only use their swords. 

Wild likes to get more creative. They have to be more creative. With how easily they tended to break their weapons, it would be foolish of them to rely on only one method of defense. They couldn’t tell you how often they’d found themselves with nothing to defend themself with but a branch, or a farmer’s hoe, or- on one particularly memorable occasion- a cooking ladle. 

When Wild had woken from the shrine, they’d discovered they had a passing knowledge of how to use swords, shields, spears, bows, and even boomerangs. The shrine may have stolen their memories, but Wild still had the muscle memories from their time as a knight to guide them as they got used to wielding those weapons again. 

However, those weapons are about as far as their ingrained skill has gone. Apparently, the military hadn’t valued other types of weapons enough to train with them. Or at the very least, not often enough to leave Wild with any instincts on how to use them. 

Since they first stumbled out of the shrine, Wild has learned how to use tree branches, axes, clubs, sickles, farming tools, and yes, even cooking equipment, as weapons.

Wild has gotten lessons from the Champions on how to use more regional weapons too. They’d learned how to excel with tridents from Sidon, and been taught how to use stone smashers by Yunobo. (Or at least as well as they could, as a Hylian. Hylians typically had a bit of trouble wielding the heavy weapons, and Wild was no exception. They’d given it their best shot, though.) They’d joined Riju’s lessons on the art of sword dancing, and Teba had even shown Wild some Rito techniques with the bow Wild hadn’t known. 

Wild wouldn’t claim to be an expert with any of these weapons, except the bow and the sword, but they were at least proficient with them.

Although Wild’s one of the best fights in their era, most of the other heroes could easily beat them easily in a sword fight. Being the best among normal citizens doesn’t make you the best among Hylia’s chosen heroes. The nine of them were on a completely different level of expertise than most Hylians. It’s a perk that came with having the Hero’s Spirit. 

When compared with many of the other heroes, Wild’s strength in battle lay in keeping their distance and being creative. ‘Jack of all trades, master of none,’ or so the saying went.

But that’s why they were trying to gain mastery of more kinds of weapons, which included the Bo staff. Paya had been their teacher this morning, but at this point Wild had spared with everyone in Kakariko Village who knew how to use the staff. They’re getting better, but they still lost to Paya more often than not. Wild suspects the only reason they were learning fast enough to win against Paya at all was the Hero’s Spirit they carried. It made it easy to learn new skills related to fighting. 

At any rate, Wild was getting better, but they aren’t an expert with the staff. Of the three people in the training hall, that title went to Paya.

Warriors blinks at Wild in confusion, before turning his gaze toward Paya. He smiles at her, and although he does let his gaze rake up and down her form, he keeps any comments about her state of undress to himself. Wild’s glad for that. The Sheikah are a lot more casual about showing skin around the opposite gender than Hylains were, at least in certain contexts, like bathing, fighting, and sparring. Wild doesn’t want this to get awkward, and Warriors had a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth.

“Well, ladies first, of course.” Warriors winks at Paya, gesturing for her to step into the sparring area with him.

For once, Wild doesn’t feel any irritation at being so clearly categorized as a man. Even if Warriors thought Wild was a woman, they aren’t sure he’d call Wild a lady. They think that they’re a bit too feral for that particular title. Paya was much better suited to being called a lady. She was much more refined than Wild ever would be, woman or not.

[cringefaecompilation]

One of the things I don’t see getting brought up enough is that, yes, you have some members of Bell’s Hells, like Ashton and Dorian who are “Team Chase Off the Gods” and besides the fact that the Archheart cannot offer them a guarantee that the gods will actually run… and less of a guarantee that Predathos will not destroy mortal life in its wake… the fact of it all is the only person we know for a fact that even can be a vessel for Predathos that isn’t on Ludinus’s side is Imogen. Fearne isn’t exalted… and while she’s been brought up as maybe being able to team up with Imogen… that’s directly opposing what Zathuda and Ludinus implied with Fearne… that she’s “useless” to them because she isn’t exalted. So realistically the only person who will actively make the choice to run the gods off… is Imogen Temult. Or Lilliana, if Imogen can sway her in the moment.

So Ashton and Dorian.. have an opinion. Like everyone else on Exandria. So I don’t get the assertion that either one of them are “evil” for it. They can’t chase off the gods. Or kill the gods. They’re just in closer proximity than most to the one who can.

And Imogen… doesn’t want to lose herself. That’s been her whole goal this entire campaign. She wanted to figure out her powers and her dreams. She’s far more likely to launch negotiations with the gods than to willingly run them off.. especially since we don’t know if the body Predathos passes through… becomes Predathos or is just a conduit or if it destroys the vessel after it passes through the cage.

So many possibilities man! Cannot wait to see what they do.

and besides all that, you wanna know the number one craziest thing about us heading up to ruidus to use it? nobody fucking knows what predathos is. nobody's seen it.

all the gods saw was a red light and two of their friends vanishing. ludinus doesn't know what it is; that wizard's a fucking poser and he got embarrassed for it. imogen and liliana don't know what it is; they're operating on vibes alone. the same can be said for the rest of bh who are either guessing or hoping they're right. even the reilora have no clue what it is!

what is predathos? why is predathos? and how will the discovery of this creature or entity or even person help them go forward with the choice they're gonna make?