#it's gonna become so fun once i write down all the lore

[chemdisaster]

scar and badtimes in your hotguy mindfuckery au remind me so much of the Stanley and Stanford Pines and I love it so much

HI SOULMATE

yeah, now that you mention it, they totally are like stan and ford. scar as the one who was more loved and badtimes as the disappointment of the family. also scar moving on and making a life for himself, while badtimes stays miserable and resentful.

the only difference is that unlike ford, scar was loved only because he pretended to be something he wasn't. also badtimes' feelings towards scar are way more fucked up than stan's feelings towards ford. but then, the whole au is fucked up lmao

[dumbistsmartass]

saying something about every hatchetfield production

spoilers, some nonsense, zero consistency with what I talk about, hurriedly written text, and back Cinderella’s Castle, QUICKLY, the kickstarter ends on May 4th. Also I mostly won’t be talking about the message to take away from all of them because I plan to make that another post.

TGWDLM: the catalyst of it all, it set up many fan favorite characters. Also my personal interpretation is that the musical we watch is actually happening in canon and is being put on by Pokky/Paul. Also how much of someone’s personality remain after infection?

Black Friday: it does pretty good as our first (true) intro to the LiBs it works very well. We get more General Macnmara who quickly becomes one of my favs. It also adds a lot of my other favs to the Hatchetverse, Hanna, Lex, Ethan, and Tom

NPMD: probably my favorite of the mainline musicals. I really hate Dirty Girl tho. The musical version of Hatchet Town is better than the OST version. The characters all have really good chemistry. I love Grace as a warning about the consequences of using religion as a fear tactic, when she sinned and wasn’t instantly punished for it she decided to take matters into her own hands and became a bloodthirsty maniac. The fact we got so close to a good ending if Max hadn’t fallen is darkly funny.

Hatchetfield Apeman: I don’t know how to feel about this one, it’s an interesting story but I think shouldn’t have been the first nightmare time story as it set a bad precedent for a lot of people.

Watcher World: I FUCKING LOVE WATCHER WORLD. The horror buildup of “what the fuck is happening here?” was genuinely amazing. The idea of a paranormal amusement part made for the amusement of an elder god id so cool. I feel uncomfortable saying the work “Sniglet”

Forever and always: one of my favs, the mystery of the two Emma’s is amazing, and the twist of which Emma Paul chose is amazing. It does make me wonder tho, is Emma a robot in every timeline? Also im just gonna assume that Tinky is connected to this one.

Time Bastered: another of my favs, the way it connects with FaA and the very clever time travel writing were highlights. The Ted is The Homeless Guy twist is really clever, and the ending is tragic

Jane’s a Car: holy shit my opinions on this one is so mixed. I love the bonding of Becky, Tom, and Tim is so wholesome. I REALLY hate that scene. Also is Jane turned into a car in every universe?

The Witch in the Web: our true into too Webby. Massive lore dumbs sort of weighted it down for me but it was still good.

Honey Queen: god I love this one. The fact that the LiBs aren’t mentioned until the very end was a really good choice. Both Zoey and Linda going to any length to win was some great tension.

Perky’s Buds: I went into this one expecting it to be kinda mid, and I was right but it was on the high end of mid. Ziggy being NB and played by a real NB actor is great! The bird hive mind is genuinely kinda unnerving despite how cute they are. I personally think they should have died, then content on the rooftop with the fire would have been such a good ending, but the police showing up to arrest them packs less of a punch.

Abstinence Camp: again, one of my favs, I fucking love this one and it also has the best Nightmare Timr song. It’s a fun way of exploring the “if you have sex in a horror movie you die” trope. Grace once again gets some sort of power and abuses it.

Daddy: I have mixed feelings, it’s a genuinely interesting plot but it get pretty uncomfortable. The song at the start made me think it would be a more empathetic take on Sherman Young but it definitely fucking wasn’t.

Killer Track: what is there to say? Killer track is actually so fucking amazing, if you will watch anything from this list watch this. I’m saying nothing else

Yellow Jacket: not at all what I was expecting, but it was great! From what I heard I was sort of expecting a high school drama with Pokky doing his bullshit in the background, but I loved this too. Also the ending hurt me.

Workin’ Boys: Pokky strikes again, but I’m not sure why TBH. Motherfucker just decided to fuck with his one most loyal subject and for what?

[concealeddarkness13]

All's Fair Revamped Powerpoint!

Content warning for mentions of death and abuse. Yes, I have made a Powerpoint for this now-monstrosity of a story. Please see this post and this post for more info. This is gonna be long. Tagging: @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, @drabbleitout, and @grailfish, also @mr-orion!

[Image Description: A page titled: All's Fair in Love and War (Especially When It's Both)

AKA: I'm revamping All's Fair and merging some of my stories because it's fun. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Overview

So, this has changed a lot

It’s now a cyberpunk story!

Lots of lore

Unsure where to start, lol

This world was dying in the past, and the Celestials had gone to save humans from another world that was dying

The original humans of this world took matters into their own hands, and even though they did not have a seed of Primary like other worlds, they took their source of life and somehow brought a chunk of land up into space, making an artificial moon

This becomes the world of Bring Me That Horizon

The Celestials come back to a dead world, but they brought humans and their seed of Primary with them, so they settled on the planet

The seed of Primary is not able to fully revive this world, and the humans are using the seed as an energy source as well, so there’s just a little pocket of an empire that controls all the resources while the rest of the world is basically dead

The other species are pissed at the Celestials and the original humans for abandoning them, and they had to change into parasites to even find anything to feed on

Both the other species and humans are rich and control what goes on in the empire; the humans have their religion that worships the Celestials though, and the species want to fight the Celestials

Everyone also keeps talking about the “paradise” of the artificial moon, and the emperor has figured out how to bring it back down to the main planet. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: The Species

A little bit different from the original

The original humans: being up on the artificial moon with none of the other species for a long ass time, emphasized their predator-like qualities; they have slit pupils and more carnivorous teeth, and their diets are a lot more carnivorous too; they can eat plants, but they don’t do much for them

The new humans: have more prey-like qualities; they tend to stay in groups and don’t like to be alone, they have pointed ears that help them hear better, and they have an easier time telling when the other species are pretending to be human

The Shades: we’ve done this song and dance so often, everyone knows what the Shades are, lol; parasitic shapeshifters that feed off of human emotions and can control one person if they can see them

The Faeries: a combination of the Snakes and the shadow species I had made; they feed on human blood, and they have snake scales over their skin, fangs, slit pupils, and tails; if their prey is within a certain distance of them, they can give the prey an order, and they have to follow it

The Venus Girdles (temporary name): they are mostly the same, feeding off of human souls with hair that looks like Venus Girdle jellyfish; they tend to keep to themselves outside the empire, stealing humans to feed on. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: The Empire

Formed up once the humans came with a new energy source

The wealthy and influential of the species and humans joined together and made the empire to hoard resources and make people dependent on them; they also include companies that make prosthetics and androids

The rich humans all worship the Celestials

Most of the rich of the other species hate the Celestials

There’s a poor area where most of the citizens live and are demonized, and I’m calling it the undercity right now, but the name most likely will change, lol

They have cops and controlled soldiers through chips in their brains (victims of the prosthetics experiments) to “keep the peace”, which means that they terrorize the undercity, and everyone thinks that anyone who has the prosthetics from the experiments is a soldier, and they see the victims as less than human and monsters. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: The magic

We still have the prosthetics experiments, but in a different context!

The elemental magic works basically the same as before, with both pros and cons, at least to begin with

There’s also the crystal magic from Bring Me That Horizon, where the person who has this magic glows and can turn liquids into crystals that are stronger than diamonds, and that they can control; the Shades on the artificial moon have control of it at the moment

There’s also the Celestial magic a person can get if they are the child of a Celestial, where they can turn into a dragon, anticipate what their opponent will do, and have light and lightning magic

There’s also this opposite magic that comes from a spoiler, where a person can turn into a phoenix, anticipate what their opponent will do, and have darkness and black fire magic

Guess who has those first three? End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: The Rebellion

Instead of the peaceful vs. violence movement, we have the rebellion

The religion preaches absolute peace, even ignoring and not helping the victims of violent crimes

The rebellion wants to fight against the empire and also has a distrust of the religion

The prosthetics experiments do come from this now, but there’s someone who’s using it for other plans

Thorne, Jude, and Irina are part of the rebellion at the start of the story

The rebellion is desperately looking for a symbol of the rebellion, and who better but a “reformed soldier”? End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Characters

Holy shit, there will be a lot

I have merged four stories because I want to suffer

But I love them all, and I do have a plan to at least start this story with all of the POV characters being at the same party, so they’re at least linked, lol

I will first talk about the four POV characters. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Chess

The woman, the myth, the legend

She is my blorbo that I will never shut up about

I have given her all of the trauma

So, her real name is Ezra, and she was actually from the artificial moon and put through the Shades’ training (torture) to receive the crystal magic

So, her parents are actually alive for once!!!

But then Churi, the lead Shade, knew that Aeflin was looking for a weapon, and he thought Chess would be perfect for that, so he sent her there

There will be more about the prosthetics experiments in Naivi and Aeflin’s entries, but long story short, Chess got the Celestial magic and her fire magic, and she was sent to fight and kill some people, and she got epilepsy, and her chip broke, and she lost her memory

Then Ashont was horrible to her for a while, longer than in her original backstory

And now, she’s on the streets, getting abused by so many people, and just trying to survive

She has an awesome style, especially wearing a muzzle and a badass coat

Her hair is still super long and curly, but she has shaved the right side of her head

Still super traumatized about sex and trusting people and having any kind of happiness whatsoever

A black cat she named Mush does follow her around, and they have become very close

She is super overpowered, even if she doesn’t know it at the beginning of the story, but she deserves it

Sassy and flirty and loves stealing, she also has super low self esteem and thinks she probably is a monster.

“Baby don’t forget my name when the morning breaks us. Baby please don’t look away when the morning breaks us.” Bittersweet by Ellie Goulding

“Oh darling get me drunk and make me feel.” I Want to Live by Borislav Slavov

“I’ve been digging up every constellation, travelling galaxies without a station, faithful to my made up mission. I never felt like enough.” One by Kerli. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Vesper

She is part of the Celestial religion and does try to convince people to be peaceful

She advocates for ignoring the victims of violent crimes because the religion believes only when humans are fully peaceful will the Celestials come back to live with and rule over the humans

She is also the religion’s liaison with the other species, and she especially works with Maisa

He is an asshole, but she endures him because she thinks it is vital for her to do whatever to keep good relations with the other species

She is very smart book-wise, but doesn’t really have street smarts

She’s totally autistic

She will learn to grow and challenge her beliefs throughout the story

I love her

Because Chess’s parents are alive, her parents have been killed (joking, there’s a narrative reason for them being dead in this one). End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Irina

Hers is the most personal story with the least amount of worldwide calamity potential

Basically, she’s the daughter of the CEOs of an android company, and she has always thought of androids as people, so she’s been kind to them

Her parents hate that

She finally ran away from them five years ago, with her dog, Briar

But Briar got sick, and in desperation, Irina paid for her memories to be transferred into an android version of her dog, so she has android Briar now

But the company she got Briar from is her parents’ company, and even though she fully paid for Briar, after two years, the company is trying to take Briar back

They send an android named Vortex to take Briar back, but Vortex decides to find some loopholes to stop himself from actually taking Briar

Her parents are gonna get pissed about that too

When she ran away, Irina met Thorne and Jude and became part of the demon trio

They are all three hellions, and I love it

She is a little concerned with the leadership of the rebellion, having seen Aeflin there, and she knows Aeflin is a well-known scientist who’s working with leaders in the empire

I can assure you that Irina and Briar are gonna make it and have a happy ending. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Eclipse

Yes, the Celestial Story is the one that I haven’t talked about merging with All’s Fair yet

Surprise!

Eclipse is from the artificial moon, and their parents were killed, and they were captured by the emperor

They don’t know they have a Celestial parent and have Celestial powers

They’re proper but internally sassy, lol

I love them

A lot of their beginning story will stay the same; the party that everyone will be at in the beginning of the story will be a celebration of capturing Eclipse and bringing the paradise back down so “everyone” can use its resources

They want to kill the emperor and empress

The emperor wants them for their magic, and he also wants to learn more about the secret as to how they remained a paradise, but Eclipse is not even sure. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Creed

Half Shade, half human

Genderfluid, enjoying he/him, they/them, and she/her pronouns at different times (I’ll just use they/them for this slide, to not be overly confusing)

They were picked up off the streets of the undercity and adopted by a rich couple as part of a program that was out to “prove” that anyone can make it in the empire

They have been an overall nuisance ever since

They meet Chess at the party and go make out with her and have sex with her, and they cause a scandal

Which also turns the eyes of the rebellion on Chess to use her as the new face of the rebellion even though that’s the last thing she wants

As an apology, they decide to stick with Chess and help her out

Don’t know much about them for this version of the story yet, but they’re fun. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Thorne

One of the demon trio

He is a little asshole with Jude, with Irina being slightly more diplomatic but still an asshole

He despises the empire and the Celestials

His parents were the controlled soldiers, and they were hurt and thrown into the undercity for having him

There, they were abused and died, and Thorne blames the empire and the religion for it, since he knows the other people in the undercity are just trying to survive too

He likes waxing poetic at times

He’s more outwardly serious than Jude and Irina, but he likes getting into shenanigans with them

His assignment with Jude at the beginning of the story is to capture Vesper

He still captures her with Jude by dancing with her until she’s exhausted. End Description]

[Image description: A page titled: Jude

Also a little shit

He came from a wealthy family, but when he met Thorne when he tried to steal from Jude’s family, Jude decided to become friends and help Thorne, eventually culminating with running away from his parents and joining the rebellion with Thorne

He is super flashy in both his looks and his speech

He loves making jokes about every situation. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Vortex

My boy, he must be protected

He first started out as a pleasure android, but when he killed his owner after being abused, he ran to the undercity and almost got hurt, but Chess saved him

He now follows Chess around like a puppy when he can

It takes a lot for him to get a crush on anyone, but he totally will at least fall in love with Irina and Chess in this story

He’s extremely serious and insists that he isn’t a person

He also named himself Vortex because it sounded cool

Once he is sent to bring Briar back, he checks to see if Irina had been abusing Briar, and when he realizes that she hasn’t and actually loves Briar very much, he finds loopholes so he doesn’t actually take Briar back

He still has to pursue Irina though, but she knows that, he makes it clear to her that he has to

Which is how he falls in love with Irina, by being there for her and helping her keep Briar away from the company and her parents

They will go through some shit, but it’ll be interesting, and Vortex might just finally acknowledge that he’s a person at some point. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Ashira

She prefers to go by Ash

She’s a Faerie and the emperor’s daughter

Eclipse is forced to marry her, and they both want to use the other, and they both think it’ll be a loveless marriage

Lol, JK

They fall in love, especially after Ash tells Eclipse that she wants to kill her parents too

She has been abused by her parents and led to believe that the only way she’ll get anything from anyone is to manipulate them

She is very cynical about the world, but her relationship with Eclipse will help her heal

She’s manipulative and a jerk, and I love her. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Nesri

She’s from the artificial moon, and she received the crystal magic from the Shades around the same time as Chess

So, she knew Chess as Ezra and they were best friends

Unfortunately, Chess doesn’t remember Nesri anymore

When the artificial moon is brought back to the planet, the pirate crew she’s part of will totally be fighting the empire

She escaped from the Shades and joined the pirates and has never looked back

Her new pirate family is helping her heal from the trauma

She adores fighting, and will do anything for her captain Triel, especially. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Triel

The other woman, the myth, the legend, lol

She always must be seen with her wide brimmed hat and long ass coat

I love her so much

Chaotic chaotic

She is a super competent captain who is always two steps ahead of everyone else

And she absolutely knows about Chess from Nesri and wants to help her

She sees the artificial moon being brought to the planet as a perfect opportunity to do so

She will destroy you with her words first and then send Nesri to destroy you physically

Always smirking. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Shine

They are deaf and the best engineer

Holy fuck, I just realized that Shine and Naivi can actually meet, hell yeah

They’re the engineer of Triel’s crew, and they are the best

Super sassy, they love to insult people in sign language

The whole crew knows their sign language, so they mostly communicate in sign for Shine

Oh shit, I just realized that I really will need five POVs (with Nesri) because this storyline will be super important too, damn

Back on track: they have a small dragon named Mina, who responds to sign language

They don’t let anyone else in the engineering room, and they have an iconic sign to keep people out, especially Nesri, lol. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Naivi

Yeehaw, the enemies to lovers is still strong!

But different!

So! Naivi is half Venus Girdle half human, and she escaped from their city where they treat humans like pets

It was all really bad

But she gets to the empire, and she’s demonized by everyone, she learns to hide her non-human features, and she learns to hate the religion even more

She hates the Celestials and thinks that they are horrible gods and should be killed for how they let this world get so bad, that if they’re killed, humans will stop waiting for them to come

She devises the prosthetics experiments to make an army to fight the empire and the Celestials

One problem: Aeflin takes interest and “helps” her

Which means Aeflin takes away the victims and sends them off to be controlled soldiers which will be doing the exact opposite of what Naivi wants

She realizes this and makes a secret army without Aeflin knowing

Except, JK! She does, and she sends her own weapon, Chess, to devastate Naivi’s army (this is where Chess loses her memory and gets her epilepsy)

Chess does destroy Naivi’s army, but that just makes Naivi want to use her instead as a one-person army

Not sure how, but Naivi doesn’t know where Chess went, so she’s searching for her, and it’s when the rebellion decides to use her as their face of the rebellion, that Naivi finds where Chess is again

Which means she can totally start manipulating Chess into fighting the Celestials first and then the empire

This will turn into enemies to lovers, but there will be some fun stuff first of course

Naivi is honestly so obsessed with her own idea of justice that she’ll hurt any and everyone to get what she wants

At least until it’s the person that she has a crush on who almost dies, then she starts rethinking everything, yeesh. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Aeflin

The epitome of being a mad scientist trope

She’s a Shade who really just wants to be evil for the science reasons

Wants a weapon who will kill a Celestial so she can dissect said Celestial

She actually doesn’t care about any of the politics of the other antagonists, she just wants to do science, is that so wrong?

She’s tortured and killed and ruined so many people for science

All with a smile and a bubbly personality

I love to hate her. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Maisa

The asshole Shade who wants to be evil for politics reasons

He despises the Celestials and wants to kill all of them

For different, but actually similar reasons, than Naivi

He’s also super horny, in an asshole way

Has tormented Vesper all for his game

He sees humans as pawns in the Celestial’s game, and thinks that he’s equal to the Celestials (just realizing this), so he sees humans as pawns for himself too

Lots of fun. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Ashont

Ass-ont, am I right?

He’s the only straight character in this whole story, lol

And he’s awful about it

He’s the first person Chess meets after losing her memory, and it’s not a coincidence

He abuses her and calls her a monster and tries to hold onto her, but she finally gets to escape

She actually hurts him before she escapes, and which scarred his face

He is now even more obsessed with Chess and wants to capture her again because he’s a creep

I hate him so damn much, don’t even love to hate him. End Description]

[Image Description: A page titled: Ares

My child, she is the best ever

But she technically will be an antagonist for most of the story, so she needs to stay in the antagonists

An 18 year old who had her life ripped from her when the artificial moon was brought down to the planet

When the emperor sent soldiers to kill Eclipse’s parents and capture Eclipse, they devastated the city around the palace

The soldiers killed Ares’s parents while she was hiding but hearing their screams, and when she left her hiding place, she found that everyone else she cared about was killed too

She blames Eclipse and their parents, and she decides she wants to kill them

She stumbles upon Triel’s crew, and she’s part of the big lore reveals, and she gets the phoenix magic in order to kill Eclipse

She’s so angry and so valid

She has all the righteous anger of a teenager fighting a god

She won’t remain an antagonist, but she’s tons of fun. End Description]

[altarianchildren]

Alright Tumblr!

Time to meet some OCs!

These two in particular hold a very special, very close place in my heart! I'm gonna make this a sort of "ask the oc(s) anything" post, interaction is encouraged!

Trypo and Tueri Harrows, of Coumarine, Kalos.

Below the cut is oc lore and more art!

I'm saying this now, their story is a sad one, but I find it intriguing! They've become something of comfort characters for me, especially in the way their dynamic works. Trypo (the trainer) was born into a noble house in Kalos! Tueri (the abnormally tall Bisharp) was assigned to protect her when she was born. He was originally her mother's guardian! Now he's at Trypo's side.

Being bigger than most of his kinds makes him quite intimidating, though to his lass, he's got quite the soft spot. He has several ways of showing affection to his partner and teammates, some physical, some otherwise. Physical means towards Trypo ranges from carrying her, resting his chin atop her head, pulling her against his torso to loom over and guard her more closely, letting her cling to his arm, and even sorting through her hair to pick out debris (usually after a battle or in the morning, or situations where her hair gets messed up.) It's his own means of like- returning the favour of grooming, since Trypo will sharpen his blades for him and keep his metal polished and in good condition!

Did we mention Tueri communicates via Telepathy?

I headcanon that certain types are susceptible to using telepathy! Psychic (obviously-) ghost, and dark are those types, especially for more humanoid mons, or mons based heavily on pretty sentient yokai or entities (like Zoroark being based on the shapeshifting aspect of Kitsune!) Anyway that hc is for a different ramble a different day-

Tueri uses telepathy to communicate to others! He can also read and write, thanks to Trypo's father teaching him how to do so before Trypo was even a thought in that man's mind.

Speaking of her father.

Lumin Harrows.

Is the entire reason Trypo and Tueri are on the run in the first place. Lumin decided, after Tueri failed once (1 singular time) to guard the girl from a preventable situation, that he had to be. . . Disposed of, for something better.

Trypo didn't want to let Tueri go, much less know he'd get killed for one failure that was very much her fault to begin with. So, what did she do to prevent his death?

She took Tueri, took the shield (an heirloom that she shouldn't have had until 20,) gave the shield to Tueri, snagged some cash, and fled Kalos, hitting Unovan soil first, where their whole runaway story begins.

Lumin starts giving chase when he realizes they fled Kalos, and it leads to a multi-region chase across the world, with Lumin under the mindset he's saving his daughter from a silver-tongued, manipulating monster, and Trypo on the run for her partner's life.

Lemme hit you with another fun bit of trivia that Lumin isn't aware of, and that the Harrows Shield here is slightly aware of but doesn't understand.

They're soul-linked.

(This is a mechanic from conquest that I put my own spin on to add to these two!)

If one goes down, they both do.

Now, suddenly running for his life, is running for hers too, no?

Tueri protecting her so vigorously, so acutely, is also guarding his own life, no?

Of the two, their personalities are a good mix of opposing forces, that balance and check each other. Trypo is meek, shy, riddled with anxieties thanks to her father hunting them down, and rather antisocial because of it. She's fearful, to the point it would consume her if it weren't for Tueri. Tueri is bold, unshaken, he's adamant and brave. He's level, where she's chaotic. He's cold and calculated in battle, even seeming cold to others outside of battle, save those he'd consider a friend. His steel-cold exterior is balanced by her open compassion, by an unwavering heart trying to keep all sides held together. She leads the team by tactic and heart, where he leads via tactic and example. He's the force to her words. The calm to her storm, she's the caution to his "I have to act" sort of attitude.

Trivia time!

》It took them several years to get a tent. Before then, they'd sleep up in trees, in pokémon centers, back alleys, or on a very rare occasion, even take refuge by the kindness of someone taking them in for a night. Now that they have a tent, they almost exclusively sleep in that or in pokémon centers.

》Teammates are as follows, caught in this order!

Anima ♀️(Gardevoir, megastone holder!)

-Mina ♀️💫 (Gained from another trainer as a Vaporeon, shiny!)

-Aeternus ♀️(Mudsdale- she carries all the cargo on the saddle, such as camping equipment and medical supplies)

-Iroha ♂️(Noivern)

-Relle ♂️(Ceruledge)

》Tueri holds Trypo between his blades when they sleep! Due to selective breeding, his physical traits were altered a bit as a result, one such being a wider gap between the blades on his torso. He pulls Trypo in and kinda wraps himself and his cloak around her when they rest, guarding her even in their sleep. If she stirs for whatever reason, he will start to make a sound akin to metallic purring to calm her down and lull her back to a quiet sleep.

》Trypo's left leg still has lasting effects from the initial injury, due to. . . Unknown reasons.

》"My Little Versailles" is Tueri's little nickname for Trypo when other people aren't around and their situation is calm + stress free for a spell.

》Trypo refers to Tueri as her partner, her knight, her other half, and her crimson sentinel.

》Tueri is an absolute sucker for spicy food ong. Give him ghost peppers and he will eat that shit like candy. Trypo cannot tolerate the same level of heat he can, but she also enjoys spicy foods!

》The Harrows Shield is a name/title for the both of them combined, as opposed to a title specifically for the trainer or for the pokémon.

》They eat off the same plate! Tueri will take food from it first, especially if it's food from someone else. His steel typing means he's immune to poison, thus can safely tell if something would be toxic for his person to eat or not. Even when they eat, she seems to be guarded by him in every way.

》Tueri has articulated hands! Also a trait thanks to selective breeding.

》Don't let his sharp expression and scary looks fool you. Tueri is so very soft with friends and his teammates. . . You'd almost think you're looking at two different entities if you saw him around a stranger vs a friend.

》Tueri is never inside of his pokéball unless unconscious from battle. He absolutely hates being inside it, and will not willingly go in. He has broken a pokéball in the past by forcibly busting out of it despite the lock in place, which resulted in Trypo getting a dusk ball for him as a replacement capsule.

》Tueri thinks the dusk ball is a lot more comforting than the luxury ball he used to be in. He claims the luxury ball felt "cold and unforgiving." He still hates being in the dusk ball, but it doesn't make him feel out of place.

》Trypo likes to make little grass and flower crowns if they have down time whole camping. Tueri has been subjected to many crownings of forest floor foliage.

》Don't tell the world he actually cherishes that deep down in his soul.

》Thanks to their soul-link, emotions bleed to one another a bit! Trypo's rage can make Tueri on edge and itching for battle, or Tueri's calm in a situation can subconsciously ease her anxieties into a state of calm as well. Seeing her cry breaks his heart. If emotions are polar opposites, it can actually cause some strain and make it feel like their hearts are hurting!

》Despite everything, they could not ask for a better partner, a better friend, a better combination. They're each other's world. </3

》I actually view these two as my comfort characters because of the softer moments in their dynamic. Their story is filled with turmoil and hardships, but when they get time to rest, and rest easy, it just feels particularly special. They earned good rest, they savor it so genuinely when they can lay in a sleeping bag and not have to worry about the world outside the tent. Rain is usually melancholy, but to them, it's safety, and it's calm. Even the thunderstorms feel safe compared to what they run from. I think maybe it's because Trypo characterizes a turmoil-filled era of my life, and Tueri is like. . . The anchor I wish I had in that time. He is the calm to the storm. The reason the boat doesn't drift so far out to sea. But I think it's also because while he so openly and blatantly guards and defends his lady, she's also trying to protect him in less visible ways. She chose to run away with him to save his life. She keeps his blades sharp so in battle he never has to worry about his blades chipping or a dull strike deciding a match. She's soft with him to keep his mind steady, to ensure he stays okay in the mind and heart despite all that follows them. They protect each other in their own ways, and both sides are equally as appreciative and aware of the other's side of it. They're precious to one another. So very, sincerely, dearly precious. They're not perfect- but they take the flaws in each other openly, and in stride. "This is my crimson knight, who will never openly speak of any weakness he has- but I know his weakness, and I know his fears, and I walk beside him anyways." "This is my lady, and though her fears paralyze her and make it seem impossible to step forward, I hold a hand out so I can lead her through the fear, and walk together." I just. I love their dynamic. I love them a lot.

》I might end up doing a comic series for these two and their team??? Start from the beginning and work from there? Or do comic strips of different situations They're in with no real timeline? Debating this tbh.

》Trypo is still very afraid of Relle considering he's the newest member + there's a bit of a language barrier + Relle is. . . Aggressive as fuck and it scares her

》Tueri and Relle had MAD BEEF for awhile I won't lie. Big brawling hours for a hot minute. Relle now understands why Tueri is in charge. Poor boy is still trying to figure out why Trypo is somehow in charge of Tueri. She never acts like it.

》Tueri is not afraid to fight dirty in actual threatening scenarios. He will pull every nasty trick in every book just to ensure victory in the wilds, ensure that team eats, lives another day, what have you.

》Tueri will not discriminate, those hands are rated E for Everyone.

Once again, this is functioning as a "hey look at my ocs!" A mini art dump and also a "ask the ocs anything" sort of post. Interaction encouraged, give me reasons to draw these two more I beg---

If you read through all of that ily

[unsleepingtales]

Episode two ayyyyyyy! Once again this is really long soz

The hype this intro fills me with is unreal.

Siobhan’s daily affirmations “this intro is not a tongue twister and is very easy to say”

The auld lang syne reference cracks me up because we know for sure that both Brennan and Siobhan do actually know the words to auld lang syne, because they sang them in the Unsleeping City finale, but they’re mumbling through it here so as not to disrupt the bit and I love them for it <3

Today’s spelling of Daniel’s last name: Fũks

(I had to look up “u with a tilde” to get that and then copy paste it in bc it’s not available on an english keyboard lmao)

God the whole pleasure district is shut down. Losing my mind at this.

Detective Hunch Curio: Vampire

I attempt to steal the child :|

A full on arms race lmao

They keep calling him The Child

Look at you!!

Imelda <3 they are best friends you’re right babe

There’s always so much banter!

Hank I hate to break it to you but dogs do in fact get hurt in this show.

(Gonna kill that dog 🤪😛✌️)

Why has “you’re my best friend” become such a thing in this show lmao first pib in neverafter now this

Siobhan looks wonderful this episode. She always does, but her hair looks particularly lovely here.

I love how Danielle is playing into the reporter thing

God this is sad.

Lore unlock!

Mind reading is fascinating in this context

BANGS

Glossaries!!! I want to know what’s in those oh my gosh

You paid attention to the way that I behave good for you!

Hank what

What

You have been known to whisk!

Imelda <3

How long has he been waiting to say The Fix and the Fucks because that’s Great

Imelda going “it’s me, he knows me” is giving big “I killed him, yeah” vibes

He finds children quite fun! They’re good folk!

On behalf of ALL CHILDREN

The child personification of the conscience realizing that it has power is wild

FACT ALERT

I love that the facts can be comforting and not just threats

Aww they literally light up when they’re happy

A whole glass of grenadine oh god that sounds awful

Yeahhh that’s a good stick

The intense eye contact on room temperature vodka

A CALZONE??

Sure ok love that

Ngl I could go for a calzone rn. My brother makes great calzones.

I love it when people use their class feats

They’re rivals it’s healthy it’s fine

“Nothing fans of actual play love more than a murderer” “aww but he’s a good murderer” he’s onto us fuck-

Can I ask you a question? / (sad and scared) Okay -> ME ANY TIME ANYONE ASKS ME THAT

Literally what am I gonna say to that. No? You think I’m gonna say no when you ask me if you can ask me a question?

Imelda that sounded Pointy do you have Lore

I love this world

That seems like a reasonable idea Imelda but you seem too invested in it and I want to know why

Listen sometimes players set things up for us too well and you end up getting excited. Sometimes the party wants to separate of their own accord!

Conrad and The Fix are the two most straightforward communicators and them hanging out is great.

A bread bowl made out of muffin to hold coffee grounds that you eat. Augh.

If I was writing a story ;)

Dome antics!

What shocked Elias? Why is he having such a major fight or flight reaction?

Ooh reflex switches fun

Yes he does!

This person is scrambling so much

I do not know enough about biology for this what comes from the scalp that would require shock troopers??

Babe what

I’ll reprimand you greatly! And loudly! So that everyone looks at us!

Let’s hear it for FEATS

Tropes!

Ooooooh dome animation

BLOOD?

Jesus christ Brennan is not holding back on the cop hate this season. Love him for it.

What hold on what

Pain responder oh god

HEAD INJURY???

Did someone fucking brain him in an alley after work because he took the file or is he just being mugged or something

Also. Shock officers not allowing the information that he’s been injured to reach his consciousness.

Cell phone? Cell phone would be a heavy thing vibrating near that area if it’s in his pocket?

Actually finding a partner is Not on the priority list for your government at the moment sorry. Why are you lying to this man.

What

Oh yeah he might not be conscious actually. The eyes are closed.

We love completely improvised lore

Fucks (expletive)

They share a courtyard probably

Conrad’s home is gonna make me so sad I already know

Man sometimes people say things and. We just have to live with them yk.

(Brennan makes that “hlblbblblhblhb” sound)

Sitting in this discomfort is so good actually. There is discomfort and uncertainty and fear here and that is good.

Ichabod. What was Ichabod the wayward interest?

HELP Conrad was so resigned to dying Alex nodded like yeah that makes sense

FACT ALERT

I relate to The Fix in that I also will share random facts in the hope that it will make someone feel better.

If there was an amount of dead he didn’t want you, he wouldn’t have called me. DAMN.

Hank so genuinely lit up at the compliment

That’s Hank talking.

What is happening and why do I feel about it

I do feel bad that like. The kid’s losing his home.

Repressed trauma memory!

Oh god okay so his conscience made him defend his little sister and it ended incredibly traumatically so the lesson he learned from that was that listening to your conscience gets you hurt and he learned that as a child! So he never had a chance to see that that wasn’t the whole story!

(thoroughly impacted) Okay.

Levity!

Still find it fascinating that the actual university is in the red light district.

Is it no longer the middle of the night? Wasn’t it the middle of the night? Why are students just now heading to the Big Game

Just a flat no. Love it.

Ammon’s Horn Memorial * look up later

He’s dabbling in the arts!

Oh god but really it makes so much sense that the brain university defunded the arts years ago. Like within the context of who this guy is and how harshly all distractions are dealt with it makes perfect sense that they don’t have art classes.

DC 20 😭

STEM only :(

Lady you are not poor-

Silly little woman :)

HELL YEAH SIOBHAN

Psychometer

Add something fun!

Of course, every time a memory is recalled, it is altered! We demand that you add something cute and fun. Love that.

We try to have fun here

Hunch now is the time to let it GO

We need Stacy Fakename merch

You’re frickin haunted man

Oh god he got jumped.

Let’s just steal it!

De’lux meaning of light. Oy.

(Brennan makes a sound of satisfaction with his punnery)

Exceeded the dc by 10!!

Trapp uses moxie so freely

Oh they’re all getting jumped. Like host body like mental functions I guess?

Ugh, wool! So naturally oily and slippery!

The Fix and his traits <3

Ol’ Johnny Gullible

FEATS <3

New life!

FACT ALERT

He’s gonna break all those bones

WHAT

He’s so terrifying without trying

What a wild sequence of events

Bro I would also dissolve into mist if someone looked me in the eyes and talked to me like that.

I’m low key worried about what happens if they restore vision without anyone in the buildings to distill the raw visuals

DEFENESTRATION

Oh my GOD

Oh my god.

Oh my god????

(cheerful jazz music)

[mapsareforbraindeads]

I'd love to hear about Hikari, but I don't have a dn fankid to exchange. I really like their name though- I'm guessing that they're Light's kid? Are they by chance connected to habromania?

okay. so tumblr ate this originally. i have to retype everything so it’s not gonna be as long as i wanted it to be 😐 i’m having so much fun

so funnily enough, hikari is actually not my oc. i stole him from light up the new world (2016) and decided to rewrite him because his original story sucks ass lmao. i don’t feel like explaining it in my own words so here’s the death note wiki. it’s bad. so, hikari is light’s kid, but because of the Lore, he is not used in habromania. the role of baek eunha wannabe has been given to another character :)

i wrote this blurb a while ago and never posted it anywhere. originally, his mother was a friend’s oc but things happened so i cut the character 🫶🏻 if anyone wants to apply for the role of “dead mom” feel free. anyways here’s the Backstory.

Hikari was born to Yagami Light and (mother) in New York City. After Light met his “new goddess” in Japan, he traveled to America with her in order to raise an heir farther away from the Kira Case. The only other person who knew of Hikari’s existence was Mikami Teru, who was a loyal follower of Kira and the new world’s only hope if something were to happen to Light.

When Hikari was two years old, (mother) began to rebel against Light in an attempt to expose his identity as Kira to the public. In retaliation, Light killed (mother) using the Death Note. However, this drew L’s attention to him once again, creating more evidence for L to arrest him on. Light was taken into custody a few weeks later, leading to the discovery of Hikari. For the remainder of Hikari’s childhood, he lived with his grandparents in Tokyo. No one in the family knew about Light’s past as Kira, so Hikari never learned about it either.

Similarly to his father, Hikari quickly grew to become one of the smartest students in Japan. He was taken under the wing of Mikami under the guise of being interested in law and upholding justice. Although, contrary to what both Hikari and his family believed, this was far from his true motivation, and Hikari’s true destiny would soon be fulfilled. Or would it?

so, hikari exists in my primary fankidverse with my lawmane kids. the main plot was set up in the pilot, but outside of that, i haven’t revealed too much. all you need to know is nene (lawmane’s eldest child) takes after L, hikari takes after light, and shit goes down.

this is about where i’m going to end it. mainly because 1. i will probably write this after hab and want the Twist to hit like a truck 2. i have already said far too much and 3. this is the second time i’ve written this and i would love for the world to see this post already

also, tomorrow is hikari’s birthday! light a candle and burn lutnw dvds in his honor. or send them to my house. that would also work.

anyways ty for reading, i’ll probably post more about him at some point ❤️

[unofficially-ace]

Ivypool’s Heart liveblog yay

So far really enjoying this book, the prologue slapped and I actually feel a sense of mystery with this vision. Even though it’s a travelling book I’m still excited for it

If there’s one thing the Erins can actually write well it’s grief, and they’ve got a lot to play with in this book

The travelling gang is so fun, love all of these guys

Chapter 4 genuinely almost made me tear up, Ivypool and Icewing bonding over their shared grief just got to me ok

Honestly if Rootspring gets with Wrenflight by the end of the book I’ll scream

Ivypool why would you antagonise cats who are giving you information…literally so stupid

Beach the MILF hunter

I’m gonna need everyone to stop hating on the Sisters right now omg they literally have the most interesting culture out of everyone

Aughhhh I’m sick of the Clan cats always being in the right stop trying to make everyone into a Clan!!!! Let them be different I beg

Slate and Beach are basically incompetent uni students and I love them so much, they’re so silly

Why are they giving romance advice to these random guys what is this book

If the Sisters have no fans I am dead

Why do they also call humans ‘Twolegs’ and housecats ‘kittypets’ though…especially when Slate and Beach called them Twopaws earlier??? And greencough???? Why can’t they have different words for things oh my godddd

Warrior cats vs seagulls let’s goooo

Why do they feel the need to explain past plot points to me whenever they come up. I promise I didn’t start reading warrior cats at Ivypool’s Heart

Best part of warrior cats hands down is the attempt to describe human things in the way cats would. Erins when they have to describe a sandwich

I can’t picture this cliff/lake/beach combo for the life of me

Another Jake? Were no other names available?

The cats go to a zoo!

I need to know what type of wildcats these are, are they going to destroy the ecosystem if they’re released

Oh joy, I love retconned lore, welcome to the party Stormclan

If you took a shot every time Ivypool says “Run!” you would be dead

Why are the cats gendering the humans? How do they have any concept of human sex/gender?

Why is there a map at the front of the book that pretty much spoils the whole plot…I mean it’s pretty helpful because I haven’t been able to picture this journey at all but still

TARDIS tree

THE GANG DOES TIME TRAVEL?

This feels like a fanfiction, who tf let their OCs into warrior cats

You’re telling me two whole clans were combined and then left the territories and nobody in Starclan remembers this???? And it was never brought up before?

My enjoyment for this book is rapidly decreasing

This feels like if Once Upon A Time did Warrior Cats

Also we literally had this clan combination plot happen in VOTS are the erins lurking on minecraft roleplay servers or something

At least the characters also think it’s wild that this was all forgotten so I hope we get some answers

Rootspring tries to eat a poisonous jellyfish and fucking dies /j

Power duo Ivypool and Icewing let’s gooo

Ivypool your lesbian is showing

Criteria for any female character in this book is that you have to have at least one dead child (unless you’re Whistlepaw)

I do like the idea that double dead spirits become part of the real world, at least we finally have some explanation for where all these forgotten cats are, but does that also count for the evil guys?

There is literally no good reason for the elders to not believe them are you serious

The river of spirits…yet another lore drop that should’ve been extremely important and relevant before this, and yet this is the first time we’re hearing about it

Wtf is tallstar doing here

If all living cats forgetting someone causes Starclan to forget them too, I feel like there should be far less cats in Starclan

Cats can just be re-remembered back into existence????

Okayyyy overall thoughts: I think it was generally a good book by warriors standards, the character growth was done really well, but aughhhh the retconned lore changes physically pain me and I will not accept Stormclan as canon thank you

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. 10

Come to think of it, this is probably the most emotion we've seen Rika display in any of the arcs up to this point. Also, this section shows that Shion Sonozaki might actually be dumber than Keiichi.

I wonder if Japan has a fundamentally different interpretation of what a witch is compared to your more traditional European style witch? Or maybe I'm just woefully out of touch in that regard and the idea of a witch being basically immortal is the more commonly accepted idea.

Hanyuu and her nice new bag of I told you so's. Now, I know I've said this before in regards to the characters in the past, but Rika is such a dramatic child. She suffers one singular misfortune and she writes off all of her accumulated good luck as just gone forever. I'm not saying she's wrong for feeling that way, I'd be lying if I said I never experienced days where if one single thing went wrong I would start thinking everything was ruined forever. I'm just saying she's been such a rather optimistic character lately that this change to complete and utter defeatism is kind of darkly funny.

If Rika gives up and loses her last shreds of hope and becomes something that's no longer Rika, does that mean that Hanyuu was born from a similar situation? They've said multiple times that she's existed for a lot longer than Rika, so was Hanyuu formerly a human? I don't know if that's the case at all, but it's a fun little thought experiment I think.

Skipping ahead a little, Rika goes to school the next day in the vain hopes that Satoko will be there as well. When she's not she let's her despair takes over and starts being Rude Rika, telling Chie to shut up and she's going home. Chie then takes this thoroughly morose Rika to the teachers office and gets the skinny from Rika about how Teppei has come back and is basically making her life a living hell.

The rest of the main cast eavesdrop and overhear about Satoko's situation.

Say what you will about Keiichi, and I have, at length, and will again. But at least when he decided to plan, and then carry out a murderous plot he at least had the good sense to not scream it out loud in front of witnesses. Sure, everyone knew anyway because despite the idea that people remember the past arcs has only really become a thing as of Tsumihoroboshi everyone somehow knows everything everyone has ever done in this series.

Wanting to put a delay on Tatarigoroshi: Shion Edition Chie drives off to Satoko's home. Would Tatarigoroshi: Shion Edition give her the ability to kill people with her mind, do you think? I think it would. Anyway, she arrives at Satoko's house and is immediately screamed and shouted at by Teppei. Upon being yelled at that yes she's here, no you can't see her, she's just sick, trust me Chie goes back to the school.

Shion rants and raves at Chie's uselessness in this scenario and once again talks about "come on guys, murder!"

Rena proves once again to be the brains of this outfit, because honestly, if you're gonna kill the guy just do it, don't yell and scream about it. Shion decides the next logical course of action is to beat anyone who gets in her way with a chair. Which she does. She smacks Keiichi around with the chair until he convinces her to quit giving him brain damage and to calm down for a second.

Something that I like so far in this chapter is the fact that the TIPs are back to being more than just documents. I recall in chapter one the TIPs would have these extra documents yes, but it also had scenes like Rena and Mion talking secretively about how Ooishi is a servant of Oyashiro and the like. Then up until Minagoroshi here, the TIPs were all just extra lore building documents. So it's neat to see them go back to extra scenes and actions outside of the main narrative.

I'm trying to be more upfront with what I like so far with this chapter, because in very short order I won't have much positivity about it. Once the narrative switches back to Keiichi as the viewpoint I had a pretty miserable time of it, up until it switches back to Rika's perspective.

[mightys12]

How me write good?

Well, if you’re asking for writing advice, I might not be the best person to ask but I’ll do all I can!

The most important thing to improving at writing is just practicing a bunch. You don’t have to be good, you just have to try. This is gonna sound like a little strange advice, but one of your best bets is to find a larger fandom. I started out in the BNHA fandom, and because there were so many molds to fit into and so many people reading, posting and commenting it had a lot of benefits. Notably, if your primary catalyst to keep writing is comments/kudos, a big fandom helps to keep that up while you learn to write for fun (gradual process, some people never really do and that’s also fine). But just writing over and over and over again will make you improve. If you don’t want to put out low quality work on your main, take the time to make an alt and pump out lots and lots of content.

While you’re making that lots of content, try to go basic in terms of improving your writing. Look up short videos on the Oxford comma, read your writing aloud and figure out where you’re missing commas, toy around with your writing to figure out where periods should replace commas, watch videos on dashes, or take a look at how semicolons are used. These short videos aren’t about a sharp guide on how to write. Writing is something with a lot of style and unique ways to convey your voice with writing. Depending on the media you consume, that will alter how you write as well. Use these not to force yourself to write in a certain way, but to become familiar with the tools in your toolbox. Learn punctuation so you have a useful wrench to piece together what you want to convey.

Another useful thing is to step back and read your own story from a readers perspective. What are they missing that they need to know? What might’ve been a little unclear? What misconceptions could arise? Scatter the answers to the questions throughout your text - avoid large lore drops and characters monologuing where you can.

Something notable is character interactions. If you have two characters interacting, you have to remember to keep their “voice” in mind when piecing together their respective bits of dialogue. Are these characters strong-willed? They’ll look for a disagreement with each other, then, most likely. Is one more meek compared to the other? He might be a bit of a pushover. Their “voices” are influenced by their circumstances, too. Even meek characters gain stronger voices when surrounded by people they know care for them. Strong-willed characters may back off in situations where they feel uncomfortable, or they might press forward being inconsiderate. Remember, if you struggle with these “voices” the “OOC (XYZ)” is your best friend : p

Find someone who enjoys your work. This is a later step. Once you’ve gotten the basics down, written enough to improve your general abilities and understand your toolbox well enough a great step to take is find a beta reader. Someone interested in what you want to write. I lucked out with an amazing beta reader in the form of @bluginkgo who I cannot appreciate enough (sorry for the tag!). They helped me make leaps and bounds in my writing, and once you have an established enough ability to write, a beta reader is a great next step to elevate your writing in the short and long term.

Finally, read. You pick up tricks steadily whether it be from reading good fanfiction or reading high quality literature. You learn to watch out for issues you find a little gross on the eyes. Things like repetitive word use, not enough action included in dialogue (even something as simple as making a character scratch the bridge of their nose), or the plot becoming unclear all become easier to identify as a writer by seeing others mistakes and successes from the lens of a reader.

[sapphire-weapon]

I just wanted to say that as a person in their early 20s who only just got into resident evil after re8, it was so fun finding your blog and scrolling through all the little blurbs you’ve got. fandom elders always have the best resources and lore and make spaces a million times better, so thank u for mentioning all the little game details and fandom notes that would’ve been forgotten or missed otherwise to newcomers!!

on another note, i wanted to ask if you had any amusing/chaotic tidbits relating to the re fandom in its earlier days, whether it be speculations of scenes or character directions or interactions that people were so sure were going to happen in later re games that absolutely did not happen, fics that were really influential, insane fanwar stories, memes that used to be rlly prolific and now don’t really come up, etc. it’s something i love to discover about fandoms because it rlly is a “you had to be there,” type of information that people don’t document the way they would with canon developments that you can easily find on wikipages

Anon... I'm gonna fucking cry. 😭 This is exactly what I wanted this blog to become once I realized I was falling back into RE hell. Anything that I can do to make this canon more accessible to new people, I want to do it. I think I've said this before, but I literally cannot imagine what it must be like getting into this series this late in the game, because RE is terrifyingly huge and abstract and very old by video game standards.

As for the second part of your ask... Man, I have so many stories. I won't tell all of them, because if I try to, it'll be weeks before I can post this LMAO so let me just break this up into sections and I'll tell whatever the first stories that pop into my head are.

FAN THEORIES

So, historically, RE fandom was never big on fan theories. Fan theories and meta were something that Silent Hill people did, not so much RE people.

BUT there is one that refuses to die, and I have seen people scream about it as recently as Revelations 2.

People are convinced that Steve Burnside is going to come back. This drum has been getting banged ever since the original Code Veronica released in 2000, and even though it has literally never been hinted at at any point in the 23 years since then that Capcom even remembers that that was a possible thing that was set up, the fandom is still waiting for it to happen.

And it's all because Wesker stole his body and fucked off with it and was a complete asshole about it when he did it. That's it, that's the whole reason.

But then that also ties into the fact that there are still people who are convinced that Wesker didn't actually die in RE5 and that he's gonna come back any day now, guys, really -- and that's just a whole level of death denial I've never seen before. Dude got hit with two rocket launchers in the middle of an active volcano. YOU LITERALLY DO NOT GET MORE DEAD THAN THAT.

INFLUENTIAL FICS

Surprisingly, none. RE didn't have an "I Know What's Beneath the Snow Fields" or a "Walk This World." There were influential authors, though. I won't name them because I have no idea where they are now or if they're still around, but. I will say that there was one very influential fic writer in Cleon fandom who utilized literally so many headcanons in her fics that her characters were utterly unrecognizable. Some of the headcanons blatantly contradicted canon, even. But her writing style and her prose were so, so, so fucking good that it didn't matter. For a while, Cleon fandom almost became like a cult around her fics -- and, as someone who only dabbled in Cleon because my friends shipped it, but I had no personal stake in the ship myself -- it was really, really weird to watch this go down.

INSANE FAN WAR STORIES

I was going to go off on a huge thing about the Aeon vs Cleon wars, but seeing as how they're still fucking happening for some god forsaken dumbass reason, I decided not to.

So, we'll forget that. And while this isn't a war story, exactly, I do need to give a special shoutout to the Wesker wives of old.

If you are at all familiar with the stories of old school Final Fantasy VII fandom of girls who convinced themselves that they married Sephiroth on the astral plane -- guess what. RE fandom had those girls, too, and we called them Wesker wives.

There was one really prominent one on LiveJournal back in the day who used to get art commissioned of her and Wesker together, and she would post pictures of herself "in uniform" for him, and like. Would legitimately write as though she was actually married to the fictional character Albert Wesker. She'd answer questions from people and shit.

And she was really, really pretty, so everyone was just kind of stunned by this, because this girl very clearly took care of herself and worked out and knew how to do her hair and makeup -- she always looked really good -- and it was just like... how did someone like you fall so far off the reality wagon?

And then it slowly started to come out that she maybe had some nazi ideology behind her and kept referring to Wesker has her Aryan king or someshit, and that was about the point where my Jewish ass backed away from that whole trainwreck and stopped paying attention to it, so I don't actually know how this story ends.

MEMES

So, uh. If you've been on the fandom side of the internet long enough, you'll at least have heard of the "it's over 9000" meme, even if you're not into Dragon Ball or ever seen an episode of it in your life.

Well, the same guy who started that meme also left his mark on RE fandom, too. The whole "Jill sandwich" thing was always a meme in its own right, but "Hope this is not Chris's blood" was added onto it thanks to this video. So, "Hope this is not Chris's blood" was a big, big meme in the late aughts that I really don't see around anymore. It was used as a sort of... shitpost response to a shitpost, if that makes sense? Like, your friend sends you some obviously stupid bullcrap or a dumb meme and you just respond back "hope this is not chris's blood."

This cap from Code Veronica was a huge meme for a long time, too, and I DO NOT FUCKING KNOW WHY

And then.

There was this masterpiece. Do not watch this with other people in the room unless your willingness to let others bear witness to your own cringe is very high. It's also NSFW. And, actually, this video might be the single oldest meme in RE fandom history. The YT link I provided here is not the original source of it. It was some stupid fan edit that was making its rounds on Kazaa, and I'm not joking. I want to say this edit is no younger than OG RE2 (so 1998).

And I would negligent in my duties as a fandom historian if I did not introduce you to the glory that is Resident Evil 4 Days of Our Lives. I STILL QUOTE THIS SHIT, TO THIS DAY.

Like, this is me on plurk referencing this stupid fucking shit as I'm liveplurking my very first playthrough of RE4R:

There was a part of me that was honestly kind of upset when the two cops at the beginning of RE4make didn't actually say to Leon, "I hear no one listens to you. Is that true, Captain Cubscout?" because that is unironically the single greatest line of dialogue that was ever written to be said by any character to Leon Kennedy, and it was written by some fuckin college kids back in the mid aughts.

And that's all I can think of for right now.

Thank u for indulging my old person desire to ramble on about "BACK IN MY DAY........." I appreciate u.

ETA: ok like i know i said i was only gonna mention shit that i could think of at the time that i responded to the ask but there is one more meme that i would be remiss to not mention

[youve-doomed-us-all-jerk]

and finished it ,got dat true ending yes def had a great time on the game 8/10 (but yeah performance def docked some points as well as some writing threads that felt kinda dropped, but am trying to in good faith piece it together in me mind so just gonna ramble spoilers under the cut:

when people said this is what they wanted the original DD to be i can see that but like i feel like the lead up to the game kept hearing people who know more about the originals history talk about how "40-60% of the original vision was cut down" from dd1 and i feel like my brain unfortunately interpreted that as "oh cool so were gonna have 100 new vocations like the monk and 100 monsters and the parallel worlds(technically true☝🏽🤓) and the moon stuff, neat" thats on me lmao but yeah removing those expectations and seeing it for what it is, its def the spirit of the the first game but its systems deeper and more fleshed out not good at all the techny terms but im not very into or good at action games but this one made me want to be cuz the combat was fun haha hmm writing wise there was a point where i felt like everything just suddenly got dropped once the godbane stuff started happening and youre suddenly barreling to the ending while everything else just wasnt important anymore lmao, but trying to interpret the story as a story the pathfinder is weaving, i think its meant to feel like that cuz we see the pathfinder essentially write us out of problems, give us a griffin to escape slavery, gives us a clue to where were supposed to go and the big one he like straight up changes ambrosius mind about giving us the godsbane when it wouldnt make sense for him too, the old man by harve even alludes to this by saying the real world is much messier when hes telling you about how fake everything is, like the watcher said everyone there is there to play a part in a tale hes laid out and i think he wanted to get to the ending faster. It's definitely another layer they added from the first games cycle, but do wish if that is what theyre going for(and if im not delusional lmao) that they did more like the ambrosius thing just watching as he ass pulls us out of dead ends making us feel what rothais felt when he realized all his feats and hardships didnt matter, also just would have liked more sidequests with fun characters lmao.

Also did enjoy the endings of the 3 major peoples in the unmoored world and felt like their side quests really fleshed them out and led them there to their endings well,mostly, very cool idea to bring it all together like that. elves wanted to stay isolated but they needed outside influence to break tradition, to save their tree and how it all built to them agreeing to seek refuge with the other races rather than die with their way of life. Ironic that disa was half right about sven needing to inherit the throne but ofc she was also half wrong cuz she a tyrant and wants him to have it mainly cuz of blood, but he deserves it cuz his sidequests were about him getting to know the common folk and becoming self assured lmao battahl tbh full disclosure i messed up the queen nadias sidequest to the rose chateau, tried to scare the dick head shopkeeper into giving me the medicine for the beastren and got arrested so idk how that one ends(will find out in NG+ lmao) but based on the ones i did do, it seems like the nations whole thing was about always being in conflict with each other and how the unmoored quests there are about making people put there differences aside and band together, including the arisen teaming with phaesus. Also like the irony of their view on pawns being right at first but by the end of the game they end up being wrong. but yeah do feel like they didnt get into that more, along with what the lambent flame is? (googled that there was lore texts you can find that explain how an earlier emperor is deceiving the people about it and what it really does) they also dont go into the fact vermund was a nation of beastren, started by a beastren and then history was wiped?? and how theres vermundians fear of beastren and human children always look like beastren and yet wilhelmina is a direct contradiction of this?? that seemed like a really juicy plot point but they didnt really do anything with it. and lastly idek where to start with the pawn and arisen ending, found out theres slight differences in the affinity ending (got the high affinity one cuz reds my my gurl i always revive run straight to her to revive her🤗) but watching them talk about how happy they are to have their own will while saying theyd still do anything for you filled me with something, dont even know what but was crazy.

oh also before i forget another way its in the spirit of the first game for me is just like in the original i also forgot to talk to the person i was romancing and giving them flowers before the endings and got diff people appearing there just like my first playthru of the dd1 lmfao( got manela with grigori and sara in the true ending, was going for ulrika this playthru lmfao) def gonna NG+, maybe do a magic archer and get the stuff i missed and try and get the other endings. Also hoping for another expansion/dlc like they did with dd1 down the line with more vocations and monsters.

[aconflagrationofmyown]

Dear Marina,

As you know, life has been a bit crazy but I could not be separated from your writings for too long . Although my dear Captain and Rosey will have to wait, as I have yet to read the last two chapters, E and Elaine have been a wonderful companions in these weeks.

The Origin of the Hollywood Hullabaloos Biker Gang (I love the name, btw), was such a wonderful little surprise. The format was delightful, I adored the way that it allowed you not only to play with so many new characters but also with the idea of unreliable narrators- nothing more characteristic of E's story and of those around him.

E's and Elaine's life during the Hollywood years interest me so much that I was so happy to get a little glimpse. The idea of Elaine and Ann riding their bikes, having fun and most importantly, healing, it's so important for me. I always thought that, in some way, Ann was E's female counterpart, so it is not surprising that Elaine ends up loving her.

I admire how you were able to develop the Presleys' kids' personalities. I can already tell that Daisy Mae is gonna be my girl. Their childhood seems full of love, adventures, music, and the coolest mum in the world.

The celebrities appearances were wonderful. I loved Ann and how you were able to maintain her known respect and privacy towards her time with E, I could picture her giving this interview so clearly.

Now, Marlon? Sam? You are spoiling us! The fact that Elaine had a little crush and yet she was able to calm E was fantastic. I was not expecting to get Sam in the gang and I loved it (What rumors, Marina?!?!).

I have already told you before but your ability for world creation never seems to amaze me, so much so that sometimes reading them gives me this bittersweet feeling. What could have been if our sweet E had someone as wonderful as Elaine (who I see as a mixture of my favorite E's girls: Dixie, June and Ann)?

I also read "Even Educated Fleas Do It", so once I'm able to put my thoughts into words (besides of Jesus Christ, this woman is a genius), expect another comment!

Thank you so much for gifting us with all of these incredible stories. I never thought that I would get the chance to imagine another life for my favorite person, but now when I'm down I can always come here and immerse myself in a world where E had these fearless and wonderful women by his side throughout his life.

All the love, Cami.

PD: Did I totally imagine that Paul and Joanne are also part of this gang? Yes, yes I did.

Cami my darling, it makes me so happy I’ve got two worlds (so different yet so alike aren’t they?) that you’re enjoying and finding transporting. This one, Elaine and Elvis, really does occasionally mess with my head I become so certain it truly happened. The lore and myth I have for this family all the way into the 80’s will take ages to publish and get out but it makes me so happy you’re along for the ride and thank you for the encouragement! (And oh yes, you caught Elaine’s inspirations just right, and I can’t wait to put her in a room with Ann-Margret)

Yes! Fan additions to this bike-club are now Paul and Joanne and also Jerry Lee Lewis, maybe Jim Brow, too. I’m always curious who folks would enjoy seeing interact so, keep the suggestions coming.

[dollarstoreartsupplies]

i lowkey would totally be interested in your richie and stan dance moms au lore. I read that fic ages ago and now can't get richie and stan being dancers out of my brain. especially because im a dancer myself

Richies strengths are performing (obviously), but i also think she would have this super cool and unique quality to her dancing while stan is super technical. and i think stan would struggle with a perfectionistic mindset (ugh dont we all) and sometimes lose her artistry while richie is relaxed and genuinely just dances for enjoyment, not really caring if shes not completely technically sound

(btw you are such a talented writer i could read ur writing forever. and you characterization skills are so fucnjkh good)

(Here's the fic for reference btw)

Dude, homie, bestie, my dear like it’s so STUCK IN MY BRAIN because like?? I in general am of the opinion that gals Stan and Richie were in dance classes as little kids together, because I think it’s fun, and I ALSO think they’re the two funniest characters to throw onto reality television? Like,,,, come on?  

(Also like I’m Bad at describing dance for a person who dances so unfortunately there isn’t nearly enough dance info forthcoming in this as there is in my brain)

SO the basic timeline and lore built out in my head is:

Age 2: Richie and Stan start dancing at the ALDC in those baby ballet classes, Andrea and Maggie become friends sitting in waiting rooms and tiny Richie and Stan baby bond INSTANTLY, so they’re best friends immediately 

Age 8: The show starts filming, and it follows the actual real life incredibly fucked up dance moms lore where everyone thought they were signing up for a short documentary style thing about dancing and got locked into YEARS OF TELEVISED CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

They’re in a one year contract at first, which then gets upped to a five year contract once the show starts picking up, so six years in total that they’re REQUIRED to be on the show.

Stan genuinely is very invested in dance and both her and her parents specifically put a lot of weight in her being successful (without meaning to be kind of fucked up about it), and she’s an only child with a stay at home mom who can spend all her time on Dance, so that’s why they sign on

Richie is pretty much Gonna Do What Stan Is Doing and is generally having fun (-ish) with the being a minor celebrity of it all because she’s Nine Years Old so she’s down

She does have one older sister but she’s way, way older (18 when Richie is 8 kind of vibe) so she’s going to college by the time the show begins and therefore Maggie and Went feel comfortable committing to it

(There are some episodes where Maggie isn’t there because of Richie’s sister and Abby thinks she’s a bad mom because of it and says it a lot)

It’s also important to note that they’re just normal people being intensely manipulated by production to sign on

At the start of the show A La Maddie (DISCLAIMER: i refuse to write any semblance of real person fanfiction, Abby doesn’t count because she fucking sucks, so decide on ur own if the normal real dance moms girls are there or there are just other random Dance Children) Stan is very much the golden child who Always wins and Always gets very good solos because she’s abby’s favorite

Their solos are mostly Ballet and Lyrical because they are technically incredible and a very pretty dancer

HOWEVER like you said she is SUCH a perfectionist (mood) and takes every loss REALLY personally, so it becomes a sort of toxic fandom mindset that she is a spoiled brat because they cry a lot and have panic attacks over not liking how a dance went (FILMED LIVE ON FUCKING TELEVISION AT EIGHT! WUH OH!) 

Richie is sort of set up to be a Jojo type character, where she’s REALLY REALLY fun to watch dance and a ball full of energy but because she’s so Much all the time the producers end up painting her as very, very rude and sort of lazy brat

But she’s a fantastic performer, which is crazy important in dance, and it’s not like she’s BAD she’s just not super technical? Which actually sometimes works in her favor because she ends up being a really a super versatile dancer

Jazz and musical theater are her Big Two but she’s pretty much good at everything except ballet because WHO IS? (Stan)

The dynamic is basically Stan is a incredible dancer but really just at certain styles (idk if I’m describing this well but she’s very much the kind of dancer you watch and think Wow She’s Good At Dancing and Doing This Correctly) and Richie is very much a jack of all trades master of none

They’re very good at duets though because Richie gets Stan to loosen up and Stan refuses to let Richie Not Practice Constantly

Richie’s coasting the bottom of the pyramid WEEKLY even when she wins because of her ‘behavior’ and Stan is usually at the top

Generally the production team tries to frame the two of them as enemies because they’re SO different that it makes good television for perfect, ballerina Stan to be constantly butting heads with obnoxious brat Richie but they’re genuinely such good friends it Does Not Work

One episode is set up to sort of push the Hate Each Other narrative in season one where they give Stan a really cheesy, big performance jazz number and Richie a really, really technical ballet number, expecting it to be a big competition and fight but instead they just help each other practice and cheer each other up when they get upset

Stan wins the first nationals, obviously

Age 9-10ish: By the second season it sort of starts to pick up in intensity and both of them start to get homeschooled/setschooled and the show becomes their entire lives, which is Bad

By this point both of their mental health isn’t Awesome but Stan is really not doing great, especially because they’re so anxious the social media perception is really getting to them, and her mom is trying really hard to get out of their contract, but they’re stuck. 

Stan and Richie (along with their moms) decide they’re both leaving together the second their contracts are up.

Someone else from their team wins nationals second season but because Stan is so in her head about everything she gets like fourth, which is also Bad For Her and the narrative starts to slightly switch from ‘golden child’ into ‘is she Still the golden child?’

Age 11: THIRD SEASON, though, Richie win’s nationals and Stan gets second, which like… isn’t supposed to happen

(Fun actual Dance Moms fact: pretty much all the competitions are rigged but nationals are Less Rigged like they’re tilted in their favor but the judges are a little more real)

Abby is PISSED and basically tries to make it seem like the judges messed up scoring or it was a mistake and it’s one of those Famous dance moms scenes because Abby is basically saying that Stan should have won because she is better and Richie is clearly very genuinely upset (which doesn’t happen a lot she’s very good at like making when she’s upset a joke when the cameras are around) and Stan fully stands up to Abby and calls her out on her bullshit 

After that the whole energy skews more against Stan where suddenly production is airing a lot more of the little insults they usually cut out specifically for Stan to try and push the agenda that Abby is unfairly nice to them

Everyone sort of blames Richie for it a lot of the time, though, and the two of them probably have a thinly veiled duet called like The Bad Influence 

Age 12: Abby really fucks up and says something Genuinely So Bad (and probably Pretty Antisemetic im ngl because have you fucking watched dance moms?) to Stan so production literally cannot make them stay legally, like with Kelly situation, where it could get them into actual trouble so Stan and Andrea are allowed to break their contract and leave the show

The show runners cut most of the argument out and edit it to seem like it wasn’t Abby’s fault

Richie and her mom try to follow but because it’s a specific situation that wasn’t aimed at Richie they aren’t allowed

They both know they’re leaving when the contract is up but there's still two years stuck on the show without her immediate best friend support system and it really sucks

People make a lot of sad edits about it and Richie thinks it’s really funny but also it's genuinely the crux of why she's QUITE so mentally ill (in general being hated by abby was never good for her but once Stan leaves it's ROUGH)

Age 14: Richie’s off the show, she knows she’s gonna be off the show, so she like fully flips Abby off in the dressing room after nationals and storms out with her mom and the show honestly just keeps it in because it’s good tv to have a big reason like that to explain why she left

They worked it out so Stan and her mom are waiting outside and they drive them home and hang out and it’s a good time :)

OTHER LOSERS LORE:

Richie and Stan were best friends with Mike from before the show and they went to school together/continued to post both of them leaving the show

She’s in One (1) episode for two seconds at like a party or something and Richie and Stan pretty much Just Post That Scene when they’re older, like if someone asks them about their favorite moment they’re like oh yeah when mike was there

She’s got a big social media following from the two of them and thinks it’s hilarious

They meet the rest of the losers in college

Bill and Mike are college roommates who are crushing hard on eachother so she becomes their friend through Mike

Stan and Ben are roommates and Ben is dating Bev so that’s how they become friends

Bev was a childhood Dance Moms stan, like ran a fan instagram account and went to meet ups because I think that's really funny don’t worry she’s better now

Bill and Eddie have been best friends since elementary school so she gets dragged to a lot of their hangouts and is completely and entirely unaware that Stan and Richie are like c-list celebrities for a WHILE

tbh this is like a very train of thought bare bones explanation but do with it what you will :)

[wttcsms]

Amber, I'm back to yell at you!!!! I'm literally dying over Most Noble what?! Its sooo good, i literally took a deep breath while my eyes watered cause of that ending! Oh to be in love with Sir Nanami 😍 He really is too much, the way he wants the mc so much, it gives off enemy to lovers vibes, with a lot of slow burn! Its so good the way I gasped when i read it on AO3 cause it said chapters 1/1 😭 No, its too good, YOU'RE the reason i even love Nanami so I refuse to believe thats it for them. But also thank you for that, it was such a good read the pining got me right in the feels i had to take a moment for myself to calm down. Please don't say its over 😭

Moving on lols, the way I read Balancing Act this morning! I wanted to scream, and I'm in no way a morning person but that one woke me up! Gojo being so self assured, I love that for him. The way you wrote the whole crew working for Gojo and Getou! Nanami saying that Getou is just like Gojo but would give himself 6 months instead KILLED ME!!!! Also just Nanami, and his whole work is shit rang through my head when you said he left then came back 😭 Just the way you wrote them all is soo good, the interaction between Gojo and Mc oooomph absolute genius! Utahime and Gojo friendship! Personally that little bit got me hook line and sinker cause i dont ship them 🫠 Finally that flashback of them as teenagers in high school!!! Yes queen him falling in love and not realizing it but also i loved that the mc ruined what i assumed would be his year of just fucking around! Its god tier I know im going to add this to my list of comfort fics!!!

hi hi, i was waiting til when i was less busy so that way i could give this lovely msg a proper response!!! as always, i love love love hearing ur thoughts and seeing u in my notifs makes me so happy, like kicking my feet and giggling happy because ur such an amazing reader and i love hearing ur thoughts on my work.

first of all, even w/out me, u would have fallen for nanami bc that's just the type of man he is. most noble was so fun to write purely bc i didn't have a set plot line in place, i just let the word vomit spew all over my docs and clicked post on tumblr. that being saidddddd, i am always open to revisiting our princess and sir nanami bc the fun part in writing mutual pining is the eventual getting together. like all fairytales, they are so gonna have a happy ending <3

im so happy you've read balancing act because for me, it's such a fun project and a way for me to not so subtly vent out any pent up feelings i had towards my experience in working in banking in nyc BAHAHAHA. i think workplace dynamics are so fun to write as well & i really wanted to incorporate just how blurry boundaries are within the field but also how close knit they truly are because most of the time, you see your coworkers more than your family and your significant other and it's hard not to become friends or something more (it's either that, or u all hate each other's guts LOL). geto and gojo would not be besties if they weren't both absolute menaces, i stand by that. utahime + gojo are lowkey MY dramione HAHA, and so i always like to write them in some type of relationship, whether that be platonic or romantic. they def squabble like siblings in this fic + it's going to be so much fun writing them in a diff light than i normally do (what's up for debate is whether or not i hint towards nanami x utahime :O) nanami found out that working in academia is JUST AS TOXIC as industry, so he's back bc, hey, at least he gets paid hella money, but we'll explore more nanami lore in balancing act once i decide on his exact role in the fic muahahaha.

thank you for always reaching out with your thoughts on my writing and just to chat in general, it means the world to me <3

[ciaossu-imagines]

Thank you so much and yeah, what you’re saying reminded me of your Eric post. Which I loved so either way, it’s good content. And wow, knowing that you also kill characters makes me interested in your stories that you plan on writing since I presume you probably plan on killing someone in some of those as well. Or at least the Ever Young story. Thank you so much 😊 I am. Bandō’s taken a bit of a backseat now since it’s time for some of my other OCs to shine but he’ll definitely have a chapter again once they’ve had their conversation. And gods, yeah, same. Like as an example, in one of my stories because of what the characters were saying I thought it was going in one direction but then something else was said and I was like “Well, that’s not gonna happen anymore. Have to do something else now.” and it turned out great in the end because I really liked what happened so nothing was lost.

C

You’re very welcome! And I’m, again, so glad that people liked that Eric post. I loved writing it so it’s gratifying to see it well received. And, not delving into heavy spoilers, because while I have the outline really done up, I know the story will take its own twists and turns, but there will definitely be a form of character death in The Ever Young…saying form because, as mentioned in the lore, bodily death is stopped in that realm. It kind of goes into my own fears there because your body living while your mind is gone, such as when people become ‘vegetables’ or even dementia is honestly a huge fear of mine. And I’m glad you seem to be having so much fun writing your story! It’s always fun when you’re writing and it all is just coming to you nice and easy and you’re enjoying the act of writing it all down, which you always seem to.

[oscartwofoxtrot]

[kicks down the door like the kool-aid man]: hi oscar talk to me about your favorite scene that you’ve written?

Sorry this took so long to answer, I was, apparently, writing an entire thesis. You Have Been Warned.

Oh my god uhhh. My favourite scene…okay, if I had to go with one, it’d probably be the scene from The Valiant Never Taste of Death I unofficially refer to as ‘Everybody’s dying bitch, let’s get you some peanut butter’. This comes about a quarter of the way through the second (proper) chapter, Requiem (NB: if we’re going by AO3 numbers then it’s Chapter 3, since there’s a Prologue chapter as well, but I don’t tend to count that numerically), and it’s the bit where Nate gently bullies Brad into sitting down and having a snack. And then uno reverse-cards him into talking about his childhood trauma. [Slaps scene] This bad boy can fit so many emotions in it!

For those unfamiliar with Halo 4 (which in all likelihood is most if not all of you), you should know that for the most part, I tend to hew fairly closely to the story and plot structure of the game when writing Valiant. But linear first person shooters don’t offer the characters a lot of opportunities to sit down and talk about their feelings, so this scene is an oscartwofoxtrot original! Sure, the action scenes can be fun, but there’s nothing I love more than getting to write Brad and Nate in their quiet moments, and I crowbarred this one in here to really dig into that Deep Halo Lore and hopefully use it to get at some of the complexities of their dynamic in this AU.

Speaking of complexities, you ask me anything at all about Valiant and I am not so much going to unpack the suitcase as start pulling hat stands and potted plants out of it Mary Poppins-style, so…this shit’s gonna need an itemised list.

1. Nate: [Basically refuses to acknowledge his own mortality, but you better believe he makes sure Brad remembers to eat and take a break every once in a while]. Also, Brad displaying just how whipped he really is. They may not have the same relationship dynamic as canon, but Brad pretty much lets Nate tell him what to do most of the time. tbh I think he likes it.

2. We get another hint at the circumstances surrounding Nate’s capture by the Gravemind. I alluded to this event in the prologue but have thus far avoided going into too much detail about it, so you’d better believe it’s a Surprise Tool That Will Help Us Later. One of the biggest challenges of writing an AU based on the fourth game in a series is finding the Goldilocks Zone of exposition – too much and you lose the current plot thread as well as the attention of literally everyone reading; not enough and the whole thing is virtually incomprehensible to normal people who don’t spend all their time on Halopedia. Trying to get that balance right is, shall we say, an ongoing struggle.

That said, I have been having way too much fun throwing out passing references to stuff like this – and this particular occurrence is a Big Deal in the world of Brad and Nate, because I think it may be the only time they’d been apart for more than like 24 hours since they started working together. (The backstory of their first meeting is a whole other essay in its own right, so I’ll just slap a sticker on this that says ‘Ask Me About My Canon Timeline In The Very Unlikely Event That You Are Interested’). Nate had become such a permanent fixture in Brad’s life, I doubt Brad understood what it would even feel like to miss him until he was gone.

And now that Nate’s life is in danger again, Brad has a very clear understanding of the stakes involved. Almost losing him the first time…it wasn’t The Moment of Realisation (more on that later), but it certainly did crystallise some deeper level of awareness on just how important Nate is to him. Of course, last time, the problem was one of distance – Brad was light-years away and couldn’t immediately get back to Nate, but there was a fortress to storm and a dragon to slay so he could save him. This time, Brad is right there, and he can see Nate suffering, and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it.

3. Couldn’t resist throwing in a version of the Peanut Butter MRE Temper Tantrum lol. I am at heart a giant sap and I do love writing them joking around and just being incredibly fond of each other. Because there’s no officer-enlisted divide here, it gives them more room to develop the casual familiarity and vaguely flirtatious banter we see hints of in the show. The spectre of Nate’s Rampancy does cast a pall over the whole thing, but it wouldn’t be Generation Kill without some serious mood whiplash. Speaking of which…

4. Hello and welcome to my impromptu TED Talk on the Insane Fucking Lore behind the SPARTAN-II program! (On all levels except physical I am this Brian David Gilbert Unraveled video). That’s right: the Spartan-IIs were kidnapped from their families at the age of six and, to avoid suspicion, replaced by clones implanted with their memories who would die within months due to congenital health issues caused by the cloning process. And as Nate points out, the UNSC didn’t even have the justification of the Covenant War, because that hadn’t started yet! They did this shit because various colony worlds wanted independence from the United Earth Government – but that would negatively affect the economy, so apparently the only two options available were ‘bloody civil war costing billions of human lives’ or ‘covert military operations to quash nascent insurrectionist uprisings, carried out by fucking child soldiers who we put through brutal training and experimental bio-augmentations that killed or permanently maimed like half of them’.

So, uh. That’s fucked! And what’s wild is that even though this has been a feature of the expanded universe since the beginning, it’s something that’s barely ever touched on in the games. Nate only knows about it because he went snooping for Brad’s unredacted file not long after they met for the first time (based on Cortana doing the same in the Halo prequel novel The Fall of Reach). For what it’s worth, Brad’s stated mindset is pretty typical of how the Spartans themselves feel about the whole thing: it’s been normalised for them because it’s the only life they know.

Nate, meanwhile, is understandably horrified, and it’s clear they both recognise the parallels between their experiences – the UNSC took away Nate’s autonomy too, by the very act of his creation. In between the Gravemind and the Rampancy, it’s something he’s been increasingly struggling with: that he was brought into being as a fully-formed person to serve a specific purpose, with the knowledge that he’d only have an operational lifespan of seven years before his systems started to decay irreparably. I can’t put it better than the Gravemind did (courtesy of the Halo short story Human Weakness by Karen Traviss): “Your creators made you separate. They placed a barrier between you and the beings that you would be encouraged to protect, a wall you could never breach. They even gave you a human to centre your existence upon, a human to care about, yet never considered how you might feel at never being able to simply touch him. Or how he might feel about outliving you.”

Damn are you guys seeing this shit? This is fucking crazy! Anyway I’m Rod Serling

5. Rule number one of Valiant: Brad does not know that he’s in love with Nate. Ya boi is pining without even realising that he’s pining. This isn’t a reflection of how I most commonly interpret canon – I look at show!Brad and I’m like ‘yeah, there’s a guy who’s 100% self-aware that he’s simping for his platoon commander’ – but in this AU, the Spartans’ lack of normal human socialisation has left him without any practical life experience of things like romance, so he’s just not quite able to put a name to those feelings. Yet, anyway.

As for Nate? I’ve been writing under the assumption that he is aware of his own feelings, but isn’t totally sure of Brad’s. I reckon he probably has a good enough read on Brad to at least suspect that Brad might reciprocate if made aware of the situation, but without any way to be certain, Nate’s unlikely to bring it up. Even I’m not fully decided on when Nate’s Moment of Realisation was. I do have a few ideas, but it’s not a detail that’s ever specifically relevant to the fic, so feel free to speculate.

In conclusion: …idk man, it’s been a year since I wrote this and I don’t completely hate it yet so. that’s probably a good sign, right? sorry for rambling it will happen again