#like. what is more appealing (hot) to a god of war?

[zukkacore]

Something about a Pygmalion take on Jaceporter is so appealing to me… in that way that Porter reveres power and domination… the tension between his desire to seek out and keep a Jace as a perfect spineless compliant lackey vs a need to remake Jace in the image of someone who is powerful and dominant and assertive. Jace that is complacent and cowardly and passive is a Jace he can use and control but never respect, and he loves what that Jace can do FOR him. But as Jace is transformed by rage, a Jace who is furious and oppositional and autonomous and actualized and powerful and is able to stand in the face of Porter and tell him he cannot stay even if it means death is a Jace he can respect and maybe even admire but no longer control. In the same way Henry Higgins cannot truly make a Lady until she has outgrown him, (“Eliza you’re magnificent. 5 minutes ago you were a millstone around my neck and now you’re a tower of strength. A consort battleship. I like you this way Eliza” “goodbye professor Higgins”). Because conflict is at the heart of war, Porter cannot truly anoint a Saint of the God of War until Jace has outgrown him.

[mask131]

Some people are very confused about why, in the myth of the Judgement of Paris, the three goddesses who fall for the Apple of Discord trick are Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. They usually understand why Aphrodite and Hera would fall for the trick of "the most beautiful" - one is the goddess of love, sexuality, romance and beauty ; the other is the queen of the goddesses. But when it comes to Athena, they tend to have a hard time seeing the goddess of wisdom, war, peace, intelligence and virginity get enroled into a "I'm more beautiful than you" petty feud.

... Except it is very much in line with her character, and yes, these three deities are in classical mythology the most vain of the goddesses.

Now, I will here use both Greek and Roman example mixed together because I do not have time to do a thorough split and explanation for everything - so rather let us take an overview of the goddesses' legends as a whole, throughout the centuries.

Aphrodite is vain, this is something that has been established regularly. She is a being of seduction and love, she is the most beautiful of the goddesses since birth and if it wasn't enough she had her husband create a magical belt for her that makes her attractive to anyone who sees her (a husband she cheated on with one of the worst gods of Greek mythology just because said husband was ugly and the other god was hot. Hated but hot.)

One version of Echo's legend has Pan's unrequired love for her caused by Aphrodite as a punishment for not giving her the "most beautiful" award (and turned the other contestant who won into a shark). Aphrodite persecuted Psyche because she was said to be more beautiful than her. Myrrha was cursed by Aphrodite to fall in love with her father because her mother claimed she was more beautiful than the goddess. And there's a lot of other tales like that - so it is well established that not only is Aphrodite the most beautiful goddess, she makes al lot of efforts to stay that way and will be VERY angry if anyone refuses her this title (sounds a bit insecure if you ask me but what do I know?)

If we go to Hera, we have again a certain case of pride and a status to be held. Hera is renowned for her beautiful eyes (the famous "cow-eyes" which no, are not an insult, but were an Ancient Greek compliment, because cow-eyes were deemed to be beautiful), and she is the queen of the gods, Zeus' eternal queen, THE first goddess among them all. That's a certain status to hold - and since she is known to have a bad temper, this comes of as a form of vanity and jealousy. The fact Herakles was named Herakles, "the glory of Hera", was precisely in an attempt to appease the goddess' wrath by appealing to her with flattery (turns out it didn't work). Remember: when Zeus had children of his own, without female help, such as Athena (or rather when it looked like he produced Athena on his own), Hera got pissed off because she saw this as a personal offense and tried to have a child of her own without Zeus just to prove him she could do it too (and the result was always disastrous, ranging from Hephaistos to FRIGGIN TYPHON).

This also ties into the whole idea of Hera persecuting Zeus' lovers and "bastards" out of jealousy. Note that she does not persecute ALL of Zeus' lovers, nor does she persecutes all of his extra-marital children... She always picks up those that Zeus seems to favor. That's how it all started with Herakles: Zeus was boasting about how he was going to shower his son with great gifts and a glorious destiny and all that, and Hera wouldn't have that. But she did not persecute Herakles' mother in any way... Just the son that Zeus clearly favoritized. And it becomes VERY obvious Hera's jealousy is not just related to a case of "cheating" in the case of Leto. Hera persecuted Leto for bearing Zeus' children and being deemed more beautiful than her by Zeus... When the myths are clear that Leto was Zeus companion (and possible wife) BEFORE Hera married Zeus. Before this whole story became another one of Zeus' cheating cases, this was a tale of Hera, unmarried to Zeus yet, simply being jealous of Leto being deemed more beautiful than her.

So this was all quite well established... But what about Athena, then, you ask?

Athena is also vain. I am sorry to announce it to you, but all the goddesses of Ancient Greeks have a flaw in myths (not in religion though, in religion all the goddesses are perfect and benevolent, but in legends and texts they are human-like with flaws and vices), and Athena's personal vice is vanity. The whole Arachne myth has sometimes been interpreted as a manifestation of Athena's personal pettiness, as in she cannot stand that someone is better than her at weaving. (It is a bit complicated since as I said before the legend of Arachne is purely Roman not Greek but I also told you I was going to mix Roman and Greek today so you have been warned). Even outside of the legend of Arachne, there is the legend of the flute - how Athena invented the first flute, but then cast it away and cursed it because when she played it, she looked ugly and people mocked her. This is probably the most famous legend about her vanity. And as I posted a long time ago - while this version of Medusa's legend was mostly lost to time because we lack the text, and it was preserved in scholia, we know that by Classical Greece the legend of Athena turning Medusa into a monster was quite popular... but it was all about Medusa being more beautiful than Athena, hence her being turned into a monster.

There's also a legend of a Meropis turned into an owl for mocking Athena's eye-color...

Anyway! Conclusion, it makes sense in the wider scope of Greco-Roman mythology to have these three goddesses be the one to fall for Eris' scheme, because they are the three most vain Olympian goddesses. Now it would have been weird if the candidates would have been, I don't know... Demeter or Hestia. These goddesses are not renowned for any vanity. But Athena? Yeah, makes sense.

EDIT: @teamrocketsfatknockers made a quite important point in a reblog and so I will add a point to my article.

I will insist that all I present to you above is from an "in-universe" point of view and a literal reading of the story. We are here talking of "humanized characterization" for the goddesses, and from a purely narrative, fictional point of view. That was my angle of attack: Why would Athena be considered "vain" in-story when we typically deem an "asexual virgin who hates romance and is more into war and high-intellects" as someone someone not much into superficiality or appearances.

But as I repeatedly said before, each myth has at least three levels of interpretation and three meaning warped in one. A religious meaning (though the one in the Judgement of Paris is... unknown to me so far), a literal meaning (as in we have a story, with characters, and this is a fiction) and a metaphorical or philosophical meaning. So I need to highlight that the myth of the Judgement of Paris can be read in a philosophical way as such. Why are these three goddesses searching for the Golden Apple aimed at the "fairest of them all"? Because all three of them embody the most attractive and seductive concepts a Greek man can ever hope for ; they are all three the ideals of Ancient Greek mindset and society. As such Paris' choice and the goddess' quarrels isn't about just satisfying the petty vanity of superficial divas anymore - it becomes a deep debate about which ideal, which dream is the most desirable for a Greek hero, and by extension for a Greek man. Hera is royalty, supremacy, political power and domination ; Athena is peace and wisdom, heroism and cleverness ; Aphrodite is romance, love, beauty and sexuality. And this all reflects within their gifts to Paris - which are in fact extension of what the goddesses themselves embody and represent.

You could sum it up as: Do you want to be a king, a hero or a lover? What would reward you most in life, a crown, a sword or a wife? What allures to you more, power, glory or romance?

Again, that's the beauty of the Greeks myths - and of all myths in the world. They depict simultaneously the gods as the pettiest more vicious selfish and flawed persons you ever met, basically warped caricatures of humanity... and as deep, profound, essential principles of human nature and human society, whose every interaction with mortals causes philosophical debates, ideological questioning and existential crisis.

[vaguely-concerned]

so for obvious reasons, rye is not generally all that popular with most of the senior watchers. however. I think there is a certain type of younger watcher to whom he is The ultimate hot badboy icon and fantasy. (we're talking about a group of extreme indoor kid goth nerds who've barely been outside. it doesn't take a lot ot achieve bad boy status in this context and the only thing in this world that lasts forever is a bad reputation in a small insular group like the watchers.) it's SO funny because rye thinks of himself as such a disappointing fuckup of a son of the grand necropolis. and meanwhile there are novices kicking their feet and giggling as they're like

'Ingellvar is so cool. no one knows where he's from he was found down here as a baby. mysterious orphan appeal. he could be a secret dalish prince or something for all we know. (*annoyed extra nerd watcher novice voice*: umm actually the dalish don't have princes, merrivar?? read a real book sometime maybe???) he's a rebel. he doesn't care what the senior watchers think no time for politics he just gets the job done. (*small sad rye voice* I care a lot what the senior watchers think actually. a pathetic amount, in fact. it just rarely seems like it helps anything at all) I heard he graduated almost top of his class even though he spent all his time as a student partying up in the city and having a torrid affair with the son of a noble family. sometimes in his spare time he wears a cool punk leather jacket but like the fantasy version of that. he has tattoos apparently but no one's seen them for years. yuh-uh it's true too, I know someone who knows someone he dated once. they say he saw a knife fight once. like, in a bar brawl, with living people. all that, and he's even sneakily emotionally unavailable. *starry-eyed sigh* what a dreamboat'.

needless to say this only grows worse with the events of the game, after he takes out the formless one and rumours start to spread that he maybe killed a god or something too???? and this being nevarra, more importantly he's out there killing dragons with his sworn companions?? like a fucking fairytale prince but with that devil-may-care rebellious streak???? he's the safely unavailable first crush at a distance of many a young watcher. now imagine the reaction when he shows up home for the first time in a year after the war of the banners accompanied by The one true bad boy fantasy to rule them all: literally the sad brooding crown prince of the crows of antiva in leather pants who has WINGS and a dark tortured side of his nature that he has to constantly battle against for the sake of those he loves.

(the perception vs. reality situation for both of these characterizations is. so unspeakably hilarious needless to say. consider how much of the above lucanis characterization is accurate to the person he actually is and then you've basically found the level of distortion lens being applied to rye as well. is most of it technically true? sure. 'technically' is having to do a whole world of heavy lifting there tho fhdfska)

what I'm really saying here is that there is a subsection of this group that's been ferociously writing rye/lucanis rpf from the moment they were seen trotting down into the necropolis depths together (other pairings within the lighthouse gang as a whole, caught in tantalizing glimpses as they visit the necropolis, of course having their own devotees), and when this fandom subgroup eventually discover they were right it's with all the insane glee of a sixteen year old fanfic writer on wattpad (is that still where the kids are these days. idk i'm getting old folks) finding out that their dark mafia prince AU is basically true. varric might be gone but the legacy of friendfiction lives on after him. the king of thedas rpf being the shoulders of titans that young watchers are standing on to write fevered WILDLY inaccurate depictions of the private life of two of the most low-key domestic quietly devoted and undramatic people on the continent, one of them being varric's own poor little meow meow slash mentee, is something that can actually be so personal. rye does not end up terribly famous in the end considering the shit he manages to get done in this game, and he thanks his lucky stars for it. but to a tight-knit community of mourn watch fic writers he is blorbo from my apocalypse. it's all I could have wished for him.

(funniest possible outcome of all this: myrna gets so fucking tired of trying to understand what the novices are being so tittery about that she asks rye 'watcher ingellvar with the realization that this is a long shot and the admission that vorgoth and I have exhausted all other avenues of investigation: do you possess secret insight about what an 'x reader' is. and also 'ship war'. your name seems to come up in this context a surprising amount'. 9000000 points of incoming psychic damage about to hit the fan.)

[rachetmath]

Rwby x video game

Ruby: Whoo… that was tough.

Yang: I can’t believe that Grimm trapped us in those video games like that.

Weiss: Indeed, my game was difficult.

Ruby: How so?

Weiss: I was a witch. I controlled time, had many weapons, and summoned creatures. But I had to do some embarrassing poses. 

Ruby: Oh you were Bayonetta. That was cool. Mid though. What about you Yang?

Yang: I was in this arcade game where I fought a bunch of people in the streets.

Ruby: Oh. I mean you fit the description of someone vandalizing property.

Yang: You know it. What about you Blake?

Blake:  I was a ninja. But instead of fighting just other ninjas, I was fighting monsters. And I also wield multiple weapons too.

Ren: You too. I was a samurai and I was fighting demons. And I can summon creatures to help me as well. And I had multiple weapons.

Blake: One of mine was a scythe.

Ruby; Really? Man. That sucks. 

Yang: What was your game, Ruby?

Ruby: I was a devil hunter. I also had a lot of weapons. But I mainly used three and a few metal arms.

Yang: Metal arms? Holy crap.

Ruby: My bosses were insane, especially the final boss. 

Ren: What about you Nora?

Nora: I fought my father.

Ren: What?

Nora: I fought my father who was trying to take my son. I did what I could but he was too strong. I managed though and survived. However, I pushed my son away from me and he left me alone. I was happy when he came back but things only got worse. I lost my friend. And though I managed to talk some sense into my father, my grandfather killed him right in front of me.

Ren: Nora it was a game.

Nora: It was real to me!

Ruby: Okay. Oscar and Emerald, how was your gaming experience?

Emerald: I was a badass treasure hunter. 

Oscar: I was a guy who wielded a Keyblade and had to fight the darkness. I made many friends but my main ones were a duck and a dog. Mainly the dog.

Ruby: Interesting. Well, Jaune what about you? What game did you go to?

Jaune: You can’t be serious. All of you have only been to one game?

Ruby: Yeah. I was in DMC.

Yang: I was in Street Fighters.

Blake: Ninja Gaiden.

Weiss: Bayonetta.

Jaune: Which one? In fact, red, blue or purple?

Weiss: Purple.

Ren: Nioh.

Nora: God of War Ragnorock 

Emerald: Tomb Raider.

Oscar: Kingdom Hearts.

Jaune: Oh my god. For real?

Ruby: Matter of fact, you’ve been gone for a while. What game were you in?

Jaune: I was in four.

Yang: Four? Like the fourth-

Jaune: No I was in four games?

Oscar: What were they like?

Jaune: Um hell.

Ruby: O.

Jaune: I was in hell. First I was in the Resident Evil series.

Yang: Number?

Jaune: 8.

Yang: Oo did you enjoy-

Jaune: I didn’t see the appeal. Especially, if the same tall woman, is trying to kill and eat you. And they were mild compared to a fungus monster, a crazy doll, a fetus, and an insane man with magnetic powers with the temper of a nine-year-old. I don’t know how I survived half that nonsense.

Yang: Damn.

Jaune: That was light work though. Then I went to find something called the Elden Ring.

Nora: Oh. Did you score any maidens?

Jaune: I will hurt you.

Ren: I mean it couldn’t been that bad. What was your role? 

Jaune: The victim.

Weiss: Didn’t you have weapons?

Jaune: Of course, in Resident Evil I had guns. Then for Elden Ring, I had swords and magic. Too bad I was against insane bosses who were completely out of my league. And one of them was a man who fought me with his bare hands! 

Nora: Oh.

Jaune: Had my butt bent over.

Oscar: Pause.

Jaune: Then Melina. Oh god. Oh god, A dragon flame thrower.

Blake: Jaune?

Jaune: After I got done with that madness, I went further deep into hell. Where my only option was to run.

Ruby: From what?

Jaune: Killer toy monkeys. An evil little girl. Clowns. Human-legged ducks. Golden Statues. Bagged Nurses. A Stuffed Mama Bear doll. I was lucky there weren’t more. 

Ruby: Oh god. 

Jaune: All while collecting these purple gems and running from the devil while assisting a witch. Who I have to admit is very hot. 

Emerald: Who were the worst?

Jaune: The worst ones were the Joy-joy Gang.

Emerald: Who were they?

Jaune: Animatronic robots.

Oscar: How were they so bad?

Jaune: Dark Deception. They’ll let you think you had a chance. First, they can become a giant ass robot. One of them can run faster than me. And when you think you've beaten all three of them, nine more will take their place- They have an army. Unlike the others, those guys had a better chance of catching me. They were just having fun. And when they caught me… … *remembers the beatdown* I swear if it wasn’t for their boss still needing me alive I wouldn’t have survived. 

Oscar: What was the last game?

Jaune: … … 

Oscar: Jaune? Jaune what was the last game?

Jaune: *remembers the people he lost. The people he’s murdered. The monsters he’s faced. The choice that could change everything.*

Jaune: I have no regrets.

Oscar: What?

Jaune: Nothing Oscar.

Ruby: Um… Are you going to be okay?

Jaune: Yep. As long as we killed the thing?

RWBY and NERO: … …

Jaune: Don’t tell me. 

*Roars*

Jaune: Let’s see.  Nine of us are here. Giant boss. Yep, we’re in an RPG. 

Ruby: Let’s go team.

Jaune: Wait what are our roles though?

*bob*

Ruby: Sniper. Cool.

Yang: Brawler. Nice.

Blake: Ninja. Hm.

Weiss: Mage. Indeed.

Emerald: Thief. Awesome.

Oscar: Support. Ah.

Nora: Berserker. Yes.

Ren: Archer. I’m fine with this.

Jaune: *terrified* 

Nora: What’s your role Jaune?

Jaune: HEY! FIGHT ME!! FIGHT! ME!

Ruby: Tank.

[miraluking-respectfully]

How Tall are the SWTOR Boyfriends?

This was written some months ago, but the Theron Height Poll has inspired me to actually post it.

Basing my metrics around 1) the average male height in the USA where I live (5'9" or 1.75m, according to google) 2) what would be funniest or cutest when matched to their personalities and dynamics with the player character. Bear in mind: I am not operating under the assumption that being a short man is something to be ashamed of (it isn't in the real world and it isn't in Star Wars), but some of the husbands in this video game have personalities that are...enhanced by engaging in a little playful stereotyping. You'll see what I mean.

Jorgan: 5'11-6'/~1.8m, hovering somewhere in the above average range. It makes him more intimidating to the average private who makes the mistake of getting his attention, but by the same token, more charming when he warms up to the Trooper and proves himself just a big fuzzy kitty. With a big fuzzy sniper rifle

Andronikos: 5'6ish, 5'7ish (~1.7m), hard to tell because he slouches. He only really stands up straight when he's trying to be a big tough guy

Quinn: 5'7"/1.7018m. No ambiguity because his posture is perfect. Alternate Interpretation: However tall your SW is, he is exactly 6 centimeters shorter. Come Here Elbow Rest

Doc: 5'4"/1.6m. No, not because I think his womanizing personality is him "overcompensating"; in fact Doc's height is only ever an advantage in his romantic conquests. He comes on so strong that him being particularly tall might be intimidating. But nah, he's just a little birthday boy, so the hot people in his orbit let their guard down, allowing him to get in close and hit 'em with a pickup line related to his medical expertise. Being small also means he's harder to hit when helping retrieve wounded resistance fighters from the battlefield #BalmorraForever

Felix: 5'11"/~1.8m, he gets an ABOVE AVERAGE height bc he is an ABOVE AVERAGE husband can I get an AMEN

Torian: You ever met a high school freshman and been fucking shocked that children are allowed to be so enormous? The kid's like, 14 years old and shot up like two feet over the summer, and it feels illegal? That's Torian. He's 19 and he's been 6'2"/~1.87m for the past five and a half years, but he's still a little gangly and the only reason he knows how to control his extremely long limbs is he's literally a trained fighter. Alternate Interpretation: If your BH is taller than 5'10, he's 5'10 exactly

Corso: 6'/1.82m. I know I just said negative associations around short men don't exist in The Galaxy Far Far Away, but Corso seems like the kind of guy who would somehow independently develop a complex about his height, if he was short. The fact he doesn't means he must be tall

Vector: God, I really wanted to make him on the shorter side of average to pair with his mild-mannered personality and contrast the more unusual elements of his speech and his eyes, but his sleek character design makes him feel tall when I'm looking at him. He's also the only LI I've drawn beside one of my characters, and I just sort of unconsciously made him tall because my agent is kind of short, and it looked appealing. Results inconclusive; some boyfriends can grow as tall as starships while others can be as small as mites

Arcann: 5'8"/1.72m. (Thexan was 5'9")

Theron: No taller than 5'9"/1.75m. Theron seems like a pretty normal guy when you meet him, until he reveals himself to be an insane little freak (affectionate), so giving him the most Average Height Possible feels correct.

Koth: However tall Lana is, Koth is exactly 2 cm shorter.

Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk. I encourage spirited debate in the replies. Girl LI Height Opinions still percolating

[kharrneth]

Queering the Blood God

This is Bo's fault btw @alphabitchnkari

Khorne is undoubtedly and unequivocally the most popular of the Chaos Gods, both among fans and with GW themselves. There are many reasons for this, and I believe one of those reasons is that in the hypermasculine and dark settings of Warhammer, both 40k and Fantasy, Khorne and his legions are the premier "manly" faction (and Warhammer is undoubtedly marked towards men and boys).

Khorne (and Khornates) are 100% a male power fantasy, albeit an evil one. He's the biggest, strongest Chaos God with traditional masculine associations (Bulls, Dogs, Wolves, War, Fighting, Courage, Honor, ect.). He's dominant, in control, in command, gets the hot girl (Valkia), and spurns the most feminine of the Chaos Gods, which is Slaanesh.

My own take on Khorne focuses on different aspects of his character that are there, but usually fade into the background or are not touched on a whole ton. My Khorne was designed with the aim of being attractive to both the feminine and queer gaze, while also staying true to the canon for the most part while ALSO actively defying the typical MPF body-type. Instead of the washboard abs that most male power fantasy characters go for, my Khorne is built more like a strongman. The strongman build is actually strong; the bodybuilder look many may use when they make a MPF character is actually mostly for aesthetic. Logically, it would make more sense for Khorne to look like this:

Taran Fiddler (Middle Piece), Lambstooth (Farthest Piece)

Than this:

Kratos, Wolverine, and Conan are Archetypal Male Power Fantasy Characters.

Also, since his Bloodthirsters look more like the second row, it would serve as a physical distinguisher between Khorne and his daemons. Most Chaos Ogres also worship Khorne, and therefore feed into his physicality, and let's not forget the fact that 1) Chaos Gods DO get fat and 2) most times we see Khorne he isn't exactly mobile.

Warhammer also takes place in what is essentially the Dark/Middle Ages, where the viewpoints on weight were different and associated with affluence, power, and privilege.

He's not exactly slender in the canon art either...

My Khorne conjures queer spaces and hopefully attracts the female gaze, too; at least, that was sort of the idea midways through his design. I wanted my Khorne to be appealing in the same ways and to the same people as King Bowser is from the Mario franchise. Khorne take inspiration from the Barazoku (Big Bara Blood God anyone?), the Bear community (Khorne is canonically hairy), and the furry Musclegut subcultures, since Khorne IS a dog furry.

Thus, the finished product:

Big Beautiful Blood God

Khorne is the quintessential manly god in the manly wargame that is warhammer, to the point of spurning and excluding the feminine. I had a lot of fun queering him. That will certainly upset the more close minded of the Warhammer community (and there are a lot of you; look at you especially 40k), but honestly the fact that Queered Khorne might piss of some bigoted dude tickles my fancy immensely.

[blushblushbear]

ok so i just got 3 new tattoos and like 4 more piercings YKNOW WHAT THAT MEANS more punk s/o headcanons (if ur up for it ofc <3) maybe with Volks, Anon, Logan and Haru? (i need haru so bad mans is so F'ING FINE)

hell yeah

Volks

really likes how much you like to stand out

low key jealous of your tattoos

okay medium key

high key

he's high key jealous

he wants a tattoo so bad but he's so indecisive about what to get and where to put it

you might need to peer pressure him into finally biting the bullet

peer pressure with his permission of course-- you have his okay to bully him a little

every now and then catches a glimpse of you and keeps thinking 'my s/o is so cool...' along with an internal swoon

he doesn't know the music scene that well but he's really down for you to show him

he's also down for the anti-establishment message

fight the power

you look hot

Anon

another member of the really digs that you're a rebel squad

he's a little more quiet about his riots

also a lot more digital

but still

also he's the king of helping you make sure shit heals properly

never will your colors run nor shall you be infected with him around

has loads of gloves for you too use when handling anything fresh

thinks the ink and piercings look sick as fuck

knows he could never

his germaphobic ass agreeing to bleed somewhere outside his spotless apartment???

or at all ever????

yeah no

he's gonna leave that to you

can't tell if he'd be cool to talk bands with or super annoying--- he def knows some underground shit

might turn into a battle of the more obscure bands

take from that what you will

Logan

honestly his world is not one that normally has piercings like that

having too much metal touching flesh isn't the best idea for someone in his line of work

but damn if he doesn't think it looks cool on you

it's actually a little like--- a contradicting appeal to him

you look so wild

but he knows you're so sweet

seeing those bright eyes and warm smile surrounded by metal that gleams like starlight???

yeah, it does it for him

you're so cool

and cute

and you probably think he's a square

mostly cause he calls himself things like 'a square' unironically

but he's glad you like him anyway

also def would enlist your help in figuring out a future tattoo

another member of the not sure what to get squad

also another member of the making sure your shit heals properly squad

Haru

LOVES THIS

IS LIVING FOR THIS

out of all the dudes here who think you're crazy hot for how you present yourself

he's at the top of the list

he loves a unique beauty

and a wild spirit

dead ass your whole vibe really does it for him

he doesn't know much about the punk movement but he can really get behind it

especially the anti-war/tear down of ruling powers part

but yeah, he's bad giving you side eye all the time

as in he's staring at you

and smiling

like that smirky smile where you are not even pretending to not check someone out

tells you your hot at random basically all the time

asks you to pick out his next tattoo but low key he's just looking for an excuse to have you feel his bicep and he's not even shy about that

god you're hot

[charliespringsleftconverse]

Sweet Love Beneath The Christmas Tree - Chapter Three

Word Count: 3135 | Read on AO3

Chapter One | Chapter Two

Write's Notes: I want you to know that I had no idea what I was doing in this chapter. I’m an avid smut reader but I had never written smut myself for the consumption of others so I gave this chapter my all! 😂 Let’s just say, this chapter has no plot! I was even editing this TODAY and ended up adding even more to it because I’m a menace to society 😂 Anyway, ENJOYYYY @thevalkyriesshadow @acotargiftexchange

Warnings: This three-chapter story contains mature content such as smut in the third chapter. Reader discretion is advised. Age advisory 18+

Gwyn waltzed her way back to the sofa, playfully twirling and dancing in her peony-colored dress until she reached the living room, where she dropped next to Azriel, who was turning on the closed captions on the television. If there was one thing Azriel was really good at, it was being attentive to others' needs—definitely not his own, considering he should have paid more attention to his landing earlier when jumping off the roof. Not his smartest move. That aside, Azriel was good about paying attention to the small things those around him preferred, especially Gwyn. She was his other half, and it went without saying that Azriel was head over heels for her. 

To Azriel, Gwyn wasn’t sunshine or daisies, she was like a droplet of rain. She was gentle to the touch and refreshing to the taste, and by gods was that taste addicting. A smile painted the corner of his lips as she nestled on the sofa. He knew for certain that Gwyn couldn’t watch a single show or movie without the closed captions or subtitles on. She’d mentioned to him once when they first started seeing each other that she liked knowing what the background characters were saying or doing as the captions clued the viewer in on tiny, hidden secrets one wouldn’t traditionally catch by simply listening. A theory that he tested to be true and had indulged her since. Hence, why he was making sure their movie included captions. 

“Cookies are in the oven so I am ready when you are,” chirped Gwyn. Tugging on a soft blanket from the basket near the sofa, she wrapped them both in it. It was a smooth plush white blanket with blue snowflakes big enough for two. With cold winter breeze constantly blowing through the tall trees and the ongoing temperature drops, the cabin was never short of coverings to keep warm. 

The screen flicked at the click of a button and the movie started. Within a couple of minutes, they found themselves enjoying cookies and more hot cocoa by the fire. Once the sun kissed the mountain peaks goodnight, the moon stretched above the trees like a child ready to play peaking through the snowy trunks. Night quickly fell within half an hour into the film. Gwyn and Azriel had been too entranced to notice the bright moonlight shining through the window into the living room. The magic of Christmas unfolding before their eyes had captivated them with elves living at the North Pole, Santa prepping for his big day, and talking reindeer with peculiar personalities. They were too entranced by the magic of their childhood, and a chance to believe in it all again for just a moment. 

After taking another sip from his sleigh-shaped festive mug, Azriel glanced over at Gwyn. “I have to confess. When I was younger, like seven years old. I had a huge crush on the girl elf who brought Santa his hot chocolate.”

Gwyn chuckled. “That’s fair. She’s adorable and I can see the appeal for seven-year-old you.” There wasn’t a single person in Gwyn’s life who hadn’t developed a crush on an actor or the actor's portrayal of a certain character. Like that one time Gwyn had fallen in love with Kylo Ren from Star Wars and proceeded to watch every film with Adam Driver in it only to discover she wasn’t in love with the actor, just their portrayal of a specific character. 

Taking a sip from her hot cocoa, Gwyn snuggled closer to Azriel. “I also had a crush on one of the boys in the movie too, you know?”

“Tim Allen as Santa?” Azriel smirked and glanced down at his own Santa suit. There was always a bit of fun in teasing Gwyn. Her freckles would emphasize when her cheeks turned red which made him want to kiss every single one across her face. 

Gwyn laughed. “No!”

“What, Santa doesn’t do it for you? C’mon, the man, the myth, the legend!” Azriel pointed at the screen. It was perfect timing as a fully bearded man in a red suit appeared on screen. 

“Why would little me have a crush on Santa?!” Gwyn nudged him while laughing. Reaching over the end of the sofa, she put her hot cocoa down. 

“Don’t you? I mean,” Azriel gestured at himself.

“I mean, I certainly like my Santa.” Gwyn sat on her knees facing him. “But that’s different.”

“Well, I certainly like my elf.” Azriel inched closer, not close enough for what he wanted to do but enough to give Gwyn the opening. To give her the chance to close the gap. Gwyn bit her lip in an attempt to contain herself, but her smile still pushed through. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink.

No matter how long they had been together, Azriel still made Gwyn feel a certain type of way. 

There was a tingling sensation in her chest like the soft tickle from a feather or the gentle caress of a butterflies wings. Inching closer, Gwyn dared to play the game.“Do you, Santa?” 

They were practically sharing one breath now. Azriel hummed, a sound that sent an electrical current down to Gwyn’s toes. 

“Too bad Santa’s injured,” said Gwyn as she pulled away. They both could play at this little game but she wanted to take the lead. She wanted him in the palm of her hand. She wanted him to beg for it. If he pleaded her name, Gwyn would know immediately that Azriel was waving a white flag—surrendering. The man was always down bad for her, but when she took charge, Azriel was nothing but putty in her hands. Sitting back on her knees, Gwyn pretended to look interested in the film once again. Luckily, this was a holiday classic; Gwyn could practically recite some scenes from memory. In all honesty, Gwyn was much more invested in this little game than in the movie but she wouldn’t let him in on that yet.

“Gwyn.”

Oh? There was a tingling feeling that buzzed from her chest, down her spine, to her toes when he said her name. Azriel’s eyes sparkled with more than just a challenge. It wasn’t often he showed his cards early but Gwyn appreciated it all the same. Check. There was nothing she enjoyed more than teasing him. They were a match made in heaven in that way. 

Slowly, inching toward him, Gwyn put her fingers in his soft raven hair and kissed him. She made sure to drag her motions out, nice and slow. Very slow. Her lips moved up and down against Azriel’s passionately, he tasted like peppermint and chocolate, with her fingers slowly running through his hair. After a full minute, Gwyn pulled back first. She opened her eyes, glanced down at his pants, and then back up to quite the achievement. Check.

“Gwyneth Berdara,” Azriel whispered, eyes closed. “You will be the death of me.”

Checkmate.

She smiled against his lips as he pulled her in again by the neck, desire coursing through. Gwyn couldn’t help but moan this time against Azriel’s mouth when he bit her bottom lip. Oh, yes. Gwyn thought she could hold back but she wanted him just as much—needed him just as much. Something ignited inside of her like sparklers on New Year's. Warmth flooded her chest, her cheeks, and down her body. Pushing Azriel back against the sofa, Gwyn climbed over him and straddled his lap. Azriel’s hands quickly found purchase on her hips and lower back. Gwyn began shifting her hips rubbing herself against him, creating friction between their two bodies to soothe the aching feeling between her legs. This felt like more than just some normal kiss, it was electrifying. It always was for Gwyn and she could feel his hardness rubbing against where she wanted him most. When their kiss broke, Gwyn let out a ragged breath and allowed herself to enjoy the feather-light trails his mouth left down her neck. 

Azriel took off her belt, unbuttoned her dress, and tugged at the dress opening exposing her neck and collarbone. There, he trailed kisses that graduated into long strokes of his lips up and down licking her body. Gwyn wanted more. She wanted him against her neck, his mouth on her breast, and his fingers rubbing her in all the right places. Gods, she wanted him inside of her. Not yet. Not until she had her fun.

Unbuttoning her dress, Azriel was quick to pull her bra down and her breasts up so he could taste her. That had her moaning. “Just like that,” Gwyn sighed.

Both of her hands found purchase in his hair and tugged to bring him closer. He sucked against her chest capturing her nipple. He made sure to give her breasts the attention they needed, slowly and passionately. One of Gwyn’s hands cradled Azriel’s head exactly where he was while the other traveled between their bodies. She could feel the wetness accumulating between her legs. Gwyn reached through his pants and stroked against his length. Azriel groaned and gently scraped his teeth against her nipple. She wanted him desperately but she wasn’t done having her fun. Sighing against his sturdy frame, Gwyn murmured, “I want you.”

Breathly against his ear, she continued. “I want to take you in my mouth.” Gwyn felt his body shiver and his length twitch against her palm. 

Azriel groaned into her breasts, teeth scraping deliciously against her sensitive peaks.

Standing, Gwyn let her dress fall to the ground and unhooked her bra while Azriel unbuckled himself. Once comfortably on her knees, Gwyn did the rest. She glanced up at those glittering brown eyes whose attention was all on her. Azriel’s eyes were wholly on Gwyn’s, their breathing ragged, granting her permission to do what she wanted to him. She wanted his eyes on her when she took him in her mouth. She wanted to see the look on his face when she did. She wanted to see him lose control at the feel of her touch. For now, her hands stroked him in preparation.

“You look good on your knees, Berdara.”

Bringing herself closer, Gwyn smiled to herself before she kissed the tip of his length causing it to twitch in her hands.  She took her time kissing him down and then back up. The motion sent a shudder down Azriel’s back. Gwyn then placed her lips back on the tip and enveloped him in her mouth. Azriel moaned gripping the sofa. Meanwhile, Gwyn took her time taking him inch by inch, until she was all the way down before coming back up. Azriel couldn’t stop himself from gathering her hair to marvel at Gwyn, her mouth, and the way her breasts moved as she took down his full length.

“You have no idea how much I want you.” Azriel gripped her hair tighter trying his best to not guide her himself or lose control. Even though he was certainly close to losing it.

Gwyn took the comment as an opening to hollow her cheeks and start a sucking motion. This had Azriel breathing harder in seconds and speaking in tongues. At this moment, her mouth was his center of gravity and she was a force to be reckoned with. 

“Fuck, sweetheart,” said Azriel. The first word dragged out like a song.

“Begging already?”

Azriel chuckled.

“My turn,” answered Azriel, a shift in his voice. Shuffling out of his pants, he patted the sofa to which Gwyn obliged. Once Gwyn took her seat, it was Azriel who was on his knees. He reached up to kiss her and then sat back. With eyes on hers, he took off whatever remaining clothes she had and tossed them to the side. Azriel began placing two initial kisses, one on each of her knees before gently using both hands to spread her open and admire what he needed on display. He kissed his way closer, down her thighs, until he reached his destination. 

“You're soaking wet for me, baby.” Azriel had never been one for dirty talk but after learning that it made Gwyn’s body respond a certain way, well, he deemed it critical since then. As much as he wanted to dismiss the books that Gwyn, Emerie, and Nesta constantly giggled about, there was something to be learned from them. Azriel had read a couple, purely to understand what was so great about those ‘smutty books’. It was in moments like this that he was grateful for the lessons that literature could teach. And so Azriel brought his mouth closer and gently began to stroke her center. Intuitively, her body pushed him closer to where she needed him, her legs voluntarily spreading for him. 

“So responsive.” Azriel chuckled. 

Licking her in upward motions, he took his time between her legs. Gwyn began to sing the tune to his favorite song with gasps and sighs in different pitches. He harmonized to the melody humming while he worked in between her legs. A proud composer of his musical work. After several minutes of Gwyn shifting and quietly calling for him, Azriel looked up at her with dark eyes seeking permission as he placed two fingers at her entrance. Gwyn nodded breathlessly—desperately. Please, her eyes seemed to plead. 

“I need a verbal,” said Azriel.

“Yes,” Gwyn half whispered.

As he provided his full attention to the task, Azriel pushed two fingers inside of her and quickly found his favorite spot. The Ah spot, named after his favorite sound that Gwyn made. Stroking slowly inside of her, Azriel began to build a pattern with his mouth and fingers. Gwyn couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped her. Her head pressed further back into the sofa and her hands dug into Azriel’s hair. 

“Don't stop. Please, don't stop.” 

“Begging already?” Azriel teased.

Gwyn’s moans turned louder as she felt her arousal continuing to build inside of her. She only hoped her earlier teasing didn’t come to bite her in the ass right now. She wouldn’t be able to take it if Azriel decided to use this moment to completely stop. 

“Just, like that, oh… god.” Gwyn’s legs began to shake as her body closed in on Azriel’s fingers. She could feel herself dancing and falling over the precipice and she couldn’t have him stop. With a hand outstretched on Azriel’s head, she held him in place, Gwyn’s other hand reached toward her breast, squeezing. Azriel made sure to not leave the other without equal care and reached for her other breast. Gwyn’s eyes shut as she reveled in the blissful feeling, a growing crescendo that soon toppled over. 

Without hesitation, Gwyn begged for more. “I need you, Azriel.”

Azriel was up and ready but Gwyn placed a hand on his chest and uttered one word. “Sofa.”

Right, my foot. Understanding what she meant, Azriel sat back on the sofa allowing Gwyn to straddle him. Azriel pulled off his shirt, tossed it across the room, and captured Gwyn’s face with both hands pulling her in for a kiss. Pushing her chest against his, Gwyn lined up his length before slowly sinking down inch by inch until she was fully seated. Their lips parted as they moaned at the delicious feeling. 

“I love that sound you make,” said Azriel. 

Gwyn felt her body respond to the comment.

“I'm not gonna last long if you tighten up like that, sweetheart.” Azirel placed his forehead against hers.

“Sorry,” she said breathlessly. “You have that effect on me.”

Azriel chuckled and kissed her deeper. 

Gwyn began to ride him slowly allowing them to explore each other. Their kisses evolved from sweet passion to desperate desire and need. As desire grew, so did Gwyn’s pace. Their touches grew hungrier and more assertive. One of Azriel’s hands played with Gwyn’s breast, fingertips twisting her nipple slightly while the other was sure to hold her closer by the waist. Meanwhile, Gwyn’s hands found purchase on his chest and around his neck. The room grew heavier as it filled with heavy breathing, the sound of skin-on-skin contact, and the melody their moans created in each other's mouths.

“Gwyn,” Azriel begged. He was close but he couldn’t let go without her. 

“Yes.” One word was all she said.

Azriel brought one of his hands in between them and stimulated Gwyn where she was most sensitive. He rubbed against her bundle of nerves and immediately felt a shift. Azriel felt Gwyn catch her breath and her body tense in anticipation. Her entire body pressed closer to him but she never stopped moving and neither did he as he thrusted back into her, meeting her stroke for stroke. 

“Let go, sweetheart,” said Azriel.

They were both flushed, skin glistening but neither stopping. One more push and pull and they were on what felt like an infinite high that would never descend. The moment Azriel felt Gwyn’s body fully tense above him, his own release followed. She clung to him desperately even after the last roll of her hips, catching her breath but also as she tried to find a way to come back to her body. They stayed there, catching their breath, not moving for a while. Every time they touched like this, it was electrical and like something out of a movie or a book. Gwyn couldn’t believe that touching Azriel felt like this every time, like she belonged to him as he did to her. She hoped they never grew out of this craving desire. Catching her breath, realization dawned on Gwyn.

“We can’t be doing this again with a baby in the house,” said Gwyn, her eyes wide. 

Oh my god. The one time we hook up on the sofa. Gwyn couldn’t believe that, of course, the one time there was a baby in the house was the moment that they decided to get wild in a common area. This would have felt normal had any of the other couples done it but this was out of the ordinary for them. Azriel and Gwyn tended to keep to themselves in their room. This… this was new.

Azriel let out a full belly laugh. “They could walk in here at any moment, and that’s what you’re worried about?” 

Gwyn slapped Azriel across the chest. As much as she wanted to be mad at him, she was also a contributor. She could only hope that the village town center was sufficiently interesting enough on Christmas Eve to give the two of them more time to clean up.

“C’mon, before anyone comes knocking through that door and we have to explain why we’re naked in the living room.” Gwyn stood from the sofa and began gathering her clothes and throwing them in the laundry room. 

“I don’t think any explanation is needed.”

“Azriel!”

[laxibbeb]

Don’t worry, it’s truly been a week for us all. And not to flood you with asks, I just happened to have this ready at the same time as your snippet:)

I’m a fan of those Greek mythology retellings (although I haven’t finished Song of Achilles because I know how it ends and I’m scared of getting hurt). And I don’t know if you’ve ever read Gods of Jade and Shadow, but it was interesting.

Ninth House is fun, it has that mystery vibe to it while still being dark urban fantasy. Which is a genre that I don’t typically enjoy?

Also I enjoyed Too Good to be True. It was interesting trying to figure out each character’s motives throughout the book.

Have you read Priory of the Orange Tree? I loved it, but I ran into the same problem as you. I had a massive book hangover and haven’t been able to get into the second one yet 😂

I…am hesitant to tell you one of the things I’m pretentious about. I think it might give me away. I can tell you it has to do with one of my hobbies, though! For the other, I can be a bit of a snob about wine. I love a good Sauvignon Blanc. Truly immaculate. (But YES! Let’s be pretentious bitches together. That’s truly the dream. It’s also what Mor x Nesta could have been but anyway) haha maybe I’ll indulge both of us and write that someday 😊

Ooh the weaver? I see the appeal! It’s hard to pick one for ACOTAR because most of the characters are already hot. Andras, maybe? Dying for the sake of the plot? What a guy. Although I guess he’s not special in that regard, if you think about it.

I’m so sorry I just started talking😂

For non ACOTAR? I’m going to be honest I didn’t think about this either, so I’m doing the same as you. Uh, this is definitely a popular one, but that one fish from finding Nemo. Gill, I think his name is.

I can verify I am not one of the two people in the fandom who can understand that reference. Unsure if that narrows anything down for you (so I’m going to narrow it down even further and tell you I’m American)

I feel like these asks keep getting longer and longer. I don’t know what that says about us.

Anyways!

Do you have any favorite fics? They could be for any ship, honestly. I also enjoy Nessian and sometimes Feysand, and am open to other ones too.

Do you play any instruments? (I don’t think I asked this already?)

santa ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 i hope you flood me with asks, i love them

oH MY GOD i do that too, where i leave a book when i know it'll get bad 🫢 i'm scared to proceed with other books form "The Poppy War" for an example, because i have a vague idea of what will happen and i just. i just can't i've not read "Ninth House", i wanted to but not gonna lie, i'm scared i won't like it.. leigh bardugo hasn't ever done it for me before

i wanted to give something new of hers a try, though! so maybe?

"Too good to be true" is actually going on my tbr now, especially since i promised myself i'd read more thrillers (and haven't but shhh)

i HAVE read priory, (i have like, 80 pages left, but i'm GETTING TO IT so let's say i read it for a moment) it was so good! but yeah, the second one is gong to have to wait

(i would absolutely read an 800 page long, day to day account of tané's life, though)

---

OKAY, a wine snob??? that's so classy and sophisticated of you, santa (might i say - hot) i'll wait for your other pretentious thing, that's ok see! you see the mor x nesta potential for what it really is... divine and so, so sexy if you ever decide to write mor x nesta i'll owe you my firstborn, actually

---

OH MY GOD, THE ANDRAS SHADE (i wish the most important man in the acotar series had a single speaking line, not gonna lie)

okay, here's the thing - i've watched nemo one time and, stupid me i thought that was it, so i deleted all the memories i had of this movie. little did i know people would be referencing it for the rest of time i googled gill the fish from finding nemo and you know what? i GET IT. it's his slutty fin swoop

---

you know what, if you said that you recognized what i was talking about, only then would i have IMMEDIATELY known who you are

i now have 3 pieces of information that could possibly help me in figuring out your identity, and let me tell you, it doesn't narrow it down that much 🤣 so you're in the clear

---

I BRING FORTH MY FAVOURITE FANFICTION:

i cannot have a favourite fics list without mentioning @separatist-apologist, as she's the reason why i'm even in this fandom to begin with, so even though we all know this already -> take your pick and it's my favourite ever

what lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why by @foundress0fnothing THIS ONE IS SO MUCH FUN, and it has bi lucien; what more could you want

Springtide by @clarafae i've been really enjoying this one and i'm not done with it yet but it belongs here, ok i did not think i could like high lady of spring!elain but turns out i just needed a good fic

also, i've started A Blaze in the Dark by the famous @the-lonelybarricade and i can already tell you it belongs here as well

lately i've been reading a lot of azris, actually!

Just Enough Light to Cast Shadows by @jules-writes-stories (if you're reading this because ot the tag, jules please know i haven't forgotten about you, I'LL COME BACK) anyway, i love this one and i've been having so much fun reading it

i'm due a reread of Kerosene by @chunkypossum which is my absolute favourite and changed my life, actually

AND there are so many more but i need to finish replying to you before i turn 80 years old, unfortunately

---

i do not play an instrument :(( i used to really want to play the violin when i was a kid but when i asked my mom if i could attend music school she got war flashbacks and said she wouldn't put me through that (she also said i have no predispositions for doing music, which wow, thanks mom (she was right) 😋) so no instruments for baby laxi but i like to sing in my car when i'm driving 🤣

---

we're writing love letters to one another from across the sea and as the time passes they get progressively longer we just need to embrace it

it got to the point when i'm putting dividers whenever i change the topic to make it easier to read 🤣

as always, santa tell me your answers too, please!! and have a

[vesemirsexual]

What is even more disappointing about how game!Ciri is written is that CDPR Can give us compelling and complex “ trauma and grief can cause you to repeat the cycle of violence” arcs for characters like Syanna and Lambert but apparently completely forgot what a huge part of Ciri’s character that is

the first time I played I thought she got amnesia as well because of how much of her fiery temper was toned down, and how her trauma is hardly mentioned ( and it's not like the characters in this game trauma are completely ignored it is talked about in some quests) I wanna see what she really would have done had she seen Emhyr again

I feel like game Ciri had two distinct groups they were aiming for: people who found Geralt even more appealing because of the fatherhood angle so they had to work his actual kid in AND hot girl fan service.

The thing is, if they gave her too much personality or depth, she wouldn’t have fit into these groups well and therefore people would’ve found her annoying and/or off-putting. People already do sometimes but not to the degree that they would’ve if they even BEGAN to touch on the absolute shitstorm that is Ciris psyche after everything.

Also realistically, they made the Witcher games centre about Geralt bc he appeals to their large majority male fan base: combatant, dark mysterious tragic past, ripped, attractive, fucks hot women, is a good guy while still also getting to do badass things and beat people up. If you look in depth at Witcher fans on different platforms when they talk about him, a lot of dudes are very much “oh my god he’s literally me”. Ciri could never be the focus because she wouldn’t appeal to that same group, and we know that every time a game is released people throw the weirdest bitch fits about female characters, especially main ones.

This is also why Ciri is made an attractive character, when realistically that tiny little facial scar they’ve given her is nothing, she’s spent her developmental years on the run/being attacked/under extreme stress so I honestly can’t imagine her being a tall skinny but also hourglass woman with one or two scars, and put her in a cropped shirt (such a bad choice it’s mildly hysterical).

I think Lambert and Syanna are also a really good example of how people handle angry traumatised characters too, because Lambert gets a lot more leeway than Syanna (and I say this as a big fan of both!) Like there are literally people out there and on this webbed site who say she is pure evil, one of the evilest people in the Witcher for being a fucked up mean trauma victim who hurt a Poor Little Meow Meow (Higher vampire with decades of life experience more than her, incredibly possessive, responded to emotional manipulation by violently attacking an entire city). Like Lambert literally brags about axii’ing a guy to shoot himself in the head with his own crossbow.

Ciri got done very dirty, but I see how and why it happened. Book Ciri deserves rights but unfortunately I think Games Ciri will always be how people perceive her, and therefore portray her in fic, art and other work predominantly (praying same doesn’t happen with TWN Ciri). We’ve been robbed of such a complex, angry young woman and I mourn it 🙏

Edit: I can’t even touch on the Emhyr thing because the fact she can reconcile with him is honestly mildly fucking horrific. Like even if they’ve removed the nasty ass incest factor, that man quite literally destroyed her entire world and was willing to do so further in order to get his way. The fact she can call him father in one ending is genuinely vomit inducing and so disrespectful to Ciri as a character (also the audacity to play down that Ciri literally sees Yen as her mama WHILE playing devils advocate for War McCrime is a whole choice).

[andromeddog]

Hi! Thank you for responding to my previous ask about helmets during wwi. I was also just wondering if u have any tips for drawing hair? this is for working on art in general and not a project. i have tried to use references and sketches a bunch, have practiced a ton, but it is still difficult. i was just wondering if u have any tips for drawing hair, esp male hair? thank you!!

oh wow anon hi again, coming in hot w an interesting question bc i genuinely don’t think ive ever consciously considered or examined the way to draw hair/the way i draw hair…. (apologies in advance this got really long)

ig first of all when u mention “male hair” u mean short hair? given the men i draw r p much all historical military dudes they tend to have short short hair so im going to assume u mean that (bc i know men w very luscious locks.) drawing it is something that took me a while to get used to…… when i was into golden kamuy my fave had a buzzcut and i was struggling to find someway to showcase that without it looking like a helmet (i started to figure it out towards the end) i think the big balance there is trying to manage level of detail. w some styles u rly dont need much (buzzcut is mostly about hairline and shape of the head, i break up the smooth silhouette by adding a few lines to suggest that it’s fuzzy or spikey) and others require way more attention (wavy/curly hair comes in a variety of shapes so figuring out the specific curl pattern ur going for is crucial, fine line between showing that accurately and just making a bunch of visual noise)

(also also this is just a fact of the media im into and to b completely honest w myself and you - we’re talking mostly white dudes here in this specific post, this is not a catch all for any hair type but esp more curly/coiled hair textures. i would recommend seeking out artists of color who have more experience w that bc i do b drawing a lot of white guys! and they are not the only type of guy!)

genuinely hair can feel like more of an obstacle for me, slowing down the process for what i would rather be drawing (uniforms) so im always stoked when i can just draw a helmet (sometimes, as previously established helmets r also my mortal enemy). often times ill start with the face but skip everything above the forehead until the very end of the line art, which leaves behind a very silly looking half decapitated soldier (there’s no tip here, just a weird quirk in how i go through a piece lolll) hair on its own is usually delicate and ive never once in my life been able to render something delicately, so thank god for gross war dudes who’s hair is messy enough for my style to finally make sense

IN GENERAL…..watch out when doing the lines, you don’t need to include EVERY single hair or EVERY single lock, blank space can imply they’re there and trying to capture every single centimeter of hair can be too much in the finished product. this is something i suffer from and have talked a bit about BUT it especially rears its head (lol) when drawing hair. i just get too lost in details and then i zoom out and have an insanely dense area of detail right on top of the head that distracts from everything else below it (aka basically all the stuff i WANT to showcase). the eye will automatically b drawn to that spot and no matter how nice the rest of the drawing is ppl will b more focused on whatever the fuck i did w the hair… being frivolous w lines in general can look good when zoomed in but when zoomed out can just make the whole piece…… busy

idk if i have “tips” so much as kind of a reference for how i would go about drawing hair…. here r some examples of hair i’ve drawn that i think dont suck complete ass with a wee bit of analysis. u can tell my absolute fav thing to do is put a lot of detail right where the hair meets the forehead- idk why i just think it makes that intersection more visually appealing.

when im beginning to draw hair i start w the head shape and where approximately the hairline is. then i kind of block off the general shape of the hair on top of that- getting an accurate idea of the boundaries and being able to fill in the details within that space. i try to identify the big “chunks” of hair, the major shapes/flow within the entire shape itself. longer/thicker lines segment those, and then i can fill in that space w shorter/lighter lines to show more detail (if im using a brush w line weight, if im doing mono line i feel my style skews more simple to make up for the lack of line weight)

the next step is a slightly more cleaned up version, getting a better idea of the silhouette and general hair direction. then its lines! and i spend 3 million years destroying my wrist and trying to make sense of earlier sketches…. esp w curly hair oh my god. truthfully i’m still trying to find a balance between “too much” and “not enough” when it comes to curls. again, i have a tendency to go overboard with detail!

also this is a personal plea, but if that hairline is receding, PLEASE for the love of god make sure to include that hairline receding. the hairline is one of those little things that can really help capture likeness; getting it wrong will result in a certain “off-ness” that can make u confused or frustrated as to why this guy doesn’t look quite right. u can also get one of those weird style conflicts where ppl who usually draw younger “””attractive””” men try to draw an older one and it’s very clear they r unwilling to do anything to make the older man look another other than like, 25. (or, from their perspective, unattractive) (i could get up on my soapbox about ppl’s unwillingness to even consider drawing features that aren’t like iphone face hot but that’s my hot take and no one asked) one thing i personally strive for in my work is an accurate depiction, or as close as i can manage w my skills being where they are, so i push that hairline back and i do it will all the love in my heart

ALL OF THIS TO SAY…… idk. this is just my general process, what i’ve been doing and what works for me. maybe it doesn’t make sense or won’t work for you. i will b the first to admit hair is not my strongest skill! i will also b the first to admit my work in general is far from perfect, i have a lot to learn in p much any and all conceivable ways!! but i hope this small novel helped even a little???? anyway have a great day anon mwah mwah mwah 💕✨🦆

[calisources]

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝙄𝘾𝙀 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙀: all these quotes and sentences were taken from the world of ice and fire, a book written as in-universe history book of george r.r. martin's a song of ice and fire universe. change names, pronouns, locations as you see fit.

No man can say with certainty what the future may hold.

Perhaps, in knowing what has already transpired, we can all do our part to avoid the mistakes of our forebears, to emulate their successes.

What one of them does not know is known to another, and little remains truly unknown if one seeks far enough.

Glory may be everlasting, yet it is fleeting as well—soon forgotten in the aftermath of even the most famous of victories if they lead to greater disasters.

If instead you feed the wolf and tame him and turn his pups into your guard dogs, they will protect the flocks when the pack comes ravening.

When a wolf descends upon your flocks, all you gain by killing him is a short respite, for other wolves will come.

You may dress an ironman in silks and velvets, when you look into his eyes, the sea will still be there, cold and grey and cruel.

And all his smiles belong to her and her alone.

These colossal beasts, many times larger than the dragons of Valyria, are said to be made of living ice, with eyes of pale blue crystal and vast translucent wings.

Ice dragons supposedly breathe cold, a chill so terrible that it can freeze a man solid in half a heartbeat.

Like all tales, it takes on the attributes that make it most appealing to those who tell it.

The Westeros of Aegon’s youth was divided into seven quarrelsome kingdoms, and there was hardly a time when two or three of these kingdoms were not at war with one another.

Vermax left a clutch of eggs somewhere in the depths of Winterfell’s crypts, where the waters of the hot springs run close to the walls.

He was stone, hard and strong and unmoving. He was the wind, which rages and howls and blows this way and that.

One is hot and one is cold, yet these ancient kingdoms of sand and snow are set apart from the rest of Westeros by history, culture, and tradition.

Neither was ever truly conquered by the dragons.

The king in the North accepted Aegon Targaryen as his overlord peaceably.

Dornishmen and Northmen alike are derided as savages by the ignorant of the five 'civilized' kingdoms.

Dorne has danced with dragons before, and I would sooner sleep with scorpions.

The more he laughs and gives, the more they despise him.

Wars are bad for trade.

The man who honors all the gods honors none at all.

I desired nothing more than to become one of them.

There is always more to know, more to see, more to learn. The world is vast and wondrous and strange.

Amongst these river folk, women were regarded as the equals of men.

Lady Ellyn must surely be a sorceress, for she has made it rain inside the Rock all year.

His palace was a tent, his throne a saddle.

[crehador]

BROTHER CRAB'S SUMMER 2024 TOP THREE

i can't believe this is happening i really can't believe it but i think i'm gonna have to go with

THIRD PLACE: NIGE JOUZU NO WAKAGIMI

for much of the season, nigewaka seemed like it was easily going to be my anime of the season. it had a banging first episode and never at any point got less enjoyable to me

the animation was consistently beautiful (yeah sure with the occasional jarring bit of cgi but in all honesty it never bothered me much) and the characters are all delightful to me

i think the mix of humor and the horrors of war depicted here, understandably, might not appeal to everyone. but it really worked for me. the fact that these characters are so lively and alive, as opposed to doomed and hopeless, in these times of strife makes the stakes feel all the higher to me

so despite it taking third place on my list, this is still solidly one of the best shows of the season (of the year, even)

a few things just happened to blow me away a tad bit more

SECOND PLACE: DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION

honestly this is so close for me that demons and nigewaka may as well be a tie, but maybe demons gets a slight edge just for being something so fresh to me

god i loved this. it's been a hot minute since i've seen something that felt so real and human. aliens are invading, the world is ending, but girls will be girls

i guess, like nigewaka, demons also mixes some good ol' humor with The Horrors, and it really works here too. the theme of "hey there's this giant alien mothership hanging over the city but life goes on" is executed so well in the early episodes of this series, and the plottier plot comes together in such a satisfying way in the later episodes

and seriously just huge props to ano and lilas ikuta for their performances in the leading roles here, they smashed it. if i didn't know, never in my life would i have guessed they weren't voice actors with years and years of experience each

ANIME OF THE SEASON: TSUE TO TSURUGI NO WISTORIA

first things first, i would not say this is objectively the best show of the season

but holy shit this is the most fun i've had all year

i'm probably more surprised than anyone that wistoria is ending up as my anime of the season, because even after a whole season, the story is just so... it's basically nothing (stay with me)

there are so many things you could call the plot of wistoria. typical, tropey, contrived, textbook, tired, etc etc etc. anyone who finds the plot boring isn't wrong. it's a fantasy magic school series like any other fantasy magic school series, with so many tropes that you'll recognize if you've watched basically any amount of fantasy at all

but for some reason i didn't dislike it. maybe wistoria doesn't do anything new, but it hits on all these familiar plot beats in such fun and entertaining ways

at some point i realized what word i really wanted to use to describe it:

quintessential

sure, it wouldn't be unfair to call it contrived or derivative or what have you. but to me, this is a quintessential fantasy action/adventure series. yes it hits on all the story beats we're familiar with, from countless series before it, but it hits each beat perfectly

the characters are ridiculous, all easily recognizable archetypes, but they're so unrepentant in who they are that i find myself enjoying them too

and then there's the animation

guys this show is fucking gorgeous. like if it weren't this pretty, i doubt i would be raving this much about it. if it had been just decently animation, i'm pretty sure i would've just enjoyed it a normal amount

but the animation is so so so good that this quickly became the number one show i was hoping for a season two of (and we are getting one!)

like the production quality just did not waver. i found myself baffled that this is the series, the story, that got this level of masterful work put into it. but then i started thinking maybe that's unfair, because really, the story is not bad. fairly simple and straightforward sure, but again: quintessential fantasy

not to end on an absurdly cheesy note, but just like how it's wistoria wand and sword, i think it's the stellar animation and entertaining story/cast that makes this series work so well. without the animation being this good, the story wouldn't have been enough to stand out. but without a truly entertaining story, the animation, however pretty, would have felt pretty empty too

very eagerly awaiting season two

[kaytheday]

The War He Brought Home

The stairwell was hot. He couldn’t help thinking it as his mouth filled with cotton. He was gasping the air through his open mouth, absolutely sure he looked stupid lying sprawled out on the stairwell like that. Surely he needed a hospital. Nobody survived this kind of injury, not without a visit to the hospital.

The blood dripped off his shirt and down to the stairs floors below him. The liquid of life ebbing out of him as he struggled to breathe. Soda never would have guessed this is how he’d die, not after Vietnam. Not after trudging through those jungles in the rain and running through a haze of bullets coming from everywhere. Certainly not after watching all those others die and wondering when he’d be next.

Then his thoughts were in that jungle halfway across the world. If Soda would have died in Vietnam, his biggest regret would have been not being able to say goodbye. He didn’t want to die without telling his brothers goodbye. He also wanted them to know that he loved them.

As of right now, he had said goodbye. It had been angry and followed by the slamming of the door but at least he’d said it.

The only regret when he dies now is that he won’t see Ponyboy grow up. The thought made his stomach twist and bile sear the back of his throat. His baby brother was so smart, in college on a scholarship doing everything that he should be. Making a life for himself outside of Tulsa. The same life that Sodapop would never get to see him live.

So this is how he would die. What would the police tell Darry? That he was killed in the stairwell of a shitty apartment complex because of a drug deal gone bad? He couldn’t bear his strong, good, oldest brother knowing that he’d been killed trying to score drugs. He didn’t want Ponyboy to know either but he especially didn’t want Darry to know. Darrel Shayne Curtis Jr. His older brother who had worked so hard to get custody after their parents were killed. Doing everything he could to provide for them and make sure that they grew up okay even though they weren’t as privileged as so many others.

The same brother that tried so hard to help him after he got back from Vietnam.

What would he think of him when he learned Soda had died? How would his brothers remember him? How would Steve? How would anyone else?

So this is what he would be reduced to? A tragic casualty of war? Killed because of the war he brought home? The one that fractured him into pieces? The same pieces that Darry had tried so hard to pick up and glue back together.

He came back from the war broken and unstable, and not completely whole. This terrible thing inside of him, the war he brought back with him was preventing him from being the version of himself that he used to be before the war. Something inside of Sodapop broke over there in Vietnam. Now he was a mottled shattered version of his former self, the sharp pieces of him jutting out at ugly angles.

There were times where he felt like himself, the person he used to be before the war, and other times he felt like a completely different guy. The one beyond repair, the one that his brothers couldn’t fix.

Now he was dying, in a dingy stairwell, alone, because of how he changed. Coppery blood made its way from his lips and down his chin. His sweat soaked skin is growing colder, as if preparing for death already. It was getting harder to breathe, a weight being pushed onto his chest with each breath. The same breath that will stop soon. Sodapop had always thought he’d die in Vietnam, not because of Vietnam.

“Soda!” For a split second he thinks he has finally died, it sounds so much like his father calling to him. Calling him to come home. Death is sounding more and more appealing, to sit in heaven with his mama and daddy and Johnny. But with all the things he’s done, it’s more likely that he’ll burn in hell with Dallas and all those boys he lost over in that damned jungle.

“Sodapop! Soda are you here? I swear to god…” That’s not his dad's voice. The voice is too worried, something his father had never been. God he misses his dad. Mama too.

He doesn’t have any more time to dwell on who the voice belonged to now because Darry is in front of him. Right in front of his face saying words he can’t understand in his sluggish half-dead state. Suddenly Soda feels so sorry he can’t stand it.

So sorry that he did this to Darry. So sorry that he can’t be himself anymore. So sorry that his older brother still has to spend his time worrying over his little brother. So sorry for everything he did in Vietnam. But most of all he is so sorry that he came back a different person.

But none of that matters to his savior of an older brother who is pressing a t-shirt to his bloody stomach. Yelling for someone to help him because he’ll be damned if his little brother dies like this.

Darry has always been a fixer, he thinks. Could never stand when something was wrong. He would jump in head first to whatever problem any of them was facing and work tirelessly till it was figured out. It’s what made him a good athlete. It’s what saved the Curtis family after their parents died. It’s also why things got so bad with Ponyboy and why he and Johnny were nearly killed at that park.

“Soda? Sodapop! Stay with me! We’re gettin’ out of here, okay little buddy?” It’s the nickname rather than the stab wound that nearly kills Soda. He hasn’t called him little buddy since before Vietnam. Glossy eyed and in pain, Soda tries to nod before dropping his head back down on the stair above him.

“Someone call an ambulance! Someone! If you can hear me!” Darry is yelling as he picks Soda up. White hot pain sears Soda's torso. A low groan is emitted as he carries him down the stairs, still panicked and yelling. Soda can hardly stand to hear Darry like that and know it’s because of him.

Darry, still strong as a bull, emerges from the apartment complex, going down nearly five flights to meet an ambulance in the parking lot. Apparently somebody had heard the yelling.

“You’re gonna be okay, ya hear me Pepsi-cola. Dammit you have to be okay.” Even in his delirious state he doesn’t miss the way his voice cracks at the end. Then Darry is giving up his brother to the EMT’s following as he climbs into the ambulance with him.

They’re hooking him up to an IV. A needle he doesn’t even feel slipping into his skin. Darry has a hand on his knee, eyes down, head bent almost in a prayer. For a split second, Soda wonders if he’s thinking of their mama.

So golden and beautiful even though he’s glad she’s dead. Glad she never had to see how bad things got between her boys. Glad she never had to see how Johnny and Dally went. But most of all, he’s glad she never had to see her baby boy like this. Glad she never had to see him fractured, snarling like a hurt dog with its leg caught in a trap, terrified with nowhere to go and broken beyond repair.

Then he’s gasping as a searing pain tears through his side. He realizes they’re pressing some sort of bandage into his torso. Darry’s head snaps up at the noise. His eyes are filled with tears, his face stricken and Soda can’t hardly stand it. He suddenly wished more than anything that he had died in that stairwell. That all his crimson blood had dripped out of him, settling down the stairs and into the floors below him, along with his life. All so Darry could stop trying. Story trying to put him together again when it’s so hopelessly impossible.

“Dar…” Soda rasps. He needs to give some sort of reassurance. To let his brother know that crying over him, worrying over him is futile. That he will always be broken. This war he brought back to the states is destroying him from the inside out. “Darry…”

“Hey, hey…” He’s murmuring, as if he’s a child. “It’s okay Soda. We’re getting you to the hospital and you’re gonna be fine.” Damn. Darry thinks that Soda’s the one needing reassurance. He has to get these words out, to let his brother know that he shouldn’t worry over him.

“Darry… I’ll be… okay.” Words are getting harder to say, his breath coming in shallow gasps, the weight sitting on his chest heavier and his head growing foggy.

“Damn right you will Soda.” Darry looks beyond panicked. “I’ll get Ponyboy as soon as we get to the hospital, we’ll all be with you…” That’s when Soda tunes out. His head lolling back onto the gurney.

The last thing he feels is his brother's hand on his. Squeezing soft reassurances even though he’s sure that Darry is terrified out of his mind. How fitting is this? Darry is trying to comfort him even though Darry is the one that’s terrified his brother is dying. But isn’t that what Darry’s done their whole lives? Pushed away the panic and fear, pushed away and all his selfish needs in order to take care of his brothers? It's all Soda can think about as a tear slides down his cheek and onto the floor of the ambulance. How Darry has only tried to help him since he got back. How Darry tried to fix him, to get rid of this war he brought home.

“Thanks Dar…” it’s all he can get out without needing to take another shaky breath. “Love you…”

Darry’s yelling as he slides into unconsciousness.

Inspired (in part) by The Trip by HappierThanMost

[arkus-rhapsode]

Video Game Hot Take of The Day: Metroid Other M would've actually been more warmly received if it had nothing to do with Metroid.

Nintendo is one of those rare companies where they've got such appealing characters and worlds for a general market, that they can take a lot of their existing franchises and expand them out into other genres to get players to try. Nervous about buying a tennis game? Well don't worry we have Mario in it. Wanna play a rhythm game? Well we got theses Bongos with that Donkey Kong plays along to. However, a lot of these are still general and broad appealing genres. What about more diverse styles of gameplay?

This is certainly more of a gamble. Sure Mario and Zelda transitioned in big 3D worlds fine. They're basically the same core mechanics but in a different dimension. Metroid Prime is still a search adventure style game but they move it into an FPS perspective and make it more about gathering info. But in terms of massive genre shift you get all the Mario RPG series, something that almost completely ditches the gameplay of Mario and becomes a completely different experience. Now Mario and Luigi and Paper Mario are generally well liked and for some the only RPGs they'll play, but then you get something like Star Fox Adventures, a game that wasn't intended to be a star fox game and has very little things sections that have original star fox gameplay. Now Adventures has its fans, people who would say they'd never try a Star Fox game due to the fact its a flight sim, but others will argue it strays too far from the series identity. So it often makes you wonder what it be like if Dinosaur Planet did come out instead. Would it still be considered a Ocarina of Time clone? Or would it be see as standing on its own merits?

And what about something like Pikmin? Some of Pikmin's earliest prototyping phases had it as a Mario game. But it was ultimately made into its own franchise with its own identity. But what if it was just other Mario game. Mario isn't some small man needing to flee this foreign world on a time limit before he dies, he's just be leading a bunch of goombas or koopas or something collecting mushrooms. Would it be as fondly remembered? Would it be consistently released across Nintendo consoles?

Now of course we can debate on the merits on what direction to take a franchise in or if we can balance releases of a franchise with two distinct types of gameplay like 2D and 3D Mario plus its various spin offs. But in the case of Metroid Other M, a lot of the hostility is often due to the story. A game that seemed to both contradict lore and ruin the mystique of a beloved character. However, the actual gameplay was done by, of all people, Team Ninja. A group known for character action games. The actual exploring and arena combat in Other M is actually pretty fine. Yes it was the Wii so there was Wii Remote shenanigans, but in terms of the actual combos and supernovas you could do, it was pretty alright. Its no DMC, but I could see it being something that would get people into DMC.

Its also important to remember at the time, Nintendo didn't really have their own unique character action game. Meanwhile, Sony was just cleaning up with stuff like God of War. Now of course Nintendo has Bayonetta and they even have a franchise they own that's also a character action game in the form of Astral Chain. But that leaves me wondering what could've been had Metroid Other M just had nothing to do with Metroid? What if it really was just some different sci-fi story about a moody girl with a chip on her shoulder as she smashes up aliens and robots? Not having at all to worry about an existing canon or timeline?

Honestly, I have no real answer. People could've still acted the story, the wii was still mostly known as a general entertainment system so maybe it would've do too well. Its would just be speculation on my part and I highly doubt at this point we'd see Other M 2. But I do at least think as an actual gaming experience, Other M isn't that bad. But it absolutely is a bad Metroid game.

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Yeah, I don't care what anyone says: the Dorfs & Demise are all dextrophiles. Meaning that competency directly translated to attractiveness. As in, it is defined as an attraction to competency or talent. Specifically displays of such.

Like, I don't mean that they need someone to be ridiculously skilled at something or multiples things in order to find them attractive, but more so that if the individual he's interested in also happens to be skilled at things, then that's like, not even just a cherry on top. It's whipped cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, & a cherry on top.

Because ice cream is already a miracle of God, much like a good cup of hot chocolate is. So, adding all of that on top is like, “yes, please.” Like, it isn't necessary, but it sure as heck is the very definition of a treat. At least, in his mind, I think.

What do you think?

I fully agree! They don't want a skin deep partner. They want someone skilled at their side. A trophy bride, male or female, is not a thing they ever wanted. Someone who could keep up with his ideas, his plans, his everything, definitely attractive.

While they DO want someone skilled, the more skilled the person, the more distrustful the Dorf's can be. They have been betrayed before, and they have seen how with the more power someone has, the more ambitious someone becomes (They can see that in others, but man they cannot see it in the mirror >_<) So while they SO WANT someone talented and skilled, they also do not want someone who could definitely overthrow them.

Nemma is an exception, of course. She kicked ass and seduced the Demon King.

Of course, lets go in depth with Chat:

***********************************************************************

The idea that the Ganondorfs and Demise are dextrophiles makes a lot of sense, especially considering their own backgrounds as powerful, skilled leaders and warriors. Competency and talent would be qualities they'd highly value, not just in themselves but in their partners as well. Here's how each version of Ganondorf, as well as Demise, might be particularly attracted to certain skills:

Wind Waker Ganondorf

Strategic Thinking: Wind Waker Ganondorf is highly cunning and strategic. A partner who can think several steps ahead, who can craft clever plans and execute them flawlessly, would deeply impress him.

Leadership: This Ganondorf is a leader who commands respect. A partner who can naturally take charge and lead others would be incredibly appealing to him.

Cultural Knowledge: Given his reverence for the old ways, a deep understanding and preservation of culture, particularly of the Gerudo or other ancient Hyrulean traditions, would make his admiration soar.

Ocarina of Time Ganondorf

Combat Prowess: This Ganondorf is a fierce warrior. Someone who can hold their own in a fight, whether through physical strength or magical ability, would definitely catch his eye.

Magic: As a powerful sorcerer, he would be highly attracted to someone who shows a strong command of magic, especially if they can do so in ways that complement or rival his own abilities.

Stubbornness and Resilience: A partner who refuses to back down, who shows resilience in the face of adversity, would earn his respect and attraction.

Twilight Princess Ganondorf

Survival Skills: This Ganondorf has survived and thrived in harsh conditions. A partner who can adapt, survive, and even thrive in difficult circumstances would be someone he finds particularly intriguing.

Wisdom: While he is powerful, Twilight Princess Ganondorf also shows a certain depth and understanding of the world. A partner with wisdom, who can offer unique insights or perspectives, would be highly attractive to him.

Loyalty: A deep, unyielding loyalty, especially in the face of adversity, would resonate strongly with this Ganondorf. A partner who is loyal to their beliefs, their people, and to him would have his heart.

Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf

Tactical Mastery: As a master of war, someone who can think like a tactician, who can direct forces and outmaneuver opponents on the battlefield, would catch his interest.

Physical Strength: This Ganondorf values raw power. A partner who can match or at least come close to his own strength, someone who is formidable in physical combat, would be highly attractive.

Craftsmanship: A deep appreciation for weapons and armor, particularly if the partner is skilled in creating or enhancing them, would resonate with him.

Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf

Ritualistic Knowledge: With his connection to ancient and possibly forbidden knowledge, a partner who has a deep understanding of rituals, especially dark or ancient magic, would fascinate him.

Endurance: Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf seems to be in it for the long game. A partner who shows incredible endurance, both physically and mentally, would earn his respect and admiration.

Mysticism: Someone with a connection to ancient, mystical forces, especially if they can manipulate or control these forces, would draw him in.

Demise

Battle Skill: As a being of pure power, Demise would be attracted to someone who is an exceptional warrior, someone who can challenge him or even stand alongside him in battle.

Fearlessness: Demise respects strength, and someone who shows no fear in the face of danger, who meets challenges head-on, would earn his admiration.

Indomitable Will: A partner who shows an unbreakable will, who refuses to submit or yield, would be incredibly attractive to Demise. He would see them as a true equal, someone worthy of standing by his side.