#ranger loves his gay friends

[joerangernation]

Ranger friendgroup headcanons;;;;

ranger + sara: hero vs villan dynamic,

"what will you do sara- you either save the school or catch your greatest enemy!"

"...my greatest enemy? .....Shin???"

"What- no- me!"

But seriously i feel like joe is the only reason they hang out with eachother, that and sara wants to keep a close eye on the guy who likes to blow shit up. I feel like sara would be infinitely annoyed that the school does nothing about rangers constant skipping and disregard for rules, but then again, i think that might make her reflect on her own family status and how it may have factored into her sucess. Ranger would also be extremely jealous because of all the shit sara is good at, like math, socializing, sports, ect.

anzu-

I think anzu and ranger could easily be pranking buddies- like rainbowdash and pinkie pie. They also probably both keep up to date on slang so the conversations are like. "Oh she thought she ate that one" "she didnt even pick up the fork" "period"

Ranmaru-

Ranmaru is the punching bag of the friend group, not just for ranger. I feel like its so easy to make fun of ranmaru. I feel like whenever ranger isnt being a complete dick, tho, they would find they share alot of views on humanity. I can only imagine how they figured out the other was a Will Wood fan.

Kugie-

Ranger and kugue very much match eachother energy, theyre both a bit mean with their humor i feel. I do think kugie is a bit *smarter* which means she'll think of her insults quick, while rangers take a while to come up with so he quickly runs out of new ones. Also rangers speech impediment doesnt help. But they also both have sorta grown similar ways of dealing with the fact that. They're very clockable. Theyre both the kind of kids that get called slurs by randoms in the hallway. I like to think eventually theyd get to a point were theyre like "someone just called them a f*ggot???? Only im allowed to call them that!"

Joe-

Before dating:

I like to imagine joerangers meet cute would be after joe uses the wrong charger on his school laptop or accidently puts the brightness so low he cant tell the computer is on and seeks rangers help at the student-ran help desk. I feel like joe would like rangers looks immediately, specifically his fashion sense. Joe would end up feeling bad after figuring out ranger has 0 friends, ect, and try and introduce him to everyone else. Ranger appreciates these efforts but ultimately has trouble admitting how much it means to him. Joe and ranger would play videogames alot. Joes mom also would really like ranger (despite her misgendering him at first). I feel like ranger would also insist on giving joe money and things like that, which embarrasses joe alot. (Since ranger has never had money problems)

While dating:

Pretty much still the same but more flirting, and ranger would probably beg joe to hang out with him more, basically just being a clingy boyfriend. Ranger fucking SUCKS at masking his autism but he feels really comforted by joes presence, and isnt as worried about joe judging him. Theyd also volunteer at the animal shelter together!!!

[arisewanekosuki]

travelers helper AU where is the reason why S/O is oblivious to all the men liking her is because every single time she showed an interested in a hot guy. They turned out to be gay, so she’s convinced herself that all of the men are gay and possibly even dating each other. (Couples she thinks are real are Alhaitham x Kaveh Cyno x Tinari Zongli x Childe Kaeya x Venti Nuvilet x woirthslie ) and I watched their reactions to finding out that she thinks they’re all gay

Ok this idea is funny xD But to anyone who like those ships, pls don't take it as some kind of hate towards those ships or something. --------- The guys are devastated after learning you think that they are into... each other. All of them wondering where did they make a mistake? Kaveh found it ridiculous, him and Alhaitham?! He wondered if you think so because they live in the same house? But there are many people who are friends and share homes… You even invite all your friends to live in your Teapot!! He really couldn't understand from where this idea came from… Is it because they bicker so much? But it didn't make sense to him!! Kaveh was anxious… do you not see him as a man or something? He is overthinking this whole thing. At this point he is debating whenever to show you his plans of the house he wants to make for you both in future.

Alhaitham was more clam about it, analyzing from where this idea may come. It's not like he and Kaveh were affectionate to each other and he couldn't recal any moment that could make you think like that about them. He will state that, no, he is not interested in Kaveh in such way (or anyone else, both guys and girls, that are not you) And yet you still say "That's okay! I won't judge! I will support whoever you love!" At this point Alhaitham may confess his feeling to you but the problem is that there is always someone by your side…if not Aether then other guys. And the worst thing is Kaveh always appears too, making the misunderstanding even worse.

Cyno at first thought this is some kind of joke. But after seeing that you're not joking he was bewildered. Why would you think so? "You two sometimes look like parents of Collei" Parents? But when they were in Mondstadt he was sure you heard how he and Tighnari bickered who would be the 'older brother'… right? Cyno was silent. Trying to come up with something that will make you believe him that he is interested in you. Because whenever he would say that, you would be "ah Cyno! Please don't joke like that!" he would never joke about things like this... The General Mahamatra for now tries to avoid talking to Tighnari when you are close…

Tighnari only furrowed his brows. Him and Cyno? Big nope!! Just imagining that he would hear more jokes from Cyno if they were together already gives him a headache. The Forest Ranger was getting more and more irritated that you for some reason don't want to accept when he says that there is nothing between him and Cyno. So he started to approach this in different way. Thankfully Cyno already was avoiding him when you are close. So he can now start to be even bolder with his affections towards you. If you still refuse to believe that he is attracted to you, then you may expect to hear a confession soon.

Zhongli asked you if you can repeat yourself. Oh? Him and Childe together? In romantic relationship? Zhongli was thinking where this came from…Is it because he often uses Childe's mora to buy things?But that was only that… and that Childe often bothers him so they could spar. Ah. Maybe this was the reason, maybe you think that 'sparings' are something different. Humans are truly interesting. He will ask you why you think so, patiently listening to your explanation. He is amused by this.

Childe laughed, but after seeing you are not laughing he stopped and said "Wait...are you serious?" He will say that there is nothing between them, even says that he prefers girls (to hint that he likes you) but you responded with "It's okay! You don't have to hide it! I accept you and I'm sure your family will accept this as well!" You're cute…. but why don't you want to believe him?! Should he shower you with more gifts? It would be better to invite you for a date but with Aether being around it's not that easy….

Kaeya was amused, but he didn't expect that you will think that Venti is his boyfriend. One part of him wanted to joke about it but other part was worried that you will take it too seriously and he will lose his chances with you. The cavalry captain doesn't worry about it too much. He will simply tell you that you're wrong and he will continue showering you with affections.

Venti was a bit hurt by this. Were his love songs and poems dedicated to you not enough? Or maybe this is your way to tell him that you're not interested in him? He can't really understand this… he never was affectionate to anyone else like he is towards you. But after learning he is not the only one that you think is into guys, he felt relieved. At least you didn't think that he and that block head are into each other.

Neuvillette was confused by this. There are already many things that he can't understand about humans. But he was sure that you will realize that he is trying to court you… not the Duke of the Fortress of Meropide… After that for some days it was raining in Fontaine. He decided to tell Furina about it, hoping for some advice in this situation. But she only started to laugh. After she calmed down she promised to help him to clear this misunderstanding.

Wriothesley already knew how oblivious you are but he never expected that you might be this oblivious. He will say that there is nothing like this between him and the Iudex and if you still insist about that then well…if there will be a chance for you two to be alone you can expect him to kabedon you, making you look into his eyes and he won't let you go till you stop thinking that he is interested in anyone that is not you.

[hypnobeauty]

A Chance Encounter - a cho hyun-ju x reader fic (part 2)

summary: a story about how you and Hyun-ju met and the following years of your relationship. part 1 cw: no use of y/n, reader is afab, angst, transphobia, fluff if you squint really hard, pre-squid game, slice of life, timeline might be a bit wonky, this one is a bit sad. a/n: hey, didn't think i'd get any response on the previous part but people enjoyed and i'm happy! this time i decided to write some background for hyun; the show gives us very little on her, so i made up a lot of stuff. my shayla!! just a heads up, i know nothing of military, so i googled a bunch of stuff and probably faked some information. oh well. enjoy! xx comments are always appreciated ♥️ taglist: @strayteez3staner @dekiruxxx @trizxyp - lemme know if you'd like to be added.

part 2. unexpected bloom

it was hyun-ju.

she’d lingered in the clinic longer than she’d planned, hoping to catch one last glimpse of you. she’d seen you when you first came in, laughing with your friend, and something about your energy had drawn her in. for a moment, she’d dared to hope you might still be there when she left. but when she scanned the waiting room, you were gone, and that small flicker of hope faded into disappointment.

she wasn’t sure why she cared. hyun-ju had felt your glances earlier, and while being stared at wasn’t new to her, it wasn’t something she ever got used to. there was always a tension in those moments—a question of whether the gaze was one of judgment, curiosity, or something worse. but with you, it had been different. there was no malice or disgust in the way you looked at her. if anything, you seemed… curious. interested, maybe. though she told herself she was probably imagining it.

as she sat in her car, her mind drifted back to the past months. it hadn’t been easy—nothing about transitioning ever was—but this was the life she had chosen, the life she’d fought for. hyun-ju’s life had changed drastically. almost a year ago, she’d lost her position in the army, a career she’d poured herself into for twelve long years. as a sergeant first class in the special forces, she’d been respected and admired, known for her skill and discipline. but when she came out to her superior—a man she’d once seen as a mentor, even a father figure—everything crumbled.

she’d gone into his office nervous but hopeful. maybe he’d understand. maybe, at worst, she’d lose a rank or face a transfer. but instead, he’d looked at her like she’d grown a second head, addressing her by her dead name and suggesting she was "confused" or "clouded in judgment." he gave her a week to reconsider her words but by the time she walked out of that office, her military career was over.

at thirty, she was adrift—jobless, heartbroken, and unsure of her place in the world. her girlfriend at the time hadn’t made it any easier. when hyun-ju told her about her plans to transition, the girl had simply said, “i can’t date a gay man. sorry.” no amount of explaining—about how she wasn’t gay, how she liked girls but was also a girl—seemed to get through. the girl left her in a café, bewildered and suddenly very alone.

in moments like that, hyun-ju often found herself reflecting on her life. even as a kid, she’d known she was different. she loved roughhousing with her brother, playing football in the middle of the road and riding her bike around the neighborhood, but she secretly longed to be the pink ranger when they played, even though she always ended up as the blue.

by the time puberty hit, her confusion had crystallized into a painful clarity. she envied the girls in her school—not just for who they were, or her personalities, but for how their bodies changed in ways hers never would. at fourteen, she tried confiding in a school counselor, but that backfired spectacularly when her father found out. the berating she endured and the punishment that followed left her with one lesson: never speak of it again.

her first girlfriend, ga-eul, had been a bright spot in those early years. hyun-ju liked to think she had been a good “boyfriend,” attentive and sensitive, but deep down, she’d longed to be seen for who she truly was. when she left for military service at eighteen, she and ga-eul parted ways.

many years later, when hyun-ju updated her social media with her new name and posted her first photo of her, ga-eul had sent her a message. “i always knew you were special. live your truth, hyun-ju.” it was small, but it meant the world to her.

even so, she carried that secret inside her, even as she became a star in physical education, even as she left for mandatory military service at eighteen. rising through the ranks to become a special forces sergeant first class was no small feat, especially for someone who had to constantly suppress half of who they were. but at home, behind closed doors, she allowed herself small moments of freedom. over time, she collected pieces of her true self—a pair of delicate earrings, a sleek dress, makeup she practiced applying in secret.

over the past nine months, hyun-ju had made strides toward becoming the woman she’d always been inside. hrt had softened her features, reshaped her body, and even brought a slight swell to her chest. now, every time she looked in the mirror, she felt closer to the person she’d always been inside. but it wasn’t enough—not yet.

this new chapter in her life wasn’t without its challenges. her savings, her army pension, and her cautious spending habits had carried her this far, but she hadn’t anticipated how expensive transitioning would be.  she’d started laser hair removal and gotten fillers and botox, but today’s procedure was her first major surgery: a rhinoplasty to smooth out the bump on her nose and reshape the tip and nostrils. she had other procedures planned—a facelift, jaw shaving, double eyelid surgery—but her surgeon had advised starting small. the costs were steep, but to her it was worth it.

and yet, the isolation that came with these changes weighed the most on her. she’d distanced herself from her family, avoided video calls, and cut ties with many of her old friends and colleagues. outside of her therapist and a trans support group she’d joined, she rarely interacted with anyone who truly saw her.

and then there was you.

two weeks later, you were back at the clinic with ha-neul, waiting outside the doctor’s office with your kindle. you were engrossed in your book when a quiet argument at the reception desk caught your attention. looking up, you saw her: hyun-ju.

she looked different from before, her hair slightly longer and tied in a small bun. she wore jeans, knee-high boots, and a trench coat, with a leather crossbody bag slung over her shoulder. but her face was what really caught your attention.

her nose was bandaged, the skin around it bruised and swollen. she looked tired, but it wasn’t just physical—it was the kind of weariness that came from carrying too much for too long. you weren’t sure why your breath hitched, but it did. then you caught snippets of the conversation.

“i’m sorry, miss,” the receptionist said with an apologetic smile. “we can’t dismiss you without a third-party signature. it’s for your safety.”

hyun-ju’s voice was soft but firm, laced in frustration. “i have no one.”

before you could think, you were on your feet, walking toward them. “i—i could help?” you stammered, unsure if you were even speaking to her directly.

she turned to you, her face swollen and bruised, her nose bandaged. for a moment, her expression was unreadable.

“i don’t know if you remember me,” you said quickly, trying to fill the silence. “we met a couple of weeks ago? i was with my friend ha-neul… oh, i didn’t introduce myself back then. i’m sorry.” you gave her your name, fumbling slightly, before adding, “if it’s okay, i could sign you out. i could even help you get home if you don’t think that’s… too much.”

hyun-ju hesitated, her gaze flickering between you and the receptionist.

in truth, she didn’t know what to think. she was exhausted, in pain, and desperate to leave. and then there was you—the girl who’d sat next to her, the one she couldn’t quite forget. you’d made her feel seen in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“why?” she asked finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

you smiled gently. “why not?”

*

That’s how you ended up signing the dismissal form for a stranger and climbing into the back of an Uber with her. Hyun-ju sat stiffly beside you, her fingers fidgeting with the strap of her bag.

You sent a quick text to Ha-Neul: “I had to leave, sorry! Explain later 😘😘.”

As the car pulled away, you glanced at her. She looked out the window, her profile softened by the dim light. You weren’t sure why you’d offered to help. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was something more.

And maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t the end of the story.

[avonne-writes]

80s AU - ranger x businessman

John is a park ranger in the San Francisco bay area. He’s relatively open about his bisexuality, and he has a bubbly, hedonistic lifestyle. He’s very comfortable in his body and knows he’s fit and attractive.

Gale is a businessman in the city. He’s all serious and uptight in his everyday life, so deep in the closet he barely even admits it to himself, doesn’t think he has much of a chance at love, but he longs for something, someone to break him out of the shackles of his life.

They meet when Gale's bosses organize a retreat in the forest where Bucky is assigned to babysit supervise them. John and Gale hit it off instantly, but just as friends, because Gale is, of course, careful not to give away the guilty attraction he feels.

But after that first meeting, Gale can’t take it anymore, he decides to risk going to a gay bar in the city. Just to see what it's like.

He makes it to the street of the bar, but can’t bring himself to go in. He’s about to turn tail and go home when John, on his way to the same bar with his friends, spots him. He tells his friends to go ahead, then stops to talk to Gale.

From the way Gale acts, John realizes what's going on. He wants to stay out of Gale's issues but the magnetic pull of attraction keeps him from leaving. He decides to take Gale to a normal bar instead, they have a few drinks (Gale only one for courage), they talk...

...and then John takes Gale home and they end up having rough, desperate, frantic sex together.

As soon as they're done, Gale flees.

John intends to forget about him (he can’t), so he sleeps with Paulina, but it doesn't make him feel any better.

But then, Gale comes to the park again, just to see him, and it soon becomes clear that no matter how they try, they can’t stay away from each other anymore, and a tumultuous relationship starts.

Eventually, Gale learns how to let himself be loved, and John learns that he can settle down.

Side note: since this is an 80s au, it’s set during the worst of the AIDS epidemic, but this AU is not focused on that. John and Gale don’t contract it. Gale does attack John verbally out of fear of the disease though.

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Aof Noppharnach writes some my favorite openings I've seen across all genres. They open like musicals and fairytales. He writes these beautiful monologues that set everything up while romantic scores roll out and the camera floats across the settings. For real, watch the fluid camera work in any of his openings; it's one of the way he snags you. I just swoon.

Look at the opening lines of He's Coming to Me: "It was as simple as that. My heart stopped beating and I died. I have the same dream every time. You must be wondering how a ghost can dream." Call me Ishmael, who!?

And like, the way after the title sequence of Dark Blue Kiss, though, that the music and camera instill a magical fondness on the main characters as it establishes them in their natural habitats--swimming at pool, tutoring at Sun's cafe, etc.--with partial shots that reveal their confident faces in quick and steady succession!? Like, oh yes, all my old Kiss Me Again friends are glowing and tryna make the best of it all.

1000 Stars monologue about second lives in video games might be cheesy except we're cutting between a slick moneyed boy at a roulette table, an earnest girl on a bus, and a group of rangers scouting the forest in pitch black, and wondering who's about to die as mentioned in the voice-over and why are these randos living worlds apart being braided together like this!?!?

And then Moonlight Chicken is just *chef's kiss* using a post-Covid news segment to invite us into a struggling Pattaya neighborhood. And we hear about the economic hardships, the intentions of joy, the Chinese lanterns hanging outside, and see shots of the staff and late-night customers in bright warm light. Then we cut away to people watching the clip at a much dimmer version of the diner as business gets underway. Complaints and arguments and interruptions all occurring within A SINGLE SHOT until Jim walks out onto the street as the music just fully swells, and I'm passed out from the CINEMA of it all!!!!

The comparison I jump to quickest is the opening of Disney's Beauty and the Beast as we are told through stained-glass images the tale of the castle's enchantment and then toured about the small-minded town and its inhabitants as they gossip about Belle. By the end of the two sequences we have learned about every main character and their motivations with a smooth, inviting flow across the physical space and conversations. I honestly wonder if Aof studied the Disney Renaissance openings (majorly influence by another gay visionary, Howard Ashman)?

When it's an Aof script, you just know the viewer within the first fifteen minutes has everything they need to be prepared and excited for the ride they're about to take. Tone and Rhythm: established. Setting: explored, Characters: I already love them more than life itself.

[noahs-white-calvins]

Byler and the Meaning of Mike's Paladin Class

Will is on the brink of death while he and Mike (and others, doesn’t matter) are in the UD, unable to get proper medical attention, and it feels like it’s the end for Will. Setting aside whether Byler has become canon yet–which it will–I have a theory that Mike and the other Party members will obtain powers based on their respective classes. Much like Will gained True Sight, a spell available to powerful spellcasters, I think Mike will gain the Stranger Things version of Healing Hands. Healing Hands (HH) is as quintessential to paladins as their Divine Smite (something else he could obtain, supernatural or mundane), and however it’s represented I believe Mike will use his HH to save Will’s life. 

Mike is the heart. We all know that. Will beat us over the head and heart with it. In regards to his character class, Mike also has an oath. I don’t know the 2E oaths but every paladin swears this oath which then grants them their powers. For the entirety of the series, even when they’ve been at odd, Mike’s oath has been to his friends but most of all: Will. It screams Oath of Devotion, where you fight tooth and nail to protect that which you are sworn to. In this case: Will. 

The show has been very obtuse about where these powers come from, and I do think the UD/Dimension X is the source of these powers since El banishes Henry to it with her own. The means yet unknown, it’s possible that mere contact with the UD–through drugs, rituals, etc–can give someone their powers. Will gains his in season 1 and strengthens them in 2. Some manner of UD nonsense could happen to Mike which gives him the power relevant to his class: the healing hands, which he uses to save the very purpose of his Oath. 

When we look at the characters through the lens of their characters we can glean a lot about their behavior and even guess as to what their endings and future actions can be. When we look at Mike in S1 and 2 he upholds the tenets of his Oath. It’s season 3 where, I believe, he breaks his Oath which is of course an oath to Will. When a paladin breaks their oath it changes them. They lose their divine powers and enter a crisis of faith. For Mike this is a ‘full on gay crisis’, and we very clearly see his behavior has changed. It’s not one-to-one but I do think those nerdy Duffers take the paladin class into account for how they handle Mike. 

Into S4 this is briefly most egregious, and we all know how Mike behaves so I won’t belabor the point. But it is through S4 that Mike begins to relearn the tenets of his Oath, which is entirely possible when playing as a Paladin (and very fun to do in BG3). However, he has not completely regained his Oath, and it is the opinion of this local gay that when Mike confesses his love for Will, that is when he regains the powers of his Oath and becomes himself again. And, if the show goes there, he gets a momentary use of Healing Hands, allowing him to save Will from dying or being permanently disabled, whatever the case. 

A side thought I also just hand: I haven’t seen many comparisons to Mike and Aragorn, and I think there are not many and they have very different arcs, but they are aligned in some ways. Selfless, great leaders and devoted to their teams and loved ones. Aragorn is sort of a paladin/ranger multiclass, but one significant thing he also has are the ‘healing hands of the king’. Considering the LOTR references in the show, it is possible they’ll nod to this. 

It is also feasible that Mike won’t express his HH supernaturally, but be the one to save Will through medical means, literally ‘healing him with his hands’. Anyway, I just want all their character classes to mean they also get powers. 

[elsie-talisman]

prepare for a mind dump… but if anyone wants to make these ideas into fan fictions please do so, and send me the link xxx

i have always been a hotchniss shipper, and i always will be.

BUT….

i have just seen an edit, and i dont know why its never clicked this way before, but i was slightly more convinced of canon gay emily

now don’t get me wrong! I love canon gay emily i truly have watched, and enjoyed, enough jemily, temily, penemily edits to be convinced that our girl likes to taste the rainbow! even when she was up in spokane with the ranger and her cameo in the spin off are a lil fruity

and we all know emily was written (or was planned to be a lesbian originally) which after watching this edit made me wonder when exactly this idea was squashed

i remember once reading they were going to have a scene of her waking up with a woman as the reveal (but i can’t remember if this was a fan idea or actually the plan)

but now I want to know if paget played emily with her sexuality in mind for a while … the scene in the edit from 2x12 seems like she’s actively against going with this detective (although one could argue this is purely from a post lauren/doyle perspective)

plus the scenes with the ranger and her scenes with derek in the early season could be re-read obviously (as people have done, especially with the ranger)

now sadly in 2x16 emily says her date was with a man, so the fantasy is slightly lost, but she could’ve been lying. we know she was raised with her cold/ strict upbringing. im sure emily knew from an early age her sexuality would be rejected by her family, and maybe like our girl frankie dart she liked to keep it all separate!

with the 2x16 deleted scenes in mind too i would’ve loved if they explored the demily romantic relationship, but with emily as a closeted lesbian

(side note, but those scenes and a few more early demily scenes have definitely lead me happily down that rabbit hole)

anyway imagine it….

derek doesn’t believe he’s good enough for emily, as he told reid, he finally shoots his shot and she turns him down

he’s hurt, she’s embarrassed and it’s basically awkward as fuck and the team aren’t sure why

eventually derek goes to emilys house to clear the air and she opens the door wide eyed and clearly scared of something, pretending she’s fine (this is still emily prentiss)

clattering heard from within her apartment and dereks like… oh, do you have company?

suddenly, a woman comes from the kitchen calling out to emily (probably calling her babe for the whole cliche)

emily is panicked derek goes wide eyed and the woman notices he’s there saying hello as emilys in full internal panic and then derek being the great guy he is exhales and introduces himself

fully accepting this significant fact about his friend without even blinking

…now he’s in on the secret

(we could even have a break up the team don’t know it was a girlfriend not a boyfriend then some jemily yearning)

(or instead of emilys apartment and some random girlfriend it could be the ranger in spokane in emilys hotel room)

[khruschevshoe]

I don't believe in soul mates but damn if Jayden Shiba and Antonio Garcia make me reconsider I mean JESUS. Every trope in the book. Long lost childhood friends. Antonio (bright, flamboyant, pun-making, devastatingly brilliant) promises his best friend Jayden (lonely, isolated not-quite-heir in the tower convinced his life will only ever amount to him sacrificing it to lead a team and save the world) that he will become the first Samurai Ranger not from one of the Samurai bloodlines in history and then HE DOES THE STRAIGHT UP IMPOSSIBLE JUST BECAUSE HE PROMISED HE WOULD. He shows back up and we get the first genuine smile from Jayden in the whole show (first relief we see, first glimpse at him without the world on his shoulders). Then Antonio drops the iconic "believe it baby, I'm back" and they spar and Jayden says "still think you can take me" and it's the most tension nickelodeon has ever shown in its entire existence and I am 11 when this show aired with no idea that gay people existed and my parents had just gotten divorced so when I tell you that these two convinced me that love existed, you've gotta understand the IMPACT they had-

*clears throat* Sorry about that.

Anyway, in this essay I will-

@augment-techs @skyland2703

[harrowedknight]

OC info and lore m’lord? Brave knight… please they’re both so handsome… I’d take Hancock in a knife fight for just one date fr…. Bleeding on the concrete outside kle0s shop rn….

Omg,,, thank u for the ask, I’ll take this as an opportunity to introduce all of my fellas since i have multiple saves/ocs for fallout 4. Right now they’re all in separate aus but I wanna connect them, I just haven’t decided who I want to be the sosu yet, if i even want one at all.

Starting with Ranger, my newest character. He’s the charismatic leader of the Minutemen. He likes making light of every situation, but he knows when to take things seriously. He just puts on a laidback attitude so he appears less intimidating. He’s trying very hard to make the commonwealth safer, but he has some doubts and insecurities about his position, which he bottles up and keeps to himself. He wants to be the person that everyone can rely on and look up to, even if that means putting his own problems aside to appear put-together and strong. He’s the one I draw Edward Deegan with, and I wanna do more with the two of them since I love me some eldritch horror vibes. I imagine Ranger and Edward go on relic hunts for Jack Cabot after their questline, getting into hijinks and fun spooky, horrifyingly traumatic adventures. Maybe kissing along the way. Who knows.

Knight on the other hand, is an anxious, paranoid little glorbo; and I say this while he stands at like 6’4”, he’s BIG, the tallest of all of my guys. He’s got severe PTSD and he really doesn’t like living in the apocalypse. He had a wife! They were in a queer platonic relationship; they got married for the benefits but they’re both gay. He’s devastated after losing her, since she was his best friend. He has a very hard time adjusting to the new commonwealth, he barely scrapes by, has to force himself to function because everything reminds him of war and suffering. He eventually stumbles into Goodneighbor, gets hooked on chems to distract himself from bad memories, meets Hancock one bad night and ends up getting drunk/rambling to the poor ghoul. They end up hitting it off despite the ridiculous introduction. Hancock manages to ground Knight, gives him a purpose again; helping good people, and hurting bad people. Knight travels the commonwealth doing odd jobs, trying to do what he can, even joins up with the Railroad to help out the Synths. Just trying to make up for all the time he’d lost, doing what he thinks would’ve made his best friend proud.

Now for Paladin. Yes, he is named Paladin, and yes, he WAS Paladin Paladin before being promoted to Sentinel. It’s probably obvious by now that I have a Dnd/medieval theme for my character’s names. Anyway, Paladin here is— of course— a part of the Brotherhood of Steel. I made him to be a big dickhead because I don’t play mean characters in video games enough. Unlike my other sosus he’s actually thriving in the apocalypse. Before being frozen he was very dissatisfied/disconnected with the ordinary life he was trying to live, he felt like a husk of himself and he couldn’t understand why. After waking up and being met with a destroyed world, his soldier mentality immediately kicked in again. He adapted fast, and when he learns about the Brotherhood and its US military-esc operations he quickly latches onto it. It’s familiar to him, and he excels at his duties. He rises through the ranks quickly, earning his place as Sentinel and developing a massive ego along the way. The Brotherhood makes him feel powerful, and that sort of becomes an addiction of sorts. He just wants more and more power, he wants to be respected; and if not respected, feared.

And as a bonus unrelated to fallout 4,

This is Monty, aka Montague. He’s a prewar ghoul living in the Canadian territories, or Little America as it’s referred to in the Fallout universe. He was a proud mountie back before Canada was annexed, kept his uniform in a locked safe for years. When the bombs fell and he was ghoulified, he pulled it out and dedicated himself to helping those who get lost in the nuclear winter. I’m still learning things about Fallout lore so idk how Canada is depicted after the bombs in canon, but the idea I had is that Monty lives in a massive, snowy wasteland which he’s learned to navigate with a lot of hard work and dedication. He earns caps by guiding people through the tundra, since few know how to avoid all the dangers it poses.

[joerangernation]

btw remember that im ranger so... if ur a sourcemate.....get over here..... >_<

[gunpowderraven]

critical role: by someone that hasn’t seen any of it

hi so we recently got into dimension 20 and our friends have been tugging us towards critical role for a very long time at this point but we still haven’t watched any of it nor do we know all that much about anything that actually happens in it. however we do intend to actually start watching soon so we decided it was the perfect opportunity to make one of those ‘all the things i know about this thing i haven’t watched’ posts, show it to our critrole friends, and then actually get into critrole and be able to look back and laugh about it later

also the images are all sourced via friend so this is all one hundred percent no wiki no google knowledge, just from tumblr and discord convos and stuff. and some cast compilation videos that were very funny

update: we are now watching cr3! liveblog tag for silly lb -> #cr3 lb

vox machina

from left to right:

- i have literally no idea who the two halflings are. i’ve never seen them before in my life. what. uh. paladin and bard? im literally just guessing. who plays these characters. what

- grog? grug? this is travis’ pc maybe. also hypothesizing hes a half-orc barbarian or something similar? ive seen like one clip of him

- percival frederick von something something de rolo i think there’s a iii in his name as well, his name is long and very german but he does not have a german accent. or a french one. at separate times i have thought this character was german and french and then i heard him talk and was like. What. anyway i know he’s taliesin’s pc and he invented guns and is also possessed sometimes by big bird demon, and he has a nifty plague doctor mask. also tragic backstory. his entire family is dead i think. no mercy percy! he has a thing with vex? also his hair did a wilbur. the gay people on tumblr love this twink. i also think i love this twink

- vax’ildan! i think i may have actually spelled that right! half-elf? vex is his twin? and he’s... liam’s pc i think. yeah that’s it. he gives me angsty boy energy tho. not as much as percy but this boy has seen some shit. also he might be a rogue or a ranger who even knows. he looks like gay jon snow

- vex’ahlia which i definitely didn’t spell right. i think the next one is marisha’s pc so this one is... uh... laura? i think she’s the ranger actually. i think she has a bear. not like a gay bear like an actual animal bear. though it could be gay too i dunno. she has a think with percy. or everyone wants her to have a thing with percy. i genuinely can’t tell. anyway get that traumatized twink girl

- keyleth... marisha’s pc. some kind of spellcaster? maybe sorcerer? wild magic? she Also has a thing with percy maybe. or vex. or both. who even knows. everyone wants that twink. one time she threw herself off a cliff and turned into a goldfish and almost died and it was hilarious

anything else i know about this:

- there are evil bitches called the briarwoods and they might be vampires

- this is the one that got a tv show and might have also been the first critrole campaign idek

- d. ragons? chromia something. dragons. i hope i haven’t been lied to about the dragons. i hope there are actually dragons in this. there’s like a chromium something with dragon symbols tho

mighty nein

from left to right:

- mollymauk! ...tealeaf? another taliesin pc. the trans people like this one. i don’t know what their pronouns are. but theyre slaying every time i see them at any time. no idea what class but maybe a spellcaster?

- ...beau? i know her exclusively through lesbian ship art so i know her name is beau something bc that’s the ship names but i don’t know if that’s short for something. monk? no clue. also no clue who plays her either. maybe marisha?

- i have seen this character but i do not know their name. or anything else about them

- oh this is the sad wizard boy caleb widogast. he’s gay for essek thelyss (or something. i didnt spell that right) who is a npc i think. yeah. sad wizard. every time i see him he’s just being a wizard and sad. the gays love him too but he’s more of a distraught otter than a sad twink. maybe he and percy should start a club tho. also i think he’s played by liam

- i KNOW this character’s name i think it starts with s but i can’t remember for the life of me. scriv? scrat? no thats the rat from ice age. possibly a menace? i think im getting them mixed up with someone else. they look cool as hell though

- jester!! laura pc i think perhaps. i want to get drunk with her and tell her about all of my problems. yeah. i dont know anything about her actually. beaujester exists tho i know that

- YASHA. CRUSH ME HOLY FUCK. sorry im normal ? her voice makes me a little crazy insane. ive seen a few clips of her. mostly gay shit with beau. uh she’s played by ashley and she could kick my ass very easily

oh my god there’s another photo

- i think there’s only one character different here and it’s caduceus clay fun fact i hated this mfer for really dumb shitty personal reasons for a while before deciding it was very stupid to blame a fictional character for interpersonal drama and now im fine with him. wait does mollymauk die or something. wait a second. no, wait, fuck—

- ALSO WHO’S THAT FUCKER IN THE BACKGROUND I JUST NOTICED THAT

anything else i know about this:

- yeah i got nothing. no idea about the lore or the plot or anything bc i pretty much exclusively see gay ship art of these pcs. love wins i support it

bells hells

from left to right, one more time:

- look my brain is just saying gertrude from dungeons & drag queens but obviously that’s incorrect. so i don’t know who this is

- or this! but she looks very pretty and i love the little... monkey... bird? pls tell me these two characters have some kind of wild opposites dynamic they look like they do

- LITTLE ROBOT GUY . fcg? fgc? i think it was the first one. uh. liam pc? ?????? i think he gets bitches

- orym...? i know one of these characters is named orym. and i think it’s this one. i also see gay fanart of him

- i don’t know who the guy underneath him is

- or the lady with the purple hair god i really don’t know shit about this campaign sorry

- ashton greymoore, taliesin pc, my friend luna loves this guy, he’s. rocks? he’s rocks. groovy.

- someone in this campaign is named like dorian or something and im guessing its this one bc idk who they are either

anything else i know about this:

- flying.......... ship?

- this is the ongoing one i think

thank you for coming to my ted talk, i can’t wait to look back at this in a few months and laugh my ass off. hope u enjoyed this mess

[themundanemudperson]

Power Rangers Dino Charge: End of Season Review

So I thought making reviews for every Power Rangers season that I've seen would be fun! (And I'm ignoring the physics lab report I have to do lmao)

Don't really expect anyone to read this but eh this is for fun

Fave Character: Prince Phillip III of Zandar. He's my little bitch babygirl <3

Fave Ship: Chiley!!! Green/black ships my beloved. My fave rarepair is Phillip/Ivan. The gay devotion in knight/prince ships is peak

Fave Non-Romantic Relationship: Kendall, James, and Phillip. Auxillary Rangers ftw!! (fuck Zenowing)

Fave Episode: The Tooth Hurts! Chiley ep of all time

General Thoughts:

Dino Charge was the first season of Power Rangers that I'd ever seen, and was the thing that got me into the fandom, so I'll always have a soft spot for it. But even rewatching it recently has it hold up.

The characters in this show are what I think makes it one of the best Power Rangers seasons, and the best Neo Saban. All of them are so great, and while they never got too much depth (curse you adults that think kids can't handle complicated things) but they're still such interesting people. Dino Charge had a large cast, and they didn't always handle that many people that well (the auxiliary Rangers unfortunately get little to no attention), but the cast, in my opinion, is what made it so great.

The main cast is so lovable. Tyler, while he can be a little bland at times, is a little cutie so he's great. Chase is an interesting character that's very fun to watch. Koda is the heart of the team and he's a perfect little angel. Riley is our canonically gay (via the actor) overachiever representation. Shelby is also overachiever representation, with academic pressure from parents too! Then you have Ivan. Our loyal and chivalrous knight out of time. The gay devotion is real with this one.

I'm going to cut myself off here, because you probably get the point. I love the cast of Dino Charge. Barring Zenowing and Keeper. They're just useless to me

And because these characters are interesting people, they also have such fun dynamics with each other. I love that the Rangers really feel like a found family. You can examine any relationship between the Rangers and have something to talk about. I mentioned Kendall, Phillip and James earlier as my fave platonic dynamic, but there are a lot more to look at. Tyler and Chase as himbo bros, Riley and Shelby as gay besties , Koda, Kendall and Chase with their familial bond as they were the first Rangers together... they're all great.

And the villain situation in Dino Charge was.... interesting.

The concept of fighting a bounty hunter that captures his monsters from all over the universe is cool, especially because it gives an explanation as to why the monster of the week fights so hard - they'd win their freedom if they brought back an energem. But Sledge himself was kind of a boring villain to me. He never actually has any kind of motivation for getting the energems - we don't know if he wants them for universal domination or to sell them to the highest bidder. So he felt kind of flat to me. I did love Poisandra, Curio, Wrench and Fury though. I liked that they had more personality. And Poisandra is my girl and I love her. She should've gotten a redemption arc. Fury was also an interesting character because of his rivalry with Ivan. I do wish they explored it more, but what we did get was cool.

And after Sledge was defeated, we got Heckyl and Snide! Quite obviously a Jeckyll and Hyde reference, these two were much more interesting to me than Sledge. Heckyl's backstory is so sad 😭 and I love him more for it. The concept of a villain infiltrating the Rangers place of work and pretending to be their friend was so awesome. I wish he was a double agent for longer (and that they didn't wipe his memory of their base) but I liked it.

Then you had Arcanon for a little bit. This was so fucking stupid. Dino Charge made an original villain in Sledge, so I think they shouldn't have bothered with trying to work Arcanon in there (his Sentai counterpart was the head villain). It felt too rushed and they could've introduced the dark energem with something else.

And then surprise! Sledge again! Also hated that to be honest. They defeated him the first time. Why bring him back.

We don't talk about that finale. We don't

Technically I have to if I want to talk about Dino Charge (unfortunately) so all I'm going to say is that it's stupid and I hate it. Ivan and Koda never leave and they never fuck up the timeline with that dumbfuck idea thanks <3

(Genuinely there's a discussion to be had about the character assassination that was committed by making Koda and Ivan - who had accepted that they were men out of time and living lives with their new family - went back in time for some fucking reason, but that's for another post)

Now! Onto something I actually want to talk about! The Sentai adaptation vs the Power Rangers. I've seen both, so y'all are getting my thoughts as to how well they adapted it. I think Dino Charge did an amazing job. They didn't take what happened in Kyoryuger and copy that exactly (cough cough Samurai cough cough). They made their own story and used the footage well

I also want to talk about the thing that makes Power Rangers iconic - the actual Ranger bit. I'm talking about the power source, the suits, the zords, and the Super mode.

I really liked the energems as a power source. The idea of ancient stones created at the dawn of the universe that bonded to dinosaurs, then people, is really cool. I have issues with the "energems give them immortality" bit (because I'm sad that they have to watch their friends and family die) but it really does make sense. They are bonded to something that is ancient and powerful, and there should be some side effects from that.

Now for the suits! (One could argue that the suits are more of the Sentai's influence but I'm treating them as solely Dino Charge right now). I really love the Dino Charge suits. They already get points in my book for not having fucking lips (which I hate with a burning passion), but they do look cool on their own. I love solidly coloured suits that don't have white or black pants. The helmets are also really cool, and I love the dinosaur heads incorporated in them. So the DIno Charge suits are great to me

The zords in Dino Charge are also awesome. They look really cool. I wish they could be small to hang out with their Rangers, but alas, we can't have everything 😔

The Super mode in Dino Charge was a pretty solid one. I liked that Rexy could be small to fight alongside Tyler. Don't love the white on the suit, but at least his normal suit is a nice, solid red.

So yeah! That's my Dino Charge review. Thanks for sticking around after that word vomit lol. I love this season so fucking much

[lifeafterartsch00l]

✨ Sns rec’s ✨

I read a fabulous post from @longlivefeedback about supporting authors so I thought I’d try and give it a go since I’m constantly looking through the Naruto/Sasuke tag 🙊 I’m going to try and make a new habit and post once a week with my sasunaru/narusasu/sns (and maybe other pairings/fandoms) recs!

Some awesome fics I’ve been enjoying on a03 lately include:

Finger on the detonator by foreverbaby

Twelve Steps by foreverbaby

An anchor in the storm by cecific

don’t act like it’s a bad thing (to fall in love with me) by heartsugu

What counts for anything by kayeeyooblue

Solis occasum by wouldyoukiindly

Konohamaru wanted to rest by anaria_k

Thank you talented authors 😊 I don’t think I’m following any of these authors on tumblr 🤔 but I’ll look for them! 🤗 please tag them in the comments if you know who they are!

Read below for details on fic recommendations ⬇️

Finger on the detonator by foreverbaby

Im so happy i finally found this author! I started with Finger on the detonator but Twelve Steps really spoke to me and my own feelings/experiences with a difficult childhood. And making art! I love how sexy and meta and healing and radical they are. I’m excited to read more from this author ❤️ Multiple chapters.

“Chapters: 2/?

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Characters: Shimura Danzou, Hyuuga Neji, Sai (Naruto), Juugo (Naruto)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Activism, High School, Military Backstory, Politics, Teenage Rebellion, Partners in Crime, Gay Uchiha Sasuke, Crack Treated Seriously, Anarchy, Making Out, lazy US-specific setting...sorry, Wet Dream, Breaking and Entering, Minor Injuries, Closet Sex, Frottage

Summary:

uzumakiswag: this might b kinda weird but like i just got back from my deployment and stuff and i saw u on the kwp direct action discord when i joined that? and i was gonna go to a meetup but idk anybody else there yet sooo do u go to those? wld u want to go together next week? hahaha

taka99: That's a joke right

uzumakiswag: no y is that funnyp

taka99: You’re literally in the US military

It's totally normal to engage in a little gay domestic terrorism just to impress your crush...right?”

Twelve Steps by foreverbaby

“Chapters: 3/3

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, minor past naruto/sakura and sasuke/suigetsu

Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hoozuki Suigetsu, Haruno Sakura

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, POV Alternating, Alcoholics Anonymous, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Addiction, Homophobia, Light Angst, sasuke vapes, criterion channel and chill, Blow Jobs, Shower Sex, Friends to Lovers, naruto's bi awakening, sasuke's issues

Summary: One day at a time, they always said. But for Sasuke every single day was exactly the same: serving the same gruff truckers the same greasy pancakes and eggs, heading to the same gym to do the same workout, going home to stare at the same half-formed Final Draft document, then waking up the next morning to do the same thing all over again. Was that really one day at a time, or was it more like one single hellish stretched-out day that dragged on endlessly and forever? And what exactly was the point of staying clean when that was your reward?

Everybody told Naruto after Sakura called off their engagement that what he needed was a “fresh start.” Naruto’s fresh start had so far consisted of a new city where he knew nobody, a park ranger job that paid him sub-minimum-wage, an empty studio apartment in a part of town not yet gentrified enough to be out of that price range, a lot of lonely Skyping with his friends, and, now, apparently, an A.A. meeting at a Quality Inn.

When Naruto moves away from his hometown after a breakup, he's surprised to see someone he recognizes at his first A.A. meeting in a new city: his childhood best friend, Sasuke Uchiha”

An anchor in the storm by cecific

One shot, contemporary au, poem. POV from Sasuke. I haven’t read any poems before for sns! Lovely, great ending 🥹💗 the author says their English is bad but I truly think no apology is needed because i think their English is great and hell I only speak English and can’t write poetry!

“Chapters: 1/1

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Characters: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Idiots in Love, Uchiha Sasuke Needs a Hug, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Falling In Love, slow burn but it never actually lights on fire, Sasuke's mother is dead, Sick Character, Soulmates

Summary: Sasuke's on a blind date set up by his father, his date is late so a young bright man keeps him company.. It feels like a fated encounter between the two.

Essentially a poem that tells a story. Also sorry, English is my first language and yet I'm horrid!”

don’t act like it’s a bad thing (to fall in love with me) by heartsugu

One shot. Sweet n spicy, my fave combination! 🍭🔥 I really loved how Naruto was written here & that it’s Sakura positive 😊 I really hope this author writes more sns 🤞😍🤞

“Chapters: 1/1

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke

Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Ensemble (Naruto), Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi

Additional Tags: POV Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha, Blank Period (Naruto), Haruno Sakura is So Done, Background Relationships, Mild Hurt/Comfort, mostly fluff tbh, Bad Humor, Emotional Constipation, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Shenanigans (Naruto), Mutual Pining, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke are Best Friends, Domestic, Making Out, Love Bites, Resolved Sexual Tension, No beta we die like Neji, Everyone Is Gay, Self-Indulgent, Minor Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino

Summary: He hadn’t meant for it to get this bad, but being back in Konoha had shown him how dull his world was without Naruto.

Being dragged around on dumb errands, or training together, or even just sitting around and watching the sunset had given Sasuke peace of mind he hadn’t ever known. He felt like himself again, and Naruto was the cause.

Naruto was his home.

5,000 words of sns word vomit because this is what makes me happy these days idk”

What counts for anything by kayeeyooblue

I love how in this fic Sasuke gets to try normalcy and be an awkward teen! 😭 ❤️ great dynamic between Sasuke & Naruto (I really enjoyed reading about their developing relationship) & also spicy 🔥

“Chapters: 12/?

Rating: Not Rated

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi, Tsunade (Naruto), Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Itachi

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Slow Burn, Coming of Age, Soft Uchiha Sasuke, Sexual exploration, First Kiss, First Time

Summary: months after the 4th war, sasuke and naruto meet again. except now they have time”

Solis occasum by wouldyoukiindly

Reading this was like a fresh breath of air! I loved how the characterisation felt very true. I hope they do more chapters! 💗🙏🏽Canon divergent Boruto-era.

“Chapters: 1/?

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Hyuuga Hinata

Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata

Additional Tags: Old men naruto and sasuke find out they're gay in their 30s, Hokage Uzumaki Naruto, Co-Parenting, Divorce, more tags when i write more!, Hinata is Naruto's best friend, Sakura is Sasuke's best friend, Domestic Fluff, Naruto has ADHD, sasuke has autism

Summary: After becoming Hokage, Naruto notices that despite it all, he's had no time to hang out with his best friend. He never realized how much he missed Sasuke's attitude, demeanour, and all around being; he hasn't felt this way about anyone before.

It's always been Sasuke, hasn't it?

And maybe that realization will be the very end of him.

(Naruto and sasuke realize they're gay in their 30s and divorce their wives, who in turn, realize they are also gay and everyone is friends and co-parents. yessir.)”

Konohamaru wanted to rest by anaria_k

Cheeky, sexy, & Konohamaru POV! One shot. I love looking at sasunaru fanart and I love it when clever authors make fanfic inspired by it (author links the art which helped inspire the fic). 😋🫶🏽 one shot

“Chapters: 1/1

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Characters: Sarutobi Konohamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke

Additional Tags: Comedy, Post-Canon, Post-War, Blank Period (Naruto), Post-Fourth Shinobi War (Naruto), Drabble, Pre-Slash, Semi-Public Sex, Third Wheels, Konohamaru sees something he wasn't intending to see, Hot, Dirty Thoughts, Pre-Relationship, Canon Compliant, Not a Date, Idiots in Love, Boys In Love, everyone can see it, Konohamaru does for sure, Sexual Tension, also Konohamaru might be accidentaly bi

Summary: Konohamaru returns from a mission to the village and, finding himself in a bar, accidentally witnesses a very non-accidental scene. He doesn't like it. Although?…”

🍥+🍅=❤️

[paladin-tourney]

Round 1, Side B - Aragorn (Lord of the Rings/The Tolkien Legendarium) vs. Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)

Propaganda:

Aragorn (Lord of the Rings/The Tolkien Legendarium)

Aragorn’s character serves as one of the more immediate progenitors of the Paladin as we understand them, along with rangers as well. For perhaps the most beloved fantasy of the modern era, he brings me of the traits we associate with paladins, being a passionate errant force for good wielding a blade of fire and light against the forces of darkness. Beyond that, he’s by all accounts a moral, charismatic stand out character in a great work full of them, but perhaps most importantly, though he is the king, he is not someone who demands attention as the hero of the story, but is kind and considerate as well as brave in his actions. Lord of the Rings as a work is the source of much of the fantasy tropes and character concepts we still use today, but as much as we like to tweak or subvert them, the classic remains a classic for a reason. I submit Aragorn for the Paladin Tournament.

Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)

He’s fiercely loyal to the people he loves, and there’s an oath he made with his childhood best friend that he is very determined to fulfill or die trying. Other things about him: he’s a feminist, he’s extremely petty, he’s a 19 year old alcoholic, he’s suicidal, hes gonna be the worlds greatest swordsman with three swords up his ass, hes literally just some guy, hes the one piece equivalent of tony hawk. hes even gay

Zoro's Oath, to never lose again, and promise to his childhood friend Kuina and his captain Monkey D. Luffy to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. He wields not one, not two, but Three Swords! That thrice more than what a traditional paladin would carry! He has showed religious simbology in his attacks, despite not actually praying to any God per se. Is mostly Buddhist things, likely because the author thinks it looks cool (he is correct). Zoro has a paladin-like aura that intimidates his enemies. Dude shows up not in shining armor, but covered in blood. And yeah, it's mostly HIS blood, but not for long. But the thing that can be seem most of a Paladin is in that he protects his crew, which on can see as a kingdom, the most loyal Knight to the future King of Pirates.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if i incorporate an old friend’s oc into my oc’s backstory?

hi!! this is a more lighthearted AITA- i’m basically just gauging proper oc etiquette bc i have no clue if this would be rude.

i (18X) am a d&d player. have been for a long time! i started at 13, with a huge group of my friends. we didn’t get to play much bc there were so many of us, but it was a blast and i ended up loving my character, natphi (a classic tiefling bard) so much that she eventually became a standalone oc for me.

in-game, natphi entered the party alongside her friend, luca (a half-elf ranger), who was played by another one of my friends (18 or 19 X now, 13 at the time). we were baby gays, and natphi and luca had a really fun sort of will-they-or-won’t-they wlw best-friendship. it was a great dynamic, and we both loved drawing them together and discussing them and even rping how they first met over discord. it was a blast, and eventually natphi’s friendship with and pining over luca became an important part of her story and character to me.

however, by this point luca’s player and i were going to different schools and had dropped several friends in that group due to standard teen drama, so it was hard to keep in touch. we stopped talking a couple of years ago with no hard feelings- just a classic drifting apart over time.

natphi is still one of my most beloved ocs (we’ve been through a lot together) and i still daydream about her friendship and such with luca. it gets difficult when i want to draw her in any meaningful way, though. luca isn’t my character, and if i drew her and posted it i would absolutely link back to her creator’s instagram, but it feels really odd to make and post art of the oc of someone you don’t talk to anymore. i can’t go and ask them if they mind, because once again, we haven’t spoken in years.

i’ve been chewing on this dilemma for a bit, but an idea came to me as i started preparing to make natphi a character sheet for a oneshot i’m doing soon: i could make natphi’s relationship with luca a part of her backstory and come up with some tragic separation of them. it would work great with natphi’s current backstory and deepen her character motivations, so there’s no problems there. however, i still feel really iffy using a now-stranger’s character with mine, even if i were to only refer to luca as more of a vague ghost than a full character. part of me feels like i’m “copying” her and just changing bits and pieces so she doesn’t look exactly the same. technically, nobody would actually be able to tell unless i told them, but i’d still feel like an ass for doing it if it’s “cheating,” for lack of a better word. however, i also know i’m a chronic overthinker, so i’m asking all of you instead: would i be TA for this??? i genuinely have no idea. thanks in advance for the input! ^^

What are these acronyms?

[theywhoshantbenamed]

do you mind headcannon dumping everything you have onto me

idc if I’ve already heard it from you before, give me all your silly ideas about ships and characters and literally any aus you’ve come up with

California and Alaska bleed gold also they have nicknames for each other Big Bear and Little Bear after the Ursa Major and Minor constellations

New York is a pigeon fancier and has six pet rats

Original 13 + Rhode Island have large canines and claw-like nails

Not really a headcanon but I feel like I flip flop between New Jersey actually having horns and a tail or them just being accessories

Massachusetts has a prosthetic leg that he definitely has used to bonk his fellow states from time to time

Florida has serious shark teeth no one can take that from me

Alabama and Florida siblings btw. If you even care

TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO BEING COUSINS IS IMMENSELY FUNNY TO ME “hey New Mex isn’t that guy your cousin” “I don’t know him”

Georgia is the actual epitome of having fat ass and mental issues also his hypersomnia is special to me

Kentucky and Indiana as a duo are dangerous because they’re both incredibly sweet individuals with the best intentions. It’s prolly because of Ben’s portrayal but they’re the same font to me

Texas is closeted as hell but the closet is made of cling wrap. Could be making out with a guy and think “but I’m not gay I just like kissing this guy”

Btw New Jersey is ftm no one can take that from me

Actually speaking of which my California is intersex

Maryland is also ftm and uses she/her pronouns

Some rarepairs that I think are neat:

Satanic Temple/Gov - friends with benefits

Satanic Temple/IDC - “dam Gov that’s your ex!?”

Rhode Island/Hawaii - one of those ships where you throw darts at a wall and it just sticks

California/Kentucky -they should’ve gone on a date to hillbilly festival :(

Kentucky/Maine - i really really need to draw and write them more often 😭

Connecticut/Nevada - bougie ass couple fr

Georgia/Florida/Louisiana - floui is common but Georgia makes it rare. Georgia is the mellow to their chaos duo

Washington/New York - apple wars, what can I say /ref

New York/Rhode Island - does anyone else think this would be so funny?? 😐 someone get them away from each other

Alaska/Minnesota - bear for bear ship

California/Illinois/New York - this ship rocks actually

Therianthrope AU:

Ohio is a white tailed deer who loves to set fire to the ranger station Michigan is often in

He definitely does not do it for attention at all no sir

The Dakotas in this AU are coyotes who left their mothers pack but have a sort of close bond to Minnesota, who’s also a park ranger in this AU

The national park in this AU leans toward made up generic national park but is kinda sorta based off of Cuyahoga Valley NP

California is a ground squirrel in this one cause I think it’s funny

I think I drew Indiana as a cardinal and an otter at one point but these days I kinda feel weasel. Either way, mustelid

That’s about everything I could think of for now I’ll add more if I think of them