#All of it was so prolific and horrible

[serenhob]

Idk why it's taking so long (probs cause very been taking so many breaks to watch documentaries about the Flds) but this is what I have so far

My friend called him a dorito

[dragonnan]

More Hob Gadling headcanons:

He is fascinated by showers and when they first became a thing he'd indulge every day - sometimes a couple times a day.

He can't stand baths after the 1600's. He isn't hard triggered by them anymore and can tolerate them but they give him a twinge of unsettled if the water is too deep.

He loves learning languages and is fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Russian, all Scandinavian, and Swahili to name several. He gets by with Arabic, Fasi, Chinese, Czech, Hindi, and Kurdish.

He's even more passionate about the written word and in additional to learning as many languages as possible is also a prolific writer. He has a vast collection of unpublished poetry kept in vaults around the world along with other important documents, gold, and other valuables.

He was the first in his community to buy a car and refuses to ride a horse unless absolutely critical.

He has tried everything from bungee jumping to sky diving. He's a massive adrenaline junkie.

He really really REALLY wants to explore diving to see all the pretty fish and corals but every time he's tried he's had a panic attack.

He's managed to develop himself as an artist. He tends to prefer watercolors and sketching in one of his many journals.

He can sing. Like REALLY well.

He doesn't like guns. He knows how to use them - has had to learn given the wars he's been in. But he finds them horrible and the wounds he's caused with them haunt him.

Digital photography was a lifesaver. He has so many physical photos of the most absolutely random shit - like a lizard he saw in the 40s and stray dog adopted by his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

He's been banned from Vegas 12 times.

He will never have children again.

[fatliberation]

Roald Dahl was a prolific children's author who passed in 1990. He wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among many other then-bestsellers. Two years ago, his publishing company completely removed all instances of "fat", "ugly", and "crazy", and made many other politically-correct changes. Bad and neutral characters are marked fat or ugly much more often than good ones; Augustus Gloop is now simply "enormous". What do you think? Should we not be afraid of the word "fat", even if used pejoratively, or should it be erased?

All changes can be found if you search "roald dahld changes telegraph", I can't post the proper link

I did not know this! interesting. I find it strange of them to try to “update” the original work when the entire thing is baked in racism, antisemitism, fatphobia, ableism, etc. it’s a product of its author and we should be able to teach children to look at it critically instead of try to erase the uneraseable. augustus gloop for example - “enormous” is just another way to say fat, so that seems confusing to me. his existence in the book is a caricature of greed & gluttony and he is punished for it. I don’t think that’s something you can rewrite unless you make an entirely different story. trading “fat” for “enormous” doesn’t remove the fatphobia whatsoever. it just treats “fat” like a bad word that we shouldn’t say. and if other fat characters are no longer described as fat - is it better to erase the existence of fat characters? I think it’s better to understand how fatness has been horribly misrepresented in the past. if they want politically correct stories, they can make new ones.

[ketrindoll]

Neil Gaiman's apology or whatever you wanna call it is... interesting.

If I had any disbelief that all of the accusations are true, it's gone now.

Let's say I was in his position and totally innocent of the horrible things reported on me, my response would go something like:

"I have avoided responding to the allegations made against me because they are objectively untrue, yet as a well-off white man I recognized my priviledge and chose not to attract negative attention to these already vulnerable women.

However, as the new wave of allegations involve my child, I couldn't stay quiet. The things that are being said about my child and my supposed behaviour in front of him are positively untrue. While I did engage in concensual relationships with some of these women, it never crossed any of the mutually agreed boundaries. Above all, my children definitely did not take part in any of those relationships.

While I understand that there was a power imbalance between me and the women involved, I always strived to make them comfortable...." bla bla bla you get the point.

Instead we got a vague letter with no mention of actual things that may be untrue. Instead of some anger or bewilderment over accusations he bemoans... and I shit you not... not giving those women enough attention. Like, fuck me sideways with a chainsaw if that's not guilty talk.

But what cemented it for me was the fact that he did not mention allegations that involve his kid. If I was innocent, this horrible allegation would be the first thing I would go after. It's natural if you're a parent to seek to protect your child. But no mention of Ash, and no denial of his involvement.

So, yeah... Take that as an ultimate confirmation guys. Neil Gaiman, the prolific author who gave us so many brilliant works of art, is gone. The rapist who exposed his own child to horrible sexual trauma remains.

[pluckyredhead]

…Sorry if this is a bit weird but do you have any queer romance book recommendations? I ended up finishing the last binding trilogy because you posted about it (you have excellent taste lol) and I’m a bit stuck at the moment with what to read next.

Not weird at all! I absolutely have recs! Also Freya Marske has a brand new book out called Swordcrossed if you want more of her writing. (For people who are not anon: The Last Binding is an Edwardian historical fantasy romance trilogy and it's excellent.)

Okay recs:

KJ Charles: My favorite queer romance author, hands down, and also the most prolific! She's written over 30 queer historical romance novels (and one queer historical mystery), mostly M/M, all historical and set in the UK during various time periods ranging from the 1810s to the 1920s. My two favorite things about her work: 1. It draws very heavily on the history, meaning that her characters never come across like modern people in historical cosplay. And 2. she's great at creating genuine conflict between or around characters. I have read too many romances where everything is uwu softness and nothing hurts but Charles's characters are always either fundamentally divided by politics, class, ethical perspectives, lies, and/or tragic backstories, OR they get along fine but a murderer is trying to kill them, OR, in the best of her books, both.

My favorites are probably The Will Darling Adventures (1920s trilogy all about the same couple fighting a criminal secret society), A Seditious Affair (1810s, a radical firebrand and a Tory government official accidentally fall in love while having extremely kinky sex), An Unnatural Vice (1870s, "spiritualist" con artist and the crusading journalist trying to expose him), and Any Old Diamonds (1890s, The Saddest Boy in the World hires a sexy jewel thief to rob his horrible father, kink ensues), but you can really start anywhere - Think of England is where I jumped on and it's nice because it's more of a standalone (there is a companion book but Think of England comes first). If you liked The Last Binding, you might want to start with her Magpie Lord series because they are also fantasy romance. (Freya Marske is a big KJ Charles fan and it shows, in a good way.)

Allie Therin: Sticking with the fantasy romance angle here for a moment, Therin has a 1920s trilogy called Magic in Manhattan that is all about the same couple, a prickly magic-user named Rory and the big hunky WWI vet who loves him, as they fight various evil magicians. (HUGE oversimplification but you get it.) There's a spinoff trilogy, the Roaring Twenties Magic series, which has two books out so far. I love NYC, the 1920s, fantasy, and queer romance, so obviously I love all of this.

But I'm particularly obsessed with her Sugar and Vice series (also a trilogy, first book is out already and the second one comes out next month) which is set in modern day Seattle and is about an empath named Reece and the super dangerous empath hunter called the Dead Man who may or may not be here to kill Reece, and also there's a serial killer on the loose. This one is a suuuuuuper slow burn (they don't even kiss in the first book!), so you have to be patient but I read the second book early and yeah I'm obsessed and desperate to talk to other people about these books.

Charlie Adhara: More paranormal romance! I wrote about these books at greater length recently, but the short version is: FBI agent gets transferred to the super secret werewolf division of the FBI and partnered with a hot werewolf, they fall in love, spend five books developing into The Ultimate Power Couple, I'm in love with their love. There's a spinoff series called Monster Hunt but only one book is out so far.

TJ Klune: I probably don't have to tell anyone about TJ Klune anymore and I'll admit he can be hit or miss for me but I did really love Wolfsong. As long as we're talking werewolves.

Dessa Lux: Okay these are more erotica than romance but Omega Required is a comfort read for me, which is funny because I'm not usually an omegaverse gal. But this is about a very sweet alpha doctor who offers a marriage of convenience to a very traumatized omega and it's literally just nonstop cuddling and soup. She also has a series that's just ever-growing werewolf gangbangs, if that's a thing you're into. Like. A cartoonish amount of werewolves at the gangbang. It's delightful.

Cat Sebastian: I will admit Sebastian is also a little bit hit or miss for me. I loved her very first trilogy, the Turner series, which is very much in the vein of KJ Charles (Regency romance, class divides, lots of conflict). She wrote some more 19th century stuff after that and then moved into mid-20th century romance (50s-70s) which is honestly very rare. She also basically...stopped writing any conflict at all. I would say a large portion of her books after the Turner series can be accurately described as "two best friends who are secretly in love with each other sit in the same house/apartment and enjoy each other's company until they get together." I know a BUNCH of people who absolutely love that and they are well-written! But I really have to be in the right mood for them.

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy: Okay I am not a hockey person, but you must, you MUST read Him and its sequel, Us. Hockey-playing BFFs, one is gay and secretly in love with the the other, the other one is like "I don't think I'm into dudes but I'd better give you 300 blowjobs to make sure." (Spoiler: he's into dudes.) Honestly the stupidest men imaginable. I love them so much. Bowen has written a few other queer romances solo and I'm working my way through her back catalog now.

Rachel Reid: Yes it's more hockey romance but. BUT. Heated Rivalry. Two of the top players in the NHL, on rival teams, have famously hated each other for years...and have secretly been fucking since they were rookies. Reid is another one where I'm still working my way through her books but Heated Rivalry is something special.

I am SURE there are more I'm forgetting but this is long so I'll stop it here for now! Also folks should feel free to reblog with further recs, she said selfishly.

[ask-mortarion-the-death-lord]

watching a space marine 2 play through with no commentary. mostly to see what they're doing with the story. but i thought i might just write down my general thoughts on that particular story for fun.

the deathwatch tutorial segment where they do a "ooooh, whoooo could you pooosibly be playing as? its a mystery wink emoji wink emoji wink emoji" isn't particularly special but its functional. the squad dies leaving deathwatch titus to finish the mission alone, he does and nearly gets overrun by tyranids.

yet another pretty interesting piece of "the imperiums pretty fucked" is that only 100 years later titus is an effective unknown to everyone but high ranking members of the chapter or those who were alive when he was. that'd be one thing for normal humans but astartes can potentially live past 1,000 years of age placing it well within a marines potential lifetime. and not only that, but titus was captain of the 2nd company and considered to have quite an impressive resume. that is all to say that damn son, the imperium is really freakin good at unpersoning a person if the general reaction to titus only a 100 years later is "who is this guy?" either that or astartes casualties are so prolific that even just 100 years later most people that would have known titus are already dead. or a mixture of both.

the dynamic so far is shaping up to be a fun one for tituses new squad. 3 of the 5 are generics wearing helmets so they're definitely going to die horrible and avoidable deaths. the remaining two are gadriel whos clearly resentful that he didn't get the promotion to lieutenant and chairon gadriels sassy black friend because of course hes the sassy black friend.

the fun part of all that is the big "upper management brought in their own people to take control, and we all resent them for it" energy. hope that boils into something interesting.

[saitoakirachan-fangirls]

Roleswap AU except Akechi and Joker are childhood friend soulmates and doing their own thing with Futaba.

Meanwhile, Haru, with her natural proficiency with psychic abilities, is forcibly pushed to awaken her persona Wu Zetian, and becomes Noir, Shido's personal assassin and her father's bargaining chip. Haru's psychic power revolves around hypnosis and brainwashing. It basically opens the target's mind to suggestion, and when needed, she can break them as well. Unlike Call of Chaos, which awakens the target's ugliest hidden impulses, Haru's power directly suppresses their ability to think for themselves. If used repeatedly, it will slowly turn the target unresponsive to outside stimuli, their mind completely atrophied. She had to work with Dr. Maruki who was selected to nurture Haru's powers. The first choice would've been Isshiki Wakaba, but her lab mysteriously caught fire after a failed experiment exploded...

Deluding herself into thinking that she was serving justice, she aided Shido and her father in taking down corrupt and abusive men. If these men turned out to also be competition, then it must simply be a coincidence. Unlike in-game Akechi, who seems to not really use his powers outside of orders, Haru is a prolific power abuser in an almost Phantom Thief fashion. She does this out of genuine wish to help, but a tiny part of her is also using this as a way to maintain her illusion of justice. Like, look, I'm helping! All of this is for justice! Would a horrible assassin desperate for her father's approval do this? Only, the problem is that her power is not permanent, so she either has to make the decision of using her power again and again, or let the power fade and the target will revert to their original ways.

When she first learns about the Phantom Thieves, she's intrigued. She always felt alone in her justice, but now, there are more people using the Metaverse and persona powers for justice. This is so exciting! Except she meets them and immediately hates their guts because all she sees are nicer, less unhinged versions of herself. They're untainted and naive and sincere in all the ways she isn't (or so she thinks). They make it so so clear that Haru is delusional in her view of justice, that it's all nonsense she's making up to cope. They never murdered anyone (Goro says lol), never felt their victim target's mind break in their hands. Shido had ordered her to destroy them. She was hesitant at first, but now she inexplicably wants to do exactly that.

(Dirty their purity and break their innocence, like Haru had to break herself)

[thekatebridgerton]

Today on Bridgerton aus I'm too sleep deprived to write: Serial killer Prison Break au

Kilmartin high security prison, the place where evil goes to die. Has 6 highly dangerous individuals that are contained in unknown cells deep underground under strict supervision. 6 killers who happened to form the scariest family of domestic threats that ever plagued the British Isles.

Anthony, mastermind infiltrator terrorist, once held 5 international world leaders hostage in the parliament until they capitulated to his wishes. Benedict, genius artist, leader of the largest art counterfeit ring in the nation, Colin, charming butcher, brutal serial killer, (number of victims, still unknown). Daphne, high profile Jewel thief, rumored to still have the crown jewels somewhere in her possession. Eloise, prolific arms dealer and explosive weaponry engineer, (victim number still unknown) and Francesca, biotechnology scientist, responsible for the latest biological threat that quarantined the nation and surrounding areas.

It took a collaboration between all known and unknown security and law enforcement agencies to take them down but finally they were caught and buried in Kilmartin... That is, until they broke out, in what had to be the most horrible prison break of the century.

Authorities reviewed the footage from all that went down in the prison in the day and weeks preceding the incident and narrowed down the list of suspicious individuals, among them, several whom were taken as hostages.

First is detective Kate Sharma, the cutthroat officer who is in charge of tracking down the state secrets Anthony stole from the parliament and has a grudge against him for setting her sister up as a scapegoat when he committed that crime. Next, is Doctor Sophia Beckett, the struggling prison doctor who was forcefully made to take care of Benedict after several prison fights left him repeatedly wounded. Penelope Featherington, the journalist is also on the list of suspects as her investigative visits to Colin ( and subsequent articles about his killings) fell way too close to the dates where Colin would act out and get put in solitary. Then there is Simon Hastings, the business Tycoon whose visits to his death-row father got suspiciously more frequent after Daphne was moved to the cell next to his. Phillip Crane was almost dismissed as a suspect, being that he was attending a guided tour trough the safer parts of Kilmartin when the prison break happened, if not for the fact that Eloise used to have a strange flower arranging hobby, and the greenhouse Phillip owned happened to be her main supplier of plants. Finally, the least likely of suspects, Michael Stirling, director of the prison, retired army veteran, who ran Kilmartin like a tight ship, so much that only one guard noticed how he was giving Francesca more privileges for good behavior than he gave other inmates.

Out of these suspects, Phillip, Sophie and Michael were kidnapped and are still in the group of hostages taken by the Bridgertons as insurance. Simon, Penelope and Kate, were not on the premises that day, but had in fact visited in different days the week before. The question that law enforcement is asking is: which one of these suspects was the accomplice who set the criminals free, and which ones were simply innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Ps: Violet Bridgerton, safely absconded in her private island in the Caribbean with her two teenager children (and the entirety of the fortune, weapons and international secrets amassed by her older ones) would also like to know as well... She wants to have grandbabies you see, and whoever aided and abetted that prison break might be her only chance at them.

Your turn dear reader, who do you think did it?

[winters-on-the-wing]

new marauders au: medieval edition

guys this is a prongsfoot medieval au but TRUST ME ITS COOL

so basically the potters are the rulers of the godric kingdom and the blacks are the rulers of the salazar kingdom, and there are other kingdoms around but they're lowkey irrelevant. euphemia and fleamont are the queen and king of the godric kingdom, and their son james is the heir and only prince. orion and walburga are the king and queen of the salazar kingdom, and sirius is the eldest prince and heir, and regulus black is the younger prince.

in early childhood, when sirius is ten and regulus is nine, regulus discovers that sirius is against the oppressive policies that their parents are pushing. sirius is sneaking out and joining protests and rebellions, vowing to get rid of all blood supremacy laws in the salazar kingdom when he is crowned. regulus, of course, wants to be king himself, and he also can't stand the idea of blood supremacy being destroyed from the inside out, so he does what any horrible little brother would do: he tattles. of course, walburga and orion are horrified, and they expel their own son and heir from the salazar kingdom, giving him a few scars to remind him not to come back. sirius has to make his own way in the world and regulus is the new heir. the salazar kingdom is just led to believe that sirius died of illness.

but sirius finds his way to the godric kingdom, and it is there that he learns that the kingdom is looking for an intelligent tutor to teach their rowdy son about english and math and science and history, and all the things that a prince needs to know before becoming king. sirius is a prodigy, prolific in all things academic, so he shows up to try out for the job. effie and fleamont are a bit hesitant because sirius is the same age as james, and how could a kid be good at tutoring his peer? but sirius ends up being smarter than everyone else who showed up, so he gets the job. sirius and james, of course, become thick as thieves.

flash forward seven years. james and sirius are seventeen. they both have a huge crush on each other, but are desperately trying to hide it because both know it is improper. sirius doesn't want to lose his job, and james unfortunately cannot marry someone who isn't royalty. james has no idea about sirius' past, and neither does anybody else in the godric kingdom. sirius changes his name to sirius grim. anyways, on james' seventeenth birthday, it is announced that in order to smooth over political tensions, james has been betrothed to the heir of the salazar kingdom: regulus black.

of course, james and sirius are horrified, for different reasons. james doesn't want a political marriage! he wants to marry for love! and he doesn't even know this regulus guy! sirius, on the other hand, is fully aware of the danger this puts james in. regulus has adopted all the blood supremacist beliefs of his parents, and more. regulus hates anything that's different from himself, and james is very, very different from himself.

also lily evans is a duchess of the godric kingdom and she's extremely close with james, they're practically like siblings. and remus is the all-knowing servant character who occasionally shows up just to stir the pot between james and sirius because he thinks it's funny to watch them constantly try and deny their feelings for each other. and as i stated previous, regulus is a massive asshole who is only marrying james for power, and won't hesitate to use him in order to get exactly what he wants out of effie and fleamont. after all, it's their fault for revealing their weakness: their love for their only son and only heir.

[subbing-for-clones]

The Defective Jedi

Chapter 1

Word count: 2.2k

Trigger Warnings: None really, just some fighting

Every day you tried to forget and yet almost every night you remembered. Wandering through the crystal caves of Ilum was horribly cold and felt so lonely. You were never particularly strong with the force but you always felt it. That connection between all things living and the energy it permeated, but when you entered the cave you felt, nothing. Why did you feel nothing?

You heard the other younglings yipping in happiness and laughing in triumph as one by one they found their kyber crystals and still, nothing called for you. Time was running out before the entrance became a wall of ice with no escape and even as a child you accepted defeat before you accepted death. You were the last to leave and the only one who was left empty handed. You would remember the disappointed look of Master Yoda forever, his eyes turned to the snow beneath his feet with a pained look before he looked back up at you.

It wasn’t long after that you were sent back home to Lothal. You had taken your parents pride and sullied it with failure and you don’t think they ever forgave you for it. It was true, you had failed before you even really got started. Your connection to the force just wasn’t strong enough to be a Jedi.

Still, you refused to let the connection go. You spent your formative years practicing the techniques you were able to learn in your short time studying under the jedi. Hours meditating every rotation searching for that warmth. You did find it; you could still feel it and so you taught yourself as much as you could.

Once you were able to venture out on your own you left Lothal and your parents’ resentment behind. Never really setting up a home; you joined a bounty hunter’s guild instead and used your abilities to become a fairly prolific hunter. It was during these years that all hell broke lose as war erupted all over the galaxy.

Only one year in and it wasn’t looking good. Hundreds of Jedi had fallen to the separatist forces and they needed help. This was when a desperate plea rang across the galaxy for the aid of anyone with force sensitive capabilities to come and join the fight for the republic. Whether it was out of the desire to help or need to prove yourself to the ones who threw you out you weren’t sure; still you answered their call.

You were tested and trained in a group of others with similar stories to your own under several rotating Jedi. At the end of your training, you were assigned to be exactly what you already were; a fighter. You were assigned to various squads as aid and back up; using your intuition, strategy skills and your fighting expertise on the battle field with the clones. You’d never hold a rank above a grunt but you didn’t care. Every victory was a curse on the Jedi for giving you up.

After months of rotating between battalions you were about to receive your permanent assignment. Clone Force 99, a rag tag team of four, apparently defective, clones. The irony didn’t escape you.

“Why are we getting a Jedi?” Hunter asked the hologram of Cody. The others standing back but still in view of the commander.

“She’s not a Jedi, she’s one of the force sensitives the Jedi asked to join the cause. She doesn’t hold rank over you, you’re still in charge.”

“I don’t like it.” Sneered Crosshair.

“Well, you don’t have much of a choice. The higher ups want these people sprinkled out through all the squads in case of a Sith attack. The Jedi worry about them rising up with the appearance of a few and quite frankly, no clone stands a chance agianst them. They can wipe out battalions.”

“When is she joining and for how long?” The Sergent was growing impatient and didn’t like the idea of a new member being added to their group.

“She’s waiting on Kamino for you now so you’ll meet her upon arrival, she’ll be with you until the war is over or until she runs as fast as she can away from you.” The commander had a small smirk on his face that Hunter mirrored. The idea of sending a Jedi, or whatever, running amused him.

            Once they touched down on Kamino three out of the four were sightly on edge with the exception or Wrecker who seemed rather excited. He was generally the most welcoming. The worry melted away as soon as they laid eyes on you. You really didn’t look like a Jedi at all. You looked like an operative. Instead of a robe you wore black armor and in the place of a lightsaber at your hip, you had a blaster and a large curved vibro-blade.

Crosshair couldn’t help but eye you up and down the armor looked good on you. You took each of them in once you took your helmet off and introduced yourself to your new companions, a dance you’ve done before. Wrecker was kind enough to grab the two crates of your belongings and load them onto the ship. There wasn’t much time for pleasantries before you received your first mission. You were to extract data from an outpost on Teth and upload it straight to Cody. Information about prisoners of war and where they were being held was your main objective. Anything else was an added bonus. You all loaded onto the ship after eating a hearty meal in the cafeteria.

In the back of the ship next to the bunks you unpacked a few things from your crates.

“Whatchya got there?” Wrecker asked excitedly.

“Ill eat a loth cat before I sleep in GAR issued blankets.” He laughed heartily at your response and left you to continue. You didn’t have any photos to hang or many personal items at all for that matter but that’s how you’ve lived for the last few years anyway.

            Once you were finished you made your way to the common area where the clones were discussing strategy. Quietly you took the empty seat between Tech and Crosshair. The outpost was situated in the middle of the jungle. Intel reported minimal guards as it wasn’t a main base but still enough that you all decided stealth was your best option.

            Once the plan had been formulated they all looked at you expectedly.

“What is it?” you asked.

“So why didn’t you become a Jedi?” Tech asked outright, Hunter elbowed him but didn’t faze the goggled soldier.

“I tried but, well they decided I wasn’t strong enough. I’m closer to the force than most people but not close enough to be a Jedi.”

“You’re defective like us!” Wrecker shouted with glee, earning an elbow from Hunter as well. You actually laughed a bit.

“Yeah, you could say that. I’ve used my abilities as a bounty hunter since I left Lothal until I joined the GAR.”

            Crosshair watched you out of the corner of his eye. You really weren’t what they thought you would be at all. You weren’t a religious zealot you were just someone trying to find their way in the galaxy like the rest of them. He admired that, the honesty too. You weren’t trying to be something you’re not.

            That night in hyperspace you tossed and turned in your new bunk. Nightmares from close calls on a hunt filled your mind. You were often reminded of the times you came close to getting killed before a mission. Eventually you gave up and made your way toward the cockpit. You enjoyed meditating under the blue streaking lights. You were surprised to see that someone had beat you to it. The lithe handsome sniper sat in the pilot’s chair cleaning his fire puncher and mouthing a tooth pick.

            He looked up at you slightly taken aback by your appearance. Quickly he composed himself and half waved his arm at the other seat as a silent invitation.

“Sorry for intruding, I just couldn’t sleep.”

“You’re not.”

You were starting to like the way words seemed to slither off his tongue. You nodded a thanks to him and turned to watch the stars soaring by at light speed. Both you sat in silence for a few minutes before he opened and shut his mouth, wanting to ask you something but Cross wasn’t sure if it was out of turn.

He mentally shrugged and asked, “So why did you join the GAR?”

“Is one part brave three parts fool a believable answer?”

“I doubt you’re a fool.”

“Well, we’ll see if you keep that opinion,” you chuckled and earned an upturn of the corner of his mouth.

“Honestly? I found it ironic that the Jedi needed our help now. I don’t hold too much resentment agianst them but I do want to prove myself as valuable. Besides, things make sense out here.”

“How so?” He turned in his chair to face you and put his rifle down for a moment. You glanced at him and shrugged your shoulders.

“There’s no confusion right now. We fight agianst Separatists and clankers. I’m sure there are good people on those planets but this is the side I chose to fight for so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Crosshair digested your words and offered “We didn’t get a choice.”

“If you did, what would you be doing?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer, I’ve never let myself be hypothetical like that before because there isn’t a choice. I.. We’re property of the GAR just like my rifle and this ship. Don’t tell Tech that though, it’s his ship in his mind.”

You giggled a bit at that and nodded your head in understanding.

“I spent so much time hunting and fighting bounties that this just seemed like a natural course of action. I can’t see myself doing anything else instead now.”

Crosshair picked up his fire puncher again and resumed cleaning it. You watched him for a while before turning back to the lights and closing your eyes. You reached out through the force trying to feel the Purgill you swore you heard. What you didn’t sense was Crosshair watching you intently.

            You were going over the mission plan one last time while Tech was putting down the ship a few clicks away from the objective point. The jungle terrain was difficult to get through but not too much of a problem. The closer you got the more the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end. Cross left your group close to the outpost to climb one of the giant trees for a better vantage point.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” you whispered to the Sergent.

He nodded in response, seemingly sensing something as well. The post was supposed to be guarded by droids with a few officers scattered throughout but something was off. No perimeter defense and no guards posted outside. Your group made their way around to a side door shown on the schematics and while Tech was overriding security, you Hunter and Wrecker kept watch. You could Feel Crosshair’s eyes on you and it gave you an overwhelming sense of security knowing he was watching over you.

            Three droids were posted on the inside of the door and as soon as you were in Wrecker crushed one agianst the wall, Hunter stabbed one in the chest and you took the last one’s head off with your long viroblade. Quickly you dashed in and made your way through the base looking for a data port. Tech found one on a lower level and plugged in, searching the database until he found what he needed.  

“It seems there are around fifty clones being held captive for questioning on a moon in the outer rim. There are also schematics for the spider droids here…” Tech prattled on interesting things he was downloading until Hunter shushed him and signaled for him to hurry up. That’s when the alarm sounded.

“We gotta go, now.” You stated with certainty. Trusting your instinct the boys packed up and started running back up to the way out. Once the door was insight, a wall of droids emerged and started firing at you. You fell back around a corner and started shooting them with your blaster looking for a weak point in the wall.

“Wrecker throw a smoke grenade,” Hunter barked.

“On it!” Wrecker tossed two creating a large fog that allowed you to step out, you reached out your hand and with a little struggle, used the force to loosen a wall panel until it flew into the side of the droid squad, pinning them to the opposite wall.

“HA HA NICE!” Wrecker shouted.

The four of you ran like hell out of the outpost to find several fallen droids, courtesy of the reliable sniper.

Once the five of you were back on the ship and Tech was taking off Wrecker was excitedly telling Crosshair how you threw a wall at a bunch of droids, taking out ten in one go. There seemed to be an impressed glint in his eye.

“That was good work back there,” Hunter told you sincerely. You smiled and thanked him, watching as the data was sent through encryption straight to Cody to do with as he saw fit.

Your first mission with the squad, a success you exchanged a smile with the sniper and sat in your victory.

[formulatrash]

are all the 2025 rookies like jack? :/

I'll be honest I suspect not even Jack's really like that in that I'm sure, yes, he does think women should vote and does not think people with butterfly tattoos are possessed. I think he probably, like most of them, barely actually looks at his "own" tiktok. his marketing is done by the Owlpine Group (HILARIOUS name I must say) and they will have followed a bunch of big accounts.

a good social media manager will have vetted those accounts to make sure they're not batshit flat earthers claiming aliens built pyramids in Serbia or redpill misogynists or whatever. but a lot of them aren't good and don't realise people look at this stuff or that it matters.

Owlpine are a few people who were presumably assembled specifically to do Jack's marketing. they're from his hometown and they're probably family friends. they may have no background in this sort of thing, let alone when it's personal accounts under this sort of scrutiny.

my mate Rosie, who runs 115dgrs and previously was a founder of wearegrip, has to go through the follows every time she takes on a new account and does it personally, doesn't delegate it to her staff because it is so important and she knows that. but a lot of people don't and think it's important to just follow some big accounts to make it look like it's a real, used account not just something set up and used exclusively by a marketing agency.

drivers using their mates for their social media is as prolific as esports teams using their girlfriends as their PR/managers and about as successful. while there have been a couple of wags who've turned out to know how to run a business in a very cut-throat, complex world and a few mates who've discovered a talent for tiktoks, it's a huge risk not to go to professionals who spend all their time thinking about and reading up on all this sort of thing.

but yeah, no idea honestly. they all seem like nice, earnest lads - generally, drivers I've spoken too have been on the good end of people. some of them are dicks but they tend to announce that fairly loudly (Ferrucci) and some of them can be dicks even if they aren't fundamentally horrible (Verstappen) but as a rule they're fairly earnest about wanting to do the right thing.

[sqrkyclean]

if kathryn has any lore i want it please pretty please just a crumb (also i love the whole polycule u shld bring them back fr fr)

lore dump copy/pasted from my notes under the cut :]

Kathryn Watt is a prolific engineer, known for her incredible breakthroughs in the field of robotics. Unfortunately, she's chosen to use those powers for evil, performing as a supervillain through a vr suit, controlling her giant robots from the comfort and safety of her own secret lair. She does everything for the attention of Rose, the resident superhero. She doesn't really intend to hurt anyone, but… that's not entirely within her control all of the time.

When Kathryn was in elementary school, she immediately knew she didn't belong with other kids. She felt older, she felt misplaced. She soon grew antsy surrounded by people she couldn't relate to, so she began a vested interest in robotics. By the time she was 8, she had made multiple practical robots to help her in her day to day life, but... a lot of them malfunctioned horribly, injuring those around her. She was just a kid, after all, just because she was talented didn't mean she was infallible! But still, she progressed.

Then... She met her. A kid superhero who had shown up to defend her from bullies one day. Her Rose. And she fell instantly and irrevocably in love, as the words that changed the courses of their lives fell from Rose's lips. "Never forget, that wherever evil goes, I'll be there!"

And from that moment on, Kathryn devoted her life to being a supervillain. If it meant that she'd keep Rose's attention, she'd do anything. Being a villain got her other things too. Money, power, stability... Eventually, she dropped out of school. She was an orphan, so she just... moved out on her own. Got an apartment. One of her inventions did well enough that she didn't have to worry about money anymore, but now... she was bored again. Her robots became more powerful, her plans more convoluted and elaborate. This wasn't just a pastime anymore, it was a game. And every broken machine, every time Rose glared down the barrel of her robots... She felt in her heart like she was truly winning.

[ogouji]

With the new year right around the corner, I wanted to take some time to reflect on my journey with art, and pet portraits in particular.

When I was younger, I often tried to draw animals but always felt like I struggled with it. I didn’t begin attempting to draw and study them until I began working as a dog groomer, which really opened my eyes to how beautiful and unique each pet is. I would draw the pets of friends and family, and post studies of dogs I saw in my feed now that I was in the animal professional world, and it gained a little bit of traction with this wonderful, small corner of social media. I began taking my first pet portraits commissions probably around 2020 or 2021, and from then on I put drawing humans on the back burner. In a way, I still have- it now feels a lot more alien to draw humans to me, which makes me laugh because I never would have thought I’d take a turn like this. I was used to doing commissions here and there, drawing portraits of people and often couples, but suddenly I felt like I really needed to lock in and improve my skill. A lot of the pet portraits I do are memorial pieces. I lost my childhood dog in 2018 and I know the horrible pain of it. The last thing I would ever want is to give someone a piece of their pet that they don’t love, and paid for too! (Which reminds me, I should do a portrait of him soon- it’s been too long!)

I also took about 8 months off of art during this time. It allowed me to pause and reflect on my relationship with art. I was quite prolific back in the day, and it felt like my calling in life. After dealing with depression and a myriad of other things the last decade or so, I lost that vision and felt lost in general. When I started drawing again, I channeled a lot of my energy into drawing animals. I felt like I had lost a lot of my creative energy which was a little heartbreaking, but slowly I built momentum, and am feeling very comfortable with the progress that I’ve made.

This next year, I would really love to reconnect with physical media again- I love painting digitally, but watercolor has always been my first love. I don’t think I will offer watercolor portraits for sale for quite a while, if at all (partially because shipping scares me, but also because I have a lot of learning to do!)

I would also like to do more human portraits as well. It’s a muscle I need to move more, and a great palate cleanser for when I’m feeling burnt out on pet portraits.

I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I like looking back on my old work because it warms my heart how much people believed in and loved my work back then, even when I wasn’t very confident. I am a firm believer that no one is ever 100% perfect in any skill, and I still have a long journey ahead of me as far as improving my work goes! I would like to also focus on studying anatomy and backgrounds more, and perhaps offer those as an option for commissions in the future 🖤

All this to say, I’ve come a long way and still have a long way to go- but I’m excited and looking forward to it! Thanks for sticking with me, supporting my work, and watching my progress. Here’s to 2025!

[darwinquark]

Okay the Halloween chapter had me foaming at the mouth. Another masterpiece. You never miss! I love when third parties like Anne get introduced in the mix just to create tension between J and V. Like girl was flirting so bad but all Jughead seemed to notice or care about was Veronica eek I love it. Please gimme more party scenes I beg. I actually live for Veronica quite literally bringing him to his knees like atta girl you go ahead and get what you want 😭

Also what jeronica/colemila fics from @thefudge do you recommend?? I'm invested now

ah, so glad you liked it! the party atmosphere was def a departure so v happy it worked for you. and yeah lol Jughead's two main modes are being a little bitch or being Veronica's bitch and that's just where we've landed these days.

as for jeronica/colemila fics by @thefudge, WHERE TO BEGIN!

first of all, I am utterly obsessed with her cursed colemila series in all of its unflinching oozy toxic glory. Cole is human sleaze in this and Cami makes horrible decisions and the two of them just keep metastasizing in each other and it's honestly romantic in how unromantic it is

kiss and (don't) tell - the classic, the OG, the primordial fix-it/what if fic when Betty and Archie kissed and everyone was obsessed with the idea of Jughead and Veronica leveling the playing field with a kiss of their own (and then...)

bakunin and broccoli - the fact of the matter is I would die for Seymour Lodge-Jones and he'd definitely let me. this my actual canon of them as elitist parents who are sickeningly in love and dote on their sociopath son when they're not too busy annoying him with how horny they are

teen idle - a darker take on high school writer Jughead with big stalker vibes but I live for the tension of him swearing he studies her because he hates her but also obsessing over her in this very carnal way

barrels - another post-Barchie fix-it/what if fic where Jughead and Veronica go on an impulsive road trip after the cheating reveal and it's really sweet and poignant and more than the writers would ever give them in canon

honestly, I could keep going and end up recommending all of them because flo is genuinely such an inventive, fearless, and exquisite writer and I feel like I learn something about writing every time I read anything of hers, but I'll lock those down as my faves. she's prolific beyond belief though and has so many other fics, so if what you're after is her more cursed stuff, I'd say look beyond the riverdale scope to her more recent works (in particular her Paul/Irulan fic which deservedly blew up the Dune fandom and her most recent Taylor Swift RPF which made me go 'jesus CHRIST' out loud at least five times. she's also got Amelia/Andrew RPF which I've yet to read but is on my list because I'm sure it's wretched and spits in the face of all that calculated chemistry).

[brotherwtf]

For the Fantasy AU: I know you have said Bucky is a telepathic interrogator, but can you explain more about that? Is reading minds a skill he was born with? Something genetic? Are there others who can do the same thing? Once they escape, how does Buck feel about Bucky's ability? Is he always guarded, or does he start letting Bucky in right away? Can he shield his thoughts in his sleep, or can Bucky "see" his dreams?

I feel like there's so much angst potential for Buck having nightmares about what he went through with all the torture, and Bucky has to hear him relive it every time it happens.

awesome ask anon!!

I feel like John was born with it in a sense, it's a thing that can be trained if you aren't born with it but it takes many many years. John has the advantage to everyone else because he was able to get small snippets of other people's thoughts from a very young age, so when his parents found out about that they realized they could use it to their advantage

John didn't grow up in a great home life, his parents used his ability to manipulate him and get what they wanted from him, would use him to negotiate prices or see what authorities were thinking when they came knocking at his door, so when he's old enough to leave his family he decides he wants to do some good with his gift

he becomes a telepathic interrogator, a highly coveted field because not many people are born or choose to learn the technique, so he quickly rises in the ranks at the prison to become one of the most prolific and adored. What makes John different from everyone else is he can hear word for word the thoughts that he can read, most other interrogators only get snippets or a general idea, so that's another reason why John is so well respected

even after John escapes with Gale though, Gale keeps his mental wall up until he's 1000% sure he can trust John, even though John has done countless things to earn Gale's trust he's still a little uneasy, but as soon as he realizes his feelings for John he breaks down the wall and allows John to read his thoughts

when Gale can't express his thoughts into words, he allows John to read his mind to get the point across, and when John can read those thoughts he always smiles and kisses Gale sweetly, tells him he knows exactly what he's trying to say, he doesn't need to try and formulate it in words because John will just know

but I LOVE the idea of John being able to see Gale's dreams, its like watching a movie in his own mind when Gale dreams, maybe if Gale dreams, even if John's asleep they still play in his mind as if they're his own dreams, which is almost every night

sometimes they're sweet dreams about his family, strong ones about Gale fighting for the elves and all of the dangerous things he was doing just to free his people

but the worst dreams that John has to watch are the ones where he relives the torture he had to go through when John wasn't there, burns and whips and beatings that John has to witness from Gale's perspective, and John will usually wake up first, will watch as Gale stirs and holds him close to his body, rage simmering in his gut when he can feel the bumpy scars on Gale's arms or waist. It's horrible what Gale had to go through in the first place, but it's twice as horrible when he has to relive it again with John

this also becomes a "problem" when Gale inevitably has wet dreams about John, but John just wakes up with a stuffy and kisses Gale awake and they just end up fucking anyway :))

[olderthannetfic]

I apologize for the ask, but this is the only place I know that’s full of ao3-savvy people who are 99.99% certain to give me some sort of advice.

There’s this bot (I think??) going around leaving horrible anti-russian replies on Russian-language fics and their comments. If I were a writer, I’d report them as spam, but I’m just a reader and prolific commenter, and so my inbox is full of vitriol I can do nothing about. Active writers do delete them off their works, but on works that are older or the author is unavailable, there’s nobody to do anything. It’s all just so sad and frustrating.

Is there anything I can do? Should I try to file a report despite not being a writer? What should I say in it? Or is my best option to just wait it out?

--

Report it as harassment and/or spam, I guess.