Sinnamon and spice

Why do I like him?

Well, it might be because I talked to him, listened to what he had to say, and took him on missions with me.

I found a character who had had his crisis point, and had dealt with it. Who knows that just because one member of a group is an ass, that doesn’t mean the rest isn’t. A character with ironclad principles, who is a little too stubborn for his own good, but will admit he is wrong in the end and will never question you again, if you spend the time and energy to talk to him.

He’s a character who doesn’t need Shepard; he gets to the higher rank of Major without them and I’m pretty sure this self-reliance is part of the reason he is chosen as the Second Human Spectre.

He is quiet and introspective, and his random comments, like thoughts accidentally spoken aloud, make me laugh. He has a deadpan snark akin to Joker, and is pretty nerdy, as evidenced in a lively discussion between him and Tali about omnitools, and will get hopelessly distracted if Shepard tells him about their adventure into the geth’s consensus.

He’s chatty and silly in the party, yelling if people want pizza, insisting that he knows about wine and occasionally going, very loudly, ‘own it! Embrace it! ’.

I could talk about his romance, which is fraught with difficulty, but is not without buckets of feeling, where he will never take more than you’re wishing to give. And that when romanced he can be flirty and mischievous, and those who held out for him in the difficult times get a little reward of their own. But I’ve already talked enough.

You wanted reasons? Here, I have them.

getting up from bed cheats

getting up from bed codes

That ‘eventually’ has always had me curious. You enlisted, eventually; or you made him proud, eventually?

Like the way that I’m building up Kaidan’s father in my mind is that he recognizes the weight that something like Vyrnnus’s death would be on Kaidan, and doesn’t want him putting himself in a situation like that again, which Kaidan becoming a soldier would do.

I love the idea that he didn’t want that life for Kaidan after what Kaidan had been through. And it does make sense given he retired before the First Contact War and didn’t participate in it, but fought in the Reaper War. (For me, the manifestation of Kaidan’s biotics played a part in his decision to retire from the military.)

I agree about their relationship. It’s great seeing *complex* relationships with his parents explored, but it doesn’t need to be super contentious like so many others. Another asshole dad would have been tedious.

This is based on the idea that for both Dwarves and Elves, braiding has a special meaning, and it is something shared between those who love and trust each other.

I imagine they got married soon after the war. Later, Legolas moved to Ithilien and Gimli to Aglarond, but they found ways to get together. This is when they got a chance to reunite and braided each other’s hair.

if you've read any romance or fanfic in the past twenty years (i know you have), you know that there are a certain number of scents associated with hot dudes. you can probably recite the list of Things Men in Fic smell like in your sleep: leather, black pepper, pine, sandalwood, "something uniquely him", clean sweat, and if the character has ever fucking been within 50 yards of a firearm, something called "cordite".

here's the thing.

NO ONE SMELLS LIKE CORDITE.

cordite was a highly specific type of smokeless gunpowder developed in the 1890s by england specifically and used mostly in wwi.

if your good-smelling guy is not (a) english (b) using a very specific type of british rifle (c) dying in a trench in flanders, he does not smell like cordite. technically even if he does meet all those conditions he still doesn't smell like cordite because he smells like trenchfoot.

the point is, cordite is so far from universal that no one but the most hardcore gun nerds give a single shit about it. making your Sexy Hero smell like cordite is like naming a cassette-only bootleg live recording from the 1970s as your favorite grateful dead album. everyone at the party hates you immediately and knows you're doing it for clout. also, it's just factually... wrong. please stop. i know everyone else is doing it, but you can do the right thing here, i believe in you.

so what do people who are using guns smell like?

well if your story is set before the late 1880s, the smell of a fired gun is black powder, which, unfortunately, smells like seventeen flatulent cows have been shoved in a tire factory. trust me, you do not want your Hot Dude to smell like black powder. it's b a d.

if your story is set after the late 1880s, guns are using some variety of modern 'smokeless' powder - which speaking broadly doesn't really have a ton of scent when used. it does have some, but it's sort of non-descript: the best way i can describe it is the sweet, ozone, hot-plate smell of popping your car hood with a warm engine.

people who use guns a lot don't smell like fired guns all the time anyway, so while those scents might work in a fight scene, they're not realistic all the time. but there are some things that your Sexy Shootist will smell like basically 24/7 and that's metal and gun oil. metal you can go and sniff (i recommend non-stainless steel), but if you want a reference, most gun oils have a sharp, organic smell that's not dissimilar to canola oil but muskier and with a tang overtop. it's not unlikely leather is in the mix as well due to routine handling of leather equipment and gear. modern gear also tends to have a certain smell although it varies by production country and storage conditions - lots of opportunities there.

Xena & Gabrielle

they were so important to me as a baby lesbian :')