#not to be completely insufferable BUT

[singsweetmelodies]

Hiii, it’s me again…T,

I saw the ask about everyone smiling n being happy and i was like “this is exactly how i feel whenever i read someone’s reply to my asks”. That anon is sooo right!!

Work is crazy. Plus I’m preparing for my residency stuff.. so I’m doing an audit for that and it’s driving me nuts.. but when i open thmblr n see something like this it puts a smile on my face, makes me feel lighter.. makes the day a little bit better

I was not having a nice day and then I saw that ask and it made me smile. So, thank you anon and thank you love ❣️

xo

oh my gosh, hiiii again! and first of all, i am SO sorry it's taken me this long to reply 🙈 i am a bit terrible when it comes to asks, i'm afraid - i have this bad habit of seeing them, and smiling, and meaning to reply... but then, well, life happens, and i completely forget about them till days/weeks/months (a year??) later. it's not been a year this time at least!!!

all that aside, though - awww, this is such a lovely message <333 it means a lot that i could make you smile 😁❤️ and i'm so sorry you were having a rough day - hope today was loads better for you, love <333 ohhh! and BEST of luck with the residency, gosh. sending you hugs & strength!! and for extra good luck, here's one of my favourite piarles gifs too:

THE T-SHIRT GRAB AND SCRUNCH. i will never be over it. never ever. !!!!!!!!!!!!

but anyway! thank you so much for this very kind ask, really ❤️ all the best to you!! 💞

[butchvamp]

i finished Harding's quest... whew... i don't like Harding. or i should say i don't like how nice the game treats her. she gets all of the emotional beats around the lore revelations while the elves are left to go kick rocks.

i pointed this out previously in another post, but the dwarves (and Harding specifically, and thus by extension Andrastians, too) get so much more sympathy from the game than any of the elves. you can clearly see it just in these two screenshots-- compare dialogue choices when comforting Harding after the reveal about the Golden City (and also important to note that the game assumes my elf is Dalish multiple times before this choice, but for some reason i can suddenly make her Andrastian):

versus the first real discussion you get to have with Bellara about the truth of the elven gods:

Bellara implies that everyone is right not to trust the elves, actually, because the elven gods (the same ones that enslaved her people btw) are bad and we should all feel bad about it.

and Davrin is unfortunately distanced from the Dalish, remarking that they're too traditional and stuck in the past (a racist trope that Dragon Age really loves for the elves), and only seems to care about how the elven gods make elves "look bad." we do get to see Davrin reconnect with one of the members of his clan later, which is a sweet moment that shows us a new side of him, but it exists more so to push along the griffon storyline than anything to do with Davrin (a problem i find quite annoying when it comes to Davrin's writing... they care more about Assan and "turlum" than him or his feelings. but that's a different post)

when we finally get to Heart of Stone, Harding has her big, emotional confrontation with a titan, and gets granted the memory of the titan's loss and all of their pain. she says some Choice lines, here.

who is thriving? the elves that were enslaved en masse by the Evanuris? the elves that are still enslaved and live in alienages? that are wholly, systemically oppressed throughout Thedas? then to follow it up with both of these lines, spoken to an elven Rook:

and i understand that this is the titan speaking through Harding, and we can be generous and say that they are addressing the Evanuris, and not elf Rook personally. but. uh. why doesn't my elf get to Say Anything. it's repeatedly insinuated that everything is the elves' fault, that the elves should feel guilty and that they should be held responsible for what happened to the dwarves (and by extension, the blight and everything bad that's ever happened including what's happening right now), and that they deserve to suffer because of what "they" did to the titans.... and there's no option to challenge this line of thinking at all.

and it's really frustrating that none of the elven companions are allowed this kind of emotional catharsis with the Evanuris. up until that one (bad) dialogue with Bellara, all of Bellara's comments/her reactions to the gods are treated as comic relief. none of them get to grieve their gods like Harding is allowed to grieve the titans-- they're not even allowed to be as angry with Solas as Harding is in some scenes. even Andrastians, in that one single dialogue choice, were afforded more sympathy and grief than the elves in this game.

it's a baffling choice, considering the plot, that elves are given so little grace or consideration. and i do think part of it has to do with the way this game has tried to distance itself from previously established lore as well as scrub itself clean of anything morally dubious-- it's all black and white and the game needs someone to blame, so the elves are bad because the Evanuris are bad, nevermind all that other stuff, because see, the elves actually deserved it all along! i don’t even think it’s unreasonable that Harding may have these feelings (even if they’re racist lol) but the fact you just have to accept Blame and the narrative never challenges her or Bellara’s guilt or Davrin’s apathy and instead just agrees with all of them and forces Rook to agree as well is shitty and takes it from “this character feels this way” to “the game is implying that everyone feels this way, and also that they’re right.”

it's really unfortunate because i do think this reveal about the titans and why the dwarves can't dream or use magic is exciting, it could cause some compelling conflict between the companions (but that's not allowed in this game at all unfortunately and you especially Cannot be even slightly rude to Harding, ever). and i do like the idea of her quest and what they're trying to convey here-- confronting this old, repressed trauma, and finding a way to reconcile with it and move forward.... but not at the expense of the elves, who also suffered massively at the hands of the Evanuris (and continue to suffer. right now)

bioware has been criticized repeatedly about their depiction of the Dalish, their indigenous coding, and even the mages, too, and i really do not understand what they were thinking with this, because it's just racist (and exactly what people have repeatedly criticized them for). this is why a lot of "fantasy racism" fails. you can't write a marginalized group as being responsible and deserving of their own oppression, that's not how it works!

[biillys]

billy hargrove: in every scene — 2.04 chapter four: will the wise

[bredforloyalty]

your doglike mannerisms and subservient nature and rather characteristic boyish grin and weird relationships with the older men around you have bewitched me. can i interest you in a prostate orgasm

[elbdot]

Previous | Next

WOW Gladion, very reliable, love that we finally got through to you, fwiends forever am I right 🫠

WE'RE BACK with a MEGA UPLOAD that was too big for one post so I had to part it in two, see you guys in a week with the second part (and the Webtoons update!) OR you can read the whole thing on my Patreon early! 👍

Patreon - And thank you guys so much for your patience for this update!! :D ☺️💖 It took AGES because of the backgrounds...

[jesuis-assez]

THE ROOKIE •── humorous moments [11\?]

Pt . 10 [x]

[vynnyal]

Of all games why this one

[novelconcepts]

Y’all. Y’all.

[megsdoodletag]

i'm doing really great at writing just about all of juno's story except the chapter that should be published next so. have some future funsies w/ Brother Cato

[rewritingcanon]

like i feel like most of the dramione hate is not really about dramione itself its about the shippers like why do you all act like That

[scentedinksandwhackedseals]

sometimes i’m jealous of hardcore muna fans because their favorite band has a podcast but i think if boygenius had a podcast i would not ever EVER be able to think about anything else and that might be unhealthy. so maybe it’s a good thing that they don’t.

[somegrumpynerd]

If you don't mind me asking, how did Nightmare learn to be a good "boss" (dad) in the first place? Did he have subordinates before the Bad Sanses? Did someone teach/adopt him after he was corrupted and he's going off their example?

...

Did he have Killers before this one and he learned from experience?

Y'know what's funny? Ages ago I was planning a (now abandoned) kinda comic series of Nightmare recording events after taking in a mortal for the first time (Killer). It was mostly supposed to be showing how he slowly grew to care for them and softened to them and the world over time (and also how the room behind him would get brighter and more colourful and filled with books and trinkets to show the positive change they were having on him).

And I did think early on about having a plot twist where it turned out he lost his first Killer and that was what made him start taking more care of them when he got another. But honestly that just makes me too sad lol I do think it's a cool idea for his character but I can't do it very well

I like to think, for my Nightmare at least, it was just a lot of doing it wrong for a long time until he learned better. When he first got Killer he was not a good boss, he was still pretty cold and uncaring and didn't really know anything that mortals needed. (In a way Killer was a bad one for him to start with because he wasn't really in the business of taking care of himself so he didn't say anything, he would just kinda collapse when the sleep or food meter got too low and Nightmare would drag him home.)

Horror was the first one in the team that would actually say if they didn't have something, like food or soap or blankets, and by that point Nightmare was pretty receptive to it. Every one of them has taught him things about what they all need but he's still learning and trying his best to make sure they're taken care of.

[teatitty]

Iruka isn't super big on public affection and everyone knows this so it's a huge shock the day he casually presses a chaste kiss to Kakashi's mouth through the man's mask and then calmly walks out of the room after [he is internally freaking the fuck out]. Kakashi isn't floating on cloud nine he is in a completely different stratosphere altogether

[claymton]

I've read some of your posts (I love your art by the way) and as a Clay simp I have to say I HATE ARTHUR PUPPINGTON MY GOD, AS MUCH AS CLAY HAD BEEN A SPOILED BRAT YOU CAN'T JUST IGNORE A FCKING CHILD AAAAAcbsknx The old man needed to mature instead of seeing a 12-year-old as competition

I get Arthur puppington but this old man should be upset at his wife not at the 12 year old who's been sheltered, spoiled and tricked into believing everyone should kneel down for him his whole life, that kid literally does not know any better

[unionizedwizard]

funny because i have at the same time a Lot of thoughts and feelings about poetry, coupled with a genuinely religious approach to it, extremely deep respect that i cannot and will not try to put into words (the last time i tried to i literally nearly killed myself), extremely intense deal, but also i am under absolutely no illusion about it. like at best there's like five people reading my work and going "👍" about it and i'll never be properly published and i honestly don't think i have any illusions of grandeur about it, like i genuinely don't think my work (even if it were, like, Real, and not just some crazy guy posting crazy poetry on the internet once in a while) could or would save anyone or Change The World or anything. yes it is the single most important and meaningful act in the world and yes it literally doesnt matter at all. hashtag zen

[atmilliways]

Preview

@steddiemicrofic

written for ‘Pine’ | wc: 508 | rated: T Kind of a time travel fic, kind of a future fic. Established relationship, but also not. With a whiff of mutual pining.

Eddie is cold. He’s so fucking cold, clutched in Henderson’s arms. 

And then he isn’t. 

He’s hot, dripping sweat instead of blood. Standing, feet aching like he’s been on them all day. Everything is light and heat and noise, the clanging of metal and the sizzle and smell of things cooking, people bustling. He sways on his feet, and—

“You okay, chef?”

It’s too much. Eddie’s eyes roll back, gone before he even falls.

He wakes in a soft bed, softer than he’s ever felt in his entire life. It smells of pine-scented laundry detergent, weed smoke, and comfort. 

“Eds?” Steve Harrington leans over him with concern and relief in his eyes, and something warm that chases the last of the cold from Eddie’s blood. He’s clasping Eddie’s hand in both of his.

Something’s off, though. Steve looks . . . older. And damn good in glasses, but since when did Steve Harrington need glasses?

“You passed out at work, babe.”

Babe.

Babe.

“King Steve holding my hand,” Eddie mumbles. “I’m either dreaming or dead.”

“. . . Oh.” Steve’s grip tightens, reminding Eddie that, oh yeah, he can hear him. Maybe not a dream, if he doesn’t get to have his privacy when thinking out loud. “Okay, so this is happening. Uh. . . . What year do you think it is?”

Eddie frowns. It’s 1986, but. . . . When he looks down at himself there are scars and unfamiliar tattoos and, weirdly, a distinct lack of one nipple on his own chest. Why is he shirtless?

His silence seems answer enough, because Steve nods. “Okay. You told me this was going to happen, just weren’t sure when. The last thing you remember is the Upside Down, right? Bats?”

The bats. Eddie shudders with his entire body. 

“Okay,” Steve says again, smoothing his thumbs over the knuckles and palm of Eddie’s hand. “You’re going to be fine, Eds. This is just a blip.” He offers an awkward smile. “But you’re going to go back, and it’s going to really hurt for a while but you’re going to be fine. Just do your stretches, I remember how much you hated that shit but it’s important.”

Eddie can’t wrap his head around what Steve is saying. His voice is small when he asks, “Will I still be able to play?”

The smile firms up, genuine. “Yeah. Not quite as good as before, we all know how important your left nipple was for that, but. You have guitars all over the damn place, really clutters up our apartment.”

“Our?” Eddie croaks. 

Another squeeze of his hand. “Yeah. Don’t leave me hanging too long when you get back, okay?”

He wants to ask more, but sleep is tugging at him and the bed is so soft. 

He wakes up in a hospital bed, and the Steve Harrington he knows is asleep in the visitor’s chair, hand on the sheet next to Eddie’s. 

And Eddie, not wanting to leave him hanging, breathes through the pain as he reaches to hold it.

(also on Ao3)