To all wanting an update: I am hoping to get chapter 29 of Carve My Name Into Your Skin out next month. I was really hoping to make it for January but I just haven't had the time.

To those who are unaware, I began my Masters Program at the start of Jan and that is literally all I've been doing. It doesn't leave my mind with much clarity afterward, so the writing has been incredibly slow.

Ironically the chapter is getting long despite this as I've been working on it when I can. I was hoping there would be a place to break it off, as I've done with the last few chapters concerning the scene with Thorfinn and Bjorn. Make it a 4 part, instead of my planned 3 part. But there has been no good spot to end the chapter, unless I did it mid-dialogue which isn't something I want to do.

Currently the chapter is sitting at 18k, very close to 19k honestly. I have a possible place I could break it off a bit further from where I am and end the chapter early since the conversation will be switching but . . . we shall see. That would be great.

Either way, thought I'd let you all know! Wishing you all a fantastic rest of your weekend and a good luck to the start of your week. You got this~

THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR OCS

If you’re like me and you like to play around with your OCs a lot, here’s some things you can do with them!

ART & CRAFTS

Put your OCs in character scenario memes! Here’s some I found on Deviantart.

Do an art trade where you draw someone’s OC and they draw yours!

Use those "Draw The Squad" templates and draw your OCs.

Crochet/knit/sew/etc. a plushie of your OC.

You can also make a paper doll! You can find tons of tutorials on youtube.

You can also make a figure of them out of something like clay, cardboard, or another material.

You can build them out of Legos!

You can also create a hand or finger puppet of them.

Draw a comic featuring your characters!

Create an animation of your character.

Draw your characters as animals!

Create pixel art of your OC! Maybe even make it look like video game sprites.

Draw your characters as playing card designs.

Draw your characters as tarot card designs (Suggested by @ultragirl-parsley)

Create a coloring book full of your OCs!

Create a large cardboard cutout of your character. There are tons of tutorials online!

Put your OCs as designs on cookies, cakes, etc. (I kinda want to do this one but I know it won't turn out well for me 'cuz I suck at handling food T_T)

Design your OC's home.

Make a board game about your OCs and their story

Make Minecraft skins of your characters

INTERNET

Make your OCs in picrew or other dress-up things!

Create a character playlist on Spotify or other music site!

Create a Pinterest board with inspo for your OCs! Maybe outfits they’d wear, a moodboard, etc.

Reblog those “tag your OC as” blogs! They usually have a prompt and you can reblog it and tag which OC it describes. Here’s a few blogs which do this: Tag Your OC on Tumblr develop your oc on Tumblr Daily Asks for your OC (tumblr.com)

Take quizzes as your OC! You can find some on Quotev or IDRLabs.

Make a roleplay account as your OC.

Create a quiz on Quotev about your OC. Maybe something like, "Would my OC like you," "How similar are you to my OC," etc.

Put your OCs in the incorrect quote generator.

Find OC questionnaires and templates online.

Create a page on your Tumblr just for your OC! You can include things like a character sheet, general facts, your posts about them, etc.

WRITING

Do character exercises for them! You can find a lot of these on the internet, but here’s an example.

Write from your OC's perspective. It'll help you understand them better!

Create a list of media they enjoy. Maybe movies, video games, songs, etc.

Write a song (or just lyrics) about your OC or parts of their story.

Write a random story about their childhood!

Create an in-universe news report from your OC's world.

Write a poem about your OC.

OTHER

Put your OCs in character alignment memes! Here’s some from a search on Pinterest.

Create voice headcanons for your OCs. Here’s an example of Vivziepop’s for Hazbin Hotel..

Play as your character in video games! Like, maybe design your character in Miitopia or Sims.

Do some theatre improv games as if you were your OC.

Edit your OC on to pride flags.

Also, you could maybe make those like, Tiktok edits of your OC? (Y'know the ones I'm talking about?)

Create an AU version of your characters! (I’ll create a list of AU ideas soon! :D)

Have your characters solve the trolley problem and other moral conudruums.

Cosplay as your OC!

Create ship names for your characters!

You can also find baby names that your OC might like or something.

Create a visual novel/dating sim in Google Slides (or if you can code, you can do it like that!)

Create a crossword/word search relating to your characters and story.

Answer "Would you rather?"questions as your character.

Find poems that remind you of your OC.

Make family trees.

If anyone has anymore ideas, please tell me and I’ll add them to the list!!

7 BL Newbie Moments of 2023 That Altered My Brain Chemistry

So I went through all my posts since the beginning of this journey and as much as I love dumping my insanity here without context or any punctuation, I feel that a lot of my fav moments deserve a bit more love and structure.

But first I need to put a bit of context so you won't be like "who the hell do they think they are" (aside from delusional I'm nothing, I promise) and my anxious overexplainer-heart is silenced.

My first BL TV show was Only Friends and only 5 months later I'm already throat deep into it (sorry). My watchlist is so endless that I sometimes (no, regularly) genuinely fear for my sanity. I'm still learning all the names and production houses but does that stop me from starting 10 other shows? NOPE.

I'm not new to queer fan spaces (avid manga reader since the yaoi days, my first ship was taito from digimon) but I am most definitely new to the brainrot levels these shows gave me.

And believe it or not, even though my shipper heart is over a decade old, I'm new to Tumblr and the fuel this platform added to the fire could burn down entire continents.

ANYWAYS if you're still here — please enjoy Noz's 100% self-indulgent moments!

1. The End And The Beginning - Only Friends

All I did was mindlessly scroll through the tumblr trends, no idea about how this website works, still sour and sad about the loss of my twitter bubble thanks to the elopocalypse—little did I know that fate would lead me to the wonderful world of BL shows! It was like this moment in isekai-esque movies where you get sucked into a world and you go WOOAAH once you arrive.

There was this show—on YouTube—100% unapolagetic about sex, relationships and queerness. Five minutes into the first episode, someone asks if they can bring their boyfriend to a hookup. This was ALL of my wildest dreams come true! Oh boy, was I naive.

I feel like Only Friends had me speedrun the whole BL industry. Branded pairs, production houses, fanservice, obsessive fans & haters, audience reactions influencing the storyline, EVERYTHING happened during Only Friends and I was just like "what the hell is going on here?" It was like the perfect case study for literally everything. Honestly I still don't really understand what's going on.

Unfortunately, this also led to the awful ending I erased from my brain and don't want to get into, I'm just gonna say Boston I will never forgive the writers for what they did to you. I dropped that show like a hot potato, filtered all possible tags and moved on — or so I thought.

I feel like I'm trying to recreate that first excitement when I discovered OF. But 20 shows later, I'm still not there. Does this make me sound like an addict? Yes, and this is why Only Friends EP 1 is my No. 1 moment that altered my brain chemistry.

2. The Boeing Incident - Only Friends

I talked about it just yesterday and I need to do it again because Boeing was the beginning of a thing that thought I'd never be capable of: lusting after real person TV characters. I talked about it in length here and here so the only thing I'm gonna add just for good measure is that I'd do anything, anything for a BostonBeoingNOZ threesome. Holy shit I'm cringing just writing this down but I need to get my point across.

3. Still Looking For That Kiss - Love in The Air

I know this is a general experience at this point but the chemistry between the couples in Love In The Air opened a whole knew world for me. I thought I knew chemistry but when I saw them, I realized I knew NOTHING.

It may sound weird but I'm still looking for that perfect kiss that's hitting all the right neurons in my brain. I have a hunch that one of these two pairs will deliver them one day, but until then I NEED to watch a million kisses for research.

This post by @talistheintrovert explains perfectly what I think about kissing in shows. Ji Chang Wook is still the blueprint for me.

But do I have a favorite BL kiss so far? Yes, yes I do. It's this ShinPeach beauty.

4. Main Lead Syndrome - Kiseki: Dear To Me

I am a second lead, side couple enby before I am human but I will defend these two until the end of time. My TL is flooded with Chen Yi, Ai Di, Nat and Louis while these two are over here falling in love over strawberry cake, cat analogies, failed cooking and all sorts of memory loss. Zongyi opened a fucking bakery for his babygirl and Zerui pretended to be a pretty dumdum to protect the love of his life.

I don't care how much you all love the two dumb (affectionately) gangsters, these two deserve the world, end of story. Also Kai Hsu and Taro Lin are bff's irl now, Taro said that Kai helped him get out of a very bad mental tate and I take that very personally.

5. The Fanservice is Fanservicing - Kiseki: Dear To Me

Speaking of Taro and Kai, the fact that I even know that they're bff's is another brainaltering moment that needs recognition because months later it led me to this TikTok of two actors I don't know of a show I don't watch, staring at them for ages and really considering watching it just because of it.

That is the power of fanservice my friends and I can put on my clownmask now because I avidly screamed left and right that fanservice should be forbidden when I learned about it. I blame Kiseki for that. But my point still stands, I hate actors doing stuff they're uncomfortable with. I just hope they're all friends and have fun and get that coin.

6. The One Just For Me - Playboyy

I've been lurking around Playboyy from the moment I found out they have the same writer as OF. And boy did it deliver so far! I already wrote a bunch here about which role Playboyy plays for me, but it's also a wonderful case study for my producer heart — watching the acting, directing, lighting, sets, props and storyline interact is fascinating.

People say the less you notice the better the show, which is correct, but I love all the flaws of this piece of media. IMHO it's the last puzzlepiece of the amazing, important social commentary the show delivers. All of the topics the couples represent need to get their very own show.

7. The Holy Grail - The Sign

Speaking of the less you notice — this is the sign for The Sign (again, sorry). There's a reason this show is loved and praised so widely because the production is on a whole other level. Adding the beautiful story on top of that, we have the potential for a holy grail here and I'm so in for the ride.

I keep saying I've entered the world of BL in it's absolute golden era. Never in a million years did I think I'd watch 5 shows simultaneosly but I love every single one of them so much I keep a whole spreadsheet on how I can be on time for every premiere every week alongside my work schedule.

Honorable mentions

KinnPorsche: VegasPete were my first dark, angsty, morally questionable couple ever (I'm a sissy okay)

Last Twilight: When I watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo, I cried several times about the wonderful media representation of disability. It means so much to me and Last Twilight is on par with that.

Bake Me Please: Thank you for giving me this beautiful kiss

Manner of Death: Thank you MaxTul for making gay makeouts fashionable

Bad Buddy: The one time I was glad I persisted so I could watch them most adorable phone scene on the planet

I Feel You Linger In The Air: It was too painful for me to finish but I loved the show with my whole heart and it deserves all the awards it got.

Kimi ni Todokanai: Japanese shows just hit different. I'll never get over the kissing Taiyaki.

The Novelist Series: THIS is how you kiss the one you're horny for my friends. Take notes directors.

Semantic Error: My fav webtoon -> Got Viki for the Series -> Found the BL corner of Viki -> Drew my attention to Tumblr -> This post.

Thank you for being the butterfly of my butterfly effect.

And thank YOU if you read until here! To a even more wonderful queer year 2024! I'm so ready for this ride.

hey guys, I came to ask more people from the Puyo Puyo Fandom who follow me and other people who are from the Sonic Fandom too if they want; (To get a concrete opinion, I recommend seeing my work/posts here on Tumblr. There are some posts that I don't use as much as I know, but I know a lot about techniques, fundamentals, etc.)

Should I make a puyo puyo zine? Do you have suggestions for art or ships you want to see? (I want you to send this part in the question box), I'm really committed to this project and so I don't get tired like the other one, I'll do it with fewer pages, (or I don't know, maybe I'll do it with more without meaning to KSKSKSKSKSKS lol) but I will try to make it as neat as POSSIBLE, and I will put a HUGE commitment into this project if they accept (because, why am I going to do something that no one will see? I have to have positive feedback, hey)

and I would be VERY grateful if you would reblog this for as many puyo puyo fans as possible who aren't too. I want this Post to reach as many people as possible for dissemination (because your finger won't fall off if you click on a button hehe :] )

I'm also accepting meme images that I can make into art or add inspiration, headcanons, etc., tell me the name of the characters I can make, ok? And that's it, if you have any questions, send them to the question box, ok? <3, you/your blog name will be at the end in the credits as a contributor

(guys I posted again cuz i add for 1 day)

Gacha Fangan SYOC OPEN

I'm hosting a SYOC for Danganronpa if anyone is interested in joining! It's in Gacha and the series will be centered around YouTube.

There will be 18 total characters, six spots are currently filled, but that leaves 12 slots open for anyone who is interested!

I'll be writing out the story before actually posting bits of the actual story, but character intros will be made as characters are accepted into the fangan and when I have time.

You can audition through YouTube (@ me please if you don't do it in the comments of one of my videos), Discord (My discord is rolldiamonds), or Tumblr, depending on where you feel most comfortable.

The video above is the video I made asking for auditions if you would like to check it out.

For anyone who is interested, the rules are as follows --

Only human characters allowed

Lil Ultimates allowed

Ages 8-20

Can only audition twice

No double Ultimates (They can lie about their Ultimate but they may not actually possess more than one title.)

Please note --

If your Oc is accepted, they may die. As you are signing them up for a killing game, survival is not a guarantee.

Please leave me a way to contact you (YT, Discord, Etc.)

Leave the Offline codes for them, not the online ones. As I am using a laptop, I can't use online ones.

If you are accepted, I will be putting your Oc in my style, that way all the characters "match". I won't be changing any details such as clothing and the like, unless for whatever reason it completely conflicts with my style (Which I don't see happening), but if that happens I will try and get it as similar and as close as possible.

Feel free to make videos of your Oc if they are accepted or before they are accepted! Please @ me though, if you choose to do so. (This would help me get a better idea of the character I'm writing.)

The posting of the game may take a while since I want to write out the story first, that way I don't back myself into a plot whole later

Information I need for your character --

Name

Gender/Pronouns

Age

Ultimate

Birthday

Likes/Dislikes

Fears

Personality

Backstory

Pref Role

Sexuality

Okay with Shipping?

Gacha Life 2 Offline Code

Information I would like for your character --

What type of person that they get along with (Friends)

What type of people they like (Romantically (Only if shipping is okay)

Where do they fall on the Moral chart? (Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Good, Etc.)

Height? (That way I know what to size them compared to other characters.)

Weight

Allergies

In Extra Info you wish to Add

The codes of their kid version or anyone from their backstory. Would help with angst or any potential motives or executions in the future. ^^

Info Card

[I'll add my persona here once I actually design them :P]

⭐️I'm ok with in general⭐️

Fan-art (I will literally die and cherish it forever)

Shipping characters (scroll down to Comic info for more details)

Fan-Theories

DMs, They're always open!

Being tagged in posts

I don't really have anything I'm uncomfortable with outside of my DNI list

‼️DNI‼️

•Racists •Homophobes •Transphobes •Zionists •Proshippers •T-Cesters (this includes if you ship Rise april with any of the turtles she canonically calls them her brothers in her character book and sees them as family this also includes Leo x Karai, again, they are siblings)

⚡️COMIC STUFF⚡️

I will try to keep comic chapter uploads at least once a week (and ofc you guys will get content outside of just chapters too)

EPISODES

To find a specific episode (once I have some out) just search on my page and type in either the number or the name of the episode and it should work, if not then just search tmnttr on my page

SHIPS

This is just for my comic this doesn't really count for any other canon iteration but I know people LOVE ships (I do too lol)

I won't confirm or deny any ships (keep in mind some of the characters listed have not been introduced/posted yet but you'll see them very soon!)

I'm going to list below the ships that I'm flat out UNCOMFORTABLE with (because they're either proships or doesn't fit the character's sexuality or I just don't like the ship, regardless of the reason I'm just setting boundaries) I'm not gonna list obvious ones since I've already said proships/tcesters dni

• April x Any if the turtles (similar to rise, she sees them as her brothers)

• Remi x Mikey (they see mikey like a little brother kinda)

• Raph (or any of the turtles) x Y'gythgba (She is much older than the turtles it would be gross)

• Mona Lisa (y'gy and mona are two different gals in my iteration) x any of the turtles (she's also a bit older than the turtles)

• Jennika x literally any man (she's lesbian)

• Cassandra x literally any man (also lebisan)

• Casey x any of the turtles, April (he's like way younger than everyone else on the team so just don't ship him with anyone that isn't his age)

(If I think of more later I'll add onto this)

Ships that I AM comfortable with (again not confirming for denying any of them)

Remi x Any turtle that ISNT mikey

Any of the turtles x Usagi

Donnie x Yuyan

Any of the turtles x Renet

Y'gythgba x Alopex

Mona Lisa x Alopex

April x Cassandra

Jennika x Cassandra

Ocs x Canon Characters in TMNTTR

if you don't see a ship on here that you're curious about feel free to ask in my questions box <3

ik there aren't a lot but this is off the top of my head rn

If you have any questions about the lore or just the characters/comic in general feel free to ask! I LOVE answering questions <3

🎨COMMISSIONS🎨

[I'm working on getting the info for those put together, I'll edit this later when it's done]

⭐️Other Socials⭐️

Instagram: GroovyShrooms_

Tiktok: GroovyShrooms_

Youtube: GroovyShrooms_

Main Tumblr: GroovyShrooms_ (still getting used to having two accounts so sometimes I accidentally post things on the wrong account)

about me/info post! (long)

intro: hi! first things first: call me kats. that's not my real name (obviously), but my actual identity is none of your business, so that's a suitable alternative and one i rather enjoy. and no, i'm not putting my age in my bio. that's also not your business, but suffice it to say i'm an adult.

any pronouns work, so don't feel like you have to ask about that because i genuinely could not care less. what you refer to me as does not change anything about my identity, so hey! no misgendering possible, you don't get to dictate who i am so there's no use trying.

current project: Incipient/Combat Fatigue (a bakugou-centric, angst-with-a-happy-ending, krbkdk fic! no link yet but there will be soon!)

request info:

i take requests and will write most things! if i’m not willing to write it i will let you know, so don’t be afraid to request something (even if it’s anonymous!) for fear of judgment. i’m open-minded and have no fav ships, so just because you’ve seen me do kiribaku or shinkami already does not mean that’s the only thing i write. (rambles about poly class a at length and forever)

in terms of content limits it’s hard to say what’s a firm line for me and what i may write depending on circumstances, so i’m not going to list that here. it’ll just be a case-by-case basis.

however! one thing i am not capable of writing is any character x reader content. i know a lot of people like that, but if that’s what you want, i’m not your guy. i prefer to stick to canon, and i refuse to read any x reader myself, so if that’s your request, just know i can’t compromise on that. (this also goes for self-insert or y/n type stuff. you do you but that makes me gag.)

my current project will always take priority over any requests i receive, but that does not mean that i won't ever get to requests! just means that if i'm in the middle of a project, i won't drop it to write you a fic (unless you're going to pay me. /hj i might negotiate that.)

i feel the need to state that while i do not currently have any (as far as i can remember??) nsfw content on my blog, it may not stay that way. i will tag things appropriately and add necessary disclaimers, but if you want to strictly avoid any potential nsfw stuff, just be a little wary. knowing myself it’s far more likely that if i Do write anything nsfw, it’ll be on my ao3, but i think this is an important disclaimer to add just in case.

remember that i am a writer but i am doing this in my spare time while working for an education, so unless you're willing to fund that, you don't get to decide how i run my blog.

tag info:

i don't know how tumblr works. that's my disclaimer right here because this shit makes no sense to me. but tagging is important (?) so i have a few tags that i use a lot (when i remember), so here's info on those:

"kats asks" - these are posts that involve my ask box!

"kats rambles" - me, rambling. that's really it. this counts as one because it's long and mostly me going on and on about things.

"kats rants" - me, ranting. this is for the rambles that are angry. (if you start a fight with me on these i'll fight back. fair warning.)

“kats updates” - updates on me personally. so if you care about me beyond the screen, check this tag. if not then uh. ow /j

“kats writing list” - the list of posts i want to write later. would save to my drafts but i’ve saved a shit ton of spoiler posts that i want to read after i’m caught up, so uh. yeah

pretty self-explanatory. if i add more tags in the future i'll (hopefully) update this. (and please for the love of fuck if you know how to use tumblr and anything about all of this. tell me. i'm begging)

extra (probably important):

tone is a little funky online so i use tone tags (/j, /s, /gen, all that stuff) when i feel it's necessary (and please feel free to use them back at me because holy hell). if you're unfamiliar with them just ask, i'm not shy. i got the brain weird so i do what i've gotta do to not sound like an asshole all the time.

that said: i am sometimes an asshole. not in the bigoted sense, just in the "if you disagree with me about [fandom topic] i will rant at you about it and you opened that can of worms so you can lie in it" type sense. feel me?

gist is, if you tell me you don't want confrontation, we're chill! i am a nice person most of the time and am always willing to have a civil discussion. but i get dopamine and adrenaline from arguing so sometimes a little discourse is fun, and if you come at me sounding like you want a fight, i reserve the right to fight back for as long as it pleases me and then tap out when i get bored.

i don't really do the whole "DNI if" thing (see above). it's like this: anyone can interact with me, but if you interact with me, you're saying i can interact back, and if you don't like it, that's not my problem. i realize this may make me sound unsympathetic or like a dick (oops) but hey! c'est la vie. you're responsible for your own online experience; it's not my job to police you and if you don't like my content that's not my problem.

basically just tell me if you're coming at me from an angle of "hey i want to be mutuals and discuss things in a polite and open-minded way" or from an angle of "hey i think your takes are fucking stupid, you wanna go?"

also, if you insult me, chances are i will not understand the insult (i'm stupid /j), so it's best not to bother. but i can't stop you and hate is funny so i'll probably just make fun of you back. (if you're gonna throw hands you better be prepared to catch 'em ykwim)

but at the end of the day this is just a series and has no real life impact on me so y'know. i won't take it too seriously if you don't and we can walk away without being offended or hurt.

other info: if you want to know more about me or want something included here, feel free to leave a message in my inbox!

i've got a couple ask games on my blog here and here, and i'll try to remember to update this if i add more.

ooc:// Hey there!

My name is Ellie, and I've recently returned to the world of Tumblr RP after taking some time off. I've RP'd on and off since 2010, on both Tumblr and Discord (feel free to send a request for my user name if you'd like to connect).

I am currently working on making my page presentable, finalising my muse list, and getting back to a hobby that I love.

My main focus is getting back into the swing of things, so please feel free to send memes and write cold starters or shoot me an ask - just let me know what muse you want to write against!

Edited to add: My activity may be a little sporadic as I work full-time, and have some weekend commitments. I am also from Australia, so my time zone doesn't match up with many people. I will try to reply to all active threads at least once a week, and will likely be more active over discord.

Rules and Muses under the cut:

Rules:

This is a multi-muse, multi-verse blog.

I am open to canon and original characters - I am willing to give everyone a chance, and will only deny a thread idea if there are personal issues between myself and the writer, if our writing styles do not match at all, or if I find that I have taken on too much.

I generally do not believe in ship exclusivity. There may be some ships that I don't expect and that come about due to chemistry with a particular mun's portrayal and won't work outside of certain contexts, but that's the extent - if I find a Jesse or Matthew for my Lucie, I'm not going to refuse to write with another Jesse or Matthew. (Actually, the more the merrier, in my opinion...)

As much as it feels nice to receive asks from posted memes, I don't mind if you reblog and don't send me something from it. 

My OOC tag is not a shadowhunter || ooc if you want to filter out my OOC posts.

Personals can follow and reblog my posts, but please don't reblog my threads. Likes are okay, because that gives the warm and fuzzies, but please no reblogs of threads.

I generally don't format my posts outside of paragraphs and some italics for emphasis, but if you and I are writing a thread and it'll make it easier for you, please let me know what I can do to accommodate.

I personally prefer not to use icons, but it doesn't bother me if your replies have them - so long as you don't require me to do it, we're all Gucci.

I don't unfollow for inactivity. I generally unfollow if I've realised we don't really mesh, if I realised that I followed by accident, or if there is a personal issue between them and myself.

Plotting is great, but I also love flying by the seat of my pants (insert "What was the original plot of this movie?" audio)

Content Specific Rules:

While I am open to NSFW content (including, but not limited to, violence, gore, and intimate relationships) I am aware that many people aren't. I will put all my NSFW content under a Read More, and it will be tagged.

I have no triggers, but please tell me if you'd like me to tag anything that you may find triggering so I can tag them.

If you want to write really dark threads, I would suggest we consider moving those ones in particular to Discord.

Mobile Muse List:

The Infernal Devices

Tessa Gray

Jessamine Lovelace

Will Herondale

The Last Hours

Lucie Herondale

Cordelia Carstairs

The Mortal Instruments

Clary Fairchild

Jace Herondale

Simon Lewis

Jocelyn Fairchild

Jonathan Morgenstern

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Nesta Archeron

Azriel Shadowsinger

Harry Potter

Lucien Vanserra

Cassian

Pansy Parkinson

Hello everyone!

My name is Madison, but you can call me Maddy. I respond to either one. I'm 30 [Oct. 16, 94] I've been on Tumblr before, but left for a couple of years and am now back on. I've been rping for a long while. Since I was in middle school. I have a lot rping experience and have been working on my writing to be better. I know not everyone is perfect. But I would love to rp with everyone.

Now, the rules and abouts. May be short, sweet, and simple. I may add more later on

20+ only. MDNI. I need to either see your age on the blog or be told about your age. If minors try to interact, it's an immediate block. I'm not messing around with that.

Please, be kind to me and my oc. I don't tolerate rude behavior. It's not fun for everyone. I am here to have fun.

Do not force anything on me for rping. That makes me uncomfortable. Please talk to me before you do anything harmful to my oc. I always ask others how far my characters are allowed to go.

Do not godmod my oc. She is mine to control.

I do have a life outside of this. I work about four to five days a week. I can guarantee that I will be on here, even during work hours if I'm able to get to replies. It may take me a bit to reply, but I will get to it. If I have replied within at least 24hrs, please let me know. Sometimes I forget to reply and I think that I have.

This is a oc friendly blog (of course). I have a few other ocs that I do rp here and there. Mostly with a couple of friends on Discord. I love ocs and their unique personalities.

This blog is multiverse friendly. I can throw my oc in any verse that she can fit into. I love creating ideas for different verses.

I will write smut, but I hate how I write it because I see other amazing writers write it out better and I'm just a chump. I don't know why, but I get a little wiggy about writing in detail, but I do try. But if you're uncomfy about writing smut, let me know and we won't write it out. We'll just say it happened.

I will not write out a r@pe scene, because that's just a big no-no in itself. If we talk and that's part of the plot, we will say that it happened or my character may give hints about it. Do not ask me to write it out. No.

This blog is explicit. So some themes may get dark unless it has been talked about. I will do my best to put "TW" on a post if it's dark.

This blog is also multiship. I can have different ships going for my character in different threads.

If you want to get to know me, you can message me and we can talk. I love getting to know people.

I believe that is all for now. As I have said, I may add more later on as time goes on :)

How To Interact With Beta Readers - for Fanfic Authors

I wanted to make posts both for fic authors and beta readers, because I realized in several recent interactions that some helpful unwritten rules of fandom seem to have become lost to people who are new to it.

This isn't meant to be a call-out post against anyone to say 'you did it wrong!' (really, how could anyone be mad if you just didn't know any better), and there aren't even any definite rules for anything - but I just thought these things might be nice to know and helpful to share around. This first part will be @ the authors, the second part is @ the betas.

Asking for a beta reader

When you want someone to look through your fic, whether you ask in a tumblr post, @/helper in a discord server, in the notes of an already posted work or anywhere else, it's important to state both a) what the work that you want betad is and b) what you want from a beta reader.

The facts about the story.

The first most important facts about the story are a) length (in wordcount, as that is the most-used measurement for fanfiction - you can see it below the tags of an ao3 draft, or at the bottom left of a Word document), and b) rating and warnings. No, please don't just ask 'i have a fic for xy ship to beta' - that's nice information, but not helpful for someone who needs to decide whether they a) have the time to work on the length of fic and b) are willing to be confronted with the kind of content you have written.

In addition to that, you should of course also write what fandom, characters and dynamic it is about, because most beta readers are only willing to beta stories they would also usually read for fun. To make sure that the right people find the ask for a beta reader, you best target the post to them, so tag a tumblr post with the fandom and ship etc, and on discord share the request in a server or channel for the fandom, not an unrelated one.

What format is the draft in?

A word document you can send them via e-mail, a copy-pasted text in a direct message, link access to a google docs? Not everyone is comfortable with all of these methods, and you need to figure out one that works for the both of you.

Also, do you want the changes made directly in the text, in comment functions of the document, or as messages to you? If for example you send someone a Word document, and don't want them to change anything directly in your text, but they aren't comfortable working with the comment function there and end up writing you separate messages telling you what page and line the edits are one, that's going to be a lot more work for you to look through than you might have liked, so make sure to communicate it all beforehand and figure out a way that works properly for everyone.

What do you want from your beta?

'Well, to look over the story, duh?' but it's not that easy. Do you want the beta to:

- Only check for spelling and grammar mistakes in comments next to the text, No other suggestions at all because they would make you feel bad about your work/you don't have the time or want to spend the time on editing anything but honest mistakes/ any other reason?

- Grammar and spelling checks but also suggestions for word flow, repetitive words and phrases that could be changed and stylistic things like adding paragraph breaks (which are always nice to have for mobile reading)?

- [same as above] and also point out possible logic flaws and places where you might want to move a scene forward or back, or suggestions to things you could add to the story, with explanations as to why?

- [same as above] and also give suggestions for text you could cut that is unnecessary to the story or interrupting the flow of a scene in the opinion of your beta reader?

- Include nice messages as to what the beta liked best of the fic, or stay completely objective?

- Point out things they subjectively didn't like and would change about the story if they wrote it themselves, or not?

- Make corrections directly in the story, so afterwards you barely need to look at it anymore before you can publish it, or only give suggestions in comments or messages?

All of these are things some people welcome and others find incredibly annoying and/or hurtful! So make sure to communicate exactly what you are looking for. You don't have to do so in your initial public request, but once you have found a potential beta, you should text them the details before giving them access to your fic.

Do not be afraid of cancelling on a beta if you don't think it is going to work out! Whether because they aren't comfortable using the format you like to use, are a language teacher who can't stop correcting the long sentences you choose to keep as a stylistic choice, or just someone you don't vibe with, whether it's before or after they have started beta reading - be kind, but let them know that it just isn't working out, and that you would rather stop now before either of you wastes any more time and effort. If they want you to, you can tell them what you would have liked them to do differently, but don't ask someone to change how they are, and don't give unsolicited criticism, no, not even to a beta reader.

Decide on a time-frame

When are you going to send them the fic? Chapter by chapter over the next days, or the entire work? When do you want or need the work to be beta read? Is it for a challenge or gift exchange and needs to be finished on the same day, or can they wait for the weekend? Even if you don't have a specific deadline, when do you want them to send it back at the latest?

Working with a beta reader

After - or, if you are in for example a google docs at the same time, while - your beta reader does the corrections, you should look at them and decide which corrections you want to keep, and which to disregard. This is entirely your decision, it is your story, you don't need to feel bad if you don't take all of the suggestions for your work, even if you end up only correcting the spelling mistakes and ignoring everything else, it's your decision and this is fine.

If your beta gave suggestions for additional scenes or sentence changes, you can let them know once you have new text for them to correct, but keep in mind that they might no longer have time or energy to beta now, and don't be disappointed if they tell you this or don't reply. They already helped you, and you can always look for a new beta if you feel that your story still needs it.

Crediting your beta reader

Where are you uploading your fic, and how does your beta reader want to be credited? You best talk about this beforehand as well, as some betas only want to work on something when they will get the credit on a platform they are also on.

When posting on tumblr, it is usually expected to @ the person who helped you and write their url or tracked tag in the #s as well, but make sure to ask beforehand, as maybe they don't want other people to know they beta because they don't want to get swamped in work requests/ they don't want their url associated with for example explicit work/ they want you to tag a sideblog for the fandom instead of their main url.

On ao3, you can link to another author's dashboard or profile page (ask which one they prefer) in the notes by first going to the work text - rich text, writing their name, clicking the link symbol, pasting the url, going back to HTML text and cut-pasting the code to the note you want to have it in. You can do the prep work in a new work instead of your actual draft so you won't accidentally cut any of the work text. Again, ask the person beforehand whether they want to be linked there, or just want a nickname or their tumblr url credited.

You can also gift people works on ao3, and while this is in no way a requirement and most beta readers won't ask for it, just about everyone is happy to receive ao3 gifts! You can ask them beforehand if they want that, but as people can accept and refuse gifts on ao3 themselves, you can also let it be a surprise.

If your beta put a lot of work into your fic and wrote parts of it themselves, you can also make them a co-creator of the work on ao3, but only do this if you know and trust the person, as they will gain access to the fic and will be able to edit everything just like you.

Let me know if I missed anything, and I will update the post!

Tips for beta-readers themselves here!

Hi just found your blog and I am ASTOUNDED at the insane number of OCs and AUs you have planned in detail I aspire to be like that it's amazing and I am lost for words. I may not know the fandoms they are from but one doesn't need to be in the fandom to appreciate art. If you need to, you can take this ask and info dump anything you want. If you are still carrying on with the Overthrown Ozpin AU that'd be preferable haha, but please go all out on anything you want. No questions in particular from me. Also would it be ok if I were to write fics for that AU if anything catches my eye?

hi!! i was,, not expecting an ask let alone smth so sweet?? i'm so glad you like my stuff, particularly the overthrown ozpin au!! i have put a LOT of hard work into the overthrown au in particular, since i've been developing it for over a year, so it's a project (of sorts) that i'm very proud of!! really i have nothing but time on my hands and an endless imagination, fueled by my adhd and autism, sooo that's how i'm able to make these au's and oc's LOL. and honestly, what i've posted on tumblr is just barely the tip of the iceberg of the shit i've made since i rarely post what i make on tumblr. also, if you were to write fics for the overthrown au i think i'd actually cry. like, if you do you may as well be asking for my hand in marriage LMAO. careful, you won't be able to get rid of me :)

and about infodumping!! honestly i really love infodumping about the overthrown au, and honestly it has so much shit going on in it that i could infodump for literal DAYS. not kidding, i infodumped to cara-kira for two days and i still missed a lot of shit. not that i can remember what they were given the fact that there's that much info (seriously, a friend of mine, snom, made an entire google doc and it's 12 pages long, and it doesn't even include everything or up-to-date info). i've been developing this au for over a *year* and there's still shit that needs to be given detail lmao (mostly bc i fixated on oz and oscar). but i'll happily infodump!! here's the link to the last post i infodumped on about the au, there's lots of info! i'll just share random facts here

-in the overthrown au, because of how much ozpin drinks and smokes, his voice gets incredibly deep and scratchy. a close match to his voice is smaug mixed with corpse husband lol

-the overthrown au takes place over ~17-18 years

-ozpin's exile lasts for 2 years, ozpin's reign of vale lasts for 5 years, ozpin's reign of vale and mistral is another 5 years, add vacuo and it's another 5 years, plus one more year for atlas

-oscar is a ram faunus in this au, with his trait being ram horns! this isn't known about until he's around 10 years old though, since his biological parents aren't known, and that's when his horns start growing in

-oscar was also born far later than in canon, not long before vales takeover

-ozpin has COUNTLESS scars from all kinds of wounds from all kinds of sources. burn scars, stab wounds, bite/claw wounds, you name it, he has it

-ozpin's goal isn't only to get his task done and to unite humanity, but to also spite the gods and finally achieve a permanent death

-ozpin has two wyverns; one he found and tamed during his time with roman, and the other that came from the mountain like in v3. however, the first wyvern is smaller and younger (able to be ridden far easier), and the second one is ancient, twice the size of the canon wyvern (possibly larger), and shockingly intelligent, able to understand human language and string together sentences. ozpin uses the larger wyvern to create a sort of living ship by hollowing out the black flesh, leaving behind organs and bones and replacing the rest with metal and dust. it takes a long time to build it, and it's a terrifying sight to behold

-vale plus the other kingdoms get turned into what's known as The Oz Empire. it's a very dangerous place, being a totalitarian fascist police state, not to mention the guards and the grimm that patrol regularly

-when it was shown just how unbelievably powerful oz is (given he took over vale in a single night), lots of scientists and other rich important people went to vale, believing they'd be spared if not on the enemy side

-the scientists, engineers, etc helped to create the empire's own airships, vehicles, weapons, armor, etc, building several factories throughout vale and the other territories

-oz sort of just,, threw together his army. at first, it was a mish-mash of unwilling huntsmen (professional and students), white fang, and robots. after scientists and whatnot started making things such as airships and armor, it more or less assembled itself with oz doing minimal work

-oz's outfit changes over time just like everyone elses, going from a torn and battered version of his old headmaster outfit, to being more military-esque. this is accompanied by the grimm from his grimm arm spreading over the right half of his body

-oz takes the maiden powers back for himself, and being inspired by how cinder fights, he's an incredibly skilled fighter with his magic

-despite the fact that oz is possibly the strongest fighter on remnant, he still has weaknesses to exploit, such as his arrogance, health issues, temper and his trauma

-oz tends to easily twist things around to mean something else entirely, i.e. being able to twist a crown of roses into treason, and he tends to project a lot onto people

-depending on his mood that day, he'll either be shockingly merciful or have no mercy at all. it doesn't matter what you did unless you hurt him personally

-oscar, despite being 15 (at the time of atlas), is an extremely skilled fighter, and is very good at hiding (because of his training/abuse from oz). his weapon is a glaive named Thus Always, the first half of the saying Thus Always to Tyrants (a small rebellion against oz)

-when oz accidentally revived qrow and glynda (which was a one time thing), it turned out that he could control them using orders, despite them being perfectly conscious. they're also immortal, but they can be killed

-the Oz Empire is a capitalist hell, and the classes are pretty clearly divided. though, everyone is miserable because of the police state, and oz simply not wanting them to be happy

-there's actually an infantry that rides sabyr's into battle. yes this is an actual thing

-most of beacon was changed a lot, and after the takeover, it resembles more of a gothic castle, with green banners embroidered with oz's emblem everywhere, and green torches lit with oz's magic. the entire place effectively looks like the beacon vault because of this

-the actual beacon vault was changed and expanded to be dungeons and a laboratory, meant for dr merlot himself to experiment on SEWs and prisoners to make human-grimm hybrids

-two of these experiments succeeded, creating The Lion and The Panther. the lion is twice the size of the hound, made personally for oz. it has a whip-like tail with several ends, and it has a roar that can effectively paralyze you. it somewhat resembles manticores. the panther on the other hand is the same size as the hound, if a smidge smaller, and it was made for oscar, and built for speed, agility and stealth in mind. whenever oscar tries running away, it tends to be the one to catch him if oz doesn't

-as more of the grimm from oz's arm spreads, he gets more grimm abilities, such as controlling them with more ease and summoning grimm hands with glyphs

-because of oz's alcoholism, he's actually completely lost the ability to see color, and to him everything is in various shades of gray

-oz's hair gets longer over time; he basically never cuts it unless it starts to become a liability in battle

-there's actually a nurse oc who takes care of oscar after training and beatings, and her name is Taffy Hollyhock! she's a red panda faunus with a large fluffy tail, and wears mostly pink. she used to be a huntress before she became a nurse (she wanted to help people more closely), and her semblance lets her 'shut off' specific emotions, which is incredibly useful as a nurse. when she turns those emotions back on, though, they come back full force and hit her hard. she's a sweet, short, chubby lady who loves oscar like a son, and would absolutely commit murder for him. just because taffy is short and chubby and soft doesn't mean she isn't a total badass. she's a girlboss incarnate

-mercury and oscar are actually pretty close, and have had years to develop their brotherly bond

-watts and oscar are also fairly close too, not that watts would admit it. he's something of an uncle to oscar that helps heal his wounds

Star-Crossed: Bound by Blood

Chapter One

Master List

Pairing: Mando/Din Djarin x OFC Baast’Mal

Warnings: I'm making this up as a go, Canon divergent from the series during chapter 13, mild violence

A/N: I make this stuff up as I go along, if I screw something Star Wars-y up, apologies in advance, I didn't do it on purpose, but I'm new to this Fandom. I will be cross posting this story between AO3 and Tumblr except the smutty bits. Those chapters will only be available to registered users on AO3. (I'm trying something new for people who want to read here on Tumblr, but to also avoid the smut for minors controversy. We'll see how it goes.)

*I do not have a tag list* Please follow the story on AO3 if you want email updates, or follow @tilltheendwilliwrite-library where I post the new/latest chapters of all my stories.

***

In the sweltering heat of the jungle, Din Djarin crouched to better scan for tracks in the rotting foliage at the base of the tall trees. Pools of light made it difficult to adjust correctly for the shadowy depths; add in the thermal activity of the plants and animals in this stinking sewer of a planet, and he was having a hard time tracking his quarry. 

When he'd accepted the puck, he hadn't known what he was getting into as her chain code was surprisingly sparse. The only additional information he had was her name - Taa Marel - her last known location and face. 

And what a face. Even on a holo, she was stunning, not that the Mandalorian would let that sway him one way or the other. 

He'd tracked the stolen ship from Bogano, where she'd initially been hiding out to this skug hole of a world that was made to torment men in beskar, causing them to swelter in their helmet.

The kid, however, loved the place. 

Constantly cooing, riding in his pouch, he touched everything he could get his chubby green fingers on. Leaves, flowers, bugs; those, of course, went straight in his mouth. By this point, Mando accepted the womp rat could and would eat just about anything.

Upon arrival, they'd found the ship nose down, destroyed, and abandoned, but the crash landing had created just enough space for Mando to set the Razor Crest down. Then the hunt began.

After three hours of slogging through the heat, he was ready to kill her. After four, he decided death was too good for someone who made him sweat this hard. After five, he was determined to make her suffer. But they were closing in. He could feel it like an ache in his bones.

Tracks led forward, but something didn't sit right with that. They were too obvious. After hours of following such a well-covered trail, this was an insult to his skills. Footprints led straight down a game trail like a beacon meant to lure him astray.

It wasn't right, too easy by far, and the skin on his nape crawled.

He looked up, straight into the eyes of the woman he was hunting. Even through the distorted colour of heat vision, he could see they were a vibrant green.

He moved on instinct, whipcord shooting out, wrapping around her shoulders, and dragging her out of the tree.

She screamed the battle cry of a hunting cat, an inhuman sound before she twisted mid-air and landed lightly, crouched but on her feet. 

"Taa Marel, I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold," he warned her, hand hovering over his blaster.

"That is not my name. And I choose option three."

Her voice kicked him in the groin and made his dick twitch. Stunned, he could only watch as her hands came up and nails like talons shredded his whipcord. 

Someone had left a few things out of her chain code.

"Put the child down."

Mando blinked. "Why would I do that?" 

What did she want with his foundling? Had she heard about him? Would she attempt to take him? 

"I intend to kick your ass, Mandalorian, but I do not hurt children. Put him down."

Surprised, Mando reached for the strap across his chest instead of his blaster. "You're not going to run?"

She lifted a proud chin. "You will continue to hunt me. I would rather die than return to that hell hole, but I will not go easy. I will fight."

She was beginning to impress him with more than just her face. 

Din lifted the strap over his head, his eyes fixed on the target, studying her outside of the holo he'd memorized. 

She stood with her chin raised, body slightly turned in a stance that bespoke proper training. If one could call it that, her green tunic had no sleeves, crossed over her breasts, tied just beneath them, and ended a few inches thereafter, baring the wealth of sun-darkened skin over tightly packed muscles. Pants hugged slim hips, billowed at her thighs, and tied tight to her calves thanks to the soft, short boots that went to her knee. 

Sweat gave her a sheen that made her glow, her vibrant eyes shadowed behind thick, long lashes. Her face was a treasure trove of sculpted brows, sharp nose, and high cheekbones over lips that looked like ripe fruit, begging for teeth. 

A mass of hair, the colour of sand, fell in heavy waves to her hips. It began to darken toward the tips until it was as black as the deepest corner of space.

As he moved the kid, she untied a thin cord from her wrist and slowly began to bind her hair in a low tail.

He'd never met a woman like her, a bounty like her, ever. This one - fugitive or not - had honour in her.

The kid cooed and waved. Her lips twitched into a smile as she winked and waved back.

"Fear not, Mandalorian. Should I kill you today, I will raise your foundling as my own."

Din's blood ran cold. "You won't get the chance."

He hung the child's satchel on a low tree knot and drew the beskar spear from his back in the same motion. Though he'd won the spear from magistrate Morgan Elsbeth on Corvus and helped the Jedi Ahsoka Tano defeat her forces, the Jedi held no answers when it came to the kid. Though, Din wondered if that had more to do with him than the little green monster. She'd told him to seek another Jedi, someone with more training than she, but had given him no direction in which to search.

"He is rather cute," she smirked. "But his kind age so slowly. You will be long dead before he is grown."

Mando paused. "You know of his kind?"

She arched a brow. "You do not?"

He lowered the spear and held up his off-hand. "I am tasked with returning him to his people."

Her posture never changed, but her eyes filled with sorrow. "He has no more people. The last of his kind, or what was thought to be the last, died some years ago. Master Yoda was his name."

"I'm to help him find the Jedi," Mando murmured.

Her eyes lost their sadness. "I cannot help you."

"Will not."

"They are one and the same," she whispered. 

Lightning fast, she rushed him. Mando barely blocked the first swipe of her claws before the second clanged off his pauldron. He used the spear's shaft to knock her back, even as she kicked him in the ribs, bypassing the beskar.

"Do you know the life you condemn me to, Mandalorian, if you return me to that horrible place?" she asked, crouched once again, a few feet away.

"You're a bounty. I don't make deals," he stated, watching his quarry while keeping his body between her and the kid. His ribs smarted, but he'd had worse.

"No. You just work for the people who Purged your planet!" she spat, leaping and clawing. 

She was fast, damn fast. Barely able to keep up, it was all Mando could do not to lose ground until he saw an opening and swept the butt of the spear at her leg.

She jumped back, breath coming hard.

"I didn't ask who the bounty was for." Greef Karga offered him the chance for a big payday, and right now, they could use it.

"You work for the Empire," she sneered. "Returning me to torture and experimentation. Do you think I was always like this!?" She stood and held out her arms, flexing fingers tipped in dark claws. She bared her teeth, revealing wicked-looking canines, then lifted a portion of hair to reveal a sharply pointed ear.

Again he paused, a thing unheard of, to ask, "What are you?" Her chain code said human, but she was certainly not that.

Her proud chin lifted in defiance. "Do you know what a Zentari is, Mandalorian?"

Din inhaled sharply. "That's not possible. They were wiped out."

"All but one. I am Baast'mal, last of the Zentari. The Empire took me as a child and used my gift to ruin me. They bound my blood to the Corellian Sand Panther and Manka Cat. They have so thoroughly defiled my biorhythms that if the constellations were kind enough to cross my path with that of my mate, I do not know if I could bond with him." Pain flickered across her features. "I am sullied, broken. I am a monster," she whispered before shaking herself free of the melancholia and raising that proud chin once more. "So kill me if you can, Mandalorian, for I will not go willingly."

The beskar spear fell from his fingers as Din dropped to a knee and bowed his head. "I am a Child of the Watch. I must offer aid, Zentari. This is the Way."

"The Way?" She took a step back. "The Mandalorians no longer follow the Old Ways. They no longer conceal their face from all but their riduur and ad. The creed is long dead."

He shook his head. "My Tribe is one of zealots. We hold to the old ways of Mandalore. I only recently learned of this as I was raised with them in hiding. The Purge took much, but the ways of the Zentari are remembered in the covert."

She hesitated, eyes wary. "I have faced Mandalorians before. They knew not the Way."

Din stripped his gloves from his hands and held them out, palms up as if catching water. He raised them above his head and brought them down over his helmet, appearing to another as if he washed with air. "Zentari of the Bright Star, may the constellations bless this warrior with a treasure greater than beskar that they would be mine. Cyar'ika. Ka'rta. Riduur."

She inhaled sharply. He watched her fight tears, lip trembling before she closed the distance between them and knelt. She dipped her fingers into his cupped palms as if they held water, brought them to her brow and stroked them down over her eyes and out along her cheeks. 

Her hands shook as she lifted them toward his helmet and laid her palms lightly on the sides of the beskar. 

His hands gently grasped her wrists, her skin warm and soft beneath his fingers. She wouldn't remove it, that he was sure of, but it was an instinct he couldn't deny when someone touched his helmet.

Her voice was whisper soft when she spoke. "Mandalorian, Holder of the Creed, blessed of the constellations. May you raise warriors strong in the Way and find your riduur. Your cyar'ika. Your ka'rta." 

"This is the Way," he murmured, shaken by the encounter.

"This is the Way," she agreed as she drew him forward until his helmet lightly kissed her brow.

The shudder that raced through her raced through him with equal intensity. The Zentari race was a myth, a legend, a beautiful dream. They were so lost to time Din felt like his heart would burst with joy. 

"Have you ever removed your helmet, Mando?" she asked softly.

The shortened form of address made his heart skip. "Not before any living thing." The Droid on Nevarro didn't count, and no matter what Bo'Katan said, the creed was his way. He would never show his face to any besides his wife or children. 

Let Koska scoff as she liked at his traditions. She had not found a Zentari. She likely wouldn't know what to do with the Zentari if she did.

Din rocked back on his toes and pushed to his feet, surprised when she followed him with equal grace. "Zentari, we should return to my ship. The Alor will want to meet you. The covert will rejoice."

"Baast."

He froze as her hands landed lightly on his beskar covered chest. "What?"

"To you, I am Baast." She stared into his visor as if able to see his eyes. 

"Baast," he murmured, wishing he could speak her name without the modulator.

"Yes, Din Djarin," she smiled. 

He still held her wrists, and his hands became her shackles. "How do you know that name?" he demanded.

Long lashes swept her cheeks, a coy smile curling her lips. "Grogu told me."

His grip tightened more. "Who is Grogu?" 

She tilted her head to look past him at the kid cooing at them. "He is Grogu."

"You can understand him?" Din asked, his shock registering even through the modulator. 

"Not in words, but he speaks to those who can listen. Images. Impressions. The Force is strong in him," she smiled at Grogu. "He loves you."

"He's okay." Mando was grateful for the helmet that hid his foolish grin.

"You fool no one," Baast chuckled. She gently twisted her wrists, reminding him of her bondage. 

He let her go and stepped back to pick up the spear. 

"You are a man blessed of beskar," she murmured. "You must be a great hunter."

"Something like that," he murmured. It still shamed him how he'd acquired his armour, but if he hadn't turned in the kid - Grogu - he wouldn't have been as well-equipped to get him back and keep him safe as they ran from the Empire.

Baast headed for Grogu, her smile growing as she lifted down his carrier and situated the baby against her chest. Grogu giggled and babbled something Mando didn't understand.

"Oh, I see," Baast chuckled, casting a side-eye his direction.

"What?" Mando muttered.

"Clan of the Mudhorn. A clan of two." She flicked her claws over his sigil. "I wondered. Grogu explained."

Mando glared at the kid- Grogu. "Don't tell her all my secrets."

Grogu cooed. Baast cuddled him and smiled slyly. By that look, he was pretty sure it was too late for his secrets.

He turned to go, heading back the way he'd come. It would take hours to return to the Razor Crest, and it was already getting dark. 

***

They didn't make it back to the ship before nightfall, but he found a hollow tree in which to spend the dark hours. Creeper vines had choked the life out of the behemoth, leaving them in a cage of vines and dry, dead bark with a wealth of firewood to choose from. 

The fire burned brightly, drafting well, casting shadows across Baast's face and keeping the larger predators at bay. She slept curled around Grogu, lips gently parted. The air had finally cooled at sundown, but now he could see the shivers and goosebumps developing on her flesh. 

Slowly, he leaned forward to remove the cape from his back. Then, just as quietly, he rose, rounded the fire, and draped it over her and Grogu. She stirred but didn't wake, and Din returned to his watch on the far side of the fire.

A Zentari. He could scarce believe it.

She was a myth made flesh—a beautiful dream. Once, when Mandalore still followed the old ways, Zentarus was where many warriors sought their mates, their most cherished riduur. 

A Zentari was always fast and strong and incredibly rare. They grew quickly but aged slowly, their years stretching out into eternity, some said. Fine in face and form, when they met their match, they bonded, taking on traits of the other and giving a few as well. 

A Mandalorian could live a very long time with a Zentari mate. 

But most Mandalorians came home empty-handed as a bond with a Zentari could not be forced, but those who the stars smiled upon, those most blessed with a cherished mate, bonded in ways that grew legends. It was said their children were the most incredible of warriors.

Baast'mal was everything he imagined when told stories of Zentari as a child new to the Tribe. It didn't hurt that she was the most mesh'la female he'd ever seen. Fast. Strong. Deadly. He wondered at what the Empire had done to her, how they could force the blood bonds on Sand Panthers and Manka cats, and just what other mutations they'd caused.

He also wondered at her Force sensitivity. What she felt or even what she could do had not been discussed, but Mando knew there was more to her than he had yet discovered. 

But it was the ache in him, the growing need to once again touch her skin that concerned him. 

It was primal. Feral. It clawed at him. It had him itching to be closer - much closer - to her. He wanted to show her his face and hope she found him as pleasing as he did her. 

Din had nothing to go by in comparison. He'd seen his reflection before, of course, but he had no way of knowing if a woman would think him handsome. He'd had encounters before, ones in which everyone walked away satisfied, some paid for, others freely offered, but the helmet and the beskar never came off.

With her, he wanted to be bare, stripped off all trappings. Din wanted to feel his naked skin against hers. He wanted to taste it.

"You are a very loud thinker," she mumbled, bright eyes glowing softly beyond the fire. 

Mortification filled him. "I'm sorry, I-"

"I do not know your thoughts, Mando," she clarified, "just feel a gentle buzzing from the beskar. It restricts what I pick up from you."

Relief almost had him sagging. Baast closed her eyes, but he was loath to let the conversation end. 

"How old are you?" She looked young, maybe twenty-five.

Her brow twitched, amusement in her smile. "It is rude to ask."

"I wondered how long the Empire had you," he explained. 

Shadows darkened her eyes. "Forty years."

"But they've only been around for thirty," he frowned.

She gave a hollow laugh and sat up. "They have been around much, much longer. I remember the day they came for us. They slaughtered all who fought, men and women. Every child they could catch was rounded up and taken away." She looked away, down at dark claws. "I was the only Zentari to survive the experiments."

"I'm sorry." He was. "I know what it's like to lose everything."

She tilted her head. "You were a foundling."

It wasn't a question, and Din didn't answer her.

"They began experimenting with my blood almost immediately. I was ten when they bound traits of the Manka to me. I was fifteen when they brought in the Panther."

"How? Why?"

Her eyes burned into his. "Because they could." She flexed her fingers. "Because they are depraved. Because they are monsters, who turn others into abominations."

"You're not."

She looked at him in surprise.

Din shifted until he stood and made his way around to her side, where he offered his hand. Baast took it and joined him in the shadows as he led her a few steps away from Grogu. He stripped his gloves from his hands, the need to touch her no longer under his control.

Slowly, he reached up to caress her cheek. He pushed her hair back, revealing the pointed tip of her ear. Her eyes gleamed from behind heavy lids when he stroked his fingers down her tricep and finally cupped her elbow.

He closed his opposite hand around her nape; his thumb pressed to her spiking pulse. "You are no monster."

"My blood is sullied."

"Perhaps. But you remain unbroken," he murmured. "You lived. You escaped. Mesh'la, you are a beacon of shining hope to my Tribe. If there is one Zentari, perhaps there are others."

She closed her eyes. "There is not."

"How do you know?"

A tear trickled down her cheek. "I felt the last die three years ago. It was what gave me the strength to escape."

"Mishuk gotal'u meshuroke, pako kyore," he murmured, rubbing his thumb on her pulse.

"Pressure makes gems; ease makes decay?" A small smile twitched her lips. "Am I a gem, Mando?"

"No." 

She arched an amused brow.

"You are something more precious than any gem," he murmured.

Colour dusted her cheeks. "A Mandalorian who has a way with words? I truly have seen it all," she teased.

He sighed and made sure it echoed through the modulator. "Get some rest." He attempted to move away, but she grabbed him by the belt.

"Stay."

"Baast?"

"Stay." She took his hand, led him closer to Grogu, encouraged him to sit against a fallen chunk of tree, and then curled up beside him, tucking herself under his arm.

"The beskar is too hard," he worried.

"No harder than a prison cell, and you are much warmer. I have not known the comfort of another since I was seven," she admitted.

He sighed again but gave in, curling his arm around her.

"Thank you for your cape."

"Hm."

Her chuckle was more of a low purr. When it rippled through him, Din swore he felt something inside him purr back.

Next Chapter

The DNI hate comes from the fact that ao3 is a public archive and not tumblr or another social media. Once you put it on there, everyone can read it, unless you restrict access to it. And any attempts to change that through dnis come off as not understanding the site at best and controlling, a-holish and a big red flag at worst. DNIs in general are completely useless, because most people who the author thinks of as terfs, antis, freaks or whatever the monster-of-the-day is do not think of themselves as such and would therefore ignore the warning; and those who are the actual bad actors the author wants to keep at bay will ignore the dnis because they are, well, bad actors. So, most people see dnis on ao3 as immature sanctimonious virtue-signaling that only serves to clog the tags and attempt to shame readers. And, well, most people don’t react well to immaturity, sanctimony, virtue-signaling and shaming. Some even overreact.^^

Thanks for your insight and I agree with you! <3 May I add my own thoughts on DNIs?

Because I also think that DNIs in their original use are completely useless for the reasons you named. That's why my only real DNI here is 🔞 I actually don't care if minors follow me, I'm not your parent, I'm not responsible for you. Just ... don't talk to me. I technically have a lot more DNIs like terfs, antis, trump supporter and a whole lot of other nazis, racists and so on. But well. They won't respect that anyway, so I never bothered with actually naming them.

If I see something like TERFs DNI, then it's more an info for me that this account is probably safe for me at least in this aspect. Or a "proshippers DNI", then I know that this blog is in anti-hell and I actually don't interact and run away as fast as I can 😅

I see DNIs as an expression of personal boundaries. Someone don't want to interact with certain people and it's basic decency to respect that. I never ever want to be dragged into pro-anti-discourse and I never ever want to see that in the comments on my texts. Luckily it hasn't happened so far (but then I only have one text that might be considered "problematic" I think?? Ok, someone was scandalized that Shisui and Itachi might be cousins in fanon ... not even canon, mind you).

Of course ao3 is public, but so is Tumblr and no one can hinder you to interact with a text that has a DNI. But you can have the decency to respect the author's boundaries and don't harras them. Just be nice to each other, but that's too much for a whole bunch of people on the internet.

I stated this on reddit and oh boi, the hate was real, but then it's reddit 🙈

I don't think DNIs are a sign of immaturity, rather the total opposite. Someone clearly stated their wish, that certain people don't violate their personal space, and even if the internet is in most places open, this still doesn't give you the right to overstep boundaries. Imagine, I have a conversation with my friends on Twitter and even if we tweet about it not from restricted accounts that doesn't give a stranger the right to step in and throw a tantrum. You wouldn't do the same, if we sit in a public café and some random person comes to us and tells us that we talk shit or something.

As for fanfics: I just want to have fun and a good time. I don't want antis yelling at me for my "problematic ship" or terfs spreading their far right ideology in the comments, because I included genderqueer characters, who are cis in canon, or something else. Of course a DNI note would never hinder those people to interact with my text (unless I restrict or outright delete it), I know that myself, I'm not that stupid.

To be honest I still don't get the whole fuss over DNIs on fanfics, but that's maybe because of my approach to DNIs, that seem to differ from the generall use.

Pinned Post I guess

Hey! so, welcome to my mcyt blog, where I post about anything related to minecraft or minecraft youtube!

I don't have energy to make a banner but ccs on tumblr can interact at the risk of seeing bad fics, worse art, and occasional ship content. Go ham i guess.

About Me

My name is Gold/Semper, i use he/they/it/ey (declined ey/em/eir/eirs/emself, singular verbs with it. so like, ey is very funny.) I am a queer trans person, a writer, and an artist! I also play minecraft (java edition), if you feel like inviting to me to your smp.

I'm putting the rest of the info under a cut because this got long- in short it contains important tags, info on how I tag, and some stuff about my interests.

Important Tags to Know

fin rambles - my tag for rambles about myself, my life, random happenings, or occasionally fandom stuff that I don't want to maintag

fin rants - vent tag! block if you don't want to see negative posts.

fin writes - my writing tag

fin draws - my art tag

fin plays minecraft - my tag for all posts about my adventures in minecraft. often filled with grumbling about my need to be an overachiever even in minecraft. also, copper roofs.

fin answers - my tag for any and all asks

fin's friends - specifically for asks from and interaction with tumblr friends of mine

empires shipping - shipping of empires characters

trafficshipping - shipping of 3rd life or last life characters

General Tagging Info

I tag and warn for the following: blood, gore, injury, death, alcohol, religion, homophobia, transphobia, and dark empires!scott interpretations.

I am also willing to add anything to that list if you have a trigger you need to me tag for! I reserve the right to say no if it's something that I post about commonly enough that it's likely I will forget to tag for it (e.g. 'empires smp' or 'solidarity gaming'), but generally I make an effort to make my blog a safe place.

Also, mutuals, I would appreciate it if you can tag for alcohol.

Other Important Info

I write image descriptions for as many posts as I can! I tend to refrain from describing art or other images that I am not sure of the content of or don't think I can describe well, but I do my best to make my blog as accessible as possible. I encourage my mutuals and followers to do the same, or even just look for image descriptions in the notes before reblogging something! If you want an image described, feel free to @ me. I do not write captions for videos, though, as my audio processing is bad enough that I don't feel like I'm a reliable person to do that.

Finally, if you see me reblog a harmful post, or do or say something harmful, feel free to tell me so! In fact, please do! Chances are, I didn't know that was harmful, and I will be happy to change my behavior because I want my blog to be a safe place for everyone besides bigots.

SMPs and Interests (last section, I promise!)

Currently I am into: last life, empires smp, and hermitcraft.

I was into: dream smp.

Feel free to talk to me about any of the above. Dream smp fans are still obviously welcome to follow, but you probably won't get much dsmp content from me!

And, finally, I don't mind if you disagree with my takes on block men, but don't be an asshole about it on my posts. I am a self-proclaimed bitch and I will block people without hesitation; I don't exactly have high standards (don't be an asshole, don't harass people, don't be a bigot), so if you managed to trip over the bar that's on the floor of hell at this point, that's on you.

Also, I created the venus flytrap husbands ship name. (This one's for you, Sage.)

So You Want To Make NSFW Content For SFW Media

Yes, this can be done, and it can be done responsibly. Unfortunately, it is quite frequently done very irresponsibly, which obviously causes serious problems.

In this writing, I am assuming that the content creator is 18+ and all characters involved are fictional and canonically adults. If any of these things are false, you'd better not be doing this. (And if it's your age that's the problem: I promise that this stuff will still be there when you're older. I don't care how mature you are; you need to not interact with or post explicit stuff if you're a minor.) I'm also focusing on Tumblr here, but the general idea carries over to other social media sites as well.

Alright, you've made your NSFW headcanons/art/fic/whatever about your favorite adult fictional character. So now you just post it to your blog, right?

WRONG.

Unless your blog is already 18+, you've more than likely got minors in your audience. Minors cannot consent to seeing this stuff. You need a sideblog.

In your sideblog's title or description, put 18+ and your age or age range. If this were pre-porn ban I'd tell you to mark the blog as explicit, but you can't do that anymore so... oh well. Go ahead and do whatever customization you want. You can also let your adult followers on your main blog know that you've made this one, and that they can send you an ask or message to get the URL. Don't post the URL publicly, though. You need to do everything in your power to stop minors from accessing this blog.

I would also strongly suggest having a DNI on the blog, as if it gains an audience it'll likely be full of NSFW bloggers. It won't keep all the daddy doms, """littles""", and misogyny kinks off of your shit, but there should be fewer hopefully and you can block them as they come up.

What's that? You don't want to make a whole new blog just to post this content? Aw, too bad. Keeping minors safe takes precedence over convenience. You can always keep it to yourself.

Since you're being a responsible adult, you need to put some thought into your tags as well. You can't tag with the fandom, ship, or character names, as that'll cause your post to potentially come up in searches made by minors. (And if your post has the names somewhere in it, such as if it's a writing post, you'll need to add a blocked tag like #fuck to your post to prevent it from showing up in any search.) Some fandoms already have special tags for NSFW content, such as #undertail. With others, you'll have to make up your own. If you don't want to use a tag like that, use a blacklisted tag to prevent searches from working.

With all that, you're almost done! You've made a sideblog and your post. The last step here is more maintenance than anything.

Check your notes regularly on the sideblog. If anyone interacts who is a minor or doesn't have their age in their bio, ask them to delete any reblogs they've made and then block them. If anyone reblogs one of your posts and their blog is one that allows minors, ask them to delete that reblog (and block if you feel it's necessary). To block a from a sideblog on mobile, you can send them a message from the sideblog and then block them through the messaging menu.

Yes, this is a lot of work and a lot of stuff to handle. If you can't handle it, that's okay. But don't post your NSFW work if you're not mature enough and capable enough to do everything in your power to keep minors away from it, especially if it's NSFW for characters from media aimed at younger people.

How do you think Daenerys is going to react when she finds out Jon is a Targaryen and technically has a better claim ? Sorry you defend her well so I always come to you when I'm worried lol so many people on tumblr are saying she won't react well

I’m glad to know that I’m known as a fierce Dany defender because… that’s what I thrive to be, lol. So- about the whole Targ thing, the incest and all… really what I can say is I don’t know? Because really, I hate how “intertwined” Jon and Daenerys have become despite the obvious incest thing. Hence why I don’t ship them: with their chemistry and the whole lore behind them, were they not related, I’d ship that shit like 100%. I think it’ll be so difficult for them to “deal” with all this that I try not to think about it too much because I think they’re going to HURT a lot. I’m still able to recognize that the scripts, the scenes themselves and the actors, all state that Daenerys and Jon are in love at that point. Like, it’s not a lie, we know Jon isn’t the type of dude who sleeps with a woman for fun - or to fake an alliance *rolls eyes*. It “yiiiikes” me but it’s canon. It’s a very delicate situation.I think we have to look at the characters to kinda guess what is gonna happen. Jon has had a story about accepting who he was, a bastard, and someone who had a greater purpose than “the wars south”. Jon’s post-s5 journey has been about him claiming his place among his own family - the Starks, and still, his “greater cause” that no one else believes in. Hence why him allowing himself to fall in love with Daenerys is such a strong thing, because… well, he was supposed to have other priorities: he even states that in canon, to Davos. Davos says “I’ve seen you staring at her good heart” and Jon’s only response is “we don’t have time for that”. I really, 100% don’t see Jon learning that he’s Rhaegar Targaryen’s son and be like “well I guess the Throne is mine, then!” I don’t see him throwing that info at Daenerys to be like “I’m a better Targaryen than you!”. I think it’ll mostly affect Jon because he loves Daenerys, and he just found out that 1) they’re related (Kit himself said that Jon isn’t the type of man who would KNOWINGLY sleep with someone he’s related to) and 2) probably, that his heritage might threaten Daenerys’ claim to the Throne- and kinda shake her alliances (potentially) or her “security” as an Heir. Hence why I think Jon will NEVER come out officially as anything but “Ned Stark’s bastard”. Kinda like Ned, who kept the secret all his life, out of “duty” and love for someone else (Jon and Lyanna mostly). Jon is Jon Snow. You can see it among the fandom itself, NO ONE takes him as “Aegon Targaryen”. So I think he’ll remain Jon Snow and never claim anything more than that. And he already achieved A LOT for a bastard, he’s King in the North right now, ffs. Now of course I think he’ll tell Daenerys, but for different reasons than his claim.As for Daenerys, it’s hard to say what she thinks about incest. On the show, she has a very twisted relationship with Viserys, so that might not jolt good memories to her. But in the books, Daenerys is basically raised by her brother telling her that had she been born earlier, she would have married Rhaegar and Robert’s rebellion would have never happened (and that then, it’s her fault all their family died because she wasn’t born at the right time *rolls eyes* typical abusive bullshit ya kno). Hence, Daenerys was raised in a “well you would have married your own brother!” mentality, in the books. On the show, we’ve had Daenerys’ whole journey being about shaping her as a leader, a Queen, and a woman of her own. I don’t see Daenerys bending the knee to Jon and I don’t see Jon asking her to do that: they’re way beyond that. Daenerys swore to help Jon before he bent the knee, she was over this idea of “petty wars” for the throne and who has allegiance to who. She wanted Jon to accept Cersei’s deal at the Dragon Pit if it meant them having Cersei’s army to help them against the WW. Hence, Daenerys was ready to accept that Jon “came back” on his allegiance to her, for the greater good. I’m tired of people presenting Daenerys as a crazy despote who is STILL thinking about the Iron Throne. It’s at the bottom of her priorities right now: she’s LITERALLY riding north with all of her army, abandoning her stronghold of Dragonstone, to get to Winterfell and help people who owe her nothing. People whom she knows, won’t accept her right away. Daenerys had nothing to gain in trusting Jon at the beginning of s7: for all she knew (and tbh Tyrion vouching for Jon was a stupid move, because they hadn’t seen each others for 7 fucking years and stop pretending that there aren’t tons of GoT characters who literally switched alliances in that time), Jon could have been an ally to Cersei trying to have Daenerys shift her focus for Cersei to hit her. I mean? Yes we know these characters, but they didn’t know each others at the time. In the meantime, when she learnt more about Jon, Daenerys literally trusted Jon with everything: she sacrificed one of her dragons for him ffs. She rode North, risking her own life to save him, on nothing - at this point - but his words that Ice Zombies were a real thing. Daenerys’ trust in Jon is absolute, otherwise, again, why would she fall in love with him if it weren’t? I mean I could add another argument to that using the leaks that I’ve read but I’m not going to spoil it. All in all, people who pretend that Daenerys could turn on Jon like the second she learns that he’s Rhaegar’s son are… delusionals. And just blindly hate Daenerys or like to pretend that she’s “the Mad Queen” or whatever. It’s not Dany who made a vow to help him and ends up not sending any troops. *shrugs* She’s coming to Winterfell with her FULL FORCE: the army she spent YEARS to build, through horrible trials and difficulties and all that struggle. She could lose it all to help Jon and to fight for a cause that is way greater than the Iron Throne. Tbh I think the Iron Throne is as relevant as Cersei seems to be in the trailer: not at all. Anyway now I know Spring will eventually follow and if King’s Landing is still a thing, if Jon and Daenerys both survive, the question of the Iron Throne will still be a thing. Now I’m wondering if Daenerys’ vision in the House of the Undying didn’t represent what we already saw on s7: winter coming, Daenerys walking to claim her throne, but being “called” by another purpose. She steps away from the Throne and then walks North of the Wall. It’s basically what she did by the end of s7. The Snow in KL could be a symbol for Jon and not even the fact that the King’s Landing is gonna be destroyed by the Night King, who knows. I still think Daenerys has a stronger chance to end up on the Iron Throne than Jon. Personally I’m still on the side of believing that Daenerys will even be pregnant, which would mean that Jon and her wouldn’t even have some kind of “power struggle” over whose claim is stronger than whose. They’d do what is best for their child. And yeah I know the most memorable “incest child” was Joffrey, but let’s all remember, as Tyrion himself said, that Myrcella and Tommen were very good, nice and gentle children, even tho they were born of incest. I don’t know if I believe the marriage theory because as I said, I don’t know how Jon and Dany will react about the incest thing. Will Jon still marry Dany and still be with her even tho Kit said that it’s not Jon’s type? Idk. Maybe it’ll be an “impossible love” kind of thing. Maybe it’ll be a call-back to what Maester Aemon said: what do you choose between duty and the love of a woman? The feeling of a newborn in your arms? At the time, Jon believed Ned would choose duty, that it would be the honorable thing to do, soooo? Again, seeing from some leaks I’ve read that I won’t put into details, I think it’s a strong possibility to have Jon not being anywhere near power at the end of the show, but rather roaming North, leading what could be the “after Night’s Watch”, like with Tormund and people going North of the Wall, like perpetuating this idea of “Shield that Guards the Realms of Men”. It’s also a thing that could separate Jon and Daenerys, their very different ambitions: Jon stated several times that he could just live in a cave with Ygritte, with nothing but love and food and good company ya know. While Daenerys has rejected “good company” (Daario) for the Throne, already. I mean, yeah she wasn’t in love with Daario, but Daario did offer her a “simple relationship” and she refused it. Also to come back to her vision at the House of the Undying, we do see Daenerys refusing to live in a hut with a man she loves (Drogo… it’s presented as love in the show, so *shrugs*) and their son, because something else called out to her- her dragons, reality, her claim to the Throne. I’m rambling a lot, right? Anyway to be clear, I don’t think Daenerys is a “Targaryen demon” who will unleash her wrath upon Jon and try to kill him or destroy him when learning he’s HER BROTHER’S son. Like? Okay I know Dany never met Rhaegar, but she still tried to learn a lot about him - in the show’s canon. She’s named her dragon after Rhaegar. She loves him, and she’s in love with Jon. These things don’t just go away, and the characters won’t become sudden enemies circling around the Throne and making war to each other. I just roll my eyes at all this “targ bowl” / “dark!dany” bs. It won’t happen. Daenerys is better than that and I can’t wait for all these people to shut the freak up for good- when the show ends. Daenerys is painted as a hero on the show, and anyone not seeing it, is just trying to bend the story. Yes she’s had to make hard decisions, just like a lot of other characters have. She struggled with these decisions and had remorses about these decisions, like A GOOD PERSON would. I think Jon and Daenerys in their relationship are beyond the Throne. I don’t think Jon fell in love with Daenerys with the idea of “well I’ll become King if she wins!” and I don’t think Daenerys fell in love with Jon with the idea of “wow I’ll unite the North and the South by doing that!”. As the scripts and the characters point it out: it’s not the right time for it to happen, it’s not even right for it to happen because in fact they’re related (hence Bran’s voice over the sex scene), but it happened because… sometimes heart is stronger than duty. Hence, it mirroring Rhaegar and Lyanna’s marriage on the show: Rhaegar and Lyanna chose love over duty (even tho no comment about book!Rhaegar). They ended up being a tragic story. That’s a very strong theme in both Daenerys’ and Jon’s storylines. Duty vs Heart. I do think there’s a decent chance for them to choose love, even tho it would probably be “too good” of an ending for GoT- like “they lived happily ever after”: so maybe they’d turn tragic like Lyanna and Rhaegar, idk. So I’d say maybe they’ll choose duty and that will split them up? And if that’s the case, well we know from their storylines, that Dany’s duties will be as a Queen, while Jon’s always lied elsewhere, dealing with things Kings and Queens didn’t bother to take seriously. I’m sorry to all their fans, but I think Bran’s voice being over their most intimate “love confirmation” scene, just kinda foreshadows the fact that they won’t just be a fairytale story that will end all good. I think they have more chances to be tragic, but I don’t think they’ll be separated by their claims over the Throne. They won’t fight over the Throne. But tbh as much as I don’t see that happening, I also don’t see Jon and Dany just shrug the incest reveal away and keep on being lovebirds in denial. I think it’ll hit them in their intimacy as people and not as Heirs, is what I mean. *shrugs* A very long answer, sorry. I probably rambled a lot. I think people are jumping to conclusion: even tho he’s Rhaegar’s son, Jon has no relationship to him and no ambition to claim it as any “legitimacy” at ending up on the Throne. To me, Jon has never been a character wanting power like this- several characters said, “Jon Snow is no King” or “Jon Snow doesn’t want to be King” and these are important traits of his character that won’t disappear just because he has a new daddy who would have sat on the Iron Throne in another reality (also let’s remember that Rhaegar REFUSED his place as Heir to the Throne, and that he left Westeros with Lyanna *shrugs*). To me, Rhaegar, Jaime and Jon are very similar characters, in that they’re mostly Knights and don’t thrive for power. Rhaegar already refused power. Jaime also did as an Heir to Casterly Rock. Daenerys, Sansa and Cersei are the ones who are similar to each others, on the other hand. All three were raised to be Queens. All three imagined themselves as Queens. Anyway, that’s my take on that, I think the fact that only the “legacy characters” (Sam and Bran: Sam wanting to be a Maester, and Bran being the Three-Eyed Raven) know about Jon’s real heritage, is also a big clue: that it’s not about the story, but more about the legacy of what will survive after the Winter, and what will become “History”, kinda. I mean, if you think about it, after Robert died, Ned could have come out with his bastard son and say “well he’s Rhaegar Targaryen’s son!”, I mean? He would have had Howland Reed to back him up. But he didn’t, because I don’t think it’s meant to make Jon into a “player” for the Throne. And I think Sam and Bran are the most loyal, selfless characters, who will accept Jon’s decision if he decides not to “come out” officially as Rhaegar Targaryen’s son and Heir to the Iron Throne. Did I end up answering the question? Idk, man. Sorry about all of this, lol…