#thanks for letting me ramble anon!

[tiredqueermushroom]

all of exu trio please?

Dorian

First Impression:

You're gonna be my favourite. There's more hidden underneath that classic bardic charm.

Impression Now:

Omg, he's just like me fr fr. An anxiety ridden master compartmentaliser, who is desperate for parental approval and desperate to strike out on his own. God I love him.

Favourite moment:

The entirety of episode 105 from summoning coriolis to his conversation with his father 10/10 no notes.

Honourable mention: His speech to dariax about real evil also "Kill your mother."

Idea for a story:

Just pure silken squall exploration. I want to know how dorian mastered his compartmentalision skill, more dorian childhood/lore please mister daymond!

Unpopular opinion:

A lot of people only like dorian because they ship him with orym and it's very obvious. So of the most egregious dorian takes come from these people, because they don't view him as an independent character but rather an extension of orym (disclaimer, I like do/my don't come at me.) Some of yall are weirdly racist about Dorian, especially when trying to 'defend' orym from rightful critism, it's kinda crazy.

Favourite relationship/s:

The exu trio! They keep each other grounded and sane. They also can see through each other's masks better than anyone else. Also, they shared a bed together what's not to love.

Favourite headcannon:

He's autistic! Also that hair is super important to squall culture, so dorian having his hair up and therefore shorter is his way of mourning cyrus.

Fearne

First impression:

I love this ditsy girl!

Impression Now:

Omg you are so much deeper than I gave you credit for. You hide your complex and real feelings behind a mask of smiles and giggles. Bet you related hard to when dorian said he finds strength in a smile, huh?

Favourite Moments:

It's a tie between the coin flip resurrection and the aftermath of watching ashton die. In both these moments, we get to see behind the mask fearne wears and get a peek at how much she is both terrified and angered by the idea of losing her friends, her family.

Idea for a story:

An in-depth exploration of her feelings of guilt about reviving orym instead of Laudna and how this interacts with her feelings of discomfort about being pressured about the shard. Specifically, her feelings around laudna and Imogen, saying they were disappointed in her during the truth trial.

Unpopular opinion:

Same issue I have with Dorian. A lot people don't care about how deep of a character can be with most of her bigger moments being overshadowed by other characters or not given the attention it needs. Some people only like her as the big-breasted ditsy thief.

Favourite relationship/s

Fearne & Orym! They both care about each other so much that they don't want to worry they other, so they lie/ tell half truths to each other. Orym would follow Fearne to the ends of the Exandria, and Fearne would carry him on her shoulders the whole way.

Favourite headcannon:

The coin actually landed on Laudna, but fearne could not and would not be able to stand the loss of her bestie, especially so soon after losing dorian. No matter what the coin said, she would have chosen orym, and the Fey are inherently selfish after all.

Orym

First impression:

Woah, slow down lil man you can only fit some much grief in your tiny body.

Impressions now:

My god I don't know how you can keep fitting all that grief and guilt in there!

Favourite moments:

Definitely, him crying at dorian, telling him he doesn't have to protect everyone. Orym had been carrying the weight of protecting everyone for so long, that he forgot that he's a person, not just a sword and shield to be thrown in front of people. Also, any time he's said he misses dorian because it sounds like an I love you. So much of how orym loves has been defined by longing and missing will, so naturally missing dorian is as easy as loving will. Bonus, him dancing in the rain with otohans sword and carrying that heavy weight with him was so cinematic.

Idea for a story:

Orym apologising to Dorian for his comment about cyrus during the post downfall talk. To recognise that he didn't trust that dorian would ultimately choose to save people despite his opinions on the gods. Especially after dorian revealed how heavily cyrus' death weighs on him as well as how important trust is to him.

Unpopular opinion:

While I acknowledge that orym has gotten some bad faith criticism in the past that doesn't mean all criticism he receives is unfair. Case in point, in some people's attempts at 'defending' orym after people were rightfully put off by his comment about cyrus. Some started using racist language towards Dorian and robbie, e.g robbie needing to watch his tone or that dorian needs to be 're-educated'. Which is especially crazy considering robbie is a native man. All that to say, orym is not above criticism and some of yall need to stop acting like it.

Favourite relationship/s:

Exu trio! Orym's need to protect fearne superseding his own safety is so juicy, he would die for his bestie. That man is so painfully in love with dorian that it makes him look stupid lol. The need to depend on someone vs the fear that the minute he let's his guard down everything will come crashing down. Both of them keep orym grounded, fearne reminding him how to let loose and dorian reminds him that he doesn't have to shoulder every responsibility by himself and that he can share his burdens.

Favourite Headcannon:

He has a tail and obviously he has PTSD. But the first night dorian was back was the first time he's slept well in a long time. The bed was perfect.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

THOUGHTS ON HAPEPHOBIA (fear of touch) READER??

GOJO SATORU .

because of his own unique relationship with touch, i think he’d be a perfect fit for this kind of reader <333 gojo may have a craving for it, but also a deeply rooted fear; his infinity is a soothing blanket that shields him from the world, and i think he’s a lot more dependent on it than he lets on. so, more than anything, he’d be extremely understanding of your fear!!! he doesn’t push for a reason, doesn’t tease you (he does. but just a little. never more than what you’re entirely comfortable with!), just accepts it and moves on. makes sure to never, ever touch you, or make you feel unsafe in his presence. he’s very observant and attentive in general so i think he’d be a great partner for someone with haphephobia <3

and again; gojo gets it!!! touch can be terrifying!!!! so it’s probably a great relief for him too. i think he struggles with intimate touches immensely, in the beginning of a relationship. if the touching isn’t entirely casual or entirely on his terms, it feels so foreign and unconquerable. you show each other that affection and trust can be shown in ways other than physical contact, that it doesn’t change how much you care for one another.

i do also wanna add that if you ever feel comfortable starting a treatment plan for your phobia, he’s with you every step of the way :3 walks you to your appointments and even joins you if you need him to, he’ll also be more than willing to help out if you decide on some form of exposure therapy. just working on making you feel safe, slowly building you up towards even a single tender touch. you can tell that he’s a little scared, too, even if he really doesn’t show it — and i think that helps.

buuuut either way, he loves you and accepts you for who you are <333 no matter what. he’ll be right by your side, just grazing the back of your shirt with his fingers so that his infinity extends to you, and you can walk around with no fear of being touched.

[libertatias]

hello, i am here to ask you about your clown yaoi hcs <3

a lot of these are based on an rp i did with a buddy of mine but here are some of my faves:

shanks has a box of letters he's never sent because buggy never answered his first one and shanks doesn't want to be a bother :(

(they're both idiots because buggy absolutely read it and wrote a reply but then ripped it up bc no!! he won't let shanks get the better of him!!)

toki taught them how to dance while they were on the oro jackson and after they finally get together post-timeskip, one of the first things they do is dance together the way toki taught them

buggy is immune to and from shanks' haki and always thought this was normal bc they were practically inseparable as kids so why tf would he be scared of shanks (it is not normal. no one can explain it)

(they swore a literal blood oath when they were like 10 that they would always be there for each other. shanks' haki recognizes a piece of itself in buggy. neither one of them is aware of this)

this also means shanks has never been able to sense buggy with observation haki, which absolutely terrified him when he first awakened it as a kid because he could feel everyone and everything too much too loud but not buggy, why couldn't he feel buggy

shanks' observation awakening also happened during the whole shiki shitshow at edd war so not only was there a HUGE STORM and buggy possibly drowning to worry about but so much death and anger and fear and he couldn't sense buggy in any of it

roger had to separate these wet kittens bc shanks was having a mild mental breakdown and buggy was not helping bc buggy has never understood the whole haki thing and shanks was so afraid buggy didn't feel anything about him bc buggy was the only quiet part of the storm but buggy was also safe and it was just a mess and a half until shanks' brain stopped exploding

so much of their miscommunication stems from the fact that shanks is absolutely garbage at reading buggy (and he can't even cheat with haki) and the fact that buggy always assumes shanks means something he doesn't (king of catastrophizing everything shanks says) — especially when he does actually know what shanks meant and can't deal with shanks being so brutally honest

eventually, once they're more established as an Actual Couple (or something close to it) they sort of stumble their way into experimenting with buggy's devil fruit power which results in what i like to call armsharing

buggy lets shanks borrow his arm and through a combination of like deliberately giving his will over to shanks and inexplicable haki nonsense (the intimacy of literally giving a piece of yourself to another person wholly and freely), shanks is able to control the arm, but buggy can still feel it as an extension of his body

while shanks is in control of the arm, he can also use haki on it (like hardening or what have you), but for the first time buggy can also feel shanks' haki (which feels so much like roger buggy almost loses it) and shanks, for the first time, can sense buggy's feelings

he still can't see buggy's aura tho bc it is, in fact, too enormous to be seen by looking directly at it but is radiating every feeling he's ever felt about shanks at full capacity

the first time they armshare shanks cries bc it's like he's seeing buggy for the first time with his eyes wide open and he can finally finally feel the immensely overwhelming love pouring off buggy in waves (that he always wanted to believe was there but never knew for sure)

it only works when shanks is borrowing the arm tho so as soon as buggy takes it back, haki immunity is reinstated :(

they get married post-canon and fuck off to live on a houseboat together until they have a kid and shanks panics bc he can't live at sea with two drowning risks who are also THEE most important ppl in his life

so they move back to karai bari and establish a real town there that isn't just circus tents and it's very cute and domestic but also mildly annoying for shanks bc croc and mihawk just never left and now croc is mayor i guess bc no one else wanted the job

their kid is named giacomo who they call their little jackpot or just jack for short

jack grows up and wants to be just like his dads and granddads and eventually apprentices in shipbuilding so he can build his own ship in homage to the oro jackson that he calls the oro jackpot

shanks and buggy and the rest of roger's surviving crew all have small pieces of the oro jackson that they've held onto all this time and they donate these pieces to the oro jackpot so roger will live on in that ship too

[star--anon]

Do you have any headcanons for thominewt?

this took me several days because I was determined to make this post comically long and I genuinely don't remember why

I also ended up not making it comically long

so uh. sorry

anyway, OH MY GOD SO MANY

Newt is exceptionally good at guessing when Minho and Thomas are trying to hide their pain

and he has no issues with dragging them to bed

Minho probably does stupid shit like "birthday noogies" or whatever, which has inspired a 2v1 of Newt and Thomas VS Minho on April Fools

(Minho still wins, somehow)

Thomas gets dragged into things like astrology and fortune telling by Newt

Every time Minho tries to tell Thomas how stupid astrology is, Newt just scoffs and goes, "Typical Pisces behavior" and drags Thomas away

Minho is not a Pisces. Minho is a Libra.

Thomas calls him an "asymptomatic Libra" and Newt is very quick to jump on that train. Minho hates the both of them so, so much.

Thomas is a Virgo. Newt is a Taurus.

Minho can be turned into putty with enough kisses and hugs and gentle touches. It takes Thomas hours of work, but it's so worth it.

On the weekend, Newt often comes home to a pliant Minho with his face buried in Thomas' chest. Thomas just giggles.

Thomas loves long walks.

Sometimes the three go out together: Thomas strolling down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace; Newt several paces behind, stopping every few seconds to snap a photo of something cool with his fancy camera; Minho several blocks ahead, sprinting like his life depends on it, doubling back whenever he gets too far away.

Thomas and Minho are on piggyback duty if Newt's ankle ever acts up in the middle of a walk

Thomas once fell down trying to pick Newt up, so piggyback duty has mostly been delegated to Minho

Speaking of which, two of the rooms in the house (one of them is Newt's bedroom) are padded with extra insulation to keep it nice and warm during the winter because the cold messes with Newt's ankle

Minho carries heating packs in his pockets at all times and rubs them against Newt's ankle whenever the pain gets unbearable in public

Sometimes it helps, mostly it doesn't. Newt appreciates the effort.

Thomas tries to fight doctors who are reluctant to prescribe medication and/or painkillers.

Thomas studied law and is not afraid to use his Master's.

Newt wanted to get a bird, Minho wanted a dog, and Thomas wanted a cat. They compromised and bought fish.

Newt has names for each individual fish, Minho named all of them Guppy, and Thomas' names for the fish change with each conversation.

Newt prefers baggy clothes and often just steals Minho's stuff because Minho is SO FUCKING JACKED- ...because Minho's shoulder span is so much wider than Newt's

the only issue is that Newt is about three inches taller than Minho, so Minho's "big shirts" are like baggy crop tops

Thomas, who is more Newt’s height, starts buying clothes that he knows Newt will like and smirks whenever it disappears.

When the three go shopping together, Newt often shoves clothes that he wants to wear into Minho and Thomas' carts.

Thomas and Minho like to make bets with each other like "He'll take this one within a week."

[sisaloofafump]

LOISBAT TRICK PLS >:)

Bruce was raised to drink tea in a proper, refined, and detailed way. Lois was raised with no regard for any ritual regarding hot water. Unless she's needing caffeine, Lois will go for a mug of hot water, honey, and lemon. She calls it tea. This goes against everything that Bruce knows.

In Lois' kitchen she has a set of justice league mugs. The Superman one she'd long taken to the Planet and it sits forever on her desk. The Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and others are at the very back of the shelf, dusty and untouched. And then there is the Batman mug.

Bruce discovers the Batman mug one day while visiting her. It is stained and chipped and well used. He holds it in his hand. He puts it back on the shelf.

At home, Bruce has a Daily Planet thermos mug. When they've been working too long on their separate cases, when the distance between their cities is too great, Bruce will fill that thermos mug with hot water, honey, and lemon. It tastes like her.

Alfred finds it sacrilegious but he doesn't say a thing.

[vicsbasement]

I think Carlos may have a soft spot for Charles and I'm not saying this because I ship them. Carlos is always so considerate and thoughtful with him and he always seems very attuned to his needs as well. I often think about Singapore last year, because that race was right after Monza and after Carlos' mother liked that tweet about Charles and honour; you could see there was a strange air surrounding them and Carlos was glued to Charles the whole weekend but in a very discreet manner, always making sure to give him enough space. He also didn't miss the opportunity to reassure Charles that he does like his teammate (during the fan meeting with the Alpine drivers) and you can see in the clip that Charles was visibly relieved. As for Charles, before the announcement (that's how we're gonna refer to it I guess) I too thought that Charles didn't care about Carlos as much as Carlos cares about him, but boy was I wrong… They both care about the other a whole lot and it will be hard to see them part ways at the end of the season

I'm with you on this 100%. You know, after the Monza incident there was so much speculation in fandom, and then Singapore happened and we were all like, running in circles because we thought Charles was furious. I even wrote a whole fic around it because I really felt the tension, and I wasn't the only one, the Monza thing awakened a lot of feelings in a lot of people 😂 But, funnily enough, it all went away soon after. Around that fan forum you mentioned and, for example, in COTA; they were all cozy around each other all over again. They were calling each other pet names, they did the lasso thing... I think they patched it all up right around Japan. I'm willing to bet Carlos apologized to Charles about his mother's faux pas. Because he's not his mother, and Charles knows this, but Carlos still wanted to make a point to apologize to him because it wasn't nice. Especially since both of them were very much enjoying their fight on track during Monza! I do believe that Carlos was a bit affronted but when he got out of the car and Charles was looking ecstatic, he just let it go. Immediately. He'd (we'd) never seen Charles behaving like that after a race, he was elated. Which shows us, once again, that Charles really loves Carlos as a teammate and as a competitor. He does see him as his ultimate rival, in the end what's the saying? Your teammate is your biggest competitor? And that's them. There's incredible amounts of respect between each other.

And they got closer, even, after COTA and after Qatar, I'm willing to bet. They looked so close in Mexico and Interlagos, and then Vegas... like the whole united front thing looked absolutely compelling and real. They were spending a lot of time off-track together, too. I think that after Monza, they had a lot of talks. Either about life or the team, (Charles does like to insist on telling us they talk about a lot more than work whenever they do spend time together off-track) and I firmly believe they reached a point in which their friendship bloomed. They probably found common ground somewhere and decided, well, if they fans are going to constantly pit us against each other, then let's show them how wrong they are. Unfortunately we didn't get much from Charles after Carlos got hurt during the Vegas practice, but still. He was close to Carlos. Very, very close, and they behaved really sweetly towards each other during that weekend and Carlos really did lament several times that he wasn't close to Charles on track to fight the Red Bulls because of the car. I don't know, anon, if at some point I was a Charlos believer now I'm a Charlos truther because they've shown me time and time again that they genuinely like each other. As people, as teammates, as rivals. They admire and respect each other! We can't forget (we'll never forget) that time Carlos admitted to following Charles' carreer in F2. It's etched into the collective brain of the Charlos fandom. So... Yeah. Carlos Sainz Jr. having a soft spot for Charles Leclerc and his pretty eyes? Checks out. Also: the fact that Charles lets Carlos be his touchy self with him when he wasn't this tactile with any of his previous teammates says... a lot about Carlos' magnetism and power of conviction. Because he never moves away or rejects him, he's always open and waiting for Carlos to touch him. So. It's a win in all fronts tbh.

[tobythewise]

necroposting (response to your post from jan) but honestly the anders romance works so well regardless of what class hawke is. non mage hawke just proves that level of like, protective devotion, like hawke will follow anders and will protect him, and whats potentially left of hawke's family made up of mages (bethany) with everything they have in them. couldnt save anyone but maybe just maybe the mages left over. + the parallel with their parents.... the tension of, You Understand despite it all. anders route is so romantic no matter what kind of hawke goes for it honestly 🥺

Anon I love you and you’re absolutely right

No matter what your Hawke is, the romance with Anders is just SO good. As a mage, Hawke gets to understand why exactly Anders is fighting because that’s his fight too. So at the end of the day of COURSE he’s at Anders side, fighting beside him against Meredith. There’s something so beautiful to me when I think about those two against the world, finding happiness in each other knowing what they’ve done might mean they’re running for a long time to come but knowing it was WORTH it at a chance for true freedom for themselves and other mages around Thedas.

But on the same hand, having warrior or rogue Hawke say ‘hey, this is my fight too’ not because he’s a mage but because he’s fighting for the ones he loves and the ones he’s lost is also just so *chef kiss*. He doesn’t need to be a mage to use what strengths he has to fight for those he loves. (Also can I just add that I have a soft spot for blue Hawke that becomes red Hawke at the end of the game who’s just so *angry* with the state or Kirkwall by the third act and he says fuck it, if being a ‘good mage’ isn’t enough to stop all this then violence will have to do)

Of course Anders is still shocked by Hawke’s love and support no matter if Hawke is a mage a warrior or a rogue and that just somehow makes it all the sweeter when you side with him after everything.

I just… really love Anders thanks for giving me the opportunity to gush about him Anon 😂💚

[ask-the-turnabout-terror]

What was the first place you and Miles went when you started dating? If you remember of course.

“We went back to where it started. After school, sometimes we’d go to a Dairy Queen not that far from Miles’ dad’s office and get some ice cream and fries with our allowances if the timing worked out, then Miles’ dad would give us a ride home.”

“We sat outside like we used to, and because the universe hates us- the skies opened up halfway through our date. It was a bit upsetting in the moment to get soaked and then have to speed-walk home in the rain, but looking back- I wouldn’t change a thing.”

[crystallizsch]

I want the infodump on Jamil and Yuusha ma'am I beg

THIS HAS BEEN UNANSWERED FOR A MONTH IM SORRY AUGH

but thank you so much yes im okay im normal about them i’ll do my best (for context i mentioned in the tags of one of my posts a while back wanting to infodump about them, but i forget which one it was jfkdlsjhl anyways-)

this won't be a full info dump because i think that would somewhat restrict my dynamic of them if i put it all into words (if that makes sense) ;;;

and i realized i lowkey dont have a coherent timeline for them (yet); i just put them in random scenarios of what i think would be fun at the moment

to make up for it i'll also put a silly self-indulgent sketch dump all below ;;;

I JUST REALIZED I DRAW THEM MAKING EYE CONTACT A LOT (bc something something there's a level of trust that jamil wont use his snake whisper on yuu anymore)

okay now for some random jamiyuu dynamics/hcs/lore

yuu fell first -> yuu lost feelings (bc why would you trust someone who took advantage you) -> ✨ then something happened ✨ -> jamil fell next but harder.

highkey disliked each other -and showed it- in the beginning bc of the whole scarabia drama; then an -accidental- act of service got them to think differently about one another. like "holy shit maybe they're not so bad after all???"

extremely slow burn.

very competitive with one another which then bled into their "flirting" / affectionate acts when they eventually became closer.

basically: “sweetheart” but rivalry -> “babe” but platonically -> “bro” but romantically pipeline.

(“are you flirting or starting a fight”)

yuu kinda throws around “love you” a lot, especially to her close friends; so -during their “platonic” stage- for some reason, jamil was the only “friend” she has not said this to. but it’s okay it’s not like jamil had referred to her as the “f-word” (friend) anyway.

had a mutual agreement that their romantic relationship is temporary because of yuu wanting to go home; they’re just going to “try it out” “no hard feelings”.

yuu made jamil promise to never use snake whisper on her ever again.

jamil: personal beef w/ bugs + afraid of them; yuu: personal beef w/ bugs (w/ a few exceptions) + not afraid of them, just generally pissed at their existence.

dancing and music lowkey became one of their love languages.

kalim genuinely became one yuu’s best friends because of how much they hit it off. jamil always third wheels them no matter the circumstance.

yuu loves grim more than jamil; jamil knows this very well. and so does grim.

[stevie-petey]

Anything you want to tell us about Come Home that hasn’t been asked about yet? Like a head canon, Easter egg, reference, song rec, something you wrote in particular that made you feel a certain way, etc ?

anon these questions always make me so giddy omg i cant even choose what i wanna talk about because theres a LOT we havent unpacked together yet but ok ok ok lets start here: how jon and steve differ with loving bug.

weve already established that jon helps bug because theres an obligation there from years of being together, while steve does it because he wants to. to add to this, the love is almost reflective of that

jon: i will never deserve to love but i will love you anyways because its all i know (selfishly, co dependently, raw, messy, instinctive)

steve: i will never deserve to love you but if you believe i do then i will love you with everything within me (trusting, comforting, forgiving, replenishing, complete)

for an easter egg im shocked no one has pointed out the bonus episode titles !!! season 1 bonus ep is “the beginning” because its the beginning of everything between bug and steve. the beginning of their friendship, their dynamic, their budding relationship. it all starts in that chapter. as for season 2, “the fall”, this is LITERALLY steve falling in love with bug. the bonus eps are meant to really piece together the dynamics i create throughout the seasons canon, and then bring it all together outside of canon to set up for future seasons ! the bonus ep titles will always tell you whats in store for the couple ;)

the titles of the seasons overall are also the ending of them !!! for 1 (we dont talk about it) we end with jon and bug never talking about their love for one another and instead promising to stay the same. for 2 (we thought love was something we werent meant to find), the season ends with steve and bug both finding love within one another after being led to believe they werent meant for the love they craved because of nancy and jon. for 3 (now youre a stranger) ,,,, well ! wait n see <3

ok now for some a quasi reference (more symbolism): everyone who meets bug has a crush on her but not in a cliche “reader is so pretty” way but in a “this person is so genuinely lovely and has this pull to them that you cant help but fall in love with”. they arent actually in love with bug per say, theyre in love with her kindness. its infectious, i like to think bug embodies everything we wish to be <3

finally because im sleepy i will say that the ending scene in season 2 between bug and steve still makes me so <333 to reread. the idea that someone will wait for you, and that they trust you to come back, is just so beautiful to me. not only was bug putting her heart in steves hands, he placed his in hers as well. she trusts that he will love her in the end, she wont rush him, and he trusts that she will be there for him when he falls :’)))

i also really really adore the final scene between jon and bug in season 1, when theyre in the car and everything settles between them and bug makes jon promise that nothing will change. ugh. it breaks my heart every time. its so so so bittersweet :( it parallels steve and bug a year later at the end of season 2 and i just. im so proud of that as well

i blabbed so much my god. pls enjoy

[pink-november]

Idk how long ago it was, but reading your writing on a stp swap au made me come up with a possible premise for a swap au that i don't think i've seen before. Which is:

What if death was contained in tlq's multitudes (or perhaps more aptly, fragments) instead of tsm's? Dying may be a change, but I think death could considered be a stasis. when you die, you can't really become anything Not Dead.

I wish I could build on this concept (for one, the narrator might have to be different since i feel like he had originally had a dislike for change/unpredictability though I might be misremembering) but the game's story hinges so much on its premise and roles that doing a swap requires changes and considerations that i simply don't have the confidence nor brain power for. Still, i do think my idea was interesting

First of all, I thank and commend you Anon for remembering I had a Swap AU in the works (and for reading it woah! 👏) because the last time I mentioned this is around mid-February. How time flies 😳

(halfway writing my answer, i realized i rambled far too long and had to put a read more here. but for folks who needs a TLDR, though it's a bit tricky for me to do a swap au with the premise of LQ representing death and all that entails, it is something i had considered in my original swap au from months ago and below the cut are some lore i made on how this could possibly work in this case)

What if death was contained in tlq's multitudes (or perhaps more aptly, fragments) instead of tsm's? Dying may be a change, but I think death could considered be a stasis. when you die, you can't really become anything Not Dead.

I hope you don't mind me dissecting parts of your ask but the idea of calling The Long Quiet's "multitudes" as fragments is brilliant and will therefore be called as such for the entirety of this post.

In my humble opinion, Slay the Princess likes to focus on how much of everything that happened in-game is a cycle: TLQ and SM being previously the cycle of life and death, The Construct being a narrative cycle that traps our characters in an attempt to fulfill The Narrator's wish, and The Adversary, The Moment of Clarity and The Razor (as of pre-Pristine Cut update) being prime examples of vessels that have some elements of a cycle in their routes. There might be other cases that I failed to mention here but STP, or atleast The Shifting Mound, gives a lot of emphasis of an ongoing cycle that dictates the flow of the universe itself.

The difference between dying and death is important to note then, for our hypothetical Swap AU to work, because as you said dying is a precursor to something new, a continuation to the cycle Shifty purports, while death is the extinction of what once was, a final epilogue.

I wish I could build on this concept (for one, the narrator might have to be different since i feel like he had originally had a dislike for change/unpredictability though I might be misremembering)

For clarification, The Narrator fears death, specifically based on these:

For me, what Narry is really scared of is the thought of nothing being left behind in the aftermath of whatever end the universe is facing: oblivion, the unknowable state of being. The Narrator is mortal and terribly flawed for it, so him oversimplifying oblivion=death=bad is a very human thing of him to be mistaken of. Especially when you consider how the game has The Oblivion Ending, the very thing he's trying to "destroy". And it is something that we as the player (and to an extension TLQ) can make happen, simply for choosing inaction. There is irony to this, how The Narrator had instead brought upon the thing he wishes to destroy, by none other than the hands of the being he had fashioned to be a weapon.

but the game's story hinges so much on its premise and roles that doing a swap requires changes and considerations that i simply don't have the confidence nor brain power for. Still, i do think my idea was interesting

I do agree making an actual Swap AU where both TLQ and the SM keeps their respective natures while alternating their fundamental purpose is hard because STP is ironclad in its premise and philosophy, something I absolutely love the game for. Your idea is one I had very much considered in my own Swap AU but as you can probably tell, it's a very difficult thing to convey properly without upending several key components of the game. Namely, the nature of The Construct, the roles the Voices and Vessels must play, and The Narrator himself.

I guess this is the part where I'm going to messily loredrop my AU now >v<

The Barebones of a Concept, the unofficial name to my Swap AU, has a Narrator that is dedicated to achieving immortality, an escape to the inevitability that is oblivion. His dedication soon borders on obsessiveness until he had torn the cycle of life and death to achieve his goal in subverting the ending and turning the universe into an endless march of continuous change. With no death hanging over their heads, whatever life is left in the aftermath will enjoy in the abundance and safety of an everlasting growth, of progress unhindered, and if it came to it, an ascension to becoming divinity itself, becoming a fundamental concept of reality.

But the tear he made is far jagged than STP!Narry's own cut, resulting in The Construct he prepared to collapse into itself, trapping him inside, never to experience the results of his hard work. TBC!Quiet takes the brunt of this abrupt tear for the worse, becoming lesser than its counterpart, unable to act and be aware of itself. TBC!Shifty, on the other hand, explodes in a flurry of sheer transformation and growth, preventing the total collapse of The Construct but also turning it into a living, breathing dome. She knows far too much and is too much, so her newly formed consciousness melds and forgets herself, while her oceans drown the Construct with her influence.

TBC!Narry is persistent though, convinced that to escape his cage, the other god must slay its counterpart and become the new order of the universe he envisions. Death cannot meaningfully touch the Ebb and Flow and so he must somehow guide this nascent god into locating the remains of Oblivion and erasing it for good. By that, I mean locating its fragments scattered all through The Construct and slaying them.

Shifty's vessels would then take on a new form for this AU, and rather than there being chaptered routes and loops, there would instead be "Incarnations" to perform the role of the Slayer and one converging timeline to gather all the Fragments to awaken their higher selves.

[mvlionheart]

here to hear you out on Liando— also it took one (1) press conference for Lando to endear himself to Liam because at the last one Liam was giving him mean looks (as a “mean lesbian”, affectionately dubbed by Tumblr)

anon thank you for your service to the cause. let me show you something here. the press conference this weekend was just a continuation of the pre-existing heart eyes condition that liam has been suffering toward lando for a few years. he just got caught in 4k this weekend with a crack in the facade! liam @ lando heart eyes exhibit a - the goodwood fos 2021.

liam @ lando heart eyes exhibit b - this weekend press conference

this next one is from the monza fan stage. liam looking soft and ready for the fist bump. unrelated but osc's expression here amuses me.

re cota: the braty looks he was giving lando and alex were insane in the few getty shots. but there's a really cute one of him smiling at alex then also i'll include below the look lando was giving liam bc cute af. but like i just think that his *mean* look was sort of circumstantial on his judgmental face bc he seemed like he was having an ok time other than those pics.

lando @ liam heart eyes exhibit a

[stormyoceans]

I'm squealing like a gecko before an attack. Have you seen how they look at each other with those little softy smiles?? My heart is beating somewhere in my liver because of this. and the English Neil is so so… ugh 🫠

LEGITIMATELY ACTUALLY SINCERELY LITERALLY SERIOUSLY GENUINELY TRULY HONEST TO GOD FR GOING RABID AT THE THINGS CHARLES AND MICHEAL ARE DOING WITH THEIR FACES WHILE PORTRAYING THESE CHARACTERS

there’s just something so soft and tender and vulnerable and tentative in the way neil and xiao hai look at each other from time to time, eyes full of wonder and lips pulled into a fond smile before quickly turning away, almost as if they were afraid to fall, which is why they’re allowing themselves to think about the other and smile as much as they want only when they are not together. but here’s the difference between them that makes me gnaw at the furniture and claw at the walls of my apartment: while xiao hai tends to avoid looking at neil too much in general, when xiao hai is not looking neil looks SO. MUCH.

LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!

during neil’s panic attack xiao hai told him ‘look at me’ and neil really said ‘well don’t mind if i do’ like you’d think neil was the one meeting his idol again after years and getting to work with him instead of the other way around ✋😭 (also i think charles tu should be in jail for the endless wonder and sheer longing on his face but let’s not go there)

THEY ARE BOTH JUST SO FOND SMITTEN DELIGHTED IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER AND THEY DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT YET IM ABOUT TO THROW MYSELF DOWN A WELL AND DROWN IN 5 CM OF WATER ABOUT IT

[buggybambi]

Just thinking about that scene where Carmy’s telling Syd about how he was talking to Claire and decided to make his own cannoli…

And just like. Imagine reader is like a chef at the bear or something, and Carmy’s crushing on her, and she mentions her fav meal or dessert once.. he shows up like the next day telling syd he had this great idea for a new thing on the menu and it just happens to be that exact meal… and Syd is just like giving him knowing looks… 😂

(Also like imagine a matchmaking Syd like conveniently making sure reader and carmy get put in situations by themselves and stuff… like 😭🥰)

-🐻

oh my gosh stop IMAGINE:

you, marcus and carmy are in charge of the bear's dessert menu. carmy is basically just standing in the background watching you (and marcus but mostly you) stare at marcus' sketches. "shut up, *insert your favorite dessert*?! marcus you know i love that and you would kill at it, i'm voting for this one." (for some reason you said cannoli and im picturing a chocolate chip cannoli and oh my god i need to write a fic about this)

and then suddenly the next day carmen and sydney are staring at sketches of said dessert! and she's like "whats with the sudden interest in this?" and he's just like "i think a lot of people would love it" AND SHE GIVES HIM A LOOK. just the look that says im onto you

from then on, sydney may or may not throw you and carmen into rooms by yourselves together or giving you two the closing shifts together.

and she's not shocked when you and carmen announce you're dating a few weeks later.

[aouboomseries]

what's your dream premise for the aouboom series that will hopefully happen in 2025?

hello anon thank u for sending me THE ask ever 🤍

hmm there are two wolves inside me and one of them wants them to do something they've never done before and one of them wants them to do more of what we've seen of them but simply not enough of!

i would loveeee for them to do something with a more serious tone. we got a bit of it in midnight museum and i think the jengpok fight in hidden agenda was one of the highlights acting-wise in the whole show. boom ESPECIALLY did a great job there and it's actually a crime he hasn't done any roles with more heft. also i need them in more mature roles bc i Need them to do nsfw scenes...... u have seen their kiss scenes haven't you....... 🌀🌀 gmmtv you want to give aouboom a sexy mature show soooo bad ooohh 🌀🌀

i also LOVE evil aou he was great in midnight museum and beauty newbie and enchante, so in my DREAMS they would do something where he's a morally gray/anti-hero esque protag against boom who is more of a hero/good guy (perhaps detective/serial killer kind of thing? but also doesn't have to be that high stakes idk). i also loved him as overtly queer max in be my favorite (my most beloved aou character) and i NEED to see him in gay little goth outfits again.

i've seen ppl on twitter say they would like to see them in a my beautiful man remake and i'm kind of down for it—i think they could pass for high school and that's only part of the story anyway. i doubt this would ever happen and i don't think any remake could do the original justice but hypothetically they would slay okay!! any prince/knight kind of dynamic is one of my biggest weaknesses and they just fit that so well (i mean boom IS a princess irl and aou IS obsessed with him so......).

i've also always thought a bl version of you've got mail would be fun, where they're falling in love online/through secret identities but are enemies/rivals irl (or vice versa). aouboom have done enemies-ish to lovers before and i'd love to see them do more of it.

of course i would love to see them in my general wants/weaknesses: high fantasy/supernatural, secret relationship (which they WERE NOT given enough to do with in hidden agenda and we are), #toxicyaoi, parent or guardian/teacher (or something like our dining table but more ~mature~), period bl, fwb to lovers, etc etc

this was kind of a nothing answer mostly bc i want to see them in everything and i don't have a specific premise i want i'm just desperate for ANYTHING! like ultimately, i would be happy with any main roles they get!! i'm such a fan of them not only as a pairing but also as actors in general and i've so badly wished for them to have the spotlight bc they truly deserve it and they could and would bring incredible things to our screen. they have such fun together and they've helped each other grow so much over the years, i know they would do an amazing job as leads. fingers crossed for them!!

[casper4lesbians]

what kind of music do you think cas likes? i was like "what if he was into stuff like lana del rey?" but i think that he'd be into those cheesy love songs... like if he discovered filipino music he'd LOVE the romantic songs

OMG IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT HIS MUSIC TASTE

i’ve talked with other fans and we’ve agreed he’d experiment with different varieties of music since he never completely got the chance to do so before; he was too busy being the grim reaper.

now that he’s no longer bound to 1 role for the entirety of his life… he’d explore. and the different genres of music represents the newfound freedom he experiences, how he’s no longer bound to one responsibility for the rest of his life

but i think eventually, he’d become infatuated with romantic songs, like you said. it not only represents how he’s finally finding himself as himself (and not being controlled by others) but also. His love for MC. anytime he listens to any cheesy pop song (no matter how old or sometimes unrelated) he finds a way to connect it back to MC. i even have a playlist for songs casper would like/remind me of him. it’s here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/72dvGzi6A8Z7xoibjRQdPT?si=zWH6BdXFTi-uMl94GNVW6g&pi=u-0P1kPEsDRzaM

hope this answers ur question anon! feel free to ask more!!!