#oh boy i also really rambled

[ghostorbz]

I hope nobody has done this yet

[u3pxx]

[bad omens] you know how it is with me and body swaps and roleswaps orz

[the-bi-space-ace]

Oh I’d love to add my thoughts. I sure do love to yap. Hunter has been hard for me to enjoy, always has been, and I'll admit that there have been times I’ve had to force myself to write him into a scene. I was especially hard on him after the end of S2, I think. I wasn't having a fun time writing him and I definitely vibe more with characters like Echo or Rex or Crosshair. However, I've had a lot more fun writing Hunter and have connected with him more as a character within the past year.

Everything @floundrickthewayfarer said applies to how I see and characterize Hunter so I want to offer and expand on just a few things that make him a more interesting character for me to write.

When I write Hunter he is protective, non-confrontational, pessimistic, and refuses to admit when he is wrong or has wronged someone. He's got a strong will but he's also willing to listen. He will change his mind if pushed but he won't admit acceptance of it. It's an interesting thing to play with - this idea of flexibility under strict personal rules.

Hunter: 'No we absolutely should not do this and here is why.' Anyone else: 'Here's why it's actually the thing we should be doing and I need you to agree and support this otherwise I will do it without you.' Hunter: '.... fuck it, fine.'

I use this template a lot when writing him. Especially when writing him as an Echo counterpart. It's a lot of fun to give Echo some push back and him only to grow stronger in his convictions. As we can tell from my long fics, I love a good disagreement. Hunter is a great option to push back against Echo's fierceness. His perspective is different, and he offers resistance that is needed. Times are tough, things are complicated, and his focus is making sure they get out alive not saving anyone else. I think the way to frame it so I enjoy writing it is usually about making sure it's about lack of action not lack of empathy. He's not unfeeling, far from it, but he won't stick his neck out for anyone unless he is personally connected to them. He won't let his squad stick their necks out without him either. He may not want to do it but he won't go kicking and screaming he'll just sigh and glare and grumble, maybe even make snippy comments about it if he's really pissed. He knows his loved ones well enough to know when they will do it without him if he refuses to help and that is not something he'll allow. If they're walking into fire and certain death he's walking with them, you can't stop him. He loves and respects Echo, the same way Echo loves and respects Hunter, and disagreeing or hurting each other does not make that go away. I enjoy trying to write within that space. Let them have their perspectives, feelings, let them snip at each other, but allow them to still care about each other. (I've written an entire post about this exact thing that I've never posted)

Hunter can't admit when he has wronged someone, or, at least, he really doesn't want to. Allowing Hunter to have this trait allows space for conflict which, for me, is fun to write. He won't discuss his internal feelings with anyone else, preferring to go it alone, which leaves him without outside perspective if no one confronts him. This is what makes my brain go all buzzy about him. Sticking him up against Crosshair, who can be spiteful and cutting and hit right where it hurts, a man who begs to be heard and won't let you get the last word, someone who won't be ignored, is just soooooo exciting to write. Hunter won't throw too many punches but he'll try to brush things aside so he doesn't have to ever look it in the face. I love making these two butt heads. There's love there, of course there is, but they have very different responses when they feel hurt by someone else. Hunter ignores it, of course he does. He's a let's just move on why are we even still talking about this, kind of guy. But Crosshair is going to force a confrontation. He'll argue, he'll claw and complain and bite. He says something cutting, hits first thinks later. Hunter will take a beating before he starts throwing low blows. I love making Hunter ignore it. Can't be having interpersonal issues if he just pretends they don't exist, right? There's a desperation to both sides. They want the same thing, at the end of the day - to have each other back - but they disagree about how to make that happen.

The last thing I want to touch on is how much I love when Hunter makes fun of the other batchers. We really only saw it in TCW but I am endlessly entertained by how playful this man can be. I use it a lot, mainly bc I tend to like writing that so much it hurts, but I do think that attribute is somewhere in there. He teases his squadmates, is a certified Frat Bro, and literally brings a knife to a blaster fight WHAT THE HELL, HUNTER???? I love that. You reckless grump. In tense situations that trait seems to disappear but I like to make it come out when he's more relaxed. Yes, he's stoic and grumbly and all of that stuff but if he's relaxed??? He's just as bad as the rest of the batch. I like to find what will allow him to relax and let that side of himself out and then run with it. It's nice to see him get the chance, even if I've put him through loads of angst to get there. I think it helps me to just make him a little silly. Everyone is a little silly sometimes, so what would let Hunter be silly? Ya know?!?

As a parting gift I would like to offer you my favorite things about Hunter that are technically head canons but are canon to me:

Is not smooth at all and all of the batch tease him about it. Mr. Fights With A Knife trips over his own feet and is miserable at small talk. Can do flips and shit but spills his caf down his front.

Sleeps with a mask over his eyes. It has little fake eyes printed on it.

My all time favorite Hunter headcanon which is that if one of the batch sits next to him he will immediately start playing with their hair or rubbing their back or anything to absentmindedly be present even if they don't chat.

Has a favorite knife. No one else is allowed to touch it. He shaves with it sometimes.

Knows when someone gets out of bed because it wakes him up. He waits until they're back in bed before he'll fall asleep again.

Sometimes just says things about his enhancements (real or made up) to freak the rest of the squad out. He thinks he's funny. Hunter: 'Yeah, I knew it was you because of the sound of your heartbeat.' Echo: 'oh okay, that makes sens- YOU CAN HEAR OUR HEARTBEATS?!?' Hunter: 'You smell different. Hold on, let me smell you I need to know why you smell different.' Crosshair: 'NO! Hunter, enough, I can't take this anymore stop smelling me, it's so weird!'

Runs warm as fuck and if it's cold in the Marauder and Wrecker is already taken as a personal heater (bc that man is warm and big and you will NOT freeze while cuddling Wrecker) he's got at least one other person in his bed sucking up his body heat if not two. Sighs but lets it happen even if they always shove their cold feet onto him and complain about him snoring.

This has gotten very very long but I hope this helped even a little bit. Writing Hunter is a lot more fun for me now than it was when I was trying to write in 2022 and 2023 and *gestures to everything above* is certainly a part of it.

not trying to ruffle feathers here, but i honestly think i would like hunter way more if he wasn’t just “hot sergeant dad” in fandom. like the other batch members i think have a more balanced amount of fandom that thinks they’re hot and fandom that discusses their character, if that makes sense?

every time i see a hunter appreciation post about his leadership, his character arc, or his struggles in raising a kid, it still eventually turns into how hot that apparently makes him lol. i think if there were more… nuance? (idk how to say that without sounding pretentious lol) then id be able to appreciate his story more.

idk, something about him or the way popular fandom presents him just makes him really boring/flat as a character to me

again, if you think he’s hot, great!! genuinely happy for you, i think my problem is just that i’m an aroace lesbian who tends to dislike the popular interpretation of characters lol

(yes this is a plea for u to convince me he’s actually interesting plsplspls i want to like writing him bsjshdkdl)

[luck-of-the-drawings]

"I think this is the most inhuman; and human, that I've ever felt.." MUCH CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR. IN FIVE YEARS. A DECADE. imagine how much can happen in a century. just ONE (1). How will you grow? what phases do you find? even in 5 years, you will find patterns.

[etirabys]

something that peeves me in fiction – in a setting where society that hasn't mostly eliminated scarcity, anyway – is when someone really kindhearted takes in a near stranger in need (e.g. orphan, ex slave) and that person is their only project to whom they can give a lot of care. irl I feel like everyone who's exceptionally nice, or at least bad at drawing a line for their own health, has a full case load and is close to burnout

I don't mind this at all when there's a good plot reason for why X should be helping Y in particular and isn't already overbooked; I feel some ugh when X is depicted as someone who'd always help people in Y's shoes but has mysteriously evaded all other supplicants.

I'm pro-fantasy but this kind of moral fantasy strikes me as a bit uglier than the others: you can be a nurturing figure who gives unconditional help without running something so unphotogenic as a vetting interview or cost/benefit analysis, but you'll never be overwhelmed, either

[dustykneed]

Hello! Random whipper snipper! Share a WIP of your work!

ooh, with pleasure. six the musical araleyn fanart? in the year 2k24? more likely than you think xDD

i realize this looks finished, but technically i'm still deciding whether to add a background or not lol. still, for the sake of sharing a proper WIP, here's a line or two from an araleyn brainworm WIP that i started reworking yesterday (mild tw for religious guilt and period-typical internalized homophobia from aragon's pov):

She remembers sharing her bed with Anne at Henry's behest, remembers the nights of tossing and turning and trying not to think about Anne asleep next to her-- remembers waking up to dark hair spilling across her pillow and the press of blood-warm bosoms against her own, softer than sin, as hot as the Devil, remembers lying still as death, mouthing prayers into the heat of Anne's neck like an act of penance.

[residentialsinyomakai]

Hello hello!!! Guess what. Yokai art dump below the cut!! So cool and shiny wow

Its true, I do >u<

I'll try and section these and give the usual explanations below! Image ID for more drawing specific inksplanation.

Click for full image! Since a lotta these are weirdly shaped they were cut off....augh...

McKraken and Maddiman related doodlesssss they're some of my faves <3 i will always love them even if they're not my focus characters atm (well. McKraken kinda is rn but also Babblong so YAY)

Misc. Yokai and ocs! The frog is Kerosque, the guy w the swirly pompadour thing is Swiss, and the monkey is Romono (although he's a Regretevator OC from FOREVER ago, he's still my son <33)

SWISS STUFF RAUGHHHH ! inconsistent style will be APPARENT here try not to notice shuhhhhhgh

Height for main yokai in my AU/on Casp's team! (In the anime it's just primary summons then wwwww)

Some yokai practice/design hcs bc my friend asked!! I was so happy to share 🤭 LOVE YOU CHERCHERRRR

Some of my little guys once more! Rawry' prob one of my faves yokai to draw, easy and fun to do show-accurate or stylized.

OCSSSSSS. AND BADDINYAN. MY EVIL CAT <3333 the guy next to the frog in the middle is an oc idea but idk for what yet =▽=

AUGH. THERES AN IMAGE LIMIT? Well in case you're wondering it's 30....post the rest after I get tomorrow's doodles. See you then and thank you for looking at and reading about my arts!

[sharknark]

⬇️rant about a really good hengren (reverse renheng) fic i read. link at the bottom give it a whirl

i've never read a fic so well-catered to my tastes before in my life and the best part is that i was so caught off guard by how good it was cuz the tags and summary had me like "right this is some omegaverse-esque, rawr XD mating shit"

but from the very first paragraph i realized it wasn't just ao3-typical possessive mating shit it was (dare i say) IN CHARACTER possessive mating shit. underappreciated dan feng lore is the two hearts shit, duty expects him to smother his own empathy and perform cruelty obediently (and that being in his dragon form literally numbs his empathy towards mortals) but then it's flipped around and he's criticized for being too heartless

there aren't a great many english fics that take advantage of the 'numbed empathy' thing, so this fic using that to explore the toxic codependency that drove dan feng to making yingxing immortal in the first place is so!

dan feng's dragon heart prioritizing it's own indulgence and power, his human heart screaming against it for empathy and restraint, but both hearts united in this possessive adoration of yingxing... dan feng is possessive to the point of harming his partner, forcing them to take his affection, inherently contradictive to the protective impulse to see the other unhurt.

dan feng makes yingxing immortal in a really sketchy operation, despite knowing that yingxing is literally defined by his pride in being a short-life. he wants yingxing to be with him so badly that he does the one thing that would hurt yingxing the most, too blinded by possession, this sickly overbearing affection, to empathetically respect yingxing's death.

yingxing lived cramming every second he could into his craft and his goals precisely because he has so much less time than all the immortal species around him, but when he's forced into immortality, his hands are scarred and ruined past the point of ever crafting again. he suddenly has so much time, all this time he would've cherished as a mortal, but is totally useless to him now that his purpose for living and passion is gone.

so there being a scene in this fic where dan feng is moping "yingxing doesn't wanna fuck because he's glued to his workshop", being followed up with a scene of dan heng fucking blade while kissing his scarred hand and crying that he's "so sorry", yeah no shit asshole, his dragon heart got what it wanted, blade has all the time in the world to fuck and nothing competing for his now limitless attention and no one's happy about it.

as arrogant about being a short-life as yingxing was, it really is compensation for the discrimination he faced for it. other immortals looked down on him, so having dan feng, THE top dog, be so deeply enamored with him stirred his own toxic codependent urges. he was so desperate to have dan feng's eternal regard that he's willing to die for him (as in the sedition), his death being the force cementing his place in dan feng's heart forever.

so the fic having yingxing ruminate on this, that he had hoped for dan feng to love him even centuries after he inevitably died, only for the fic to end with:

yeah yingxing... you left an impression... he made you immortal.... everyone's upset by this

(that's what makes dan heng forgetting blade was ever yingxing to begin with all the more painful because, you went and turned him immortal and when it backfired horrifically you went on and fucking forgot, bitch i'd be pissed to the point of centuries long bloody pursuit of vengeance too.)

here's the fic go read it and leave kudos and a comment, technically porn but i got so invested in the character study that part barely registered. also yeah if you hadn't realized already super dead-dove:

blah blah "renheng is toxic" sorry that's why i like it

[starrysharks]

the urge to make public character playlists for my little guys...

[itsybitsybatsyspider]

Hey so I've been *eating up* your TDP au and I looove everything you've made for it!! (The fact that I've finished season 6 yesterday is not helping aaaaa)

May I ask if Valka joins the party? Is she around?

AAAAAAA thank you thank you! Im so glad you enjoy it! It is my current brainrot and i have so many ThoughtsTM about it

And Valka is around......somewhere...... in Xadia.......

When she still lived in Berk she believed that peace was possible with the elves and dragons and did everything she could to convince anyone that they were not bloodthirsty monsters they had to fight. But of course no one believed her.

And so when she got taken by a dragon, after defending it and saving it's life during a raid, she figured that maybe Berk was hopeless and decided to stay in Xadia. (is this a flawed decision?? oh 100%. This action will have consequences in the future ;D)

And now 18 years later, she lives in the Uncharted Forest, helping and healing injured creatures and dragons and giving them a safe haven to reside in. She doesn't get many visitors, mainly because of the boundary spells that are set around her home, but she does get visits from her Sunfire elf friend who drops by from time to time to fill her in on things and ask for her help.

Recently though he's been trying to figure out what's been causing a corruption in the creatures of the region, and asked for her to keep an eye out for anything strange. Aside from that, the only other news Sandy has to share is that there's been a Sunfire elf terrorizing Berk. How strange. :)

[spotsupstuff]

Cap's got a new voice claim! feat. a tiny bit of Sparrows n her's unchanged vc because 1. it's cute to hear them together and 2. I snorted. The vibes are so different

[songs: So Familiar by Jean Castel and Driving Myself Home by Rose Betts]

[froginamoodboard]

Ellen O'Donnell moodboard

Requested by: @moonmoonthecrabking

x x x x x x x x x

[heavensims]

Ever finish reading a book series and suddenly feel all sorts of things and not quite sure where to put that energy?

[skitskatdacat63]

catie I NEED more vettonso lore for your au. please. (love u)

Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! C!!! Thank you so much for asking!! This took me a bit cause there’s a lot of stuff I want to cover and I had to figure out how to balance the explanation of the historical context and how I apply it to my AU. But seriously thank you for asking because I did more research to write this post and learned a lot of things that make me feel deranged but I cannot bring any of this up to anyone irl without sounding like a lunatic. I’d apologize for the length but you should expect this from me by now! (I realized this doc for this was 1.5k+ my god)

Basic Info: early 1700s historical AU with arranged marriage plot 

Historical Context:

Okay, so this AU is based on a real historical event: The War of The Spanish Succession. Which is when the Spanish Throne was without a clear line of succession because the bloodline(Spanish Habsburgs) died out. So then, even though the previous Spanish King named his successor(Philip V, a Duke related to the French Royal family - representing Fernando in this AU), the Habsburgs still thought they should be allowed to keep the throne within their dynasty, thus offering up the second son(Charles VI - representing Seb in this AU) of the Holy Roman Emperor. So obviously they had to start a war because of it. But then the end result ended up being that because Charles VI’s older brother, the Holy Roman Emperor at the time, died during the war(because of illness though so it would have happened regardless), he became the next Emperor and Philip V ended up becoming the Spanish King after all, rendering it all pointless imo.

How does this relate to Vettonso?:

I'm not overly interested in either Charles VI and Philip V as people, but rather the roles they fulfill in this conflict, but obv I can’t help but draw on details from their lives. As I mentioned, Fernando is now Fernando I of Renault/France Spain and Seb is Sebastian I of Red Bull Austria. This is supposed to be like 2010-2012!Vettonso with Ferrari!Fernando and RBR!Seb(but like Fernando's title of Duke coming from France, because of his championships with Renault.) This AU is kinda just me looking at this historical event and thinking: wouldn’t a gay arranged marriage solve this succession quandary? But also just that it reminds me of Fernando and Seb’s rivalry, and the nationalities/kingdoms fit pretty well!!

Think about the throne of Spain as akin to winning a race, but becoming Holy Roman Emperor as winning the whole entire competition.(Also side note: real life Charles VI didn’t become a king until he became Emperor and adopted all of his brother’s titles, but I want Seb to be a boy king in this AU, so he can have a title as a treat.) Imagine you’re competing for something and you win it, but the only reason you win is because the other competitor won an even bigger prize!!!! Yay you got what you wanted but the boy king is now the emperor of most of Europe. And now you are stuck with him through lawfully wedded arranged marriage because they let you have what you wanted but only under the condition that the two kingdoms are still united. Yeah Fernando got the title, but Seb gained even more titles(get it???) 

They probably have a lot of animosity coming into the marriage, like “how could I ever build a relationship with the man who tried to steal my birthright?” but then realize they’re pretty similar after all. Though obviously Fernando has a lot more resentment than Seb because Seb won the whole damn thing! He would have control over Spain as he’s the king but since it's still within the domain of the empire, Seb would always have the final say. And Seb tries to be magnanimous like “Don’t worry, I won’t interfere”, and Fernando is all snide with comments like “Oh thank you great imperial majesty, can I really? Would you really allow me to do so?” But eventually become loving co-rulers that still constantly snipe at each other over different decisions the other makes. 

Some headcanons(I guess you’d still call it headcanons even if it's your own AU bcs it still comes from your head) + some fun facts from real life that have brainrotted me so I’m putting them in:

Their dynamic is just Seb being a very righteous, bratty boy king emperor who is unabashed about being that way, because he feels that it is his right, but still has a heart of gold and wants to treat his husband well no matter the circumstances leading to their marriage. And then Fernando is like a stray cat that keeps hissing and scratching because it’s really hard for him to accept the circumstances because he still feels humiliated, even though he got everything he wanted, but he still can’t help but be charmed by this baby emperor because he sees attributes of himself in Seb, and can’t really fault him because he would be the exact same, flaunting his power, if he were in Seb’s shoes. 

They would have to speak in French to each other because that’s their shared language but eventually attempt to learn each other’s native languages! Imagine Seb has to travel to Spain to give some Emperor speech and Fernando then bullies him for his bad Spanish. 

They would probably split where they live based on a schedule or by need. Yes, Fernando is the King of Spain but he is also the Emperor’s husband so he does have to spend time in the capital, Vienna. And then since Spain is a part of the empire, Seb has to go routinely, but y’know also to spend time with his husband. They find that their marriage as well as their politics is full of having to make concessions and compromises in order to make it work. 

Something I find funny is that as compensation for not getting the Spanish throne back, Spain had to cede some Italian territories to the Empire. That is literally the Ferrari plot with the transfer from Fernando to Seb!!

I’m not sure how the titles would work in this AU because obviously a m/m political marriage has not ever happened(as far as I know.) But I guess Fernando would just be King Fernando I of Spain and then Seb would be Holy Roman Emperor Sebastian I with the million titles that come with being in that role(though like most importantly Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia and Hungary, etc.) I like the idea that Seb tries to share some titles with Fernando as a show of good will but Fernando is so affronted, mostly just from embarrassment, like “oh you think I need your good will?? I can’t be happy with what I earned in my own right??” But their kids would receive both titles and would be split in the traditional way, like first kid getting it all mostly, but the others still being nobility obv(yes.. there would be mpreg because of the plot need for succession….don’t ask who…)

They bond through their love of horses, particularly fast horses. The first time they go riding together, they’re both like awkwardly trying to act very proper as a sense of showmanship to the other like “I’m more mature than you”, but then can’t stop trying to get ahead of the other person and eventually break into a full-on race. Their aids are mutually like “oh god, they’re both the same type of insane.” 

Irl Charles VI was so salty about losing the throne that he wouldn’t stop dressing like a traditional Spanish monarch. I can totally see Seb doing that and Fernando getting so pissed with him like “you became emperor!! What more could you possibly want???’ and Seb then fixing him with his biggest pout and saying “your throne!” But also Fernando being weirdly into it because it’s basically Seb presenting himself blatantly as Fernando’s spouse. 

In that same vein, I’m going crazy over how there’s a painting from before the war, of Philip V wearing vestments from both the French order of chivalry and the Habsburg order of chivalry. Like basically stating the desire to see those two lines combined into one kingdom, which fits so well into this AU. Just Seb going crazy over how Fernando is willingly branding himself as belonging to Seb’s house. 

A testimony of Philip V’s personality is that he was a “neurotic, vacillating ruler, concerned with outward decorum and brave only in battle,” god can you not sense the energy of Fernando in that statement???

Very important to me that Charles VI reportedly had many male lovers, and that his soulmate was one of his courtiers. Maybe there can be a bit of Martian or Sebson cheating plot with them being his courtiers hahaha  

Not very relevant in this AU but there’s something about how Philip V had the longest ever reign of a Spanish monarch. Is that not Fernando??? Old man who will rule on forever, or should I say, forever keep his seat 

I already obv posted the wip for this but I'll include it here again as visual rep hehehe:

I've spent way too much time lately trying to research the fashion of the time ugh. But this, as I said, is like first joint portrait session into the marriage. And I guess I kind of want them to be wearing their corronation clothing, which I'm pretty solid on for Seb but still need to research more for Fernando. I think I'll maybe try and just put him in the afformentioned traditional Spanish monarch clothing, but the fact that it's all black kinda bores me, I'd rather he wear red!! This is like a typical royal couple type pose, except they're being more tactile. Also there's something to be said about the symbolism of Fernando being the one standing and Seb being the one sitting hehehe....

[insufferablemod]

hheeeyyyy heyyyy go check out this song im very normal about yall B)

[sga-owns-my-soul]

being at work alone for over 6 hours sucks but when it's dead and there's no orders or customers it means i can just read fanfiction all day and i get paid for it

sometimes i think i have the best job ever