#which says more about me than i think it does inigo

[sieglinde-freud]

oh im obsessed with this actually… who ever wrote this one i am kissing u on the forehead and hugging you real tight… inigo is such a loverboy im kkkhhhhhhijnsdnfng

[fantasiacafecat]

I noticed I didn't post any LGBTQ+ stuff or any Skyrim modded Follower content in more than a week. So why not make both right now?

Lgbtq+ headcanons with the Dovahkrew

These are Sexuality and romantic orientations not gender orientation headcanons. Sorry. These are also MY headcanons so if they don't match up with your headcanons it's not personal so please don't get mad at me. I am curious to see your headcanons as well though.

Inigo- Heteroflexible. He is most definitely interested in women and I always head canon that after the events of Skyrim he does settle down with the woman of his dreams who just happens to own a sweet roll shop. But I also feel like he would definitely point out a man's beauty. He seems like a very comfortable in his Sexuality kind of guy.

Lucien- Questioning Asexual Biromantic. He seems more interested in knowledge and learning other things than a relationship. And if someone did ask about his orientations then I feel like he wouldn't be able to answer that because he doesn't really try to experiment with romance of any kind.

Kaidan- Bisexual with maybe a fem preference (including feminine or men). I also see him as Pansexual because honestly I don't think he really cares about what gender his lover is.

Auri- Sapphic or Lesbian. I mean her creator basically made it Canon that she Prefers women.

Rumarin- Panflux 100%. Gender doesn't get in the way when it comes to any type of attraction to one another.

Vilja- I really only know her from a video of Inigo dialogue they have together. If I had to make a guess I would say she's straight or Pan, but I'm leading more into Straight.

Sofia- Bi with a big male preference.

Hoth- I really wish there were more videos and content on his commentary in Skyrim because I don't have him, but I'm interested him so much that I'd love to know more about his character. I feel like he doesn't use labels and gender isn't that much of an issue when it comes to love.

Taliesin- Pansexual. I mean come on its THE Talisman.

Gore (aka bby girl)- Questioning Omnisexual. It just feels right to me

Caryalind- I can't remember if rabbit said his sexuality was Demiromantic Asexual. I know he is Ace (or at least on the Ace spectrum) but I can't remember is they anything about being demi. I think he's Demiromantic.

Lucifer- Polysexual but I feel like he does have a male preference though I could be very very wrong. It's so funny because I play with him a lot on Skyrim but barely know anything about him. He holds grudges, he's very secretive (good on him because i would be too if i was in his situation), and he loves argonians. He seems to look up to Xelzaz and Inigo (and in some sense he does seem to be very enthusiastic when first meeting Nebarra until he realizes he doesnt like his personality) a lot which is what fueled my belief that he's maybe Achillean (Sapphic but for masculine terms instead of feminine).

Nebarra- I 100% believe that he refuses to use any labels. I think he might lean toward women a bit more, but that would only be because of how altmer are only raised to make the perfect child, so opposite sex relationships are probably the most common in the Summerset Isles. His fixation with Niranye and past relationship with Camia shows that. He doesn't seem Asexual because he doesn't hide the fact that he does enjoy the idea of doing the naughty naughty. His commentary on Dibella, Dibella Sybil quest, in the Night to Remember he says how he hopes we got to experience the Dibellan arts, and how he jokes about being Lucifer's father just prove that.

Xelzaz- Don't get mad at me, but I think he's straight. He says when hes ready he's like to marry a female argonian, and the only other time he's fallen I love was with another girl. I don't think he's asexual, but I think he definitely isn't very interested in it though we wouldn't really know because he seems very adamant on wanting to keep that part of his life private (as he should I love a king that doesn't feel like he has to tell us his sexual life).

Remiel- Asexual Panromantic. It was already proved Canon that she's Asexual. I had the conversation with her where she tells is she doesn't feel sexual feelings towards someone as she does with romantic feelings (also good on her. Not every relationship needs to have sexual desire in them). She's fallen in love with boys before and didn't seem too mad about being arranged to another man so I don't want to label her as Sapphic. And she does fall in love with you regardless of gender and I haven't seen anything that says she has a preference from the creator so I believe she's panromantic.

Secunda- I really don't know her that much yet as I'm still playing with her. First impressions is telling me panflux though I could be wrong though.

Extra!

Serana- Without the SDA. She always gave me Asexual Biromantic vibes.

Teldryn Sero- Haven't started A serious Teldryn mod yet so I don't know too too much about his personal preferences, but he seems like the type who doesn't really use labels. Though I'm positive he is Bisexual.

Karina- Panromantic Demisexual. It was confirmed by the one who made her @jewelthejaguar742

Arstul- Asexual Omniromantic with a male preference. Talked with @joonjii about it and it's confirmed. However, they also said he could be panromantic with a male preference too but they said my opinion was valid and technically right.

I might post sexuality headcanons for all my dragonborn and follower ocs

[ask-obt]

To anyone who can answer, does transitioning change your body physically? I have a Pikachu friend who recently realized that she's a girl, and she often wears a cover on the end of her tail to make it look like the tails of most other female Pikachus. Will her aura change her tail shape, or will she have to keep the tail cover?

Inigo: It changes some thing, like my body fat distributes differently across my body, especially around my face. Voice changes are another thing too, which is probably the most helpful for getting pokemon to recognize what gender you are. But the full extent of physical changes ends there for most species. Markings, fur or plumage length, limb shape, all stay the same. There are always different options for self-expression like dying your fur on the more minor end of things, or surgeries on the more extreme end.

Eilwyn: My head fins are still super short, but unless someone knows a lot about your species they might not even be able to tell... A lotta pokemon think I'm a girl because Milotics are apparently girl-shaped. Which they aren't actually because gender is only enforced by society and if we all went "gender isn't real anymore" one day then that'd be the end of gender which would be alright with me. But some pokemon like gender so I guess they should still be able to have gender if they want... What was I talking about again?

// and for the second part of this ask,

Anonymous asked: (I should clarify for my Pikachu ask that it is not in reference to any real people, but it is instead in reference to my Gates team. I myself am trans, and I know that you shouldn't talk or ask about trans people without their permission, I just didn't realize how the ask sounded until it was too late. Let's just say that the Pikachu was too shy to do the ask herself, so she asked her friend to do it. Either that, or the Pikachu is so shy that she is referring to herself as a third party, whichever you prefer.)

you're all good! I totally understand <3 irl my friends and I quite enjoy sharing our journeys in expression and self discovery, and in an openly accepting world like the world of OBT, I think the characters are more than willing to talk about their journeys!

[dalishthunder]

Destiny Waits for No One

Chapter 6 - On the Road Again

Pairing: Nebarra/LDB (Gender Neutral Reader) Rating: Mature Words: 1523 Additional Information: Slow Burn, Nebarra is an ass, Giving alcohol to minors Read on AO3

"So you mean to tell me, they're fighting over her? Over Camilla?" Nebarra asked as you left the inn the next morning after having had to listen to the plight of Faendal and Sven, both hopelessly in love.

You thought it was kind of sweet really; To be in love with someone... though perhaps not so much that you were willing to sabotage other people and lie to where your affection found its home.

You wondered if there was someone out there waiting for you to come home. Wondering if they thought you were dead... if they'd moved on. If anyone had even ever felt that way about you.... Or if you were alone in the world before meeting your friends.

Camilla was returning with a bucket on her hip from the river, a soft smile on her face as she worked, waving to an old woman sitting on a porch. "Yeah, I wonder if she knows how sweet either of them are on her."

He let out a little noise of disgust, "I'm just saying if you're going to be fighting over someone shouldn't they at least be attractive?"

Elbowing Nebarra, you whispered a harsh, "Can you be polite for once in your life?" She gave you a smile as well as she entered the shop, "Besides, I think she's rather comely."

"Of course you do."

"Are you always this unpleasant?" Kaidan slung an arm around your shoulders as he shot Nebarra a look.

"Yes."

"I bet he's in Skyrim because the other High Elves hate him too." Lucifer piped up.

"Is that why you're here instead of Black Marsh?" Nebarra bit back.

"No! My reasons for being here are too complicated for someone like you to understand."

"How old are you?"

Lucifer eyed him suspiciously. "Twenty or twenty two."

"Let me guess, you're trying to find yourself." The altmer sneered, and Lucifer's eyes narrowed.

"Wouldn't you-"

You buried your face in your hands, leaning heavily against Kaidan's side. "Can't we just get along? Just for while we're on the road? Please."

"I'll behave if he does."

You exchanged an exasperated look with Xelzaz. "We're going to play a game."

"Oh I love games! Can we play 'I Spy'?" Khash asked.

"That sounds like an excellent idea!" Lucien agreed. "Maybe a word game? Something with rhyming?"

You'd thought about playing a game to see who could stay quiet the longest, but the rhyming game seemed fun. "Yeah, sure."

"I have an even better idea," Nebarra grumbled, "We just march in silence instead."

Rhyming game it was.

"How do we play, Lucien?"

It was fairly enjoyable. You didn't recognize all the words, but it was fun bonding with your companions even if Nebarra refused to participate. And it occupied much of your journey along the road. You stopped for the night in a cave, a little over halfway to Ivarstead. Xelzaz prepared an absolutely delicious meal for you all which Nebarra, unsurprisingly, refused to eat, instead setting up his tent and eating inside away from everyone.

More for you then.

Lucien was fitting well into the group despite his lack of experience. He and Xelzaz enjoyed getting into passionate conversations about intellectual pursuits, and you really wished you understood them. You tried to absorb as much as you could, writing it down in your journal. Inigo, Khash, and Kaidan were playing some sort of Khajiit card game that Inigo had procured from one of the caravans. It really way relaxing....

But tomorrow you were to face your destiny.

At least you'd have some idea of who you were…. Who youare.

Somehow you'd managed to sleep through most of the night despite the nightmares. And though you wouldn't have called the sleep restful, it was better than nothing.

Nebarra was sitting around the fire when you left your tent, already packed up and ready to go.

"Morning," He said without even looking up.

"Morning." You sat next to him, taking a swig from your waterskin.

"What, no singing? No morning whistling? No irritating humming?" The altmer asked after a long period of silence. "No deliberate attempts to ruin my morning?"

"Have you done anything that makes your morning worth being ruined?" You replied.

"No."

"Then you have your answer."

"I hadn't realized you were capable of such reason."

You turned to look at him, eyes narrowed, something sour on your tongue. "What is your problem?"

"Touchy," He snipped. "I-"

"G'mornin." Kaidan interrupted with a yawn as he stepped out of his tent, shirtless despite the cool morning air. Though you supposed having grown up in Skyrim probably helped abate the cold. His scars from the prison were beginning to fade; the poultices from you and Xelzaz had really been working their magic. He must have found just enough room between you and Nebarra because he plopped himself down; Knees bumping up against your own.

"Do you mind?" Nebarra hissed, scooting away immediately. "Humans really don't have any manners do they?"

Kaidan just wrapped an arm around your shoulders and gave him a dry look. "A proper nord knows how t' keep warm on a cool morning."

"Then put some clothes on. Do you really expect people to believe you're a nord?" The mer pulled a bottle of wine from his pack, sticking a straw in and finagling his helmet to take a sip.

A shadow passed over Kaidan's face for a moment, "I was raised by a nord, as a nord.... But no, that nord ice doesn't flow through my veins if that's what you're trying to say. Truth be told, I don't know what I am... I don't even know the race of my own mother."

"Oh...." Nebarra went quiet.

You put a hand on Kaidan's and leaned into him, "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I can help you try to find that all out.... If you'd like that is."

"You'd do that for me?" The shock in his voice was almost almost hurtful.

"Of course! What are friends for? You're helping me, after all." You flashed him a toothy smile.

He laughed, "I'm paying off a life debt, Dragonborn. But, aye, I won't turn down a favor from a friend."

"You really just go saving whatever poor slek wanders on your path, don't you?" Nebarra mused, nursing his bottle of wine.

"I can think of one we probably just should have put out of his misery...." Kai shot him a look.

"Ohoho, you really think you can take me on, big man?"

You looked between them, discomfort welling in your gut, "Guys-"

"You have all the bark of a high elf, but none of the height-"

"Don't you think it's a little early in the morning to be having a dick measuring contest?" Xelzaz wore his exhasperation on his sleeve. You'd have thanked the gods, but you were pretty sure they weren't listening, so you sent a silent thanks to Xelzaz instead.

You helped him with breakfast, waking the rest of your companions for freshly scrambled kwama eggs and leeks, and Khash helped you both with the cleanup afterward, and before you knew it you were on the road again.

Clouds loomed on the horizon as you wound your way through the cold mountain path. A light snow began to fall, steadily getting heavier as the day progressed. Not enough to impede your vision too much, and you made sure that everyone had a buddy to keep track of so nobody got lost, but it was enough that it made the road harder to differentiate.

You had begun to contemplate stopping for the evening when you saw the telltale signs of civilization just over the hill. Sunset was upon you as you trudged through the snow and into the local inn, welcoming the warmth of shelter. Some hot mulled wine warmed you up from the inside, and despite the look you got from Xelzaz, you let Khash have some of yours. Just a few sips, nothing to get drunk off of, but enough to help her warm up.

"I cannot believe that you like that stuff..." She said after her second sip, wrinkling up her nose.

You just snickered. "More for me then."

Lucifer sat down next to her and she rolled her eyes, getting up to go listen to the bard.

"I don't understand why she doesn't like me." He bemoaned.

Kaidan clapped him on the shoulder, "Give it time, I'm sure she'll come around."

You closed your eyes for a moment.

Seven Thousand Steps.

You were supposed to climb The Seven Thousand Steps tomorrow and meet the Greybeards.... Hopefully the weather would clear up. While you were still laden down with some coin from the Jarl, inns were not something you wanted to have to spend all of it on.

So you bunked up with your friends... and Nebarra... letting Khash curl up between you and Kaidan. It was a tight fit on the bed, and the sound of snoring didn't exactly help you fall asleep. But you couldn't toss or turn to find a more comfortable spot....

You settled in for a long night.

[pessiofficial]

barca vs. real madrid match analysis (10/28/23)

i don't know what to say, overall just a really, really disappointing match especially when we deserved a lot more. all credit to real madrid (specifically jude) because they capitalized on the chances they had, something we obviously need to learn how to do.

i wanna start with the positives:

gavi. absolutely ridiculous player, had bellingham, kroos, and valverde in his pocket for the first half until romeu came in and he moved out of the pivot role. he was imo the best player on the field for both sides today, and if we can't take away the three points from today we can at least sleep a little easy knowing that the rest of the world knows how good he is now!!! i even saw utdtrey compliment him which is a win in my book. he's easily barca's best player this season and if we get a little further in the ucl i think he makes that ballon d'or shortlist easy.

okay next up are the players who i thought had good games. gundo of course with the goal, he's so clutch and was very sharp without it too. cancelo was amazing and araujo had vini (don't even get me started on vini today :/ ) in his pocket the entire time, it was amazing. rock solid defending except for those last 20 minutes, but i think there's a reason for our mistakes that i'll get into in a second. also fermin, christensen, and inigo had good games.

in terms of tactics and coaching, xavi coached a 1-0 or 2-0 win today, we just need to learn how to convert more than 1 of every 6 chances. there's no excuse. lewandowski's first touch is abysmal, i barely saw ferran, and joao felix only had that one chance. we just need more. xavi made a really good point about real madrid when he said that they knew how to convert the chances they took and he's absolutely right. we had a lot of unlucky shots but still, just expected more.

now onto the negatives. lewandowski had a stinker, but he also literally just came back so i'll take it a little easy on him. romeu is just not barcelona quality, he's been decent in the smaller games but he's so vulnerable without de jong next to him, it's almost laughable. the winning goal happened because romeu didn't mark bellingham. we need frenkie back and i'm so serious when i say we're horrible without him in that pivot. i didn't realize fully how important busquets was to this team until i saw a new pivot play.

now, the elephant in the room: ter stegen. i don't know about the second goal because it was from such close range, but that first one? any good goalie doesn't let that in, and on top of that any respectable goalie doesn't get shots like that taken against him very often. players nowadays know that if you shoot from distance against stegen it's going in. i've been a neuer truther for a long time and i've always meant it when i said that ter stegen isn't built for the biggest stage. he does this in ucl nights, he does it in clasicos. he had a good league season last year but he's just not barcelona quality in the bigger ucl/derby games. that shot from bellingham wouldn't have gone in if stegen had saved it instead of trying to parry it away. really, truly embarassing. i hope he can acknowledge and fix this.

last thoughts about the other team: i really don't think anyone from real madrid played particularly amazing except bellingham (who i actually don't think played well he just did what it took when it mattered) and modric, who really changed the tempo of the game when he came in. the refereeing was... fine. yes that was a pen for araujo but honestly we're lucky that ferran didn't get a red for that tackle, there are some refs who would've given that. vini was especially bitchy today, i don't understand why. he's genuinely so unlikeable and there was no need for any of the things he did especially when he had a stinker. this being said if he did suffer any racist abuse (as i've heard) i condemn that as well, never any room for racism.

anyway, we move!!! the season is very long and when pedri, fdj, and kounde are back we'll be better. this was a good lesson for us on finishing our goddamn chances and we'll be better. this game has proven that we can compete at a european level and we will for many years to come.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

I was watching youtube shorts and in this one it had a random anime about a mad king, and a prince murdering him. And it dropped the coldest exchange ever. And I'd love if it was used during Rogue Gai's time, when the Mad King is finally defeated. (Will reveal in a secon XD!)

That King does not go down quietly. He's shivering in fear, anger and outrage. He is the king. Kakazu's chosen to rule. The gods gave him this title because he was born perfect! Extraordinary! Better than any other mortal soul that ever existed. He is Lord Katashi (the second!)!!!!

Imagine if it's Lee he's facing. He sees the dark eyes, the heavy brows just like his own. He learned this is Leona's child! His Mistress! The one who was "bearing his child" that was lost after birth almost 18 years ago. Now it was revealed that the boy was taken by the God of Storms as an infant, and raised by his most hated enemy. The Rogue Gai, whom he killed just 2 years ago. That means this boy must be his!!!! He yells one last time to make this man- see reason.

"Don't you know what that makes me?!"

"History."

And just like that, Lee cuts the Mad King down in cold blood, not listening to his pleas/ orders to see his "parentage." Lee had a father... and he lost him 2 years ago.

Now, the Mad King Katashi has finally been defeated. There were no siblings, cousins, aunts or uncles, as the king had them executed years ago. Seeing them as a threat to his reign and only wanting his own heirs to succeed him... but never having any. Now his tyranny and family line has come to an end, the madness is over once and for all.

After his death, the rain starts to fall on Tonika for the first time in two years. And Leona declares her son and his new order King. By right of conquest.

A new age has begun... An age of peace. And freedom for the people.

I like to imagine that is the last time Lee will ever have to weild his sword... and he never has to take a life again after avenging his true father. Maybe instead "Inigo Montoya" moment... OH maybe it can be both:

*epic swordfight where King Katashi (the 2nd) is trying to make Lee see reason. That Lee is fighting his "father!"*

Kig: *disarmed!* Don't you know what that makes me?!

Lee: History. *stab* Now offer me money.

King: Yes.

Lee: *stab again!* Power me to. Promise me that.

King: All that I have and more. Please. My son...

Lee: Offer me anything I ask for. *slight change in stance.*

King: Anything you want- *SNEAK ATTACK.*

Lee: *Block. Stabs the King's Heart. Makes sure to grab the man's head so they're eye to eye. He wants to see the light leave this "man's" eyes* I want my father back you son of a bitch.

And scene... what do you think?

I don’t think Lee is vengeful or hateful enough to do an Inigo, which is sad because it IS funny, but also not something gai would choose to teach

Even if he believes the king should suffer, he would always promote one quick hit. A kill on stick, no torture or playing around

He will not fall to the kinds statue and he does not want that for his son either

But also, Lee knowing exaftly what the king might try to say because Kakashi did visit him again after Fai’s death, and he made sure Lee knew that others could mistake him for being the kings son

Lee of course insists it doesn’t matter because Gai raised him, but Kakashi clarified that Gai is both his parental figure AND his biological son

Kakashi did not steal the kings son. He took Lee and gave him to his rightful father

And that’s something Lee will always thank him for because he shivers at the thought of being raised to be cruel and hateful like the king. To adore money instead of people.

[artisticmenace]

talking abt my characterrss!! read if you want im just letting it out. might be interesting yknow. if anyone really cares too much. spoilers for the comic im going to make if anyone was really wsnting to read that. probably not but just in case yk

Starting off with my two boys from Those Days(and other characters)

Scott: so he was supposed to look like this one guy i kept seeing on pinterest and also jareth the goblin king a little bit but because of the time its set in(and also the fact that his dad is initially thought to be a homophobe) he cant be as flashy. he ended up looking more like inigo montoya.... but i kept his purple crystal earing as a token of his gay witchy king design history. he himself is meant to act a little homophobic despite coming out as a bisexual late into the plot so his design fits. he does wear makeup though. smudgy eye makup done in dark eyeshadow in fact. after the gay subplot and main plot come to a collision he'll get witchier. post high-school i think he and rodney will end up getting fashionable. hes also meant to be a touch self centered. he idolizes his dad to the point he feels he cant be "soft" at all. his dad doesnt care though. he keeps this tough guy routine to the point of not being emotionally mature enough to comfort people that well. scotts fighting habits will kick him in the ass. design wise i need to change his style of clothing a little bit because i think i want this to take place in the 80s.

Rodney: rodney is based on this one guy i had a dream about, and probably all the fanart I've seen of martin from tma. he was originally going to have the same haircut as scott and be thinner, but neither of those design choices were fun, and i wanted to make a short chubby nervous guy instead. his internalized homophobic crime is "my mom is a dyke but because people think that will make me gay i cant possibly be gay because i want to be not like my mom because her gfs are all terrible and" well he might trauma dump a little after that. rodney never met his dad but because of that he had to endure lots of terrible 'stepmoms'(his mom never married them) and they would steal from her and he would get blamed and boom bam child abuse. a lot of people say he turned out better than expected, and he really hates thinking of what he could've done. despite being a great baseball player, he is relentlessly bullied for having a lesbian mom. no one knows exactly who found this out or how. he is equally as much muscle as he is fat, and he's quite strong. unfortunately, he'd rather take the hit than fight back for fear of punishment, not so much from the school but from his mom. scott eventually finds out about Rodney's constant mistreatment, and that's when he decides to let rodney stay with him a while(around their second year of knowing each other). Mr. Haverford just accepts that rodney lives there now as hes super respectful and doesnt say much.

Lucy Campbell: her design should really tell the reader where they are because shes 80s as hell. shes scotts ex. shes kind of a dumb person in general but she knows how to influence people. i dont know how or if ill ever introduce her but she does tattoos and piercings at her house which is by a convenience store named "Myrtle's". Scott goes there sometimes. he doesnt like her anymore and she doesnt like men anymore so they just sit around and smoke. sometimes they drink and talk about life.

Susie Marshall: shes a nice person. she tutors lots of kids including Scott. scott and rodney stop going to her house after scotts dad says susies dad is a really good aim and might shoot them even if they're just there to talk about school. shes pressured into a very isolated and tidy lifestyle by her parents and doesnt really enjoy living.

[sieglinde-freud]

grabs ur hands dm ur reasoning rn *looks at you with my big eyes*

YOU GUYS ARE PEER PRESSURING ME WTF... but ok im just gonna post it here then hi tc thank u for the ask :) going under the read more because my initial ramblings were literally 3k but let me see if i can chop it down. cw: LONG. also pic for reference so we know what im talking about

so the placements all assume the only headcanon thats real going into this is that the morgans are siblings. no canon second parents which means no chrom!inigo or anything like that they all have single moms or whatever idk not important but just clarifying none of that is impacting their placements because i dont want to think about that

black eagle placements were the most fun because the fun thing about that route is that it splits into two more! one thing thats always bothered me is that when that route splits, the only thing that changes is that you either lose edelgard or hubert or you lose flayn. are you really telling me those are the only three students with enough free will to not let byleth pick the rest of their life for them? ferdinand would NOT go to the church i dont care!!! this is something they fixed (kind of) in warriors but in general when picking the black eagles i wanted to keep that in mind too

so kjelle was the first character i looked at and went “i know where you go.” i think she looks at edelgard and goes “you are everything i want to be and more” because what edelgard fights for and how she accomplishes it. kjelle is a very “the strong must protect the weak by any means necessary” which is kind of harsh when its presented to the player in awakening but it is literally edelgard’s whole philosophy. and kjelle is very egotistical (not hate i love her ass so much underrated fav!!) she thinks incredibly highly of herself so for her to bow down to anyone they would have to 1) echo her ideals and 2) be stronger than her. sorry shes never bending the knee to dimitri and claude i dont give a fuck she doesnt like those men. i think she’d understand edelgard’s idea of putting power in human hands and fully commit to the ends justify the means. this isnt really a gameplay rewrite thing im trying to do but if byleth picked the church she would leave. also… please. please please consider edelkjelle… okay guys… for me……..

on the opposite side nah was my second immediate “ohh i know what im doing with you” and its because if byleth picks edelgard, shes out!! granted, i could just put her with lions or deer but how is that fun. its not. nah, being a manakete, would probably be much more understanding of rhea and willing to reach out. being a manakete is probably a pretty isolating experience for her, ylisse or fodlan or otherwise, so i think her finding solace with rhea and flayn and seteth during her time at the academy would allow her to get closer to people more like her, and understand on some level why rhea is the way she is and why governs the way she does. though, still being housemates, she’d befriend edelgard and i think she’d admire edelgard’s conviction and maturity during the academy arc. but when edelgard betrays the church i think she’d take that very hard, and i dont think anything edelgard would say to her would get her to turn on what is basically the family she never got to have (theres also second gen angst potential in here somewhere…)

inigo was interesting to think about and i did almost saddle him in with golden deer but i like the potential of him with edelgard a lot more when i really sat down and thought about it. im pulling more from his characterization as laslow i think but at first i wasn’t really sure if i had a case for him picking between the empire and the church but i decided to go with the empire because i do think in the time he has with edelgard, he’d be a voice of reason for her (to hubert’s dismay). edelgard’s problem is that she has literally no outsider pov and is going based on her own sense of justice that, while its based in good intentions, has a lot of unintended consequences and failure to acknowledge how it impacts everyone else. i think inigo could take a unique role, similar to ferdinand (or lorenz to claude, felix to dimitri) in that he challenges edelgard but on a much more friendlier level. the thing about how that role normally plays out is that its formed on some personal grievance rather than genuine better interest of the people, and i think of all the lords, edelgard needs a friend the most (its why shes so attached to byleth???). and just looking at how hes able to handle xander in fates and how much more introspective he becomes, i think it’d play out similarly here. also i think with the forces of him and dorothea combined they would give ferdinand the worst bisexual panic of his life. ik i mentioned felix/inigo WHICH I STILL LIKE but imagine the layer of angst if they are on opposing sides… ok thanks

was on the fence about gerome until beloved mutual (hi woocy :3) convinced me he would be beagle and im completely down with that. for me, i struck out blue lions immediately. so after that its just a matter of do i think he fits in better with BE or GD and quite honestly. for some reason golden deer gets the rep of being the meme house but aside from lorenz looking a little funny anf claude putting up a facade YOU ALL FELL FOR this straight up is not true. the funny house is black eagles and by GOD it would piss gerome off to be there. i dont think they chose their houses, by the way. i think they got to fodlan and rhea vibe checked all of them immediately so he didnt have a say in this. not only is he stuck with inigo, hes stuck with watching kjelle—the strongest warrior ever probably the only one in the second to match him in terms of raw strength—stumble over herself over their house leader because wwaauuw women pretty LIKE COME ONNNN. though, i do think he’d respect edelgard for her strength, and theres a lot of interesting dynamics for him to explore. dorothea pissing him off, bonding with petra over their enjoyment for wildlife, he would definitely be training partners with caspar, and i think he’d actually be like. really good at talking to bernadetta? maybe seeing her reminds him of how he was when he was younger. maybe he gets her out by introducing her to minerva. much to think about. but in general he would keep mostly to himself with standard gerome “cant get close to people that i cant guarantee will stay with me” fashion i think he probably wouldnt be as close as say someone like inigo or nah would be with the house. so when the time to choose a side comes… i dont think he’d have the relationship with edelgard to pick her. i think he would oppose her ideals, and go with nah, if not flee fodlan entirely because omfg who careeesss…. WHO CAREEESS his ass is in wyvern valley (no i think he’d fight. but he’d def consider dipping)

m!morgan is here because i think it would challenge him. guy who is so cute so earnest so ready to be happy in school learning everything hes ever wanted hoping to come home and make momma proud and oh my god he got put in the most crazy house imaginable. whoever his professor is is probably like wow morgan you have a gift for tactics! why dont you try managing the class for a mission? and being morgan he’d go YES ABSOLUTELY!!! unfortunately this house has hubert. and ferdinand. and bernadetta. and linhardt. and caspar. the thing about robin and the shepherds is that most people immediately respected robin as their tactician and robin was able to connect and befriend most of them fairly easily because they were mostly all sane and normal people. the black eagles are most definitely not and have you guys seen that black eagles seating chart post? well. i just think it’d give morgan a hard time and between him and f!morgan its funnier if its him. also splitting him from the justice cabal for timeskip angst sorry. also i think it’d be cool if he took edelgards side. i dont actually know which way he’d lean thats a tossup like this is a character that i could believe would trust byleth’s judgement and go with them but if its edelgard i think that could set up fun conflict between him and nah. grima vs naga part 2!! though i actually did have him for blue lions first if only because of the three houses the blue lions probably need a tactician type the best but. i like this one better.

so for blue lions i immediately clocked owain like look at this guy. i think owain would see the house of cool knightly chivalrous types fighting for justice and being cool and having swords and i just think he’d be in heaven. i also think, to him, dimitri would be a figure to look up to similar to lucina, but with the difference that they are not family and owain might put him on an even higher pedestal because theres this sense of familiarity he had with lucina thats not really there anymore? kind of similar to ashe and dimitri. and when the timeskip comes, i think he’d be endlessly devoted to dimitri even still, never forgetting who he was before and striving to bring him back, still thinking of this idolized version of him, even if it puts himself at risk. i also think in general, owain would thrive in the blue lions house. felix, ashe, ingrid, dedue, annette— those are all prime support partners for him that have a lot of potential. the blue lion house is very… the way that they are. and something owain shows in fates is that though hes very good at using his theatrics to ease people, whether that be on purpose or otherwise, and by god do the blue lions need it. look at them… jesus.

cynthia is in the blue lion house for similar reasons but i think she has a key difference from owain. while i think owain is the type to go down with the ship, i think cynthia might actually serve as an opposition to dimitri and potentially go against him in a similar fashion to felix and annette in thats hidden in the games files and was never put in the game (WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. dimitri doesnt get enough push back in azure moon!! another post for another time though). in their time at the academy, while owain is fangirling over dimitri, i think cynthia would too at first. but fodlan is very different than ylisse, and in particular faerghus treats its knights and specifically women knights very differently than cynthia wouldve otherwise been treated. i think this would push cynthia into questioning faerghus’s ideals (especially in getting close to ingrid who im sure she’d find friendship in) and eventually dimitri in how he seemingly upholds those ideals. when he goes down a darker path in the timeskip, she’d probably take felix’s more critical approach, and i think she could turn on him. for the empire? probably not. but i dont think she’d be as down as owain or ingrid to keep following him when hes not taking accountability for what hes doing. she might find her way back once hes come back to himself but who really knows. not me (<- girl who is writing all of this)

yarnes a funny pick because lions are supposed to be brave and fearless and hes a Rabbit. but obviously yarne would be very aware of that irony and i think it could serve as a push for him to come into that bravery, and thats something i think the lion house could help him do. i think he’d look to dimitri for solace similar to how he does with lucina, and dimitri would be very happy to provide that for him. when the timeskip comes and dimitri is lost, i think yarne would have to find it in himself to abandon that anxiety for a bit to come help ease dimitri, sort of repaying him for his initial kindness (read: i want eyepatch scary dimitri to find stress relief in petting a big ass bunny). also i dont need yarne to be in the same house as petra and marianne for him to interact with them. dont worry thats a thing. also if youre a real one you recruit marianne to blue lions everytime. no i dont know how they’d handle bringing a taguel to fodlan i dont really care either

for severa i think, even if she would rather not admit it, justice and loyalty are very key parts of her character. its buried underneath her mean girl attitude and like five pounds of trauma but its there. and what are the blue lions if not loyal knights with very LOUD auras of sadness? she would be similar to felix in terms of their views on knighthood, and obviously her whole thing with cordelia would put her at odds with the whole dying for your king/for glory thing faerghus has going on. similar to cynthia she’d be very critical of faerghus and dimitri except she’d be that way to his face. she doesnt have the same personal beef with him the same way felix would, and might be a little more like how i imagined inigo would be to edelgard, criticism with the better interest of the greater good rather than formed of personal beef. in the end though, i think she would stick with dimitri. also i think she’d have insane sexual tension with ingrid like i dont think theyd like eachother but like. my vision… do you see it.

bradys in lions partially due to mutual influence (hi zorua) but also because i ended up liking his potential with the lions as opposed to the deer or eagles. he’d have a very cute friendship with mercedes and annette i think, playing violin for them and having tea party gossip sessions. i think he and dedue could bond over being kinda scary but doing what they can to ease people’s fear of them. since thats an insecurity for both of them that brady purposefully takes steps to get rid of (ex: him hunching over is so that he can be eye level with children and people shorter with them so as not to come off as intimidating or more powerful) i think brady could help with that. though if im being so real i dont think he would like dimitri. i think he would stay and stick around and help dimitri get better. but i dont think he’d approve of his bloodlust and be very open with his issues in regards to how dimitri handles and carries himself. sorry guys im not meaning to have dimitri catch so many strays here 😭 i love the guy i just also like when theres conflict here i promise

laurent is in the golden deer because i think he and claude would be very like minded people in terms of trying to discover the secrets behind fodlan and what that means and how to better navigate fodlan as uncharted territory. theyre both foreigners, as are all of the second gen kids, but thats something claude keeps under wraps that i think laurent would be able to tell very quickly (not that it was hard. claude doesnt hide it well its just that everyone in fodlan is either stupid or all the smart people are kept away from him) that claude is from almyra. i think this knowledge could help him serve as something of a confidant to claude. obviously he wouldnt tell laurent everything but when claudes supposed closest allies are lorenz (guy who hates him and prays for his downfall) and hilda (girl who is racist and from a racist family) its just like. well maybe claude should have another friend who is normal adjacent at least, and laurents not the type to go blabbing anyways. obviously both lorenz and hilda (eh. well.) get better about their mindsets post timeskip but i think in the time of the academy laurent would be a very valuable friend for claude and vice versa. in general laurent would do well anywhere because i think most of his interest would be with the technological and scientific advancements of fodlan which is flexible, but i think, with rhea purposefully halting progress and claude being the main guy who wants truth above all else, this is the best spot for him. could hear an argument for him going to edelgard (potential recruit out of house recruit fs) but i do like him with claude a bit more. gerolau angst also.

lucina is in golden deer because i dont want her in the other two houses but also because i do think, similar to laurent, she’d be very valuable to claude and vice versa. awakening world building is horseshit but from what little we do know there is quite a bit of political discourse that lucina probably knows quite a bit about. even if her timeline was thrown into war when she was young, she probably had some form of royal training and can help claude navigate fodlan a little bit. i also think coming to fodlan would just be a very refreshing experience for lucina as the burden of everything is no longer directly on her shoulders, and i think she’d be looking for a broader perspective on life and finding another purpose for herself now that grima is dealt with. i think claude would be able to help her with that and i think she’d be genuinely interested to learn of his homeland once she figures out where hes from (i do think laurent beats her to the conclusion but not by a lot. remember this is lucina aka marth aka woman her disguised her own royal status and was very successful at it. just saying). also while i did say that golden deer is in fact not the meme house, i think they are more light hearted overall in terms of character (does NOT mean meme house or funny house. look me right in my eyes and say the house WITHOUT hubert and linhardt is the meme house. fucking liar) and i think lucina would love that. i want her to get the chance to be silly and childish for a little bit. characters like raphael and marianne and lysithea might help her heal that inner child that she never really got to let out and i just think the golden deer house would be the best place for her

morgan is here because i didnt want her and marc in the same house thats too easy. but while i think claude is the least in need of a tactician type character, him and morgan would be sooooo funny so cute and i need someone who can keep him on his toes. i think he blurts out a plan and morgan goes “ermmm ackchully” and half of the time her rebuttals are complete nonsense she just wants to argue. i think they both enjoy it. i also think, similar to lucina, a light hearted house would be a little better for her. shes much more prone to mischief than m!morgan is i think and i think the deer would benefit from that if only so she can target lorenz and make me laugh. i also think separating the twins would make for fantastic angst down in the timeskip but for now shes just hanging out having fun being a piece of shit. #girl also i think its funnier if one morgan is absolutely thriving and the other is barely keeping his shit together and by god it is way funnier if its f!morgan getting away with everything

noire is here because. i. could not think of a reason for her to go anywhere else! i thought about putting her in beagles but i dont think making that choice between the church and edelgard would be as interesting for her? and i dont think putting her in lions would do anything for her. i think the best lord and the best house at helping her through her issues and being understanding of her mood changes is probably claude and the deer. i could see hilda and leonie reaching out to her, or ignatz and her getting on pretty well, but im not quite sure on the specifics of that. my least thought out placement but also it doesnt matter because it keeps the placements balanced to put her here. i’ll have to give this one more thought…

anyways if you can believe it this is the cutdown version. i know right. i hope i didnt forget anyone that would be really embarrassing

[qualek]

PRINCESS BRIDE AU CAST LIST HERE WE GO BOYS We'll start with the easy ones first and my reasonings of why- Buttercup -> Miles Edgeworth Stubborn, prideful, rude towards 'Westley' at first, dramatic, sarcastic, smart, related to Von Karma more than anyone else (I'll explain more in the Prince Humperdnik casting). Westley/Dread Pirate Robert -> Phoenix Wright/Shelly De Killer Resourceful, bluff (just... the whole scene with the cups and the poison is a very Phoenix move), devoted, selfless, brave, witty, stubborn, could survive something that would kill everyone else out of sheer will. ---- Tell me Phoenix wouldn't be the guy to say "As you wish" with all that tenderness and devotion to a guy who is objectively a jerk. --- Okay, supporting cast now! the sillies and the goofies- Inigo Montoya -> Diego Armando/Godot I have less of a personality analysis and more of a setting that makes sense, but bare with me. First off, well, he's the most likely to want to kill Phoenix and then help him later. Secondly, they both carry physical wounds that are related to a deep loss. Thirdly, he uses Godot for the whole time until "My name is Diego Armando. You killed my true love, prepare to die." Fourthly, Mia Fey was killed by someone with a heart-shaped pendant ;) Fezzik -> Dick Gumshoe Tall, strong, dumb man. Miracle Max and Valerie -> Mystic Maya and Pearl THEY ARE SILLY AND GOOFY AND MAGIC AND PEARL WOULD 100% PUSH MAYA TO HELP FOR TRUE LOVE TELL ME IM WRONG --- Now, we get to the assholes y a y :) Prince Humperdnik -> Manfred von Karma and Franziska von Karma In this AU, Prince Humperdnik is divided into Manfred Von Karma and Franziska Von Karma. Manfred is the current king and is trying to cause a war with the nation of Khura'in, like Humperdnik in the movie. However, he does not marry Miles himself and, instead, fiances him to his daughter Franziska (which neither are particularly happy about btw). He is the one who goes on the hunt and organizes the promises, torture, wedding, etc. Franziska is less involved and is forced to remain in the castle by her father. Count Ruden -> Dahlia Hawthorne She would want Mia dead 100% and would have no qualms about hurting Phoenix. Also, she is responsible of blinding Godot in Ace Attorney and in this. The Albino -> Iris Hawthorne She would help Dahlia but doesn't have the blood-thirst that she seems to possess. Vizzini -> Damon Gant I just want him to die. Also, he laughs a lot and thinks he's much smarter than he actually is. Also, also, everyone in the crew would be against a defense attorney, so it's in theme B) --- And, finally, in the real world, the beloved. The Grandson -> Trucy Gramarye She is my beloved, my dearest girl and she deserves a good story. Also, idk why, but she sounds like she would refuse a kissing story at first and then just get into it. The Grandfather -> Magnify Gramarye He is her actual grandpa and the character has a little mystical side that Magnify most certainly has.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

hi ^^ i have a question regarding forgiving, specifically referring to luke 6:35 ''love your enemies, do good to them, etc, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked''.

how do i forgive those (like truly forgive) pastors, Christians in general, who say just blunt homophobic and transphobic stuff and pass it on as a sin? i dont want to have to be on guard around Christians or when im watching a sermon on youtube, i want to forgive but its hard when it seems like the entire religion points to being lgbt as a sin. any tips or advice is highly appreciated ^^

Hey there, fabulous questions! Forgiveness being conflated with love & pushed on people in vulnerable positions is a huge pet peeve of mine, so thanks for the opportunity to talk about it.

I invite you and any others who read this to prayerfully ponder some questions:

What is love? What does it mean to love your enemy — what actions, not just feelings, does that entail?

What is forgiveness? Is it the same as reconciliation?

Do you have to forgive someone in order to love them?

Ultimately, only you can decide what your answers are to that. Meanwhile, I'm going to share my own conclusions to those questions — maybe your conclusions will look different from mine, but maybe it'll help you to see one possibility.

———

What is love? Can you love without forgiving?

Jesus's instruction to love those who hate us is difficult enough to live by without people twisting what love has to look like!

The kind of love that Jesus exemplified was not always nice. In fact, Jesus never called us to be nice — kind, yes, but not nice. Niceness is about never discomforting people even when they need to be discomfited; it's saying "let's forgive and forget" to someone who is still in a position of power to cause the same kind of harm.

Meanwhile, loving someone means pointing out the harm they've done. It is more loving to guide someone towards fuller humanity than to let them get away with their harm. Erecting boundaries is one way to love them into change — and that’s also a way of loving yourself, which Jesus also calls us to do. Refusing to let a person continue to cause harm also shows love to whole communities, love to those vulnerable to that person’s harm.

So to me, love does not have to include forgiveness — especially not immediate forgiveness. Marie M. Fortune even suggests that love sometimes means withholding forgiveness, if rushing to forgiveness will leave a person no time to reckon with the harm they’ve done.

So what is forgiveness as Jesus taught it?

Forgiveness does not necessarily mean what a lot of Christianity today says it means.

[id: screencap of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride saying “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” / end id]

First off, many Christian communities focus on the wrong “side” of forgiveness — they put pressure on the wronged to forgive the wrongdoer, rather than recognizing that the onus is on the wrongdoer to make things right. A lot of the time, this results in a feeling of shame for the wronged, and justice denied. And as @hunterinabrowncoat puts it,

“...The mandate to forgive then becomes a mandate to abandon justice. And to hunger and thirst for justice, as we are called to do, becomes an act of disobedience because we're not being forgiving enough...”

When Jesus discusses forgiveness at length, he focuses on the wrongdoer seeking that forgiveness out — and taking action to make things right so that the one they wronged might have good reason to forgive them! I have a post that delves into that focus, and also clarifies what love is and isn’t, here. Bascially, in Jesus’s discussion on reconciliation in Matthew 5, he makes it clear that it’s in the wrongdoer’s best interest to do everything they need to do to win the wronged person’s mercy, while simultaneously putting no pressure on the wronged to extend that mercy. The wronged is fully in their rights to withhold forgiveness.

So what does a wrongdoer need to do to be forgiven? Many theologians, including Marie M. Fortune, argue that in order for true forgiveness — and especially reconciliation, where the wrongdoer and wronged person actually return to an ongoing relationship of some kind — to take place, there must be a reversal of power. The wrongdoer must relinquish all power over the wronged. 

In the quote linked above, Fortune notes that Jesus himself could not forgive his wrongdoers directly after they’d just nailed him to the cross — after all, the power dynamic is in the oppressors’ favor. Instead, Jesus says, “Forgive them, Father, fo they don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34).

He doesn’t say “I forgive them” — he asks his Father to do what he is not at that moment able to do. The power dynamic between Jesus and his oppressors is such that he cannot forgive them — but the power dynamic between those oppressors and God is such that God can. And God can move them to genuine remorse for what they’ve done, too. 

So how do I love anti-LGBT Christians?

Even without forgiving them himself, Jesus does express incredible mercy and love for his oppressors. That kind of love is really, really hard — to manage to see through the pain and suffering your oppressors are causing you right then and there, to see through it into compassion....

When you struggle to do that, you’re not a bad person. You’re human. To work towards that — to cultivate an understanding of your very oppressors, the ones who deny you your humanity, as fellow human beings who are capable of being better than they are — is a whole life’s work.

We are called to love those who hate us in ways that can be really hard and that do require compassion, and generosity of spirit (which this linked post delves into). There is complexity, there is challenge, in Jesus’s call to love our enemies. But it’s not about putting yourself or others in harm’s way. If there’s someone spewing hate, enacting injustice, Jesus does not call us to forgive them while they’re still spewing that hate. 

For me, the way I work towards loving the Christians who actively call for my death (at the extreme) or otherwise dehumanize me and call my very being sinful is to practice healthy boundary making. I’m not going to respond with hate, calling for their deaths; but I’m not going to let them get away with the harm they’re causing, either. I’m going to call them out, to announce the injustice they’re enacting. I’m going to try to keep others safe from them.

...And when, on those rare, beautiful occasions, there’s a person who has long been hateful but who genuinely wants to learn to be better...that’s when I stop calling them out, and start calling them in. That’s when the time to journey together towards forgiveness finally, finally comes around.

Now, I’m personally called into that kind of work, that direct interaction with people who have done harm, but are striving to be better. You might not be — so for you, loving a person who’s trying might involve directing them towards people who can help them, rather than being the person who helps.

This got away from me and is kinda fizzling out lol, but hopefully the links I included along the way are more coherent and helpful! I’m gonna go ahead and re-link the main ones below:

“Why Christians need to stop forcing forgiveness”

Jesus on forgiveness & power dynamics

My whole forgiveness tag has other quotes and posts you might find helpful.

[upsideoutinsidedown]

Can’t wait to rub it in your face when Byler doesn’t happen. El and Mike will end together. The only reason you want El “single and independent” is because it gets in the way of your ship. And you ignore what El has said she actually needs. Fuck you. You ableist piece of shit. The good thing is you’re not gonna get Byler as canon. And I’ll be here to remind you of that post S5, when I come back to laugh at you and remind you that you suck at understanding the story you profess to love or the characters in it. See ya in S5 — That egg is already dripping off your face. :)

Hi anon,

Pleasure to see you. Honestly surprised I got such a willfully ignorant anon after making one rant. I’m going to take that to say you enjoyed it, so thank you.

First off, independent El is awesome. As mentioned in my post that you so dearly loved, I would love if she were to end up on her own, because I adore the narrative of “you don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy”. It’s not ace rep (there is unfortunately very few of that) but every time people see that narrative it makes people get a little bit more off my back about seeking a romantic partner. You can only explain to your grandma you don’t want to meet anyone so many times before it gets aggravating after all.

As for the ableist comment, I’m going to quote a lovely character in Inigo Montoya: “I do not think [that word] means what you think it means.” If you’re too afraid to look it up, don’t worry, I got your back! Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. This belief can manifest in ways such as, say, believing a person is incomplete without a partner. Now, which one of us seems to have that issue, hmmm?

A common argument I see for Byler is “El needs to be alone to find out who she truly is”, which I can see why some people would have issues with it. For me, I partially agree. El’s entire arc is about finding out who she is outside of her relationships with other people, but that does not mean she needs to be alone. If she ended up in another relationship or even stayed with Mike (after working out their many, many issues, but let’s face it, they’re children, so them having issues should be expected) before season four, I wouldn’t have cared, but as mentioned in my rant, the duffers can’t do that anymore. And since Mike is no longer an option, I personally believe getting her to “move on” so suddenly would also send a bad message, ergo why I would like her to end the series alone.

But, again, El faces a much different narrative issue then Will. I personally don’t believe El is ace and would like it if she wasn’t in the event that she does end up alone (a lot of actual ace “rep” is shoehorned in after a character ends up alone, which is also problematic. A character doesn’t need to be ace to be happy on their own, nor does one need to be alone to be happy while ace, but that’s another rant for another time). Unless the duffers decide to narrate the rest of the casts lives as part of the fifth season, chances are, El is going to finish the series in her teenage years. Her not having a partner when she’s sixteen, or seventeen, or whatever age she ends the show as, is not indicatif of a life of loneliness. Heck, I have more than a few friends who went out of their way to wait until college before getting into a relationship, there’s nothing saying this can’t be the case for El, even if she finishes the show on her own.

Finally, I’ve got to ask you personally: are you still together with the person of your first relationship, particularly if it was a middle school (middle school, not even high school) sweetheart? If so, congratulations, but be advised that that is not the norm. People fall in love, and then fall out of love, all the time. A person’s love is not lesser just because it doesn’t last. You can be truly and madly in love with a person, wanting to spend the rest of your lives with them, be the literal stuff of movies and then… stop. And trying to perpetuate that you need to continue loving them and working for them beyond what you are capable of is unhealthy, not just for you, but for your partner and any dependents you may have between you. If El’s romantic subplot ends with her realizing she and Mike don’t need to be together, that helps send the message that it’s okay to let go, and it would be best to do so while there is still affection between you rather than after you strangled any good feelings between you out of it.

[flowertot-s]

Wynne is definitely not dysfunctional? Sounds suspicious (pls tell us more about wynne)

oh my god. holy shit. buckle in I'm abt to go buck wild

here is all of the info on my horrible little woman, Wynne Lorelai <3

more info under da cut ;)

unfortunately I don't have any screenshots of her cause I play on xbox and todd hates me and wants me dead personally

Wynne is a high elf mage who specialises in destruction, conjuration, and restoration magic. She comes from a pretty well off noble family and is the eldest of 3 children with one sister (middle child) and one brother (youngest). Her mother died of a terminal illness when she was young and she never really got over it, and her father is the worst and most putrid little man in all of Tamriel.

To make a long story short; her youngest brother is set up to inherit the family's entire estate as well as a free ride into any college of his choosing with impressive research funding to boot. Her brother is a complete brat with no interest in academia, and Wynne wants this opportunity so badly. Her father convinced her that if she put in the work and showed dedication he would consider her as a candidate.

So after many long years of dedicating herself to the study of magic and working herself to the bone for a sliver of her father's approval, her younger sister learned that he never actually planned on giving her the inheritance or the funding either way; he just wanted to see how far she would go to prove herself. She trusts her sisters word, says "fuck this shit," and sets off to Skyrim with her main goal being the College of Winterhold so that she can hopefully continue to study unbothered. She didn't choose Skyrim for any specific reason, she just wanted to be as far from her family in the Summerset Isles as physically possible.

Jokes on her cause Uh Oh! now she's the chosen one and has to save the world from certain doom or some shit.

Some little facts:

- she would rather actually die than be forced to solve other people's problems for them. wynne is decidedly not a nice person and only helps people for her own benefit or because she thinks she might find an opportunity to learn and research.

- she hates being treated like a moron even though she frequently treats other people like idiots. it's why she never got along with delphine; their senses of entitlement and refusal to budge on their own beliefs and ideas really got in the way of their professional relationship. which means that after delphine suggests (see; practically orders her) to kill paarthurnax she downright refuses and they never speak again. she still sometimes does converse with Esbern, purely because they're both scholars and like to trade research.

- she hates feeling like people pity her for what she’s had to go through but she’s still a sensitive soul, she cries way more than she’d ever let on

- she has a soft spot for the greybeards and enjoys spending time in high hrothgar just because she can finally get some god damn peace and quiet, also paarthurnax is her pseudo dragon dad

- wynne is stubborn as all hell and is incredibly good at holding grudges. if u slighted her over a sweet roll ten years ago she WILL remember and WILL bring it up just to be petty.

- her main adventuring party consists of; Auri, Inigo, Lydia, Lucien, and Kaidan

- she gets along well enough with Auri (though they aren't especially close), Inigo is her silly goofy little guy who she mostly keeps around just for fun, she enjoys Lydia's company because she doesn't feel the need to fill in silences with pointless chit chat (plus she's like. SUPER strong), Lucien is her academic pal (and also probably her favourite) and she likes hanging around him because they can talk on the same level without having to dumb herself down, and Kaidan. oh Kaidan.

- she and Kaidan have a winding slowburn enemies to lovers arc which starts off as them not understanding each other like. AT ALL. their upbringings and backgrounds are so different that it's hard for them to see eye to eye on a lot of things, which results in more than a few arguments.

- Kaidan initially sees her as a spoiled and stuck up noble bitch with no regard for anything but her own pride, and Wynne sees him as a big stupid brooding man with no capacity to show any respect to anyone.

- BUT they do slowly start opening up to each other and confide in each other about a lot, one thing leads to another, then it's all "I could tear that armor right off your body." (real smooth, Kai)

- she talks like she's the smartest person in the room at all times (she probably is) and talks down to literally everyone who she perceives as beneath her which is like, basically everyone

- she becomes the arch mage of the College of Winterhold by sheer dumb luck and it's basically a HUGE "fuck you" to dear old dad

- the only reason she even bought into any of this dragonborn bullshit was the promise she’d be able to learn and expand her knowledge, but then she gets caught up in this whole civil war business and dragons and elder scrolls and she’s just ?????? how did i even end up here

- she hates having to help people who are too weak to defend herself but her moral compass (kaidan) insists that she helps where she can even when it pisses her off

- her hands and arms are incredibly scarred from the numerous years she spent trying to perfect her destruction magic, which is why she wears gloves and bandages 24/7

- she likes fucking around with potions and mostly tests them on Inigo (who is MORE than happy to be a guinea pig for his bestie)

- she's a complete asshole to everyone who she doesn't like which is like. 90% of people, and even if she likes you, the assholeishness is only dialed down a couple notches (especially if you're stupid)

[maxwell-grant]

So, on the note of "inspirations for Batman", thoughts on Zorro?

I talked a bit about Zorro as an embodiment of justice, a character who's reached a level of timeless popularity and iconic status that very few characters have, and how the character's symbolic value long outweights the need for him to remain in constant publication. And on that regard, I don't actually have much to say about Zorro other than he rules, he's an incredibly effective and well-crafted character who's stood the test of time maybe better than just about any other pulp hero, and he's a foundational figure to both superheroes and pulp heroes alike.

Like Superman, Zorro's a character I will always associate with childhood fantasy, except of course as a Latin-American swashbuckling mystery man he was always much, much more appealing as I grew older (even if I always wanted superpowers). I've always known Zorro by association as sort of a romantic figure, as a kid he and Don Juan were basically the same character to me, and I think Zorro gets a lot more mileage out of that sort of dashing romanticism than a lot of other heroes, as his image's gained a lot of that "latin lover/masked rogue" appeal. Zorro is not just sexy, he's become Antonio Banderas At His Prime Sexy, and that's very much something that's contributed to his timeless popularity and what sets him apart from other pulp heroes.

My only issue with Zorro is that the execution of the idea is often not as interesting as the concept itself, and like The Green Hornet, the character's held back a bit by being forced to retreat into a status quo. Unlike with the Hornet though, I actually think Zorro benefits much more from the fact that he's become more of an influential bedrock of fiction than a constantly popular property, because ultimately Zorro is all about that inspiration, the inspiring of others to rise up against tyranny, following the example of the swashbuckling living legend who almost makes it look easy. It's something that's been explored quite interestingly in Al Ewing's El Sombra books, which I have three asks on my queue about, so I will definitely get to talking about them once I'm through with Pax Omega. But back to Zorro,

It's interesting that Zorro has become such a fixture of Batman's backstory when, in it's broader sense, it could very easily not have mattered at all what movie the Waynes were watching that night, except it did, because it was a movie about Bruce's childhood hero as the last happy memory he had with his parents, the last thing he had before it was all taken away and he had to rebuild himself from scratch.

Some Shadow fans do get bothered by the insistence that it was Zorro only who inspired Batman, and yeah I get that on some aspect it does feel a bit like it's DC covering up plagiarism, but I don't mind that at all. One, I don't want The Shadow to be subservient to Batman's mythos or to be defined as "the guy who inspired Batman", I want him to thrive as his own character again. Two, Zorro is much more removed from Batman's own persona and time that it makes much more sense to have him persist in this manner, and additionally, he's different enough from Batman where it makes sense that he's going to be this timeless ideal of simple justice that Batman's gonna try to live up to, and not succeed because he lives in a comic book landscape several steps removed from the setting and medium Zorro inhabits.

Three, look, I argue for The Shadow's fundamental decency and humanity and how often he's misinterpreted or vilified all the time, but there's really no getting around the fact that he's a menacing figure garbed in villain's clothing and mannerisms who laughs evily while shooting people (even if not to kill). That's not a criticism, that's just what he is, that's what he chooses to be to battle crime and turn the tables on society's oppressors. Even if he was directly trained by The Shadow or his agents, I don't buy Bruce, especially a young Bruce who's still trying to find a way to turn his childhood fantasy into practical reality for the rest of his life, who’s partially driven by a traumatic hatred for guns and who’s gonna spend the rest of his life fighting a cackling mass murderer, wanting to be like that or being inspired by that, as much as he'd be inspired by a fictional dashing smiling man in black clothing who humbles and humiliates imperialists by cutting branded symbols everywhere, even if Zorro is still killing people or at least seriously maiming them (which Batman isn't adverse to himself, flinging razorblades everywhere). Zorro may have been the first fictional hero to really solidify the concept of branding, which is what Batman and his villains are all about.

And Four, Zorro is timeless and popular to the point where there's dozens if not hundreds of characters inspired by Zorro more literally in pop culture, some of whom have become quite popular and influential themselves like Inigo Montoya. It makes total sense that this is the figure that Batman's gonna look up, because Zorro's not only a character who seems practically built to thrive as an inspirational icon, but who's also inspired and codified a substantial part of many tropes that both The Shadow and Batman used. Zorro is at the bedrock of it all for both pulp heroes and superheroes, of course he's gonna persist.

So yeah, Zorro rules, and he's always going to rule. Great character who's inspired tons of other great characters or stories, and who's stayed great even still. He's cool, he's stylish, he's sexy, he's really got it all.

[someobscurereference]

I just read one of your old fics, Where We Began, and honestly I'm so in love with it? If you don't plan on writing more do you have any other abstract ideas about it? Like about how the Nohrians would try to calm them down or which of the trio decided to trust them first or just anything like that? I just really like it a lot and it's entirely fair if you don't have any other thoughts about it, it's an awesome concept but you wrote it years ago, I just thought I'd give it a shot

(referring to this fic) Firstly, I'm so glad you enjoy one of my older works! I write a lot of FE, but I enjoy my early stuff as much as my more recent stuff, so I'm glad you enjoy it too!

Secondly, I don't plan on adding more to the fic itself like as a sequel or anything, but I always welcome questions about any fic I write!

Re: The Nohrians calming the kids down

The Trio definitely get rounded up after Severa gets caught in the barn, lol. The only hope they had was running away, and Camilla caught Severa. Owain & Inigo aren't going to just leave her behind, and Niles is probably hot on their tail. So there goes that escape attempt. They'd probably get herded back to the castle pretty soon after, but that just means they're (very clumsily) trying to whisper escape plans to each other once get they stuck in a (windowless) room. So the kids are probably panicking less outwardly at that point but still Freaked. Even if this is post-war, it's a big, dark castle full with Bad Vibes. Why wouldn't they still think this is Plegia?

Re: Gaining trust

This is harder because you have to convince a bunch of 12 year olds whose last memories are of the apocalypse and who have been taught anything that resembles Plegia is probably on the side of Grima that hey, you're in another universe, you don't remember coming here, you're actually adults, we didn't know your real names before a second ago and the aesthetic is Ominously Dark Here but we promise it's cool, we're tight. Like, even for a kid, that's not going to fly

Ultimately, this would come down to how much the Trio have revealed about themselves to their lords, I think. Because you need at least one (better if at least 2) of the lords to say, "Hey, your mom's name is _____ and you told me about this secret memory from the time you were _____ and ____ happened, which I never could have found out unless you told me yourself."

It would not require all the lords/retainers to do this because if Inigo or Owain were both like "Hm, that is true, the only way you'd know that is if I trusted you enough to tell you myself," that would sway Severa not to freak out entirely, I think. (And vice versa; if Severa & Owain both were convinced Leo/Niles & Camilla knew them, that would convince Inigo even if Xander didn't have anything to offer just then, etc.)

However, they're not all the same levels of trusting. Inigo would be the easiest to sway, Owain would be medium distrustful even if Leo/Niles offered good evidence bc Imagination Running Wild (although that also means he's the easiest to convince they hopped dimensions/time traveled too), and Severa would be hardest to convince about anything in general, even if she didn't have any other way of explaining how Camilla or Beruka knew X about her otherwise. Severa is jaded at age 12.

Inigo probably compliments Camilla & Elise even more so than in canon but he gets Visibly Flustered every time they talk back to him because Tween Vibes. (I elaborate a bit more on this down below).

I think Severa would actually butt heads with Camilla because Camilla is so doting and motherly (and a flyer!), and Severa at this age has a lot of Angst and Mommy issues that she has yet to work through. Also, it's up in the air how soon aver Cordelia's death this would be for her. So this would be a tough dynamic for both of them to adjust to, and Severa would probably avoid Camilla until/unless something changed.

I can't remember if this was an ask in regards to this fic or something else, but I remember a long, long time ago having the thought that a de-aged Odin/Owain would actually be more drawn to Xander and Camilla rather than Leo, simply because of the fact Xander has such a cool sword and Owain canonically admires Camilla's armor. Leo is a dark mage, which is also cool, but not quite as Immediately Cool to a 12 year old who Loves Swords and doesn't yet use magic. I think this would actually make Leo jealous and exacerbate his inferiority complex, lol. (*Niles voice: Green isn't a good color on you, milord*) But all it would take is Owain seeing Brynhilder and hearing about it for him to Flip Out over that too, so I think the problem would solve itself then, lol

As a side note, here is a short blurb I wrote years ago in a scenario where Leo is there when Odin de-ages instead of Niles. Also, here is another ask about young Inigo's behavior with the royals. In summary for that, I think he'd actually be a bit shyer than he is in Awakening (when he's late teen age, I hc) because at 12-ish he's reached the "always smile, no matter what" stage of his facade but not the 100% "fake it 'til you make it" approach, so he's still really nervous around anyone and everyone. (Espcially royalty. Especially Extremely Tall, Very Handsome/Beautiful Royalty. For reference, Lucina may not intimidate him at this age because they've known each other since forever and That's Different, but I think people like Chrom (assuming this isn't Chrom! Inigo) and Emmeryn (were she alive) would get him flustered still. But maybe not Lissa because she may be more Owain's Mom to him than princess just because of the way she acts (though he may avoid her out of fear of getting a frog in his shoe or something) (But he'd still be flustered if she complimented him bc Nervous!!) Anyway!! That's too long! Inigo at this age, even after he's calmed down and knows what's up, would be shyer than his canon self, I think. He's still growing up

EDIT: also an additional old ask found here about this fic. However, I mention the kids being 13/14 in that ask rather than like 11/12 like I mentioned here. I don’t have any concrete ages written for them in the fic, so just assume they’re whatever age that seems best (and their ages probably vary anyway). However, if they’re on the younger side I think the Trio are still absolutely Okay with fighting (even though they wish they don’t have to, they fear the Faceless too much to be comfortable when one comes close bc Risen Vibes), BUT the age difference between 11 & 14 does mean its even harder for them to fight than it might be as slightly older teens (although they still do probably have pretty good teamwork, despite not getting along) and without rescue there’s a good chance they’d still lose

[mediocre-writerr]

out of my league [dani clayton]

dani clayton x fem reader

Summary: Hi! I just read your Dani Clayton fic and it is so good! I have to ask if I can request one!? If you are currently taking requests, I'd love to see something were R is Owens younger sister and helps at the manor and with their mother. R is sassy and playful, very much the person who defaults to humor in tense situations (kinda like Owen and his puns). She's the first to meet Dani with Flora and Miles. When R finally realizes just How much she's fallen for Dani she goes to her big brother for help and advice!

*not my gif*

“Ms. Y/N can we take a break please? Owen will be back with Ms. Clayton any second now! We have to meet her!” Flora raises her hand and asks as you’re in the middle of teaching. 

You take a look at the clock and back out the window to see a car about to turn into the gate, “Hmm, it’s about lunch time anyway so...last one there is a rotten egg!” And you bolt off running down the stairs.

Flora and Miles rush out of their seats and down the stairs trying to catch up to you. 

“Y/N really?!” Hannah yells as you sprint by her and you laugh loudly. 

You make your way out to the front and stick both of your hands out for each kid to high five. You see them sprinting towards you, both neck and neck. Someone slaps your left hand you turn and look to see Flora running past your left hand. 

“Miles is the rotten egg!” you yell and do a small little dance with Flora as he pouts. 

Owen gets out of the car before opening the door for the new au pair, “Why the long face Miles?” he asks as the new au pair stepped out of the car. 

She was beauty beyond compare. Her golden locks had you mesmerized as you had never seen anyone so beautiful.

“Ms Y/N cheated in our race!” he exclaims and you snicker at the boys small little tantrum. 

“Oh well my sister here is a very big cheetah!” Owen says and you roll your eyes causing Dani to laugh to herself. 

“Ms Y/N! Look at how beautiful Ms Clayton is!” Flora is holding your hand and gesturing towards the new au pair. 

Dani begins to blush as red as a tomato, “Shh now let us not give away my secret.” you whisper to Flora before shooting Dani a wink which causes her to blush even more. 

“Sorry, I’m Y/N Sharma, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” you say extending your hand out to her and she takes it. 

The feeling of her hand in yours was soft and filled with warmth. Can a simple professional handshake do that to you? Her deep blue eyes, icy blue, as if you can warm her up from whatever she is struggling with and change her life for the better. 

Wait...why are you thinking this about a girl you literally just met?! C’mon Y/N you’re better than that! Think...think, what to do? What to do?

“Pleasure’s all mine, I’m Dani Clayton!” she says and gives her jaw dropping smile. 

“Have you owned a taser before? Because I knew a woman who owned a taser. once and she was stunning!” you say out of nowhere as a way to just lighten your nervousness, but apparently you just said something really weird, “I meant because you-you are uh yeah...” 

Owen lets out a hearty laugh at your speechless and awkward front, “Wow someone finally made her speechless. I haven’t been able to do that since she was born!” 

You quickly cover the children’s eyes before flipping off your brother, “Now if you uh excuse me I have to make the lesson for later today...Miles and Flora you know the drill for lunch.” you start as you walk closer to the front door, “It was really lovely meeting you.” 

You headed back to the classroom complete and utterly embarrassed. I mean how did that even happen? You barely know the girl! You sat at your desk with your head in your hands looking at the book The Princess Bride. Something that the kids are reading right now. 

The children were in the middle of the book where the man in black runs along the Guilder terrain with Buttercup. After a sword fight and wrestle match with Inigo and Fezzik. It is revealed that the man in black is her love Westley. However, at the end of the chapter they are separated again. You’re sitting here trying to figure out a way to make this chapter a good lesson other than it was an exciting fight because that’s too easy.

“As you wish.” your hand freezes as it was writing down notes for your lesson. You look up to see Dani standing there leaning against the door, “The Princess Bride, good choice. The children seem like ones to like it.” 

You set the book and your pencil down, “Yeah trust me it’s hard finding books that aren’t too easy for Miles and not too difficult for Flora. Along with them having very different tastes at least this book has princesses and fighting.” you say and she chuckles. 

“What’s your favorite book? And not a book you’ve taught, but your favorite book.” she asks sitting on top of the desk making sure to not sit on anything important. 

“Hmm, that’s a tough one I’m definitely a reader. Like I just finished a book about the sun and it was very enlightening,” you joke and she laughs loudly which causes your heart to soar, “But in all seriousness probably Wuthering Heights.” 

“I like that answer and not some cheesy answer like The Great Gatsby, which don’t get me wrong is a classic, but too overhyped.” she says and you nod.

“Exactly! Finally someone who understands. How about you? What’s your favorite book and maybe I could get a read on the mysterious American? Trust me I will judge you especially if it comes to books.” you say jokingly and she laughs. 

“My favorite has to be Desperate Characters. I don’t know what it is about it, but the unhappily married couple rediscover their love, but I absolutely love it.” she says and you nod. 

“Good choice.” you say with a smile, pondering to yourself.

“What does it show you about me, my own woman in black?” she says and your eyes wide at The Princess Bride reference of the two star-crossed lovers. You clear your throat as you feel your cheeks start to heat.

“I’m gonna use an analogy because the kids are learning that. So here’s this, you see this solar system?” you ask referring to the one hanging on the wall, “Here’s Mars the planet of war and here’s Venus the planet of love. The characters in Desperate Characters were on the planet of Mars, but they make their way to Venus. You’re very loyal and when you find someone or something worth fighting for you’d never give up.” you whisper to her. 

“What planet are we on?” she whispers back and your eyes widen before clearing your throat again. 

“Why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny.” you whispered without thinking and she smiled, but it somehow looked disappointing. 

“Well if you excuse me I’m going to go make sure Flora and Miles are okay, I’ll see you at lunch.” she says and you nod.

“As you wish.” you respond and her smile becomes more and more genuine. 

Once she leaves you immediately face palm yourself. You lay your head down on the desk before slamming it lightly. 

You hear Jamie’s infamous laugh at the door of the classroom, “You know for a second there Owen Jr. I thought you had game, but you completely lost my hope with that joke.” 

“Thank you Jamie! Always a pleasure talking to you.” you respond sarcastically continuing to hit your head on the desk. 

“Oh come on Y/N, you know you’re my favorite in here! I just think it’s funny that your brother is so charming and you’re so awkward,” she responds, “Maybe you should take a page from his book. Ask for his advice.” she says before leaving to return back to the garden. 

Maybe that wasn’t a bad idea to talk to your brother. There’s something about Dani that you just can’t put my finger on. She’s beautiful and smart and has excellent taste in books. From what you’ve seen in only a day she’s amazing with the kids. 

You hate to say this so early, but what if she’s your Buttercup and you’re Westley, but instead of the Prince trying to tear you apart. It’s you. Because you’re awkward and says jokes at the wrong times because you don’t know what to do!

“Y/N, Jamie said you wanted to talk to me?” Owen comes in knocking on the door. 

“I need your help! I’m so awkward around Dani! I like her Owen, I do, but ugh I say the wrong things at the wrong time and I don’t know what to do! She’s just so out of my league.” you exclaim slamming your head down on the desk.

“Well lets not do that,” he says, “But you’re going to be okay. I think what you need to do is just keep being yourself, but you need more confidence. Become an alternate version of yourself, be the man in black with a new sense of confidence. That’s how I do it and you can see it worked very well on Hannah.” he says and you laugh.

“Thanks.” you say and he smiles at you.

“Anytime! Now I think you need to get the girl.” he says slapping your arm lightly, “You’re going to be egg-celent!” 

“Oh god...” you mutter before going back to write your notes with a new sense of confidence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2 w e e k s l a t e r

Okay now you really like her. Everything she is and everything she does you’ve fallen absolutely in love with her. You finally gained enough confidence to tell her that. Miles and Flora finally finished The Princess Bride and they want to turn the story into one of their story times. 

You laugh at them rehearsing the scenes holding the books like they’re some type of actors. Dani is sitting next to you and while some of your attention is on the children most of it is on Dani. 

The way her nose crinkles as she laughs. The way her dimples form as she smiles. Her blue eyes completely enrapturing you making you fall so in love. She catches you staring and raises her eyebrow up. Well there’s another reason why you’re falling in love with her. You shake your head just smiling softly. 

“Oh that was bloody terrible!” you tell the kids after they finish the scene, “Let me and Dani show you how it’s done.” she looks at you quizzically before taking Flora’s book as you take Miles. 

You look at her and start speaking going off book to tell her how you really feel, “The planets of Mars and Venus are far from us, but we’re living on Venus. Which is very fitting because you are out of this world and this,” you say before grabbing her hands, “us could be out of this world. I am awkward and I make jokes at the wrong times, but I will be just as loyal as you are. If you’d let me.” 

She seems confused, but her confusion quickly turns into happiness at the sound of your confession, “Kiss me.” 

“As you wish.” 

You snake your arms around her waist and pull her closer to you. She wraps her arms around your neck as one of her hands lay on the back of your neck and the other entangle into your hair. Her lips met yours and you couldn’t believe how amazing it felt. 

Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

Mabel’s All-in-One Guide to Being a Shooting Star: How to Avoid Being Caught and Other Tips You Should Know

Chapter Three: Not Dipper

A big ol thank you to @edward-or-ford and @pacific-ship!

He’s so tall and handsome as hell; he’s so bad but he does it so well. I can see the end as it begins.- Taylor Swift, Wildest Dreams

Warmth.

Warmth and safety.

Those were the first things Mabel noticed when she woke up for those few brief seconds, the first things she could recall feeling. She was too tired to open her eyes, and her head was freaking killing her, but there was warmth seeping into her skin like melted butter into bread, and something smelled remarkably good.

It wasn’t a familiar smell, not by any means, but she found she liked it quite a lot. She turned her face towards the warm, smooth fabric the scent was coming from, nuzzling it happily with a small smile.

It didn’t help her killer headache, of course, but her bed or whatever it was, it smelled goooooood, and she was all for it.

She felt as if nothing could touch her, there in that little bubble of delicious-smelling warmth, and she wondered idly if Dipper was around, because she only ever felt so happy and safe when she was with him.

When had she seen him last, again? Mabel couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember anything, really.

Oh well. Whatever. She was warm. She was safe. She was comfortable. She was happy. She smiled again, just a little bit, as her thoughts faded when she lost consciousness again.

She would not be so content when she woke the second time.

———————————————————————

There was a throbbing in her skull. An intense kind, particularly in her temples and behind her eyes. It hurt worse when she opened her eyes, and it took them several rapid blinks to adjust to lights that were actually quite dim, but with her concussion headache, they seemed ridiculously bright against the blue ceiling.

“Yeesh,” she muttered, sitting up on the… was that a chaise? Yup, okay, that was definitely a chaise. She’d never even seen one in person; those things were for fancy people. Mabel had always been many things, but fancy most certainly wasn’t one of them.

Anyway, she was sitting up on the super-duper fancy chaise, her hands supporting her. “My head, what in the…” Dammit, her wrists and arms hurt, too, those were, ugh, were those rope marks? They sure looked like rope marks.

There was a sound nearby when she spoke loud enough to be heard, but Mabel’s head was throbbing so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t hear much of anything. She massaged the skin on her wrists, trying to get the soreness to dissipate. It didn’t.

And then the whole thing came rushing back.

Shit. Was she married to the gnomes now? Was that gonna be her life? No, no, it was fine, gnome marriage wasn’t legally binding, she didn’t think, and even if it was, it wasn’t legal for somebody to marry a whole bunch of people at once, and it definitely wasn’t legal for that somebody to be an unwilling participant. Therefore, any marriage contracts they may or may not have drawn up were null and void, legally speaking. Which meant she needed to escape. Which meant she needed to figure out where she was.

Wait, what about the blood-gnome? What was up with that? Or, shit, the floating glow-dude! What the heckity hecking heckfire was going on with that shiz?

Suddenly, out of nowhere (or perhaps not truly nowhere; she just hadn’t examined where she was just yet, as she hadn’t looked up), a pair of arms wrapped around her, and her head was squished against a very masculine, yummy-smelling (the same smell as before, actually! What a lovely coincidence!) chest. Mr. Hugglebus reached up and threaded his fingers through Mabel’s hair, holding her head against him.

“Mabel,” a voice whispered, like its owner couldn’t believe he was getting to say her name. It was familiar, but also very much not, and Mabel was, like, off-the-charts levels of confuzzled. “Mabel,” the voice said again. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

It was hard to think with the pounding in her ears, but she did her best to ignore it.

She had bigger things to deal with than a headache, no matter how nasty it was.

“Wh- whoa there, friend,” Mabel said shakily, putting her hand on his chest and pushing away from him lightly. Mr. Hugglebus pulled back enough for Mabel to get a proper look at him, and…

Wait.

What?

“Dipper?” she gasped. He said nothing. “What is up with your hair, man?” she laughed. “Or- or your getup, like! What? You goin’ to a fancy party or something? No, no, wait!” she was giggling, and it hurt her head, but it was just so goddamn good to see him she didn’t care. “Okay okay, I know! You’re doing, like, a knock-off impersonation of Gideon, right?” He furrowed his brow, annoyance filling his ice blue eyes.

But… wait. Ice blue eyes? Dipper has brown eyes. They were identical to hers. She knew this. She’d stared into those stupid-beautiful eyes of his a bazillion and one times. She knew her bro bro’s eyes, aight? She knew those suckers. This guy, though. This guy was different. Like. Different different.

“Are you… are you Dipper? ‘Cause like. The Dipster I know won’t even wear color contacts for cosplay purposes, and those eyes ain’t blue naturally, so…”

It was several moments before he finally spoke. He was gazing at her with this weirdly intense look in his eyes (holy crap, those eyes, they were so pretty, nobody’s eyes should be allowed to be that freakin’ blue) she’d never seen on anyone before.

“I’m not… your Dipper,” his emphasis the ‘your’ was strange, condescending, as if he loathed saying it.

She scooted away, her back hitting the arm of the chaise.

All she could think about was a gnome drenched in blood, babbling in terror before exploding violently.

”Then who are you?” she whispered, eyes wide.

He smiled, and not unkindly, either. It was… strange. It was a kind smile from someone who didn’t look like such things came to them naturally. It was nothing like her twin’s smile.

Nothing like it at all.

It did something to her insides. Something she didn’t understand. Something she didn’t know how to interpret or name.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured, keeping his distance, his legs twitching as if he wanted to get closer to her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Okay,” she said, not believing him in the slightest. ‘Cause. Like. The blood-gnome. Had that been him? Had he done that? She hadn’t seen it, but in retrospect, it totally made sense for him to have done that somehow. “But who are you?” she asked again.

“I’m something of an… alternate version of the Dipper you know.” The more he spoke, the more she found his voice to be different and strange. Plus, he looked so similar to Dipper, but Mabel only ever saw her bro’s birthmark once in a blue moon. This guy had it front and center, and his hair was slicked back, and she lowkey wanted to touch it, just to see what it felt like. His voice was deeper than Dipper’s. More monotone, too. It was bizarre.

It was… it was attractive, is what it was. His look and attitude, the whole shebang, it was just insanely attractive. Wait, no, no! Mabel thought to herself. It’s cool, Mabel girl, you’re all good, everything’s a-okay, it’s just that he looks like your bro, alright? No big deal. Well, okay, you shouldn’t be having those kinds of thoughts about your bro, either, but we’re well past that.

“Alternate… version…?” Wait. Shit. Maybe he was… “Are you the anti-Dipper?” She whispered frantically, trying to back away more as if her back wasn’t already firmly pressed against the armrest. “There’s tons of different versions of me, I know that, but I’ve never seen another version of Dipper, and you look just freakin’ like him except for your whole… style and general demeanor, I guess, so-“ she was trying to get up, but holy hot pockets, that was some serious dizziness right there.

Moreover, was there another Mabel in this universe? She hadn’t seen another Mabel in years. It’d be… interesting to see one again. Wait, shit, if he was the anti-Dipper, there was the anti-Mabel somewhere around there, and Mabel was not at all confident she could currently best the anti-Mabel in a fight. And something told her the anti-Mabel wasn’t exactly one for fighting fair and waiting till she was ready. She wasn’t the meme-worth Inigo Montoya, and this wasn’t The Princess Bride.

Dammit.

Wait, he’d said he’d never expected to see her again. And she’d definitely never met him before, she would’ve remembered a fancy, older version of her bro, which could only mean he was talking about the other Mabel. Had something happened to her? Had she left, maybe?

“I’m not,” he cut in quickly, moving towards her slowly, like she was a feral cat ready to book it at any moment. “I’m not the… anti-Dipper, or whatever it was you said.”

She looked around. They appeared to be in some sort of dressing room. No, wait, it was Gideon’s dressing room! Except it wasn’t, because Not-Dipper was there, lounging on the ultra-fancy chaise as if he owned it, which he might very well have done, because Not-Dipper didn’t exactly look like he was a broke college student.

He looked like he used hundred dollar bills as tissues like Woody Harrelson in Zombieland.

Still very much fighting the urge to attempt to GTFO, as the kids say, Mabel turned back to him. “What are you, then?” He blinked for a moment, as if he were surprised, and then she belted out more questions. “What’s your name? How old are you? You don’t look like you’re the same age as me, which is weird if we’re kinda-sorta-pseudo-twins. Why am I here? Where even is here? How-“

“Okay, let’s do this properly, shall we?” He tilted his head when he spoke, the corners of his lips curling upwards in another one of those strange smiles that did something to Mabel’s insides. “One question at a time,” he said, holding up a long, slender finger. “You can ask me anything you want, and I promise to answer truthfully. However,” he crossed one leg over the other, his foot dangling off his knee, the arm closest to her draping casually over the back of the chaise, “for every question I answer, I get to ask one of you in return. You don’t have to answer me, of course, but if you choose not to, that’ll be the end of our little game,” he paused for a moment. “For the time being, at least. Sound fair?”

She nodded hesitantly. She could stop at any time, right?

“Go ahead, then,” he waved the hand that dangled haphazardly over the chaise.

“What’s your name?”

“Mason William Gleeful, but I’ve always been called Dipper,” he said easily, as if he’d been fully expecting that very question.

“Because of the birthmark, I assume,” Mabel was very careful not to phrase it as a question, not to raise the pitch in her voice at the end of her sentence. She didn’t know how he’d react if she asked two questions in a row.

“A fair assumption,” he agreed with a slight nod and another one of those smiles. Ugh. Could ya not, man? Like, for real, Mabel thought. His smile was most definitely not helping her nausea. “And your name? Your full name, if you would.”

“Oh, um,” was she seriously forgetting her own name? Jeez, Mabel, get it together, he’s not Dipper, get over it! “M- Mabel Caroline Pines,” she managed to stutter out.

“Pines, hm? Interesting. Alright then. Shall I go along with your other questions from before, as well?”

She shook her head. “Actually, I was wondering about your last name,” he raised his eyebrows at her and motioned for her to continue. “There’s a sort of… psychic, I guess is what you’d call him, in my universe, and he has that last name. Is that… I mean… we are in what looks like his dressing room, so…”

“I did shows here,” he said quietly, a strange look in his eye, as if he wasn’t seeing her despite looking right at her. “Once upon a time.”

“Oh. I see,” she squeaked out.

His gaze sharpened on her again, and he was moving closer to her, and Mabel tried to back up further, her sneakers scrambling against the fabric of the chaise. Eeek way too close way too close back the fudge up, man, what are you even-

“Why were you in his dressing room?” He was right in front of her face by that point, like waaaaaaay too close, ‘cause their noses were almost brushing and she could see each individual eyelash, and god his eyes were even more startlingly beautiful up close, and she wanted to reach up and touch-

No no no no, bad, bad Mabel, he’s not your Dipper, this is a different version! she told herself firmly. No touchy!

“We gave each other makeovers,” she said, trying very hard to keep her voice even. When he raised his eyebrows at her, she got mildly defensive. “I was twelve! He was… I dunno, ten or eleven! Jeez!” He chuckled at that, then leaned away from her, satisfied with her answer, she supposed, and resumed his previous position as if he’d never moved from it at all.

As if he hadn’t just sent a chill down her spine that was… not altogether unpleasant, which was significantly more concerning than it would’ve been if she’d hated every second he’d been near her.

She pursed her lips and put it from her mind. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five,” he said easily. “And you?”

“Nineteen,” she told him quietly, surprised at his age. She glanced at the foot he’d balanced on his knee.

His shoes were fancy, too. Everything about him seemed to be. “Not what you were expecting, I see,” he observed from her expressions. Damn her and her expressive face!

“Well, it makes sense, because you certainly look older than… than my Dipper.” Her voice shook on the word ‘my’.

His hand clenched into a fist.

She didn’t know what to think of it. Was he angry, or did it mean nothing?

“But it also doesn’t make sense, because if it’s a parallel universe, we should be the same age, I would think.”

“Well, not necessarily,” Not-Dipper reasoned. “In some universes, time moves at different rates, from what I’ve gathered. In our case, it’s the same, but it seems I was born earlier. I was born in 1993, whereas you were born in…” he thought for a moment, tilting his head to the side. “1999.”

“Oh.” She’d never noticed that when interacting with other Mabels. Perhaps it was simply because she was too preoccupied with not dying. It had seemed rather urgent at the time.

“Indeed,” he nodded. “So, your questions,” he reminded her after a few seconds of silence.

“Right.” What had they been again? He kept looking at her, she had to get him to stop doing that. It was distracting. His eyes were distracting. She couldn’t think when they were in her, dammit. Oh! That was it! “Where are we?”

“My universe. I found you with and brought you here through a portal,” he stuck a hand in his pocket. “If you meant the locale, however, as I said before, this was our-“ he cut himself off, took a breath. “My dressing room until several years ago, when I stopped performing.”

“I… see,” she said slowly. So where was the other Mabel, then? Shouldn’t there be a fancy, blue-eyed, properly Adult™ version of herself somewhere? She looked around the dressing room (holy crapinoli, she didn’t think she’d ever seen so much blue in one room), but there were no signs of a woman anywhere. There were no perfume bottles or makeup on the vanity, no dresses on the clothing rack, nothing.

How strange.

“Why were you in Gravity Falls?” He asked.

“To get away.” Helooked at her questioningly. Did it count if it was an unspoken question? She wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t risking it. “I needed an escape. College can be… stressful.”

That wasn’t the full reason, of course, but she wasn’t lying, either.

“Interesting.” He tapped his fingers on his leg. How could a person’s fingers be pleasant to look at?

“Why did you bring me here?”

“You needed help,” he said simply, shrugging a shoulder. He winced slightly when he did, but just a bit; the change in expression so minor she wasn’t sure she’d seen it at all. “However did you find yourself kidnapped by gnomes, of all things? Gnomes who wanted you for their queen, no less.”

She looked away. It’d been a long time since she had fought against anything but class schedules and exams she wasn’t prepared for.

“They… caught me off guard,” she told him quietly. “They tried something similar when I was a kid, but they lost. It never occurred to me that they might try again.”

“Gnomes are persistent little things,” he mused. “They dislike losing, and they are quite stubborn. It stands to reason that they’d try again if you’d beaten them before.”

“What… what did you do?” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. “To the gnomes, I mean. Unless, of course, I’m misremembering, because there is every chance I am, what with the concussion I very likely have and all, so if I am just say the word, but it seemed pretty dang clear that-“

“I killed them,” he said bluntly. His face was bored, disinterested. Apathetic, even. It didn’t even seem to be bothering him. How could it not be bothering him? Unless…

Unless he’d killed before.

The human brain could get used to just about anything if given enough time.

“You- you killed them,” her voice was horrified, she knew. She could hear it in her tone. Yeah, she’d wanted to get away from them, she’d wanted them to leave her alone, and maybe she’d even wanted to give them a good whack, but she hadn’t wanted them dead.

“Of course I did,” he sounded surprised at her reaction. “They hurt you. They were going to hurt you far worse.”

“I know that,” she whispered. “I know that. But that doesn’t give you the right to just… you can’t be someone’s judge, jury, and executioner. That’s not right.”

“I only did it to save you, Mabel.” She had only heard Not-Dipper say her name once before.

It was different than when Dipper said it. Maybe it was because Not-Dipper’s voice was a little deeper, a little smoother-sounding?

“You weren’t safe. Not in your universe.” His eyes were burning, which was strange since they were the color of ice. “I can keep you safe. I will keep you safe.”

“Ummm… that’s cool and all, but that’s pretty freakin’ unsettling, to have somebody just, like. ‘Splode a bunch of gnomes for you,” she eyed him warily, still trying to figure out how to get away from the dude without crawling. Would he get angry with her for not being appreciative? She didn’t want to see him angry. Would he hurt her?

“I don’t want you to be scared of me,” he told her quietly, his voice a little sad.

She almost lied and told him she wasn’t scared of him, that everything was hunky-dorey, and that he should smile.

She didn’t.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have, I dunno, made people explode in front of me?” She was being sarcastic, she knew, and that was probably a bad idea, but sometimes she just couldn’t help herself.

“Gnomes aren’t people, technically,” he reminded her.

“Semantics,” she waved his argument away. “They’re living creatures. Or they were, anyway, before you decided to go and massacre them.”

Not-Dipper had a look on his face that suggested he wasn’t opposed to killing living creatures, whether they were human or not.

Maybe he already had.

Mabel hoped he hadn’t, but something in the way he held himself gave her a sneaking suspicion that he had.

“I’m sorry if that… bothers you, or if it scares you. I don’t want to make you feel those things,” he sighed. “That said, I think it’d be best if I were up front with you: if put in the same situation again -if you were in danger again, that is to say- I’d do the same thing.”

She crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and glared at him. “Take me home, please.”

There was panic in his eyes. “I- I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“The portal… it doesn’t work like that. I’ll have to find another way to get you back,” he explained. She was still glaring at him when he continued. “But for the time being, you can stay with me. If you want,” he turned his body to face her for the first time since he’d hugged her.

“Well. I suppose that’ll have to- WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?” She was pointing, horrified, to his shoulder, where one arrow, perhaps about a foot long, was embedded in his shoulder. Another was in his side, the one that had been facing away from her. Blood had seeped through to pool around the entry wounds, though the bleeding seemed to have stopped. His eyes followed her shaking finger.

“Oh, right. I got shot with a couple of arrows. Just gnome ones, though, so they’re quite small,” she dropped her hand back to the soft fabric of the chaise.

“Okay, so you saved me, and you got hurt doing it,” she was saying this to herself, staring at her knees and speaking as if he couldn’t hear her when he could absolutely hear her. “Okay. Okay. This is fine, this is fine, Mabel girl.” She looked back up at him. “Okay, let’s go… wherever we need to go for you to treat those… yeah…”

“Very well,” he agreed. “I’ll take you there.”

He helped her to her feet, and she still found herself a bit dizzy, wobbling a bit.

“Would you like me to carry you?” he offered, steadying her with a hand on her arm.

“Carry m- say what now?”

“I don’t mind, particularly if you’re having difficulty walking still.” As if that explanation was adequate! Why was homeboy cool with it at all, though? She’d gotten a hella nasty gash on her leg once in PE, can ya guess how many people offered to freakin’ carry her to the nurse? Zero, is the answer. Zero.

What a weird dude. And Mabel was in love with her gay twin brother, so if she, of all people, thinks you’re weird, then you are weird.

“Nope!” she squeaked out way too quickly to sound even remotely close to being normal. “I’m good on the carrying front, thanks! Got it covered!”

“Suit yourself.” Ugh why, why was he smiling that smile again, it reminded her of Dipper and also not, and it made her nervous as all hell. “This way.” And with that, he promptly strolled out of his dressing room, clearly expecting her to follow.