#no because seriously how many more versions of the convo

[kdelarenta]

me @ 3am praying on rebecca's downfall so we can get more rook content 🤭🤞

[mtkay13]

So I made those as requested by abscess chemical on twitter and figured it may be fun to share them on tumblr as well. And you know what? Share a break down of my choices as well, because why not! I tried doing it seriously haha.

Zhou Zishu:

Intense - 6/10: He can be very intense, re the things or people he's invested in, but he also has a chill and detached quality to him, a way of being at peace with things that he won't blow things out of proportions.

Complex - 9/10: I think that he's a very nuanced, multi-faceted and deep character, but I guess I didn't go 10/10 just because there's also a very straightforward and easy to get part of him (esp. from WKX's perspective.

Fruity - 2/10: I think the guy's very gay but not the most bombastic about it LBR.

---

Angst-lord: although it's not as obvious in TYK, QY gives us some EXTREMELY tasty ZZS angst and a good look into how ZZS can process things through anxiety. It definitely got more lowkey post-QY canon, but...

Flavor container: IDK what that means really but I wanted to tick it

Soft and sweet: I actually didn't check it on the twitter version initially (but published an erratum). He is described as soft on the inside by too many people not to check it.

Braincell haver: self-explanatory, the guy's brilliant

Chew toy: literally!

----

Tragic backstory: if QY can count as a backstory, then everything that happened with Jiuxiao works.

Frequently violent: duh

Sidekick owner: WKX is ZZS's sidekick from everyone else's perspective (or vice-versa) and my opinion abt it won't change ever.

Pet stray animals: ZCL, for one, and for two we all know he pets cats and raccoons

Chronic insomniac: technically, in TYK, the nails do force the insomnia, but we know from QY that he had a lot of trouble sleeping at night.

Murderer: well

----

Just some guy 95%: clearly he's a natural-born NPC/side character

Too many thoughts 100%: he overthinks everything!!

Awful company 15%: I think that a goofy drunkard like him is fun but not the best company, especially when he goes all grumpy shifu/shixiong

Beloved by all 60%: most characters REALLY like him (and the others don't even know he exists) and often praise how sweet he is. Charming against his will and attempts at being invisible uwu

Trauma x1000 10%: again, I think that the Jiuxiao story left deep scars.

Helps others for fun 70%: pretty much the plot of TYK

Scary-smart 80%: I think he's really brilliant but then you have these moments where he's just clueless abt stupid stuff and clearly doesn't care/doesn't want to know or try so those 20% left are the deliberate goof I guess.

1000 weapons and tools 50/50: it's both!! every rock is both a tool and a weapon and he just keeps pulling random shit from his bosom--

At peace with life 48%: I think, for the most part, he is--at peace with both life and death, until he decides that keeping on living is just the best option in the end.

Break the rules 80%: I had no idea w this one but... in TYK he pretty much does whatever he wants, so---

Extra comments: The way the "evokes" ticks every boxes for me to various degrees of intensity... sigh It was difficult for the "want them to have" section since I think he has everything post-canon, but I tried seeing it from a mid!canon perspective.

----------------------------

Wen Kexing

Intense - 9/10: While WKX's feelings are generally cold, they seem equally intense to me, just like his eyes or his stare. He's intense about his love, about his revenge, about his plans.

Complex - 6/10: I've had interesting convos about how WKX is... nuanced, of course, but not as complex or deep as it may seem on the surface. That doesn't take anything from how interesting he is, but he is rather straightforward in what he is, ultimately.

Fruity - 8/10: I MEAN--

----

Enemy of the State: he's literally THE main Jianghu villain

Flavor Container: I still don't know what it means but it felt right once again

Braincell haver: the guy is EXTREMELY smart and outsmarted everyone in TYK so yeah

----

Tragic backstory: can hardly do worse than parents murdered in front of you, ate your dad to survive, took care of a child in the wildest, most dangerous part of jianghu, fought to reach the top while "serving" the previous master........ He scored it all!

Orphan: again, fully checks out

Frequently violent: yes

Has enemies: in SPADES

Sidekick owner: GX and ZZS are WKX's sidekicks 100%

Murderer: yes

----

The antagonist of life 70%: had to change from protag to antag because he IS the TYK antagonist (if TYK had been a traditional wuxia from ZCL's perspective...); of course it ends up being subverted but you know

Too many thoughts 75%: I think he's a big thinker as well

Awful company 85%: Let's be real guys

Hated by all 30%: I think he's too underestimated or not even really acknowledged enough to be hated, but I am pretty sure that more people dislike him than the opposite

Trauma x1000 60%: well.......... I think he has a bunch!

Sadistic for fun 15% : I doubt he's one to like helping and we know him to have those sadistic tendencies

Scary-smart 80%: same reasoning as for ZZS

1000 weapons or tools: mostly bare handed for everything save for the occasional whip or walnut shell but---

Enemy of god 35%: I have to be honest I don't really know what that means but I guess he's defied death a few times!!!

Break the rules 95%: WKX shits on the rules

----

Additional notes:

Mostly ticks everything in the "evokes" categories as well, but I unticked "symptoms of projection" because I don't feel like I project much of anything on WKX... maybe? (save for the ZZS lewding.. LOL) always hard to say, IG we always do a bit of that on every character, eh

and The Horny ofc because i'm kinda known for not really lewding my good WKX atp

I want a lot of things for him during canon, but again, all I can think of is how post-canon WKX really got it and then I gush and am simply happy for him.

That's it thank you for reading this mostly unnecessary breakdown!!!! Edit, following a comment asking for the sheet:

[novantinuum]

Which one is knowing, loving, being? Is that one about the blorbo Steven?

Yessss ahahah, this is the one with the Gem Steven design I won't shut up about on discord XD

(thank you for taking my bait and asking me about this fiUSHKFNSUGJH my evil plan worked)

E eeeeee *cracks knuckles* time to RAMBLE! I am so excited about this one, lmaooo. If you're wondering where all my "Crack the Paragon update progress" energy went these past few months, I am so sorry besties- but it got funneled to this project instead. I need to finish this goddamn fic by the end of the year like I need air.

The tl;dr of it all is that this story is my adult human!Steven/gem!Steven/Connie propaganda piece, and also a place to explore my personal take on how Steven works like,,, biologically,,, as a bizarre hybrid of two beings who are fused but also Not Really. Certainly not in the way fusion works for OTHER people.

Mind you, this fic is very NSFW, as will be the snippit I share- so the rest of my rambles will go under a cut. You have been warned.

Okay, so the broad strokes. This one's gonna be 4 chapters-

Chapter one will focus on a recently married 23 yr old Steven heading out to Rose's Room so he can work through some mental bullshit regarding the split he experienced as a kid. That trauma still lingers all these years later, and there's still so much he doesn't fully understand about... about what happened. About being outright cleaved in two. He ends up having the Room conjure a cloud version of his Gem half- the most unfamiliar and alien one of the two, to him- so he can try and talk out his confusions.

Chapter two features Steven nosediving into an obsession over an impulsive kiss he shared with that friggin' cloud version of his Gem half, and one thing kinda just leads to another, and well- said obsession ends with his component halves briefly split apart so they can fuckin' bang to work through whatever crunchy ass emotions they've got all stewed up in there. Progress wise, I am at this part of the fic right now, and I am having a lot of fun making this segment as "emotions and stimuli all mixed together" and intentionally confusing as I can. I am taking the depiction of "split POV" we had in Change Your Mind VERY seriously and literally, because I haven't seen too many writers dare to try.

Chapter three is mostly like, an interlude chapter- it's the aftermath of chapter two, where a confused and sheepish Steven opens up to his wife Connie about what he just experienced. In my head, my version of Steven is VERY demisexual, so he's like... just as "huh" as anyone else about what just took place. He and Connie talk shit out, and then Connie is basically like "baby. sweetheart. love of my life. why the HELL would you rip out your own gem like that, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, why would you ever do that when i'm not here to help you if things went wrong??" By the end of the convo though, Steven extends an open invitation for Connie to join in at some point and enjoy some intimacy as the three of them, both of his component halves and her.

Chapter four is entirely about that precise encounter, both the planning and the actual sex. The broad purpose I have in mind here is to showcase how such an encounter is something that's innately healing for them as a couple, in the way they get to re-contextualize this scenario in tones of love and trust and willful choice... as opposed to the horrid experience of being ripped apart by another's hand. I also just want them to get WEIRD about it, because like. Come on. Steven's half-alien. He (and the organic and Gem who combine to MAKE him) deserves to be weird about himself and the way he interacts with his own sexuality. And you just KNOW Connie would be into that. There is a lot of genital shapeshifting here, and they have a fucking great time.

I have overtly had the extremely general sketch of this idea floating around in my head since 2019, but never had the guts to actually tackle it until now. Now, though... I've actually gotten some practice with writing smut and feel confident in my ability to swing these scenes in the way I envision them, AND I finally have a circle of people who are down to talk about Steven being really goddamn weird about himself lmafo. Like, it's 2024, I'm allowed to ship selfcest if I want, fuck you.

But yes, chapter 1 is already done at 5.3K words, and I've got a solid 7.4K on chapter 2 (and rising.) For my actual WIP share, here is a snippit I recently wrote for chapter 4, working ahead a bit-

“So this is your idea of a big finale, huh?” he says with an impish smirk as he reads the last item on the list, a healthy dose of humor lightening his words. “Both of them fucking like rabid animals in heat as you merely lounge on the bed and watch?” “Oh, shut up,” she bites back, unable to even look her dear husband in the eye as she clunks her head down on the kitchen table, her cheeks burning like she’s destined to crumble to cinders amidst her own personal inferno of runaway lust. But Steven, damn that ridiculous man, won’t let her live this down. Ugh. Of course he wouldn’t. “Now, tell me… how long have you been secretly dreaming of this scenario?” She groans, mumbling her shameful little response straight into the table mat. “Only like… every other night since I saw you fall apart…” His rumbly chuckle— brimming with unquestioned warmth and just a tinge of bashfulness at the sheer risqué inanity of this never-before-spoken revelation— rings loud and clear, coating the whole room in its dense, chocolatey tenor. “What?” Connie whines as she snaps upright, her hands fidgeting on the table in the throes of such excruciating embarrassment. “What exactly’s so funny about that? I’m being very brave and vulnerable about this, you know!” He raises a placating hand, pushing himself through the final notes of his laughter before moving to respond. “Sorry, sorry, I promise I’m not making fun, it’s just— I guess you never really struck me as the, uh… the voyeuristic type?” “Does that… bother you?” she frowns, tilting her head a little. “The idea of me just… watching? I— it’s only a suggestion, we can always take it off, if you—” “No, I’m okay with it. Depending on how we set things up, I think it could be pretty hot. In fact…” Steven grabs for a pencil, and— waggling his eyebrows at her— begins to write one last line on their collective beat sheet. “I actually have a little idea of my own that I think would be fun to try out during this…”

[cosmicyeen]

Aside from the number system, which is awesome btw, what else can you tell us about your conlang(s)? How many of them have you created? what are they like phonologically, morphologically, syntactically, etc.? If you made multiple conlangs, then how finished is each one?

I'm glad you like it, thank you!

As for other conlangs, i technically made one years ago that was a reskinning of english phonemes/grammar with new characters and a handful of unique words, but at the time I didn't know how to go beyond that structurally so it basically paused there. Other than that, this number system and the more nebulous conlang it's attached to are the first time i've seriously delved into a conlang, and it's very fun!

This new one relating to the number system is one i've been toying with in my head for several months, inspired by worldbuilding and hobby study of natural language.

It basically started by me wondering if i I could come up with a plausible way for color to work its way into the script system of a society, partly because i have that type of synesthesia where I see letters/numbers as unique colors.

My thinking at the very beginning has to do with the presence of a plant genus/family/etc that grows abundantly in an area, and that can be cut so that its cross sections form a symbol "stamp" which leads to the basis of certain symbols being made from that stamp (and since they both end up being a unique color and shape, the color and shape get tied together in meaning).

Realistically, i think this would lead to two separate scripts happening (or maybe three), one that can be written with any ink but is symbol-based, and another that is color-based but can be written very quickly and read from a distance (likely useful for things like markets and temporary/fast work) (and assuming the region has abundant dyes). The "stamped" script would be like a blend between the two.

I don't have stamps/symbols for these but I wanna get around to writing out a guide for them soon

Then the pronoun system for that is what i started toying around with, and is what prompted me to make the number system in the first place. Basically, the plural pronouns can take a certain ending to show they're a certain number of people. Colloquially, this only gets used up to like 5-ish most of the time, but it has unique uses like referring to heads of cattle (the likely etymological origin), country population, detailed inventory in industrial settings, etc

Some examples in plain english:

"i went with my friends and we5 got ice cream" -used colloquially, usually easy to say naturally in convo

"i gave them50 some hay" -used for emphasis, can also clarify which herd or subsection of a group you mean

"We5Mil have decided to import more fabrics" -used declaratively here, mostly for stress or emphasis in this case

"There's about 500 on the left of the warehouse and 100 on the right, bring it(plural)500 to the manufacturing floor" -works as clarity and can also be integral to the understanding of the sentence. also "it" has a plural pronoun version that refers exclusively to inanimate objects in this system

There's more to it, but i'll probably make a more cohesive post about that at some point once I have things set up better! My goal is essentially to come up with something that feels like it could've developed organically, which is something I admire about natural language when learning about sound changes and scripts etc much like learning how an animal evolved into its niche

Thank you for the ask, I hope this explained stuff well!

[transingthoseformers]

Psspsspss, Anon who is making an absolutely off the wall excellent TFP Through the Glass Au cone back and tell us more. I am loving this. ❤️

Riot your blog is always such a Riot .

Okay but yes

That just

Like

Ohhh the way that the BL Ratchet getting kidnapped thing is going to be so much more harrowing in this version of events than it was in canon. At least in canon BL Megatron knew he needed Ratchet alive.

SG Optimus may not make that same decision.

I get the feeling several BL decepticons would seriously consider defecting just because they're that scared of SG Optimus who has already proven he's showing the same merciless attentions to autobots, decepticons, and humans alike.

Honestly nigh everyone finds SG Optimus terrifying as fuck. It's a slow building pressure when he's still pretending to be BL Optimus, but the minute he's allowed to finally shred that mask for good? He has no reason to hold anything back.

I'm trying to figure out when in the tfp timeline this is so I can figure out who are the current players in this game, and who is where. Where is Starscream, is Breakdown still here, is Dreadwing here, is MECH doing anything, ect ect.

What does Fowler and the gov think about this????????

I'm running with the idea that SG Oppy returned to his true colors, but I'm wondering how because there's several options here and all of them have cool universe implications

More BL Megatron and SG Optimus sex thoughts because I feel like these fuckers (pun wasn't originally intended but now it is) would have so many interesting conversations the entire time, and such a time with it too.

BL Optimus coming back to his autobots and growing more and more horrified upon learning all that his evil counterpart has done while he has been gone.

I remember having a convo with someone a few days ago about bayverse Optimus in the TFP universe, and how interesting things get when you take a less brutal universe and drop in someone from a much more brutal universe (and, in SG Optimus's case here, an even then relatively more brutal person)

[nururu]

What r ur thoughts on post time skip zoro? I know it’s a huge point of contention

hmmmmmm.... what a loaded question...... I have many opinions. first, I'll start with my only "complaint" is they shoulda kept his skin tone. along with everyone else's they white washed. otherwise?? Zoro is always perfect. I'm proud of him for putting in the work to be his ideal self and live his ideal life. I love his thick ass neck and hate it when ppl impose body dysmorphia on him by editing his body to look different bc they think it's too much or something. boy has a big ass head and needs a big ass neck to support it properly. as far as how he looks? one piece changes it's animation style a lot. I love seeing Zoro in all different perspectives. if we're not just talking about how he looks but how he acts? I STRONGLY disagree with ppl who say he's not as cheerful or silly post ts. because he is!!!! immediately when we first see him again, he's being a silly brat, making fun of everyone for being late to their reunion, getting lost trying to go fishing, getting black out drunk, imprisoned, and then orchestrating a hostage situation. but Zoro knows his place in the crew and if he's a little more serious, it's because he knows they need to take things a little more seriously. if he fails, he fails them too. if they fail, they fail zoro too. he's determined to make sure he doesn't fail them and they don't fail him. they're all in it together even if they all have different goals (he has a whole convo about this with chopper in alabasta) zoros always had his priorities straight. and he assesses situations thoroughly to determine how serious he needs to take it. but he's still busting out his comedy routine every time he fights an enemy. I love post timeskip Zoro like I loved pre timeskip Zoro. I love Zoro like he was my first love and I got to be next to him through all his growth and all his changes.. and all of his experiences just make him a more realized version of himself and I love him for that. zoros always made his own choices and done things by his own set of values and he's a beautiful and perfect person down to his core. I love and admire everything about him. pre or post ts.

tbh I kinda get irked when ppl are like "he was hotter pre ts!" "Franky's new design is ugly!" bc genuinely? they way they changed physically, is exactly what they were aiming for, and they're both more fully realized versions of themselves, living their truth, and how can I say I love them and then downtalk their appearances that they both worked hard for and both heavily desired??? my love for Zoro is anything but shallow. I don't care if he turned into a big green glob of slime.. he'd still make me blush.

[mcl-mia]

//ah, yes. another day, another route completed. slowly getting closer and closer to that goal of completing every route!!

so. rex. oh boy. i think i have a lot to say about rex. spoilers spoilers spoilers!!!

okay. so. hoooooo boy. where do i begin. this is going to be long.

so, as many people know already, rex's route actually begins in the middle of nox's route - the main difference between them at the beginning, of course, is when nox reveals his identity as nightmare to liz. in this version, liz stays with rex.

rex is unrepentantly horny. years of no pussy will do this to a man, i guess. but christ, dude. chill.

he is CONSTANTLY (or, at the very least, it feels like he is) asking liz if he likes him yet, especially before he and liz actually get together. the fact that rex is canonically a rebound guy is fucking hilarious and i will never let him live that down.

i also find it really funny that he has a gun. like, that's insanely funny. i need to know more about the gun lore. they say they are "magical revolvers", but liiiiiiike. i mean, they are. but come on.

so. rex himself. i'll be honest with you, i'm not a fan. it's the self-righteous douchewads that really don't do it for me, and because they really tried making him a diet akechi without the homosexual tension, i personally didn't vibe with him.

for example:

this is a small part of the larger, dramatic conversation rex has with liz after nox escapes for, like, the 6th time. he then goes on to say that all liz knows is that "he has been manipulating her the whole time. that maybe he just used her to get closer to Nightmare, that maybe it was all an act, and he needed liz to be vulnerable to get the proof he needed." he then proceeds to say that liz is also awful, because she "practically did the exact same thing". preceeding this conversation in the previous chapter is that rex asks liz if she thinks nightmare is evil. this is, of course, a trick question for anyone who played nox's route immediately beforehand. you can say yes or no, and obviously, the "correct" answer is yes. i didn't bother looking at the "yes" option, because i could tell immediately where the convo was going. rex, of course, will disagree if you say no.

he also says a very interesting line, iirc, after the choice dialogue: "people who stray from the path of humanity are evil."

this is, i think, a very telling line about how rex REALLY feels. like, christ dude, do you REALLY need to dehumanize nox like that? does it help you sleep at night, buddy? does it make you feel better? like you're above the rest of us?

like, the way he talks about nox is like he murdered someone. and yes, i am specifically saying "nox" and not "nightmare" here because rex has already figured out that nox is nightmare - he just didn't have proof at the time. but seriously, he just steals things? like yeah, stealing bad, we know, but you don't need to make it sound like he killed your entire family.

seriously, dude. what does he think about the orphan that steals a loaf of bread because they can't afford to eat? the person who kills her abusive partner in self-defense, because they were going to be killed otherwise? the family who has to ""illegally"" immigrate to a new country because they have been displaced or fear for their lives in their home country? what do you think of YOURSELF, rex? you have an illegal magical tool, but because the ministry says it's okay, you're allowed to pull it on unarmed citizens*? fucking hell, man. i want to put him in his place. they really could have done something interesting with his character there, but they didn't.

*side note, i am not talking about nox here. nox is very much armed with his rod. he DOES, however, pull his revolver on an unarmed criminal (who is not stated to have any magical abilities, mind you) in a flashback and it's heavily implied that the item he showed to the noble in queensblade to "prove" he's from the ministry is his revolver as well.

i don't think i really like his backstory, either? the reason why he's like this is because he had a mentor die while on the job. in the flashback, the person he is pursuing for a murder case, rex pulls his gun on. the person starts crying and says they are a victim of abuse and killed their abuser on accident, so rex lowers his gun. the person then pushed rex down, and his partner eventually gets shot with his own gun as a result (can i say that this is weird?? if this dude was so ready to kill them, they probably would have killed rex, too. rex's kindness is the reason he is alive, yet he doesn't realize that). so, rex, who clearly didn't go to therapy, decided that it was all his fault and that he needs to stop being kind. he also says that he "realized" that the person was lying to him, and that THEY were the one doing the abusing. i think that if they really wanted me to believe that, they should have been more careful with their word choice. their choice of saying rex "realized it" begs the question: did rex actually discover that during the investigation, or was this a "deduction" he made because this person also killed his partner? this person was never caught, after all.

i also found it really funny because in the same flashback, he says that he joing the intelligence department because it was his way to "rebel". his mom is a pianist and his father is a police officer in maiya, and they both wanted him to follow in their footsteps. like, your idea of rebelling is to get a job that your parents would be proud of, regardless? lol. lmao even. like i get it, but lol.

speaking of his "super secret detective" job, raise ur hand if you were surprised. because i sure wasn't. it was really obvious that he wasn't just a "reference department worker". like wtf even is that. just call him an archivist.

ok, enough side tracking. you know what comes out this big dramatic conversation? res just explains himself and his backstory. he doesn't even APOLOGIZE to liz for being so cold to her and implying that he might have been manipulating her. like, dude?! sure, yes, you could make the argument that liz was "manipulating" rex because she knew nox was nightmare, but tbh considering how nox was kind of forcing her to keep quiet about it all really makes a difference here.

you know what was an EXCELLENT surprise though? PAPA RANDOLPH!!!!!!!!!!

i was smiling the entire time he was here. i'm very glad that we finally got to see what he was up to after THREE!!!!!! seasons. thank god they didn't forget about him. i have my doubts that we'll see him again after this, but it was nice to see him all the same. I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

schuyler being sad, too.... .. ..... man. that got to me a bit.

if you haven't noticed, i haven't actually talked about the plot much. this is because almost the entire plot revolves around rex's character and him trying to catch nox. that's about it. there are some cool story beats, and it barely touched on gray's pranks. it didn't really do much else.

some things i liked were the running gag of some of the other prefects barging into the office and yelling "EMERGENCY!!!" and interrupting liz and rex. i also liked that in the happy end, they did a call back to rex and nox swordfighting (👀) like they did in the night class/towards the beginning of the route. legit, the sword fight had me mentally fist pumping the air. i love it when wizards just settle things with nonmagical objects. fucking incredible.

i think what maybe just bugs me the most is the lack of my other boys. like, sure, they were THERE, but not nearly as much as i would have liked. 90% of them being there was for comedic relief, and that is a very sad use of them.

nox is obviously quite present, and i actually liked him a little more in rex's route. he got just the right amount of mean sometimes, and it was great. liz has some really interesting conversations with him, and the fact that nox actively tells liz that she doesn't have to "choose" him? yeah, that's golden. it's a really refreshing thing to have someone in a love triangle to essentially say "i won't force you to choose me". you're a winner in my book, nox.

something that i do find interesting is how they keep mentioning that nox and rex "know each other best because they are rivals". which! is a cool concept! i just fucking wish they would have actually shown that instead of just saying it's true! :))))))

i'll never get tired of the boys being kind to liz. really and truly.

shit like this just gets to me, man.

also:

MISCHA, I'M SO SORRY THAT THIS UGLY BITCH WOULD EVEN BREATHE THE SAME AIR AS YOU. GET HER OUT OF THERE!!!!!!!!!!

i really, really wish i had better things to say about rex's route, but it's rembrandt all over again. for me, rex was the worst part of his own route. he's just not for me. if you like these kinds of guys, i'm sure you'll love him.

gray's route seems to pick up immediately after rex's happy ending. let's see how that plays out.

[teecupangel]

i love that y'all have long meta conversations or worldbuilding ones for stuff for 10+ yo games with characters that are totally fine and weren't killed off. sorry, that's besides the point--i love that you guys get really into it. i can't follow the convos mostly, but i love the enthusiasm. means i'll get to read more awesome fic <3

When canon fucks you up, you fuck it harder.

Okay, but in all seriousness, I think the reason why we can have this long meta conversation or world building is because it is about a 10+ year old story and because it's Assassin's Creed.

Based on my experience, new lore dumps can break your will to write a fic that heavily focused on worldbuilding. That happened to me when FEW3H dropped earlier this year and I still can't find the will to continue the long fic I had that was heavy on worldbuilding because of the many new lore dumps it had that contradicted what I had already set up.

But Assassin's Creed...

Or, to be more exact, Ubisoft...

Ubisoft's choices in lore and gameplay make it so easy to just pick apart the lore and go to town with it. It's a common joke here that we all hate Ubisoft but we all say we love them the moment they give us a new trailer only to then hate on them again after we hear or see what other bs they have in store.

I can't easily do that to Monolith Studios or to Falcom or to Fire Emblem in general. But Ubisoft? Hell yeah. (Still bitter about that Prince of Persia 'postponed indefinitely' and also Splinter Cell new game when? Child of Light was good though.)

The fact that I focus heavily on the Desmond Saga and his part of the modern day setting also helps because that part of the lore is done. We have all the information Ubisoft decided to make canon.

That means we can pick it apart.

And if we don't like them?

Well, Desmond's been dead for 10 years already, we haven't really liked a lot of things Ubisoft had done to the franchise even longer than that.

I love Assassin's Creed but I don't like many of the choices Ubisoft made in regards to the story and the gameplay. And it's that contradiction that gives birth to so many fic ideas, headcanons, and metas.

It's less of a fix it and more of a

Even if it's about the current game, I can still screw around with canon because of that mindset when it concerns an Ubisoft Original.

(Also, the multi-universe theory is in play with the calculations. If the canon doesn't suit our need, there must exist a calculation that will, thanks Minerva)

Anyway, what I mean is these kinds of meta and world building will definitely continue.

Hell, with how they're teasing us with having Alamut in Mirage, we might get to see the actual Alamut castle later down the line and it will most probably contradict my idea of Alamut being a bigger version of Masyaf that is heavily influenced by the Alamut castle in the Prince of Persia movie. Will seeing canon Alamut stop me later on? Nah.

I can add an eagle-exclusive aviary on top of a tower in Alamut so they can have eagle partners ala Basim and Enkidu or even put a freaking thermae in Alamut and not even Ubisoft showing us the real Alamut Castle will be able to stop me.

Assassin's Creed says History is Our Playground and I am playing on the sand making my own crap with you guys and throwing wet sands at anything Ubisoft gives us that I don't like.

[bregee13]

The 5 Hour Spamton Playlist

It's been many months, and it's finally complete enough to share (though I might add more later). And yup, you read that right, it's just over 5 hours long.

I even decided to order it for some reason. So if you're able to listen to the whole thing in order, that's appreciated! Though it's not required of course.

But either way, I hope this playlist drives you up the wall as much as it did to me.

Anyway I'm gonna put a bunch of commentary under the read more. (This thing has been sitting around in my library for almost a year, since a week or two after the chapter 2 release!!!, I have every right to be annoying about it)

(I was originally going to comment on every other thing on the playlist, but then I got overwhelmed lol. Still keeping some of what I wrote. Might elaborate more on some things later idk. )

(Hope y'all like it!)

I tried to keep the Spamton songs in the same order as the soundtrack. In fact, the whole playlist is roughly organized based on those songs! I guess you could say each section has its own themes.

Imagine. You start the playlist eager to hear what bs was added to it. You listen to HEY EVERY !, and then it ends. Everything's quiet. And then "BWAH BWAH WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT-"

I've seen people add Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen to Spamton playlists, which is neat, but ngl Ring Ring and I'm a Marionette fit way better. And they're both really good.

I like to think I Get Around and Outside represent the very beginning of the bigshot era

But Telephone by Red Vox feels like it'd be from a lot later than that. Like someone looking back at the past with regret. And seeing a loss of independence and control.

Y'know, with the perspective constantly changing between different points in Spamtons story, it sorta reminds me of Death of a Salesman. Except not as good.

Anyway Spamton brings us back to the present. Even if it's just for a moment.

GAS GAS GAS I'M GONNA STEP ON THE GAS (surprised how few playlists used these tbh)

Ok ok I know Business Man has nothing to do with Spamton aside from the title, but it's goofy and gives levels of suspicion that felt relevant >:)

I Really, Really, Really Like This Image comes off as a convo between Spamton and Gaster for some reason, and I really really really like that image in my head. Also Jevil is there at the end (ps the image is an image of an egg 😊)

I'm not sure if I can properly explain It's Still Rock and Roll To Me. Pre-bigshot era? Early bigshot era? Idk. It just feels like Spamton to me. Actually Billy Joel music in general seems to fit imo. Can't explain why. Just does.

Haha All Star hehehe!!! Oh DAng it's a cool place and they say it gets colder??? Snowgrave reference??????

I hope when you hear Doin it Right, you know what I WANTED to put there...

At first Baby Hotline felt like me inserting it for the heck of it, but the more I listen to it in the context of Spamton, it fits more. Being put on hold (literally as well as metaphorically), the implications of suicide/suicidal thoughts. There's also kind of an implication of someone rooting for Spamton to improve. (Which would probably be the player, but who knows)

Ngl Promised You A Miracle is a song I stole from my Mirror Man playlist. And it's not the only one. They both share themes of religion/heaven, changing your appearance to be perfect, becoming god/superior to others, and being seen and respected.

Easy Money is a late addition. I couldn't not add it. It's good.

NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A

Temporary Secretary

(But seriously, can we agree that Temporary Secretary is definitely a Spamton song? It feels scummy, unsafe, DESPERATE, and dare I say unhinged. )

Cars by Gary Numan. That's all I have to say. It's cars. Spam man likes cars!

When adding Hanging On The Telephone, I had to choose between the Blondie version and the one by The Nerves. I chose the Blondie version. It was gayer.

OuiOui's First Crime was added because Peepy's Theme didn't fully capture how much people wanna baby this middle aged puppet. Also It's OuiOuis First Crime specifically to still show that as much as people love this guy, he isn't as innocent/nice as we sometimes want to make him out to be. He's scamming and killing people! Good for him!!!

Don't You Want Me is another song stolen from the Mirror Man playlist. I like to think in perspective of Spamton, this song has multiple layers. It's about Spamton actually being seen as someone important for once, him asking for reassurance that people want him, and threatening them if they don't. It's about Spamton getting more successful because of Gaster/Mike and wanting independence from them, causing his downfall. It's about teaming up with Kris to become BIG at the expense of Kris and potentially everyone in cybercity. It's about Spamton wanting the player to like and pity him. There's probably more connections that could be made than that even!

I'm too overwhelmed to comment too much more atm, but please know that at a certain point of making this and listening to it over and over trying get the order right, I momentarily mentally turned into Chris McLean from Total Drama. I will not elaborate lmao

[seraphinitegames]

The Wayhaven Chronicles—Update 14/August/2020

Exciting week this week! Felt like I was on a high right from the start :D

I have SO many variations going on now but oh my word I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!

I was writing Mason/Morgan's split scene, and the MC and M are having a conversation, and I could just make it SO organic and flowy! Like, 'did the MC talk about that with them in Book Two? Well, now they're going to mention it here because it fits.' Or 'Oh, you didn't know that from the earlier convo? Well it's suddenly going to be here and surprise!'.

I honestly am just holding in a scream! I love it so much! :D This is always what I've wanted to be able to create. What I've wanted from games I play. That level of immersion where it feels not only like you're living in the world and story now, but you have lived there for those other games too and it's noted!

Ahhhh!!!

Okay, I'm good. I think I'm calmer now :D Just had to get that out of my system.

I just can't explain how unbelievably amazing it is to create something that you've only ever dreamed about creating. Like, it's all coming together and just YES!

More specifically, I finished N's split scene, finished M's, and am now onto F's! For some reason I have been going out of order more on Book Three. Would always do them A, N, F, and M (then LT and finally friend version is applicable), but I've just planned them all differently this time round!

I'm going to be adding in the edits for chapter two over the weekend, then get in contact with people I hope will test the demo for me. Another step closer to that too!

Curse of Creek Edge is still on hold but should only be until next week. Can't decide if I should try to finish off the hair colours or just start on the enormous task of expressions. 

So yeah, a seriously good week where I was pumped, and it was just flying out of my fingers, hehe :D

Hope you all have the most wonderful weekend, and I'll talk to you on Monday! <3

[beyondd-dazedd]

bren’s thoughts from this past episode because i’ve seen it so many times now and i’ve got a lot of thoughts so here’s season 2 episode 7 of hsmtmts (a rant):

portwell morning announcements?? ICONIC whether you’re vibing with a romantic or platonic endgame the fondness and their chemistry is amazing. (sofia wylie and matt cornett better be sending their hospital bill to disney because they are literally carrying season 2 on their backs and i said what i said.)

the rini drama?? feels bad. like the way they built up the end of season 1 with them to have it come crashing down feels like drama just for the sake of drama and honestly it’s a little boring to me which is unfortunate because i really did like them season 1.

ricky my sweet baby ricky. you need therapy. but also he was right about the rose song and i stand by that. it doesn’t fit the show and i think he has a right to try to explain his feelings without nini shutting him down. i am all for nini focusing on her own music and thriving through that but don’t shut him down sis that ain’t it

the costume reveal scene was so funny from the DEH thing to carlos popping off on kourt to seb mediating to EJ and kourt’s convo about the costume i thought it was all really funny. also carlos totally had the right to snap at kourt because wtf kourt. HOWEVER i loved seeing her all giggly and excited. it’s a side of her character we haven’t really seen yet and i think dara completely embodied that high school first real relationship giddiness. also loved miss jenn saying don’t dance with the enemy and all of them IMMEDIATELY ignoring her and going to north high followed by her also ignoring her own advice and going as well.

all of them joining together to sneaky steal the mask back?? iconic. peak friendship vibes. carlos being the leader of the group in a sense this season is something i’m LIVING for. also Gina 1.0 to 2.0 is a spiritual journey and i’m so proud of her. Ash dressing up for the mission?? that’s so her (she’s undercover let her live wildcats). the disappointment in carlos’s face when they all finished the wildcat cheer?? that got me. frankie does so well with carlos’s facial acting and i love it.

also gina baby you got all these boys vying for your attention why are you wasting your time on ricky?? ricky baby i love you but you’re being an asshat about that whole thing. the way ricky hasn’t really taken into consideration gina’s feelings is not it. he really is just kind of trapped in his own world and refuses to see anything from someone else’s perspective. i saw someone talk about how ricky is the beast in this season. like yes he’s playing the beast but he’s also metaphorically taken on that role. he’s lashing out at people who don’t deserve it, he feels misunderstood, he’s struggling, etc.

ANYWAYS that’s my thoughts of rina right now so back to the episode. EJ coming in to help get gina out of the situation with the guy was fake dating excellence truly. there’s no way he heard what was being said since you can’t see him in the background at all so either he’s picked up on gina’s reactions so well that he could tell she was uncomfortable or he had a lil jealous moment. either way i’m here for it. and again whether you like them platonically together or romantically together that portwell scene was adorable as hell. the teasing ?? the fondness?? both sofia and matt’s acting is incredible. also a GREAT parallel to the homecoming episode to show just how far their relationship has come.

the rini drama plus kourt being giddy again. portwell standing next to each other?? antoine’s use of the word fugly really shows how unhinged this show is. lily proposing a dance off and everyone being like ??? no that’s fucking weird was hilarious. gina standing up for her sister ashlynn like that was gold.

man you may hate her (i do too) but lily is damn good at stirring the pot. i almost admire her complete understanding of the drama going on in everyone’s lives. she knows exactly what she’s doing when she says particular things.

the scene with antoine and ashlynn was so hilarious. joshua bassett seriously does not get a break from this damn show comparing him to people that are way more famous than him lol. also red hitting himself in the face was adorable and no i won’t take criticisms on that. also antoine is BOLD bold.

EJ cheering while everyone is upset that it was the mob song?? big golden retriever energy. i love him.

i don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but i actually really liked this version of the mob song. they really leaned into the whole stupidity of the dance off idea and i think it actually works out well. plus there’s a ton of talented people on that track which makes it so much better. (also thought east high should have won on vocals alone. no their dancing wasn’t better but they had that really nice blend on their vocals and they all seemed a lot less frantic than north did.) also if they had let sofia just be sofia and dance. east high wouldve won on that alone.

i liked the song with miss jenn and zack. the choreo was beautiful but god i hate zacky roy. and that’s all i’ll say on that. (miss jenn i know that’s derek hough but you got two other very nice gentlemen who want you. don’t go for the low hanging fruit sis)

what was the point of lily telling them they would be disqualified if they used the rose song?? the only thing i can think of is she wants it to be a fair fight. which is noble i guess?? i don’t have time to psychoanalyze lily and no one wants that.

EJ’s face when they all turned to him for the sports metaphor had me sCREAMING and all of them being disappointed and talking over one another was very funny.

nini joining up with the group at the last minute seems to be her thing lately huh? i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again ricky was right about the song.

the couples walking out together. ft. nini and ricky fighting (again). PORTWELL EXCELLENCE (and huge dorks. i love them). red and ashlynn getting a bit rocky which at first i was like why is red jealous but then i remembered its high school. seb, carlos and kourt is an iconic trio. seb and carlos running off to avoid the drama is the gay agenda but also being in on the drama is the gay agenda. you feel??

HOWIE?!! why am i gasping i knew that? the fact that some of y’all really thought they would cast roman banks on this show and let howie go free without any drama?? nah man he had to be the beast for north fOR THE DRAMA. my baby kourt looked so hurt im so sorry beautiful. howie looking so guilty and upset?? heart breaking.

all in all i really loved this episode. i thought it was well done and set up a lot of plot lines. i don’t love how much some of the stuff feels like drama for the sake of drama but we’ll see. i’m sorta over rini this season as of this point. rina is in shambles because wtf ricky. portwell is alive and thriving as they should. seblos is beautiful and wonderful as always (i think the sassy verging on mean and the literal ball of sunshine is always a great pairing) redlynn is a little rocky but they’re both so empathetic and sweet that i think it’ll work out alright. kourt and howie (kowie?? hourtney??) is not doing too hot but i LOVE them together so they better gets their shit together.

[izzy-b-hands]

More sr rambles because this is all I do now when I can't sleep apparently

But one way I see the ot3 ending up with kid 1 is a case of a kid being left at the doorstep of the hideout (complete with Johnny walking inside, baby in one arm, freckle bitches bag in the other, and being asked uh hey bud what ya got there? To which he helpfully replies 'freckle bitches?' because honestly since taking back the city a kid isn't even the weirdest thing someone's left at the hideout so like. Sure why not.)

And I'm gonna go ahead and wager maybe social services in Stilwater is...a bit rough (tho probably underfunded and struggling for resources as many are like. Everywhere, so it isn't like they aren't trying) so they don't really question the boss telling the saints to toss up 'is this your kid?' posters all over town, to make sure whoever the original guardian/parent is really intended to leave them/give them up

And once that's confirmed via an awkward meet up with said guardian at one of the other gang houses, left empty except for Johnny, Boss, and probably Pierce, Carlos, and Shaundi as well as back up just in case shit gets weird, there's a moment of

Oh. Because no one else is really equipped for a kid in the gang, tho then again Gat, Boss, and Aisha aren't exactly either but they'd talked about it like they'd talked about a lot of future plans, and Johnny has already figured out how to bulletproof the baby carrier as well as a stroller (and it would be alarming to my version of the Boss, but it's honestly just impressive and mindful. Like in theory they wanna think no one would go after a fkn baby but...why not play it safe?)

And they've kept the kid at the bosses old place, taking turns staying there with them despite Aisha basically begging them to just bring the kid home ('its a disaster there, you cannot have a baby in that apartment!' is her argument and honestly she's absolutely right) but they worried about getting too attached in case the parent did want this kid back (as if they haven't both absolutely already gotten attached to this six month old baby that has no fkn clue what's going on but enjoys their attention and the new toys and clothes all in purple and likes to fall asleep on Johnny's chest for naps and bedtime and lights up at the boss showing them shiny but very much taken apart and sans ammo gun parts)

All of a sudden there it is, they've taken that next step and they were already a family but now they're a family With Kids and it's terrifying and lovely all at once. Aisha's delighted to finally meet and dote on the baby (and horrified to learn in the weeks of looking after this kid, no one named them. They've been called Baby since birth and like okay fine as a placeholder but seriously you two?! Fucks sake.)

Which leads to the question of oh shit we do need to name the kid and they might all joke ah this is easy, it in reality takes even more time to narrow down names (with many convos of Johnny insisting he doesn't care that much as long as the last name is Gat, tho that was a given anyway because Eesh only goes by her first name and the boss is...The Boss which you can't use as a last name, only to promptly veto like fifty suggestions because 'aaah idk she doesn't *look* like that name, ya know? Right kid?' and any gurgle is immediately taken as the kid agreeing with him)

When they finally do make a decision it ends up being nothing wild, but nothing too plain (for the fic version of this idea I have still at least fifteen names myself to narrow down yet lmaooo) and if they maybe indulge a bit and buy the kid stuffed bears and shirts with the new name on it to try and help it stick well. It's maybe a little overkill but it's also adorable.

This is already far too long so I'll stop here but just. Like I could literally do a whole one shot just off the idea of Johnny being the only one to get the baby to sleep, because that image is the cutest goddamn thing. Half asleep, frosted tips all tussled, shirtless with an open robe on and pyjama pants long enough to trail just a little on the floor. With little one snuggled against his shoulder, sleeping in a purple onesie, but only sleeping as long as he holds her because any sleep schedule this kid had got utterly decimated by being given up and sleeping in weird places they weren't used to, in hastily bought and put together travel cribs (tho in their actual house there's a proper crib of course.)

Is he exhausted? Yeah. Would a younger Johnny be absolutely disgusted at the idea of how he'd look being all paternal? Yup. But Johnny in that moment despite the lack of sleep is just happy the kid is finally sleeping, and rambles abt random shit while he walks the house because it seems to comfort the baby.

Literally the image makes my heart melt like 🥺. I need time to actually write some of this and get fic out akdbfkgbkt

[claraxbarton]

Probably literally no one wants to read this, but on the off chance anyone wants to CHOOSE to read my thoughts on fanworks in relation to traditional western culture and not merely be subjected to them via DM during an innocent (though angsty as all hell) convo on the parallels between Stucky and Destiel well, here’s 1700 words on it:

—-

Actually. And here’s the thing that works so damn well with both bucky/Steve and Dean/Cas is that there is no clear “damsel/hero” dichotomy that we see in classic heteronormative relationships.

But like.

The thing about fan fiction, and AO3 specifically, is that it primarily features homoerotic and homoromatic relationships between two cisgender white men. Yes that is changing- mostly thanks to the rise of KPOP (the surprise lord and savior of 2020) and Hulu and Netflix optioning East Asian movies and television series to spread those narratives. Which is an entire thing on its own because so many of those like- is it Untamed? Feature homosocial environments and thus- the point is. The landscape is changing and yay.

But AO3s success is largely predicated on two main ships: Stucky and Destiel. Yes there are others that are huge and continue to grow, but these are the two that I feel (with no data or research to support my assertion) helped AO3 take precedence over ffnet as THE site for fan work hosting.

Now, the contradictory thing about fan work, the thing that is so often described as hypocritical and/or fetishizing is that the majority feature two cisgender white men engaged in homoerotic and/or homoromantic relationships when the majority of the readers and creators of fan works are neither.

Data supports the supposition that most fan work creators and consumers identify as non-male. And in that subset the majority identify as female.

Simply based on generic population data, the correlation can be made (again no effort put into googling this because I have sewing to do) that the majority of this group is likely cisgendered heterosexual (white) women.

However, fan works and fan engagement are a proven community for fans who do not ascribe to the heteronormative gender binary or heterosexual and/or heteroromantic relationship structure and are, in fact, not just white. Again- imagine numbers that are factual because sewing.

Fandom is not unique to entertainment media. We can trace it back to, well, as long as we can trace it back. What are the Venus of Willendorf statues of not fanart? The Parthenon? Egyptian funereal pyramids and their contents? Renaissance art in general? Is the King James Bible not a “fix it” for the previously canonical literature (that’s a hot take don’t come for me.) (you could also consider the King James Version an attempt at song fic).

In more contemporary culture, we have sports fandoms- primarily male dominated. Primarily cisgendered heterosexual white male dominated.

The fandom culture of sports fans has been described as that of collectors and curators- they want memorabilia and statistics and gatekeeping actions often require proof of knowledge or commitment via possessions.

Meanwhile, entertainment media fandoms- such as those experiences on AO3- are more creative than curatorial. Instead of efforts to organize, delineate and create hierarchies within fandoms (yes this happens but is not the overriding force), these sorts of fandoms seek to create fanWORKS and fanCOMMUNITIES. Yes, fantasy sports leagues exist and so do sports teams fan communities. But I ask you, where in sports fandoms is there a GISH?Or an AO3?

The reality of contemporary western dominated culture (entertainment,sports,economic,political, artistic and philosophical) is one that features white cisgendered heterosexual men at the apex-

Both as creators and consumers despite prevailing realities in population and cultural zeitgeist.

As such, most western dominated fandoms are homosocial: dominated by one group, that of white cisgendered heterosexual men.

All that is to say, most star athletes are straight white dudes. Most movie stars are straight white dudes. Most politicians. Most wealth holders and distributors. Most creators.

Why? Because patriarchy. But the WHY isn’t the point of this long ass word vomit.

It’s the So What?

Sports fandoms are the territory of these same homosocial networks.

But media fandoms are the territory of those NOT at the top of that hierarchy.

While the CONTENT and the original content creators remain part of that homosocial white cisgendered heterosexual group, the consumers of media are largely NOT OF THAT GROUP despite what the content creators may desire or believe (see: the creatives behind supernatural and their ridiculous ability to convince themselves that their core demographic are straight white dudes 15-40).

As such, content that features the patriarchy is primarily heterosexual, heteronormative, racist (acutely or passively), misogynistic, homophobic, homosocial and, well, lacking.

Take, for example, MCU and Supernatural as franchises. Our main characters are primarily white dudes. White dudes who mostly interact with other white dudes, whose “tribes” (brethren, compatriots, coworkers) are also white dudes. Yes, smurfs exist- the token woman or non-white person. Sometimes even a queer person (gender or sexual, though very, very rarely gender queer).

The fact that whenever our “heroes” interact with anyone outside their tribe or homosocial group they are almost inevitably evil, dead or about to die is telling. How many women die in supernatural? How many people of color? How many villains in the MCU (and while the X-MEN franchise isn’t necessarily within the MCU because Hollywood, the queer coding within X-MEN is encyclopedic) are queer coded?

Now, I’ve said repeatedly that heterosexual and heteronormative relationships are the mean within such media. Our white dudes bang white ladies, love white ladies, but act like manly white men and don’t put romantic feelings ahead of things like patriotism and pain unless they have “earned” the right to such (a trial that often involves a lot of deaths that are never addressed or given recourse. See:endgame)

Bros before hoes is more or less the rule of western mainstream media.

As such, relationships that demonstrate respect, trust, vulnerability, compassion and resiliency are almost always homosocial: or they are between two bros (no homo) and not between a man and a woman.

You trust the guy at your back, not the woman because you 1. Want to bang her 2. She’s probably going to die 3. She’s a damsel 4. Seriously she’s probably going to die.

Which all means: most of the well developed characters and relationships within mainstream western media are homosocial- they exist between two members of the same group. In our case, those straight white bros (which of course within supernatural can sometimes be taken literally in the case of Wincest).

Which means, the consumers of this media- mostly not white straight cisgendered dudes- are left with content that doesn’t represent who they are or what they want or even can aspire to.

So what’s the solution? Collect data and memorabilia? Sure why not.

OR: use your beloved media, those well developed characters and relationships, to create something new.

Fan work.

We circle back, at last, to the idea that fan work creators and consumers can be hypocritical or contradictory by creating works that feature that which they are not- these white dudes in love (romantic, sexual) with each other.

This supposition suggests that creators and consumers are using the characters and situations in fan work as replacements for what they lack in heterosocial relationships- either in media or in their own lives. Or, put another way, fans replace either Bucky or Steve with themselves and image the other to be their “love” interest.

To an extent, this may be true. That both parties are usually written to have male genitalia while most fans do not is where so many of the hypocritical and fetishization issues come into play.

But the reality is, fans are working with what they are given. Most fans don’t have dicks. A generous portion of fans don’t want to engage with dicks is sexual ways (or engage in sex at all) (and it must be emphasized that the majority of works on AO3 are rated T not E).

But the value in reimagining, subtextualizing, or deconstructing the mostly platonically presented homosocial relationships in western media as homosexual or homoerotic or homoromantic is not (for the most part) about fetish or about placeholders and substitutions for the fan.

It is about creating fanwork that reflects the society a fan lives in or wishes to live in.

Just as the sports fan will go to a bar and paint themselves blue and deride the Yankees because they want to envision a society that upholds a white cisgendered male patriarchy, media fanWORKS are created because we do NOT have a society that values romantic or erotic relationships between equals (for in traditional western society the only equal to a white cisgendered man is another white dude).

So, at last, a return to Stucky and Destiel.

The relationships created in fanWORKS between these two aren’t simply those where one is the “‘man” in the relationship and the other is the “woman”.

Yes those fanWORKS exist.

But most utilize the strong bonds of trust and respect and vulnerability and dare I say shared experience to create romantic and erotic relationships that are both more complex and more realistic than those actually portrayed in the same media.

In Stucky, we see Steve save Bucky and Bucky save Steve. We see Bucky hurt Steve and Steve hurt Bucky. We see their positions as EQUALS as a means by which to create a world where fulfilling relationships can exist that do not automatically restrict one (or more) parties to that of “chattel”.

The same is true of Destiel.

And both relationships feature key similarities within the original media that make for such rich possibilities.

Castiel saves Dean from hell. Castiel is brainwashed by the patriarchy to view Dean as lesser and even to kill him (this happens multiple times).

While Steve saves Bucky from Azzano, it is Bucky who saved Steve for almost their entire lives before that point. And after that point the two go back and forth to save each other. And let us not forget that Bucky was ordered to kill Steve but “he knew me”.

Dean and Castiel go through a similar ping pong match of saving each other.

This isn’t just about being equal in strength- it’s about being equal in vulnerability.

Which, to belabor the point, doesn’t exist in mainstream media’s romantic or erotic relationships nor is it widely taught or reinforced in western culture as a whole.

In conclusion.

Stucky and Destiel can save the world.

But probably KPOP would do it better and faster and cooler.

—-

Totally feel free to engage with your own opinions. Because I have to go sew now but later? Later we should talk friends and foes.

[shimmershae]

Sometimes logic is the most, I don’t know, logical thing to apply to a situation.

Because Daryl Dixon has shown every*damn*body who his number one priority is this season.

He’s dropped wholeass conversations and pretended like people in front of him were all but invisible to meet Carol Peletier halfway on a dock when her ship come in and sweep her up in his arms and off her feet in the most exuberant and happily relieved hugs ever and essentially ignored the rest of the people loitering around because his vision narrowed strictly to her.

Right before that, he blew off discussions and scouting trips to investigate whether the latest big bad threatening the communities’ safety had returned in favor of waiting for her ship to come in and he continued to blow the whole situation off to get Carol alone for some quality just Carol and Daryl time.

Knowing the Whisperers were still out there, he still daydreamed of escaping to somewhere new and leaving everybody behind—everybody except Carol because she’s the only person he can envision actually escaping for and with.

The man made her a friendship bracelet and flirted and blushed in her presence like an awkward dork with a crush.

He expressly told Carol he needed her to stay.

He bodily restrained her from taking a second shot at Alpha when the bald baddie taunted her and he looked past any misgivings he might have had to tell her he believed her about the Whisperers nobody else had seen but Carol.

Before that, he came running when Carol screamed his name in that old school and fat chance convincing me he didn’t help carry her injured ass all the way to the same infirmary that he waited outside of like a worried husband.

He’s made her dinner trays with flowers, looking out for her physical well-being when she’s been lost in her ongoing grief and he felt powerless to help with it.  

His thoughts, this season, have rarely strayed from her and his eyes have been open and watching out for her because he wants to be her safety net while she’s been struggling so very much with Henry’s loss and her consuming need for vengeance. I mean, granted. Daryl Dixon is no fuss, no muss pretty much 24/7, but have y’all ever seen a man get his ass ready that quick to follow a woman without some kind of promised benefit to him? Yeah. Naw.

He did his version of getting the Dixon flirt on again when they were tossing acorns at a can—because they be cutely competitive af.

Daryl Dixon when teased by Carol Peletier about whether his budding friendship with a sweet and seemingly perfect fellow community member could be more?  Deadass told her with utmost seriousness and sincerity that it wasn’t like that—not at all.

And then proceeded to pocket the double capper acorn Carol gave him as a good luck charm right over his heart and later gaze at it longingly in the privacy of his own room.

When they were doing their good cop/bad cop routine with the captured Whisperer, Daryl only really lost his cool when the Whisperer made some lewd and disrespectful comments to Carol.

The man has argued for her to sit the more potentially dangerous missions out and remain in the relative safety of Alexandria.

When she went along anyway? Again she was his primary focus. So much so he stopped her from walking into a literal trap, called her on her bullshit, and comforted her when the tears come in a way that honestly? Daryl Dixon has never really shown the inclination to do. By thumbing her tears away from her cheeks, hugging her tight and nuzzling her hair while telling to tell him. To open up to him with her feelings and her fears. And that they “have a future.”

Carol was so much in his sights on that same mission that he immediately recognized when her attention strayed and sent their group running after her into the unknown.

He followed, of course, and Carol’s name was the only name that ever passed from his lips. She was the first person he sought out in the darkness. The first one he encouraged to follow him to relative safety.

When her claustrophobia reared its ugly head, he was the one informing others so that they might offer their own comfort and he didn’t stand a second for Magna getting all up in Carol’s face.

He asked Carol to follow his light when her claustrophobia had her frozen. Everybody else, including a dear sweet deaf woman and her sister—also losing her hearing, were told to follow his voice. 🤦‍♀️

He let Kelly’s ass somersault at his literal feet and gently tugged Carol to safety.

He followed her back into that dark cave and pleaded to her with tears in his eyes and emotion tightening his voice to come back with him and he was all about getting her to safety when that faulty dynamite slipped.

Daryl Dixon didn’t even look back to make sure any of his other friends and community members had made it out of that cave until he knew Carol Peletier was a safe distance away.

Try convincing me his ensuing emotional breakdown wasn’t just as much, probably more about Carol breaking her recent promise to him to think more clearly and be more cautious. Helpful word of advice? Stop while you’re ahead.

Instead of scouting out an alternative way back into the cave to possibly rescue C0nnie and Magna later? The man tried to singlehandedly take on the source of so much of Carol’s grief—Alpha herself, when he so recently discouraged Carol from such a lone wolf action—and ended up seriously injured as a result.

Back at Hilltop? In spite of the hurt he felt, Daryl told Carol perhaps the truest truth there is when he said “I’m never gonna hate you.”

During this same time frame, he made little reference to the two people lost at the cave. Not because he doesn’t value their lives because he does. But he values the community’s overall safety more and the only times he’s ever been shown to blink in that regard? It’s always been because of Carol Peletier.

After the fall of Hilltop, when he and Negan crossed paths and Negan alluded to Carol as Daryl’s girlfriend? Daryl doesn’t even blink. And whereas before, the safety of the community mattered more? The man chills with someone he deadass hates waiting patiently all night for Carol to come back to him. Let’s not even talk about how many hours he probably paced and waited inside Alexandria’s gates.

So. Who do y’all suppose has been Daryl’s number one priority all damn season? Huh?

I’ll give you three guesses and the other two don’t count. Just for giggles I will demonstrate who it ain’t by giving a basic outline of the kind of focus her bond with Daryl has gotten.  

At the beginning of the season, Daryl was on his way down to the docks to wait for Carol’s boat to come in with he crossed paths with a new friend and Dog happily sought out pets because what Doggo of any salt or intellect will turn down pets from a pair of kind hands that have fed it before?? Daryl and this friend shared a cute little two second convo that was interrupted and abandoned with his first sight of Carol waving at him like he was her sweetheart there to welcome her home and this friend basically ceased to exist from that moment until her sister went missing for a short while.

Daryl, already being present after accompanying Siddiq to Hilltop and caring about the overall welfare of the communities and such, helped in the search for Kelly and even told this new friend a funny story about his own (departed) sibling as a means of comfort and gave her hand a reassuring maybe two second long squeeze.  Honestly?  There were so many echoes of his friendship with Denise when I see these two together.  So many.  But I digress.  

Once Kelly was found and safe, Daryl’s attention reverted back to form and he didn’t linger at Hilltop.  They had a weird little interlude where I still can’t figure out whether she was trying to butter him up to keep her own family’s secret or was genuinely welcoming him as a fellow found family member.  

Anyhoo, their paths didn’t even cross again until they did a combined search for Alpha’s horde and Lydia and Daryl acknowledged her with a shoulder tap to get her attention—I mean, he was approaching her from behind and she couldn’t hear him so.

What little bit of interaction they had in the cave basically came about because of Carol and I gotta tell you. The man deadass forgot she existed when he was trying to help get Carol out of there.

We’ve already kinda covered what I thought about his reaction to the cave in, but I will say this. Leave y’all with a little food for thought: if Carol was underneath those rocks, can any of y’all logically see the man leaving there for any reason short of Judith and RJ being in immediate danger?

Can you? Because I can’t.

If they had managed to tear him away even briefly, his ass would be right back first chance he got. And suppose he’d run into Alpha in the meantime. I don’t think he would have attacked her until he found a way to get to Carol. Naw. That attack was all about Carol (and maybe Lydia) from the word go. Else Daryl would have been smart and patient and found his way in that damn cave to mount a rescue.

You know why?

Because logic. The story’s shown us the way this season. Logic and history. A whole ten fucking years of history.

Daryl Dixon can’t lose Carol Peletier anymore than she can lose him.

Only in the absence of all logic can anyone ever think differently.

Explains a lot, huh?

And some people are still up in arms over Daryl simply soldiering forward and not having the singular thought of C0nnie, C0nnie, C0nnie in his brain when his communities, his long established found family, and the one person he absolutely cannot lose still need safeguarding.  

I mean, he cares but Daryl done told every*damn*body already.  Take it from the man himself, the reason why.  

“It’s not like that.  Not at all.”  

I know logic isn’t really this show’s strong suit, but in this case?  The story has been leading us to one logical conclusion all season, and I don’t think it’s the one that some people out there are prepared to accept.  I mean, yeah.  I’d feel some kinda way, but.  

[thecrenellations]

Thick as Thieves Undead-Blog, Part Two | when your liveblog wakes up to drink some broth then goes back to sleep smiling because it trusts you | my notes from reading the book for the first time, Spring 2017

Format: Page number. My ridiculous thoughts (Context???)

Part One

Chapters 6-13:

Ch. 6 - Very intense chapter in which Kamet and Costis are captured by the slavers and escape

163. Costis <3 Muscles Good looking! (wow what a way to start this post)

one hot piece of attolian manflesh ... confirmed (people would call him this on LJ! I forgot about it for several years until reading this passage)

164. omg earring swallowed!

166. amanuensis? (perennial thanks to mwt for all the vocab words)

168. shit. severed hand.

172. wtf Costis don’t kill him

173. how do you silently kill someone like that?

174. wow fuck

men dead not even breathing hard. (compare to KoA assassination)

Everyone is a monster!

176. Thieves.

Ch. 7 - Lots of good conversation, potentially symbolic animals, and a surprise Eugenides

183. Grt scene (apologies)

184. now who’s asking rude questions? (about killing people)

186. lying to him <3

ok! unreliable narrator!

wait i thought they didn’t have slaves in Attolia?!

187. “I was unappreciated” ... I’m always lonely

so cute

188. me when mwt writes: what is this blatant unabashed fanservice?

WHO IS THIS BOY?!

189. Onarkus =/= Sandy?

190. okaaay #confirmed Gen!

191. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Boots

195. he caught a snake (associated with a certain king and assumed bootboy “you viper” “you are a poisonous little snake” ... another ominous dead animal)

Is Costis’s earring for Eugenides (I was thinking of the god!)

196. a goat and a snake .... how poetic

Costis stalks goat ...

197. hmmm.... goat and hand and last trace of Nahuseresh (OMINOUS)

does Irene know her husband was a bootboy?

203. no this what? (“trouble with a maid” story exchange)

Marin?

204. he was prepared to run away??

how old was he?

well this is a lot to chew on

205. K using past tense for N

C asking about slaves killed after emperor’s death... does he know?

Ch. 8 - This road trip was going great until SOMEONE fell in a well

208. Are Taymets taller than Eddisian mountains?

210. time passing, broad and focused

212. MY Attolian

classic minor mwt characters

215. singing Costis???

216. swearing gimme a break

please don’t let the Namreen kill them later...

217. Kamet says very little of what HE did/his interactions w them!

218. wot nice cut! (“Eleven days later...”)

gods?

219. “water finds a way” a saying from Eddis? how does C know that? also brings to mind QoA weather passages

Why doesn’t Kamet ask/wonder WHY Gen wants him?

223. They’re gonna do it? They’re gonna make it? So close!

224. does Eddis have comparable irrigation engineering?

227. NO!

228. u idiot you meant to leave him before!!!

at least look in the freaking well!!!

229. Kamet’s Face! wow he’s really in shock (at weapons shop)

230. SUCH FAMILIAR PHRASING! birds :( (I was caught up in the birds and completely missed the spilled wine!)

Ch. 9 - Retrieving Costis from the well, Ennikar appears again

231. “You’re certain he’s dead?” nice CUT

this time i heard him say?

was he talking?

232. thoughtfully tensing his lower lip?

who tf is this guy - another god?

mm grr I’m Kamet I have no friends

ok so he’s what’s his face Enkidu?

heroes walk the streets

234. AAH why

say his fricking name?!

god you’re so bad @ this

236. THIEF

237. FRIEND OMG

238. omg so good flour!

SO CUTE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS

239. OMG Costis. Nice. (Costis tries the Gen method of deflecting concern)

241. “as if we were close friends traveling together???”

242. Costis ... knows a hero when he sees one?

But ... delighted? not horrified?

Ch. 10 - Hanging out with Godekker

247. SO MANY HELPFUL STRONG MEN (Enter Godekker)

249. PAY THE FASTENER

253. god so snarky

254. Kamet’s chops

fuck how is this book going to end???

256. You’ll never feel safe ... Gen + Relius’s fears?

258. Fuh!

259. Ok do i have hope?

he doesn’t have Tethys lesions does he?

263. aahhhh

Costis trusts him!!!! <3

aaahhh

264. Noli? where did he get that from?

smarrrt

265. yeah u did tell Godekker your name!

wtf is this god advice!

268. The So, so, so count in this book is OUT OF CONTROL!!! It may be a record.

Ch. 11 - Kamet’s stressful voyage

270. Lol Sophos is better @ assuming Attolian ships are there...

272. yesssss earring GOOD

274. yeah sure Kamet you still haven’t left!

I did not want to leave the Attolian!

276. watching Costis

277. my heart’s gonna break don’t leave, Kamet!

278. “as if the gods had cursed my wandering feet” nice. also iambic pentameter

also laying it on a bit thick there

280. Sea in the Middle of the World!

he’s so scared though. :(

the fuckin nerve!

Costis + Gen and their s3cr3t sign

281. nooooo it’s ok to lie, it’s endearing in this world!

also Costis seriously why do you think he would be ok w/ this!

I’m coming home! (to Attolia. In cursive, see image at top of post.)

282. war?

Ch. 12 - Dramatic times in Attolia

284. “I thought we were I + E” :o

shit where is his honor now (”I would have let you go”)

285. hey there Teleus...

my heart

285. yeah but C probs knows all those guards ... he thought punching Gen was the most embarrassed he’d been... (in retrospect, I don’t think he was embarrassed AT ALL during this scene. Costis fight mode was activated.)

yeah I mean she has given us the Magus all this time! (reflecting on the fact that Costis’s name has yet to appear)

286. Yesss angry Costis poking Teleus!

This is Something to imagine

287. THIS IS REALLY BAD (”the queen”)

OK...

holy shit

when is this???

she’s not THAT old!

288. THE room? (“filled with all the horrors I had fled in Ianna-Ir”)

289. 298 pages until this! (“Costis”)

289. Please stay alive Irene!

On some level I do feel that my childhood is ruined w the confirmation they banged. :( Gen is like 20! (Listen. I love them. I'm very happy for them. This is not exactly breaking news. 20-year-olds, and this one in particular, can obviously do anything they want. This note brought to you by me being Too Ace For This and having been both younger and older than him since first reading the books a very long time ago...)

292. Gggennn

293. Is this court respect a recent development? WHAT DID I MISS? (they watched him fight the entire guard, is what, c’mon me. Costis hit him on the head with an amphora.)

yeah we get it people underestimate Eugenides

OH MY COSTIS

294. is this Annux by any chance?

Boys ur making a scene!

King of Attolia vs of Attolians?

295. very ... dramatic

this is ... a private convo?

297. yup he’s Eddis’s best stalker!

Ch. 13 - Everything else that happens in this book!

298. “Do they know?” yeah wtf Gen

it’s like the new “and every1 was naked” (in KoA)

“and every1 was watching”

300. Gen: Yo Helen can u bring me that one coin?

Helen: sure. no prob

301. “Poor Costis”

yeah Melheret always sneaks up

302. “You’ve come from the prisons, not how an honored guest is usually received” UM ACTUALLY...

305. Kamet.... (crying in his room)

306. “the kind of Attolia sitting on the footboard” oh my god yeah classic

307. Irene comes thru with the stats

Was Kamet at the battle at Ephrata?

310. talk with the kitchen staff good god i would like to know. So bizarre.

lol toting around an ambassador all nite? What would Teleus say?

while Irene’s sick ...

WTF will Costis do now?

312. names ... Kamet ... Ormentiedes? 

Creeeeeeeeepy Relius (probably about “there are some questions you might answer for us” but possibly about the cutting up and feeding to wolves comment)

314. business arrangement uh sure

Yeah ok write it all down

316. talking to Costis?

(a note: the version I read was an advance reader copy, and the only major difference was that it did NOT include the scene with “the young Erondites”)

318. Attolia smiled at him!

anything worth doing is worth overdoing lol

319. alternate readings of poem?

322. orange trees!

cabbages!

324. sent Onarkus away RECENTLY???

Is Brinna Sandy!

Seriously. 

Cooks r weird (thinking about the entry for cooks in the Tough Guide to Fantasyland)

326. the magus!

an ACHING void

oh I know I’ll just GO!

poor Gen can’t have any friends...

331. they have duffles in Attolia

and with Attolian duffles, the story ends! Thanks for reading, feedback is welcome. I promise I have more developed thoughts about this book. For another weird journey, listen to my Thick as Thieves playlist, maybe.

[ultrakatua]

Final thoughts on Golden Deer

I say “final” but I’ll probably write more at some point to ease the pain lol

Anyway, I’m so glad I started with my very first choice, and so glad I picked this one in particular. 

At E3 2018 I was like “oh cool, an archer house!”, but then I thought I’d start with Black Eagles instead because female lord, and then we got the student reveals on twitter and I thought my heart belonged to the Blue Lions... Until E3 2019 happened and my reptile brain went all “nope, Claude hot, we’ll take the archers actually”. Little did I know I’d end up loving all these mismatched kids so much and that Claude would be the bestest boy.

The game is really hard to compare to the other Fire Emblem, and the irony is that the parts that are the best are the less Fire Emblem-like... Part 1 is honestly probably the best experience I ever had in FE in terms of narration. Played 30 hours non-stop. Props to them for building the plot like a mystery and making the cast so likable, because while there’s objectively not much happening, it makes everything so captivating... The last half of part 1 up to the first 2-3 chapters of part 2 is just SO GOOD! Like a roller coaster of emotions! It’s a shame the rest fells more flat because it basically turns into your regular FE, but with 4 or 5 less chapters than it should. Still, the last part of Golden Deer fucked me up pretty badly with the Rhea’s revelations and I loved the ending, the cinematic was just so badass and I couldn’t help but think of the FE4 and FE5 final! The credits song made be bawl like a b*tch. Difficulty wise, yeah, hard is really easy... Or Claude is too OP, I’m not sure. Probably both. Anyway, Lunatic cannot come soon enough.

On Claude now, since he’s our boi and kinda the main character... Expectations were completely subverted and hot take, at that point I just want to fist fight everyone who still portrays him as a flirty, stupid, trollish, Niles-light guy. Like. Why. I, too, expected him to be like that based on the 10 second trailers, but man, play past the prologue and even the “flirty” part isn’t there anymore (seriously, why does everyone says he’s flirty??? Did I miss a memo or something???). The other day I read someone telling “lol obviously he’s not the patient kind” and I was like are you even reading the fucking dialogs? Did you miss the part where his whole fucking character is about how controlled and reflective he is?? Like I mean, he’s easy going and endearing in the group interactions, I get that, but outside of that, he’s just so... serious? So chill? It’s the dude who spends so many hours reading books in the library he becomes suspicious. Like seriously. I’m just going to assume this is how you see him when you don’t play GD, I guess, cause I also saw someone thinking not!GD Claude trusts and likes Byleth and lol, no man, he doesn’t. He doesn’t even trust you in his own goddamn route until like chapter 10.

Anyways, what I love with him as a character is that he’s very grounded, very reflective. He doesn’t belong anywhere so he wants to build a place so people would never feel that way, but to do so and to protect himself, he’s very shut-down behind his natural exterior kindness and compassion. People complain he’s not romantic, but there’s something very intimate in the way he only talks about certain subjects with Byleth, the way he is so serious in his most advanced supports, how he trusts entirely Byleth and only them, etc. The way he works is just very different from the other characters in that respect, which I think it was done on purpose because, after all, he was not raised with the same values and culture as them. That’s something they really conveyed well as a whole, especially in his dialogs about religion. I mean, reread the convo at the start of chapter 12 if you don’t think the Byleth relationship is very unique and dear to him:

I'll alway be on your side. You can't count on much in this world, but you can count on that

Of course the reading isn’t inherently romantic cause IS said “no homo”, but come on... It’s the same Claude who even in the very last chapter of the game is not sure his allies of like, 6 years, will follow him.

Spoilers on the S support because I know people complained about it, and as always I don’t get it

I mean, I sort of get it? They wanted a “I love you let’s get married!” ending but that would have been... so unlike him? And btw it seems like he doesn’t even say “I love you” in the Japanese version (he sure doesn’t in the French one), they added it in English so y’all wouldn’t be too salty, and yet...

I found the actual ending very true to his character and I’m glad IS didn’t went the usual sappy road because it would have been so out of character omg... tbh what I like in the Byleth-Claude dynamics is that they are on an equal ground, and even if they like each other, there’s still that utilitarian aspect to their relationship that make them great allies as well. They both rely on each other equally and there’s no fucking drama; just two people secluded their whole life who learn to trust each other. Having him expressing how he wants to share his ambitions with Byleth, giving her a ring, promising to come back, and actually doing it is a huge fucking deal. Remember this is the guy who ran away from his feelings his whole life, who’s always acted so selfish with others only to achieve his selfless goal. But this time, his goals are also Byleth’s, and together they can build a place where he doesn’t have to be alone anymore. And before we go down the “but Byleth doesn’t want to be a ruler!” road... Neither did Claude, guys. He never wanted that responsibility. He takes it because someone has to. They both do it for everyone’s sake, together. We stan a power couple.

That’s it my dudes, next stop is the other soft boy, aka Dimitri!