#this probably doesn't hold as much weight knowing that you all don't know the lore i cooked up in my brain the other day

[dogbound1128]

Do you guys think if Doc bought a cat for Mac after everything.... what then

[ryanguzmanscowlick]

okay hear me out, buck and tommy slowly taking eddie apart in bed ... tenderly spitroating bottom eddie

I'm so sorry Magdalyna, but you don't get a neatly packaged ficlet. You get the stream of consciousness, nonsense, rambling "pre-work" I do when I'm trying to feel out a concept in my brain.

This would be the thing, too, because he's so bottled up. He's so tightly wound and has needed so much for so long. He's forced it all down, sure, but that doesn't mean the pressure didn't mount another notch with every passing day of need, desperate need. Out of all three of them, I think Eddie would benefit the most from a slow, careful, experienced hand unfurling him and being there to keep everything together when he bursts apart. You can't let out that much pressure without expecting a mess to follow.

They wouldn't get to the spit roasting of it all right away. I'm picturing Eddie and Tommy on their knees, Tommy pressed up along Eddie's back - Buck on his knees in front of them so he can lock in eye contact with Eddie the whole while he's taken apart.

Even a handjob feels like getting split open and scooped out of your flesh when you'v wanted it for so long and refused to give it a name, a face, a real consideration. When it suddenly runs up on you with two names, two faces? When you know you can fall into it and be caught in a way you've never been able to? Suddenly there's chunks of you that you don't even remember burying rocketing to the surface to meet them. Buck and Tommy. Buck and Tommy. Tommy. Buck.

"I don't need a provider. I need a partner."

Shannon, Buck, Tommy ... none of them need to be provided for. They can all provide for themselves. What all three of them need, want is Eddie's full self brought to them. All his vulnerability, all his compassion, all his stubbornness and reliability and ache, coupled with all his trust. He loved- loves Shannon. But he only ever knew how to love her by providing for her. He couldn't then. Maybe he could now, if she were still here, with all he's learned, but ... maybe not. Probably not.

He could do it for them, though. For Tommy and Buck. With them.

Even a handjob can turn your mind and body upside down when - for the very first time in over thirty years, you close your eyes and relax into the arms holding you and let your mind go blank. Let it happen. Eddie's never let anyone touch him without a thousand racing, anxiety-rusted, doubting thoughts crowding out every sensation. He's never just felt it. Shannon, Ana, Marisol ... they deserved it, they'd never done anything wrong, really but ... Eddie had never trusted them enough to just feel it.

But Buck's right here in front of him while Tommy takes his weight like it's nothing and wraps a hand around his dick. Buck's cradling his head in his warm palm and Tommy's rumbling reassurances into his neck. Eddie trusts Buck more than anyone in the world. Anyone. With his kid, but also with himself. If he's honest (and he's really trying to be these days), he's never trusted anyone like he trusts Buck, even his unit in Afghanistan.

That tripped him out for a bit. Every time he looked at Buck and realized he trusted him more than those other soldiers in his unit ... the guilt spun him out. They were supposed to die for each other, fight for each other, face any physical or existential threat together. And they did. Until they couldn't anymore. But the trust he felt in them doesn't hold a candle to what his body and mind will do easy as breathing for Buck. No training necessary.

He's learned to accept it.

Eddie is nothing but a feeling thing between these two men. No pretenses, no masks, no walls, no assumptions, no baggage, no guilt. He's just their feeling thing and it's crazy how safe he feels exposed like this.

Tommy is a whole different animal from Buck. They don't have that history yet. They don't have the baggage (the lore, Chim would say). But Eddie's beginning to suspect, with another glob of guilt and horror, that this is what meeting a new person and wanting them should've felt like all along.

He burns with curiosity for Tommy. He thinks about when he'll get to see Tommy next and how soon it can be before their current hangout even ends. He thinks, at random times in his day, about things he should tell Tommy or show Tommy or ask Tommy. He gets dressed and catches himself thinking, what would Tommy say if he saw how this t-shirt clings to the curve of my hip?

Before, in his relationships with women, he thought it was right because it was easy. Now, he thinks maybe you're supposed to think about the person you're interested in even after they've walked away. You're supposed to struggle over the wording of a text a little. You're supposed to buzz with anticipation before you see them. Maybe you're supposed to feel the higher stakes instead of just knowing the correct steps by heart and climbing the relationship ladder.

With women, he knows what he's supposed to do. With Buck and Tommy, he wants. He wants and he tries and he fumbles and they're strong enough together to keep each other upright even when one of them stumbles. The steps aren't laid out in advance. They find the path together.

[nyxiswrites1200]

Leon Kennedy Headcanons SFW

It's time to show how delusion I am about Leon Kennedy 🥰 This just my opinion but if you have any other ideas or headcanons I'd love to hear about them in the comments 🩷

Warnings: Leon Lore spoils, mentions of trauma/PTSD/insecurity. This is all my own opinion.

• We all know Leon has some serious trauma and PTSD from his job. If you were good friends with him or his lover, then he'd definitely be more vulnerable around you. There'd probably be moments where you'd see him be so gentle or break down but he never shows how much he's hurting in front of anyone else.

• Leon seems like the guy who would snuggle into your chest after a rough nightmare and just wants to cuddle. If RE2 Leon is anything to think about, he's definitely a softie at heart.

• Leon would probably try to avoid dating anyone in the first place. He feels his job is too dangerous and wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. He wouldn't want his lover to mourn or worry about him if something bad were to happen to Leon. He avoids romance or pushes the feelings away before they can become anything more.

• Don't be mistaken, Leon really wants love. With the way his life has been he craves to be that important to someone but he's also so used to going without it that he's learned to not expect it in his life.

• Leon also seems like he's the type who maybe has some insecurities. Seeing so many people in his life die has caused him to feel like he's not strong enough or not good enough. He works harder so he can save people but sometimes feels it's all pointless.

-----Now to get a little fluffy 🥺-----

• Dating Leon wouldn't be the easiest thing. He has a lot of unresolved traumas and a dangerous job. But depending on your perspective, it would be worth it.

• He would care for you deeply and do anything to protect you. If you loved Leon despite everything he's been through, he would love you more than anything else. He would cherish you and always make sure you're okay.

• Leon would probably worry that he burdens you but reassuring him is key. He would need your words of comfort to make him realize how much you care about him and that he's not any kind of burden to you.

• Leon would be a gentle lover, I think considering how much he's been through. He would want something soft and simple, that makes him forget about the struggles of his life and the reality of it all.

• Sometimes Leon stresses himself out and feels the weight of everything on him a little more than other days. Your touch and words are comforting to him. He'd want to be close to you during these times but would have trouble asking for it.

• I think Leon would have an anxious attachment style. Considering he never received the love and attention of parents through his childhood and that continued through his life. Plus he's been put through dangerous missions and training as well. He hasn't gotten the emotional growth that he probably needs. He struggles to try and ask you for things and needs a lot of reassurance and would never turn down a comforting hug or hand holding.

• But a relationship with Leon wouldn't be unfair. He'd comfort you and reassure you just as much as you do him. He loves you and would do anything to keep you happy and safe. He would work with your attachment styles and love languages to make you happy.

• Leon would come to you just to kiss you or hug you simply because he was thinking about you. But he only does this when you're alone, he doesn't really like publicly displaying himself as vulnerable.

• When Leon leaves for missions for his job, he'll often tell you that he will always come back because you're waiting for him. This is to reassure you but he truly does mean it.

• Probably one of the only people to know you two are dating would be Ashley. Leon would tell her or she'd probably walk in on you two kissing or something. Leon wouldn't really flaunt his relationship with you, but he wouldn't be scared to admit he loves you if someone asked.

[derekscorner]

Fated Rantings: The Grandest of Orders

Truly a grand epic

I don't know where to begin honestly. I thought that I would have it figured out once I had seen the anime but I don't. I started FGO nearly two years ago I believe after watching some Fate lore videos.

It was the free way to start but probably not the easiest starting point for the series. I have actually been clawing my way through the game as I watched all the other Fate works I could get a hold of.

If you were to look through my Fate posts you'll see that the first one is about Apocrypha and Astolfo even though that wasn't my true starting point.

But I grind no longer! Last month I finally finished the Solomon singularity on the mobile game and the night before last I finished the anime! And I'll admit that I didn't expect the anime of FGO would be that good.

I say that because despite the anime having three movies, a few specials, and a twenty something long anime it's not the full story. There is no logical way to fit FGO's initial story into an anime.

You'd have to commit to years with each singularity being an anime unto itself. So I say this again to warn you, you can not see the full story just through the anime alone.

This anime project they created is very much a companion piece to it's mobile origin. It is not like Fate Stay Night which has it's original visual novel version with various anime adaptions.

This is probably the one case in which a Fate project isn't a thing unto itself. You could watch it and research FGO to understand what's going on but I promise you that the emotional weight of the story will be halved that way.

Although, I guess you could read someone's long play of FGO on youtue if you wanted but good luck. FGO is practically a visual novel hidden within a gacha game.

Mashu Kyrielight

But enough of the warnings and intro, where do I begin? Why with the best kouhai in the world of course!

She's your main servant for this story and she's the one that bounces off the characters the most due to your insert character being silent in the game.

She does this less in the anime due to the PoV character being given a personality but I still consider her interactions more important. This poor girl is a test tube baby made with a woefully short lifespan for a specific purpose.

As a result of this origin and upbringing the poor girl is quiet and reserved. Her greatest desire is to just see a blue fucking sky. Do you know how tragic that is?

Chaldea resides in the Antarctic. The facility has windows but that area of the world will be lucky to see a clear sky one day a year. On top of all that her room is hilariously sterile with nothing but a glass roof and walls so that she can be observed.

These things aren't done to torment her, for that to be a thing Chaldea would have to see her as a person. No, it's done because they wanted her as blank a state as possible for their demi-servant experiments.

An experiment that goes bad quickly. They successfully summon and bond her to a servant but the servant is so appalled by what Chaldea has done that it immediately tries to kill the Chaldea Director Marisbury Animusphere.

This is only averted because Mash herself resists. From that moment on the servant, who turns out to be the knight Galahad, refuses to awaken. Considered a failure despite it being beyond her control, Mash is then kept around just because.

She chosen as a master candidate since she had the potential but for the most part Mash was seen as a dud by Chaldea.

Why is this important?

I'm not rambling for the sake of recapping. I want you to understand just how pure a soul this girl is. She doesn't hold grudges against people, she doesn't wish evil upon anyone, despite all of what I just listed.

That's why I find her interactions through FGO both in the game and anime more interesting than the main characters. She reacts to things in a pure and naïve way but never in an annoyingly naïve way.

She even explains why she calls your character or others "senpai". I mean, sure it's for the people that take the self insert too seriously. It's a gacha, it's Fate, let's not fool ourselves here, those people are appealed too.

But the other reason is that her life left is short and she's never left Chaldea before to experience life. To her, everyone is her "senior in life". It's silly but I also found it sad despite the story wanting me to find it sweet.

I found myself genuinely attached to this character in a sense.

I know I should provide better examples but FGO is so long that it's hard to really. I even mentioned her interactions with characters a second ago but I can't pick one that I like more than the other.

I talked about her dynamic with Lancelot in the Camelot posts but that's more to do with how Galahad views Lancelot (his father) which influences Mash.

I don't want to list the MC because they're a self insert. The dynamic between the two in the anime is good but Ritsuka himself is a bit bland so I can't exactly pick it apart.

Or perhaps I can't focus on a specific one because I liked all of them both animated and in mobile. She's a precious lil soul and I loved to see it.

Everything from her trying her best to be a servant in the Fuyuki singularity to her sacrifice against Goetia. Hell, I loved watching her fan girl over meeting Sherlock.

She's remarkably human for someone who thinks she isn't.

^ Both versions of this scene actually put a tear in my eye

Before I unintentionally make this a post about Mash I'll switch gears and talk about other characters in the Chaldean cast.

Such as our point of view character Ritsuka Fujimaru. The male version is referred to as Gudao by fans and the female Gudako respectively.

In terms of the mobile game I don't have anything to say, they're silent, self insert characters in the purest sense of the word. In the Type-Moon spin-off Carnival Phantasm the female is used in FGO skits.

I've yet to see Carnival Phantasm so I'll have to leave it out but it's worth mentioning that the female Gudako does have an animated self.

Instead, I'll focus on the male Gudao used for the FGO anime. Unlike my smartass PoV character or the unhinged Gudako from the spin-off this Fujimaru is given a very "simple" personality.

Not in the sense that they're stupid or slow on the uptake. They just do not flesh him out as much as they could due to his silent hero origins.

I find it a shame that they didn't but unlike many Fate fans I've seen I do not find this offensive either.

When they're bouncing off Mash the duo is as cute as can be but any other time Fujimaru will have a very optimistic or overly nice personality and that will either rub you the wrong way or it won't.

The only time this persona truly breaks down is when Mash falls against Goetia and he's ready to fucking throw down.

I'll even go out on a limb and say that Fujimaru does a few things well despite what I've just said. Sure, the fondness servants have for him is...uh something especially in the anime with his goddess count.

But I did see what the writers were doing. Fujimaru isn't some grand mage with a lineage nor any special powers. All versions of Fujimaru is literally just a normal person that somehow got to Chaldea after seeing a job ad.

However that is the point. In many Type-Moon works it'll boil down to a human vs a godlike or monstrous force. Fujimaru is that in the purest since.

I may joke but it makes sense for the goddess to be fond of him in the anime because he represents what a human should be and despite what the gods of Fate say they do love humans.

I'll even throw my hat into the conspiracy theorist ring and say that Gilgamesh's own inclinations toward aiding Fujimaru is due to this human fondness.

In his mind, the age of gods should be ended by the people of his era. He thinks the ordeal as a whole should be dealt with by human hands.

And despite everything Fujimaru has done that, six times over, seven once Tiamat is stopped. Again, I won't argue that FGO isn't pandering to a certain type of person but I do think our MC does right in those moments as well.

It's a normal human that convinces the goddess to turn on Tiamat, it is a normal human that fist fights with Goetia as the world is about to end, it is a normal human by nothing but the virtue of their choices that stopped Solomon's incineration of humanity.

I wish Fujimaru was given a bit more of a personality in the anime but I do see what they were going for and I can appreciate it.

Da Mona Vinci

Another Chaldean character that will grow on you in any version is Da Vinci. Why is Da Vinci a girl? Funny thing, there is no magical, logical, or even "fuck it" logic for the changed gender. Da Vinci likes beautiful things and made themselves as you see after becoming a servant.

How? I have no clue. I just find it funny that they chose the Mona Lisa as their appearance because that's a pinnacle of beauty to them. So yes, even in Fate Da Vinci was a man in life but as a servant she remade herself into her own painting which I find hilarious.

It's a testament to how silly Da Vinci actually is. She's every bit the genius she's reputed to be and can be serious and responsible quite reliably. In fact, you could argue that she's the most reliable adult there given that the only other options are Romani and what's left of the staff.

You sadly see little of her in action in the anime save for the Camelot films due to her role as a support but what scenes she gets in the anime never disappoint.

To be honest I'm not sure if she even has to stay in the command room or if she does so simply due her responsible nature of keeping it running or keeping Romani on task. The sixth singularity is the only time she really sneaks off to join you on a mission.

I also love how some of her inventions are just nods to old blueprints Da Vinci made in life. Like her vehicle she's so proud of or the small flying machine that hangs from her offices ceiling.

One of her weapons for combat is a literal fuck you gauntlet that just hits really hard. Da Vinci is a caster, that's equivalent to giving a bard a shotgun. The gauntlet even has a press like thing that makes it hit harder. Similar to when you see the mech from Big 0 finish off a monster.

By far her greatest feat is being the one being to earn even half of Romani's trust which is only seen in the final moments of the final singularity.

It's hinted that they're close or that she knows more throughout the whole story but you don't really see the gravity of that until Romani reveals himself. Speaking of which....

Romani Archaman

This fucker right here....he's shockingly complex? For most of FGO he seems like a silly and usually unreliable man but not a bad one. he genuinely cares about Mash when most do not and it is only by luck that he survives the initial bombing due to meeting Fujimaru while slacking off from work.

If you play the game you'll even learn that he's a fan of an idol called "Magi⭐Mari" whom I just learned was actually Merlin....which is a quandary that I'll save for later.

What makes him complex enough to discuss is his conflicting nature. He's the type to observe or run away despite seeing the gravity of something yet all it takes for him to take action is to see someone doing their best.

I would say that most of this is a façade but that'd be a half truth I think. He's genuinely this silly and clueless to some social cues but he is that way for a good reason....which is spoilers.

I'm going to spoil it so if you're some rare person who hasn't played FGO before this is your hint to skip ahead.

Solomon

The truth is that Romani is Solomon, the king of magecraft. The inventor of summoning magic, the last great king of a united Jewish kingdom.

More importantly, he fits into what you could call monstrous or inhuman. He had God's blessings and a miracle but he didn't really do anything with them.

Not for any morally or religious reasons, rather Solomon claims to have not had the freedom to do so. He wasn't free to be mad at humanities bullshit like Goetia was.

He didn't truly long for anything, he didn't truly live. Once he helped Marisbury win a grail war he simply wished to be human but even that was denied him in a way.

Right before Romani lost Solomon's clairvoyance he saw one last future of humanity going extinct. So now Romani felt compelled to work to stop that but fully lacking the powers Solomon had.

This is what makes Romani who he is. He was human for ten years but he says things he shouldn't and misses social cues among other things that come off as him being silly or somewhat introverted.

He just lacks the common sense as it were. You can't expect an inhuman being to just adapt instantly to the modern world in ten years. Especially when he was secretly using that time to stop his premonition.

The only person he truly opened up to was Da Vinci and I think that is due to how she is and her nature as a servant. She was summoned to Chaldea which would make her easier to trust than people within Chaldea who had been there years and possibly as sleeper agents.

Which is only more true when you realize that his other "friend" Lev truly was a sleeper agent. The anime movie glosses over it but Goetia actually planted it's 72 demon gods into the genetics of bloodlines.

One day Lev quite literally just became aware of his true nature.

I'd even argue that Romani took such a stance of being Mash's personal doctor because he identifies with her to a degree. She is denied being truly human and he finds that tragic.

In an odd sense, Goetia also identifies with Mash for that same reason. Both Romani and Goetia pity her for her life but while Romani is trying to make her as comfortable as he can with human experiences Goetia wishes to turn that into hatred.

Because both Romani and Goetia were forged from Solomon's inhuman behavior.

And it's tragic to know that even when truly human Solomon could not enjoy his time. Romani never got to live as he wished too and that's tragic in of itself.

Gonna have to make this into two parts

This has gotten a bit long. I expected it would since I had always planned to meld my impressions from FGO's game and mobile but there is way too much to put into written form.

Even what I end up having will be a fraction I think due to how long it's taken to beat Solomon's arc in the game and watch the anime.

That said, if you read this then by all means click my link below. I should have part two there by the time you find it.

P.S. A final bit of FGO lore for you. If you thought Romani and Da Vinci were cute or like an old married couple in a few scenes then relish in the fact that their japanese voice actors are married. Byeee~

========================

For my other experiences with Fate go here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

[cringefaecompilation]

Truly still seeing takes in December of 2024 of “Imogen will betray the party once she gets near Predathos and Laudna will go with her” is wild… like it would be simpler to say you stopped watching in 2022 and you’ve gotten all your information on this campaign from Reddit since episode 27.

i've gotten four other messages similar to this one with very specific wording (redditors that stopped watching the show as soon as laudna came back or right before it) that i really didn't know how to response to with anything other than "i agree" buuuuut since you mention it!

there is this sort of uneven treatment with most laudna and imogen haters that acts as if imogen is falling further and further into darkness from what's been going on and laudna... hasn't changed at all, somehow. she was just this bad all along and now revealing her true colors. because that's what a shocking amount of people took away from the bor'dor incident.

and likewise, a good chunk of fans assumed that marisha's plan since day 1 was to make her a delilah boss fight and close out the campaign with the first ever permanent pc pvp death. so upon her sealing delilah away both times, those fans concluded she was now a redundant, pointless character and that cr hastily made laudna a "boring" and "safe" lesbian to appease the marisha/laura shippers.

granted, the whole "they're gonna turn on the team!" accusations have hit everyone in this campaign hard, but for the guys is usually for angst purposes rather than "i hope xyz dude gets killed by my favorite character!". while i have seen some of these with outright hatred for the men, it's still like, only ever after wading through twelve anti-imogen rants

it WAS from a reddit crosspost i saw one of the first "c3 is bad for having an anti-god message" takes which was "off camera, ashton and laudna PROBABLY prayed to gods, so it's stupid to say that they never needed them or don't have any interest in saving them!". this was around... i wanna say episode 48-49, right before the solstice and party split. so if most reddit fans are still 70 fucking episodes behind in their character analysis, yikes.

(also that argument doesn't even make any sense. you could say any character probably did something off screen that accounts for the lore. me saying chetney's favorite food is probably ravioli because the mn were in wildemount and invented it when he was there holds about as much weight as that comment.)

[spidey-bie]

Ansi & Hobie

–Part 4

Once again I torture myself by writing the sweetest and most teeth rotting stuff while completely ignoring their depressing lore.

PDA:

Are they fine with PDA? Or do they like to keep it private?

I'd like to say they keep it private but Ansi can't keep his hands to himself for nothing. He's so stoic and shy when it comes to everyone else but the minute Hobie is in the room her whole personality does a 180.

What are cuddles like for them?

Diabetes inducing. Please stop it before I pass out. Both of their arms are completely wrapped around the other. I HATE THEM SO MUCH.

Laying all over each other. Limbs entangled. Hobie throwing his whole body weight over Ansi getting a faceful of titties. I WISH IT WAS ME.

Occasionally they both stare into each other eyes and burst out laughing over absolutely nothing. But all in all they always make sure that they're facing one another whenever they cuddle. SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP Y'ALL ARE DISGUSTING.

What are their kisses usually like? Who goes for kisses first?

It's like 50/50. Both of them initiate non lip kisses all the time. They both do this thing where if they see the other they'll run up, give a quick peck of the forehead or cheek, and then run back and pretend like nothing happened. (Also whenever Ansi is on Hobie's back she'll kiss his neck.)

Do they hold hands a lot?

Nope. They don't hold hands at all. They like to link arms or hold other body parts while walking or lying together.

Random:

What's a secret they keep between them?

Nobody in HQ knows that they've met before when they were younger. Only a small group of people know Ansi's canon events.

What's a secret they know about the other?

Ansi has only ever sung in front of Hobie. She's a very good singer but she wants to keep it to herself. Hobie is more emotional than what he lets on and Ansi is one of the few people to ever see him break down.

Do they hide anything from each other?

Ansi definitely shares more than he probably should. But Hobie doesn't mind. He also doesn't have anything that he feels the need to hide. But he doesn't over share like Ansi does.

Does either fear losing the other?

Yes. They were separated once before already. They know it probably won't happen again but still.

Have they ever 'broken up' or lost contact?

Aside from when they were kids nope.

Do they playfight or playargue?

Play fight for sure.

Don't disrupt them or you'll get hurt or worse chewed out by Ansi. Neither of them use anything aside from their raw strength and the longest they've gone in for was 2 hours.

They're no longer allowed to do it at HQ if they're not training. Too many people looking from the outside thought they were fighting fr and tried to separate them which led to accidents.

What's one thing your OC can do that Hobie can't?

Dance, Sing Cook. Also computer programming. Hobie is great with machinery and building but he only knows a few things about computer science.

What's one thing Hobie can do that your OC can't?

Ansi is great at a lot of things but he can't make connections with people like Hobie can.

How big is their height difference? How do they feel about it?

Oh Ansi terrorizes Hobie everyday for being tall. Ansi is 5'4 but 5'6 with his Doc Martens on. He'll laugh every time Hobie has to duck or bend down to avoid bumping his head. And then he'll laugh whenever Hobie inevitably does hit his head due to his height. She will not stop climbing this man. Calls him her personal jungle gym and if he doesn't like it just grow shorter. It's okay though because Hobie is also a bully is equally as bad. Ansi'll call Hobie over to get something and he'll pick it up and put it back down.

"You said get it, not hand it to you."

"Bite me."

"Maybe if I did you'd gain some height."

(He got smacked and then proceeded to tease her for having to get on her tip toes to reach his head. Leading to them wrestling.)

(A/N: I've never wanted to be in a physical relationship. BUT CUDDLES HAVE ME FEELING SOME KIND OF WAY.)

First | Second | Prev | Current | Fifth

[mapleleavesart]

I'll do you one better... Well... 3 better

🌹 (rose) - What does your oc find attractive in other people? Are these traits found in their friends and/or romantic partners? Are they found in themselves?

💔 (broken heart) - Who has your character hurt most? Physically or emotionally? How did it feel? Do they regret it?

🥩 (steak) - Does your oc have any coping mechanisms? Healthy or unhealthy?

💄 (lipstick) - What does your oc think of their face? Do they have a positive or negative opinion? Do they wear makeup? Do they have a skincare routine? What traits do they like most about their face?

Eheheheh FIRST ASK IN WEEKS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FISH

🌹

Sakura and Mei are both huge about respect! They didn't get a lot of that growing up so it's liberating to them when someone respects their decisions or wants.

Sakura needs patience (esp in conversations, as she's not fluent in English yet) as well as personal space. She doesn't like when ppl touch her body without permission, so she likes to be able to give the okay. There are exceptions to that rule (to get her attention, guide her somewhere, etc) but she's still picky about where and how she's touched. Lower back? Nope. Arm, shoulders, and the very tip of her tail? Usually pretty safe (gotta be the last few inches of her tail tho, and only with friends).

She does respect other people's boundaries, and if they ask her to stop/don't do something she takes that as a hard/fast rule. She takes "don't do that" as a law with a consequence of death and will revert to people pleasing behavior to make it up to them

Their personal space.... Less so. Particularly with the few people she's closest to, she'll lean against, curl up on/next to, hold hands with, etc. She'll still follow any "don't do/touch that" rule, like with Donnie's bare shell or their tails, but she can be super cuddly.

Sakura's also attracted to gentleness. She's been roughed around for a good portion of her life, so seeing someone, especially a man, be gentle is miraculous to her. Ofc all the turtles are good with these, to varying degrees.

Mei likes the sunshine people (*cough*Mikey*cough*) She loves a fellow creative who brings light into her dull life. She can listen as well as she can talk someone's ears off, and admires when other people listen and absorb what she says. She admires how Mikey doesn't pry into her life and let's her just talk about everything and nothing. Like I said before, respect is a high value for her, and she likes being seen as more than her father's daughter or a Lady. She likes being able to loosen up and not adhere to the strict rules of the upper class world, and Mikey and his brothers are great for that.

💔 ooooughhh this is a fun one. I have lore for this.

Sakura... This one is hard. Her lore is in need of rewriting and I don't have names for the people because it's not significant to the plot, and Sakura herself doesn't know. But she was caught up in human (well, mutant, in her case) trafficking that also made them fight in cages. So the men who did that have hurt her the most.

There's also Penelope, the daughter of the leader. Penelope promised to escape and run away with Sakura, but ended up stabbing her in the back (literally) and helped her father recapture Sakura (double back stab).

For Mei... Hm. That's probably Shangti, her father. I turned him from a loving dad to an abusive one... Mei was originally supposed to be my one OC with no trauma but that didn't stay that way for long 🤣

Shangti doesn't physically hurt Mei. But he does push her to high standards and makes many slights on her appearance, particularly her weight, which makes Mei very insecure about her body. He pressures her to be perfect — perfect posture, perfect manners, etc. It makes her feel trapped. She may be one of the richest yokai in the Hidden City, but that means very little when you're locked in your mansion, with only servants to keep you company.

🥩 coping mechanisms

Sakura runs and hides in any tight space when she gets scared or uncomfortable. She chews on her claws when she's anxious. Sakura always has at least one pocket knife on her at all times — often, several, tucked into pockets or waistbands. The turtles have been teaching her breathing exercises though! It's just a matter of, you know. Remembering them mid-panic attack 🤣

Mei leans more to escapism to cope. She reads or paints to get her mind off something. Or gets her hands dirty while taking care of the plants in the green house, repotting something or adding fertilizer or reorganizing her plants. Or petting/talking to Jacques the giant semi-sentient flytrap.

💄what they think about their faces... Hm, I've not thought about this one for either of them.

They're both very insecure individuals. I'm not sure how makeup would work with their fur. I'm sure Shangti has made Mei wear makeup for some fancy ball or formal event or something. But she doesn't wear it on the regular (because ew, sensory issues)

Mei doesn't like how chubby she is, and how that shows along her neck and jawline/cheeks. She definitely has a skincare routine, and several special products made for her fur type. It's exhausting and she'd rather not (and sometimes gets too depressed to do it all) but it's important to keep her fur soft and shiny! She can't be pretty with a dull coat. I reckon she likes her eyes the most. They're the only thing she can't immediately find something wrong with, and nobody's told her to fix anything about them.

Sakura wasn't around a lot of mirrors before she met the turtles, so she doesn't think much about her face. She isn't usually in a position to see it, after all. She's conflicted about her freckles, because she's insecure about her bigger white patches (fingers, toes, her belly, hair, and the crescent on her neck) but they also look like stars against a night sky, which is one of her favorite views. Overall, it's not something she thinks about a lot.

Sakura would not wear makeup. She only has a vague idea of what it is, but she doesn't think about being pretty. It's not something that's important to her. She's too focused on getting her needs met, and then enjoying the new life the turtles offer. For at least the first month or two,

Donnie def made her use a bunch of skincare etc products, but that was mostly just to get her to a healthy point and make sure her skin and fur was properly moisturized and stuff. She probably wouldn't use them if she wasn't told to. At least, not to a large extent. She'd probably use lotion and like,,, bubble bath, because bubbles are fun

[hollow-prey]

Genuinely one of the biggest self esteem wins I ever got in my life was when I was going through the Grimm.jow tag on an Arr.ancar blog that I love because they write them all so well (and very much holds a "fuck canon"/"canon can be whatever I want" attitude and disregards 98% of Bl.each's story and lore in favor of fleshing out the Arr.ancar and writing them how they want, which I deeply respect and admire) and found a bunch of answered headcanon asks that coincidentally lined up perfectly with my own personal headcanons/self ship lore regarding Grimm and validated my compatibility with him more than anything else I had found before.

In the past, most posts I've seen in passing talking about "the best matches" for Grimm.jow ended up describing an ideal partner who's strong and serious and a capable fighter, someone energetic and a little feral, someone with attitude and a sharp tongue, someone who can keep up with him. so basically someone who's almost exactly like him And the vibe that always comes off these posts, whether stated outright or not, is that he's not, and will never be, an affectionate person. Cuddles? Get 'em outta here! He's not a soft character and he would never do that, or so a vocal part of the fandom seemed to say.

So, naturally, I felt foolish about my crush on him for a long time, because so many people seem to push the idea that Grimm's ideal partner is someone who is the complete polar opposite of me. I'm short and out of shape. I'm not physically strong and I don't know how to fight. In fact I hate confrontation. Most of the time I'm pretty calm (at least on the outside), I'm not that serious of a person, and I like affectionate physical contact. All signs pointed to me being the worst match possible and feeling that, even in my indulgent daydreams, he would still hate me or ignore me.

And then I find the Arr.ancxr blog. And it truly felt like they read my mind for how close their own headcanons and interpretations lined up with the ones I created for my own self ship purposes (along with some of the answers just being cute as hell). Stuff like OP saying he would probably actually prefer someone who's more calm and relaxed and patient who can therefore help him relax and not be on edge/on guard 24/7. Or saying he is actually very affectionate once you get close enough and loves to cuddle at every opportunity. The one that absolutely sniped me was when someone asked how he would feel about having a chubby s/o and OP responded by saying he wouldn't care or think any different or less of them, and in fact would probably enjoy it because they're that much softer and squishier to cuddle with. As someone who has always struggled with my weight and been insecure about my size my entire life, the idea that my number 1 f/o would love something about me that I've had such mixed feelings about over the years (many of them negative), would love me being so soft and delightful to cuddle with because of that very thing I've struggled with and despised, well, this idea lit up my entire goddamn week.

This is the True Canon of the Hollow Prey ship. Doesn't matter what AU or storyline I'm working in, these factors will always apply. I'm the perfect match for Grimm. He loves me, among many things, for being soft and sweet and affectionate and cuddly. I love being validated unintentionally and no I'm not crying I'm just sweating through my eyeballs

[backjustforberena]

So I saw an argument in the comments of a fanfic and I wanted to ask you if you thought they were correct. The argument was that Viserys and Daemon have just as much Velaryon blood as Laenor does. It went that Alyssa Velaryon was 100% Velaryon, and all her children were 1/2. Jaehaerys and Alysanne both being half means all their children are 1/2. Baelon and Alyssa were full siblings so all their children would get the same 1/2 Targ 1/2 Velaryon genetics. So Viserys and Daemon should be 1/2 Velaryon and much darker than they are.

And also by that train of thought then Rhaenys is more Velaryon than she is Baratheon or Targaryen.

What do you think? I think the show runners kind of screwed up by casting everyone as very pale and not considering ancestry, but I also adore most of the cast we have.

Oh, golly. I'm sure you're probably right but, if it's all the same to you, I'm not going to be drawn in on the genetics and the race conversation.

From my point of view, the ancestry, within the world of the show, doesn't matter - that our Targaryens, such as Viserys and Daemon, have Velaryon ancestry... it really doesn't hold much weight within the show. It's not mentioned, it's not part of the plot. The Velaryons and Targaryens are presented as different families. It's approved by GRRM, and it makes a lot of sense if we are only considering what we have on the show, rather than extended lore that a general audience doesn't know.

I don't know, I just think it's fine. And I love the cast we have. That's all. I'm not going to twist myself in knots.

[inflammatoryfandomblog]

Tbh that Aaravos being responsible for every conflict in the last millenia gives me major degenerate cospiracy theory vibes and of this quote of a show that I am not a fan of https://youtu.be/Mq1EphvZGMg

I like how the greatest danger coming from him is implied to continue rickrolling and "trust me bro" some mages (which he already does?) rather than possessing magnificent cosmic powers?

The main characters get dragged along with the plot of stopping him without stopping and reflecting for a moment, you could literally ask them why he needs to be stopped and it'll be something like, "because he is making stoopid humans do war against xadia, duh"

And Apparently Ezran's ancestor/dynasty founder from 300 years ago betrayed him? And humans, elves and drakes worked together to imprison him? Yet their relationship still didn't improve at all??

Yeah I prefer reading dnd's filled to the brim complicated lore over what that is, a villain whose motives you do not know until this point isn't interesting and I yet haven't seen anything morally gray about him and I don't think he should be near women for some reason. His ruthless actions make sense in the situation he is in, I guess, but he is still an asshole?

Like what does he want? Become an Archon with his mindslave mages?

Lmfao the Diamonds from Steven Universe were more menacing

i wouldn't lob that at the showrunners; i mean obviously conspiracy theories like the illuminati have been pretty far-right in recent years, which has made some plots that involve them a bit uncomfortable in retrospect. but the far-right aren't the only people to fall for them, and for fiction they're an attractive way to have the focus on the characters rather than writing a societal treatise or whatever. dealing with Issues that require consideration is hard, writing wise; it's much simpler to have a final boss.

i think it's just sort of easy to show that a character is an mastermind by having them be responsible for literally everything. aaravos is more like lucifer than an expy of any group of people, i mean he's a fallen star and seems to have heavenly brothers/people, you can't really get more on the nose than that.

which like, the concept isn't *inherently* bad even if i hate it, like aaravos could just be successful because maybe he exploits faults that were already there in society in the first place or he's a metaphor for something, or whatever. it could work in theory, but this sort of plotline is so botched like a good 99.99% of the time (so much so that just the use of this trope is a pretty big red flag) and without a lot of work it really DOES undermine the "cycle of violence" theme completely if everything is the fault of one guy.

the dragon prince is just not good at showing the different sides of any issue with any depth of consideration, especially when it comes to the human side, so i'm not really holding my breath.

as for his motivation, idk the fact that the dragons are so afraid of him and that he could solo them means that he has a lot of power, he just wants to fuck about for some other issue other than just to gain power, like maybe revenge against somebody else (or to gain power over bigger fish than the dragons/elves and fucking about lets him do that), probably because he wants to stick it to his former star-people or whatever. who knows, there are literally no hints in the show as to why he might do this. it doesn't really matter to our characters or literally any other conflict that has emotional weight behind it, so i don't really care.

yeah the fact that a human was the one to bring to light aaravos's deception is... kind of weird, that the relations didn't improve at all. on one hand it probably explains why the dragons have been more ambivalent about humans than the "kill on sight" border patrolling policy they have would suggest (though at least one, rex igeneous, seems to disagree with it.) on the other hand... there's that "kill on sight" border patrolling policy they have, and also you'd think the existence of a primal human mage wouldn't be unknown for the first few season if she was literally buddies with a queen pivotal to the history of katolis. but the whole “callum is the only person ever to have wanted to be a primal mage badly enough” is not as compelling as the writers think it is.

"i don't think he should be near women for some reason." yeah. in his interactions with the female characters there's this very harass-y element to how he's portrayed (for example, khessa's death--not the obliteration itself, how he handles it just before). he also uses the word "ravishing" unironically, which... lmao. tryhard reddit vocabulary.

[taliaxlatia]

Taliax's "AO3 Wrapped" 2021

Going into the new year, I thought I'd make a kind of status update on all of my current fic wips and upcoming projects, as well as a bit of a summary of what I accomplished this year. I would love to see other fic writers do something like this too if you want! I'm posting this on main since I have so many sideblogs, but my ao3 is under Taliax. at least that way it will look somewhat consistent when I reblog this other places lol

Putting this under the cut because it's long!

FIC PROGRESS IN 2021

AO3 says I posted 381,042 words! That's less than last year's 483,876, but this year I was not at home as much (from covid quarantine stuff).

I posted or updated 73 fics this year. (Wow I did not realize it was that many.) That included finishing Seventh Time's the Charm (my alphys's bad dates fic), The Undying (canon divergent from Undyne the Undying fight), and Sweat and Ginseng (Zuko tea shop fic). By finishing Sweat and Ginseng, I completed all of my ongoing ATLA wips. Pretty much all of my Undertale fics were written this year.

Undertale surpassed Miraculous Ladybug as my fandom with the most fics, with a total of 51 fics (ML had 48). I'm really happy with the amount of progress I've made this year!

That said, I still have a whole whole lot of fics to finish, so here is a breakdown of my wips and where they're at progress-wise.

WIP STATUS UPDATES

Any fics marked with an * are planned or may be started in my drafts, but haven't been posted yet. Each fic will have a "Status" after it, which is like my tldr for where it's at in terms of priority and/or completion. Even if something is high priority though doesn't mean I'll actually have the brain cells to write it at any given moment unfortunately. I tend to cycle between wips periodically instead of focusing on one at a time, which is why each individual fic can seem to update so slowly.

Below are all of my wips, published or unpublished, sorted by fandom and priority.

Undertale

Let's Do the Mortal Coil Shuffle: According to my solid outline, there are only 4 more chapters left, including the epilogue. The next chapter is giving me some trouble but hopefully will be easier now that I changed a POV decision I'd made. Very very excited for where this fic is going. In particular I'm really looking forward to wrapping up the Mettaton subplot. (Mettaton my beloved <3)

Status: Highest priority Undertale fic. 4-ish chapters left.

You Dug Up This Grave, Now Lie In It: THIS IS SUCH A FUN FIC. 10/10 would be working on it more, but Winter and I wanted to flesh out a bit more of the Ghost Fam backstory first. In particular there's a Chara & Mettaton fic that needs to be set pretty close to when Mettaton leaves to become star that would help establish some things for this fic. Other than that it's going great. This fic will probably be my next biggest endeavor after Mortal Coil Shuffle.

Status: On hold while establishing backstory. Will probably resume once MCS is done. Unknown but large amount of chapters left.

Be Good, Alright?: I don't know why I don't work on this fic more. I started a Christmas/Gyftmas chapter that I'll hopefully be able to get out today or tomorrow. The biggest challenge is not mixing up my Lore between this fic and the skelechara series. (Also that Frisk in this fic is written much differently than in any of my other fics.) (Also that I no longer have a solid outline because I changed so many things...) Anyway, depending on how stubborn Chara is about talking to Toriel, this could be finished in an indeterminate number of chapters.

Status: Medium priority. Usually what I work on when I'm stuck on other fics. Unknown but hopefully 5-10 chapters left.

Carrying the Weight of the World: Recently I merged both the Sansby and Alphyne fics in The Undying series into this single fic. This will make it easier for me to make a cohesive plot, since it turns out this fic will actually HAVE a plot lol. I have most of that planned out on the Alphyne side; still some of the Sansby sideplot I need to outline. That said, this fic doesn't get a lot of attention, and with it being a sequel, it is not quite as high priority as my other wips. (I am still very attached to it myself, but it is not driving me insane to hold off on for a bit.)

Status: Low priority until I knock out some other wips. May work on more if I get a good Sansby or Alphyne itch. Unknown number of chapters left, hopefully 5-ish.

*Alphamind: Alphyne (+slight Papyton) Megamind AU. I've started this and I'm really excited to work on it more, but again, I have too many wips and I'll go crazy if I have so many incomplete fics on ao3 ;;

Status: On hold until I knock out some other wips. May write up a more solid outline.

*King Mettaton Papyton multichapter: been brewing this in my heart for some time yet I keep starting on newer ideas instead of getting around to actually writing it. Rip. Still going on here because I really want to write it eventually. Hoping my utdr fixation lasts long enough for me to get there.

Status: Early planning stages. On hold until I knock out some other wips.

Deltarune

Something Bigger Than the Sky: Pretty much no one cares about this fic. I have absolutely had a blast writing it and it will drive me insane if I don't finish it. I also have a sequel fic planned that takes place in Castle Town and mostly involves Ralsei & Spamton, but that might get kind of long because. I really really wanna explore all of the relationship dynamics between the different Dark World characters too (Seam & Jevil, Queen & Seam, Spamton & Jevil, etc.). There will also be a few more fics in the same universe, one going into the backstory for Queen, and one for Seam & Jevil divorce.

Status: Highest priority (if only for my sanity). Only one chapter left. Sequel(s) will have lower priority.

Not a Nobody: I still only plan on this being three chapters total. Really hoping it won't do what SBTtS did and double that chapter count. Anyway I'm REALLY loving working on this fic. I have the beginning of the next chapter, it just got kind of buried in my docs when I hyperfixated on the swatchton fic. This fic has a decent outline but most of it is in my head, so it could definitely be flexible.

Status: Medium priority. 2 chapters left.

Miraculous Ladybug

Home Base: There are only like, 2-3 chapters of this left. Probably 2 and an epilogue. I am really stuck on the Chat & Carapace chapter that I'm supposed to be writing next for some reason, which is why I haven't updated in a while. Once I can get past that I think it won't be too difficult to wrap up the story. Also just wanted to mention that I'm so so grateful for all of the positive feedback on this fic, it really means a lot!!

Status: High priority. Would like to finish during early 2022. 2-3 chapters left.

First Dance, Second Chance: I have an outline. It's a pretty solid outline. I am also just very slow with writing this fic for some reason. Since we have established relationship Ladrien at this point, this one is probably the most difficult fic to work on when I get in a romance repulsed mood, which is also a major reason for delays.

Status: Medium priority. 4 chapters left.

*Secret Santa Oneshot: Marichat. No other spoilers.

Status: Highest priority. Deadline is early January. I should probably look up when exactly again lol

Kingdom Hearts

Contingency Plan: Updates were really slow this past year as I did mainly Undertale fic. It's hard to estimate how many chapters are left, but I do finally have all of the characters back at the Keyblade Graveyard, so it shouldn't be too many more. I'll give a safe guess of 3-5 more chapters.

Status: High priority. Unknown (hopefully 3-5) chapters left.

Shadows Alight: Officially UNCANCELLED. I am doing a full edit of the CaS series, and then I will go back to adding chapters to this fic and attempt to give it the real ending I was originally working towards. This may not be what anyone (besides me) wants, but after all these years Vanitas and Aqua in this universe are basically my OCs, and I finally have the confidence to do what I want with them. I hope you'll enjoy if you decide to come back to finish the ride. No idea how many more chapters it will be, but it will involve a fairly major rewrite of KH3 plotpoints (of course still focusing on Vanqua). This does include a Xehanort takedown and rescuing Terra. Hopefully I'll also get to use the Xionnort subplot I'd always had plans for.

Status: Undergoing edits. On hold until edits are complete, then probably still low priority. Lots of chapters left.

*The Luxu Building: A Vanqua/Terrella college custodial scifi au. (What a mouthful.) Will try not to get too into this unless/until I can finish Contingency Plan, but I've had the idea on the backburner for years now. I finally figured out how to get some of the plot straight to feel confident starting it.

Status: On hold.

GOALS FOR 2022

Attempting not to intimidate myself too much here dskfj. Ideally next year I would finish all (both) my ML wips and stop writing multichapters for ML in the future. I'd like to be more free to focus on utdr and vanqua (kh). Here's a more specific breakdown of some goals/hopes I have for the next year.

Priority Fics to COMPLETE:

Contingency Plan. This was first posted back in May 2018. It's been long enough lol

Home Base. This one is close enough to being done that it's a reasonable goal.

Something Bigger than the Sky. Literally just needs one more chapter.

Mortal Coil Shuffle. Biggest ongoing undertale fic, would be really nice to have completed.

Things that I just really look forward to writing: so many things!! But somehow, mostly Papyton? If you would've told me last year that I'd get so attached to them I would've thought you were crazy. I thought they were just a "pair the spares" ship at first that I saw in the background of soriel fics, but after writing them I've become really attached to their chemistry! So my deltarune papyton fic (Not a Nobody) and skelechara fake dating (Dug This Grave) are two I'm really looking forward to, even if I'd like to finish some other fics before prioritizing them.

If you actually read all this, thanks! I hope you have a great new year!!

[griff-us]

Title: Free Fall

Pairing: Corvo Attano/Reader

Summary: You see him for him. He sees you as someone else. That doesn't stop you from falling for him.

General Warnings: Allusions to prostitution. Violence. Sex. Angst, so much of it.

Word Count: 2473

Notes: I've been craving some Corvo content and finally decided to make it myself. This is written with a black reader in mind, but I kept the reader very vague. I'll be taking liberties since I haven't played the games in ages and the lore is just massive. But I expect to have more lore accurate pieces as I. write more. This will probably be a two-parter! Excuse any mistakes, I didn't do too much editing. Likes and reblogs are appreciated, minors don't interact!

Called to the Devil and the Devil said quit Can't be bothered better handle your shit Keep about your wits man, keep about your wits Know yourself and who you came in with Can I sit down I've been hustling all day I can't even count how many souls I've made Off the same deal you on Remember, the Devil ain't a friend to no one But fine, true

**

He’s always been there; a distant figure shrouded in shadows. You thought it a coincidence or happenstance when you’d catch sight of him from the corner of your eyes; frame pressed against aging brick or perched on top of crumbling roof tiles. You never thought him odd, the Distillery District has always been overrun with criminals and strange people, that is until flyers began to circulate with his masked face—and a reward. It’s a wonder why a murderer would take a liking to you. Perhaps you were a target? That would surely complicate things, wouldn’t it?  Then again, men tended to flock to your little dilapidated apartment, all of them searching for the same thing. 

He shows one night; three quick wraps of his knuckles against the cracked glass of your window. You huff a sigh, hands scrambling for the candle at your bedside before shuffling towards the source of the noise. Freehand tugs back the curtain and there he is. Hands holding tight to the ledge. You stare blankly for a long moment, stunned at his upper body strength and—well intrigued beyond belief. 

“You know…” your tongue darts out to wet parted lips. “Most men use the stairs, hm?” he doesn’t say anything, and you try again. “It’s two coin an hour. Ten for the night. Weapons are to be left downstairs, and I won’t be feeding you.” he remains silent all the while weight shifts lightly, and a single hand rises to fish within his robes. The strange man drops a leather sack in the palm of your hand; far too heavy to be the requested amount. 

“I need not your services. Only somewhere to sleep and tend to my wound.” ah, so he can speak? You regard the man with slanted lips, and you think to turn him away. After all, he is a wanted killer; not to mention Slackjaw might get his trousers in a twist if he found out. But the weight in your hand is too good to pass up; you could have your clothes mended, and perhaps acquire a few extra meals for that poor boy on Clavering Boulevard. 

“Why come to me?” a reasonable question among many; after all, he has been following you the past few weeks, and now this?

“I helped the boy on Clavering the other day. He mentioned you; said you were a woman to trust.” Damn children, you would have to have a chat with him. A sigh heaves past your lips, and you move aside to let him in. 

“Shoes off please, there’s a plague about after all. I may be penniless but I rather not live like it.” the strange man does as you ask, frame hobbling slightly while he kicks heavy boots off. You watch while he lays them by the window. As he begins to disarm himself you find yourself in awe at the sheer number of weapons on his person. 

“You really do kill people then?” a scoff sounds from the other side of the room as you finally turn to quickly count the coin he had given you. It’s enough to last you months. “I’ll be back.” you don’t wait for an answer; feet pad against splintering wooden floors as you hurry down the stairs and to the kitchen. You wrap the coin purse in a rag and stuff it under the sink, just behind a false wall with other precious items. You’d find a better home for it later after he leaves. 

Teeth chew your full bottom lip, and you wonder if he’s eaten yet. Despite your warning earlier you can’t help but feel—grateful. With a grumble, you quickly put together a plate. Cheese, bread, fruit, and cured meat you had been saving for a rainy day. 

‘I imagine you’ll need nourishment to help your wounds—” you return to him upstairs, hip nudging open the door to your room. The man keeps a silent focus; his robe and shirt neatly folded on top of a shaky chair in the corner of the room. You watch quietly as he finished stitching closed a rather nasty gash on his side with help from the moonlight. 

“Here…” you set the plate by him and quickly snag a bottle of alcohol from under your pillow. “I haven’t a clean rag this may burn.” you make quick work of the cork with your teeth, freehand gently pushing against his torso so that you can get a better look at the wound. His skin is ice against your warm palms you swear he hums at the contact. You resist the urge to smile and make work by washing the wound carefully with small splashes of the liquid. He tenses, a hand falling to your shoulder as if to steady himself. You feel a flutter in your stomach that reverberates in the back of your throat. The feeling is pushed down and squashed nearly immediately; he is a murderer, an assassin. Best not to develop a childish crush on a man like him. 

“There you are.” once finished, you take a step back giving him space and taking a moment to admire the hardened frame before you. He’s yet to remove the mask, but you don’t push him to—killers need secret identities, don’t they? 

“Thank you.” you only nod, and motion to the extra mattress in the room. 

“You should rest.” the man hums in agreement, his frame sinking into the old padding, and you watch from your own makeshift bed as his body visibly deflates. His back is to you, and you trace the numerous scars and bruises that adorned his skin with your eyes. What a strange man indeed. 

***

The stranger is gone by morning; any trace of him from the night prior scrubbed from your home. Even the spare blanket sits folded atop the pillow just as you had them before. A shame you never got his name, not that he would give it. You can’t help but wonder who the strange is under that mask; quiet and gruff as he is—you can’t shake the way in which he treated you. Rather kind, far different from the typical treatment you’ve learned to endure from Slackjaw and his gangs of idiots. 

It doesn’t matter; your transaction with the stranger is complete, and you’ve coin to spend. Within fifteen minutes, you are washed, hair hastily pleated in a thick braid that hangs past your shoulders. With money tucked away within the pockets of your dress you make for Clavering. First a stop to the general store and then to see the boy and deliver him food for the week. His bright blue eyes shine wide when you present him with a basket full of meats and bread. 

“Remember to ration as I taught you, and keep this hidden from everyone, do you understand?” the boy nods enthusiastically, tiny fingers gripping tight to the beaten basket, and you send him off with an affectionate pat on his back. You stand there a moment watching as his small frame vanishes down the length of the ally, a smile on your lips. Head tilts, and your turn to peek up at the rooftops. A flash of shadows darts behind a half-fallen chimney, and you chuckle before continuing on with your daily chores and business. 

**

A week has passed; the sun has long ago set, and a customer has just left you. The house is empty, and silent, save for your snivels. There are times a rather unruly drunkard will call on you, and there are times when gentle is the last thing on their mind. You may have protection thanks to your deal with Slackjaw and his gang, but that only saves you from the law, and death—they still use you as they please. Fingers press to your swollen lip, crimson seeping from cracked and broken skin. You inhale sharply and cuss lowly. 

“Are you alright?” you hadn’t heard him slip in through the window, and you nearly jump from your skin at the sound of his voice. You turn quickly, and there he stands—your stranger. You quickly work to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall from tired eyes, nodding over and over as if to convince yourself. 

“Yes yes. Can you please knock like a normal person?” feet wobble as you stand, and he moves to help you keep your balance. “I said I’m fine!” words are laced with far more anger than you intended, and the strange man silently backs off. “What do you want? I’m not taking any more customers tonight.” 

“I—” you look up as he pauses a long moment, his mask making it impossible to discern any emotion from his face. “I’m not here for that. I came to see how you are doing.” 

“Just wonderful.” sarcasm bites at your tongue, and you turn to him fully. You sense his unease now that he can see the bruises that have already begun to blossom across your neck and cheek. Without a word, the stranger steps closer, a single hand-raising while fingers skim the warm skin of your cheek. 

“I should kill him.” 

You scoff, smacking his hand away. “Oh please. I haven't seen your face, I don’t know your name. What gives you the right?” it is impossible to hide the bitterness that seeps into your tone. The stranger says nothing, and finally, you snap. “Leave. Now.” you turn away from him, arms cross over your middle as if to hold yourself together just long enough until he is gone. There’s a long moment of silence followed only by his retreating steps toward the window. And one word—a name. 

“Corvo.” 

***

Two months pass; Slackjaw ends up getting himself killed. You’ve been spared the details but there’s no question in your mind who felled him. It’s both a gift and a curse; the gang leaves you alone, but with their absence comes the absence of money, and protection. Luckily enough, an old contact gets you into the Golden Cat, a renowned pleasure establishment for the more monetarily endowed citizens. Better coin, slightly better treatment. You’ve got your own room; four walls, a bed, and a dresser for your things. A single window looks out over the city and it’s nice in its own way. 

You haven't seen him since your last encounter—Corvo. Some nights you lay awake wondering what might have happened had you not told him to leave. Maybe he could have taken you away from it all. Maybe you could have stayed in that little hovel, spurred on only by his intermediate visits. They’re foolish, those thoughts. But you would be a liar if one man's kindness hadn’t won you over in the fastest fashion. 

It was only when you had begun working at the Golden Cat and were privy to the talk of politicians and the elite did you realize that it was most likely Corvo Attano that had wormed his way into your heart—-an empress's murderer. 

How foolish of you, you think one night while curled under thick blankets in the comfort of your tiny room. To become infatuated with a man whose face you’ve never seen, the man that murdered the empress and spiraled the empire into chaos. A sad sort of laugh falls from your lips while your head shakes. 

“What’s so funny?” that voice, and from nowhere. You bolt upright from bed, and there he is; stood in front of the open window. Silence follows while you battle with yourself; to hug him, curse him, or call a guard. 

“The bounty on your head could finally get me out of this life.” you decide to challenge him, but the waiver of your tone betrays you. 

“So call the guards.” his boots are silent against the wooden floors as he nears, and you watch while Corvo sits next to you. Silence grips the room firmly, neither of you too sure what to say. Finally, he speaks. “I didn’t murder her. I loved her.” Oh. “She was assassinated, and I have been framed for it. I am here to find her…our daughter. They have her hostage here. That is how I learned of your presence here.” How…sad, you think. How tragic. You reach out, fingers brushing against his neck, and you watch for any adverse reaction while manicured fingers slip beneath the mask perpetually strapped to his face. Corvo tenses while you do, but he allows you to unhook the latches at the side, and slip the metal from his face. 

Tired, hardened eyes stare back at you; laced with a grief not unknown to you. Your chest tightens, and you lean forward to hold his face in the palm of your hand. “You poor man.” His eyes close, frame leaning into your warm touch, and you feel as though your daydreams and longing have come true, but… “Why follow me, Corvo, why…why me?” 

“You remind me of her.” mumbled so softly; each word laced with heartbreak. It breaks you just a little; here you are infatuated with a man who dotes on you, in his own way, because you remind him of his dead lover. Foolish. You’ve been so foolish. 

“I—” you begin, but he cuts you off. 

“I have to bring her home tonight, my daughter. After I leave this place won’t be safe for you.” it dawns on you after a moment, and you grow cold. 

“You’re going to kill them?” 

“If I must.” he takes your hand, lips brushing against your knuckles, and it's a wonder how someone so adept at causing harm can be so—gentle. “Here.” Corvo turns his hand over in yours and places a cloth pouch in the center of your palm. “Leave tonight. Flee through the servants' entrance in the kitchens. Find work, find a home.” You stare in utter silence. He’s come again to uproot what little comfort you’ve managed to forge in this brutal world. To wreck your heart, and your home. Damn him. 

“What else is there for me, Corvo, but this life, hm? Who would—who would think twice of me?” He closes your fingers around the pouch. 

“I would, and I do. I think of you every day, and I would like to see you safe.” you tremble, gaze locked with his, and you nod. Corvo squeezes your hand tenderly, leaning down once more to press another feather-like kiss to the back of your hand. “Take care of yourself.” you chew your bottom lip, and only nod again—you fear the sob that may bubble forth if you dared to speak. He stands, mask fixed to his face once again, and quietly slips out into the hall. 

You sit there a long moment, a wild whirlwind of emotions taking hold. And it is only when you realize his words sounded like a goodbye do you allow yourself to sob.

[butwhatifidothis]

I'm not trying to police what you do. Its your damn blog, do what you want. I'm not your dad/mom/creator, I hold no power over you.

I get that the fic is garbage. But at the end of the day its FANfiction. It doesn't hold any weight. More to the point, yes you COULD ignore it. Rather easily! I didn't even know the damn fic existed before you brought it to my attention. And PLEASE tell me how Captain is a "cornerstone" outside of the fact they write a shitty fanfiction thats sort of popular among ao3 fanfic people.

More to the point...have your posts actually affected the fic outside of getting people to read it out of curiousity.

I mean not to be mean or nothin' but you literally came over to me and told me to stop reading the fic, kinda sounds like you were tryna police me lmao

But to get to your point, sure, I could ignore it, but that's not the issue. It's not "The specific words that appear in this fic are what I and others can't get away from," it's "The horrible meta commentary and character portrayals in this fic are what I and others can't get away from." This author is where Teacher Theory comes from. He's where the idea that Rhea and Dimitri are these angry crazy people who can't be reasoned with comes from. He's where the "Edelgard is a poor broken victim and everyone else is wrong" idea comes from. He's where the idea of Fodlan only gaining true peace on CF comes from. He's where the idea of Faerghus being an allegory for toxic masculinity comes from, and from that where the idea that Dimitri's arc is "really" about overcoming said toxic masculinity. These takes - that have gotten people harassed for not agreeing with, mind - and plenty of others either originate from him and this fic or are popularized by him and this fic.

And ya want me to tell ya how Cap'n's a cornerstone? Sure.

This is from a document that was made by someone who has made semi-popular meta posts, for the specific purpose of compiling meta posts for people to gain an easy "understanding" of the game. Here is this person straight up saying that yes, Cap'n is a large inspiration for how many others view Edelgard, and by proxy the other characters who interact with her as well as the story, plot, lore, and themes of 3H.

For this fic specifically, which does appear in this document:

This fanfiction is being shown off as genuine analysis while having all the shit I listed off in that other post in it. Cap'n's analysis is widely known and popular, getting hundreds of upvotes and comments agreeing with his inaccurate, shitty version of 3H and with his inaccurate and shitty takes being known across large portions of the fandom. Like I said, he of course ain't the only one, but he's a damn big influence in the 3H fandom, with his takes still being held as canon despite them being wrong as fuck.

And I dunno! Probably fuckin' not! I wasn't out here in some selfless mission trying to right Cap'n's wrongs and have him see the error of his ways or some shit, I just wanted to go over this influential fic to see how bad it is since it's impacted the fandom so much. I just ended up with shit that was way worse than I thought it'd be, hence me still criticizing it. The most I personally know that my notes have done is have me and others realize just how genuinely terrible Cap'n's takes are/fic is and how troubling it is that this has what has gotten popular in the 3H fandom. It's one to think know that this shit is bad, and another entirely to actually see just how bad it is.

Like, Rhea being creepy? Shown as the objective, unambiguous villain? Portrayed as unreasonable? That is not easily escapable - that is rampant all across 3H fanfiction as well as all over the fandom itself. You will have fics just randomly shit on Rhea for no reason, write her as this evil witch with no good in her, in fics that don't have her as an important character. You will have fanartists draw her executing poor thieves who just wanted bread, to give one well-known example of Rhea being portrayed as a purely evil asshole. The idea that Edelgard is right and that everyone should listen to her? Also in a shit ton of places. Teacher Theory? All over the damn place. This isn't just contained in one fanfic, or even just the Edelstan corner of the fandom - it's everywhere.

It's gotten to the point where a racist, imperialist conqueror who is willing to sacrifice her citizens, help spread the lie about a minority race's involvement in regicide to help her allies, and kill her classmates who have done nothing wrong, who will starve her citizens and blatantly lie to her soldiers about how bad their enemies are, topped with the cute little quirk of wanting to finish a genocide against an already endangered race... is who is widely considered not just as good as the two lords that don't do any of those things (though that too is still a very common idea), but way better, the best choice, the one good ruler. And it's in large part due to people like Cap'n who write away all of her flaws and demonize everyone else.

If this fic is going to be treated as this long-form meta post of Edelgard and 3H, then I'm going to go over it and see what all if anything is wrong with it like I would do and have done with any other meta post. That it's in fanfiction format means nothing since it's literally not being treated as fanfiction, but as a genuine analysis that people will base their interpretation of the game off of. All good if that ticks you off, but I consistently tag posts going over Cap'n specifically so that others who don't want to see it can blacklist the tag (o captain my captain) and ignore it, so if it bugs you that much, there ya go

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 1 for the first time. Random thoughts.

This show is kind of nice because I have no memories of the original She-Ra show, or even any of He-Man, honestly. I'm not sure if I ever watched the original, so I have no frame of reference for how the series is "supposed" to be. I can just take it and judge it as is.

Of the bat, all I know is that supposedly She-Ra and Catra get together as a romantic couple later, but I'm also a huge My Hero Academia fan and the fandom around me ships every character with every other character, so for all I know that might just be shipper wishful thinking I've been seeing and hearing. Given fandoms for Gravity Falls, Thor, and Supernatural ship even siblings together, I've learned not to trust anything except for what I see in the series for myself.

By the way, this isn't a review, just random thoughts and comments I'm having as I'm going through season 1 for the first time.

Episodes 1 and 2: Right off, I really like Catra's "No duh" response to Adora about the truth of the horde. She knows they've been lying to them and have been doing terrible things, she just doesn't care. If she and Adora play their cards right they could end up being the ones in charge and then they'd have all that power. Not necessarily to make things better but enough to where they could do whatever and live however they want. That's a good build for an antagonist. Not ignorant to the fact what they're doing is wrong, just simply so selfish that they don't care.

Episode 3: It really feels like there was no good reason why Glimmer didn't just outright introduce Adora to her mother and every reason she should have known it was a bad idea to try and hide her for a surprise. Being a former horde soldier she'd probably get treated with hostility if Glimmer brought her to the front gate but you'd almost guarantee Adora would get arrested or outright killed if she got caught while no one else knew she was there.

On the other side, we have Hordak being pretty intelligent in promoting Catra. He probably knows Shadow Weaver already doesn't like him, so it's not like he's losing anything making her upset with him, and it's clear she favors Adora way more than Catra, so that little bit of advancement towards Catra probably goes a long way in earning her loyalty to him and a person on the inside with Shadow Weaver.

Also, I'm not the only one who saw Madam Razz and immediately thought Adora had found her Yoda, right?

Episode 4: I don't know how it was in the original She-Ra and He-Man series but I kind of like She-Ra being this title from legend. Adora is not the first She-Ra, given what Razz was talking about with a Mara, so instead of being something new, impressing everyone with abilities they've never seen before, and creating the legend, Adora is placed in a position WAY over her head where she's having to live up to what came before her.

Episode 5: Calling it now, as long as her personality is genuine I think Scorpia is going to be one of my favorite characters in this show. She's...endearing, I think is the best word. She's like a mix of Kronk and a nicer Shego.

For a little bit I thought Mermista was voiced by the same actress who played Poison Ivy in the Harley Quinn animated series. She's not but they do have the same kind of Daria-ish inflections, thus by confusion. Given the prom episode, Sea Hawk feels kind of like her Kite Man.

Episode 6: Okay, now it's between Scorpia and Entrapta who are likely to be my favorites by the end of this. She's fun and quirky.

Episode 7: Quite the lore drop. Shadow Weaver was once a Mystacor sorceress known as Light Spinner. I like to imagine we'll get more on that later. Her haunting Adora reminded me of the Teen Titans' episode where Robin was similarly haunted by Slade. This didn't go as far as that but that's probably for the best, since TT had two and a half seasons to build that dynamic up with Robin and Slade while we're only now halfway through the first season.

Episode 8: Well dang. Again, I don't know for sure if Adora and Catra do end up together but boy do I buy why they're shipped together after that dance. Also, good on Bow for standing up for himself. It's clear that he'll always be Glimmer's friend and this won't change that but that doesn't mean he has to just accommodate her. I understand where her issues stem from but I am still glad he gave her a reality check. It helps him feel a little more like his own character.

Also, another nice little bit of lore and worldbuilding. Scorpia's a princess, the horde landed where her people lived, and they seemed to join them willingly.

Episode 9: Surprisingly don't have a lot to say about this other than I don't buy for a second that Entrapta is dead (EDIT: She's not). This was mostly action.

Episode 10: Not going to lie, this one kind of annoyed me a little, at least the first half. The conversation between Glimmer and her mother saved it a bit. It was a bit of a trifecta. You have the alliance breaking apart, saying that the loss of Entrapta only happened because they were all together...even though Entrapta only "died" because of her own machine obsession that caused her to deliberately walk back into the purging chamber. You have Entrapta who might be turning to the horde's side because she feels abandoned by the other princesses...even though they thought she was dead, and again it was her fault they got separated. And you have Glimmer refusing to tell her mother that Shadow Weaver's dark magic has caused her powers to go on the fritz and is causing her great pain. It just feels like none of this would be an issue if most of these people would stop being self-absorbed for three seconds and talk like any normal person would. It feels very CW drama, like something I'd see in a bad season of Arrow or The Flash. The only person whose issues I buy is Adora, who is basically a soldier who was never properly raised to deal with emotion or loss and is already struggling with the burden of being She-Ra, the legendary savior. I get why she's beating down on herself for not being able to do more even if nothing that happened was her fault.

Episode 11: JEEEEEEEEEZZZZ, that was such a good episode! Focused entirely on Adora and Catra and their past together. Like, just showing someone this episode alone could probably get them to want to watch the series. That was everything you needed to know about their dynamic and history together.

Also, that moment when Catra and her past self are looking at each other, while obviously Catra takes the opposite lesson, it reminded me of this fanart I'd once seen of Jason Todd, the Red Hood, looking at his past self as Robin. The past says to the future "You ruined everything". Catra could be happy but, ironically for someone who hates Shadow Weaver, she's probably going to be a lot like her, sacrificing everything for power and ambition.

Given the way she looked, I'm guessing Shadow Weaver is either addicted to the power of the Black Garnet or she suffered some kind of past injury and its power is the only thing keeping her going. Or both.

Episode 12: I'll be honest, Swiftwind being able to talk kind of gobsmacked and I needed a moment to recover. What a great voice they chose for that character.

So She-Ra is kind of like the legendary heroes from Rising of the Shield Hero, coming from a long line of people chosen to wield the sword. I tend to dislike chosen one types of stories because I think prophecy takes a lot of weight out of the character's actions, so this and Avatar are more what I like. The MC is special but not the only one who's ever been special and they can still easily fail. Their destiny was only to be able to use the weapon, not that they would succeed in any specific purpose.

And dang, Catra's turn against Shadow Weaver happened faster than I thought it would but I'm not complaining. That great "This is what you've really been preparing me for" speech and Hordak, again, being an intelligent villain. "Oh, this experiment could net me a MASSIVE gain and all it could potentially cost me is this rock I already gave away to someone who lately hasn't been producing any results and has been consistently disobeying me. Yeah, I'm going to let this play out."

Episode 13: That was kind of a brutal fight between Adora and Catra. Not the worst I've ever seen even in other shows for this age range (Samurai Jack, for example) but those punches are connecting and those claws are leaving marks.

Also, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the exact situation but shouldn't the good guys' side be called the Resistance instead of the Rebellion? Being a rebellion would imply they are rebelling against an established power or rule over them, but the actual conflict we are shown is the established power and rule that is the kingdoms of Eternia resisting an outside force that wishes to establish a new order over them.

Season 1 verdict: I'm into it. I'm definitely more invested in the villains' side of things but that's not a fault of the series, that stuff is just way more geared towards me than the current princess stuff. I actively am at attention whenever the horde main characters are on screen. For the good guys it's mostly Adora and the She-Ra stuff I'm invested it. That isn't to say I have any real dislikes for that side. Bow especially I'm liking much more than I thought I might. He has kind of this gravitational pull around him. You will be his friend regardless of how much you might want to resist. He's definitely the rock for everyone else to hold onto.

Minor side note, kind of like Korra in Legend of Korra, I love how even when her powers aren't active Adora is shown to still be pretty strong physically with how easily she was lifting people up at the prom.

And I was right, Scorpia is my favorite side character.

On to season 2!

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/nyll2e/going_in_blind_watching_season_1_for_the_first/

[chaikachi]

First of all, I cannot believe you analyzed this, this is incredible. Thank you for taking the time. 🥺💕 Second, confirmations and corrections below the cut so this doesn't get too long cause -big surprise - I went on a tangent!!

a) Yes, he's covering her eyes in an act of protection from the tragedy and suffering she's already faced as well as what she hasn't yet. The petals on the bottom are to signify that there's additional fear from both of them that she will follow in Summer's footsteps.

b) YUP. 💯

c) YUP, YUP, YUP! 💯

d) "Oscar's eyes also being obscured by view like Ruby's, by her own weapon, an extension of herself, as Ruby has also sought to protect Oscar in the past,..."

YUP 💯

"but his tears also visible like Ruby's. Whether that's because he knows shielding her eyes and being overprotective is wrong and hates himself for it, or is crying because of her presumed death,"

Not quite. I didn't intend for Oscar to hate himself for wanting to protect her from all of this. Wanting to do so is an incredibly valid thing to feel. Acting on it? Not so much. This idea, stemmed from their talk in the dojo.

"How are you okay with any of this?!"

This line, for me, always carried with it more than just what was said.

"How are you okay with any of this... because I'm not, and you shouldn't have to be."

Both of them are just kids. One of the things that's foundational to their relationship is the admiration and respect they have for one another over the differences in their calls to action. Oscar has always respected Ruby for choosing to fight. Ruby respects Oscar because he didn't choose it, but he still faces it with everything he has every single day...

Or at least, that's what it felt like back then. Now I'm not so sure. I think Ruby might have had less say in her fate than we realize - and I don't just mean because she's a SEW. This is partially because now that she's started this fight, she can't run from it... but it's also from a theory that I'll talk about briefly at the end. I probably won't go fully into until CRWBY gives me some more crumbs to work with though.

thus why he also has his hand on her scythe, as Ruby inspires Oscar and he aspires to be more like her, and so in her "death" holding Crescent Rose symbolizes him trying to carry on where she left off.

This wasn't the intention with that framing and posing mostly because I feel like it's already symbolized by Oscar's v6-8 costume. I didn't really see it until after the v8 finale, but if we go by Remnant's lore of dawning clothes in the colours of people you admire or care about, then his v6 upgrade screams his respect for Ruby. From the red accents, to including a trim of silver on his collar even though the rest of his metals are bronze. From the silhouette of his coat imitating the shape of her cloak, to his funky sleeves that mirror her outfit at the time... and lastly, but most importantly, the red patch on his shoulders.

At first I thought it was just rooted in the inspiration she gave him and he put it there of all places as a small allusion to her hood specifically... but now that v8 is over I feel like it has more weight narratively. What was once just a physical representation of the admiration he had for her, has become symbolic of the mantle of leadership she was carrying transferring directly onto his shoulders in her absence.

e) YUP. 💯

f) Oscar's eyes being obscured to both us the viewer by Crescent Rose and him obscuring Ruby's eyes represents him not wanting either Ruby or us, (by extension, the rest of the world) to look at his eyes, the windows to his soul, because he's afraid that if Ruby might look she will no longer see him, Oscar, as he does not know how much of himself has changed because of Oz. (Especially because of the "I won't be back before I'm gone" lyrics tied to the piece. But that could also refer to Ruby coming back after everyone believes she died)

TBH, I hadn't really thought of that (probably because I'm in denial about the merge 🙃) but I can absolutely see that playing in here.

His eyes are covered mostly for the earlier mentioned reasons. By choosing to protect her, he is choosing to deny the truth that is right in front of them. It's also an homage to both Ruby and Oscar's recent arcs over the last two volumes about trust and truth. Ruby hid the truth from Ironwood because it's what she felt was the right thing to do. Oscar, didn't completely agree and was too blinded by Ironwood's authority that he didn't see the harm his choice had on Ruby... or the path that trust led him toward - being shot off a cliff and ultimately further separated from her. This piece, and this part, is also a bit of a dual metaphor. I think a good 80% (or more) of this piece is about Oscar and Ruby's dynamic, their arcs, and their separation... but it's also a bit about Oz. Oscar holding Ruby's scythe is symbolic of him trying to support her as best he can and share part of her burden... in Oz's, it's symbolic of the weapon his quest put in her hand in the first place. Both Oscar and Oz covering Ruby's eyes is an act of protection... but from Oz, he's not just trying to keep her from harm. It's also protection from the truth he had kept from her.

I didn't tag him in the og post because people tend to go a bit feral when you acknowledge Oz's place in "RG"... but to deny his role in it all is a disservice to every character involved, imo. Because within RG there are four relationships at play at all times. Ruby and Oscar. Oscar and Oz. Ruby and Oz. And all three of them collectively. It's hard to show his part in this given Oscar is the main focus but I tried to allude to him with the border (inspired by Long Memory's motif). The line "I won't be back before I'm gone" is mostly a reference to the mutual support that is fundamental to their relationship and that neither have been able to receive the right amount of because of the distance that keeps separating them. Be it physical or emotional. Be it because of their own choices or external circumstances. They can't seem to stick together for long before being ripped apart again. It's hard to rely on each other when every time one of them turns around, the other is no where in sight. That doesn't remove their shared desire to support each other as best they can, though.

Also something about how Oscar stands with the moon behind him and Ruby standing in a pool reflecting the moon's light, reflecting each other's light? Like the moon and sun? (Especially with how Fairytales of Remnant has a story about how Remnant's moon was originally the sun, and the current sun is an imitation of its own light crafted through human ingenuity, like the Silver Eyes/Long Memories' Kinetic Energy)

Oscar standing between Ruby and the Moon ties in with the theory I mentioned earlier (that is heavily inspired by The Gift of the Moon fairy tale) - that Ruby's role in all of this might not be entirely her own choosing. If we look at the narrative as a whole, we can see Oscar and Oz are constantly symbolized by the sun while Ruby is symbolized by the moon. Their fight, however, is against Salem who is associated with darkness, or more specifically, the night. In Jinn's vision, she says that "In time, (Salem) would find her adversary" and we're shown Oz's face... before he walks off screen and reveals Ruby standing behind him. The sun and day don't get rid of the darkness of night. They just chase it away in an eternal game of cat and mouse.

"How do I destroy Salem?" "You can't."

...but the moon? The moon is a reflection of the sun that lights up that darkness. A literal beacon of hope. Oscar standing between her and the moon is just another layer to him trying to shield her from her responsibility and her fate. The reflection is to show that Ruby is a mirror for that light, and that no matter what she does or where she goes, it will always be a part of her.

Oscar's tears are - of course - about the suffering they face... but they're specifically coming from a place of sadness and frustration. No matter how much he wants to shield her from this, he knows he can't and is powerless to stop it. /thank you for coming to my TED Talk All in all though, you get an A+ for the analysis cause this was amazing and you got a large portion of it spot on. Thank you, again for taking the time and I genuinely don't know how to express how happy this made me 🥰💕

also @ma-lemons, i know you'll probably wanna see this xP

“Blind and the blinder breathed you in until the dawn I’ll tell you now, I won’t be back before I’m gone” x

It’s been 23 days since RWBY went on hiatus and I am still thinking about them.