#what a moment to be the magnus guy of the fandom

[anistarrose]

taz balance one-shot recs!

I've been meaning to make this post for a while now, so here we are! The majority of these are from the past three years or so, because I love a fandom classic as much as anyone, but I particularly want to shine a light on some gems from after the peak of traffic in the fandom tags! There are of course also exceptions that are older, though.

Also, April 19th-21st are Just Leave a Comment Fest, so please show these authors some love!! They're all so deserving!

a recipe for home by @journalofimprobablethings: Taako tries to cook for the first time since Glamour Springs. When things go awry, Lucretia is there to lend a hand.

Gen (Taako & Lucretia), 3.5k. Early B.O.B. era hurt/comfort centered around cooking, with a delicious dollop of sentimentality and dramatic irony on top.

Seven Times Magnus Burnsides Gave Someone A Hug + One Time He Received One by @barry-j-blupjeans: Magnus wasn't really any good at— at words. He was more of an action man. Or, y'know, a "I'll take this hit so you don't have to" man. Talking to someone about their feelings was all kinds of weird, so usually he just left the space for someone else to talk. And, well... Magnus wasn't good at words. But there's a few different ways to get his support across.

Mostly gen with some Magnulia, 8.6k. You've all heard of the classic 5 Plus 1, but obviously Magnus deserves a 7 Plus 1! I don't know how to describe it without spoilers other than being full of incredibly sweet, gentle takes on so many fraught or bittersweet moments. Super underrated, do give it a read.

Embrace the Dark by @ceilingfan5: Bookstore coworkers Kravitz and Taako get more than they bargained for when Taako tries to use his powers to fix Kravitz's migraine. But it's okay--it's an excuse for them to spend time together until one of them can nut up and ask the other out.

Taakitz, 8.9k. Modern with Superpowers AU! Super sweet interactions between Kravitz and Taako, paired with lots of fun background worldbuilding. And, of course, a very special grilled cheese sandwich.

Break This Heavy Chain by Punka_Writes: In the immediate aftermath of Story and Song, Barry Bluejeans could really use a hug.

Blupjeans and misc. platonic interactions, 2.3k. The absolute epitome of comfort food in written form, with excellent Barry characterization (and of course, he does get that hug)!

birds of a feather steal sweaters together by @holdmecloser-gandydancer: When you're a big, burly guy it seems that your clothes just become free reign for all your friends. Normally Magnus is a reasonable guy, but everyone has their limits.

Gen (IPRE crew), 1.9k. Starblaster era fluff! Everyone is written absolutely delightfully, and every time I read it I snort out loud at least twice.

Security by @ceilingfan5: Barry has finally made it--his incredible scientific discovery has landed him a huge fortune...and a lot of problems. The only good thing that's come of it, honestly, has been his bodyguard, Lup. (And the science. That's good also.) He's just gotta stay normal about how nice it is to have someone like Lup around, and also not perish by way of press circuit, and everything will be fine.

Blupjeans, 6k. Modern with magic AU from Barry's POV, featuring equal parts anxiety and pining. Also, it's straight-up extremely funny.

Lonesome Dreams by @jerreeeeeee: Taako wakes up one morning from a nightmare, fast fading. There was a guy in glasses, and they were… somewhere high up? Something terrible happened, but he doesn’t remember. He wakes up in a wagon he’s never seen before, but it has his name on it. There’s tons of food inside, more than he’d be able to afford. And he’s alone. Thinking back to the last thing he remembers is difficult. College? No, he’d graduated. Top of his class, obviously, he remembers that. But what- what happened after? Where is Lup?

Gen (Taako & Lup), 10.2k. Everything starts out the same, except Taako remembers Lup, even if not how she went missing, and it's incredibly underrated and full of phenomenal characterization. I won't spoil how things shake out, but it's a great emotional ride and I genuinely reread it all the time.

it's my party and I'll mope if I want to by @holdmecloser-gandydancer: Taako's birthday is just another Thursday. A detective and an old friend have a different idea.

Gen (Taako & Lucretia & Angus), 2.1k. Short and so sweet! Fics about voidfished!Taako's birthday never get old, and this is one of my absolute favorites. Nailing the angst-to-wholesome ratio.

Tedious Familiarity by @barry-j-blupjeans: Déjà vu. Noun. A feeling of having already experienced the present situation. A tedious familiarity. Barry Bluejeans woke up in a cave, fresh out of a pod filled with green goop, and saddled with an unsettling feeling that he had been here before. If you had asked forty-year-old Barry if he would follow instructions left by a talking coin, he probably would have asked you what type of drugs you were on. But, y’know, fifty… two? Fifty-one? How old was he? Fifty-two sounded right. But, y’know, fifty-two years old Barry didn’t really have that many other places to turn, so this couldn't be all that bad.

Gen, 4.1k. Missing scenes based off Barry's decade alone, written in such an effective style, where all the little details truly make it. Mandatory reading for fellow Barry angst enjoyers.

Angus McDonald and the Wonderland Escape Rooms by coppersunshine: When Angus gets grounded from detecting, to keep his skills sharp he becomes a patron of the Wonderland Escape rooms, run by Edward and Lydia, who quickly decide he's their new nemesis. To their surprise, Angus and the collection of weird adults he's accompanied by decide otherwise.

Gen (Angus & Edward & Lydia), 7k. Modern with magic AU, putting Edward and Lydia in the absolute funniest possible job, at which a little boy detective torments... and maybe, even gives them a chance to turn over a new leaf. I am of the opinion that Angus and the Wonderland twins have a criminally underexplored dynamic, and this fic gave me everything I wanted.

If the Sun and Moon Should Doubt by Punka_Writes: Merle Highchurch, on the brink of a bad decision.

Gen, 1.6k. Merle character study immediately before running out on his marriage. Truly the incredible characterization that Merle deserves; this was a fic that really ignited my love for him.

Greensleeves by @sgrumby: Kravitz has never seen a lich like this before, and he's seen a lot of liches. Merle is just trying to save the universe, thanks very much.

Gen (Kravitz & Merle), 2.2k. A unique and also absolutely genius Lich!Merle AU where Kravitz inevitably comes after him, and Merle is... well, the Peacemaker, of course!

[autismprotocol]

TMAGP Theory Board (S1 EP 7)

Dang that episode was a RIDE Hope everyone had a relaxing week because after the newest protocol episode I am screaming!! so lets get right to it

What Happened in Episode 7: Give and Take

Celia seems to know something about the powers with her references to the buried and the flesh in the opening conversation with Alice

Celia recognizes Chester's voice!! since the introduction of Celia's last episode, I wanted to see how she would react to hearing Chester and Norris and we got that in this episode. It's safe to say that Celia recognized Chester's voice as Jon. This piece of evidence makes me almost 100% sure that this Celia is the same Celia/Lynne from Archives

Jon is Back!!! after Chester's statement (more on that later) we learn that Sam has been getting emails from someone named Jon. He also mentions it in an internal email. This helps support the theory that Jon and Chester/FR3-d1 are fused somehow which is what I (and a lot of the fandom) have been thinking. This leaves me with a lot of questions how else can Jon communicate through FR3-d1 with the outside world? Are Martin and Jonah sentient as well? Also, my big question is if this is the first time Jon has been able to signal to the OIAR Staff or if he has been trying to get them to listen since he manifested in the world and Sam was the first one to notice him or is this his first attempt to make contact. I'm interested to learn more about how Jon will continue to influence Sam. I think he's either trying to warn Sam about the OIAR's true intention or is he looking for some way to escape FR3-d1 and needs Sam's help.

This week's statement involved a place called Hilltop Centre branch of the Oxford people's trust. if you were like me and my roommate all your lore alert bells started ringing the moment Hilltop was mentioned. for people who are new to the Magnus Universe Hilltop Road is a major location for avatars (usually web-aligned ones) and also was the childhood home to the desolation avatar Agnes Montague. Hilltop is a big deal in TMA. Hilltop Centre being located in Oxford also lines up nicely with where we know Hilltop Road is located. I'm interested to know if we will hear anything about the house at 105 Hilltop Road being student housing because if that is true then we can connect the statement giver Anya Villette From MAG 114 to being from protocol's world. if that's true there could be a way to get to the Archive Universe through the gap in reality (a wormhole that exists where the house was built) Anyways definitely will have to listen for any more mention of a place called Hilltop in Oxford 

Gwen was promoted by Lena to external liaison and is officially "In" It's time to learn the OIAR's secrets! after doing some research into the job title of external liaison it seems that Gwen is almost gonna be acting as a messenger between the OIAR and another party which is unclear at this time. my guess is it has something to do with Starkwell which was the private military contractor that was mentioned in Episode 4 but that's just a guess and me trying to fit in pieces that have not found a snug place in the lore yet. could be someone else (I'd love to hear your thoughts)

Remember our Buddy Klaus from Episode 4 who we thought was killed by Lena? turns out Klaus is still alive we learn through Gwen and Lena's conversation, that Lena was paid by someone to kill Klaus but failed.

Colin is more paranoid than ever! could be because of the eye or the institute but he does not want to be near technology right now.

Ooh boy that was a lot I'm still reeling from this episode so I'll leave it there for now. honesty I'm most stoked to hear Jon's back in the story and excited to see what role he'll play in Protocol.

Hope you guys have a wonderful week ask box and comments are always open and I'll be back next week for the episode 8 debrief/theory crafting

-Echo

[fishklok]

whatever i'm drunk, so here's my mtl gender hcs:

nathan: cis guy, but hasn't thought about it that much tbf. mostly he/him, but okay with they/them or it/is in some contexts, especially when it makes him sound cooler

pickles: trans guy (it's a very important hc to me -- first popular transmasc hc in any fandom that didn't make me uncomfortable with the portrayals lol). he/him

skwisgaar: doesn't fuck with labels that much. people could say "so you're nonbinary?" or "so you're a gnc man?" or "so you're agender?" etc and he'll just be like "ja" to all of them. regardless of label, he's still gonna bone your mom. he/they mostly.

murderface: cis guy, but has thought about it a lot more than he's comfortable disclosing. maybe there's something about his need to protect his masculinity. maybe his need to draw attention to his own genitalia is his way of protecting himself from any doubts lingering in his mind. but that would mean he's thinking about it too much and he can't have that. lots of overlap with his sexuality issues as well. he/him.

toki: cis guy who has thought a lot about it, but came back to the conclusion that he's cis. however, this only made him more comfortable being gnc. i mostly like this because he's like the opposite of murderface in that regard and i imagine that would piss him off lol. i like them being gender foils. toki has what murderface wants, but can never let himself have out of fear of what it may unlock within him instead. no pronoun preference.

charles: cis guy. i have nothing else. navigating his sexuality is all the gender-related turmoil he can handle at the moment. he/him

magnus: cis guy, but on the topic of gender his reaction would probably be something like "yeah i would have fucked with he/they if i knew about that in my 20s, but i'm an old man now" and then he sighs sadly. he/him

melmord: i don't even know if i should put "cis" before guy. who even knows anymore. i don't even know if he uses labels. his gender is whatever gender it takes to close this deal. i did draw him post-phallo tho, but idk what his exact identity would be. he/him or they/them.

blues devil: agender (if you have to apply a label). i already wrote a lot about how their gender works since they're basically a manifestation of a piece of musical folklore. they/he

salacia: similar situation to the blues devil, but cool ranch flavor instead of nacho cheese

[ungodly-amounts-of-godly-trauma]

wotw round 1

propaganda under the cut!

jonathan sims:

He literally eats people's trauma and makes them relive it every night and also intentionally made a number of people mad and everybody's all 'don't hurt the poor boi.' They even go so far as to hate the characters who yell at him like Melanie for being mad but when he's mad it's fine because his life is just so hard.

the fandom takes his very complex character and boils him down to "stupid" or ignores any wrong he's done in favor of viewing him as wholly good when that's literally against the point of the story

kokichi ouma:

This is more of a fandom problem, as the actual game doesn’t woobify him. The woobifying has a lot of reasons, such as his true motivations being for the sake of ending the killing game, his motive video and even some inconsistent writing with how others treat him (not gonna get into that bc this poll ain’t about it) the fandom started treating him as someone who was unfairly hated by the cast, someone selfless who had no other choice to do the awful things he did, which…

It is completely normal to hate the guy who claims to like the KILLING GAME you’re all in, said guy who is not only rude all the time, but also later on manipulated one of the kinder characters into murder. Just because Kokichi intended to end the murder game doesn’t mean that the cast should have somehow GUESSED that he’s some good guy who’s coping, and they shouldn’t have to forgive him even if that was true. Kokichi had plenty of other choices, he chose to sacrifice two people for his and his plan’s sake, especially because he makes sure to rub it in in the most cruel way possible to the person he manipulated.

More than anything, though, is how a lot of fan work make him so…bland. Where is his flavor? Where is the little shit liar that I love? What happened to the guy who is an incredible manipulator who perfectly manages to masquerade his true feelings over the situation? Why do so many fan works defang him and make him bad at lying the moment someone asks if he’s sad? That’s not my boy. His whole character is confusing the player with lies and his intentions.

[kirkfall]

all the way to the graveyard

fandom: the mortal instruments / shadowhunters (mix of book and show lore)

pairing: alec lightwood/magnus background, mostly just alec and jace being good parabatai and good brothers.

summary: Clary and Jace are a mess when they stumble out of the swirling image of the lake. It’s unclear who’s holding up who at first—they’re both covered in blood, clothing torn in various places. There’s a bloody seraph blade clutched in Jace’s other hand. Panic and fear flood through him—Jace’s panic and fear. He wouldn’t be this scared if he was worried about himself—at the very least, he wouldn’t let Alec in enough to feel it.

length: ~2k

Alec can’t breathe. Oxygen feels like something so far removed from him, so far out of his reach that he’s not sure he ever had it in the first place. He’s vaguely aware of a hand on his shoulder, another latched onto his arm, and voices around him. But that, too, is so distant that he can’t even recognize them.

Their breaths and their heartbeats and their souls were supposed to be one and the same. How the fuck is he supposed to keep breathing?

It doesn’t hurt. Alec feels nothing—his body and his mind and his soul are numb, and somehow it’s worse this way. God, Alec wishes he could say that it still hurt. That the pain was so great that he couldn’t stand it, that the phantom pain lingered and ached and reminded him, that all he could do was lay on the floor of the Institute and scream. It should hurt. It should hurt.

Alec can’t move. Alec can’t breathe.

Alec can’t feel.

“I need—” His own voice surprises him; he hardly recognizes it, more breathless and strained than he’s felt in his life. “We need to know if Valentine’s succeeded.”

The hand on his shoulder squeezes. It’s Magnus—whose face appears in front of him, brows knit and his lips pressed together tightly. “Alexander—”

“Help me up,” he says. When Magnus doesn’t move, he looks back at Izzy—she’s still sitting on the floor behind him, gaze unfocused and far away. Alec wants to do the same, but he knows that someone has to step up and take charge, and it’s not going to be the Clave. He’ll make damn sure of that. “Magnus, I have to find them before Valentine can get—just—help me up.”

He knows how this sounds. How they know that Jace is dead, how Alec needs to just move on and focus, but he is focused. He’s focused on finding Clary. Focused on finding Jace. Focused on finding Valentine and making him pay for hurting his family. 

No one in his family is getting hurt again—not if he can do something about it.

Magnus stares at him for another moment, maybe looking to the rest of the Institute like he’s debating whether it’s worth it to argue this. But Alec’s going to do this whether he has help or not, and Magnus isn’t the kind of guy who just abandons a person because he doesn’t agree with them. They’re both firmly aware of these facts. They also both know what will happen if Valentine succeeds. Alec sees pain and understanding in Magnus’ eyes. He sees grief. He sees anger.

So when Magnus says, “fine,” and shifts to help Alec stand, neither of them are surprised.

“How many patrols does the Clave have outside of Alicante?” Getting to the table, even with help, is one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do. He lets it and Magnus support his weight—if he’s going to do his job, he’s going to have to be okay with needing help. At least for now. “Tell the Clave to direct all of them, every single one, to the Lake now.” He looks up at the Shadowhunters bustling around the Institute—most are grabbing weapons, buckling on gear, preparing for travel and preparing for battle. “We are not letting Valentine get away again.”

“I’ll get clearance to open a Portal.” Magnus says next to him, though he doesn’t move from where he stands at Alec’s side—one hand still on his back, the other on his arm.

Alec shakes his head. “Just do it.” he says. “I’ll deal with the Clave when—” his voice catches in his throat. When I know that Clary and Jace are safe. he thinks. When I know that they’re alive. The words don’t come. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to say it—Magnus knows. He nods, squeezing Alec’s bicep with a soft okay. Magnus turns, raising a hand, and—

At the end of the hallway, reality snaps and tears open. The Institute looks up as one entity; the grind of metal echoes and fills the room as weapons are drawn and a Portal opens.

Magnus’ grip on Alec’s arm becomes painful—he barely hears Izzy’s sharp inhale behind him as his vision tunnels. 

Clary and Jace are a mess when they stumble out of the swirling image of the lake. It’s unclear who’s holding up who at first—they’re both covered in blood, clothing torn in various places. There’s a bloody seraph blade clutched in Jace’s other hand. But it becomes glaringly obvious when Jace looks up and meets his eyes. Panic and fear flood through him—Jace’s panic and fear, it’s a fucking miracle that he’s feeling it at all. He wouldn’t be this scared if he was worried about himself—at the very least, he wouldn’t let Alec in enough to feel it.

The Portal shatters behind them, raining down on their heads like a city of broken glass.

It breaks the spell over the entire Institute, and Alec pays no mind to the voices calling after him as he pushes away from the table. He blinks and finds himself at the end of the hall—Alec reaches forward to take their combined weight, whatever weakness and exhaustion he was feeling before completely forgotten. He doesn’t see any obvious sign of injury on his brother, but the panic is still there. What is he missing? What didn’t he see?

“Clary needs help,” is the first thing out of Jace’s mouth.

Right. That’s what he’d forgotten. Alec was so focused on making sure Jace was alive that he’d completely overlooked the lack of someone driving him up a fucking wall. He gives Jace’s arm a quick squeeze, then reaches into his pocket for his stele. There’s a nasty gash on her head, still bleeding profusely—he’s not too worried about that part, though. He’s more worried about the lack of consciousness, the lack of a response when he wipes some of the blood away.

Maybe she’s an annoying little shit, but she’s their annoying little shit. And Alec was just starting to think… maybe they weren’t close, and barely even friends, but maybe they could be.

She’s fine, he tells himself. They’re both fine.

Alec is already tracing over the iratze on her neck. On her wrist he draws a second Mark—it slows the bleeding, at least, which pulls a relieved sigh out of Jace. “Did she run face-first into a sword? What happened?”

“Well, she didn’t,” Jace says, expression all screwed up. He immediately notices the look on Alec’s face, and shakes his head. Some kind of joke that he apparently doesn’t plan on explaining—but does he really need to? Alec remembers the pain, the feeling of emptiness, the nothing. It’s not a good realization. “I think Valentine tried to bash her face in with a rock.”

He just stares. “You think?”

“I don’t know, Alec.” Jace says, forcing out a breath. “It’s a little fuzzy. It was—there was a lot going on, man.”

Alec thinks that’s probably the understatement of the fucking century. “I felt—I thought you were—”

Jace knows what he’s talking about. “One of ‘em got me pretty good. I guess in the end I’m just a better Shadowhunter than them—can’t blame them for trying, but you know me. I’m just built different.”

”By the fucking Angel.”

“And by that I mean I’m not a demon.” Jace adds. “Just in case you didn’t already know. In case it needed clarification—Valentine’s not my father, and he didn’t inject creepy crawlies in my blood. We were, uh—what’s the word?” He pauses while they haul themselves up as a semi-cohesive unit. Shadowhunters scramble to get out of their way, shooed off and threatened by Magnus and Izzy. He’d forgotten they were there. “Oh. Right. Bamboozled, Alec. We were befuddled.”

“You were bamboozled.” Alec corrects him. “I always knew. Your sense of humor was too good to come from Valentine.”

Jace chuckles breathlessly. “You know it.”

It’s not until they’ve left Clary with Magnus and Izzy that Alec realizes he’s shaking. He’s sitting outside the Institute’s infirmary, leg bouncing mercilessly as he leans forward with his head buried in his hands. He can’t stop it, he can’t stop the shivering of his hands no matter how hard he grips his hair, can’t stop his stomach from churning at the waiting and the waiting and the waiting.

They’d kicked him out the fifth time he asked Jace if he was sure he was fine. He’s starting to debate barging in and asking again.

“You’re gonna rip your hair out.” Jace’s voice rings from overhead. Alec lifts his head to see him leaning against the closed door, one foot propped against it. He’s still holding his seraph blade in a death grip. Almost like he’s scared to put it down. He’s guarding the door—it’s something he sees whenever Izzy’s in there, or hears about when he is. Jace likes to pretend no one knows he’s doing it, despite how unnecessary it is.

What the hell happened to them out there?

“Sorry, mom,” he says. Alec straightens his back. “Clean bill of health?”

Jace snorts. “Told him you’d ask.”

“I meant Clary.” Alec defends.

“Sure you did,” Jace says. “I’m going to pretend that’s at all plausible, and you’re going to pretend you meant it, and we’re all going to sit here and be liars together. And that’s what I call family bonding.”

God, he’s insufferable. Alec is really fucking glad to see him.

“Speaking of family bonding—Valentine?” Alec drops his hands in his lap and leans back in his chair. “Is he dead?”

“Do you seriously think I was gonna let him live?” Jace asks, eyebrows shooting up. “There was no chance he was getting away again. Not after—not after everything.” Everything. Even that one word, the one word that covers all of it, doesn’t seem like it’s enough to describe the bullshit that Valentine had put them through.

“So you killed him.” 

“Nah.” Jace grins. “Clary did.”

He must look as shocked as he feels, because Jace laughs—the bastard laughs at him. “No, seriously. He was already dead when I got there—I made sure it stuck, though.”

Alec can imagine. “And then, what? Clary made a Portal and you came back? He didn’t have any guards? Nothing? The rest of the Circle just let you leave?”

“Pretty much.” Jace flips his blade and wipes Nephilim blood on his pants. Alec’s insides twist at the thought of who it could have belonged to. Was it Valentine’s? Was it Jace’s? And what about the blood that stained his hands and his arms when he appeared? Who did that belong to? “You know that thing where kidnappers let you go because of how amazing you are?” Jace asks, turning to look at him.

Alec frowns. “I’m pretty sure it’s annoying.”

“Yeah,” Jace grins, clapping Alec’s shoulder. “They were pretty upset about it, too.” Alec opens his mouth to say something, but the look on his brother’s face says do not engage. The smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes; he tries to force it, but Alec knows better. Alec knows him. Usually, a little probing is enough to get him to open up, but Jace isn’t going to talk about this—no  matter how much he pushes. He’s not ready. 

So Alec won’t ask again, this time—he’ll leave that particular question alone for now. Until he’s ready. Until they’re both ready.

”Jace,” he starts. When Jace turns to look at him, a question on his lips, no words come out. He can’t speak. He swallows, shifts his weight, and suddenly the confusion turns to concern.

“Alec?” Jace is standing next to him, all of a sudden, a hand on his shoulder and one on his arm. His hands are warm, because he’s alive. He’s alive, and Alec chokes on the sob he’s been holding in. “Alec, what’s wrong?” Jace asks, panicked.

He just yanks Jace in for a tight hug.

“Alec, I’m fine,” his brother’s laugh is a little weak, and Alec can feel the concern rippling through him. Neither of them really know what the hell is going on here, except they both sort of do.

“I know,” he says. “I know.”

[decepti-thots]

for character ask: swerve!!!

First impression: oh, a funny little guy. cool ig!

Impression now: I always like Swerve much more than I remember when I come back to canon. I actually find the fanonization of Swerve one of the most egregious examples in the fandom, often overlooked. Swerve can be quite abrasive, even mean! He is often careless and unthinking and even kind of cruel at times (think about Ten). These all make his character as the very isolated person unable to reach out and make lasting social connections far, far more interesting! And they are very often real responses to poor self-esteem. That fandom tries so hard to sand off his less pleasant characteristics so often is disappointing to me for this reason.

Favorite moment: This might sound weird: the very end of the Hedonia issue, when you realise no, he does not know Blurr. It's understated enough in execution that instead of seeming too much, it's just… legitimately this really sad thing about him as a character, that he's so without sincere relationships in his life that this is what he's resorting to in an attempt to feel like he does have that. Especially following that missed-connection moment a couple pages earlier where Magnus fails to notice his overture of friendship, it just hits right. Really great character moment.

Idea for a story: God I wish we'd had a real hijinks filler issue of just him and Anode on some ridiculous shaggy dog story of an adventure. Comedy gold right there. Would absolutely read twenty odd pages of them doing stupid shit together and pranking each other and whatever else. Something should blow up and they should be accompanied by yackety sax music, metaphorically speaking, the whole time.

Unpopular opinion: I come down on the side of actively disliking any attempt to making Swerve/Blurr a thing. Swerve's parasocial relationship with Blurr is unhealthy and that fact is important to his arc. He doesn't know Blurr. He once briefly spoke to a celebrity he made a version of in his head that fulfilled a fantasy that bears no relationship to reality; his finding genuine friends to replace that and grow gets undermined if you then actually put them together in any kind of legitimate interpersonal relationship, IMO. Swerve is not a cute fanboy of Blurr's, he's someone so deeply depressed that he will latch onto any unhealthy coping mechanism he can get! That's the whole point, y'know?

Favorite relationship: I really like the Swerve-Tailgate-Rewind little minibot group actually. They all bounce off each other in ways that are so fun, it just works. Swerve and Tailgate especially are great because both of them are little insecure assholes in ways that are fun as hell to watch when put up against each other; they're very well suited to their friendship!

Favorite headcanon: Swerve has genuinely tried to give Minimus pointers on making jokes- at Minimus' very awkward request, in fact. It went as atrociously as you would expect.

[septicrodent]

Nine People You'd Like to Know Better

Tagged by @thana-topsy (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡

3 Ships

1. Saath Fevador/Erandur/Ralis Sedarys/Revyn Sadri - Boy am I starting strong with polyamory (anyone else seen this in the elder scrolls fandom? What am I saying, there's loads.) This ship consumed my every waking moment. I NEED to get their stories written. (And it's a long one, too.) Although the group isn't all madly in love (Revyn and Ralis I'm looking at you two) they've all got someone up their ass one way or another.

2. Neloth/Talvas - guys can you tell I have a young man/older man thing going on here? Do I need help? These two don't consume much of my mind but they do consume my... er... art gallery... Oops.

3. Ulfric stormcloak/galmar stone-fist - fight me. They're in love. I can *smell* it all the way from Windhelm's gates.

First ship

Omg honestly I can only take a wild guess and say phone guy X fritz smith (fnaf) 💀💀💀

currently reading

Flipping between skyrim's histories, glass houses and tales of Magnus and prime

Last film

I actually can't remember, I rarely watch films.

Currently craving

I crave many things. Boba tea, baked potatoes, and uh... old men

I tag: @marsupialcreations @kafeicik @apollinariafh @snowy-weather @sheirukitriesfandom @thedragonandthesnake-comic @the-sunlit-earth @weirdisme (I think you might have already posted this I forgor)

[silenthillmutual]

my buddy @doomednarrative tagged me in a fic writer's ask game so ^_^ let's do this!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

on my current account i have 154. being unemployed and hypomanic during lockdown will do that to you.

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

895,907. i can't tell if that's a normal distribution for my fic count or not.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

at the moment: silent hill, bloodborne, and pathologic. most of what i have up there is for pathologic. i've got other fandoms up there though.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

eight, thirty-one - 1899 kudos (danganronpa)

to quote mika, age 35, of beirut, lebanon: "where have all the good (gay) guys gone?" - 1066 kudos (danganronpa)

(they long to be) close to you - 1021 kudos (mob psycho 100)

all jotaro wants for christmas is kakyoin (and he screws that up) - 810 kudos (jojo's bizarre adventure)

anticlimax - 796 kudos (danganronpa)

5. Do you respond to comments?

i've responded to most comments i've gotten, though it's always months late because i tend to read the e-mail first thing in the morning, head to work, and completely forget to respond. responding feels more personal. i know i'd be more likely to comment on someone's fics if i knew they appreciated it, so i try to make the effort, even if i struggle to know what to say.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

god this is old as hell but probably life in technicolor/the end of all things. they're life is strange style aus for one punch man and genos dies at the end of one of them, and at the end of the other the city is destroyed. the fics are connected, but i won't say how.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

so tired, so tired, my heart and i (pathologic) is probably the sappiest i've ever written a fic so i'm guessing that one!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

occasionally. i got transmisogynist hate for when you finally get inovlved, face to face for writing chihiro as a trans girl, and it made me stop writing for danganronpa altogether. i got a guest user on some burakhovsky nsfw i posted (idr which one) who said "jesus christ, tag your trans shit". and someone who went off on me years ago called vita in motu (pathologic) "borderline mpreg" and they very much meant it derogatorily. so if i seem a lil paranoid about interacting w people there's a reason why lol.

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

i do! i actually write more smut than i post because i am not showing everyone my oc/canon smut. like some friends will be able to see it but i'm not brave enough to show the whole world that. also a lot of au smut recently that has no context and i'm not posting it to ao3 without context.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

i did moreso in the past than currently. we're not gonna talk about the craziest one though<3 love and light

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nah. i've had people write fic very inspired by stuff i've written but not copy-and-paste stolen, to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

people have asked but as far as i know it never happened. always thought it would be cool!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes!! w my buddy dj :) also published rps in the past that i shaped up into fics.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

mulder/scully is The Ship Of All Time to me. the blueprint.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

oh there's a few!!

a rebel without a case rewrite that i started because i wanted to fix what i saw as timing issues in the film.

an akira/mob psycho 100... crossover? au? both? i had some real ideas for that one but it's not going anywhere

a silent hill au for mob psycho 100 that apprently someone was interested in enough to try and make their own while referencing mine. it was an audience participation fic and i'm honestly upset that i lost steam on this one because it was a lot of fun!

a magnus archives statement from artemy burakh. the idea behind that one was that he saw daniil die, and then be replaced by another actor... but artemy's the only one who noticed the different actor.

literally dozens of pathologic fics that i have started like you have no idea just how much i have started for that stupid game.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i'm not sure! my partner says i do vagueness well, and the unease that comes with that. i think i do decent at introspection in general

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

action for sure. i tend to do better with thought than with action, so i can write really long scenes where absolutely nothing hapens. kind of an issue!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i don't really do it because i only know like...extremely basic german and i feel it'd be a disservice to other languages to just google translate. i will occasionally describe characters using sign, but again... not knowing it, i don't feel comfortable just saying shit, you know?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i wrote something like fanfic as a like, eight year old? for a book series i can no longer remember. but for first published fanfic it was either bones or soul eater. those fics might still be out there, who knows!

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

i don't really have one! i'm still really proud of o tempora, o mores (pathologic), vita in motu (pathologic), and my mind has changed my body's frame (bloodborne) <- less sure of that one bc not much feedback but y'know!

who shall i tag.... @stvlti, @brodyliciousbooty, @loudmound, @go-go-devil, @shogoakuji and anyone else who writes, consider yourself tagged :P !

[monroeknoxwrites]

taagnus!!!!!!

okay back when I first listened to taz balance, taakitz dominated the taako ship sphere on here. tbh I'm a fan of both but it was a downer to find only crumbs for this very obvious ship to me. it made so much sense!!

after many years away from the fandom, it's great to see a more robust tag!

(a small caveat: I haven't listened to the first season in years so my characterizations here might be a slightly off. it's what I feel in the moment)

what do I say about these two? I think they enable a lot of stupidity in each other while simultaneously touching on their shared loneliness, on the surface for magnus (his wife) and subconsciously for taako (you know what I mean🌂). taako puts on a whole song and dance of just having fun, humoring magnus, "okay you can cuddle me but if I wake up sweaty I will blast you big guy". magnus, the more romantically inclined part of this tango, plays along. he knows what's up and taako knows he knows. they just don't say anything Big or Important about what they're doing until close to the climax

they can be cute, stupid, sincere, a little freak4freak, maybe public pet name menaces to pester merle

ship bingo asks

[tagedeszorns]

I can't believe I'm doing this ...

I found this neat nugget on my doorstep.

Edit: At this post, to be precise. Just for context.

Well, @beril66. Okay. Normally I'm the nice explainer-bear in this part of the woods, answering even the strangest questions in a friendly and detailed way. Normally I'm the damned Credible Hulk who even feeds trolls with lore until they are round and peaceful or at least waddle away into the wilderness again after the winter feeding to survive the frost period …

But this … this is beyond my boiling point!

Listen, you clown - you come traipsing into my blog, obviously didn't even bother to look at the last three posts, obviously don't even know who Saqqara is and therefore don't see the irony behind letting a diabolist explain the world - and instead of just keeping yourself nice and closed, you throw up something like your comments on my living room carpet? What went wrong in your childhood?

But you know what? I just can't help it. I should end this text here, block you back under your bridge and go back to drawing naked Astartes. But instead, once again, I can't get out of my skin and feel the urge to reply.

I can't say now that you give me much to work with. Nothing but "No, it's not like that, I think it's great and you're stupid". That's not exactly the level at which I usually discuss Warhammer - but I'll make it work.

So: If you had looked at my blog even superficially you would know that I like TTS. I am therefore looking at it with a very friendly eye. The fact that I'm not upset about the portrayal of my absolute favourite characters Lucius and Fabius should give you the additional hint that I have no problem at all with something I like being made fun of. But I am not wearing the ultimate fanboy-blinders and am able to keep my distance and can therefore say that I do not find both Magnus and Dorn portrayed "in character". Extensively readable in the Heresy novels (for Dorn and Magnus, by the way, many of the characterisation gems here can be found in the later anthologies. Which explains a lot of the mistakes in TTS, as not much of it had been released yet when they started their project and set the characters. So the creators couldn't know any better. The fact that angry fans are now shitting their incendiary speeches at my feet here is of course then rather unreflective. But I can't blame Alfabusa and the team for that. You don't choose your fans). That you conclude from this that I think the Emperor is great and am humourless is in itself extremely amusing. But you're probably right.

He's the best. I aspire to be like him. Also, please educate yourself about the difference between "well written" and "being a good guy". Because the Emperor is well written in a lot of cases, he just isn't a good guy.

For me, TTS is not the problem. It's people like you who obviously don't want to delve further into the subject matter, but turn memes into canon. No one needs to have read every scrap of lore. I myself am very selective in what I read and I know far too little. Learning new things, changing my mind accordingly - that's a big part of the fun I have in fandom. I allow myself the luxury of challenging my fan-ness with books and opinions that don't line up with mine. At best, I'm even wrong and can add something new to my private Warhammer treasure chest.

I recommend you do the same. Don't stop where you are, read the books. Realise that, contrary to what you seem to believe at the moment, they are not humourless and unreflective, but on the contrary have wit and irony in many shades (quite a few of those shades are called "sledgehammer", but that counts too!).

Now that was severely abbreviated, but I'm tired of it.

Run, little troll! Run, you are free!

[sarumans]

hello friends! i am realizing i've been on this site for over 12 years (insanity!!!) and some of you have been following me for that long and some of you are new so i thought i'd do an intro post.

i go by wren (they/them/he/him) late 20s, "canada". i’m a queer little guy with 1000 mental illnesses.

if you're like who tf is this guy and why am i following them, you may know me by one of my previous urls including ianthetridentariyes, lordgimli, exquisitebowties (of those i remember and actually used for more substantial amounts of time).

what you'll see here is mostly the locked tomb, stormlight archive/cosmere, hannibal, avatar: the last airbender, lord of the rings, the magnus archives, the adventure zone, baldurs gate... i’m sure there's more but those are the main ones at the moment. plus non-fandom silliness of course. i do try to tag fandom stuff because i know some of you aren't interested in things and want to mute them.

if you post lots of these things i'd love to follow you!

not sure what else to say here but i hope you enjoy your experience at sarumans :)

[fiyaerrigan]

Ooh, fun options! 7, 8 and 25 please!

re: this FUUUUUUUUCK. SHIT. I swear I had opinions on these when I reblogged this post, lmao. Time to dredge up the remnants of them with my horrible memory. Oh! Also I'm answering this re: Shadowhunters? I felt the need to specify that, lol. Anyways, if you're reading this and disagree with me please be kind and choose to respond in a way that facilitates dialogue instead of discourse? pleasepleasepleeeeease I am so weak i am begging you

---

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

IIRC, I started reading SH fic before I watched the actual show, for some reason? (i think I wanted to, like, not get absorbed in the source material and have a Brand New Fandom to deal with. That totally worked out for me, lmao) Anyways, fic!Maryse and fic!Clary are two completely different characters when it comes to canon versus fandom treatment of them (IMO at least) which is valid! Everyone has their own interpretations of stuff! But I definitely got whiplash when it came to watching the show and getting pure ~vibes~ from fic alone.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

THAT ALEC IS BAD AT COOKING BECAUSE OF THE STEW SCENE. ALEC FOLLOWS DIRECTIONS. HE FOLLOWS THE RECIPE. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE HE FUCKED UP ON THAT PART. ALEC IS STUBBORN. HE WILL DO SHIT UNTIL HE IS GOOD AT IT (see: archery training etc). HE KEEPS WORKING AT IT AND HE IMPROVES, MAGNUS SAYS SO! HE IS NOT INHERENTLY A KITCHEN NIGHTMARE LIKE IZZY (MY QUEEN, WHO I HC as maybe getting a little too ~experimental~ in her culinary endeavors but she's passionate! And stubborn! And that's what counts, damn it!) BUT IF HE'S FOLLOWING THE RECIPE OF SOMETHING AND THE RECIPE SUCKS, HE'S GONNA GET SUCKY FOOD!!!

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

POINT THE FIRST That Magnus was in the wrong for breaking up with Alec over the Soul Sword Disaster! Guys, he had valid reasons and the stakes were HIGH!!!! To me it definitely came across as a "I don't want to do this but I *have* to do this" type situation, especially with how he acted after the breakup was said and done. Like, Alec and Magnus each had their own reasons for doing what they did, but Magnus' reasoning of "oh shit we're at war and this could mean the death of my people" isn't somehow less valid because the initial decision to break up was perhaps a bit in-the-moment.

POINT THE SECOND Fandom getting pissy over show!Alec having hazel eyes, to the point where they insist that show!'verse (fic) Alec must have blue eyes. Like, I get that in the books there's a *whole thing* about Alec having blue eyes, but that's not the same universe!

Eyes are just eyes and no one can control the eye color they get at birth, but (by creating characters that have a certain eye color and then going out of the way to refer to these characters as attractive or draw attention to their eyes specifically) media creates this sort of forced importance of something that's literally completely up to chance IRL, which then IMO bleeds out into fandom via an insistence to, like, reinforce the importance of that feature via literally changing the canon so that it represents one bodily feature over another.

(also recently learned that tumblr, being tumblr, apparently has a thing about "if you have blue eyes then you're [insert negative trait here] and no! that is not what I am saying! my whole thing I'm trying to convey is about letting body features be body features and not a signifier of something else!!!!!!)

[samabigailalan]

Hi!!!

For the alphabet ask: A, L, M, and R, please! :)

Thank you! ☺️

A. Ships that you currently like a lot, OTPs, friendships, pairing, threesomes etc.

Ok, so I ship a lot of people, sometimes it’s because there cannon, sometimes it’s because I just think it would be interesting dynamic and some of them just fall into the category of ‘I saw this one moment between them and it defiantly speaks of history.’

I’m sticking to sanctuary because otherwise this would go on forever 😄

My favourites currently are John/helen- because I’m and old romantic and they started off so lovely and soft and so perfect and it’s just so sad how it ends, like the love is still there but it won’t ever be what it was.

Nikola/helen- these two are just incredible together, nikola infuriates everyone and pushes the world away and Helen isn’t immune but she can see through it all as well, she has known him for so long, knows what he is behind all the ego and arrogance, it may have taken her a while to realise she loved him but for nikola he loved her from the second he saw her, loved her mind, loved her ambition, he loved how so very different she was, he saw a kindred spirit, even if he didn’t know how to voice it at the time.

The others I’m currently obsessed with are John/james- they have history, they really do, (I think I giffed the one moment that made me explode for the them as a pairing, the bit where they are trying to retrieve source blood and John squeezes James shoulder) there is love there, it’s just that their time didn’t allow for it.

John/james/helen- again love, just a whole lot of love going on between all three, I adore Helen and James as a pure friendship as well, it’s still built on love.

Helen/kate- because I just love the two characters and think it’s interesting, but I also love them as found family when the mood takes me.

And a rather knew one is Kate/Will- those two would be interesting, a thief a cop, it’s a good trope and she’s sassy and he’s goodie goodie, they would be so good together and I just mull that idea over a lot lately.

Sorry for the essay so far, I like to ramble.😅 the next few will be short.

L. Say something genuinely nice about a character that isn’t one of your faves.

Umm Erika, she seems like she’s good fit for Henry and she’s all bad ass being a HAP, especially when she gets angry.

M. Name a character that you’d like to have as a friend.

Helen magnus hands down! You would never be bored with her as a friend, I don’t think it would always be easy but shes the kind that treasures her friendships, plus I would love to get a chance to look through her library.

R. Which friendship/ platonic relationship is your favourite in the fandom.

I love Big guy and Kate, they’ve both done things there not proud off and know where the other is coming from in that regard. They have an understanding. It also took a while for Biggie to warm up to Kate and I love seeing their friendship grow.

Thanks again for asks ❤️❤️

[ask-shu-todoroki]

Here's your permission to talk about your MLP character hyperfixations

go on now

Do I just rattle off who's on my mind right now? Well, okay, lemme think... XD

King Sombra - Currently the most pressing hyperfixation at the moment because I want to write a redemption arc for him. I honestly think he was done dirty by the series and he should've been given the Discord treatment instead of being revived in Season 9 only to be killed off. Kind of a waste, don't you think? Also he's extremely hot and I cannot help but simp for his majesty aaaaa

No seriously look at him and tell me if you're a man you don't immediately question your sexuality

Soarin - He just has a really cool design and looks like a really cool and chill dude. Can do no wrong and his voice is really cool too. Kind of gives off California surfer dude vibes and although he's second-in-command he's way more chill than Spitfire. I wish he had more speaking roles tbh because we just need more of this man instead of him being a weird side/background character hybrid. Like people know who he is but he only speaks in like, three episodes???

Thunderlane - Okay, he's a background stallion and no one really cares about him and his brother Rumble and I didn't either until "Marks and Recreation." Like, he's a talented flyer but he can also cook? Where has this guy been all my life? His design is awesome and he looks like he'd be a confident boss type but from what I saw of him he's just as sweet as Soarin which is why they belong together don't @ me Idk how these people get his voice down perfectly but his voice fits so well aaaaa

Help his face in this image, just, gay panic

Shining Armor - He's like the only major male character in the series that appears frequently and I'm not mad at it, literally best husband and he probably speaks for all new fathers when he looks like he's losing his sanity in The Crystalling. Wait, does that make him a DILF???

Braeburn - He's not so much in my thoughts as other stallions but maybe he should, like he's a really cool and down to earth character and I can see why so many people in the fandom write him. Basically a Texas cowboy but ponified? How can you not like him hrrrr

Thorax - THE CINNAMON ROLLEST CINNAMON ROLL THERE EVER WAS

No really he's so precious and needs to be protected, can literally do no wrong, he helped take down his own queen like what an icon. He also never gave up on his brother who was kind of being a jerk to him and he's also the only leader who didn't get angry at Neighsay for being a racist. Definition of gentle giant in his metamorphized form

Sunburst - Initially I was kind of "eh" about him when he made his debut but I grew to like him as he made more appearances in the series. Probably the character who I can connect the most with, being socially awkward, wears glasses, and also smart? I can connect with him on a personal level and his wizard vibes despite not actually being a wizard are to die for aaaaa

Flash Sentry - Okay, hear me out, hear me out! I know no one likes him in the fandom but he genuinely seems like a nice dude, if his human form is anything to go by. Also we never really see what it's like to be a royal guard so why not go into more depth with him? He was supposed to play a bigger part in the series but he was axed due to the absolute vitriol that was thrown towards him from what I heard and it's really a shame.

You can't tell me he's not cute in this shot

Flash Magnus - He's as badass as he looks. No seriously he's just such a confident and awesome character that I love him so much. He also looks suspiciously similar to Flash Sentry so I have to wonder, are they related? Is Flash Sentry a descendant of Flash Magnus? Is this a possible fic idea? XD Also his red mane is just, chef's kiss

He looks like he's been through war and he's literally a living legend, what's not to love?

Rockhoof - Okay he gives me Thor vibes and Thor is hot so I think he is hot. The episode of him trying to find his place is the right mix of seriousness and comedy, like nothing in the modern world is made for someone that buff XD He and Thorax are gentle giants and I love them both pretty much, I can't choose between him and Flash as a favorite Pillar of Equestria XD

Okay after writing like a thousand words those are all of my hyperfixations at the moment when it comes to MLP, they live in my head rent free fighting for space with Cars, Planes, Mariah Carey, and Transformers

[ao3feed-jonmartin]

Its Not a Fashion Statement Its a Deathwish

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/ucMAmS9 by Lavilicious Clearly his body doesn’t heal like it used to, all his 10 still attached fingers attest to that! See—when he raises his hand and wiggles his pinky, there isn’t even an ache. (Jon still remembers the excruciating pain and the surprisingly horrifying ordeal of seeing his pinky reattach to his hand. Also, it’s not like the blood just disappeared…) Sooo, so, so, so! Jon thinks, if he can cut off his finger, no trouble, he absolutely should get a piercing with none of the things that kept him from getting more in the first place right? Right! What if you had the power to have perfectly healed piercings within seconds? And what if you are Head Archivist Jonathan Sims and need to cope with, honestly, everything at the moment. Words: 10937, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English Fandoms: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Martin Blackwood, Original Characters, mentioned Basira Hussain - Character, (More to Come!) Relationships: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Piercings, Ear Piercings, Description of piercing process, Needles, Eyebrow Piercings, Canon Compliant (In Spirit), Crack Treated Incredibly Serious, This guy is going through it, Suicidal Thoughts, Mental Anguish, Monsterhood - Freeform, gay stammering, Canon Typical Jon Mental State, But also, POV Outsider, partially, Magnus Institute IT Department, The Magnus Archives Season 4, Season/Series 04, Post-Episode e131 Flesh (The Magnus Archives), and onwards, This guy is getting so many piercings, to cope, Misuse of Beholding Avatar Powers (The Magnus Archives), specifically, Misuse of Eldritch Healing Powers, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Needs a Hug, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Practises-Actualization, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Has Self-Esteem Issues, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Lacks Self-Preservation Instincts, Not Britpicked, Author is not a native English speaker read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/ucMAmS9

[renthony]

would you drop a tier list of your most & least favorite tlovm characters and why? :) I love seeing new people get into it!

Oooooh, I don't have a tier template on hand, and trying to rank them in order sounds hard anyway, because I don't think there are any characters I don't like. So here are my thoughts about all the main party members, plus my favorite side characters!

Percy - My one true blorbo from this series. Baby boy gun man. Someone please hug him and let him take a nap. I have imprinted on him like a duckling. I technically finished my cosplay but I'm already working on plans for future upgrades. My husband also wants to figure out how to rig up an Orthax puppet/costume so he can loom over my shoulder in photos or at cons. Percy is my baby.

Vex - My WIFE. She's got the only brain cell in the party half the time, she's got a war bear, she's even bisexual (is that canon? idk if it's canon, but it's canon to ME!!! no one in this party is straight!!!!!!!) I don't know that I'd be quite as into Perc'ahlia just yet if I didn't know some of their endgame, but I fucking adore everything I've seen from their dynamic so far in season 2. They're adorable.

Vax - I didn't dislike Vax at first, but I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about him. He grew on me really fast, though! I fucking adore every interaction he has with Gilmore, his snark delights me, and I really love what's going on with him and the Raven Queen. I like death-associated characters and I like angst, and whatever's happening with him right now is ticking both those boxes.

Grog - He did exactly what Magnus Burnsides from the Adventure Zone did for me--I started off feeling kinda indifferent toward them both, because "generic smash-smash fighter dude" is usually boring to me, but there's just so much heart. He's funny, he's sweet, he's just so damn genuine. I'm worried about my guy Grog, man. Did he learn nothing from Percy's evil gun last season? GROG, PLEASE!

Pike - I love Pike. Her story with the Everlight in season one really hit me hard, and I think it's so cool to have a devout holy character who curses, drinks, fucks, and doesn't adhere to the "religious people are all stuffy, uptight bigots" stereotype. And her friendship with Grog gives me life, holy shit. I love them.

Keyleth - I ADORE Keyleth. Actual literal Disney princess. I've heard vague mutterings that she's got divisive appeal in the fandom, but I think she's really fun, and I like that she's still learning and figuring her shit out. I like that she's cute and sweet, and I think she really helps balance out the darker moments of the show. I also really appreciate that she gets to be cute and sweet and silly, but is still clearly an adult. She gets drunk, she swears, she isn't a naive infant. Too many kindhearted characters get treated as stupid or childish for it and it annoys me a lot.

Scanlan - I thought I was going to hate Scanlan. I am so tired of horny bards played by people who don't respect consent and think that comedy gives them a free pass to be a fucking asshole who pushes everyone's buttons. But Scanlan isn't that. Yeah, he's horny, and he's over-the-top, and sometimes he's abrasive--but he respects consent, he's not some dickhead macho guy trying to prove he's the most masculine in the room, and he's got a lot of depth to him beneath the snark. Season 2 Scanlan is genuinely breaking my fucking heart, because I want him to be happy so bad.

Gilmore - I fucking love him and want to see way more of him. I don't know if I want to fuck him or be him. He is the distilled essence of what I find aesthetically attractive in a man, and he's a flirtatious snarker, and he can do magic?! The only reason he's not my #1 fave is because that's how much I love Percy.

Sylas & Delilah - My bisexual ass wants to be in that evil sandwich. Goddamn. Also Delilah is totally valid, I would also do horrible crimes against nature to bring my husband back from the dead. She did nothing wrong. Yes I love Percy, yes Delilah did nothing wrong, I contain multitudes. She broke the world for him!!! SHE BROKE THE WORLD!!!! Evil twisted love, baby!!!!!!!

Allura - I was kinda meh on her at first but she's really growing on me in the new season. She's an exhausted put-upon sapphic with the only brain cell on the continent, bless her. I was glad to see she got out of the city.

So yeah! :D