#I'm not very thrilled about potential romance for him

[saintsenara]

Wait why are you not a fan of Snape and Hermione?? 2 nerds who care a socially awkward amount about the things they care about nerding out together at levels of romance people who can be chill and normal about things can’t comprehend?? It’s not one of my fav ships but I can definitely see it!

I headcanon that Snape picks on Hermione being a muggle raised know it all thirsty to prove and lacking self awareness because he was one himself when he arrived at school and James and Sirius picked on him for it! It’s like that you’re most repulsed by the things you’re self conscious of in yourself thing to me. Or maybe a him trying to live out being the “cool” one in that dynamic thing

But when she’s a grown woman and more self possessed like he became too I feel like that same energy ness has potential for love!

Hermione is famously respectful and compassionate enough towards all beings to be more understanding than say Lily Evans of his prickly tender ego if he had another m word style outburst and such a people pleaser she’d keep coming back for more snark as long as he peppered it with the odd encouraging compliment

And I feel like a Snape in reciprocated love could absolutely veer into inventing beautiful and helpful spells to impress his lover or sending “made me think of u 😘” notes with verses of elaborate obscure poetry territory that would be frankly the level of literary and academic courtship our Herms deserves 😌

Is it cause they’d both be the highly strung worrier one and they both need someone to ground them? Or maybe too pessimistic together and one of them needs to be the cheerful one?

anon, i genuinely love this for you - i'm always thrilled to get people explaining their love for ships in the ol' inbox, especially when they're ships i don't instinctively vibe with, and i have been won round to stranger premises than this by a passionate defence of why two characters should kiss.

where i still think snamione isn't clicking for me, however, is that the way you describe both snape and hermione here doesn't align in any significant way with what i personally think would be interesting to explore about either character in a relationship and have them still feel meaningfully like their canon selves.

[i will say, though - because i always think it's worth reiterating my fandom commitment towards being neither a cop nor a priest - that i literally don't give a shit about either the age gap or the student-teacher dynamic. i know that's an objection to pairings like snarry and snamione which lots of people do express. but i will never be one of them.]

the primary reason that i don't vibe with many of the more... sapiosexual hermione ships [by which i mean not only snamione but tomione] is that they hang on the idea that hermione's intellect expresses itself in a way we never actually see in canon.

or, the idea that snape and hermione are intellectually compatible [and that they would enjoy hanging out being nerdy about stuff] is just... not true.

throughout the seven-book canon, the way that hermione shows herself to be clever is that she displays an excellent memory and an enormous capacity to rote-learn. her intelligence is overwhelmingly demonstrated - both in the classroom and during the trio's year on the run - by her being able to regurgitate swathes of information, very usually verbatim from the source she got it from.

she is clearly able to use this ability to retain information to understand the theoretical component of magic in a way neither harry nor ron ever manage, and she is able to use this understanding of theory to work out how to perform spells which are ahead of her expected level on the hogwarts curriculum.

and this is intelligence - and i want to be very clear that i'm not trying to suggest that hermione shouldn't be thought of as intellectual, or that her academic achievements should be devalued. but it isn't the way snape's intelligence manifests itself.

because hermione is never shown - at any point in canon - to be a particularly creative or experimental thinker.

she places an enormous intellectual trust in disciplinary authority - teachers and textbooks - and is frequently rattled when these are revealed to be partial or incorrect, as we see in her shock at hogwarts: a history not mentioning house elves or her anger at harry getting better results by following the modified instructions in the prince's textbook [despite knowing nothing about the theory underpinning them] than she does with the "official" ones.

she also regards the gatekeeping of inquiry which disciplinary boundaries enforce to be a positive thing and she never displays any inclination to step beyond them. she dislikes the spells in the prince's textbook because they aren't ministry-approved - and i must say that i think the idea that she'd be won over by a man creating spells for her is wishful thinking...

she is immediately mistrustful of anything she can't find something she regards as an empirical source for - notice, for example, that she only comes round to the idea that prophecies might be real once she encounters them in the ministry of magic.

even when we see her using magic on her own terms - the jinx she uses on marietta edgecombe, for example; or the protean charm on the da coins - the magic she's using is sophisticated, and is being applied in a way which wouldn't be classroom-sanctioned, but it's not magic which is being used in a way which is removed from the spell's original purpose. the protean charm on the da coins is impressive because it's a flawless execution of newt-level magic by a sixteen-year-old. it's not impressive because hermione is using it in a strange, experimental, or radical way.

[in contrast, the dark mark - which harry notes the coins mimic - is clearly a spell voldemort himself invents.]

snape, on the other hand, is an experimenter. he's someone who clearly sees magic as a creative force which he has every right to shape as he sees fit by adaptation and invention. and he's someone who evidently rejects the logic of disciplinary gatekeeping - one tension in his relationship with dumbledore prior to half-blood prince is that snape evidently retains an enormous intellectual interest in the dark arts [which, as he tells us, are an area of magic which is feared precisely because they can't be neatly contained within disciplinary boxes - they are ever-changing, unfixed, mutating...]

and it's these conflicting views of what magic is and how it should be used and thought about which is the cause of the intellectual incompatibility we see between snape and hermione in canon.

he is unequivocally in the wrong for his dismissive classroom manner towards her - because he is an adult and she is a child. but he isn't wrong in principle that hermione just repeating what she's read in the textbook and refusing to synthesise her knowledge [she always goes massively over word limits! she never gives answers in class in her own words!] isn't actually a demonstration that she understands the material. [and therefore something a good teacher would guide her through conquering... snape having no interest in doing this is his own fault.]

and - from a snamione-specific perspective - it's all the evidence snape needs that, actually, they're not going to enjoy hanging out chatting about academic pursuits. hermione values knowledge like a dragon hoards treasure. snape wants to take that treasure, melt it down, and turn it into new and weird things.

once again, i don't think this a flaw in either of their characters - it's just something which is. and i don't think it's an insurmountable obstacle to writing snamione, because i believe any ship is possible if an author has enough nerve. but it's an aspect of both characters' canon personalities [and hermione's above all] which never seems to make it into snamione fics - all of which, as far as i've encountered them, are beholden to an idea of hermione's approach to academia which is considerably more flexible than we actually see in the books.

of your other points, i'm not particularly convinced by the idea that snape sees his younger self in the teenage hermione. this isn't just for the reasons outlined above - hermione isn't trying to prove herself in the same way he was, which was by creating and experimenting in a bid to be noticed and considered impressive - but also because of the massive gulf in their respective class backgrounds.

hermione is really posh - and, while she's obviously subjected to discrimination at hogwarts on account of her blood-status, she also comes from a family with both the financial resources and the cultural language to make her familiar with the vibe of the elite muggle boarding schools hogwarts is a pastiche of.

the teen snape - in contrast - stands out from his cohort in that he is visually identifiable as working-class [which does appear to be genuinely unusual at hogwarts]. his class background is something which clearly drove a lot of the marauders' bullying of him [i'm sorry to the girlies who think james and sirius targeted him out of some righteous desire to stamp out his prejudice - it was because he was poor and uncouth] and which he still has a chip on his shoulder about as an adult.

this - again - is not an insurmountable barrier to a snamione relationship [as it's not a barrier to thousands of real-world partnerships and friendships]. but it is something an author needs to grapple with if they want to make the pairing - at least, in my opinion - seem plausible. but the standard vibe seems to be that snape would be comfortable in the grangers' home fairly quickly, and that he'd be delighted to have hermione swanning around offering suggestions for how they could do up spinner's end... instead of him resenting this as the unwelcome meddling of people who've never had to worry for money.

i'm also not particularly convinced by the idea that hermione would get over being called a mudblood - especially by an adult man. while i think it's completely plausible that she'd handle this differently than lily [although lily's reaction is entirely justified - and i don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater of contextualising the teenage snape and the motivating factors behind his decisions by pretending that cutting off your friend because he called you a slur is a petty, ill-thought-out, or unreasonable move], i don't think that her reaction would be automatically forgiving.

hermione is compassionate towards kreacher when he calls her a mudblood because kreacher is a slave, whose prejudicial views are inextricably bound up in the magic used to oppress him [i.e. that if he received an order to use the term, or to refuse to serve a muggleborn food, from his masters, he would have to punish himself violently if he disobeyed it]. she is not - quite rightly! - compassionate towards someone like draco malfoy when he calls her one, since he is a free person with full agency to choose not to do this.

could she forgive him - or snape - for using the term? sure! absolutely! but i don't think it's a given - and i also think she'd expect a demonstration of how sorry snape was which wouldn't necessarily align with how he'd think he'd demonstrated his regret.

i do agree that - as you say - hermione is a people-pleaser, and she definitely has a far greater tolerance for being treated cruelly by people she wants to impress [especially authority figures - including snape himself] than either harry or ron. and i think this has the potential to introduce an extremely thorny dynamic into a snamione fic - in which the power dynamic inherent in the age gap [which, to reiterate, i think is completely fine for an author to enjoy] is compounded by hermione being unwilling to anger or contradict snape [which is a vibe - as i've said in answer to an ask about harmony - we also see in her relationship with harry... it's also obviously exactly how snape's relationship with dumbledore works.]

on a couple of the more minor characterisation notes, i'm afraid that the idea of snape as a great romantic has never hit for me. it seems really bound up in the way alan rickman portrayed him in the films, which i've always found a bit toothless. i also don't like the trope of "actually snape's really hot" which seems to always accompany it - ugly, odd men to get to bone too!

[what he would be - i think - is a magpie. get ready to be handed odd stones and bits of leaves on dates.]

i also think they're highly-strung in ways which differ enough to mean they'd just annoy each other. hermione is highly-strung in that she flusters easily and is very poor under pressure, but she's actually pretty emotionally stable [and i'd dispute that she's a pessimist - this is a girl who thinks that she's successfully eradicating slavery at hogwarts by knitting hats; she's pretty robust, funny, cheerful, and idealistic]. snape is highly-strung in that he has a hair-trigger temper and is very emotionally volatile, but he's obviously an extraordinarily good liar, very quick on his feet, and very good under pressure. he'd think she panicked too much [and over insignificant things he didn't care about], she'd think he tanked the vibe of a date by taking offence at someone breathing too loudly.

where are they similar? well, they have a shared self-serving streak [hermione is appalled by behaviour from harry and ron she considers perfectly moral when she does it]; capacity for cruelty; tendency towards secrecy; tendency towards pettiness and pleasure in the misfortune of others; loathing of flying a broom; cutting sense of humour; stubbornness; resilience; clear dislike of slumming it in nature; love of puzzles; and a weakness for red hair.

i think you could make it work on the grounds that they'd probably have the time of their lives being haters together - especially, i feel, about rita skeeter.

and - y'know - because love is weird.

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #snamione #hermione granger #severus snape #is this an “i'm in danger” one? #only time will tell

[jahiera]

hello! i can't remember if you answered this in your wonderful astarion romance meta [THAT I CANNOT FIND AGAIN FOR SOME REASON...], but when he propositions us for a second time -- with the series of pick-up lines that we can cheekily call him out on -- do you think he's still in the 'i'm just trying to keep you on my side' stage, or is there maybe some interest in us beyond that?

Hello!! Ahh thank you, you might mean this one? I have another one where I broke down a separate scene so if it’s that one, I can dig for it! But!!!!

I’m currently phone-bound so I can’t grab my usual quotes screencaps BUT I DO have thoughts on that scene, so let me ramble—

for the scene you’re referencing in particular, I really do think there’s a degree of projection from the player (ie what you think this scene means for astarion and your tav is up to you) and personal interpretation for the pacing in here—so if someone else sees it differently or sees it paced differently for their tav, I can definitely get that. however, for me, this scene sort of represents this very interesting shift in the relationship, but not because astarion is developing interest, but because of how he’s acting around tav now that he knows he has tav’s interest secured.

in short: I do think this scene happens still mostly in “I’m manipulating you to keep myself safe,” territory BUT. What’s interesting is that astarion isn’t making any attempts to disguise that anymore. prior to this scene, his two potential propositions (both the one he initiates pre-goblin camp and the one that happens during the goblin party), while not necessarily “natural,” and most certainly not rooted in the first bloomings of a crush, or whatever, there’s a conscious effort to disguise his routine and, in essence, genuine seduction through appealing to Tav, trying to incite desire, etc. — he’s lying and when you know he’s lying it’s obvious, but there’s wiggle room for Tav to genuinely think, hey, this guy is interested in me. but the scene you’re referencing—“here’s my little treat with their cheeks all flushed…” “three little words. everyone’s favorite. I love you. (that would be a lie.) but a very sweet lie,” or whatever he says at the end there—descends very quickly into teasing (almost taunting) that is VERY heavy handed and very gleeful in how he almost …. dangles the falsehood of it in front of you.

there’s multiple ways you can interpret that. is he getting more egregious in his flirting because he feels like he doesn’t have to try as hard, but still TRIES? is he revealing the truth behind the facade because he’s starting, on some level, to feel comfortable enough to reveal THAT if nothing else? I’m less convinced by the second, more convinced by the first, but myyyy personal interpretation of that scene is one that kind of….. is within the romance but removed from it in terms of. I don’t think it’s about tav here, really. I think it’s about astarion.

to elaborate, I think that there’s a kind of thrill in this moment — astarion has been an object for sex and desire for 200 years, and he’s still doing that, still playing that role, but now he’s doing it without the overarching crushing influence of cazador behind him; his safety within the group is relatively secured now; there is less..... external (or perceived external) pressure to keep up the act, but he still does it. which I think results in him almost……. outright telling you that it’s false? like a kind of release, to say that the I love you is a lie, and you know that, and I know that, and I don’t have to FULLY pretend so, in his own way, he doesn't--he tugs and pulls at emotion, and kind of .... invites Tav into the lie, in a sense (thank god there's no option to say "I love you too," here, I worry that fans would take it and mean it sincerely. like. AUCK). maybe there's almost a vindictive thrill to getting to basically display his exaggeration. or maybe he's pushing at the boundaries of what tav & he have here, seeing how far he's sunk in. playing the role still, but at the end, you know it's at least partially an act. either way, poking and prodding like that, to me, isn't motivated by blooming squishy feelings. rather, it's something less sweet, less romance-y to boot, but more interesting for the character as a whole. or maybe that's just my own bias--I tend to find the Soft Squishy Romance to be the least interesting aspect OF the romantic dynamic. also, to be clear, I'm not trying to soften it up with elaboration here. taking away the context of astarion's history and past, what he's doing here is really just mean. it's a kind of cruel thing to so starkly display that you dont really give a fuck about the feelings of the person in front of you--enough to throw flirting and emotional barbs of "I love you," at them just for the laugh of it. it's a bitch move, but it's an interesting one, and I rarely see the conjunction of His Meanness discussed with how it manifests due to his history-- it makes complete sense and it's FASCINATING.

there is ONE thing I'll say, and that in the dialogue branch where you say, "Are you having fun?" or something along those lines, he says, "I am! It's hard not to, with you." and that, I do believe to be sincere, in its own way. I do think Astarion is having fun with Tav out on the road, being with them, being with the group, enjoying the show so to speak, and exploring his newfound freedom--all of which is wrapped up in proximity to Tav. there's arguments to be made that there's pacing issues here, but I actually interpreted the fact that we don't really have another romance-specific scene before the "you're wonderful"/drow confession to be intentional. to me, the trust bond with astarion isn't developed in moments where he's putting up the act or where you're expressing interest or attraction to him (he already knows, he's already removed from that, there's no trust to grow in these moments because sex/attraction is the last thing associated with trust to him), but rather, trust is reinforced over time on the road, through shows of support out and about during crucial, but NON-ROMANTIC moments (such as killing yurgir for him--a nonromantic act, but one that solidifies that he can trust you.)

all in all, after such longwindedness... I guess my answer is that. while I dont think he LOVES tav at all, and maybe he isn't even romantically there yet with them, I do think he likes Tav by this point, and enjoys their company and their presence. what that means to YOU is up to you! as I said, I think it's a scene where the pacing and emotional weight is partially up for interpretation. you can just as easily imagine that he's got unaddressed growing feelings there as you can not--especially since if you turn him down here, what he'll say is "I've gotten on my back more times than I can count [...] most of them I don't even remember. but you, I'll remember." <- possibly implying that there was the start of a potential something here, ultimately ended, which he isn't really sad about because it removes the overall pressure of putting up a show, but at the same time implies a fondness for tav the person; again, not necessarily romantically oriented, but positive emotion regardless.

#bg3 meta #sorry I dont have screencap quotes on hand for this! I just got home from work #BUT YEAH. this is one of my favorite scenes because of what you can kind of infer from /astarion's character/ for this #it is. probably my least favorite scene in terms of viewing it in any sort of Actual romantic lens #I know there was a lot of gushing over the My Little Treat line but even when I played it without knowing the ending or where #the romance was going. I was like. oh lawd. you are EGREGIOUSLY LYING. #in reality the romance route to me is sooooooo fascinating but I rarely get Big Mushy Feelings about it...... not till late act 3 anyways #everything prior to that I sort of detach from a romance lens at all and it's Just for the buildup to something real. ANYWAYS. #sorry that's not at all relevant to your question! um. #guy who is so normal about character you have to peel like an onion to analyze their 15 different lies and masks on #thank you for the opportunity to RAMBLE INCESSANTLY once again #answered

[gasolineghuleh]

Archiving Love

Happy New Year! Let's start the year off with an OC that I'm so excited to be working with by @onthesquammer! Their name is Evelien, and I think my readers will be able to relate to them pretty well.

This is chapter 1 of a two chapter slow-burn romance with Aether, and chapter 2 will be posted in two weeks.

As you approach the ancient, ivy-covered facade of the Monastery, a flutter of excitement and a twinge of apprehension mingle in your chest. Today is no ordinary day for you, Evelien Waters— Eve as you're more fondly known. At the age of 30, this day marks a significant turn in your life’s journey - it's the day you'll meet Cardinal Copia's, no… Papa’s, new Ghouls for the first time. He had been promoted to Papa recently while on tour and just came home to the Abbey for the first time since departing almost two years ago. The prospect of meeting his new Ghouls, freshly summoned and feral, has a knot growing in the pit of your stomach.

Your path here hasn't been a straight line, nor has it been easy or particularly given to you, as it was given to some of your peers in the Abbey. Marred by physical struggles and emotional scars from your past traumas, your journey to the Emeritus Satanic Church of The Morning Star has been a testament to your resilience— but it's this very resilience that has brought you to this moment, standing at the cusp of something new and thrilling. Not only is it your first time meeting the newly summoned Papal Ghouls, but it’s your first day formally working in the library as an archivist.

Despite your usual confidence in your work and dedication, today feels different. The idea of meeting the new Ghouls sends a ripple of nervous energy through you. You've heard stories about them, their mystique, their unparalleled skills, and their devotion to Copia. When you first came to visit the Abbey, the Cardinal’s Ghouls had already been firmly in place— personalities developed and roles given, they were content and more human-like than you had expected. These newly summoned Ghouls, fresh from the circles, had the potential to be more dangerous and unruly. The Monastery, with its walls steeped in history and secrets, suddenly seems more alive, more daunting.

Taking in a deep breath, you try to calm your racing thoughts. The apprehension slowly morphs into a sense of curiosity and a readiness. You came all this way to serve your friend, Copia. The small cottage you used to inhabit now lay empty at the bottom of the mountain that the Abbey rests on, and there’s a small tug in your gut that says “go home”. But the stronger tug in your heart says “no, go forward”. After all, isn't this what you've always wanted? A chance to be part of something larger, something magical and steeped in history? The reign of Papa Emeritus the Fourth promises to be something of that value to you, and you know that it begins by getting your foot inside that door.

You drift off as you stare at the filigree above the door of the Abbey, remembering the day that set you on this path: a career fair during your Master’s program in archival and museum studies. That day, shrouded in anxiety like a dense fog laying thick on your shoulders, you were on the verge of turning back… but fate intervened in the form of Cardinal Copia. A figure both enigmatic and charismatic, he stood out amidst the sea of faces, the raccoon black paint around his eyes instantly striking you as an interesting person to engage in conversation. There was an air of mystery about him that intrigued you, and as you would soon find out, he was there with a purpose – a purpose that intertwined with your own destiny. It wasn’t long before you were taken under his wing as the official archivist for the Church, taking care of the vast amounts of books. 

Under the tutelage of Copia in Rome, you were slowly initiated into the world of ancient texts and artifacts. Each day brought new insights and deepened your expertise, allowing you to understand more and more esoteric texts that became more and more important to the Church. However, Rome also represented a realm of restraint that you quickly became uncomfortable with. The Ghouls – mysterious, alluring, and intriguing – were strictly off-limits, a boundary firmly set by the authoritative bishop in a clear overreach of power. As a pagan in a dominion of unwavering faith, this exclusion stung, yet you found solace in the rich history and captivating stories hidden in the archives. Eventually, after enough work in Rome, you were transferred to the main Abbey campus and away from the overly strict heads of the Church.

You stayed off campus for the most part, preferring to live on your own where you could practice your own religion in peace, without worrying about possibly offending those who practiced at the Abbey. Books would be delivered to you on a weekly basis and the pay was good— although the visits from Copia were the best pay of all. Lunches and casual tea breaks heralded by the purr of the Cardinal’s car engine as it approached your secluded grove, and the occasional chess night that sometimes involved a bit too much brandy.

The move from Rome, however, marked a significant shift, not just in location, but in atmosphere. The Ghouls, previously beyond reach under the Church’s command, now sparked a new curiosity within you. Among them, Aether stood out, becoming an unexpected ally in helping you navigate and overcome the anxiety surrounding these once-forbidden interactions. Through his conversational skill and general sense of comfort and ease that he seemed to carry with him, you managed to relax more into your role both as a job and around the people you worked with.

In this new environment though, your relationship with Copia took on a more complex hue than it had had when in Rome. You’re close – friends, even – but there’s an unspoken line drawn in the sand. He is your superior, and the underlying tension of overstepping professional boundaries looms large. Yet, in his presence, you find a semblance of peace, a respite from the internal storms of your mind. Anxiety was soothed in his presence, as were the whirling thoughts of self-sabotage and nervousness.

Your days working in your small home for the Abbey are draped in a comforting silence, a contrast to the cacophony of the outside world that you had become so used to only two years before. The only sounds are the gentle turning of pages and the occasional, whispered conversations of the Siblings who act as book deliverers. Your hobbies – reading, writing, crocheting, knitting – become more than just pastimes; they are gateways to worlds of your creation, realms where you can weave your thoughts and dreams into tangible forms. Nature walks through the dense woods that envelope the Abbey offer another kind of solace, a chance to connect with the natural world and find a measure of peace and introspection.

You shake your head, dispelling the cobwebs of your thoughts that linger in the corners of your mind. The stone below you is firm, the sky above you is calm. All is fine. The large carved oak doors of the Abbey swing open and a gust of warm incense tinted air envelops you. You’ve only been inside the actual building once, to sign hiring papers with Papa Nihil, the acting figurehead of the Abbey. It’s been long enough that you’ve mostly forgotten the magical feeling when you cross the threshold for the first time. There’s a tingle along your skin as you step over the threshold and you’re instantly warmer, compared to the chilly air of Winter just outside.

The statue of the Baphomet sits hunched in the center of the entry hall of the Abbey, its ruby eyes seeming to glow in the morning sun as it rises behind you, peering through the door over your shoulder. A Ghoul in a full face mask sweeps past you and nods in silent acknowledgement, shutting the Abbey doors behind himself as he darts through. The entry hall falls into a comfortable darkness, lit only by the candles by the feet of the Baphomet and the small stained glass windows at the front. You remember Copia’s written instructions in the letter summoning you for official duty, and take the hallway on the right.

The doors to the library are large and heavy, and you grunt slightly as you tug one of them open, stepping through quickly as it shuts behind you. This is a moment you've anticipated with a mix of eagerness and reverence— the library in the Abbey is renowned for the collection of tomes, and to be the head archivist here is something of an achievement. As the heavy doors swing open, you're greeted by a world that seems to exist out of time. The library is a magnificent testament to the pursuit of knowledge, its high, arched ceilings adorned with frescoes that tell stories of scholarly quests and mystical secrets. Your eyes scan the paintings from one end of the room to the other, noting the small and somewhat pointed references to the Church scattered throughout seemingly innocuous scenes— evil in plain sight. The sunlight streams through the stained glass windows, bathing the room in a soft, multi-hued glow.

The shelves, crafted from dark mahogany, rise up like silent sentinels, guarding the treasures they hold. Volumes bound in leather and vellum line the shelves, their spines adorned with intricate gold lettering. Each book is a portal to another time and place, a repository of knowledge waiting to be unlocked. You recognize some of the tome’s bindings as having been your own repair work, and you smile softly— seeing a book that you’ve tended to be back in the general population is a silent approval of your work from Papa.

At the heart of the library stands a grand oak table, its surface polished to a mirror-like sheen. Surrounding it are high-backed chairs, each one a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Above, a majestic chandelier hangs, its crystals catching the light and scattering it across the room. The crystals are blood red and the sconces a shimmering silver, leaving the light that it casts tinted faintly pink. It has an oddly comforting effect and you find yourself admiring it. The floor beneath your feet is made up of long and thick planks of wood, bolted together and sanded down after years of wear and tear. To the left, a spiral staircase winds its way to an upper gallery, offering a panoramic view of the library below. This elevated sanctuary is home to the rarest of the Abbey's collection, books so ancient and fragile that they are protected behind glass, shielded from the ravages of time. You know with a single glance that this will be your bread and butter— tomes to be studied with gloves and glass.

As you venture deeper into the library, the sense of awe grows. The silence here is alive, filled with the whispers of centuries-old pages turning and the soft creak of wood. Each book is a custodian of stories, of history, of secrets waiting to be unraveled. You feel a profound sense of reverence, aware that you are standing in the midst of something much greater than yourself. This is what you’ve come here to tend to— the silent keepers of knowledge that hold more secrets than the Abbey itself could ever hope to achieve.

This library has the potential to become your sanctuary, a place where your passion for history, stories, and knowledge finds fertile ground. The books and manuscripts around you are not just historical artifacts; they are living entities, each carrying the essence of the authors and the epochs they represent. Papa Nihil had done a good job at maintaining the flow of information in and out of the Abbey, collecting tomes for research purposes and extending written copies of the translations to other Abbey’s across the globe.

As you familiarize yourself with the library's layout throughout the length of your first day, you discover hidden corners and secluded nooks, each with its own unique charm. There's a small alcove with a comfortable armchair, perfect for losing yourself in a book, and nowhere near the main gathering area of the library. Near one of the large windows, a vintage writing desk sits, its surface adorned with an antique quill and inkwell, inviting you to pen your thoughts. A small secret door seems to be nestled in the wall beside the fireplace, but you never quite manage to find the switch that operates the hinge.

The Abbey's library also houses a collection of rare maps and scrolls, their delicate lines and scripts revealing the geographical and philosophical understandings of bygone eras. As soon as you find them, you allow yourself to close your eyes and imagine spending hours poring over these documents, tracing the contours of ancient lands and deciphering the symbols and languages of the past. The ink is raised just slightly on the paper, and you feel it slide across the pad of your thumb as you rustle through the papers.

An hour or so after you arrive, the doors swing open with an accompanied grunt that you recognize all too well.

“Ahh, Evelien, you are already here?” Papa enters the library with the same small and hunched over bow of self introduction that you recognized from his time as Cardinal— after all, he’s still the same man underneath the promotion and the face paint. “How are you liking our little slice of Alexandria? Beautiful, isn’t she?” Papa’s eyes leave yours to scan over the stacks of books as well, a faint smile of admiration across his painted lips. He truly loves these stone walls; the stories held inside resonate with him, and you can tell he has a sense of pride when he’s here.

“Quite honestly, Papa, it’s a little overwhelming.” You gesture to the rows of books that seem to go on forever before turning your attention back to him, now standing in front of you. “I imagine there’s a lot to be done.” Papa nods, his face sympathetic for a moment before he reaches out, his leather gloved hands holding yours gently.

“First, we say hello, hm?” His smile reaches his eyes as he looks down at you, eventually tugging you into a soft hug. “I’m glad to see that you’re well, rather than being told so through the phone and letters.” Papa’s chin rests on the top of your head comfortably and you allow yourself, just for a moment, to feel vulnerable and quite, quite loved. He’s practically your best friend, after all, and the one who knows you down to the layers of your soul.

“It’s good to see you as well, Papa.” The new title feels foreign on your tongue, but you know you’ll adapt in time. After all, you’ll be here for years, most likely. 

Papa steps back, still cradling that gentle warmth in his eyes, a comfort that has always been a solace for you. "Let's begin your first day properly," he suggests, his voice tinged with a soft excitement. “Do you remember when I showed you around the archives of Roma? I’d like to do that again.” His smile is genuine and you can’t help but smile back at him, allowing him to take your arm in his, guiding you through the library on a make-shift tour that’s much more interesting than it was when you were alone.

As you wander through the library with him, each book and artifact becomes a story, narrated with Papa's deep, personal insights— he seems to have some form of trivia for every book. It feels like a journey through a living history, with Papa as your charismatic guide. More than once, a Sibling or two pass Papa with a nod or a bow, and you remember just how different the status quo is now, after his promotion in Mexico. A chill runs up your spine when you remember the rumors of the new Ghouls, certainly more feral and untrained than the ones who had delivered books to you at your cottage. You manage to shake off the anxiety and tune back in to Papa as he speaks, just in time to catch the end of his sentence.

"...and your new room is just in the back of the library," Papa continues with a knowing smile, "for convenience, you know." His eyes twinkle with a hint of playfulness, understanding the allure of being surrounded by so much knowledge. "You'll find it quite cozy and well-appointed. I’m sure the Sister Imperator had some clothes delivered for you. Of course, non-standard Abbey attire, as you are not a Sibling." Copia inclines his head towards you in a quiet display of respect for your chosen path.

"Um, Papa," you begin hesitantly, your curiosity piqued about the peculiar location of your new bedroom, "why is my room situated in the back of the library?" It’s not that you mind, exactly, but there is a certain type of exclusion that stains the uncurrent of his words. At least, that’s what your inner anxiety is telling you. Best to ask and find out for sure, though.

Papa nods, understanding the unspoken question behind your query. "Ah, Eve, it's quite practical, you see," he starts, his voice carrying a note of enthusiasm. "The library is not just a place of work for you; it's a realm of learning. Having your room here allows you easy access to the trove of knowledge, even outside regular hours. You are the only one, aside from my Ghoul Rain, that is allowed inside the library after dark. Imagine the convenience of waking up and being just a few steps away from all of these books!"

His explanation makes sense, and you can't help but feel a sense of excitement at the prospect. "That does sound amazing," you admit, already envisioning late-night explorations among the ancient tomes as your eyes scan once more across the paintings along the ceiling. Making a home in the back of the library… Quiet. Peaceful. Alone, if you want to be. 

You can already see it, and a smile starts to spread slowly across your face.

During your tour, Papa leads you to a section brimming with archival equipment. "Here's where we keep the tools you'll be familiar with," he says with a gesture that encompasses the neatly organized space. He briefly points out each item – the delicate brushes, the magnifying glasses, and the soft cloths used for handling ancient texts. "Feel free to use anything you need," he adds with a smile. You nod, appreciating the convenience of having all these familiar tools readily available in your new workspace. The magnifying glass feels good in your hand, weighty and clearly costly, but not a hindrance to your work or range of motion.

“This feels absolutely perfect, Co-... Papa,” you say, catching yourself about to refer to him by name rather than title. If he notices, he makes no indication of it, only beaming a smile at you as you look over the tools.

As you continue the tour, Papa's tone shifts to a more serious note. "During the night, the Ghouls have the liberty to roam the Abbey as they please," he explains. "However, they are strictly prohibited from entering private bedroom areas. It's a rule we've firmly established for everyone's comfort and privacy." His reassurance is comforting, addressing the unspoken anxiety you felt about the rumors of the new, more untamed Ghouls. With this, a sense of security settles over you, easing the tension that had begun to build in your shoulders and stomach.

As the day's tour with Papa comes to an end, you find yourself standing alone in the center of the library. The bustling activity of the day has faded away, leaving a serene stillness in its wake. You take a moment to breathe in the quiet, feeling a deep sense of contentment and anticipation. The air is heavy like a blanket across your shoulders, but it’s a comforting weight. As the evening slowly sets in, the library begins its transformation. The fading daylight gives way to the soft, warm glow of lamps, casting long, dancing shadows between the shelves. 

The library at night transforms into a different world. As the daylight fades and the lamps cast a soft glow, the atmosphere becomes more intimate, more mystical. The fading daylight gives way to the soft, ambient glow of lamps, casting a warm, inviting light over the ancient tomes and manuscripts. The once familiar aisles and shelves now take on an ethereal quality, shrouded in a gentle luminescence that seems to breathe life into the stillness.

The shadows, cast by the books and furniture, begin to play on the walls and floor, moving like silent dancers in a serene nocturnal ballet, purely for those who are here at the perfect time to witness them. It’s as if the spirits of the past authors, scholars, and adventurers, whose lives are entwined with the pages of these books, have awakened to roam the aisles once more. Each whisper of turning pages sounds like hushed conversations between long-gone literary giants.

In this dim light, the intricate designs on the spines of the books become more pronounced, each one telling its own tale through the artistry of its binding. The dust motes dance in the beams of light, adding to the magical atmosphere, making the library feel like a portal to another world, a place out of time. The gold embroidered onto some of the leather spines of the books glint and gleam in the moments that the light hits them perfectly.

The air itself seems to thicken with a sense of anticipation, as if the library is holding its breath. It’s so tempting that you almost give in, the yearn for knowledge and the desire to know more about your surroundings pulling at your midsection like a rope.

You don’t, however, and the prickling feeling on the back of your neck suggests that you made the right choice. Papa explained that the Ghouls weren’t able to enter the living quarters of the Siblings in the Abbey, and your room DOES count as living quarters… but the library doesn’t. Another chills runs up your spine at the realization and your eyes begin to track every shadow along the walls with the silent fear that it may be a Ghoul— a recently summoned one.

Decision made, you retreat to your new bedroom nestled in the back of the grand space. It's a small, cozy room, with just enough space for a comfortable bed and a bookshelf— a quaint and intimate sanctuary. The seclusion of the room feels both comforting and a bit isolating, you’re being honest with yourself. The walls are painted a soft, calming hue, complementing the dark wooden flooring. A plush bed sits against one wall, adorned with comfortable, crisp linens and a heavy, warm quilt, perfect for the chilly nights in the Abbey. Beside it, a small nightstand holds a lamp and a few cherished personal items that had been sent ahead prior to your arrival, nearly arranged.

The room also features a modest bookshelf, already housing a selection of your favorite books and leaving space for new finds from the library. Across from the bed, a window with thick curtains offers a view of the moonlit grounds, adding a touch of natural beauty to the room. A small altar space is thoughtfully arranged in one corner, allowing you to practice and meditate in privacy. This personal spiritual nook, combined with the comforting ambiance of the room, almost has you feeling as though you’re back in the small cottage at the foot of the mountain— home.

—

As the night deepens, you're surrounded by an unusual stillness, broken only by the occasional creak of the library settling. Lying in bed, you can't shake the feeling of being watched, a sensation that's both unnerving and intriguing. The room, with its dim light through the foggy glass window, feels like a safe cocoon, yet the vast and shadow-filled library beyond your door seems to hold a mysterious presence.

You recall Papa's words about the Ghouls being allowed to roam at night, and wonder if one of them is nearby, observing you from the darkness. Newly summoned and still somewhat feral, you briefly consider the possibility that the new Ghoul will ignore the Abbey rule of not entering living quarters. The thought sends a chill down your spine, yet there's a part of you that's curious about them— never able to interact with them before in Rome, you try to assuage yourself that there’s nothing to be worried about. 

That doesn’t stop you from swinging your legs out of bed and crossing to the wooden door of your bedroom, double checking that the heavy bolt is slid properly into place. Your heart thumps steadily as you reach the wooden door of your bedroom, the cool night air of the room brushing against your skin. Gently, your fingers graze the heavy bolt, ensuring it's securely slid into place. A sense of safety washes over you, even as the shadows of the library seem to press close against the door's other side. You stand there for a moment, the silence of your room a stark contrast to the eerie whispers of the library at night.

Despite the rational voice in your head cautioning against it, your hands reach for the heavy bolt again, this time sliding it open with a faint but resounding click. Heart pounding with a mixture of fear and excitement, you slowly open the door, peering into the dimly lit library. The sight that greets you is like something from a gothic tale and a chill makes your flesh rise. The library is bathed in shadows, the moonlight casting an eerie luminescence through the windows. As your eyes adjust to the inky blackness, you notice a shadowy figure moving stealthily among the shelves. The figure is cloaked in darkness, its movements graceful yet haunting.

You watch, transfixed, as the shadowy figure pauses, tilting its head as if sensing something in the air. The air is thick with tension, and for a moment, you wonder if you should retreat back to the safety of your room. But curiosity roots you to the spot, your gaze locked on the mysterious Ghoul. As the figure moves closer, you can see its outline more clearly – a large black helmet sits where the head should be, and the tail flicks freely behind it. You watch the fabric of its suit pants crease and fold with its movements and the detail signals an important memory in your brain— Papa’s newly summoned Ghouls wear suit pants and a helmet. The realization sends a rush of cold water down your spine to pool in your gut, solidifying into fear. The Ghoul seems to be searching for something, or perhaps someone. Your breath catches in your throat as it suddenly turns, its eyes meeting yours in the dim light. Even through the thick glass of the goggles it’s wearing, there’s no mistaking the slightly glowing amber orbs behind them.

For a moment, time seems to stand still. Then, with a swift and silent motion, the Ghoul lunges towards you. Your heart leaps into your mouth, fear seizing you. But just as quickly as it moved, the Ghoul stops, mere inches away from you. There's a moment of charged silence as the Ghoul studies you, its gaze intense and head tilted to the side in curiosity. You stand frozen, locked in a silent standoff with the Ghoul. The tension in the air is palpable, a mix of fear and intrigue forming a bridge between you two. Neither of you moves, each assessing the other in the dim light of the library. The moment stretches, time seemingly suspended in the quiet night.

Then, slowly, the Ghoul reaches up and removes its helmet, revealing a familiar face beneath. The small pointed teeth that indent his lips just slightly, and the dimples of his smile, already wide and welcoming. When the Ghoul gives you a bow and an all too familiar and beloved laugh, relief spreads through your gut. It's Aether. Recognition flashes through you, a mix of relief and surprise washing over you. The fear that had gripped you fades away, replaced by a dawning realization of the connection you two have, built up from book deliveries and small conversations when he accompanied Papa.

Aether's eyes meet yours, a silent understanding passing between you. His presence, once a source of unease, now brings a burgeoning sense of connection. His grin only widens when he notices the recognition in your eyes and makes a point of holding up his hands harmlessly and taking a step back, eyes still glinting with a predatory light. Now that he isn’t skulking around in the outer field of your vision, you’re able to take in the outfit he’s wearing in detail. 

“You’re the new Ghoul everyone has been warning me about?” Aether grins broader as your shoulders untense and you visibly relax. He kicks out one foot and makes a show of dusting off his shoulders and displaying the brand new velvet trimmed vest that he’s wearing. The clasps shine bright gold in the faint light and you realize it was most likely those and the matching filigree on his boots that you saw against the ceiling.

“Did they say we’re feral?” Aether flexes his lip slightly, poking a fang further out before laughing, one arm over his stomach. He’s already shaking his head and you feel the rest of the tension bleed out of your body— Aether would never lie to you, and if Papa’s old Ghouls were merely promoted instead of being resummoned… 

“So there’s no… newly summoned ones?” you ask, rubbing the back of your neck in blatant worry. Aether is already shaking his head no, smiling down at you in a way that starts to pool warmth in your gut.

“No, little cub. Just some fancy new clothes, ay?” He goes to take another step towards you and seems to think better of it, tucking one hand in his pocket. “You're not in any danger, Evvy. S’alright.” He smiles again and you feel your stomach do a somersault. It had never been like this before, why was his presence affecting you like this now?

“That's good to hear, then.” You turn to look behind you briefly, gesturing at your door. “My door does come with a pretty hefty padlock, though.”

“Abbey standards!” Aether smiles and raps his knuckles on the harder portion of his helmet, making a dull thunking sound. “Papa cares about the safety and vulnerability of all of his Siblings, especially when it comes to keeping them safe from Ghouls in heat.”

“Heat?” You feel your face drain. In the same instant, from the other side of the library, you start to hear Ghouls chittering and talking to each other in their own Hell-sent language. The sound of it sends goosebumps up and down your arms. Aether turns to the direction that the voices are coming from and starts to bring his helmet back to his head, tossing you a wink before his face disappears from sight, replaced by the inky black leather and glass.

“Later, ay, pet? It's hunt night and I can't leave them hangin’ forever. Sorry for scaring you though, love.” Aether goes to reach for you, thinks better of it, and sketches out a small bow instead. Just like that, he's off, bounding off into the darkness of the library and calling out for his pack. 

With Aether's departure into the shadowy depths of the library, you're left standing in the dim light, a whirlwind of emotions struggling for dominance in your mind. The door to your room, with its sturdy padlock and thick oaken slabs of wood, now seems like a shield between the known and the unknown, between safety and the thrilling, yet unsettling world that Aether disappeared into— a world that you know less about than you thought.

You retreat to your room after another moment, the sound of the Ghouls' distant chatter echoing in your ears, their language foreign yet oddly familiar. The heavy door closes behind you with a reassuring thud, sealing you in for the night with the creature comforts that were provided for you. The room, with its comfortable bed and personal altar, feels more like a refuge now than ever.

Lying in bed once more, you replay the night's events in your mind. Aether's presence, his laughter, the way he looked at you – it all stirs something deep within you. The warmth in your gut, the flutter in your heart – these feelings are new, unexpected. Why now? Why him? You’re here to do a job, aren’t you? Does part of your archival duties include studying and notarizing the Ghouls? Maybe, if you ask Papa, it could…

#the band ghost fanfiction #ghost bc fanfic #lorraine writes #nameless ghouls #era 4 ghouls #era 5 ghouls #aether ghoul #reader x aether #aether #the band ghost #ghost bc #ghost

[markantonys]

I am so curious how RandAvi relationship is gonna develop in the show and what their dynamic will be like. I imagine it to be at least a bit different considering they're both in different places at the end of season 2 (both literally and potentially emotionally).

yeah i can't wait to see what the vibes are like!!!!! finally getting to see avirand (& finally getting a true sense of the show's polycule adaptational direction in general) is my third most anticipated thing for season 3 (first most anticipated is gawyn and second most anticipated is cauthor cpr djkfgjh)

there are a couple significant book avirand elements that i'm skeptical will make the show: 1) rand is already involved with elayne and aviendha feels guilty about liking her friend's man, 2) aviendha saw in the silver rings that she is fated to love rand. but i believe the overall vibes of the relationship could still be preserved without those!

as i was talking about the other day, i think #1 is almost certainly out seeing as timeline-wise it just doesn't work to make randlayne happen before avirand in the show. and i will be thrilled to see this element removed! i adore avirand both as a ship and as individuals, but this element was Not a good look for them (rand & elayne's official relationship status is neither here nor there - the fact that avi KNOWS elayne has current feelings for rand and will be hurt by avi sleeping with him is the issue (which avi herself rightfully acknowledges & feels incredibly guilty about & works to make amends with elayne), and as for rand, i suppose elayne's plot device conflicting letters give him plausible deniability, but, well, if you really have to get into the weeds of proving why something isn't TECHNICALLY cheating, then you're already on shaky ground haha). and ESPECIALLY in a poly situation i think it would be a very very good move for the show to stay away from anything like "rand hooks up with a new woman because he thinks of himself as single even though his previous woman still considers herself attached to him in some way, unbeknownst to him" because as we know, "it's just cheating" is the biggest negative stereotype against polyamory, so the show would do well to steer as clear from that as possible imo, and i have faith it will do so since i doubt it will share RJ's strange insistence on getting rand into a polycule without him having any idea he's getting into a polycule until the last possible second lmao and will instead let rand participate in the poly negotiations directly. with luck, we will avoid most instances of Forced Miscommunication where WOT romances are concerned! (but believable miscommunication would be a-okay with me.)

so let's say all of the elayne-related conflicts for avirand are out. what might replace them? the obvious thing is that aviendha instead feels conflicted for egwene's sake, since she's aviendha's friend as well and also has involvement with rand. this would be a very similar vibe as the elayne-related conflicts, but would work better and not stray so much into questionable territory because egwene's relationship with rand is fully in the past and both parties are in agreement on that, and because egwene is there with avirand in person and can give them her blessing right off the bat.

so that's one possibility. but at the end of the day, the core of avirand is simply "they clash at first and resist their feelings for each other, but eventually give in" and there's any number of things baked into the story that could accomplish this same vibe - it doesn't strictly need to be related to aviendha feeling conflict over rand's relationships with others. some other possibilities include but are not limited to: culture clashes, personality clashes, rand is resistant to get close to a new person romantically after lanfear (for his own sake bc it gave him trust issues and/or for the other person's sake bc he's afraid it'd make lanfear target them), aviendha's going through a major unwanted life change in her transition from maiden to wise one and has gotten the other life change of falling in love tangled up with that in her mind, aviendha has complicated feelings towards the car'a'carn and/or resents rand for being the prophesied destroyer of her people's way of life, etc etc etc.

there's a TON of juicy stuff to choose from, so i would imagine we do still get some degree of an enemies-to-lovers, push-and-pull tension between show!avirand! it's a really fun vibe, and the show can easily capture it, even if it needs to change some of the specifics (and that would be in keeping with the show's general approach of "different details, same vibe"). however, there's always a chance they might go for a different vibe! one thing i found noteworthy is that aviendha seemed much more easygoing and lighthearted in s2 than she is in TSR-TFOH, so maybe the vibes of the relationship will be adjusted accordingly. on the other hand, in s2 we see aviendha as a maiden, we see her at peak self-confidence and we see her interacting largely with someone she's decided she likes (perrin), so naturally she's in a good mood! in s3 when she learns she has to become a wise one, her self-confidence will be shaken and she'll be feeling pretty adrift and unhappy, and on top of that if she and rand get off on the wrong foot and she decides she doesn't like him, then we might see Grumpy Aviendha emerge more strongly, which would bring us back to our book vibes of avirand bickering and needling each other. (which would be really fun to see in the show bc it's such a different vibe than the High School Sweethearts & FWB-To-Lovers we've seen with rand's show romances so far. and the show's emphasized how rand has a soft gooey core but can get very stubborn and lash out when pushed, so i think he would vibe really well in an Irritants-To-Lovers arc!)

okay finally making my way back to potentially-cut-element #2, the silver rings. the only real reason that's needed in the books is so that RJ could force aviendha to Give In and sleep with someone she considers her friend's boyfriend. but if her obstacles towards giving into her feelings for rand are more just "he's annoying" than "it would majorly violate my personal code of honor", then she doesn't need to be given a Huge Inevitable Reason about why she must sleep with him, and thus there's no real reason to include Fated Romance angle imo (especially since avirand has a ton going on even without it, and we already will have 2 Fated Romances in rand/min & mat/tuon where the Fated Romance portion is actually a key element - so for avirand where it is not a key element, the show may as well cut it out so as not to overdo Fated Romances since we know how much RJ loved that trope). not to say that aviendha won't still go to rhuidean or that the silver rings would be cut, of course! just that the specific element of her learning she's fated to love rand may not feature (or it may! there's also no huge reason why it SHOULD be cut, besides just cutting down on the number of Fated Romances IF they even decide they want to cut down on that. maybe they won't want to!)

#anonymous #answered #wot book spoilers

[wishing-stones]

i feel like you had it somewhere but i can't find it now so i will ask... what are nightmare and the boys' kinkies 👀

Oh, I'm pretty sure I did, but I can't find it either.

Killer, unsurprisingly, likes knifeplay. He also likes dacryphilia, bloodplay, light bondage, degradation, dirty talk, edging, and denial. He's not a very nice lover unless it's requested of him, but you won't leave unsatisfied. Dust likes a lot of the same things, but has a specific pin on denial and overstimulation. Humiliation, too. If you trust him with breathplay, he loves that, and is usually pretty good about it. Keep a safeword handy in case he gets a little... lost to himself. Axe doesn't like having food involved. I know there's a lot of headcanons about that, but he's actively rebuilding a healthy relationship with food, and associating it with... intimate activities is not something he really wants to do. Chocolate sauce or something like that notwithstanding. It's fortunate he likes the size difference between himself and others, but he's also big on a little bit of play struggle. Hunt, takedown, capture. The others like this one too, but Axe gets the biggest thrill from it. Cross likes a little bit of light roleplaying. Call him your knight, and he's yours. He edges hard, and is also a talker. He's the one who most likes to see his partner absolutely ruined when he's done with them. He also likes seduction, both giving and receiving. If he's subdued, which he can be, he tends to top from the bottom. Baggs obviously loves to involve his powers in things, and also leans on humiliation pretty hard. It's usually playful and condescending, but it's still there. For as much as he values (and enjoys) overpowering and taking his time with his victims bed partners, he also likes having the tables turned. If someone can pry control from him, he will gladly give it up and he is loud. He might even have someone he's in control of do that if they want to. He likes it dark and seductive, or hot, fast, and needy... but also secretly enjoys tenderness, and if you shower it on him, he's putty. Nightmare likes seducing his partners, and believes in thoroughly romancing them... but if he doesn't have the time or the want, he'll still use his words to turn whoever he wants in his bed into a weak, pleading mess. He also likes consensual non-con, and loves watching the struggle leave his partner's eyes as they slowly succumb to pleasure, and if he's permitted to use his tentacles, well... they're going everywhere. He's very deft with them, too. He also loves power dynamics, so if you call him any variation of 'sir,' 'my liege,' 'your majesty,' or anything else, he leans into it hard, and you're potentially in trouble while he orders things of you. You're also going to be calling him whatever you called him initially for the rest of the night, and begging for him before he's had his fill.

#k answers #k headcanons #feat. r&r crew #cw spicy content? #yeeeeeehaw this one got hot #very very suggestive content ahead

[outeremissary]

4 & 5 for Dungeon Meshi? (I'm assuming you've been asked PF related questions)

DUNGEON MESHI IN THE INBOX?! This is THRILLING

From this prompt list.

4. what is your favorite CANON ship?

So a funny thing about Dungeon Meshi is that there are uhhh. Zero canon ships I think. Unless you count Chilchuck the middle aged halfling getting left by his wife or any of the several very one-sided crushes scattered among the side characters. I think that there is actually no romance that happens onscreen, the only mentioned romance is in one guy's backstory and was his brother marrying his crush. So I guess I don't have a favorite canon ship??? I'm just going to show you the most divorced halfling in fiction instead.

I think his adult children have also stopped talking to him but it's too late at night for me to fact check that one

5. who is your favorite character (and maybe why?)

Oh it is ALWAYS so hard because there are so many fantastic characters in this series and I'm going to do two anyway because I can't help myself. But seriously there's not a single bad one, everyone is so delightful down to the most minor side characters. but anyway!!!

First of all, Mithrun!

Mithrun is the captain of the squad of elvish scouts sent to the island, and is a relatively late arriving character (the Canaries arriving is a foreshadowed sign of the central conflict escalating to something serious). Mithrun is a terrible, lethal warrior with singular drive who strikes fear into most characters who meet him- he uses taunts so cruel they cause one of the main villains to despair, he's quick to suggest assassination as a solution to problems, and his creative use of teleportation has grisly, torturous effects on foes. He's also severely disabled. Without significant support, he struggles to function in daily life due to an inability to translate his body's needs into actions tending them. His life is managed with a combination of strict routine managing basic tasks and aid from comrades who ensure that he eats, sleeps, and carries out other essential physical behaviors. In social situations he's also blunt and generally opaque in his behavior, usually cutting straight to the point and often excluding others from his reasoning. Despite that, he's someone who has a certain charisma: his comrades consider him an inspirational leader and feel strong affection and loyalty towards him, and he's willing to take risks and extend trust towards others. He also still possesses a certain cunning that makes him very fun to watch. This has all been a lot of exposition to try to explain things, hahh...

Here's his cover by the way. All the covers are composed to be comedic and often aren't based in any real event, but you can see that teleportation at work!

Anyway, I'm fond of Mithrun because I enjoy seeing a character who's very, very ND-coded who's good at a job that isn't "inventor" or "knowledge guy," which I think is a niche that a lot of characters like that tend to fall into. He's badass, he's cool, and even though he's straightforward he's never naive. He's incredibly competent and strategic. He's also got a very dramatic, tragic backstory that's deeply intertwined with the plot and gives him a lot of really fun interactions with major villains- those are also the scenes that tend to draw a lot of high emotion out of him, and I love high emotion and drama! And yet despite the development of his condition being a central point of his tragic backstory, there's still never any lingering on "curing" or "fixing" him, which is... really nice, honestly. He has close, supportive friends and a life he's content with, and in some extra comics suggests that he doesn't like the person he used to be, even if to other people that was the time when he was full of potential. Both the persistence through significant trauma and the rejection of the telling of his life story as a pure tragedy are things I really enjoy.

But yeah another thing I love about Mithrun is that he's canonically just a little nasty and is drawn with these perpetually fucking chapped lips. He's jsut like me fr

Also you are being spared so many Mithrun Images by the late hour but I do happen to have this just at hand on my phone. I know this doesn't mean fucking anything without context but I want to look at this image so now we all have to look at it together. It's so so late

ANYWAY. There's also a SORCERER in Dungeon Meshi! This one. This little cunt. A fun fact about me is that there's a folder on my computer devoted entirely to images of this guy, whose name is either Thistle or Sissel depending on which translation you're reading. According to the guidebook, which is currently in my hand, Sissel is official so we'll just go with that for the rest of the post.

I fucking love Sissel. I love Sissel so bad. There's something so wrong with this little (4'3"/130 cm) guy. Look at that image. You already know why I love Sissel. It's because he's got a rancid, unstable little megalomaniac personality and he thinks he knows better than everyone about everything.

Just look at him. My little guy. I love a bitch who meant well once but has become lost in his darkest obsessions.

But like, more coherently, I also really enjoy Sissel as a villain who starts out as this legendary figure of fear- the "Mad Sorcerer" who's presumed to be immortal and all powerful- who's then gradually revealed to be deeply, deeply pathetic. He's so lost in his obsessive protection of those he loves that he hurts them and then throws a fit when they won't forgive him. His power lies in being a master of monsters, but he's so aggressively uninterested in the creatures at his command that they're constantly dying on him and the main character turns them on him just by knowing basic ecology. He has literally infinite power at his fingertips and he's so aggressively unimaginative that he can't do anything wit hit except react to what he thinks are threats. He's built up as a final boss character and Mithrun nearly kills him in less than a minute. He whines about someone cleaning his room. My pathetic meow meow. My cringe and fail sorcerer. I fucking love this guy. He spends a whole chapter carried around as a backpack and used as a human shield. The main character forces him to eat a homecooked meal. He's so!!! Lame!!!!

Anyway it would be a literal crime for me to end a Dungeon Meshi post without any mention of women. Look at my meme boy. Look at the monster wife.

I spent. More time than I intended. Looking for the page where she tore off her shirt. This isn't nsfw this is fine this is fine

Anyway very sexy of Falin to not only haunt the narrative but come back wrong as that.

#I was just going to answer the pathfinder ask that I got immediately before booting up princess maker 2 and losing my night #but. for dungeon meshi I can sequence break #ask game #me at my most incoherent. #I'm not fucking joking when I say Dungeon Meshi is one of the best fantasy stories I've read #ask me emithing #camelliagwerm #userharps #my love of shitty elves is so strong dungeon meshi understands me so well

[bamboobrat]

succession s4 e6 recap: bite me

happy international workers day, girlies!!

let's celebrate by watching billionaires be responsible for multiple SEC violations!

the bitch is back.

shitting on his children even from beyond the grave.

the video in question: logan speaking of their new product, living+, which will play a surprisingly large role in this episode, given we've never heard of it before.

shiv has a private jet rendezvous with mattson. they both excel at flirting:

mattson: we're buddies, can we talk? shiv: no, maybe i fucking hate you.

true romance<3

mattson tells her about the CE-bros and their little freakout on the mountain, which is the opposite of what her brothers eventually tell her during the meeting with the inner circle.

ken and rome, still adamant about tanking the deal, tell them that elon musk mattson is unstable and druggy etc etc etc --

somehow, i don't think any of them are buying it.

shiv sure as shit doesn't buy their bs.

this is the comeback i've been waiting for.

roman immediately makes his sadboy face and asks for a hug, because all he wants is love, but my heart is starting to harden. he is truly in his flop era this episode.

shiv pencils in 20 minutes in her calendar to cry.

i love you, shiv roy. ilysm, but you will never be holly hunter from broadcast news.

cry-time is briefly interrupted by making out with the future ex-husband she absolutely hates.

we've all been there.

roman has to deal with hollywood.

he is not pleased.

i can sense the utter distain jesse armstrong has for hollywood through my screen.

the hollywood exec pushes one of roman's buttons (lots of them lately) and he fires her in a way that reminds me of logan, but also doesn't. i have a feeling logan would send "the help" to do the dirty work for him?

roman's firing spree begins. we all know where this is headed.

kendall is being annoying.

asking too much and telling your staff they can never say no?

just a regular day for me, working with politicians.

also, a fucking minefield in terms of sexual harassment, don't we think?

anyway, he wants to play house on stage and fudge the numbers and be the cringiest of cringe. let kendall be kendall, i guess.

tom and shiv hook up twice in this episode????

unrealistic.

also they bite each other.

i shouldn't have to elaborate on that.

ken and rome are still working on their "tank the deal" plan and so far the road ahead seems very realistic and not at all like the potential symptom of bipolar disorder.

for once, greg is of use and summarizes their strategy pretty well:

bla bla bla business talk bla bla bla i don't care.

roman contemplates his own mortality, as one does, and thinks there should be some other option.

death is, after all, very much one-size-fits-all.

and where does he want to end up post death, you ask?

inside a tortoise 👀

conveniently, gerri calls him in for a talk to chat to him about some very serious issues, such as:

roman is shocked to know he can't just do whatever the fuck he pleases. but that's what my dad would do, he says, to which gerri responds, but you are not your dad.

i think we've hit another button..........

and gerri, having zero fucks left to give, does not hold back.

uh oh.

and thus, roman's firing spree continues.

i'm broken.

and also mad.

i know there are probably some readers of this recap not entirely obsessed with romangerri (but really, do you exist?!), but i just have to say, please endulge me.

we're just over halfway through the season and gerri's been fired twice. let me wallow.

kendall, however, is thrilled about this unhinged energy:

"fucking eat greg" is perhaps the funniest thing he's ever said.

meanwhile, after sleeping together, shiv and tom share a heartfelt moment.

just kidding.

tom says he loves money.

how gauche of him.

the set is not up to par for our mate kendall over here, so he morphs into joni mitchell for a short sec:

I'VE LOOKED AT CLOUD FROM BOTH SIDES NOW!

where are the clouds from berlin?? really makes u think:(

luckily, he can fudge the numbers some more to elevate the stock price to distract himself.

the sibs, however, notice his erratic behavior, and shiv convinces rome that this whole presentation is not a good idea.

and despite the eventual outcome, i think they are right, given ken's track record.

karl has a spine conspiracy?????

it feels good having the old guard telling the kiddos how they truly feel.

in the back of his mind, all karl is thinking about is that greek island. that's queen shit.

kendall goes on stage alone, because roman really doesn't want to wear his stupid pilot jacket.

he interacts with a video version of his late dad, which of course shows a man that is so very stable.

best roman quote of the episode: if i cringe any harder i might become a fossil.

gerri agrees, but in a more resigned way:

couples who hate on kendall's speeches together, stay together<3 (this is what denial looks like).

my summary of kendall's presentation: starts out shit, then he pivots into karolina's script and it's fine, and then he plays the dead dad card and we can't really argue with that.

living+ is still a fucking shitshow imo. not sure if i would go as far as mattson, tho:

yikes.

leave it to the swedes to underestimate nazi discourse (please don't come for me swedes, you know).

greg unfortunately has the best line of the episode:

and turns out, it is very much true.

tom channeling his inner oprah was not on my 2023 bingo card.

and they all agreed ken did a great job.

and karl devolves into his usual, spineless self:(

i have a feeling this all means an end to whatever sibling solidarity we've been seeing, given shiv and roman's reactions.

roman comforts himself by listening to what is basically an AI generated clip of his dad saying he has a small penis.

shiv and tom seem to decide to keep it all business, but also not??

it feels more or less like a high school relationship to me at this point. i love it.

and we get a clip of kendall in the water, but he didn't die, so i couldn't use one of my precious screengrabs on that.

you all should probably thank the tumblr gods that they have a 30 image limit on these posts.

see you next week for the afterparty, featuring more scandis for me to make strange references about!

#succession #succession hbo #succession season 4 #succession spoilers #brian cox #logan roy #kendall roy #jeremy strong #shiv roy #sarah snook #gerri kellman #j. smith cameron #karl muller #david rasche #tom wambsgans #matthew macfadyen #roman roy #kieran culkin #nicholas braun #greg hirsch #frank vernon #peter friedman #alexander skarsgard #lukas mattson #hugo baker #fisher stevens

[i-never-even-wanted-to-be-here]

Hi........if you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hey! Sure, I can do that.

In comparison to the big amount of ships I have I only have a handful I'm actually super serious about. So here are a few I like:

Merthur (Merlin + Arthur) from BBC Merlin: This goddamn kids show still has me deep in my feels after all this time. They're doing things to me. It's so sad that the series didn't get the treatment it needed and deserved because it was just for children. It had so much potential! The mutual trust and protection between the two is *chef's kiss*. They're soulmates in the most literal sense and belong together, are canonically destined to be with each other. What more do I need to say? And still, they're not canon. Unbelievable.

Andreil (Andrew + Neil) from the aftg trilogy: they have a super interesting, thrilling story, both the plot of the book and their relationship are fascinatingly fucked up and it draws you in. Despite their many issues and their rocky start they do have a really healthy relationship based on mutual trust, support and protection. I also like the imagine where we add Kevin and make it a throuple.

Mikayuu (Mikaela + Yuichiro) from Owari no Seraph: They're not canon but if they don't get together at this point it'd literally be unspeakably disrespectful because the way they act is so romantic, I've never seen a non-canon couple be so obviously in love. This is the most blatant queer baiting I've ever witnessed. Anyways, you could argue that they have a reason for their feelings, meaning that they're not genuine and only fabricated emotions, but idc, they're still obsessed with each other. Just because they have a reason for feeling the way they do doesn't mean that it's not genuine. Literally made for each other. The other characters also notice their fixation on one another.

Hualian (Hua Cheng + Xie Lian) from tgcf/ heaven official's blessing: I literally just finished this book series and already love them so much. It's a tragic and comedic story at the same time. I love when those genres are well balanced so that one doesn't destroy the other. They have their weird moments, like Hua Cheng being a little bit of a creepy stalker, which is why at some point I was slightly intimidated by him and completely understand why the side characters were terrified of him, but we know he's a great person and would never deliberately do anything harmful. They have a healthy relationship and as you may have noticed that's a really important aspect to me. BUT I do love angst and that's why beefleaf (He Xuan + Shi Qingxuan) from the same franchise are very dear to me as well, even though they wouldn't make a healthy couple.

Kanej (Kaz + Inej) from Six of Crows: badass characters that make me so emotional istg. But they make a power couple like no other. We stan the queen and the king. Again, a healthy couple, even though they're murderers. I just love how profound their relationship is. It isn't easy to cope with that kind of trauma and still want to be together. Also, the other two ships from soc are amazing as well.

Patrochilles (Patroclus + Achilles) from The Iliad: the OG gays. This story takes place 3200 years ago and it still makes me lose my mind when I think about it.

Caitvi (Caitlyn + Vi) from Arcane: I love their dynamic. They are both so cool in their own ways. And I have the biggest crush on Vi. I'm so impressed with this show tbh.

Yumihisu (Ymir + Historia) from Attack on Titan: Although aot/snk doesn't focus on romance at all and I like it that way, I do really like these two and I wish they could've gotten a chance.

Renga (Reki + Langa) and Matchablossom (Joe + Cherry) from SK8 the Infinity: Both are great ships respectively. The whole show is just for shipping and I love it.

Honourable mention: Khunbam (Khun + Baam) from Tower of God: I love colour coded relationships, they're kinda blue and red like Renga and Merthur. It's just funny to me that they don't romantically care about anyone else and their friendship is so intimate, at least from Khun's side, and while I don't think that they're ever gonna be a couple, it'd certainly be funny if the creator just pulled a gay trap on the readers. Reel them in with a battle based shonen webtoon and some straight baiting and then boom actually it's been setting up the queer ship all along. Oh how I'd laugh.

Honourable mention 2: Yoonmin (Yoongi + Jimin) from BTS: I'm sorry. It's just that I loved this ship when I still went to school. I hyperfixated on them because I needed something to obsess over to distract myself from my crippling depression. I don't normally ship real people because I don't want to make them uncomfortable, it's just for fun or as a joke. I am not serious about them, I just projected ship dynamics like grumpy + sunshine onto them and it brought me great joy. I even wrote a ff au when I was 14. Oh heavens, I have sinned.

#mikayuu #merthur #caitvi #renga #matcha blossom #hualian #beefleaf #andreil #kandreil #kanej #patrochilles #yumihisu #khunbam #yoonmin

[voluptuarian]

I've been thinking about werewolf designs recently, which has basically turned into analyzing my least favorite trends in modern werewolf media

pack focus - with a few exceptions, I find a pack of werewolves a huge downgrade from traditional singular ones (not you, Hotel Transylvania wolfman family-- you're angels and and we're thrilled you're here). How is a guy supposed to feel like a properly cursed and outcast abomination while hanging out with his 2 dozen friends who are exactly like him? "Packs" made up of lone lycanthropes who've adopted each other (for good or ill) is alright I guess, and if a whole family gets cursed The Quarry style, that's interesting at least. But I think getting back to solitary menace or lonely outcast werewolves is best.

too wolf-like - a lot of early werewolf accounts have people just turning into straightforward wolves. Some have a transformation into large, predatory creatures, more or less wolf-like depending on the region and the culture, but with features that differentiated them from wolves-- hybrid anatomy, missing tails, human eyes or other features. In others it's just "a creature," without an explicit lupine connection, or even just literally some guy but Powered Up and eating people. So there's no hard and fast "canon" folklore werewolf. Early monster movies (which established a lot of modern werewolf lore and the modern definition of a werewolf) gave us a creature that simply looks like a furry, monstrous humanoid, and nothing really like a wolf. What I'm saying is there's a lot of room for customization and new ideas. But instead I see very little experimentation or creativity, and a lot of Balto-meets-Van Helsing wolf-head-furry-body-man-pants thing (or worse, mangy pitbull rat hybrids) and a commitment to quasi-lupine traits and behaviors. BORING. If you're not married to literal-wolf werewolves, let's see some creativity! Be adventurous! Get inspired by old school werewolves, or do something completely new! Please!

not wolflike enough - if you are committed to generic wolf -based werewolves or anthropomorphic streetsharks-style man-wolves, at least be accurate about it! Wolves in the wild do not have true alpha-omega hierarchies (a pack in the wild is a family unit-- the parents are leaders, the rest of the pack are usually their children). Nor do wolves bite their mates to "mark" them (in fact, I went and looked into it, and didn't find any species that does, so now I'm curious where this whole idea even came from). ALSO it's kind of petty, but so many werewolf designs seem to look more like dogs than real wolves-- narrow nose bridges, too-close-together ears, etc. Basically, so much werewolf content is committed to this generic idea of werewolves that's not accurate to real wolves, frequently unconnected to any werewolf lore, originated in the last 10 or 15 years, and isn't even interesting for all that (with different versions of "generic" depending on genre)-- ditch it, and do something new, or at least accurate!

ugly = scary/boring = sexy - the two big splits of "generic" werewolves I'm seeing are in horror (movies mostly) and romance. Current horror werewolves seem to be stuck with this ugly, disheveled look-- mangy, molting-looking fur, extremely wrinkly, raw-looking face skin, beady eyes, no tails, skinny, bony-looking bodies, huge feet etc (honestly I think the Underworld designs are the progenitors of this); meanwhile romance werewolves are usually big and brawny, with lush fur and swishy tails and a very cartoony balance of human and wolf characteristics (I think this design is indebted to animated movies and furry art, but also think it was very influenced by Van Helsing's werewolves as well). Basically, I'd like some interesting, potentially scary looking werewolves! A scary design is not going to kill the sexiness! At the same time, a design does not have to be purposely ugly in order to be scary! (Case in point, it's not a werewolf, and much more feline, but I adore Angela Barret's design for the beast in Beauty and the Beast-- unique, bestial and potentially frightening, but also sleek and elegant.)

exclusively abo - I get it, I get it. But like, 90% of werewolf romance stuff is the "claimed as the alpha's mate" variety-- I would enjoy some diversity. Also, if it's heat you're into, that's in no way exclusive to either false real-world alpha hierarchies, or invented fictional ones.

#I have Thoughts and Feelings about this subject #and 90% of what's out there is Unsatisfactory #lore and more #werewolf

[talkingbl]

Let's Get Creative

So now that I've had some time to recover from the Wabi Sabi news, I wanna talk about new BL pairings that we either might see or that I want to see (and how I want to see them) at GMMTV for 2024 pt. 2 and beyond!

Keep in mind, that for the ones I want to see, I will be pairing people together largely NOT based on chemistry since they likely won't have acted together, and, to some extent, based on the aesthetic vision.

Pairings we very well could get

SantaLego.

I don't know who's gonna act but I just feel like with them having the same manager and complementary looks, this pairing seems almost inevitable. I've already seen people making edits of them.

FlukeJava.

If Java's pairing with Ryu doesn't work out, I feel like this is a highly likely pairing. I don't think Thor wants to be in a shipped pair so ThorFluke will be out after Wandee Goodday. Either way, these two have complementary looks and I can easily see them in a dark hs romance together.

SantaJava.

I just feel like this could happen. And GMMTV would give them a Last Twlight-esque script. Santa's acting lends itself to badboy roles and Java's got a softer look to juxtapose that type of character.

Complete and utter wishful thinking

SkyNani lmfao.

Let me explain! I know it's not gonna happen in a million years but imagine how much better the High School Frenemies trailer would have been if the main storyline was bl themed! Nani and Sky both seem to have the talent and visuals that GMMTV desperately needs in its Gen 3 pairings, so why not give it a chance? Though, I would prefer to give NaniSky something more like Red, White, & Royal Blue where 2 sons of diplomats/politicians/world leaders that are part of opposing political parties constantly try to sabotage each other or something. There's a lot of potential for social commentary with a script like that, too.

EstFluke.

Idk, they'd just complement each other visually. Maybe Fluke's a call boy and Est is a secret customer or some cliche like that. But the thing about something like that is it'd have to be acted and directed VERY well, otherwise it can easily fall into the same trap as other "edgy" BLs like Playboyy.

EstInn.

See above. As for the script, I'm thinking slice of life, strangers to lovers trope.

PerthOhmT.

I think this could be interesting from an acting standpoint. While I'm not thrilled with either of them, their acting styles are very complementary. But they both still need to grow a lot in that area. I wonder what they'd do in an isekai-style bl lmao. Like maybe Ohm T.'s character wakes up in 1995 and runs into Perth. And maybe Perth's character is different than anything he's ever played--like maybe he's a loser/outcast/geek type who likes to study the stars or something, idk I'm just freestyling right now. Anything to break up PerthChimon really!

SkyPrem.

I can't even explain what this would do to the industry. Again, I'm not too familiar with Sky's work, but from what I've seen, he's at least on par with Prem. And visually, it would be VERY interesting. I can definitely imagine them in an ex lovers with one-sided bad blood (maybe Sky's character fucked up bad or something) who rekindle the romance.

JimmyBoun.

BITCH- JimmyBoun would challenge everything we think about how to pair two people together. Their visuals are very different (both from each other and the norm), but their acting seems like they'd fit together quite well in specific roles. In particular, I'd really like to see them play flirty best friends engaging in gay chicken 24/7 until one day they go too far and decide to become a couple. Most importantly, this would be a pairing of sunshine and fluff rather than anything super angsty like with SkyPrem.

ChokunFourth.

Now this is my most interesting idea. I think Fourth deserves to be able to explore other screen partners and that those screen partners need to complement him very well (so as to not drag him down). And while there's not many options acting-wise, there are some that are very visually complementary (and by visually, I mean they would look good together and they would likely fit the same types of stories). Chokun is one of them. I want to see them play college-aged roles, but I don't want it to be a university-themed story, nor do I want them to actually be in university. Like it'd be really cool if they were just like two part-timers or even played in an alternate universe in a YA sci-fi/dystopia setting. The key with these two is the right story and acting skills. And we all know Fourth can make it happen with anyone, so I'm not worried about that. But Chokun would need to really work hard to prove himself acting-wise. If he could live up to that and they got a good story, I feel like they could be one of GMMTV's best pairings.

#gmmtv 2024 pt. 2 #thai bl boys love #bounprem boun noppanut prem warut santa pongsapak lego rapeepong fluke nattanon java bhobdama nani hirunkit sky wongravee #est supha inn sarin perth tanapon ohm thipakorn jimmy jitaraphol chokun puttipong fourth nattawat #santalego flukejava santajava estinn estfluke perthohm jimmyboun chokunfourth

[sallysavestheday]

🐦 a romantic quote (can be sweet or sad or sexy, or just your favorite interaction between them!)

🐓 fuck quotes, give me a summary or some ao3 tags

Thanks for the ask! I'm very low on WIPs at the moment so am taking the posted works track for these.

🐦: have a little Haleth/Caranthir, from Knit Me Up That Raveled Sleeve.

Even among his own people, Caranthir needs less sleep than most. He keeps a luxurious bedroom, as befits his status and his preference for privacy, but rarely indulges in the deep, true slumber that might occur there. His ease comes from patterning in his mind: numbers, accounts, routines. They slip across the surface of his consciousness as he walks the battlements or reads in the library or stares into the fire. Haleth teases him about counting sheep, in Haladin argot, but doing so is, in fact, an exercise in rest that he enjoys. She, on the other hand, sleeps long and deep, whenever she is able, abandoning her body and releasing her mind. He marvels at her sprawled surrender to the pull of dreams: the liquid softness of her body, the weight she seems to gain as she melts into the sheets. Once asleep, she is a silent likeness of her waking self, slightly skewed into something tender and strange. Her sharp face relaxes, and the firm line of her mouth dissolves, becoming supple and sweet. He wakes her with kisses in the depths of the night, more times than is probably fair, unable to resist the soft indulgence of her sleepy smile as he teases her out of her dreams.

🐓Most of my best tags appear to be for Maedhros/Fingon, those weird and wonderful guys.

Maedhros' love languages are mental finger-pointing and excuse-making and confusion (Between the Shadow and the Soul)

or

Project-based learning for excitable adolescent elves; Russingon does art therapy; maximizing the potential of osanwe when your lover lives many leagues away (The Marriage of True Minds)

or

Romance; cannibalism; consensual mutilation; Fingon is a thrill-seeker with survivor's guilt; is it really monsterfucking if it's Maedhros? (Tender Morsels)

Still taking bird asks!

#asks and answers #my fics #haleth #caranthir #maedhros #fingon

[alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice]

Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them? Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party? Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take? (Especially curious about Tarathil here, but as usual I'd be thrilled with both!)

Okay so I'm going to answer for Tarathil first because they're easier. No, they are not a romanceable character, but more of a "drow twins" potential scene. I'm thinking that they would make a couple comments about Halsin, and players that decide to romance Halsin exclusively (as in Halsin is not becoming a third in a pre-existing romance) would have the option of including a second druid in on the fun. (And... yes, the wildshape would be an option for Tarathil too, mostly because I love chaos but also because I would like to include Tarathil's vaginismus as something that is actually mentioned and they would say that taking a different form makes that easier for them.)

As for Lyra, I would want to do something very fun for her romance, because she would be a romanceable character, but it wouldn't appear so at first. The player would have the option to choose flirtatious options with her, but outright flirting with her would get her to shut them down quickly and decline (she's taken!) and persisting with flirtation would actually get a "Lyra disapproves." However, at the tiefling party, the PC would find that Lyra is a bit off and looks as if she has been crying. Depending on the approval rating, she will divulge more about how she had a very strained conversation with her patron. (Why don't the warlocks get to be happy at the party? Who knows.) And for a player that has successfully unlocked her romance, she would say something about how "do you feel like we're all just playthings for these higher powers?" and then "I have often thought of myself in such a way, just an ant trying to grasp at the heavens... but with you... I start to feel like we can beat this, that we can take our destinies where we want," and then a sheepish brush of her hair back. "Ah, look at me, weighing you down with philosophical conundrums on such a celebratory night. As much as I am beginning to care for you, I cannot monopolize your time. Thank you, though... for coming by. You've certainly raised my spirits."

Oh my gosh this is also getting so long but I have another question to answer which is "diverging/branching paths" for Lyra. I think this would tie into her personal quest, which would be a bit like an inverse of Astarion's endings. There's the healthy choices, where you have her refuse the additional power/info from her patron so she is not as dependent on him and coming into her own power/independence, similar to the spawn ending for Astarion where he feels more himself without the power promised in the ritual. At the six month mark she'd be talking about being on the verge of making some sort of amazing magical or astronomical discovery. She'd be vibrant in sharing her passion with you and for you.

But, as Astarion becomes Cazador 2.0 and perpetuates the cycle of abuse with his Vampire Ascendant ending, the player is the one who encourages Lyra's cycle and becomes her new Midnight. Not literally, they're not going to be her new patron, but they will play the same role that he played for her. This would have to be handled VERY delicately, because otherwise you just romanticize being an abuser. I really hope that it could come across as truly chilling the way that Astarion's voice as the vampire ascendant chills me. Perhaps the way to do that would be to exaggerate her bitterness. That yes, you have worn her down and stripped her of the personal power she could have achieved, at the cost of the light and love in her eyes. She is resigned, resentful, her smile is forced, but she's tied to you, devoted to your goals and fully abandoned her previous studies. With Ascended Astarion, I feel like you're not sure if he's actually going to lock you away, torture you in some mirror of how Cazador tortured his spawn. With Lyra, you wouldn't entirely be sure if she won't stab you in your sleep to finally be free. You're nicer than Midnight was to her, certainly. Just like Astarion is certainly nicer than Cazador. But does that really count for much? Maybe one day, they'll just crack.

#alls fair creations #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 tav #tav ask game #lyra brightsong #tarathil ivyburr

[roleplay-today]

hear yee hear yee! I've arrived to talk to you about Baldur's Gate 3! 🖤

so personally, I've come seeking M x M threads exclusively. more specifically, I'm interested in some OC x CC, OC x OC and potentially CC x CC shenanigans, should we find the correct fit for both of us. I have a whole list of OCs I'm thrilled to throw at you and though none of them are Tav exactly, I have no problem fitting them into that role if need be. personally, I'm even okay adapting them as an average companion if that works for the plot. honestly, I'm very lenient. now, for the specifics;

I'd be thrilled to toss my pretty, twinky half-elf bard whom hails from Baldur's Gate at Gale of Waterdeep, or a tiefling childhood friend of Wyll Ravengard's at him. hence, you know, obviously I would love to find someone to write either Gale or Wyll. other than that, I'm very extremely open to all sorts of OC x OC shenanigans. I've not yet written a single canon character from BG3 but I'm also open to trying my hand at it, possibly at Halsin or Wyll.

logistics then; I prefer to write over discord, in our shared little haven of a server. open to tupperbox! I typically write multiple paragraphs; I don't think it's possible to even get a reply under two paragraphs minimum out of me. third person prose, past tense preferred though optional. I prefer my partners to match my writing style so I've got samples you can take a look at if you want! good grammar is a must, though I'm naturally forgiving of small mistakes. normally I reply at least daily, though depending on how life is (as you do) results may vary. hoping for something similar! super open to AUs, crossovers, different timelines, multiple threads and so on! my absolute favorite thing to write is romance with plot. some angst, some fluff, some terrible angst and passionate love. a nice, healthy balance of things with love perservering through the challenges. open to smut as well as dead dove topics; we can discuss triggers and limits in dms! finally, I hope you're a minimum of 20 years old, as I'm 32 myself. if you made it all the way to the bottom and remain interested, great! drop this post a like and I will surely find you! 👁️👄👁️ TERFs need not bother! (◡‿◡✿)_/¯

[friendlessghoul]

Anon

I'm not upset at your message. Im inserting a read more because this is long.

I understand your confusion. I think you need more understanding of the time. There are parts that make me uncomfortable, as long as we acknowledge and know that we don't agree with that, we are still allowed to enjoy what we're watching. It is a completely different time. If we only watch things from the perspective that we have now, we would not be able to watch the majority of media from the past. Even within the past 10 years or less.

Watching things from the past give us a view of how things were; how similar we are but also how different and how we have progressed.

In regard to Buster enjoying Birth of a Nation. Yes, he had said that it was a movie he enjoyed, it was the movie that made him realize the potential of what films could do.

I'm pretty positive I know which article you read who mentioned it. I can only say my opinion on that. I don't think Buster was amazed by it because of the story, but because of what they were able to achieve visually on film. No one was really doing epic films like that. From A Filmmakers Life - James Curtis, Page 100 " "You must never forget," Arbuckle had told him, "that the average mentality of our movie audience is twelve years old." Such advice didn't sit well with Buster, who started taking films seriously after seeing Tillie's Punctured Romance, Sennett's pioneering 1914 feature, then thrilling to D.W. Griffth's Birth of a Nation, which he considered a masterpiece. "I thought that over for a long time," he said of Arbuckle's pronouncement, "for three months in fact. Then I said to Roscoe, 'I think you'd better forget the idea that the movie audience has a twelve-year-old mind. Anyone who believes that won't be in pictures very long, in my opinion.' I pointed out how rapidly pictures were improving technically. The studios were also offering better stories all the time, using superior equipment, getting more intelligent directors... 'Every time anyone makes another good picture.' I said, 'people with adult minds will come to see it.'" " In The Man Who Wouldn't Lie Down by Tom Dardis, page 31 -

"In 1917 the motion picture business was growing at a furious rate. The building of new theaters solely devoted to the showing of films gives some idea of how deeply serious the passion for movie-going had become. Starting in April 1914, with the widely successful opening in New York City of the Mark Strand Theater, which had been built with a seating capacity of three thousand on two floors, the construction of ever larger and more opulent theaters proceeded all over the country. The number of paid admissions per week soared into the millions. If any single person can be held responsible for this ever-increasing, consuming interest in films it was surely D.W. Griffith, whose final triumph in mastering film narration during his days at Biograph Studios in the period 1908 through 1913 was summed up in his Birth of a Nation in 1915. It was not uncommon for people to see this film repeatedly; Buster claimed that he'd seen it at least three times shortly after its opening. Everybody saw it, for it was truly the "coming of age" movie for the entire industry."

Same book on page 47 while they're talking about the area around Hollywood it says, "That same year Griffith's The Birth of a Nation appeared, the film that quickly made Hollywood the film center of the world."

It's not just Buster who found the film to be one of their favorites, everyone did. It's what made people take film seriously, not just Buster. A lot of people regarded films as a fad and would fade away and they would go back to live performances. I implore you to read more about the time period, about vaudeville, the beginning of films. Watch more silent films from others rather than just Buster. Chaplin, Lloyd, Langdon, Laurel and Hardy if you just want to do comedy, those are the main ones. I'd say watch Birth of a Nation for yourself. Watch Wings, Ben Hur, Phantom of the Opera, Faust.. Read up about the other actors of the time, I think if you want to better understand Buster and his films, you also have to see what others were doing but also who they were as people. Explore the environment. I know I didn't answer all of your questions, it would be much easier to talk via messaging. But that's up to you. I hope that I at least helped in some way.

#ask

[findyourrp]

hear yee hear yee! I've arrived to talk to you about Baldur's Gate 3! 🖤

so personally, I've come seeking M x M threads exclusively. more specifically, I'm interested in some OC x CC, OC x OC and potentially CC x CC shenanigans, should we find the correct fit for both of us. I have a whole list of OCs I'm thrilled to throw at you and though none of them are Tav exactly, I have no problem fitting them into that role if need be. personally, I'm even okay adapting them as an average companion if that works for the plot. honestly, I'm very lenient. now, for the specifics;

I'd be thrilled to toss my pretty, twinky half-elf bard whom hails from Baldur's Gate at Gale of Waterdeep, or a tiefling childhood friend of Wyll Ravengard's at him. hence, you know, obviously I would love to find someone to write either Gale or Wyll. other than that, I'm very extremely open to all sorts of OC x OC shenanigans. I've not yet written a single canon character from BG3 but I'm also open to trying my hand at it, possibly at Halsin or Wyll.

logistics then; I prefer to write over discord, in our shared little haven of a server. open to tupperbox! I typically write multiple paragraphs; I don't think it's possible to even get a reply under two paragraphs minimum out of me. third person prose, past tense preferred though optional. I prefer my partners to match my writing style so I've got samples you can take a look at if you want! good grammar is a must, though I'm naturally forgiving of small mistakes. normally I reply at least daily, though depending on how life is (as you do) results may vary. hoping for something similar! super open to AUs, crossovers, different timelines, multiple threads and so on! my absolute favorite thing to write is romance with plot. some angst, some fluff, some terrible angst and passionate love. a nice, healthy balance of things with love perservering through the challenges. open to smut as well as dead dove topics; we can discuss triggers and limits in dms! finally, I hope you're a minimum of 20 years old, as I'm 32 myself. if you made it all the way to the bottom and remain interested, great! drop this post a like and I will surely find you! 👁️👄👁️ TERFs need not bother! (◡‿◡✿)_/¯

.

#rp finder #18+ rp #fandom rp #fandom roleplay #bd3 rp #baldur's gate 3 rp #mxm rp #cc x oc rp #oc x oc rp

[darkdoverpseeker]

🕊️ hear yee hear yee! I've arrived to talk to you about Baldur's Gate 3! 🖤

so personally, I've come seeking M x M threads exclusively. more specifically, I'm interested in some OC x CC, OC x OC and potentially CC x CC shenanigans, should we find the correct fit for both of us. I have a whole list of OCs I'm thrilled to throw at you and though none of them are Tav exactly, I have no problem fitting them into that role if need be. personally, I'm even okay adapting them as an average companion if that works for the plot. honestly, I'm very lenient. now, for the specifics;

I'd be thrilled to toss my pretty, twinky half-elf bard whom hails from Baldur's Gate at Gale of Waterdeep, or a tiefling childhood friend of Wyll Ravengard's at him. hence, you know, obviously I would love to find someone to write either Gale or Wyll. other than that, I'm very extremely open to all sorts of OC x OC shenanigans. I've not yet written a single canon character from BG3 but I'm also open to trying my hand at it, possibly at Halsin or Wyll.

logistics then; I prefer to write over discord, in our shared little haven of a server. open to tupperbox! I typically write multiple paragraphs; I don't think it's possible to even get a reply under two paragraphs minimum out of me. third person prose, past tense preferred though optional. I prefer my partners to match my writing style so I've got samples you can take a look at if you want! good grammar is a must, though I'm naturally forgiving of small mistakes. normally I reply at least daily, though depending on how life is (as you do) results may vary. hoping for something similar! super open to AUs, crossovers, different timelines, multiple threads and so on! my absolute favorite thing to write is romance with plot. some angst, some fluff, some terrible angst and passionate love. a nice, healthy balance of things with love perservering through the challenges. open to smut as well as dead dove topics; we can discuss triggers and limits in dms! finally, I hope you're a minimum of 20 years old, as I'm 32 myself. if you made it all the way to the bottom and remain interested, great! drop this post a like and I will surely find you! 👁️👄👁️ TERFs need not bother! (◡‿◡✿)_/¯

like if interested!

#oc x oc #oc x cc #m x m #1x1 rp #baldur's gate rp #baldur's gate roleplay #dead dove #dead dove do not eat #20+ #rp #roleplay