#I also have no intention of like actually fleshing out a language so I don't need to delve that deep

[centeris2]

sso headcanon #?

I should reblog my headcanons because I don't remember what number I was on and I wrote those years ago.

Pandoric writing headcanons! Plural because it's little ones!

The Pandoric written language can be read in any direction. Left to right, right to left, and vertically. Like Egyptian hieroglyphics, the direction the symbol is facing indicates the direction it should be read in (and if it is in columns or rows).

The symbols function as a number system, alphabet, and mean concepts/objects. Like Futhark runes. A single sentence can use all three, and the reader has to figure out which are meant to be numbers, letters, and picto/ideograms.

Pandoria is a place of dreams. Because of this, Pandorian writing is difficult to look at. Like writing in dreams the average person glosses over the visual details. A person might "read" in a dream, the dreamer knows what is in a book or what a street sign says, but when they try to really read it gets difficult, often taking them out of the dream. Most people experience a similar sensation when they see Pandoric writing, their eyes slide over it and they can't recall what it looked like.

that's all for now, maybe I have something I'm forgetting, maybe I'll come up with something more. Maybe I'll throw this all out the window in a year! But if I keep this headcanon for more than 12 months it'll be longer than some of SSO's actual canon shhh

[lavernius]

Hi hello i would love to hear ur takes on the chorusans and their dynamics 👀 any of them/who ever u feel like getting into really, i just cant get them out of my head and would love to hear other ppls takes on them too (1A maintenance team is welcome to be included as well if u would like, im a firm believer in encouraging oc lore dumps at all times)

You just opened Pandora's box. I used to be such a diehard Chorus fan that I'd flesh out minor details of their planet's geography and economy and society and language on the regular.

Strap in: headcanons and a couple old Chorusan doodles under cut! Gets a liiittle long...

Bitters and Smith are, and always have been, friends. Surprisingly close ones, but they were both made lieutenants too young (out of necessity) and disagree with each others' styles of leading, especially because they can't see the Rebels as soldiers, but as friends. Everyone thinks they hate each other, but they WILL call the other a friend if asked (with some aloof reluctance on Bitters' part). They know that they ultimately need each other (Bitters balances out Smith's blind idealism, Smith balances out Bitters' deadly cynicism) and thus trust each other deeply, but it's just hard for them to agree on what the right thing to do is most the time.

Matthews has been friends with them for a while too! He's not very popular in the army, but they both enjoy his company and he acts as a good middle ground between them (incredibly optimistic, but sensitive enough to recognize risk). They both like (like-like, even...) him :-)

On the topic of Chorusan side characters--Ghanoush and McCallister are a little older than the lieutenants and like to cause trouble. They're actually Kimball's appointed archivists, which they take as an opportunity to snoop around as much as possible. Their rude and inappropriate behavior is an effect of having to document so much dark history, which has caused both of them to be a little detached from the severity of the situation.

And diverging into detachment: Doyle is actually one of the most emotionally detached soldiers for a large portion of his time as the Federal Army's leader--up until Locus's betrayal. His early career had him making one too many wrong calls until he started putting most of his faith in Locus, because Locus was somehow more likely to get things done without the damage to the rest of the army. He's faint-of-heart and a coward, yes, but he isn't always good at showing his other emotions, to the point that he comes across as a kingly leader (compared to Kimball's brash attitude but deep care for her men). Cowardice that runs so deep that he can't even face himself properly.

Kimball isn't without her flaws, either. She loves very deeply but has lost so intensely that even if she can show she cares (in small and subtle amounts, or in angry rushes of regret), she is extremely guarded. She worries but is scared that showing it is the catalyst to everything going wrong. It also makes her very keen on doing things alone if she can, and holding everything in. She sees a lot of herself in Grif as well as Tucker, actually, which is why...

...Kimball trusts Grif as much as she does Tucker. Tucker shares her need to be the hero, but Grif shares her overprotective parental instinct: operating below the radar and behind the scenes, but worrying so intensely and privately at all times. Even after the war, when Kimball asks the Reds and Blues to help for as long as they might be willing to, she turns to the two of them first and foremost for advice.

Kimball's desire to hold everything in out of misguided noble intention also reflects in, to everyone's surprise, Grey--Grey is one of the people Kimball starts consulting frequently after the war, initially as the local genius and later as someone she trusts intimately. They do not get along at first. A lot of pot-calling-kettle-stubborn, because they are both stubborn, and they don't want to admit to seeing any good in each other. They're selfless obstinancy in the form of woman's Venus (in Grey) and Mars (in Kimball), anger staying in, anger going out. They balance each other out in the end, teaching each other a sort of real, raw honesty--toward the world in Grey's case and toward the self in Kimball's. Very push-pull dynamic. Yuri, if you will.

And speaking of Grey! My second favorite female character in all of RVB. She's not as young as people assume, and she's been through a lot as a medic and sometimes falls into a trap of thinking she's useless because of/despite it. Very weathered under the helmet, stress lines melding into smile lines from permanently-plastered-on friendliness. During the time they were both Feds, Locus actually learned to respect her as a direct result of trauma on her end--to Grey, if all she's good for is fixing people, that's all she needs to do and she needs to do it right. A mentality Locus shares for unhealthy reasons, but Grey is doing it consciously where Locus follows command blindly, which Grey is aware of. They don't like each other, even with Locus's one-sided respect for her.

"You don't have to tell me twice. And to think—last I remember us talking, you said you respected me." Locus does. He always has; Emily Grey is competent, talented, and responsible. If it wasn't for her medical talent, it would be for her ability to balance her emotions in the face of a war's turbulence—a skill Locus had seen in her early on, past her cheery veil. He sees it now as she secures the band around his upper arm. It's purely out of distaste, the way she drops her façade around him, but it's commendable. Sympathy and kindness aren't reserved for someone like Locus.

Grey also has a complicated relationship with Doyle because of it. She sees him as a sort of brotherly figure because of how closely she has to watch his back, but Doyle is so very preoccupied with himself and every wrong step he could take that it often seems like a one-sided concern. Doyle does, though, rely on Grey as a sensible and clever mind, though it can come across more as a tactical opinion than a personal one. At their best, they are very sibling-like.

1A is full of loners because most people think they're all heartless and mean and weird. But they have each other and Lopez, who also "hates" them. So it's OK.

[sadist-babypink]

i've read the first uhtred-series book aka the last kingdom and here are some things that series-only watchers might find intresting or that i just feel like need to be mentioned:

uhtred's grandfather was also called uhtred. and he is related to a former king of the bebbenburg area.

a lot of what happens in the series when uhtred is an adult and after ragnar's death actually happens when uhtred is still a child and with him

the battle where alfred's brother gets wounded and then dies for example. uhtred is present there but on the dane's side but since he's a child he doesn't fight in the shieldwall. but both him and brida do wound english soldiers

ragnar takes out the leather band keeping his hair together whenever he intents to kill someone, so uhtred knows beforehand when someone is about to die

they celebrate yule quiet often

brida in general is batshit crazy in the first book. she licks someone else's blood of her spear at one point

brida and uhtred swim naked in a pool in london when they were there with ragnar (only mentioned in s2) and brida shamelessly feels him up infront of beocca who does not like that at all

uhtred's uncle sends and assassian on him who joins ragnar's men, then when he tries to kill him, brida is the one to save uhtred

more than half the book takes place before uhtred is 18, ending with the fight where he kills ubba (about the middle of s1) which is also his first actual shieldwall

brida joins ragnar later than uhtred when her village is raided. ragnar sees her hitting a woman (her aunt) and he likes that so he takes her under his protection

uhtred meets alfred the first time when he is still a child (13-14ish) and alfred is about 19

prior to ragnar's death, uhtred and ragnar the younger only really met each other for roughly one season when raganar came back from ireland

uhtred spends a lot of time with ubba (and ivar the boneless, but i don't think he is mentioned in the series) prior to joining the english due to ragnar working with them

ubba has two brothers who play a role, ivar and halfdan. they both have their own army but both die in ireland?

brida has the miscarriage at roughly 14 or 15 years old. her and uhtred have a sexual realtionship at that point but neither think of it as more than friendship

ravn is present a lot and uhtred sees him as sort of a grandfather. both him an brida spend a lot of time with him and tell him what is happening around them, and he then in turn explains to them what it is they are seeing.

ragnar's and uhtred's father-son relationship is way more fleshed out

ragnar has another son younger than uhtred named rorik or something but he is sickly and later dies. most of the things a father would teach their son ragnar cannot teach rorik because of his sickness but uhtred learns it from him, like killing boar or how to steer a ship

uhtred meets beocca multiple times before he is under alfred's command

unlike in the show, the danes and english obviously do not speak the same language. alfred always brings interpreters with him who are priests. uhtred serves as interpreter quiet often too, for both sides

uhtred later has sex with a servant girl alfred also had sex with and he takes pride in it that he isn't all guilty and whiny about it like alfred was lol

uhtred lies A LOT. it's insanely funny. mostly he lies to beocca and alfred, but alfred later manages to see through it

at one point uhtred claims ragnar is hitting him, which is a lie, but ragnar is amused by this

brida also lies a lot. she claims she was edmund's niece, then when confronted by aelswith she claims she was his bastard. both brida and uhtred know this is not true.

aelswith calls brida a prostitute at one point

brida does shrooms on the reg lol

whenever uhtred learning how to read is brought up during a meal with him, aelswith, beocca and alfred, beocca says "amen" and its actually histerical

uhtred is related to aethelred of mercia (not the one from s2 but his father?) and stays with him for some time before he is brought to alfred. he is also related to aelswith i think?

uhtred already met aethelflaed when she was still a baby

in the book when uhtred joins the english he is put on a ship called heahengel (it means archangel (bonus fact. engel means angel in german. language sure is interesting)) by alfred. there he meets leofric who "commands" the crew of the ship

leofric is discribed as small but muscular by uhtred. beocca actually has red hair and a crippled (?) hand. uhtred has long light hair, the same as rangar.

all of alfred's ships have names relating to the bible. uhtred thinks this is stupid.

uhtred's seax is called "wasp-sting". there is also a whole story involving who made his sword and the seax but it's too long to tell here. basically it was uhtred's first follower who is pagan and used to be a smith at bebbenburg.

leofric immedietly dislikes uhtred and uhtred immedietly likes him. i think this is partly because of the way leofric talks to him since it's similar to ragnar

they become good friends after fighting together. uhtred even calls it "love" which i think is really cute

leofric wants to command the fleet of 12 ships alfred has after the previous commander (who is some earlsman who did not want the position at all) deserts. but since he is the son of a slave and can't read, he can't, so he encurages uhtred to get alfred to give him the command over the fleet. however, uhtred first has to learn how to read from beocca at 18 years old lol. also leofric claims that while uhtred will command the fleet, leofric will command uhtred so it's kind of his fleet in a way

the whole fleet thing leads then to the marriage we all know about from the show. uhtred was very against marrying since he was not intrested in it. he also has some very outdated (not for the time but for today) opinions about marriage

a lot of battles they win out of sheer luck. like guthrum losing half his fleet to a storm. this is an event that actuall occured in real life btw.

uhtred straight up lies to udda to make him paranoid talking about having read the auguries and that he's gonna die lol

uhtred is in his first actual shield wall in the battle against ubba. the whole battle happens very differently from in the show. but uhtred does fight udda 1v1 and wins only bc udda slips on someone's guts

uhtred DEEPLY DISLIKES young odda

leofric is the one to tell uhtred about his nephew osferth and that he is alfred's bastard

and this is very different from the show i think: uhtred has no qualms lying about being christian. as a child he even thinks its funny. when he's older he does it to get what he wants (the command over the fleet for example). he'll talk about god and christianity because he believes it will win him alfred's favour but doesn't actually believe any of it. alfred sees right through him, naturally.

once i've finished the next few books i'll make more posts like this btw

[msfcatlover]

Tim walking into Corruption!Damian's room, and gently placing a weird package down on Damian's desk while Damian watches. Tim giving Damian what Tim probably thinks is a meaningful look, taking in Damian's blank expression, and snorting. Tim rolling his eyes and just saying "You're welcome," before walking out again.

Damian has absolutely no idea what to make of it, until the eggs hatch.

A month later, Tim walks in with a slightly different package and does the exact same thing. Desk, stare, "You're welcome." Damian opens his mouth to ask, but Tim's already gone.

Tim keeps doing it, sometimes when Damian's not even in the room; Damian will just open his bedroom door, and there's a new package on his desk. Which would all be weird enough, if it weren't for the fact that the packages are all different. Different labels, different brands, different logos, even different languages on the labels & instructions.

Damian doesn't know what to do with all these moths. He can't let them loose, this isn't their native environment. He can't send them back, they're too fragile; he's terrified something will happen in transit, killing them all. He'd love to adopt them into his swarm, but Damian is unsure of exactly how that would work—he's never added anything, the moths simply chose him— plus, he doesn't know where the limits of his patron's generosity lie. At this point , Damian has more caterpillars than biomass to potentially hold them, and Damian doesn't want to crowd out the few resilient moths he has left, while also making life worse for the new ones.

(Damian probably shouldn't worry about that, given Jane Prentiss had a literal flood of worms at her command, but then, Damian's relationship with his swarm at this point in time is a hell of a lot healthier than Prentiss's. And the Corruption doesn't really do "healthy" in any way shape or form. So maybe he's right to.)

.

Damian ends up with a new greenhouse. He fills it with plants from around Nanda Parbat, but especially caters to the ailanthus trees he has shipped in. A perfect little Eden for his moths to inhabit.

Tim seems annoyed by this outcome. Damian finally loses patience, demanding to know what Tim thought the outcome would be. (What Tim's intentions were.)

Tim frowns, bemused. "You need more genetic diversity." Damian has no idea what he's talking about. "For your swarm," Tim clarifies.

"My swarm is fine!"

"Dames, you told me you had like 10 moths when you made it to Gotham." Tim raises his eyebrows, like he's stating the obvious. "You have to know that's not a healthy number. Right?"

Damian presses a hand to his chest, a protective tic Dick encouraged despite Damian learning years ago not to give away his feelings (especially not when they might risk his swarm.) "They're strong," he says, voice soft but firm, "they survived Grandfather, the Pit, my—recovery." (Damian doesn't like to think about those months, when his swarm was trapped under his skin, re-burrowing their tunnels, unable to spread their wings. The pain of his flesh being re-molded to its chosen purpose was nothing compared to the weeks Damian had thought the creatures he'd poured his whole being into nurturing, the special moths who changed in order to bond just with him, were extinct.) He glares at Tim. "We don't need your help."

"That's not what you said when I got back," Tim says with a smirk, and Damian looks away. Tim sighs. "I was going to stop soon anyway. Just... consider it, okay? None of us wants to deal with it if it turns out they're weak to the flu."

"They're moths," Damian snaps, more on instinct than anything else, "they can't get the flu."

"Actually, modern studies on transmissible disease—"

Damian scoffs and storms off. (Tim pats himself on the back for definitely winning that argument.)

.

Damian does not add Tim's foreign moths to his swarm. But... he does spend a lot of time in the greenhouse, reading or drawing, and letting his swarm run free. (Damian's their Hive, not their keeper. It's none of his business what his moths get up to when he lets them out to play.)

[ntls-24722]

Might be a weird question, but you know how humans tend to anthropomorphize animals and objects and such like in fiction?

Either by just giving them human language and thoughts, or by also making the animals/objects stand on two legs or an upright pose and more human like anatomy in the case with furries and such?

Or even give themselves features of animals like my sona with deer ears and legs and a long tail and such?

Or in ancient Egypt with the depictions of gods with animal heads

Or heck even just furries and fursonas

On Bolur, in any era, do the homo mousike ever anthropomorphize animals or objects in their art and stories? How would a Debu/Zebraman/elf fursona look like? How would they visually anthropomorphize other things in their art and stories?

I think about these things sometimes (when it comes to alien life/spec biology in general)

OOOOH. I LIKE THIS QUESTION A LOT.

So first: Yes, they anthropomorphize their animals and objects! Definitely now when their collective histories just began, but especially so in Zebraman culture all throughout their history, when their entire lives are centered around their animals (recent update, I need to flesh it out). Just about every zebraman god is animal-based because of it, and zebramen have way more societies focused on stewarding the land and its animals.

Debu anthropomorphize objects slightly more than other homo mousike - when nothing around you is your size, you relate to the things that are, and generally those things were the things made for you. They give them faces and have these masks or collective objects dedicated to concepts or people, or a particular figure is embued with a spirit of their own.

As for fursonas...

Ok, here on out, I'm gonna be calling them pycnofiberies, since everything here will be based on the night cloe. This is the debu Dog so I think this is a good candidate for furry-ization, and just for simplicity I'll use the night cloe for the zebrapeople anthros, too.

So, first thing off the bat - the most obvious anthromorphization for debu is sizing everything to their just like we do, it's just more obvious now that they're huge. The front teeth are usually really bunched together and seperate from the others on Bolur and while fusing together into beaks or tusks is common, the teeth are often seperate, like they are in night cloes. Debu often fuse them together to make them resemble tusks more ( since gaps in teeth are kind of uncanny to them) and add a beard, even if it's just stubble to their anthros, the same way we add our hair. They also add a mouthglow! In cartoons, Debu mouthglows sometimes are neon colored rather than just white as an exaggeration of the minute color differences in actual mouthglows, either to tell apart individual debu, as stylization or to be more obvious to the yellow-blue colorblind zebrapeople. (which is why yellow and green dyes are so rare - the species that develops the most dyes don't percieve greens and yellows very well.)

Also, a hump, in the same way we add boobs to everything regardless of the boobage in the actual animal. Humps in debu are attractive in both sexes, and are usually added regardless of the intent on making a character attractive.

And of course, for expressions, the nostrils are exaggeratedly large, no matter what animal it's on.

There's also the exaggeration of facial discs in night cloes the same way ears are in our furries, sometimes so extreme the edges jut out from the face. There's also a feature in a lot of "mary sues"/"gary stus" where the claws are overgrown - in Debu cultures, gods are often depicted with overgrown, curved hooves to demonstrate their age and "mythical-ness", as it's an occurrence in elderly debu but not a very common one. So, to show power, alongside a brightly glowing mouth, mary sue cloesonas have great, curved claws. There's also the "beastars" style hands, where they'll give their hooved hands to animals with little other animalistic detail.

Then there's cloe-girls and "angels"

Debu recognize facial discs as the ears of a cloe, but don't put them at their ears, they put them at the same place they see them - around the eyes. They have the same catgirl ear inaccuracies as us!

There's also angels, winged debu. They have the same gig as us where they just slap cloe wings on there without regard to homologous structures.

Now onto zebrapeople anthros!

Zebramen do the same thing as us, making their pycnofiberies stand on 4 or 6 legs rather than all 6 or 8 (depending on the -pedalism). Zebraelves though, as they are equally hexapodal as they are octopodal, do a mix of both, sometimes relating to sex - "drone" and "queen" pycnofiberies (they project their genders/sexes onto non-eusocial animals too) are often more hexapodal than their worker counterparts, as queen zebraelves are sometimes restricted to hexapodality on account of sometimes being too gravid to walk on all 8's, and drones just generally being found on cloeback or on the ground, where zebraelves usually assume a hexapodal posture. "Taurs" are also very common.

There's also the arm situation when it comes to night cloes specifically, because cloes generally have "plantigrade" forearms, while zebrapeople have "digigrade" forearms; their arm appears to have a second joint. Just like how we deal with digigrade legs in our furries, pycnofiberies have it either-or.

So - this is corny? (just because of the focus on stripes, the one thing that zebras are known for) but a beauty/aesthetically pleasing convention in zebrapeople is the "stripe continuation" comparable to how we like facial symmetry. It's attractive to them to have... geometric integrity with their stripes, which is why monobrows are seen as more attractive than broken brows. It's more exaggerated in zebraelves because their black and white stripes are more common, and they serve more of a purpose than they do in zebramen. Following this, cartoon zebrapeople's faces often are depicted with very simplistic X's, swooping stripes, or are made with "one line". So, abiding by toony laws, so are their pycnofiberies!

Their pycnofiberies have their eyebrows either following or coming off from a continued line, and their lip/nasal area is generally colored black, too, or the color of whatever follows the line. Night Cloes must be super common pycnofibersonas for zebrapeople the same way wolves are common fursonas, because wowza those facial discs follow stripe continuation really nicely.

(sidenote: i think zebrapeople would CONSTANTLY have weird looksmaxxing fads relating to the the geometric integrity of their stripes too, the same way looksmaxxing circles started fretting about canthal tilts and shit. it would get racist fast. just like us :') )

And, they do cloe-girls and angels the same way as us.

[gash-rock-now]

SCUM Zine (2022)

When I found Riot Grrrl music, I was elated. Loud, fast, angry music that focused on feminism was exactly what I was looking for. I discovered it as a genre/movement through Bikini Kill, as many of us do. The first time I heard Double Dare Ya, I felt like my life had changed. I went through the whole discography and found plenty that I liked just as much, but also several ideas that were expressed that I was a bit critical of. I decided to dig deeper into Riot Grrrl and what it was, but I found myself disappointed. Most of the music in the genre isn't actually all that loud or fast, and it feels like there is more contempt than pure rage, at least in many instances. There are several bands that I enjoy some of the songs of, but they don't quite hit for me in a broader sense. The critiques they present are so rarely about larger systems of oppression but rather individual experiences or more minor issues (which isn't to say that those minor issues shouldn't be discussed because they ARE contributing to a larger system, but I think that the system they uphold needs to actually be addressed for it to have any impact, otherwise the resounding response is that it's insignificant or not inherently universal). Bikini Kill and Bratmobile got the closest to that for me, but it was still mixed in with some ideals that I don't adhere to. I thought that the ideas might be fleshed out or properly analyzed in the zines that they released, so I got copies of the Bikini Kill and Girl Germs zines, as well as a plethora of other 90s Riot Grrrl zines, and for the most part they offered me the same conundrum: they are just kinda cool. They offer some inspiration, But that's really it;  they are aesthetically pleasing, a bit edgy, and touch on some feminist topics, but they still are just individual thoughts, feelings, and aesthetics above all else. It often left me to wonder, who could build a revolutionary movement on this? Kathleen Hanna said she wanted a Revolution, "Girl-Style" NOW, but where is it? The biggest problem, in my opinion, was the rampant individualism. Riot Grrrl, despite the probable original intent, wasn't a revolutionary leftist force but rather an aesthetic neoliberal one (which makes perfect sense for the time that it came about, but still it leaves a lot to be desired). It's made a comeback in recent years, and self-declared Riot-Grrrls have started making zines again too. I've bought some of the more popular Riot Grrrl zines of the present day, and looked at many of the ones that exist online but they are largely, well, in my opinion, worse. Like they try to replicate the whole aesthetic of the 90s zines but really focus in on that *aesthetic* rather than the politics, which is an issue for me because I already was critical enough of the politics before. It's often a culmination of collages and pictures that worship a specific artist or a "look", interspersed with the repetition of slogans and the same brand of politics that you find on those sponsored radlib™ instagram pages that make those slideshows that co-opt leftist language but end up being ironically very reactionary and kinda perplexing. And seeing this be the current state of feminist "activism" amongst youth, especially amongst those who would proclaim themselves to be radicals and leftists of some sort, has led me to a point of feeling like I need to take action. I just couldn't find a means of feminist activism that felt right to me.

[reikunrei]

Shadows, Saving, and Simulations

A while back, I made a post (that I can no longer find) about some random bits of a couple episodes of Doctor Who that gave me some Stranger Things vibes with the intent of seeing if my inkling was warranted. Well, I finally watched the episodes again.

They are season 4, episodes 8 and 9, "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead."

The monster of these episodes are called the Vashta Nerada. We never actually see them, but they take the shape of shadows/exist as swarms within the darkness. They were the main reason why I initially thought of these episodes because of their being possible inspiration for the Shadow in Stranger Things, because while the Shadow/Mind Flayer is presented as one (mostly) singular, tangible being, the hive mind aspect of it/the UD is very similar to how the Vashta Nerada operate and communicate amongst each other to hunt.

There are even several characters who become "puppets" of the Vashta Nerada. Though while the don't actually go into the victims, the language is similar in that the Doctor says they become "infected" by the Vashta Nerada. They'll even attach themselves to a victim before consuming them to keep them "fresh" and to infect others. These victims wind up having two shadows: one benign and one infected.

The Vashta Nerada can strip flesh from bone in a fraction of a second, so the victims are dead in an instant and the swarm inhabits the suit they're wearing and manipulates that into moving. It starts off clunky and slow, but as the episode progresses, they get better at moving the suits to keep up with the others.

We even get a fun "strangling the person who's trying to help" moment. Hi, Joyce!

We're also introduced to a concept called "Data Ghosting." The members of the expedition party, the ones in the white suits, are each equipped with a communication device which, upon death of the wearer, hangs on to a copy of their consciousness anywhere from a few seconds to several hours afterward. These "ghosts" can continue to speak to the living until they deteriorate, often repeating a final word or phrase as their consciousness officially leaves.

At one point, the Doctor tries speaking to the Vashta Nerada, encouraging them to use the the lingering "data ghost" of one of the victims to manipulate their speech into telling the Doctor what they want. This occurs later as well when another victim is infected. Though, as the Doctor said earlier, "they're learning."

Anita, a member of the expedition, ultimately finds she has a second shadow, and in an attempt to trick the Vashta Nerada into believing they've already gotten inside her suit, they tint the visor. However, this proves futile, but nobody notices that she's been killed for a good long while, and she even continues talking, keeping pace as they run, and carrying herself like a normal person until the Doctor makes it clear he spotted that she's back down to one shadow.

I had completely forgotten about the "Data Ghosting" aspect of these episodes, so while I went into it thinking "ah, yes, a living shadow that puppets dead people in an attempt to kill others" was a pretty fun little similarity to the Mind Flayer, I didn't expect to then have "the shadow is trying to mimic the infected person in order to cause more damage."

Obviously, this isn't exactly like what's happening with, say, the flayed victims in ST who are still themselves but heightened to a certain degree rather than being wholly replaced (ie. Billy being angrier than usual). However, it specifically makes me think of this theory by @aemiron-main that, for example, "Henry" isn't Henry in TFS, and perhaps certain characters have been replaced with shapeshifters or doppelganger-type monsters. The Vashta Nerada are even feeding off of the remaining "data ghosts" in order to communicate, much like how a doppelganger would have to feed off of/consume their victim in order to pass as that person.

Now, with all that out of the way, let's get to the fun bit: NINA parallels.

These episodes take place on a planet-sized library which was constructed for the consciousness of a little girl to live in for eternity. The little girl, Charlotte, was dying of an incurable disease, so her grandfather created The Library for her to enjoy every book ever written, meanwhile also giving her an imaginary world to exist in as a "real girl," which leads her to believe that The Library is her imagination rather than the reverse reality.

However, as the Doctor, his companion Donna, and the expedition team fall under threat of the Vashta Nerada, Charlotte's psychologist, Dr. Moon, reveals to her the truth.

Yes, he even calls them nightmares!! Just like Henry calls his visions in TFS!!

Throughout the episode, we see Charlotte in her imaginary "real world" interacting with the library.

When the Doctor and Donna first "meet" her, what they actually come across is a hovering, sphere-shaped security camera that shuts off when Charlotte opens her eyes in her "real world." Then, when the Doctor tries to turn the security camera back on using his Sonic Screwdriver (a multi-purpose tool he carries with him), we see Charlotte reacting to the sound it emits/feeling the Doctor forcing the security camera back on, but her father and Dr. Moon don't hear the sound at all.

There are several other instances where Charlotte will hear something that's caused by commotion in the library, but her father in the "real world" can't hear it. At one point, the expedition team are trying to crack into the security protocols for the library in an attempt to find a way out/figure out what's going on, but they hit a wall and trigger an alarm. The alarm manifests as a phone ringing in Charlotte's living room, but when she asks her dad if he's going to pick it up, he says the phone isn't ringing.

Then, in an attempt to break through the security protocols even further, the Doctor winds up transmitting himself onto her TV and they speak briefly to each other. At this point, the Doctor & Co. have yet to know what Charlotte's relation is to the library, but she recognizes him as the man she saw "in my library." Before the Doctor can question her on that, the connection is lost.

Throughout the rest of the episode, we then see Charlotte "watching" what's happening in the library on her TV. She's basically watching the Doctor Who episodes within the Doctor Who episodes, and when she flips through channels, she switches to new scenes/shots. They even have a musical score that is very clearly coming from her TV. Her dad is unaware of this as well, and when she makes comments about the library being "on TV now," he chuckles and reminds her that the library is in her imagination.

Obviously, a lot of this reminded me of El talking to Brenner when she's in NINA in ST4, as well as the several times the grandfather clock chimes in TFS despite its otherwise glaring absence throughout the whole show. There's even that one moment before the attic sequence with Patty where Henry gets interrupted by the clock chime, but Patty doesn't seem to react to it at all, she only reacts to Henry reacting.

Not to mention the Vecna visions in ST4 and seeing/hearing the grandfather clock/other aspects of the vision when no one else can, El's running in and out of the Rainbow Room/shouting eliciting little to no reaction from the other kids, and Henry's weird half-real/half-not visions throughout all of TFS.

Let's talk more about Charlotte's "real world."

At the end of the first episode, Donna, while being transported to the TARDIS to be kept safe, gets mysteriously grabbed "by" the library. While Charlotte is watching The Library on her TV, she flips to a channel that is not in the library. We see Donna pulled out of an ambulance on a gurney and taken inside a care facility, where we then see Dr. Moon enter her room. However, she doesn't know who he is or where she is until he "reminds" her.

Peep the two years...

He gently feeds her information that gets her to believe one "reality" over another. And while it's not exactly the same, it reminded me very much of Brenner urging El to "remember" in order to proceed through NINA, and it reminded me of all the times Henry or other characters pushed the "it's a dream/nightmare" sentiment in order to change the outcome of something.

Throughout the rest of their interactions, Dr. Moon says "and then you remembered" and "and then you forgot" very frequently. His motives may seem wishy-washy at this point, since he was telling Charlotte that the "real world" is just her imagination, but here he is telling Donna that the "real world" is real and her memories of the Doctor are just "dreams." From what I can gather, it's mostly just to keep Charlotte/the simulation stable.

In these moments when Dr. Moon "reminds" Donna of what she remembered/forgot, she often will then behave like Dr. Moon has just arrived, greeting him again and seeming surprised, like she forgot he was there/like they hadn't just had a conversation with each other.

The way time progresses within this world really stuck out to me. It's played off like Donna has memory issues, but in reality, whenever something is suggested to her/she thinks of doing something else/going somewhere, it simply... happens. For example, in that scene with Dr. Moon asking her about her "dreams," when he suggests they go for a walk, they're simply suddenly outside taking a walk. She asks him how they got outside, because, from her point of view, there was just a snap transition from her room to outside. He talks her through how they walked out of the building and she laughs it off like she simply forgot again.

This phenomenon is finally explained to her by another character who was in The Library with her, Miss Evangelista, who's sentient of the fact that this "real world" is all a simulation.

Miss Evangelista was the first victim of the Vashta Nerada. She hides her face in a black veil because she was copied into the simulation when she died, resulting in her getting scrambled physically and mentally. In the library, she was a pretty ditz, but in the simulation, she's a photo-booth-swirl-filter-looking genius.

And like... do I even need to say it?

At this point, I guess I should just out and say what's really going on here. Charlotte, full name Charlotte Abigail Lux, or CAL, is the hard drive for The Library.

Her consciousness was essentially made into the computer that runs the whole planet, and 100 years prior to the Doctor and Donna arriving, the Vashta Nerada hatched, alerting the security system that the library was under attack, and in an attempt to rescue the 4,022 people who were physically in The Library that day, the library tried to transport them all out of harm's way. However, with nowhere to send them, CAL saved all of the people to the hard drive in this imaginary "real world."

They spend a lot of time equating this imagined "real world" to a dream. Alongside Dr. Moon initially telling Charlotte that her visions of The Library are "nightmares," the Doctor, attempting to wake up the computer to save the data core before it self-destructs (Charlotte had a meltdown of sorts once Miss Evangelista made Donna realize that her world, her husband, her children, are all just a figment of her imagination/an idealized world/a dream. While overwhelmed, she deleted her dad and Dr. Moon by pressing buttons on her TV remote, and this resulted in The Library going into self-destruct mode. This was also partially because Dr. Moon is a personification of the computer's "doctor moon," a fake moon placed into The Library to act as a virus checker) equates its state to that of someone who's dreaming, and that's when the "child hooked up to a mainframe" situation is revealed, because she is dreaming.

Which leads me into my next detail of import in these episodes: names and identity.

As we've already explored, Charlotte's true identity/purpose remained a mystery for most of the run time. We're aware that she has some sort of influence on/ownership over The Library, and in that early scene with Dr. Moon we're told that her "imagination"/"nightmares" (read: The Library) are the real world. However, it's not until well into the second episode that we're officially told that Charlotte is CAL, and only once they understand that fact are they able to figure out what to do to save the library and everyone inside of it.

We're also introduced to the (future) recurring character River Song. From the first moment we meet her, we're aware that she knows the Doctor. However, the Doctor makes it clear that he doesn't know her. Ultimately, we learn that this is the first time he's ever met her, and it's the last time she's ever going to see him. Because of this, she has years of experience with him to make her trust him unequivocally, but he is very distrustful of her, seeing as she's a total stranger to him.

However, there is one thing she says to him, something that she whispers in his ear so no one, not even the audience, can hear what she says. And that one whisper has him instantly putting all of his trust in her. And what did she say?

Spoilers: later in the show, River and the Doctor get married. That's why she knows his true name, not just his "Doctor" moniker.

Obviously, all of this name and identity stuff has me staring at the Henry slash Vecna slash One nonsense, the existence of Edward Creel, and the general "which character actually is this" of the whole kit and caboodle.

In a similar vein, we get multiple instances of language like this from River:

And while this is clearly just a "you're not the man I know yet" type of sentiment, which is something she specifies, there was no way I could ignore the implications of that kind of dialogue being put into ST. Especially in regard to this post made by James @henrysglock and the general idea that the same person can exist simultaneously/interact with themselves/be both themselves and "someone else." This also happens a lot in DW, and different iterations of the Doctor will meet each other occasionally, and each Doctor is different enough from the other + any later regeneration's additional life experience will allow them to help in different ways.

Just something about the "future you" being the "real you" because that's the "most accurate" you, and all the "past" yous are half-baked, incomplete, and not quite you just yet.

Actually, before I continue, in a similar vein to James's post I linked above, I should explain that we even get a moment of the future Doctor helping the past (present) Doctor within these two episodes.

In order to save all of the people in the hard drive, they need to "restore" them. However, CAL, overwhelmed, doesn't have enough memory in order for it to work smoothly. The Doctor suggests he hook himself up to the mainframe in order to assist, but River offers herself up instead, saying that it'll kill him if he does it and she can't let that happen. Ultimately, she knocks him out, handcuffs him away from her, and takes his place, killing herself in order to restore all of the people in the hard drive.

Earlier in the episodes, we learn that River also has a Sonic Screwdriver, that fancy multi-tool I mentioned a while back. However, that's not something the Doctor just gives away to people. Just before he and Donna are to leave the library, he sets the screwdriver atop her diary, which he was planning to leave in the library along with all of the other books. But then... it clicks.

Why would he give her his Sonic Screwdriver? Why would he do that, knowing he (his future self) would never see her again after this?

He cracks the device open only to see a piece of hardware exactly like the communication device that enabled the "data ghosts" from earlier. He's able to rush back to the hard drive, Sonic in hand (he does have to go fast, she's dwindling), and deposits her into the mainframe for her to exist in the imagined reality of Charlotte with her friends who had been killed by the Vashta Nerada.

His future self, knowing she was going to die on this trip to The Library, planned ahead, knowing his past self would be smart enough to figure it out and save her.

Anyway, where was I? Cripes, this post is all over the place!!

Stranger Things, at the present moment, is a bit of a mess in terms of identity and who's-who. We're told one thing, but when you peel back the layers, you find about a dozen other deviating routes that point in an entirely different direction. As I mentioned earlier, we even get extra characters like Edward Creel, who add another entirely new series of layers to help further muddy the waters.

Blame is something central to the story of Stranger Things. Specifically, where it is wrongly placed.

It was already apparent to me (as to most people) that one of the keys to "beating Vecna" in the end will have to be figuring out who he really is. Given that they think they know his identity, and yet they still managed to not beat him, is clear evidence that they don't have the full picture yet. And, much like how the Doctor wasn't able to figure out how to save The Library until he knew who and what CAL was, our gaggle of teenagers and errant adults won't be able to save Vecna until they know who and what he is.

However, my big takeaway after watching these Doctor Who episodes was... is anything in NINA even real at all?

I personally think that it has to come from some kind of truth, and, at least in the case of El in NINA, I think some of those moments really are her memories. With TFS, I'm a little more willing to look at it and go "yeah all of this is entirely a simulation." Given how many facts are misaligned with on-film canon, the insistent way we're told "Henry" is Henry by Henry (and other characters).

And the number of times Henry says, "This isn't real." Sure, those were in moments of distress when he was experiencing effects of the Shadow, but it still makes me go... okay, "Henry," if that even is your real name... how much of this isn't real?

Donna, once faced with the reality of her world being a simulation/dream, finds herself hard-pressed to keep up the image of it. She starts becoming more aware of the weird way in which time passes, she realizes that every other child in the world is an exact copy of her own, and she finds it difficult to reassure her children of their existence when they confess that they feel like they're not real sometimes. And, after they tell her this, they vanish into thin air.

This, obviously, is where things diverge in terms of how this applies to ST. Obviously, the point of NINA was for El to be aware of the fact that they're memories and to collect them again in order to get her powers back/find the source of her strength. But that leads me again into: if she doesn't remember them, how does she know that they're her own? This has been talked about extensively by folks like Em and James, so I won't touch on it more than that, but I think it's a likely possibility that has to be considered going into ST5.

This is a bit easier to apply to "Henry" in TFS. While I agree that some of it has to be taken from reality in order to construct the world he's in, as I said prior, the inconsistencies and timelines not matching up (again, spoken about a lot by James and Em, especially stuff like the newspaper dates being wrong) makes it stink of something especially wrong.

In these Doctor Who episodes, all of the people that exist in that world are, in fact, also real people! I think the only exception are the children, as they were fully fabricated by Donna's "settle down and start a family" dream. At the end of the second episode, she even goes searching through library records to see if the man she "married" was one of the 4,022 people who'd been saved.

However, in the end, he was real. We see him trying to call out to her as she walks away with the Doctor, but he gets teleported out of the library before he can get her attention.

Not only did this remind me of idea that Patty might not be real, but it sort of put me further in the camp of "Patty in TFS isn't real, but Patty is a real person." Like, I genuinely don't think that she's a fully fabricated being, but rather she's taken from some other reality and molded to fit the current situation.

Which also reminds me of, in these Doctor Who episodes, there are statues throughout The Library which offer information to guests, and they have real human faces on them. Donna talks to one early on in the first episode and it gives some spiel about how it "chose" a face she would "like" from their data bank. The Doctor says it's "like donating an organ." This idea has been talked about irt Patty in TFS being so similar to Henry in terms of likes and desires (they're both comic/superhero nerds and they both want to get away from their abusive households) (I know either Em or James have posted about that but I cannot for the life of me find the posts lol). Not to mention that Patty winds up filling a sort of maternal role for Henry, who is without a proper maternal figure in his life, which Em talks about in posts like this one irt Patty also looking for a paternal figure in her life/rebelling against the one she has.

So, they're both looking for something specific of these relationships, and, at least from Henry's side, he gets given someone who shares his interests and experiences and is willing to give him love and affection when the "proper" person isn't willing to (even if it does go awry in the end, but, y'know).

I got a bit sidetracked there, but looping back to what I said just a little ways above about the purpose of El's NINA simulation being to be aware of the fact that they're memories and try to follow them "the right way"... it's, again, interesting to me that the only time we see "Henry" insisting something isn't real is when he's in a "bad vision," and it makes me wonder what would have happened if he'd been able to question reality outside of that as well. Other characters tell him it's a dream/nightmare/not real (whether that's actually Patty or a friend in disguise, like James suggests in one of the posts of his I linked earlier, is to be confirmed) and that helps to snap him out of it/ground himself... but what if we got more of that? Would all of it fall apart? Much like how, once Charlotte became fully aware of what was going on and the "reality" was questioned, she sent the library into self-destruct?

And looping back again to the "Patty isn't real" stuff and Em's doppelganger theory, if Henry was allowed to question himself, would we potentially learn that "Henry" really isn't Henry? Like Donna said, he "could have had a different name out [there]."

Okay I... think I need to stop myself from going any further, so here's some closing thoughts!!

In short, none of these ideas are new. James and Em have spoken extensively about NINA/TFS being fake, or interspersed with lies at the very least; they've spoken about there being missing information/scenes during/prior to the 1979 HNL massacre; and aaaall that other stuff I already linked. Stav @heroesbyler was also the first to talk about Brenner's Doctor/Time Lord coding, which is something I also talk more about in this post.

Ultimately, the fact that there were so many things that jumped out at me in these DW episodes that aligned with ideas presented not only in these theories about ST, but within ST itself, makes me think that those theories really aren't far off the mark.

And while none of this gave me any answers, it reinforced a lot of questions (and added some new ones) that make me eager to see how everything culminates in this upcoming final season.

What's real and what isn't? Who's real and who isn't? Which are memories and which are fabrications? Whose memories/dreams belong to themselves and which ones belong to someone else? Are they twisted/swapped to get a specific outcome someone else wants? Is anything idealized to make it more alluring? Who can we actually trust throughout this whole damn series?

[kitemist]

Thoughts on twinkling watermelon (kdrama 2023)

I know I barely post here anymore but I finished a kdrama and I don't know who else to talk to about it.

Spoilers for the everything

I haven't watched a single k drama since attorney woo and I found this on tiktok after seeing an edit of it and it has been a while since I watched anything with deaf themes.

Synopsis: A CODA struggles with his passion for music when his father opposes him being in a band, and is suddenly zapped back to 1995 and assigns himself the quest of pairing his teenage future parents together so that he can return back safely, but then runs into complications when his future dad has another crush instead of his future mom, dedicating an entire band of all things purely to win her heart.

Throughout the series it shows quite a bit of life in 1995, and Eun Gyeol slowly learns the past of his parents that he has never told them when they were children, such as how his dad did not have his mom as his first love, or that he was actually born hearing and lost his hearing later in life. Later he meets his mom, a deaf girl going to a different high school for the arts, and his main obstacle that turns out to be a friend, Se Gyeong. From trying to investigate what happened on both sides and being victim of an accident, he ends up in his future mom's house and finds that she is being abused by her adoptive mother and stepsisters, all without the father's knowledge because he is constantly overseas for his instrument business. He promises her father to make her smile, and teaches her sign language as her tutor, the same sign language he had learned from her as a child. I thought that was a beautiful yet tragic way of paying it back.

Se Gyeong is actually Eun Yu, another time traveller from the present day who went back in time to masquerade as her mother, and prevent her parents from meeting so that she didn't have to be born, after her present day life from a father that abandoned her, a mother that tries to live through her, and a second father that moved on so easily after moving overseas all wanted nothing to do with her or her achievements as her own person. She is very much a tsundere and plays around without any regard for people's feelings or any real risks, but ends up attached to Eun Gyeol. They end up having a love hate relationship with each other but then end up falling in love for real after the trials of the band.

Some things are just never explained, such as why the master offers time travelling to the both of them, even though he is revealed to Mr. Viva by the end, the intentions of the time travel are never revealed, even though Eun Gyeol was also wondering as much as well. Why did Chung ah's mother abandon her, where did she go, and the only thing that was revealed was that her moving away was not her choice? And how did the adoptive mother get hired in the first place? Was she a babysitter? She tells Chung ah that from then on she would be her new mother, but from simply being FIRED it was enough to eject her and her kids. Also I felt like Eun Ho, the deaf brother, was not fleshed out enough as a character until somewhat at the very end when Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu are trying to figure out the accident only for it to happen anyway. It almost came off like Viva la Music gives this time traveling trip as a service from how the master was cryptic and worded things, but then it just was for those two in the end. Was it his way of paying things back to them when he couldn't do it in his own lifetime? Wait, wow, that just already explained that. Huh.

Also there are some times where Eun Gyeol is just a huge idiot and never learns until it is actually too late and that's when I felt that the show was much longer than it should be, or at least felt longer. Like he already knows his parent's names but then still calls them dad and mom even though they are the same age as him in 1995. When Eun Yu lets it slip that she's a time traveller, three times in the same episode, he doesn't catch onto any of it until they are on the same train with a smartphone in hand? He also doesn't know how to come off as protective to Yi Chan, without just seeming gay. As funny as that is as a gag it ends up being overused because for some reason Eun Gyeol doesn't know any other way to be protective of him.

It also bothered me greatly that Eun Gyeol also assigns himself the mission of preventing the accident from happening to his father, because it was the reason he became deaf. Like firstoff the mission was to pair them together so that he could be born and return to the present day safely, and secondly, it's like he doesn't want him to be deaf even though he knows it's not always a bad thing. It also seemed to be written last second that Eun Yu would help him with this mission as well, only for it to happen anyway.

The way that Eun Gyeol ended up so interconnected with Eun Yu has got to be one of my favorite parts of the writing. And how the alternative series of events in 1995 flow together, like how Chung ah's brother comes back as an alternate way for the accident to happen, and how music became both of their passions only to sour into a source of grief because of familial expectations.

Eun Gyeol and Yi Chan did have a quality relationship once the latter finally learned to not be such a prick. They quite literally did everything they could for each other, ultimately. If it wasn't time travel, they could have been lifelong friends.

Eun Yu's past of being with a club of similarly high expectations well off children was well written even though briefly shown. It was enough to show the start of her slippery slope into grief, which ultimately made her do stupid shit to try and get attention to her as a person instead of her talents or image of her mother, but I still considered her annoying most of the time. Only when she cooperated with Eun Gyeol, or actually did her job when she was asked, or knew well how to manipulate Watermelon Sugar was when she was a neat character.

Going back to the future and ending up in a better future than where he came from was really nice, he positively impacted the right people who provided everything for his parents. But I wish there were more moments between Eun Gyeol and Chung ah, and ultimately Yi Chan and Chung ah. For being the main couple that has to get together, they didn't share that many moments together, even though that sign language song concert was very sweet. Yi Chan is very strong hearted, and it's his strength with Chung ah but easily his biggest weakness with Se Gyeong, expecting his bandmates to be the same as him even though everyone knows that he only made the band for the sake of a girl so what professionalism is there to be had. In the end, Yi Chan ended up being just a good kid. Ma Joo however was annoying when it came to showing the tape that Yi Chan promised to not show anyone. That's when he actually cares about the band as someone who is only an assistant to it, at the cost of the frontman.

The sign language parts of the drama were not much, but it was so heartwarming when everyone in the band learned some sign for her, and that Eun Gyeol gave the same book to her father. I appreciate the dedication to all the signing being correct, but I wish that the deaf parts were also given to deaf actors. Could just be me watching Switched at Birth so much and seeing that it's a well loved thing in the US to have that though. And the connection between Chung ah and Frida Kahlo, I thought would be much more because it was in the opening and it was the painting that got them to say Viva la Vida. They did talk about her life and how she was strong from how she grew from everything that happened to her, and some parts of her life may be inappropriate for the age rating(?), but there could have been more to show, like other works she had done. Also. Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu deserved sign names. Actually, everyone does.

Overall, I liked the drama, but I cannot recommend it because it felt longer than it should have been, when the characters are annoying it's painful levels of annoying, and Eun Gyeol ultimately not learning much even though the time called for it, only in the end part does it finally cultivate.

9/10 though. I love Chung ah.

[bi-turtle-enthusiast]

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from MDZS? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

yeah sure!

Characters:

5. Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi I love their dynamic SO much. They're best friends who have clearly known each other for such a long time, and they're both really interesting characters in their own right! Lan Sizhui is so interesting, what with his Lan upbringing and his Wen heritage, and the fact that he's connecting to both by the end of the book. Lan Jingyi is Lan Sizhui's ride-or-die, protecting his best friend at every opportunity while having the best lines in the entire book, and he makes every scene he's in 100x better.

4. Wen Qing Medical malplractice queen!! But in all seriousness, there's something so viscerally powerful about the fact that she's willing to go against nature itself for her baby brother. She'd both die and kill for Wen Ning, and later for Wei Wuxian. I feel like her type of character (murderous older sister) is kind of rare and I really, really like her. I feel like The Untamed really fleshed out her character and I really appreciated her after I watched it. She's equally capable of nurturing and destroying—a force of nature herself.

3. Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian Fun fact: I hated Lan Wangji when I first read MDZS, and to be honest I'm still so-so on novel Lan Wangji. However, he was easily one of my favorite characters in The Untamed, and watching it made me see him in a whole different light. He doesn't communicate through his words, but through his actions. I think Wang Yibo was perfect casting because he NAILED Lan Wangji's micro-expressions and body language and really brought the character to life. Reading Lan Wangji as autistic also made me understand him a lot more. As for Wei Wuxian, I initially read him as a silly guy and... was right. Despite everything, he stays silly. I do find him a little insufferable pre-death, but I think that was intentional. He probably would have been higher on the list, but while I think he's a really compelling character (and ADHD personified, just like me fr), I'm also very frustrated by him and I don't like how he treats people sometimes. Still, I adore the way he looks after Jin Ling, refuses to let anyone blame Jiang Cheng for anything that happened to him, and takes care of Lan Wangji (towards the end, anyway).

2. Jin Ling Ok he probably would have been at the very top of this list but unfortunately jiang cheng brainrot is real. But CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM. Over the course of the story, he finds out that his disgraced uncle who insulted him for not having a mom was actually Wei Wuxian reincarnated, then had to contend with the fact that Wei Wuxian was both the reason his parents and grandparents died AND the guy who protected him at every opportunity. Not to mention, he learned that Jin Guangyao, his beloved uncle who gifted him his beloved dog, had orchestrated his parents' death and was ready to kill him too. And what does he do at the end of the novel? He cries. He doesn't seek revenge, he doesn't get angry, he just cries, and he lets go. He chooses not to pursue revenge, because he's seen how the quest for revenge has destroyed everyone around him in one way or another. He's a little shit (because he's an edgy 15 year old) but he's a really intelligent and kind person who loves Jiang Cheng more than anything.

1. Jiang Cheng Some of y'all are going to disagree with me but it must be said. Jiang Cheng is the best MDZS character. Jiang Yanli's love and care taught him how to be loving and caring too. He loved Wei Wuxian, he loved Jin Ling, and he loved his sect. Jiang Cheng never stopped loving Wei Wuxian, even after everything that happened. He hated Wei Wuxian too—that's undeniable—but he also loved him. He kept his belongings intact, he never stopped believing he would come back, he literally gave up his golden core to protect Wei Wuxian. And Jin Ling! He loves Jin Ling so much! Despite having AWFUL parents himself, he was determined not to be that way towards Jin Ling. He did his best to break the generational trauma of his family because he wanted Jin Ling to have it better than he did. When Jin Ling becomes sect leader, he makes sure that he knows that if he EVER needs ANYTHING, he'll provide it to the best of his ability. I could go on for hours about this man. Best MDZS character. He's so full of resentment and hatred and vengeance, but in the end, the thing that always wins out over everything else is his unshakeable love.

Honorable mention: I loved MianMian in the Untamed and wish she got more time to shine in the novel

Favorite moments: 5. Literally anytime Lan Jingyi is in a scene. Every time he opens his mouth it's my favorite scene. He keeps Wei Wuxian humble in a way that only a teenager can. 4. The WangXian scene where Wei Wuxian hides porn in Lan Wangji's book. It starts off so genuinely nice—you can tell Lan Wangji isn't really serious anymore when he tells Wei Wuxian to stfu, and you get the feeling that Wei Wuxian is probably the closest thing Lan Wangji has to a friend. Wei Wuxian draws Lan Wangji a little portrait, and it's genuinely a sweet gesture. Lan Wangji thinks so too—he hasn't ever gotten something like this, and the fact that Wei Wuxian took the time to learn his appearance and commit it to paper makes him feel some type of way. And then, it turns out that everything was just a ruse so Wei Wuxian could prank Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji is,, understandably enraged. It feels cruel that Wei Wuxian would be so insincere just to do that. I kind of hated Wei Wuxian in this scene, but it's one of my favorites because it kind of shows the nature of their initial relationship—half-sincere, but never truly sincere. 3. Xuanwu cave scene. It's so funny and so painful and so sweet. We really see everyone's characters coming out—Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji being selfless protective, Jiang Cheng being capable and responsible, Jin Zixuan being brave and righteous, MianMian being the GOAT, Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao deserving death, etc. 2. The umbrella scene in the Untamed. It was just so powerful. Lan Wangji putting down his umbrella, which represents the rules and morality of his sect, and just letting the rain mess up his perfect appearance. He doesn't know what's right and wrong anymore, because he loves Wei Wuxian, but everyone is telling him that's wrong. Wei Wuxian himself doesn't know what's right and wrong. Lan Wangji has been thinking in terms of black and white all this time, and for the first time, he finds himself in a gray area. It was just so powerful!! 1. The conversation between Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng after the temple scene at the end. It was just so beautiful. Go read/watch it.

[meggoreads]

Meg Thinks: Iron Flame

There's going to be spoilers in this post so please read at your own risk.

First of all, this book felt very Anime Filler Arc. I feel like we've been reading 2000 pages of setup between the first and second book.

Honestly, I think Book 1 and the first half of book 2 could have been one book as long as all the fluff from book 1 was taken out. Take out Jack Barlowe coming back and keep Varrish as the big bad (make him the secret Venin) and then keep the ending with everyone fleeing Basgiath with Book 2 starting with everyone in Aretia and go from there.

Because right now I am getting whiplash between all the back and forth between Aretia and Basgiath.

But let's get into it.

Things I Liked:

Always always the dragons. Though I do feel like they are still set up as comic relief and plot devices rather than fleshed out characters. We didn't get nearly enough of Sgaeyl (and Andarna) in this book.

Jesinia & Imogen, whom I felt were better friends to Violet than her own squadmates. And also felt like more fleshed out characters.

Things I Didn't Like:

Violet & Xaden. God, their relationship was so annoying. Xaden, you should know which information you should be forthcoming with. Violet, people are allowed to be private even if you're in a relationship with them.

Someone also mentioned that the whole "ask me" schtick feels very weaponized incompetence and now I couldn't agree more.

The "intentions" signet. Congratulations, you're just really good at reading body language. They introduce mind-reading as some stairway to madness but of course give the MMC the Lite version instead of actually writing something interesting like descent into insanity (but I guess the venin plot will be doing this for us ???)

Still no real explanation for Violet's disability and it doesn't seem to really impact her day-to-day life outside of a few throwaway lines. I would just like to see the representation be representing. But maybe this will pave the way for other authors.

I don't think having both Sloane and Cat vehemently hate Violet was necessary in one book. Cat's whole "I don't love him, I just want the crown" was flimsy at best, & Sloane just all of a sudden does a complete 180 as soon as Cat is in the picture makes no sense.

Things I Need Clarity On:

Okay, what color is Andarna supposed to be? Is she purple? Is she all of them? I was hoping she would be silver to match Violet. It just didn't feel explained very well. (The last couple chapters in general seemed rushed)

Things To Be Improved:

I still feel like I know next to nothing about Rhiannon, Ridoc, & Sawyer. I don't feel their camaraderie. I actually can barely tell the difference between Ridoc and Sawyer.

Like I had said in my Fourth Wing post, when it was announced Iron Flame would be released so soon, I knew that this book would be unpolished and rushed and RY had no time to really deep dive into the criticisms of the first book to improve her craft. But kudos to her for producing that crack that makes you want to keep reading.

Will I continue to read the series? Probably. Do I think they'll get any better? Probably not. Do I still hope for a decent live action adaptation? Most definitely.

[jackiewepps]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

Oh my! This is a hard one! I have so many works. How can I pick five?I guess I can list a few, and since I can't bring myself to rank them, let's do it in cronological order, the oldest first.

Free Parenting 2015 (AO3 2016)

The story just means a lot to me. I came up with it together with a friend, and it triggered a whole series. It is obvious that this story is eight years old at this point. My understanding of the English language and the Japanese culture has developed a lot since I wrote it, but I'm still proud of what I made, even if reading the mistakes now makes me cringe, it's only because I care. That I came up with that AU and all the conflicts that would come from this setting is still beyond me.

Hotel Room Fantasies 2017

This is still my most successful one-shot ever. Of course, it is BL, so that makes sense. Still, I once again managed to pull off exactly what I wanted. My intentions with the story was that the reader should not be able to tell whether what the boys do is actually happening or if it's just something going on in Serinuma's head, and I think I accomplished that really well. I really want to say I did it to perfection, but I also don't want to praise myself too much, but oh well. The numbers speak for themselves when it comes to this story.

Ace of Chatrooms 2017

My first chat-fic and my most successful one (of two). I remember that I only wrote this story because I wanted to try and write a chat-fic, and before I knew it, I had written half the story and it wasn't about to end anytime soon. I have no understanding of English chat-language and therefore did not use it. As a result, it probably feels less realistic, but everyone can follow it easily. It also has a lot of my humor in it and it is one of the fics I will sit down to read when I feel down and need something to laugh at. I've already read it more times than I can count, and the sequal too. When the Daiya anime continues, I'll probably write the third part of this series, but I definitely need the material to base the chaos off of before I can unfold it again.

Danger Zone 2021 (Title might change)

This story is probably the most complicated one I've ever written, and not because I find the plot too complicated. It's mainly the storylines. We follow quite a few characters throughout the story and their stories are all connected, not just because they know each other, but each minor plotline has an impact on the overall story. I'm proud of how it turned out. I still call it my masterpiece. I mean, it took me two years writing it and only half a year publishing it. That part is bittersweet, but I'm proud of my work and I enjoy going back to read it.

I Will Go With You 2021-2022

So much research went into this story. I did the same when I wrote Figure Swimming, but I still did more research here. I wanted to make the snowboarding seem realistic, and I wanted all facts about Canada to be as accurate as possible. There were a few problems, as it is not known exactly where in Canada Langa is from, except they don't speak French there. But I looked into how long it would take to travel to Canada, how to get in, what kind of food is traditionally Canadian, the school system, and of course everything worth knowing about snowboarding. On top of that, I feel like I managed to flesh out my original characters really well. I still have art of Louis and Lian that I don't think made it unto any website. I also think I managed to make Langa's grandparents into more than just some stick figures, and the same with Erica. I managed to include all the scenes I had in my head and make an interesting story. The only thing I'm sad about is that even in my story Reki can't win a race. Good thing I'm playing with the idea of making a sequel to this story too.

Honorable Mentions:

Imagination (2016) because I like that I managed to come up with it and execute the idea that well.

Figure Swimming (2017) because other people tell me I got the characters' personalities really well (and it was the first work I did a lot of research for).

Dumb Luck (2022) because it marks my "dark age" of realism. I also personally think it makes sense in spite of me not using the names of the main characters of the story.

Knights and Princesses (2022) because the scene on the bridge came out just as I had intended it to.

I know I was not supposed to list this many, but with a total of 88 works on AO3, there is quite a lot to choose from. I also would have liked to mention a few more, but I guess I'll really have to stop myself at this point.

[danpuff-ao3]

Hi!! 🎈💋🤲 For the ask game!

Lety!! Thanks for the asks!

[answers under the cut cuz wow is this a long one...sorry 🙈]

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

Oh gosh, what a good question! Not one I know how to answer, I'm afraid. This is one of those things I'm always interested to hear what others have to say; what do they think my style is? Others probably see it clearer than I do, mired in my own mind as I am. And as hazy as it is, plagued as I am by a hypercritical and perfectionistic nature.

Perhaps it shifts a bit. Generally I try to stay in one POV and mold the telling around that character's voice and nature, which will inevitably have some impact on style. Though perhaps the core of it remains the same, driven as I am by my own goals. My aim is always to be true to the characters themselves, in whatever scenario I've conjured for them. The aim is always to be a bit ruthless, in ways that are both cathartic and indulgent for me. It's always character and emotion. And I always want to make people feel something; maybe to make them think.

Everything is very intentional, though perhaps not in a very conscious or logical way. Word choice...god how I agonize over word choice. Punctuation, too. Em-dashes and ellipses and semicolons! They all convey something a bit different. They affect the rhythm in their own way. Do I have choppy sentences, or do I connect them with a semicolon? To I carry through with endless em-dashes? What details to slip in, to color the world and flesh it out, without overburdening the story? What facts are important to keep, and which can be carved out? What is necessary to tell this story? What do I sacrifice for the greater good? What do I keep, like the greedy goblin I am?

But rarely is it "the curtains are blue because blue is sad and Harry closes the sad blue curtains so he can suffocate in his own sadness." And it's certainly never "I placed a semicolon there because it was the most correct way to structure that sentence." Pfffff. I'm all about the vibe, baby. Blue curtains set the scene the way I needed. The semicolon gave a burst of emotion that a comma couldn't quite cut.

...but then I've also had to last minute reorganize scenes because it occurred to me that it was very important to know when the full moon in April of 2001 happened. Is this story about werewolves? No. Is the full moon involved in an important plot point? Also no. But it does feel very life or death in my brain, so here we are.

So perhaps my style is best described as "weird obsessive lady tinkering with words under a thin veneer colored by her POV character", idk.

💋when you leave comments on a fic, do you want to hear back from the writer?

Yes, yes!!!! Absolutely! If only to ease my mind, since I feel like a lunatic and an annoyance and hearing back from them generally lets me know "hey I haven't scared this person off!" But also it's just generally nice to hear from people, and to connect with creators I admire! A big joy of fandom is the community of it so I dunno...it's just friendly and fun and makes me smile!

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

A headache. Sorry, I recently finished a rough draft that actually was a headache, but I think the spirit of the question is more...why do I write? What am I benefiting from it? Besides a headache.

Well! I am a lady with a very vivid imagination. And a lot of feelings.

So firstly, language is made for communication. And I was going to go off on this whole tangent in the first question. How...okay, maybe I don't always choose the most technically, literally correct way of doing things, but art is not much about being technical and correct. And neither is communication, really. You think of the pedants out there who gripe and complain about slang, or words that shift meaning (as if words aren't all made up, and as if words don't historically change meaning as times change and societies change, but I digress...) and they miss the point that this is communication. Language wasn't built for you to make a 100 on your English paper. It's for us to connect.

So...writing as communication. Conversation, and stories. How much we learn about others and the world. And how much we learn about ourselves.

So...communication and connection, in some ways. Even stories that aren't shared, it's much like writing in a journal. It's still new life breathed into the chaos of my mind. And even if it isn't meant to be shared, doesn't mean it never will be. And even if no one else ever does read it, it's much like talking to oneself.

I spend so much time in my own head, mulling over a thousand and one thoughts. My brain never shuts up, okay? So while daydreaming and contemplation is the inward function of those thoughts and feelings, speaking and writing is the outward motion of them, even if it's only putting them to word, putting them to shape, in an empty room. And that outward motion can shed new light on them, or cast them in a new shape. Lines you'd not noticed before, a different shade of blue there. It's a new and different way to experience what I'm thinking and feeling, helps me process them better, helps me come to terms with my own mind.

So even at its most personal and private, still the idea of putting it in a new place and exploring it in different ways.

But then, when you share it, when you let others read it, it's communication in the more proper way you think of it. Connecting with others. Sharing with others. And knowing that all of the benefit I get from seeing the world through another's' perspective, I give back by sharing my own. And the connections made to others through them!

Stories have been such a huge part of my life for my entire life. My mom would sing me songs and read me stories every night. And the moment I learned to read, I never stopped. There is so much to learn from and take from stories. The stories I've read have helped shape who I am. And my writing is such a similar thing. It's part of me. A way of sharing all of the color and noise and movement in my soul. A way of sharing every twisty thought, every sharp feeling. It is so much a part of me, even if not in very literal, easily-definable ways.

It can be a means of catharsis. Of purging the poison, or riding out a fever. It's a safe way of interacting with things too complicated or too dangerous to face head on.

Writing is empathy. It is sitting and looking through another's eyes. Not a real person, maybe, but an other. A way to consider other people, and how they think and feel, and how to connect with them.

Writing is an adventure! All sorts of journeys I might never take in real life. A way of considering potential and opportunity. Writing is playing. It's a game. It's toying with scenarios and worlds and words. It's fun, and thrilling! But it can also be daunting, and challenging.

It can be easy. It can be release. It can be joyous and exciting. It can be terrible and awful and difficult. Not always good things, but it's just...who I am, I guess. It gives me what I want, sometimes, but mostly what I need. It's good for me, mind and heart and soul, however rough the ride is.

Most people who know me know I love astrology, so I have to end with a nod towards that. 😂 My moon (emotion, subconscious) is in Leo. Leo, which is light and cheery and magnetic. It's my need to be seen and to connect. Leo is about creation. And adulation, I'm not gonna lie. 🤣 But it's mostly...just having a lot of energy and an overactive imagination and a whole heck of a lot of passion. Leo is generous and big and loud. It's just a need deep inside to create and share.

And maybe the biggest thing of all is that: the act of creation. Feeling productive and accomplished and proud. To have given form and life to something outside of myself, and the desire to see it grow and thrive.

Wow this was a lot of blabbering, oops. 🙊

Let's Get ((REAL)) fic writer asks

[buckybarnesdiaries]

white wolf: “the show must go on”

first part — second part

third part — fourth part (soon)

© gif credits to the author, i found it on google. if you're the author lemme know your @.

bucky barnes x reader. ⎢ masterlist.

Sam helps Bucky to ask you out for a date and it’s a disaster, but he gets it.

word count: 1'9k.

warnings/tags: none. bucky being so innocent gives me life. + he being so damn cute as always.

author notes: none of my stories contain reader’s body descriptions to be inclusive.

Join the tag list here.

“Have plans with your girl tonight?”

Bucky clicked his tongue, putting down the weight to the holder, not turning to Sam still doing squats and an awkward noise out of breath. His partner couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and giggle while shaking his head, fast enough to steal the soldier's clean towel before he reached it.

“She's not my girl”.

“Not yet, you mean, uh?” He joked then, using the clothing like a whip to hit the metal arm. “But, you have plans or not?”

“Yeah, we have plans”. Bucky admitted eventually, glancing at Sam also stealing his bottle of water. “She invited me to watch a movie”.

It was the innocent and unworried tone of voice from him that made Sam choke, cough, and laugh at once.

“What?”

“Oh, man… Can't believe you're sinful enough to do what we do but too innocent to not see what that means”.

“It means we're gonna watch a movie”.

Bucky was confused at the laughter, trying to understand what he was referring to as he rested his back against the wall and crossed both arms over his chest. Expecting anything else from his wise friend.

“This is the twenty-first century, you ancient. We don't watch movies”.

“What d— What do you mean? You have Netflix, HBO, Prime Video… What's the point?”

Sam was deadpanned, staring in silence at the soldier, not believing what his ears were hearing. “We, guys, don't watch movies with girls, even less when they are the ones inviting us”.

Bucky squinted at him, tilting his head like a lost poppy would do, not being able to read between lines. His partner gasped exasperated, running a hand up and down his face.

“You know, man? Sometimes I feel alone, not having anyone to laugh with about that forties' manners of yours. Should I call Sarah, maybe?”

“Cut the show”. He hissed standing up and passing him away.

“Oh, no, no, no… the show has just started, man, and I have my popcorn ready”.

Bucky had been beating around the bush the whole day, trying to let it out of his mind. Of course, it was something that would happen sooner or later, and —more than of course— he wanted it to happen. The mere fact of thinking about you and him, flesh against flesh, hearing you moaning his name and making you feel good caused him goosebumps and an awkward sensation beneath his black jeans. Suddenly, swallowing saliva turned impossible, biting his lower lip while ringing the intercom of your apartment. Your response didn't last more than a couple of seconds, opening the door downstairs and waiting for him at the entrance of your apartment.

The butterflies fluttered within your bellies when Bucky stepped out of the lift, showing you that charming smile that could make you kill anyone who dared to erase it from his face.

“Trying to get me drunk?” You joked as he raised the bottle of red wine in his left hand.

“Maybe?”

“Missed you today”. You whispered at the soft kiss on your lips and his arm getting wrapped around your lower waist.

“So did I”. He sighed, sounding a little tired, caressing your nose with his.

Yesterday he talked to you about a routine medical check-up the government used to do every six months until he earned his pardon. Four hours of intense exercise to make sure the supersoldier serum was still doing its effect, as he started to feel somewhat tired since he stayed in Wakanda. For Bucky, it was really easy to open up himself with you and talk about his past and some of the things he did. And he didn't complain when you helped him to take off his leather jacket, watching him rubbing his left shoulder.

“I, uh… also was this morning with Sam. Training”. He told you, following you to your kitchen to find a couple of glasses. Turning at him, you couldn't help but raise an incredulous eyebrow. “Don't look at me like that… I know to perfection what you're thinking”.

“You're a telepath now?”

“God, no. I have enough with the voices inside my head, to hear someone's else”. He chuckled resting against the fridge. “But you're very expressive and I was trained to read body language”.

“So, what am' thinking?” You asked driven by curiosity, entertained on opening the bottle of wine.

“Look at this guy… He looks hotter than a barbecue”.

You broke into a loud laugh, shaking your head as you grabbed the drink and the glasses. “Not even close, Sergeant”.

“Liar”. He blurted into your face, passing him away to the living room where the Thai takeaway was waiting for the two of you.

“I'm not lying! You're a lousy body reader”.

“So… you can do it better, uh?”

“Didn't say so, but… yeah”. You replied, placing the wine and the glasses on the coffee table next to the big green sofa.

“Okay, go ahead. What am 'thinking, genius?”

Standing in front of him, some inches away, you squinted at his eyes in advance of touring his posture from top to bottom with your orbs.

“Look at that girl… she's hotter than a volcano”.

“Not even closer, soldier”. Bucky repeated your words, kissing his teeth and causing you to laugh again.

“Liar”.

The night went on, enjoying your dinner and watching the first part of Scary Movie. Since Bucky told you that he loved the horror genre, you thought that it'd be a good start. As you finished the Thai dishes, you two cuddled on your sofa, and it felt nice to be embraced by his muscly arms and had your head rested on his shoulder. He had never been that happier before, imagining for a moment —staring at you by the corner of his eyes— that he wasn't a retired lethal assassin controlled by a bunch of psychos, just a guy watching a movie with his girl.

For some reason that increased his pulse, having to clear his throat as the thought dried it. You couldn't let it go, wrinkling your nose with curiosity, raising your face slightly at Bucky trying to focus on the movie, and pretending everything was going okay.

“What?” He murmured about to laugh nervously, putting his head back a couple of inches to look better at you.

“Seems like you're gonna have a heart attack, what's the matter?”

The soldier breathed heavily through his nostril, expelling all the air in a sight through his parted lips. A lower giggle escaped them as your eyes widened a little more interested in his response to your question.

“Sam… Sam said something this morning”.

There it was. Your grimace turned skeptical, sitting up to borrow the control remote and pause the movie. Turning to face him and placing an arm on the headrest, you puckered your lips in a funny gesture watching him click his tongue.

“Things are different nowadays and… y'know, we used to watch movies”.

“And that's what we're doing”.

“Yeah, but… it's like… now there are some kinds of non-speak social rules”.

You knew exactly what he was referring to and seeing him somewhat troubled and tense just made your heart melt. It wasn't that he was scared, but it almost felt like.

“Is it your first time since the forties?” You dared to ask, clearly with no intentions of making fun of him.

“I've never really… y'know, I was in my twenties when I left Brooklyn. I me— mean, 'm not stupid, okay? I've done things but not… sex like… to the whole point”. Bucky didn't have his eyes on you when he made that confession, rubbing the bridge of his nose by inertia as his nervousness increased. “And now everything… is pretty different”.

“It doesn't have to”. You just replied, stretching a hand to his right one to intertwine your fingers. “Listen, Buck… We don't have to, okay? We don't have to do anything if you're not ready. We can watch the movie and then… you can go, or you can stay to sleep with me”.

“I'd like that”.

“Leave?”

“Yeah, totally, if you excuse me, ma'am… I gotta leave” He clearly joked, about to stand up until you pushed him down to the sofa bursting in laughter. “Nah, I, uh… I mean, I'd like to sleep with you tonight”.

“I'd like too, and to wake up tomorrow morning with you”.

“Yeah, would be very awkward if you go to sleep with me and wake up with another guy in your bed”.

Bucky smirked at you, biting his upper lip before leaning to press both on yours. He couldn't believe you were being so comprehensive with him, not making any other uncomfortable questions, nor kicking his ass out of your house. At that moment, he realized he was madly in love with you, bringing you closer to himself so he could embrace you tenderly between his arms. And you let him, not wanting anything else than to be with him.

At the moment the movie finished, you both stretched your hands to the ceiling with a yawn opening your mouths. You palmed his thigh to beckoning at him, urging the soldier to follow you as you rubbed your eyes using your knuckles, a little sleepy. Turning off the lights on your way to your room, you changed your clothes for a baggy Iron Maiden's t-shirt, as he stripped himself leaving his clothes on the chair in front of your bed, only wearing a pair of black boxers at the end.

You were about to ask him which side he preferred when the words died on your tongue, glancing at him with his flesh hand over his dark grey shoulder. It was the first time you saw the vibranium arm in all its glory and Bucky gave you the impression of being embarrassed. He'd never stop surprising you with plenty of emotions for things that for you didn't have any importance actually —like the fact of not having two real arms.

“Come here”. You murmured, kneeling on the mattress and palming the other lateral, observing every one of his actions till lying next to him, in the middle of the gloom of your room.

Covering both of you with the sheets and turning on your sides to face each other, Bucky took the initiative of wrapping you close to his chest, as he placed his head on your pillow. He couldn't help but take a soft breath from your heavenly smell impregnated in, provoking a smile to grow on your lips. Surrounding his neck with your arms, you sunk your fingers in his short hair, gently caressing his scalp while you started to spread tender short kisses all around his face.

“This feels good”. He purred with such a pleased tone of voice, closing his eyes as he adventured his warm hand under your shirt to draw invisible patterns on your back.

“So good”. You affirmed, peppering his cheek with a bunch of noisy smooches.

Bucky squeezed you between his grip, hiding his face into the gap of your shoulder and neck, causing you goosebumps because of his exhalation against your skin. He was comfortable being that close, with no distance separating your chests and your legs intertwined in a bundle. You saw how relaxed he was when he pulled his head back to the pillow, noses touching and his eyelids closed.

“Good night, Buck”. You whispered, still feeling his caresses on your back, leaning to kiss him one last time.

“Good night, doll”.

a / n: i hope you have enjoyed the fluffiness of these three chapters because the fourth is gonna be... chaotic.

feedback is appreciated, please, leave a comment to let me know if you liked it.

and support writers with a REBLOG!!! 🤍

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[lutawolf]

hey hi hello ma’am Luta

so

i’m super curious about Your thoughts on the differences between the Untamed and the book. because the show is super censored. they had to change quite a few things to make it pass the censorship so the book might be a bit different then what You expect (and i’m not talking about the relationship and all that more like plot points and the flow of the story).

i’ve watched the Untamed first and when i was reading the books (i read it all fan translated before it came as official books got even announced) i felt like i was reading a different story because of the pacing and the changes in plot it had. it’s way more explicit. and i feel like it has caused a lot of divide in the fandom (especially WWX and his actions and what the show did with Jiang Chong’s character. those are the big ones that i’ve seen people who only watched the show not getting right).

so i hope You do some sort of review and/or comparison.

and i hope You will be documenting Your journey with Word of Honor as well. cause that show was spectacular.

i recommend after You finished it, watching Avenuex’s videos on the lip reading and the poetry used on the show. because let me tell You there’s a lot that goes over Your head if You’re not familiar with Chinese poetry as Wen KeXing loves to speak in such a manner. but Avenuex explains it perfectly and also it’s super fun to see how the show kind of went around the censorship and gave us this beautiful masterpiece xD

i hope You and Your family had a great halloween and that all of You are healthy.

have a great day ma’am 🥰

ps. sorry for any mistakes. english is not my first language xD

Hey minnie!!!

Please don't ever apologize for any English mistakes. That is never something I will concern myself with. Nothing but mad respect for bilingual people.

I did do a review which can be found here.

I felt like the layout of the book and pacing were actually better. However, these actors did an amazing job of fleshing out the book characters. They truly brought them to life in my opinion.

I have every intention of doing what I did with Untamed, with Word of Honor. I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for the suggestion of Avenuex. I will for sure check them out!

We had an amazing Halloween. Hope you have a great day as well! 💜💜💜

[cosmictulips]

OMG THIS SOUNDS FUNN!! I'M IN!

My Big Three: Gemini Sun, Leo Moon, Scorpio Rising

I have an air-fire dominant chart. Mostly air actually. And no earth.. I'm also a Uranus dominant, then comes Mercury. And also Gemini dominant.

Hmmm my likes? Dreaming lol. Day dreaming. To do the things I would have done if I had the freedom to and the courage uhm.. and also things that would never happen. I also love love. 😂 I wanna travel. And not like 2 week holidays kind of travelling. I'm a psychology student. So probably i wanna travel with the intention of doing something that can help me boost my skills. And that's like just an excuse. Basically i wanna like go to new places, stay there for like 6 months doing maybe some internship and learn about the culture and obviously learn the language too before I return. I've been locked up in these closed rooms for a really long time and so I'm gonna find my chance to fly.

My favourite colours might be blue, purple, maroon.. Animals? bunnies, dogs, horses, sheep. Deer.

Whale.

I don't know which one to choose! Should I choose Kingdom of Waves- land of ice and snow.. or The Air Kingdom?? Okay I choose the Air Kingdom.

💙🐇💙

ahhh another Uranus dom xD no wonder we get along LOL

Okay so no lie, you remind me of a character I've already fleshed out LOL.

You are definitely the type to look up to them. Their name is Melody. I guess their Non-binary. the thing with them is that they had to hide who they were because no female has ever been a Air Captain before and melody essentially changed the game. and they've just... kept up appearances to look a dude because they genuinely do not give a fuckkk.

but I think you'd follow in their footsteps. joining an Air Fleet as a youngster. and the fun thing with the air ships is that they're often contracts. so you don't need to be tied to a ship for long periods of time. and you like it that way.

You're considered a Wandering Traveler. but it's not surprising. most who come from the Cliffs of Air almost always are. You made a pact with the Gods of Travel. they allow you to travel in exchange for knowledge. it's a fun gig that you have.

People see you as someone... well a fool LOL. you come off as a day dreamer. you wander your way through towns, giving small offerings to the gods for your safety. you learn the most precious thing about a village or a city. you speak their language, you eat their food. it becomes a part of you.

and that is where your magic comes in. the Gods of Travel often push you into the Libraries that are run by... well.. another one of my leads. and as you give him knowledge to update his catalogues, you grow in your own power.

Your magic is that of a thousand voices. it's caused some paranoia and some anxiety, but you hear everything. you know what someone is likely to do, you know and hear everything at any given time. You can literally change your voice to sound like someone else. it's gotten you out of sticky situations haha.

I think you'd also rely on basic air magic. so you can manipulate the wind and the clouds. you carry two large fans that sit on your waist. they can connect to one big fan.

I think though. you're not keen on using your magic unless you have to. your jolly and dreamy. and that's why people think your naive. but you know better ;) and it's the elderly and children mostly who can see the more serious side to you.

[jd-loves-everyone]

UNO

➤ Recording your newest youtube video and talking back to your boyfriend, Chan, ends up getting you into a lot more trouble than you expected.

➤ genre: smut

➤ wc: 2.3K (well this got long)

➤ warnings: dom!chan, sub!reader, minor preparation (be very careful or you could get hurt), use of the color system, dirty talk, power imbalance, finger sucking, explicit language, strength/size kink(?), mentioned aftercare.

➤ a/n: Yes I have a youtube channel. No, I am not self-projecting (maybe just a little bit :)) Also, please tell me what you thought about this because I haven’t written smut in nearly a year so I’m not sure if I like this, plus english isn’t my first language so let me know if anything doesn’t make sense :) 

Perhaps pushing your boyfriend, Chan, wasn't the best idea. No matter the situation. But, in your defense Felix had taken you telling him to "suck my nonexistent dick" quite well, so what you told Chan wasn't THAT bad. At least in comparison. But perhaps it had been the seemingly endless build up to it that made him blow a fuse.

You had recently found out that videos of playing Uno with friends were not only fun, but also extremely popular. So it seemed like a great way to spend your Friday afternoon with Chan, Felix and Jisung, while also recording a video that would no doubt be entertaining.

It was no secret to anyone that all the boys were quite competitive (in various degrees, but all very competitive nonetheless), and to anyone that watched you play any sort of game it was also no secret that you were very competitive as well.

So, everyone you had invited to participate were people who could: speak English, were competitive and got frustrated quickly, which would all hopefully make for a pretty funny video. What you didn't account for was your own (unexpectedly) short temper and unfiltered vocabulary, all probably due to the presence of a microphone.

And so, with Chan in the next room in your house, you in your office and Felix and Jisung in their own houses, the game began. It started pretty slow, with everyone getting used to the setting and the game, but all eventually loosened up after the first "f bomb" was dropped. From there followed many minutes of frustrated yelling that rapidly grew in volume every time someone screwed someone else over. It seemed most prevalent between you and Chan though. And with every card he played to make you lose, your playfulness dissipated. Chan had tolerated your bratty behavior for most of the game, but that statement was the last straw.

“That’s it. You’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” You deadpanned amidst Felix and Jisung’s booming laughter, after your boyfriend made you pick up 4 more cards just as you were about to win. The silence that followed from his side should have made it clear to you that a line had been crossed. But you barely noticed as Chan seemed to go back to his normal self not long after.

The game continued normally and you ended it after getting enough footage for a video, ending the recording and saying goodbye to your friends and moving to Chan’s office.

Upon seeing him sitting in his chair, facing his computer, you decided to move towards him quietly to surprise him, given your current good mood. As you reached him you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, burying your face in the side of his neck and filing it with loud kisses.

The last thing you expected was for him to grasp your wrist tight enough to make a point: that he wasn’t pleased. With something you had done, most likely. Most definitely, otherwise he’d be telling you about his frustrations and not keeping vice-like grip on your hand.

“Chan?” You asked, oh-so innocently. It almost made him snicker. Instead he turned his chair around, tugging you forward to stand in between his spread legs, staring at you with fire in his eyes. Meanwhile you wracked your brain for the reason as to what you had done to make him mad.

“I’m a little disappointed with my baby girl today. You know why?” His voice was dangerously low, and suspiciously devious. You were almost sure he was doing this just to toy with you because he knew you loved it.

You furrowed your brows in concentration. What could it have been? None of what you had said or done seemed unusual or out of line. Maybe his patience was running low today? Perhaps there were simply so many little things that could be considered “mistakes” on your part, for you to figure out what the catalyst was.

"You don't know, do you?" He chuckles mockingly, his hold on your wrist loosening, lulling you into a false sense of security.

“I’m disappointed with my baby girl, because she was being a brat all game. Talking back to me with that attitude, trying to convince everyone you were in control. But we both know you’re not. I even let most of it slip since it was for the video, but I feel like perhaps you forgot who’s in control here. I also think that you were enjoying being on top for once, too much.” Chan spoke huskily, rising from the chair and looking down at your form.

“Maybe I need to show you who’s in charge.” He said absentmindedly, placing his hand on your cheek and stroking your bottom lip with his thumb, smiling softly when your lips parted to let his finger through. You licked it softly, hoping to please him. He saw right through you immediately, smirking as he pressed his thumb down on your tongue, making your mouth open wider. Saliva pooled at the bottom due to the dominant presence he exuded and the darkness in his gaze which promised an eventful night.

"Go to the bedroom, take your clothes off and maybe I'll think about going easy on you." He whispered, stepping back to give you space. Strangely enough, without his scent surrounding you, you felt dazed and somewhat cold.

But you hurried to carry out his order. Part of you wanted to push him just a little more, just to test him. But another, bigger part, just wanted to be his good girl.

You felt exposed and vulnerable as you stood in front of the bed, naked and waiting for Chan to step through the bedroom door. As he did, you felt goosebumps appear all over your skin as he looked you up and down appreciatively. You tried covering yourself as he made his way to you. He had seen you naked before (and in much more compromising positions) but the way his predatory gaze traced every one of curves, taking you in as if it was the first time, every time, just set fire to the blood in your veins and cheeks.

“Why are you hiding, baby? You seemed so confident just a few minutes ago. Where has all that attitude gone?” Chan taunted, taking his clothes off painfully slowly before sitting against the headboard, watching you with those keen eyes. Even if you were both naked, you felt nowhere near out of his grasp. All the muscles now exposed to you made your mouth water, just at the sight of his statuesque body that he worked so hard for, covered by marble-like skin.

“Come closer baby. Don’t get all shy now.”

You moved forward meekly, crawling until you were knelt in front of him, trying so hard to not let your eyes drop down to follow his v-line down to his cock. It was so enticing every time that it took all your willpower to keep his lustful gaze. He smirked, as if noticing your struggle.

"You're in the wrong spot, baby. I want to sit right here." He said as he patted both his thighs. "Since you like being on top so much, I want you to ride me. You do all the work this time. Because you're only coming tonight if you work for it."

The cockiness in his voice made you shiver in anticipation.

You crawled forward once more, straddling his lap and squirming at the feeling of him rubbing against your already dripping folds. Even though this persona of his never failed to get you wet enough for him to slide himself in smoothly, you knew the stretch would still be a bit painful, which perhaps was his intention. 

He cupped your cheek in his hand gently, looking at you with unveiled concern despite his lust-blown pupils. 

“Color?” He asked carefully, stroking your flesh soothingly as you leaned into the touch, making him smile fondly. 

“Green. But, please go slow.” You replied once the fog in your mind cleared, looking your loving boyfriend in the eyes, deeply appreciative of his carefulness. He patted you cheek softly, nodding, before the switch flipped and he was back to his darker self, no more gentleness left in his gaze, hands grabbing you hips tightly and jerking you against him slightly. You jumped in surprise, letting out a whimper at the feeling of his hard member against you.  He sent you a look as if to say: 'get to it'.

You slowly trailed your hand down your body as Chan stared unabashedly, before he grabbed your hand.

"No no. You seemed so eager to finish during the game. So why don't you just get to it?" He said lowly, scratching his nails on your thighs before groping the flesh harshly.

Not wanting to contradict him anymore, you grabbed his cock in your hand, spreading your essence on him, before positioning him at your entrance.

As you slowly sat on him, his breathing became harsh and labored, and you winced and whimpered at the stretch. It burned slightly but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the first time had been since you were going slow enough to adjust to his size. But it seemed as if Chan was struggling quite a bit,

He leaned his head back, neck on full display as his jaw clenched, trying his best to hold himself back from thrusting up into you. You realized that this was not only a punishment for you but also for him. Perhaps his plan backfired? Or perhaps he had planned this but realized he actually wouldn’t be able to hold himself back in a few minutes. Only time could tell.

Your eyes locked onto the prominent veins just under his fair skin, looking so inviting that you just couldn’t resist the urge to suck a blot of red onto his neck making him groan as he moved inside you as you leaned towards him. His grip on your hips tightened.

“Fuck! You’re so tight!” He said breathlessly, easing the grip he had on you to let you move. 

And as you felt as if the pain had passed, you held onto his shoulders tightly and started moving up and down. The feel of him rubbing against your walls was almost too much as you could feel every bump and vein of his cock as you clenched experimentally. It made Chan let out a startled moan, probably louder than he intended as his cheeks reddened for more than exertion, eyes rolling back at the feeling. 

Upon seeing the effect you had on him you got a sudden boost in confidence, riding him with fervor, determined to do your best and get more of those delicious reactions out of him. 

The room filled with the sound of skin slapping as you bounced on his lap making more euphoric noises spill from Chan’s throat. You were in a similar state, the position allowing him to hit every sweet spot inside you, making you emit countless moans and whimpers. 

You felt your orgasm build, tears gathering in your eyes at the overwhelming feeling of being so close but so far from the finish line, but being unable to reach it as your thighs became sore from smacking against Chan and fatigue started to weaken your limbs. You let out frustrated whimpers as you held onto his shoulders tight enough for your fingers to go white from pressure, which made Chan groan. 

“Chan please! I can’t… anymore…” You begged breathlessly as your movements slowed down. 

“Ah, fuck it.” He said, taking hold of your hips before flipping you onto your back without separating your bodies. He settled between your widely spread legs, pushing his hips forward with all the strength he had been holding back, grunting with effort. 

“Poor baby. Can’t even make yourself cum without my help, huh? Not strong enough to handle it, are you?” He spoke smugly as your moans became louder and louder at his words. 

Your breasts moved in tandem with his movements, attracting his attention which made him lean forward to take one of your enticing nipples into his warm and wet mouth. With the way your voice kept rising in volume, you knew your neighbors couldn’t be too happy. 

“Are you close baby? Are you gonna cum for me?” He said as he took his mouth off of your chest, revealing the erotic sight of his saliva covering your nipple sloppily. 

“Y-Yes! So close, Chan please.” You didn’t know what you were pleading for but Chan seemed pleased with your response as he pressed his lips against yours, trying but not fully succeeding in muffling your noises, as his hand trailed towards your center to rub your clit harshly which gave you that extra push. 

As you tipped over the edge, barreling towards an overwhelming orgasm that made a few tears spill from your eyes, you clenched impossibly tight around Chan’s cock making him break the kiss, moaning and groaning openly into your mouth as you did the same.

Your breathing slowly returned to normal as you felt Chan’s sticky essence drip out of your hole as he pulled out, an image wished seemed to have captured his attention as he openly gazed at you red and spent pussy. Despite all that you had already done, and with the haze of lust no longer present, you blushed at his laser focused eyes set on your dripping core. 

“I’ll never get tired of this.” He whispered almost to himself, smirking at your flushed and pouty face. 

“Let’s get cleaned up, alright baby?” He said as he kissed your forehead gently.

“Just one thing Chan.” He tilted his head cutely, to show that he was listening. “Next time, try to not be such an asshole and maybe I’ll be nice in return.”