#these are my headcannons losely based around canon and the fact that i am at a very small college as well

[silverjurors]

Hii!

So, I wanted to ask, how did Janus lose his eye in ur rewrite/what's ur hc?

(PS. Finals are killing me, send help.)

Hiiii I want you to know that I love this question and I wish you the very best of luck with the results of your final exams (I have mocks soon AAAA) because the education system is hell and I too cannot wait to escape it

Okay. So in my rewrite, Janus lost their eye when they were about 19-ish. I have already said on one of my previous headcannon dumps that they lost it preventing an assassination attempt. This is still true! But here is some elaboration on it and the aftermath that occurs :3

- Yes they lost their eye protecting Zane (Yes I am aware that I base a significant amount of their character around Zane it's the ONLY CANON THING WE KNOW ABOUT THEM OKAY DON'T JUDGE ME)

- Once again, all of this (and by this I mean trauma) is for Zane because they have exactly 3 people they care about and Zane is top of that list

- Zane wasn't actually the target of the assassination attempt (it was Vylad) but they look rlly similar in my re-write so the assassins decided that it would just be easier to try and kill both of them

- These assassins were a small group of premature Shadow Knights who were working as mercenaries that may or may not have been hired by Garte

- Vylad did in fact die (v sad rip Vylad u will be missed bestie) but Zane gets to live and was mostly unharmed because, unlike Vylad's personal Guard who saw Shadow Knights and promptly bailed, Janus has no self preservation instinct and went "OK we fight until either I die or you all die"

- So Janus then proceeded to straight up beast-mode 2 premature Shadow Knights in 1V2 combat and got a poisoned arrow to the eye for their service

- The minute the adrenaline ran out they collapsed because OW

- This did actually put them in a medically induced coma for like two weeks afterwards while they got healed

- Also this did have a slightly weird shift on their biology, like sharper teeth, that definitely has nothing to do with my eventual plan to make Janus a Shadow Knight by my S3 definitely not but that's not relevant so let's just collectively ignore it like they did when they woke up

- Janus spent a good chunk of time afterwards re-learning how to fight and use their swords because their depth perception was terrible

- He also walked into several walls and almost fell down several flights of stairs a few times

- This was the incident that gave them the idea that they can't die

- Which led to reckless behavior when they could finally re-join the battlefield, but it's totally fine because for some reason they seem a lot less affected by pain than they used to be

- Sometimes they have Visions in that eye. They are convinced these are probably PTSD nightmares (they aren't)

- Their eyes also get tired really easily after all that, because ow, so they don't read very much

- Chronic pain. Like, holy shit, so much chronic pain in that eye specifically

Uhhhh that's all I got I think, thank you for the ask I love to talk and never ever shut up <3

[antisociallilbrat]

i would like to hear about the history of stenbrough as a ship bc as someone who left the fandom after like two months in 2017 (<- book fan curse) i am INVESTED

Say no more *cracks knuckles*

Disclaimer: Please do not take everything I say as fact, this is just my interpretation of the ship's history through out this fandom from my perspective

Okay so let's start at the very release of the 2017 movie. There were four ships out the gate and they may surprise some people, but they were Reddie (which would quickly become the main ship runner), Bichie, and Stanlon. Billverly was a strong contender but it was quickly overshadowed by Benverly once Movie fans were made aware by Book fans that they were endgame in canon. Notice how I didn't mention Stenbrough?

I'm not saying people didn't ship it after the movie came out but it couldn't compete with Bichie or Stanlon in those first few crucial weeks. Stanlon eventually died down the level of popularity that Stenbrough was at during this time but Bichie still ran strong for a good while until eventually losing popularity the more popular Reddie got. Which brings us right into the the It fandom of early 2018.

So if Bichie was losing popularity, what do we do with Bill? Who does he smooch? Oh what about Stan? They had some romantic chemistry right? - A reddie fic writer (probably)

Stenbrough really got its popularity from being a background ship for reddie fics. I can't say why Reddie writers choose this ship more over Stanlon, maybe they actually just shipped them or maybe it had something to do with wanting to just write the core four? This is also around the time the *bad* trend came about of just disregarding Mike, Bev, and Ben, or giving them like two lines- or their tropes. Ya know, Mike the only single Loser, Ben just being Bev's Bf, and Bev being a fangirl for a core four pair.

Anyways- I need to mention this even though it makes me uncomfortable bc it was such a dark time in the It fandom that Ik we all try to forget but we can't deny it happened. Remember fack? Which did fuel the reddie ship for a couple of weirdos? Same was happening- on a smaller scale- with Jyatt. Plz someone I am literally grimacing I hate this so much. Some weirdos went "Jaeden and Wyatt are best friends in irl so now i'm going to ship them" which boiled over into Stenbrough.

OKAY MOVING ON into something so much nicer, the Stenbrough renaissance 🥰🥰

From like mid 2018 to 2019 there were so many good Stenbrough fics. Stenbrough had become popular enough to stand on its own as a ship. And I'm not saying that good fics that were solely stenbrough based weren't coming out before this, this was just when we saw a big boom of them. Also at this point in the fandom, especially late 2018 to early 2019, the fandom had died down a little. I actually took a bit of a break from the it fandom during this period. But bc the fandom had died down during those few months, other ships had some room to breathe besides Reddie, one's like Bichie and Steddie, Stanverly, Poly Losers, but mainly Stenbrough. I would dare say at this point some shippers were Reddied out (they didn't know what was coming with that 2019 movie, the resurgence) so Stenbrough was honestly, very popular.

Now let's get to the 2019 movie. Reddie once again, took its place right back on top, there was a resurgence in the It fandom. I- foolishly- went into the 2019 movie hoping to see more Bichie content that would fuel my headcannons bc I was not yet a stenbrough shipper. Still didn't change after the 2019 movie.

So the ships this time around concerning Bill and Stan were a lil different. Stanpat had more of a bearing- albeit usually always as a background ship- but Hanbrough became extremely popular. Kind of a switch from the 2017 movie with Stanlon. So honestly while Stenbrough did grow after this movie, I would argue that growth was kinda stunted by Hanbrough- which I can't say I'm mad about, that's an awesome ship as well.

And yeah Stenbrough ship held on for a while after the 2019 movie and we were still getting good fics and works for it, but I think the reason it held on for so long was because Idk- a major world event happened or something and people suddenly had more free time. Am I saying covid affect the It fandom? Abso-fucking-lutely. That's when i started writing fanfic for Stenbrough.

When did I start shipping Stenbrough? It was a mixture of being home during the pandemic and reading fics from the Stenbrough renaissance. Whoops.

Which just brings us to now bc from late 2020 to now in 2023 it's pretty much the same. Stenbrough is technically a dead ship. People still enjoy it and good fics still get written for it, but it doesn't even brush the height of it's once popularity and it never will again. Kinda depressing but I don't let it bother me too much. I'm still going to be the fool who pushes out content for it 🤷🏻

[birdsong-18]

so what if i brain rotted a little bit??

New Rome University

Known information about the University (from the Wiki)

Admission:

To get into New Rome University, a Greek demigod has to pass all their high school courses and score well on the SAT.

Have to pass the The Demigod Standard Test of Mad Powers (DSTOMP) which is an exam for Roman demigods.

Most of the content of the DSTOMP is unknown except that Apollo wrote the music and poetry analysis sections.

Description:

New Rome University has a bell tower.

The rooftop has precariously slanted red tiles.

The university's library rivals that of the temples.

Sunlight streams into the main reading room through the oculus, the round skylight in the center of the gilded dome ceiling.

Colorful tile mosaics of deities, famous Romans, and mythical creatures decorate the walls.

One candle lit hallway is paved with stones engraved with the names of lost heroes.

Some of the stones look worn and ancient, but others are brand new.

The library's shelves are chock-full of books and scrolls.

The dorm rooms have bunk beds. (i’m gonna disregard this because it’s stupid)

My Made Up Description of the University:

probably around 800-1,000 students

Both demigods and descendents of demigods

Very small campus in New Rome.

Dorms:

Romulus and Remus Halls

First two dorms on campus, named after the founders of Rome. Twin dorms (right next to each other). Old stone brick. Connected by a hallway between the two dorms.

Called “The Twins” (“where are you rooming?” “oh, I’m in the twins.”)

Doubles

Remus is known as the “shitty dorm” on campus.

Friendly rivalry between the two dorms

House of Minerva

Honor Hall for the Minerva Academic Honor Society (aka “MAHS” pronounced “mash”).

Not super big, but very aesthetic and right near the commons and library.

Doubles

Augustinus Hall

Named after the first president of New Rome University.

Nicest hall on campus.

Rooms are doubles with shared bathrooms between two rooms.

Upperclassmen Dorm (for mostly seniors/fourth years)

Library

Big building on the North side of the Quad.

Large old brick building with large windows.

Windowed dome on the top.

Steps leading up to the large front door.

Commons

Where the dining hall, mailboxes, and bookstore are.

Located right next to the library on the western side.

Dining hall has a gorgeous view of the valley.

Can sit inside or outside depending on what you feel like

Really good food, not stereotypical college food.

Academic Buildings:

Apollo Hall of Visual and Performing Arts

Music hall and art classroom

There’s actually a pretty good performance program

(needs name) Hall of Mathematics and Sciences

(needs name) Hall of Humanities and Languages

[themoonlily]

Hi! I found your stories on a ficrec list for Eomer/Lothiriel and WOW!!! MUCH LOVE!!!!! I can't wait to read more wonderful stories from you! Can I ask what got you into this pairing, and what draws you to them? Also: any headcannons about them? (Physical/personality/hobbies/etc.)

Hi there! I am so glad to hear you like my stories. :)

I would say that I got to Éothiriel thanks to Éomer. I can't say I fell in love with him straightaway - I was your typical Aragorn fangirl back in the day (mind you, he’s still one of my favourite characters in the legendarium). I had always enjoyed the bits with Rohan in particular, and the more I watched the films, the more I liked Éomer, and once I had read the books a couple of times, I realised there was so much more to this guy. I loved his integrity, his unashamed passion, his loyalty and devotion to his family and friends, and how he strives to do better and learn. 

His arc in the books is such a fascinating one. He starts out as a scion of one of the leading families of Rohan (and is a son of a princess, no less), but is orphaned along with his sister at an early age, and then raised by the King himself. What kind of a trauma did that loss leave him with, and how did it affect his relationship with his sister? Were his teenage years very difficult thanks to this? At the time of the events of LOTR, he’s a fairly young man - among the youngest of the entire cast - and yet he has this hugely important duty as the Third Marshal of the Mark. He’s passionate but also ready to put himself and his own needs aside in order to do what’s right. The whole House of Eorl dynamics are just so fascinating, even though a lot of it happens outside the actual narrative of LOTR. What are his relationships with his uncle, his cousin, and his sister? How does this partnership with Théodred grow (to the point of Saruman seeing these two as the chief obstacle of the easy conquest of Rohan)? What does it feel like to watch his beloved uncle fall under the influence of ill-intended counsels (not to mention the threat of Wormtongue against Éowyn)? Éomer is portrayed as a fairly temperamental guy, so I can only imagine the fury he must feel at the situation. 

But then Théodred dies, the noose tightens around everybody’s throats, and one may just imagine the desperation and dread he must feel at this point. He’s still figthing and trying to do the right thing, even if that may now mean treason. But he’s still friendly to Aragorn and co. when they meet, recognising them as an opportunity to help Rohan almost immediately. 

He’s so loyal to his family that even after he’s been disgraced and humiliated by Wormtongue by the proxy of Théoden, he still knows where the true malice is coming from, and is ready to fight again for his uncle the moment he’s released. And he slips straight back to being the King’s lieutenant without even blinking his eyes. 

There’s also how Éomer becomes king. I’m fascinated with what it would feel like to him. I mean, he’s been second in line to the throne his whole life, so he probably always realised there’s a chance he’ll be king one day. But the circumstances he comes to the throne - the near ruin of his country, the tragic and violent death of his cousin he might have been able to prevent if not for Wormtongue, the brief time he has with his restored uncle, and then the whole mess of the War of the Ring... all that must feel pretty surreal for him. And, of course, the Battle of Pelennor’s fields, and his scenes in it... wow. Him nearly losing his mind over thinking his sister (and whole family) is dead, charging like a madman over the field, composing some pretty amazing poetry in the spur of the moment, and then just laughing in sheer defiance against what seems like imminent death. What a dude. 

And then there are so many other interesting aspects: how he must have felt over those long years (was he unhappy? was he lonely?), what he expected his life to be versus what it turned out to be, and what it did to him to watch his family leave one by one. I could go on, but then we would be here whole day. 

So, enter Lothíriel. Of course I was eager to know what happens to Éomer after the war is over, and fortunately, Tolkien had an answer ready - although he could really have told us more about them! Not that in canon there is anything to imply it was a love marriage, but personally, I don’t think that a man with a disposition like Éomer would submit to a loveless or faithless marriage (or that he’d risk his relationship with Imrahil by being faithless). I just can’t see it happening. Also I just want him to be happy, and find someone who brightens up his days, someone who won’t leave him. It’s nice to imagine him having a new start with her.  

Sadly, of her personality I can’t say anything that would be indicated by canon, but if we imagine her being anything like her father, then she might be a proud, strong and brave woman. Well, she would probably have to be courageous to leave her homeland for marriage (another reason I think it was a love union, because I want her to be happy, too)! I like to imagine her finding some unexpected, unimagined freedom in Rohan, perhaps even fulfilment of ambition in her role as a queen. Also, maybe with her background and if she had access to some kind of education, she’d be uniquely qualified to helping Éomer to rule and counseling him. Perhaps she even feels some personal pride over the fact that together, they are starting a new dynasty (or a new line) to rule in Rohan. Also, having a fairly big family, I think she would be well equipped to show him the love he has missed most of his life.  

I recall at some point reading the appendix about the House of Eorl, and that Éomer married Imrahil’s daughter, Lothíriel, and thinking yes, this makes sense. It’s just the sense I gleaned from the interactions and circumstances of the story. Of course Éomer would have strong feelings for Imrahil, since he was the one who saw that Éowyn was still alive and hastened her delivery to safety. Being a man of strong emotions, I think Éomer would hold Imrahil and his entire family in high regard thanks to this. Maybe it’s even a ground from which some attachment did grow between him and Lothíriel. Also, Rohirrim are a culture based on horses, and apparently the Princes of Dol Amroth also maintain a cavalry (the Swan Knights who, with Imrahil, took part in the Battle of Pelennor fields). So I see there definitely being a lot of points of connection! 

Of course, it also fits the socio-political frame we are left with at the end of the story: the new unity among the Free Peoples, the task of rebuilding after the war, and this new blooming of the friendship between Rohan and Gondor. On a purely logical level, it is reasonable that he’d marry the daughter of a powerful house like Imrahil’s. But for my purely headcanonish “aesthetic” (if that’s even the right word) reasons I do like the contrast these two make: their different cultures (and all that they entail from songs and poetry to foods and habits), their union as the union of earth and sea, his gold to her silver, the warrior and the lady... also this is purely headcanon/tropes but I definitely think of them as tol/smol and embodying the pair where A is the reason B began to smile again. (Tol/smol is at least half canon because Éomer is apparently as tall as Aragorn, like 6 feet 6 if I recall right. Since he’s also a professional warrior, he’s probably built like it too.)

So, yeah - I guess that’s already a lot of reasons for why I love this pair! There’s just so much potential there, so many avenues to pursue, and so much food for imagination. If you’re interested in more of my headcanons, you could try searching the tag “Éothiriel” in my blog - I’ve got plenty of posts about them! 

Thanks for the ask, and sorry for this answer being so long! I rather got carried away and Éomer deserves every bit of the love he gets, and so does Lothíriel. 

[crackinglamb]

Hi! I hope it isn’t too much trouble, but I’d like to ask how or why you decided to write Twist? And then also how and why you decided to write Wicked Games a little bit after. Did you wanna explore different relationships with characters when having a different personality in your ‘Modern Girl’ or different goals, because Carly talked Solas down and guided him into a different path, while Imogen seems to want him to go through with his plans with her help and a large dose of “what the heck is the canon timeline?” I love both of the stories, I might reread them again to help with the Modern Girl in Thedas withdrawals.

I ask because I’ve been reading “Modern Girl/Person in Thedas” stories and really wanna try my hand at them, I just feel like I am only writing it for little one shot type interactions between characters, and don’t really know why I’d actually have a “Modern Girl” be sent to Thedas, how and why, and what they would do, If your willing to give insight I’d love to hear it. I just hope I’m not a bother.

Oh no, you're not a bother at all! Thank you so much for this ask!! I love to talk about how I fell down this rabbit hole! I hope you're ready for a dissertation, because this got really long. 💕💕💕

I came to Dragon Age backwards. I didn't know anything about the series other than a lot of people liked it and had very strong opinions about it. Then a fellow writer began to write a Varric/Hawke story and I read it because I wanted to support her return to posting.

And I fell in love with a world I'd never seen.

I realized that, due to its age, I actually did know more about the games than I thought I did. I knew the ending already, and who this bald dude was that had the fandom so divided. A classic villain, right? Wrong. Some people think he's just terrible and some people defend him to the death. Some people think he's terrible but don't let that stop them from defending him to the death. So what was the real deal?

I did some research (because at that point I was writing my own Varric/Hawke fic and I'll still die on that ship hill. Anyways...moving on). I discovered that everything I thought I knew about Solas was skewed by fandom interpretation. Which is valid. I mean, all our opinions end up that way when it comes to fandom, right? All interpretation is subjective. But the fact remains that Solas interprets the world around him through the eyes of the Inquisitor and how they treat him. And that is player based. Low approval proves his opinion that this is a world not fit to live it. High approval shows him that his decision is going to destroy something beautiful, but he still feels he needs to do it.

I got to thinking about what it would take to stop him. Through the course of watching his romance, reading a lot of meta and lore posts and listening to his companion banter, I had a headcannon emerge: Solas could only be stopped by someone who knew what he was doing from the start.

But that's not gonna happen in canon. He already allegedly killed the only person who knew. (Seriously, #saveFelassan) So who else would make him rethink it?

The answer that came to me was a person he needed, so he couldn't risk eliminating them. The Inquisitor who bears his mark. I then went a step further, and decided that someone who knew all his secrets and plans, and who could possibly help him shift them, would have to be from our world. Enter the Modern Girl in Thedas, because I love a good romance, and I wanted a happy ending to this otherwise tragic love story.

And Carly was born. A modern gamer girl, sucked through to a fictional world because the universe is vast and unknowable (and certain wisps of certain Evanuris like to nudge). I'd read a bunch of fic by the time I started writing Twist, including some self-insert types. None of them told him flat out from the beginning. So I determined that she would. She'd tell him what she knew and try to persuade him that his plans were awful and that if he wanted to claim he wasn't a monster, then he'd have to find another way.

I knew from the start that I wanted her to save the orb, because losing that is what tips the scales for Solas. Losing that means he has to find power from somewhere else and sets him on his path of death. Saving the orb meant his plans, while derailed, weren't ruined. Yes, I know in Trespasser he'll tell the Inquisitor that the world would have burned in raw chaos while he rewrote it, but considering the nature of magic and reality on Thedas, I think that's more due to human reaction than any actual destruction simply based on the lifting of the Veil. Demons are real and represent emotion. Humans look down on elves and do everything they possibly can to oppress them. Like the colonizers they are. Of course they'd react to an elven demigod rewriting the world to give his people back their strength poorly.

And then covid hit. Twist rapidly became a beacon of fluffy stability to my readers. It was an escape from the literal dumpster fire that my country was, so I was highly motivated to keep writing it. To keep it light and happy and epic in a way that felt satisfying to everyone. So that's what I did.

But...

I still hadn't played Inquisition when I started (and I still need to play the other two). I was missing so much of the nuance of the world. In the end, Twist wasn't the story I really wanted to tell. I mean, I'm proud of it, and I love it. I am deeply humbled and gratified to know how many people look at Carly with love and admiration. I love hearing how many times a reader has opened it up and binged it. That kind of feedback is the lifeblood of a writer, as I always say.

Wicked Game is the story I wanted to write. A little grittier, a little more plausible in keeping with the lore. Having Imogen be human gave her the power to call out other humans on their bigotry. And to show Solas that he's not the only one who can see how damaged the world is and want to fix it. Having her be a scientist gives me a chance to explore how magic works, and what the Veil really is after a year of immersing myself in this world. Yeeting canon so thoroughly came from thinking about the major plot points and what could be changed about them from the POV of a character who knows how this is all 'supposed' to happen...and the resultant fallout from her decisions.

Imogen can see the forest for the trees. Her outsider perspective gives her all sorts of insights on her companions and the world at large. The fact that she falls ass over teakettle for the Dread Wolf against her own better judgment is just a good trope. Having him do the same is my clapback against his racially locked romance. (Here's where I'm gonna throw out my own extra kudos to writers who also portray Solas as bisexual, because dammit, he should be. Immortal beings would not bend to any heteronormative conventions.)

Carly and Imogen have rather similar motivations behind them: they want to save the world and not lose him. They often go about it in similar ways too. I guess the biggest difference between them is that now I know what I'm doing and I have more confidence in my storytelling ability. Neither of them is a self-insert. Plenty of people do that and that's totally valid. I'm just not really a fan of it myself. These two characters are no different to me than any other OC starting out at the beginning of the game. They just have slightly more backstory than the average Inquisitor.

Now, in regards to you writing your own and feeling like all you have are oneshot ideas. Go for it. Doesn't matter if they're oneshots. A story doesn't have to be hundreds of thousands of words to be awesome or complete. Write what YOU want to read. The best reason to make a character be a certain way, like being MCIT, is because you want them to be. No other justification is necessary. The only rules in storytelling are grammar ones, and even those are iffy at best. The only courtesy if you decide to go ahead and share it is don't plagiarize and tag it properly. That's it. The sky's the limit and up for grabs. Go forth and be bold.