#I imagine this is literally within months of arriving with them

[heybaetae]

i have so many thoughts on something but no where to vent them all so i'm gonna word vomit it all here and delete it later

basically i had been really losing patience with people over the last few weeks regarding jungkook and his ability to go MIA for long stretches of time and it started to feel inherently demanding when they'd beg him to show a sign of life (most people were joking, but a lot of his solo stans were not and i'll come back to this). i think a lot of people either forgot or arrived during/after 2023 when he was extremely active on weverse live, so it's hard for a lot of people to imagine not hearing from him for weeks, sometimes months. that used to be very normal and idk if people's perception of him is skewed by that era, but it's just so odd to see how comfortable people have become telling him what he *needs* to do to keep the people who claim to support him entertained.

within days of discharging, they'd (solos/shippers) already ventured into the comment section of the instagram account he made for his DOG(!!!) and resorted to writing long-winded, belligerent paragraph rants telling him how angry they are that he's living his own life, not doing lives, travelling with a member because 1. how dare he let himself be forced to do fan service with someone he hates (so they decided) or 2. they're fucking and want everyone to know it and no in-between, working with bts again, not immediately giving them a solo tour, not posting anything, etc.

and it's not like his silence was unexpected? he quite literally said in the post-discharge live, where he was very clearly shy about being on camera and even said so more than once, that he needed time to get back to a condition where he felt comfortable again to show himself. cut to a psychopath trying to break into his house hours later, fast forward to people stalking him all over vacation while trying to safely film a show for us, jump to people analyzing his every move trying to find proof that he's dating ten different people at once every time he breathes in an airport or a restaurant. imagine coming out of conscription to this. his autonomy to exist on this planet without problems has never seemed less his than it does now.

yet despite all this, DESPITE ALL OF IT, he never lets any of it affect his relationship with army when he has every single right to. he always comes back around when he's ready and i don't know how he does it, but i wish people could learn how to be patient with him again. because if i were jungkook. i'd be exactly as turned off to interacting with fans as people speculate he is, but that's never really the case. he's just introverted! he's also shy and i think people don't remember that part about him! he's comfortable with us, yes, but the environment matters. the context matters. when his privacy is hanging by a thread as often as his is, all of it matters. it's human nature to retreat. it's normal to not have his attention for a while. it's healthy to have boundaries. it's safe to keep to himself. i wish people gave him the grace to just Be. because how sweet it feels when he finally pops up will never get old and it's a privilege we have that i think a lot of people take for granted and don't appreciate at face value.

anyway i think that's all. basically i want people to leave jungkook alone and stop projecting personalities onto him that aren't fact and for newer fans to maybe reel it in a little with the dramatics.....you have a lot to learn, my friend lol

[yandereforme]

Okay, I’m still working on all of my bat family stuff, but consider… x

Yandere ASTV x O’Hara! Child! Reader

Like, in your universe, you were raised by Miguel O’Hara after your bio parents died, and you became a spider hero at age 10.(I kind of like the idea that your situation is similar to Miles, there was a Spider-Man but he died protecting you. Extra angst if it’s your Miguel who died.)

Your Miguel wasn’t yandere, but he was an overprotective parent. He definitely homeschooled you, and tried his best to shield you from the world, leaving you with a pretty optimistic outlook on life, and oblivious to life’s challenges.

You would end up in another universe on accident about half a year after you became spidery.(In this au, you were bitten about two weeks to a month before you started your vigilante gig.) I am seeing four different scenarios.

You end up in Hobie’s world, which would definitely be a shock, since your universe is very similar to our world, and as you are very sheltered, you definitely freak out and end up attracting Hobie’s attention. I see him trying to show you the good side of rebellion, and getting very protective on your behalf.( The climax is definitely you taking a bullet for him because a cop tried to shoot him in the back of the head. The bullet injures you but doesn’t kill you. Hobie fucking destroys the cop, but definitely makes you go somewhere safe so you don’t see it. Hobie likes your growing rebellious tendencies, but he doesn’t want to ruin all of your innocence.)

You end up in Gwen’s universe. There would definitely be confusion in the civilians, since they are used to a very different Spider-Woman. Gwen finds you quick, and 100% gets attached within minutes. You are completely alone and so small and you look at her with big hopeful eyes.(She has several mini heart attacks as she learns about your world.)

You end up in 1610 Miles’s world. He would 100% bond with you over taking over a different Spider-Man’s mantle, and facing criticism for it. He would definitely try to shield you from any problems, especially since you are so young. (I kind of like the idea of him introducing you to his parents and them getting attached too.) I don’t have any exact idea for how he would become yandere, but finding out about your Miguel would definitely confuse him.(he would have to figure out how someone like Miguel could raise you, but would remind himself they are different.)

You end up in 42 Miles’s world. You definitely catch his attention, especially since this is after ASTV.(The ending killed me, so I’m saying 1610 Miles escaped and defeated Spot with a semi truce with 42 Miles.) Prowler would definitely be interested about you, but what changes everything is you saving his mother’s life. You were patrolling and saw her be attacked, probably by a villain who found out Prowler’s identity. You save her life, just as 42 Miles arrives.(I’m imagining 42 Rio Morales doesn’t know her son is the Prowler, but finds out, culminating into a very tense dinner you get dragged into.)

After a few weeks, you definitely want to get home. Since every Spider has some weird abilities, I’m going with you being able to find portals easier, and if you strain yourself, you can make them.

You definitely have an argument about trying to go home, and use your power for the first time. However, you are upset and unsure and all you are thinking about as the world around you glitches is that you want your dad.

This leads to you quite literally falling at the feet of Miguel in the Spiderverse Headquarters, disoriented and exhausted from your powers, only able to manage a strangled “Papa?” before you pass out at his feet.

[sevasey51]

Hey girlie I’m not sure if you are taking requests for the Halstead brothers, but if you are can you do an imagine?

I got diagnosed with POTS( basically high heart rate and sometimes you pass out) a few months ago. What if their litte sister is at med or the district (you choose) and has an episode. You and your brothers decided to keep it just between you guys, and Connor( who diagnosed you).

Love your page hun! Thank you 🥺❤️

A Rough Day at Med

Summary: Y/N Halstead suffers a severe POTS episode at Chicago Med, prompting her brothers Will and Jay, along with Connor Rhodes her cardiologist, to step in and support her. Despite her embarrassment, they keep her condition private, offering love and reassurance.

Warnings: medical distress, health anxiety

You hadn’t meant for your day to spiral out of control. You���d only gone to Chicago Med for a routine check-up with Connor, your cardiologist and someone you trusted implicitly. Having been diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) months ago, you knew how to manage most symptoms—hydration, salt intake, and taking things slow. But today was different.

You’d barely made it to the waiting room when the dizziness hit. The room spun around you, your vision darkened at the edges, and before you could even call for help, your legs buckled.

When you woke, you were lying on a gurney, gasping for air, your chest heaving as though you’d run a marathon. A nurse hovered over you, her voice calm but urgent.

“She’s tachycardic, heart rate’s 145. BP’s low. Get Dr. Rhodes down here now!”

The mention of Connor’s name eased some of the panic clawing at your chest, but the shortness of breath made it hard to think clearly. You wanted to protest, to tell them you were fine, but no words came out.

Will’s Perspective

Will had just stepped into the ED when Maggie flagged him down.

“Will, we’ve got a patient who just came in—your sister. She passed out in the waiting area.”

Will’s heart dropped. “What? Where is she?”

“Exam 3. Connor’s on his way.”

Will didn’t waste a second. He pushed through the doors and into the room where you lay, pale and struggling for breath. The sight of you made his chest tighten, but he forced himself to stay calm.

“Hey, honey, I’m here,” Will said gently, moving to your side and squeezing your hand.

Your eyes fluttered open, and you tried to speak, but all that came out was a rasp.

“Don’t try to talk. Just focus on your breathing, okay? We’re going to get you through this,” Will reassured you, his voice steady.

Connor Steps In

Connor arrived moments later, his sharp eyes taking in the situation. He immediately started barking orders.

“Let’s get a liter of saline running. Tilt the bed to increase venous return. I want a 12-lead ECG now.”

He knelt beside you, his tone softer now. “You’re going to be okay. Your body’s just having trouble compensating right now, but we’ll get you stabilized.”

You managed a small nod, trusting Connor completely.

Jay’s Arrival

Meanwhile, Jay had just finished up a meeting at the district when his phone buzzed. A text from Will:

At Med. She had an episode. Room 3.

Jay didn’t even think twice. He was out the door and in his car within seconds, weaving through traffic to get to the hospital.

When he arrived, he stormed into the room, his worry evident. “What the hell happened?”

Will looked up from your bedside. “She passed out in the waiting room. Heart rate’s through the roof, and she’s struggling to breathe.”

Jay’s gaze softened as he moved closer to you. “Sweetheart,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from your face, “you scared the hell out of me.”

You tried to smile, but the effort was too much. Jay leaned down, his voice low. “Just focus on getting better, okay? We’ve got you.”

A Private Moment

Once Connor had your heart rate under control and your breathing stabilized, he stepped out to give you a moment with your brothers.

“I don’t want anyone else to know,” you whispered hoarsely, your cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “It’s bad enough you two know about this.”

Will crouched down, his eyes filled with concern. “Honey, you don’t have to feel embarrassed. This isn’t your fault.”

Jay chimed in, his voice firm but gentle. “Sweetheart, no one’s judging you. Least of all us.”

You bit your lip, tears welling in your eyes. “I just hate feeling…weak.”

Jay took your hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re not weak. You’re the strongest person I know, and we’re going to help you through this. Always.”

Will nodded. “You’ve got me, Jay, and Connor in your corner. We’re not going anywhere.”

Keeping It Between Them

True to your wishes, the three of them kept your condition private. Connor updated your care plan, ensuring you had what you needed to manage future episodes, while Will and Jay made it their mission to check in on you more often.

Despite your embarrassment, their unwavering support reminded you that you weren’t alone—and that was enough to help you face whatever came next.

Hey love, thank you for the request I hope you love this! Once again I wrote for most ships, but it’s primarily sevasey 🫶🏻. Send any requests in if you have them!

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I always thought it was strange that Philip donated his diary to the library. The book literally contains information on how to create a portal.Luz was only able to create a defective portal, but still a portal, imagine what would have happened if it had fallen into the hands of a very intelligent witch. That would have complicated his plans even more. I know that the book was stored in the Forbidden Stacks with other forgotten books and that the chances of someone getting the book were very low. But the risk was still very high, and we're talking about the super genius who discovered quantum mechanics in the 1700s.

Philip Fucking Wittebane: I'm going to donate my diary with important information on how to create a portal and I mentioned the existence of an unknown entity to a bookstore that is run by the vile creature that I hate so much for no apparent reason! It's not like there are intelligent witches who can steal your life's work to cause trouble!

I understand that Luz needs the diary to advance the plot, but a puritan witch hunter donating a book with important information to a library with beings he hates for unknown reasons is very difficult to digest.

The only theory I've heard that could explain this is the Stable Time Loop one: Philip needs Luz and Lilith to go back in time to look for him and help him get the Collector disc. This means that in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, he realizes that the Crab Maiden and Aunt Gertrude are actually time travelers who used his diary, they help him obtain the disc, so to ensure that the duo arrive in the first place, Philip has to leave his diary in a public yet secure setting, hence the library.

It is a risky move, especially since at any point in time it could've been lost, stolen, or as you said, used to build a different portal. And as we saw in the show, the echo mouse ate a good chunk of it. Fortunately, it was an echo mouse and not some other critter. But I guess that was a risk Philip knew he had to take.

My problem is that the narrative ties in ALL of Luz's season 3 arc to this one episode and how she feels guilty about it when she really shouldn't. Within the episode itself, Lilith did most of the work by solving the puzzle, Luz was just bait. Philip had been working on getting the Collector disc for probably months and he even had a complex teleportation glyph to get to the Titan skull. This guy was prepared, he just needed people gullible yet smart enough to help him. If it weren't for Luz and Lilith, then someone else would've been the sacrifice. The Collector disc would still be found. He already found 3 of the 4 glyphs (which apparently, Titan magic is incredibly rare and difficult to see!), so Luz showing him the light glyph doesn't really have any long term effects.

The same is true for her "helping" find the Collector. It was bound to happen eventually because the narrative ties everything evil back to Belos while the other characters are mere victims of him. All she did was save him time and effort and frankly, that's not enough to justify 3 long episodes of wangsting. All it is is a convoluted way to make the hero "help" the villain while still making them the purest example of victimhood possible.

Lastly, the narrative NEVER brings up Lilith's involvement; there's never a moment that the two realize that they were played and how terrible they would feel that they played a part in the Collector's destruction (only for Eda to conk their heads together, tell them to stop moping, and take this Collector kid down).

It's all about how Luz feels and then is given 4 different conclusions that she apparently doesn't learn from: Hunter tells her it's not her fault because Belos always uses people (the fact that the boy who was just possessed and had his best friend killed has to emotionally support her is sickening to me), her mom tells her it's okay to make mistakes and that she made a mistake in not allowing Luz to be who she was, (to which she responds that all she wanted was to be understood. Not sure how that connects to her guilt but whatever), Luz thinks her friends secretly hate her for helping Belos so she might as well be him (but then she snaps out of this when Puppet Amity misquotes Azura.........ok then), and finally, Papa Titan validates her by calling her a Good Witch and that Belos is just a big ol' meanie.

This isn't an arc, this is a series of characters coddling her but she doesn't take any of their words to heart until God herself intervenes. There's this huge imbalance between what the character did and how they react to it and the narrative wastes so much time on an arc that just makes Luz feel selfish and just serves to demonstrate how little she's grown as a character.

[melestasflight]

In the Silmarillion fandom, we enjoy grabbing the trope of “Nolofinwëan recklessness” and running wild with it. 

The most common victims of this are Fingon the Rash Prince and Fingolfin the Impulsive King, who rushes into suicidal combat. Both father and son daring death within Morgoth’s domain. 

It’s fun to write and exciting to imagine, no doubt, but I’d like to offer a different take. In fact, what makes Fingon and Fingolfin (and the rest of that family) compelling to me is their patience and endurance.

Yes, I’m aware Fingon rushes to battle at Alqualondë, but that’s a world-altering event. The light of the world has literally gone out, murder has happened in Valinor, Finwë is dead. Most of the Noldor are up on their feet and ready to depart. Everyone is rushing.

But this is not always the case with Fingon. Most significantly, the rescue of Maedhros is NOT an impulsive decision. The published Silmarillion offers no timeline on this, but in The Grey Annals, five entire years pass between the arrival of Fingolfin’s host to Beleriand and Fingon’s decision to look for Maedhros. 

Five years in which the two hosts are quite literally on the verge of civil war because, let’s not forget:

No love was there in the hearts of those that followed Fingolfin for the House of Fëanor, for the agony of those that endured the crossing of the Ice had been great, and Fingolfin held the sons the accomplices of their father. 

Diplomacy is a painfully slow (and absolutely frustrating!) ordeal. Fingon’s decision is born from this strife, from thirty years on the Helcaraxë, and five years of civil restlessness, not to mention the clear signs that Morgoth is ready to attack them at any moment:

Then Fingon the valiant, son of Fingolfin, resolved to heal the feud that divided the Noldor, before their Enemy should be ready for war; for the earth trembled in the Northlands with the thunder of the forges of Morgoth underground. 

This is not rashness. This is the sacrifice of a captain who is willing to make the best of what time is left before full-out destruction begins. It would be rashness if Fingon got his company and crossed Mithrim to wage battle on the Fëanorians. Instead, he chooses differently for the sake of peace, stability, and renewed friendship.

The trek from Lake Mithrim to Thangorodrim could be estimated at around 150 miles, depending on the map we follow, and there are grasslands and two sets of mountains to cross, not to mention the horror of Thangorodrim. Fingon travels on foot. It would take him weeks, maybe even months, to find Maedhros. Plenty of time for the fire of rashness to cool down if that was the case. But he persists because he has no other choice.

Similarly, I often see takes on Fingolfin that he rushes to pointless combat with Morgoth in the same manner as Fëanor had done. Yet again, the timeline is crucial here. The published Silmarillion has the battle lasting at least several months. Bragollach starts in F.A. 455 during winter time: 

There came a time of winter, when night was dark and without moon

The battle slows down presumably a few months later:

but the Battle of Sudden Flame is held to have ended with the coming of spring, when the onslaught of Morgoth grew less.

The onslaught grows less, but it doesn’t fully cease. Morgoth and Sauron reissue their attacks early into Fingon’s kingship.

In the Grey Annals, the timeline  is stretched further out:

Year 455:

The Fell Year. Here came an end of peace and mirth. In the winter, at the year's beginning, Morgoth unloosed at last his long-gathered strength

Year 456:

Now Fingolfin, King of the Noldor, beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of his people, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses, and he was filled with wrath and despair.

The fighting goes on actively anywhere from a season to a full year! Fingolfin tries to hold his kingdom together for a full year despite an absolute, unquestionable disaster. I mean, look at this description of the battle:

In the front of that fire came Glaurung the golden, father of dragons, in his full might; and in his train were Balrogs, and behind them came the black armies of the Orcs in multitudes such as the Noldor had never before seen or imagined. And they assaulted the fortresses of the Noldor, and broke the leaguer about Angband, and slew wherever they found them the Noldor and their allies, Grey elves and Men. Many of the stoutest of the foes of Morgoth were destroyed in the first days of that war, bewildered and dispersed and unable to muster their strength. War ceased not wholly ever again in Beleriand

Fingolfin’s decision to ride out, again, is not out of recklessness or a spur-of-the-moment decision. It’s everything but that. He has given everything and truly believes it’s all lost: “the utter ruin of his people, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses.” (!!!) 

This is a final stand, the King’s duty to stand by his people, even in death.

[dandelion-wings]

Working on a couple of whump prompts now (I phone-wrote the starts of several during the past week between barn chaos, but this is literally the first day I've had time to sit at a computer for more than half an hour since), but I read this Reddit post this morning and couldn't resist the urge to riff a little, so let's call this a warmup:

"...and the last time I passed out, I woke up with my head in her lap and her favorite blanket over me. She was stroking my hair, and when I looked up, she called me 'dear,'" Jean explains. "Then, this Windblume... don't you think it seems suggestive? But Lisa is so flirtatious with everyone, I really can't be sure." Kaeya seems to be choking on his drink. "The *last time* you passed out?" Diluc repeats, as if he hasn't heard all the rest of her list at all.

"The time before that, I wasn't unconscious for more than a few seconds, but the moment I sat up she got me a pillow and made me lie back down, then sat with me and held my hand until Barbara arrived. I had hit my head quite hard on the floor, though, so that may have just been a reasonable precaution."

Lisa's hand had been soft, and warm, and so gentle around hers. She'd stroked the back of Jean's hand with her thumb, just the slightest buzz of static raised by the motion, but that buzz had seemed to go all through Jean and flutter in her stomach.

Diluc's eyes go wide. "When did you hit your head?"

"Oh, that was shortly after Stormterror appeared. I wasn't truly hurt. The double vision passed within a few days," Jean says, waving his worry away. "Though you're right, I'm afraid. That could have simply been concern, and not anything else. I wouldn't be thinking more of it at all if it wasn't for this Windblume. I thought she would simply give me some flowers, and perhaps more of the perfume she's been making for me. I hadn't even remembered that we talked about this book of poetry. I'm sure it wasn't so difficult to find for her as it was for me, since she *did* find it-"

"Oh, no, she put plenty of work in," Kaeya, apparently recovered from his coughing fit, tells her. "Don't you recall that two-week vacation she took last month?"

"Oh, *no*. She told me she had important personal affairs to take care of. I hope looking for the book didn't cut into them."

Kaeya, in the middle of a long, slow sip of wine, swallows wrong *again*. This time Jean has to stand up from her chair and go over to thump him on the back, and Diluc rises, takes his wineglass away, and comes back from the bar with a glass of water that he sets firmly in front of him.

When Kaeya isn't wheezing anymore, Jean sits back down. "I trust the two of you to tell me if I'm only imagining things. You did when I had that terrible crush on the Grand Master as a teenager. Do you think there's any chance Lisa feels fondly towards me?"

"It seems very possible," Diluc tells her, with a seriousness that assures her that he has, in fact, been listening to her list, despite his apparent distraction. "Have you given her a Windblume in return yet? You may be able to deduce more from her response."

Kaeya's eyes light up. "Diluc, I never expected such an entertaining idea from *you*. Now, Jean, make sure you don't make your poem too formal. Something personal and intimate will produce much more interesting results."

[miley1442111]

hii would love smth with sydney adamu x reader if ur still taking requests!! like literally anything just need more syd content haha

omg thank u for requesting sydney, there's like nowhere near enough stuff for her? like guys... she's amazing. anyways, I hope you enjoy, it's kind of short, so sorry about that :)

no-show

a/n: lowkey spoilers for season 2, episode 3- sundae, also I didn't really think of male! or fem! reader while writing so just imagine what you want :)

summary: sydney asks if you want to join her and carmen on some food tasting, how could you say no?

pairing: sydneyadamu x reader

warnings: general fluff, talk of parents dying, brief mention of lupus, brief mention of cancer, mention of crushes.

She was pretty. But… she was also technically your new boss. You, a new person on the waitstaff at The Bear, had been hired a month ago. For the past 4 days, you had been building the tables and chairs along with your new co-workers, they’re fine, all pretty normal people- nothing to write home about. But Sydney, your boss, she was amazing. She had been the one to orient you in the restaurant. She showed you where everything is and how everything works, but you were sure you’d forgotten all of it. You were too busy watching her.. You pushed those thoughts out of your head, for now, you just had to keep your head down, get to opening night. All anyone is focusing on is opening night. So, you keep working and finish the last table, when you notice Sydney standing and talking with Carmen. Carmen Berzatto was strange, in your opinion. He barely talked to her, yet she was his ‘business partner’? He refused to even send her a text when he basically told you all to start taking down walls more than a week ago, and she was rightfully upset. He walks away from her with a nod and you get up from under the table. She comes up behind you as you stretch your aching back. 

“Do you want to come with us? We’re just- our pallets are fucked and-” she starts to explain.

“Yes,” you say, probably too eagerly. 

“O-ok. Cool,” she smiles. “I’ll grab my stuff.”

You smile and follow her to the lockers. “So, where do you plan on going?”

“Just some places around, I know some people, Carm knows some people,” she shrugs and the nickname she has for him irks you slightly. There can’t be anything going on between them, right? 

“Will we wait for him?” You ask, pulling your jacket on.

“He’ll catch up,” she decides, leading out the back door and into the cold Chicago air. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A train ride, a short 10 minute walk, and a conversation with a waiter later, you sit across from Sydney, conversation flowing freely. You feel… comfortable with her. She’s awkward in an endearing way, kind in a way that's foreign to you, and so deeply interesting that you feel like you could talk to her forever. The food arrives, and it’s the best thing you’ve tasted in a while. Considering you’ve been living off of the same meal for the past three days (meal prepping is the only way you eat), this is like actual gold dust. Clearly your reaction doesn’t stay in your head, your eyes closing in satisfaction.

“Good right?” Sydney grins from across the table. 

All you can do is nod. And internally kick yourself for being so embarrassing. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carmen has been long forgotten. He was supposed to show, he didn’t, boo hoo. You don’t care. Sydney doesn’t care. Your day with Sydney has been nothing short of perfect. Good food, good company, and now, good ideas- on Sydney’s part, you were basically just here for the food and her. 

“So, what’s your favourite food?” Sydney asks, just on the walk back to The Bear. 

“Can I be honest?” You chuckle, a warm feeling within you shielding you from the cold. 

“Of course!” 

“When I was a kid, my mom made these nachos with like-just random cheeses on them, and then we’d dip them in this spicy sauce until our tongues would go numb,” you recounted fondly. “I forgot to ask for the recipe before she died.” Sydney’s face falls, and you can’t help but feel that you’ve ruined the moment, the day too, maybe. “S-sorry, I didn’t- it just slipped out-”

“It’s ok. My mom died too,” she explains slowly. “Lupus.”

“Cancer.”

“I’m sorry,” she smiles softly as you both stop just outside the restaurant. 

“I was like 10, it happened a while ago-”

“I’m sorry,” she repeats. 

“I’m sorry too,” you smile, the sound of blood rushing filling your ears. You want to kiss her. You want to kiss her so bad. So, you do.

You reach and hand out and cup her cheek, pulling her in to kiss you. She gasps at the sudden contact, but kisses back all the same. She tastes like the mint the last restaurant gave you both. Her arms wrap around your neck, a smile on her lips against yours. You pull away, opening your eyes. 

She looks beautiful, a smile on her perfect lips. The lips you just kissed. 

“Thank you for today,” you smile. 

“Thank you.” 

“For what?” you chuckle.

She rolls her eyes and kisses you again.

Wow. What a good day. 

[redsandspirit]

Matthew Stover ruined Dooku

It is perhaps generally accepted that Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover is one of the best books ever written in the Star Wars universe, if not the best. It's not hard to see why, since in many ways the story is head and shoulders above the movie, and Anakin Skywalker is, in my opinion, better captured by the author than anywhere else in the Expanded Universe. Still, I can't say that I was completely satisfied with the novel. Count Dooku is one of my favorite EU characters and I was saddened by how he was portrayed by Stover.

Xenophobia

Matthew Stover's Darth Tyranus is a terrible xenophobe, who never fails to remind the reader of this even during conversations with his colleagues such as Grievous and Darth Sidious. He deeply believes that creating the Empire of Man is what he was born to do? Seriously? Dooku is so evil in this book that it seems as if he would have been able to carry out all of Palpatine's plans exactly to the smallest detail without the participation of Palpatine himself. I think Stover here erases the complexity of the character that Jude Watson and Sean Stewart were able to create, and that's something we'll come back to.

A government clean, pure, direct: none of the messy scramble for the favor of ignorant rabble and subhuman creatures that made up the Republic he so despised. The government he would serve would be Authority personified. Human authority. It was no accident that the primary powers of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were Neimoidian, Skakoan, Quarren and Aqualish, Muun and Gossam, Sy Myrthian and Koorivar and Geonosian. At war’s end the aliens would be crushed, stripped of all they possessed, and their systems and their wealth would be given into the hands of the only beings who could be trusted with them. Human beings. Dooku would serve an Empire of Man. And he would serve it as only he could. As he was born to. - Revenge of the Sith, 2

In the novels written before Revenge of the Sith, we saw many important episodes from Dooku's past, and there were no premises for xenophobia. As a child, he was constantly dealing with other sentient species in the Jedi Order, and his father figure was a literal gremlin. One of Dooku's childhood friends was Eero Iridian, who is also not human. Darth Tyranus shows some remorse due to the fact that he and Darth Sidious took advantage of the Troxans (a non-human species) to drain the Republic's resources. This definitely doesn't fit with the way in RotS Dooku gleefully imagines crushing non-humans under the new government.

“These are the envoys from Troxar,” his Master said. How could he know? Dooku didn’t ask. Darth Sidious knew. He always knew.“They are considering surrender,” Dooku said. “They claim they have a resistance planned, ready to rise in insurrection when the clone troops withdraw.” “No!” the flickering figure said sharply. “The war has already damaged the planet too much to make it worth saving. Its only value now is to chew up more troops and resources. Tell them they have to fight on. Promise them reinforcements—tell them you will be deploying a new fleet of advanced droids to retake the whole system within a month, if only they can hold on. Explain that such weapons will not be put in the hands of those who surrender.” “And when the month passes, and no reinforcements arrive?” “Help will come within another month at most. Promise them that, and make them believe it. I’ve shown you how.” “I understand,” Dooku said. How casually we betray our creatures. The hooded figure cocked its head. “Having an attack of conscience, my apprentice?” “No, Master.” He met the hooded figure’s hideous eye. “It was their own greed that brought them to you,” he said. “In their heart of hearts, they always knew what they were getting into.” - Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, 1

Technophobia

The next uncharacteristic trait that was added to the character is technophobia. Anakin Skywalker's prosthetic arm disgusts Dooku, and he almost spits bile while talking to Grievous. The aristocrat hates not only cyborgs, but also ordinary droids, calling them “repulsive” and hoping that they will be destroyed along with the General.

“Which is precisely,” Dooku said meditatively, “why it might be best if I were to kill him, instead.” “Are you so certain that you can?” “Please. Of what use is power unstructured by discipline? The boy is as much a danger to himself as he is to his enemies. And that mechanical arm—” Dooku’s lip curled with cultivated distaste. “Revolting.” “Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm.” “Hmp. A gentleman would have learned to fight one-handed.” Dooku flicked a dismissive wave. “He’s no longer even entirely human. With Grievous, the use of these bio-droid devices is almost forgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical parts are clearly an improvement. But a blend of droid and human? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justify associating with him?” - Revenge of the Sith, 2

Dooku nodded judiciously to himself, frowning down at the translucent blue ghosts slinking toward Palpatine. “Sound the retreat for the entire strike force, General, and prepare the ship for jump. Once the Jedi are dead, I will join you on the bridge.”“As my lord commands. Grievous out.” “Indeed you are, you vile creature,” Dooku muttered to the dead comlink. “Out of luck, and out of time.” He cast the comlink aside and ignored its clatter across the deck. He had no further use for it. Let it be destroyed along with Grievous, those repulsive bodyguards of his, and the rest of the cruiser, once he was safely captured and away. - Revenge of the Sith, 3

Why doesn't this make sense? As with xenophobia, the previous books and comics do not contain any hints that Dooku has disdain or hatred towards people with prosthetics and cyborgs. Moreover, when Grievous proposed using Geonosian technology on the Jedi Padawans for experimental purposes, Dooku approved the idea. Not to mention, the Sith Lord enjoyed Grievous' training.

Grievous had been a delight to train, as well. - Labyrinth of Evil, 22

Love and friendship

Next, Stover gaslights the reader by talking about the friendship between Dooku and Lorian Nod. Because if we go back to Legacy of the Jedi, it turns out that Dooku wasn't such a bad friend. He cares about Lorian and tries to be careful with his words so as not to hurt his feelings. Then after Lorian betrayed Dooku by blaming him for stealing the holocron, did Dooku worry about his reputation? Sure, but what unsettled him was that he was betrayed by someone so close to him. Even after what happened, he considers Nod his friend and cannot decide to refuse his request.

He doesn’t remember quite when he discovered this; it may have been when he was a young Padawan, betrayed by another learner who had claimed to be his friend. Lorian Nod had said it to his face: “You don’t know what friendship is.” And he didn’t. He had been angry, certainly; furious that his reputation had been put at risk. And he had been angry at himself, for his error in judgment: trusting as an ally one who was in fact an enemy. The most astonishing part of the whole affair had been that even after turning on him before the Jedi, the other boy had expected him to participate in a lie, in the name of their “friendship.” - Revenge of the Sith, 3

His best friend had betrayed him. Throughout the years at the Temple, he could always depend on Lorian. They had shared jokes and secrets. They had competed and helped each other. They had quarreled and made up. The fact that this person could betray him shocked him so deeply he felt sick. Legacy of the Jedi, 3

Dooku didn't know what to say. He wasn't prepared to lie, but he couldn't say no to his friend. So he said nothing, and, after a long while, the two friends fell asleep. Legacy of the Jedi, 3

Was Dooku the perfect friend? Of course not, and his pride played a role in escalating the conflict, as did Lorian’s envy, but to reduce everything to the words that “Dooku was different and did not understand friendship” I think is a monstrous simplification. The loss of his friend played a big role in Dooku's life, and that's how the story ends.

Lorian had been wrong. Dooku's heart hadn't been empty. He had loved his friend. But he had changed. Lorian had betrayed him. He would never believe in friendship again. If his heart was now empty of love, so be it. The Jedi did not believe in attachments. He would fill his heart with nobility and passion and commitment. He would become a great Jedi Master. Legacy of the Jedi, 6

We further learn that Dooku cannot care about the feelings of other beings and does not even see those around him as entirely real. Now, I don't by any means think that characters with these traits are a bad thing, or that you can't do something interesting with them, but that's not Dooku. We've seen how important his relationships with some of the other characters are to him (there's a whole novel written about him and Yoda), and that he cares to some extent about the feelings of those around him. Moreover, Stover will not explore these new traits, because Dooku will die in the next chapter anyway.

He is entirely incapable of caring what any given creature might feel for him. He cares only what that creature might do for him. Or to him. Very possibly, he is what he is because other beings just aren’t very … interesting. Or even, in a sense, entirely real. For Dooku, other beings are mostly abstractions, simple schematic sketches who fall into two essential categories. - Revenge of the Sith, 3

Jedi Order

Stover's Dooku ideal Jedi Order would forcibly remove Force-sensitive children from their families. Perhaps it's just my opinion, but it seems strange in light of the fact that his rejection trauma, as described by Sean Stewart, is related to his parents and the Jedi Order.

And that Fist would become a power beyond any Jedi’s darkest dreams. The Jedi were not the only users of the Force in the galaxy; from Hapes to Haruun Kal, from Kiffu to Dathomir, powerful Force-capable humans and near-humans had long refused to surrender their children to lifelong bound servitude in the Jedi Order. They would not so refuse the Sith Army. They would not have the choice. - Revenge of the Sith, 2

Ultimately, I can make the case that the ending of Yoda: Dark Rendezvous may have served to develop Dooku and make him even more bitter, but that doesn't justify the radical personality transplant Matthew Stover performed. And now, I often see these lines used to say that Dooku was always pure evil, had no good intentions and was always pretending, and also see questions like "as a human supremacist, what did Dooku think of Yoda?" And how can we know? All of these things were added to the character at the last minute and didn't match anything we'd seen before. This is not my Dooku.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I want to expand a bit on my previous post on SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2 and WOODY WOODPECKER IN CRAZY CASTLE 5...

The CRAZY CASTLE game series, as noted in the post, has a history with WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT...

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT almost got a follow-up movie, multiple times. It's bizarre to think that one of the blockbusters of the 1980s, and a film that helped restore Disney's magic in a time where they needed some, didn't ever get a sequel and likely won't ever get one. (Probably for the better right now, for the Disney company as it is would likely blow it.)

The original WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT was released by Walt Disney Pictures through their more adult-oriented Touchstone label in 1988, at the behest of Roy E. Disney and Michael Eisner, who felt the film was a bit too "risque" to be a Disney-branded picture.

The film started out as a Walt Disney Productions endeavor in 1981 after the enterprise got the rights to the original book by Gary K. Wolf, with animation direction to be done then-relatively new animator on the block, Darrell Van Citters, who had previously worked on THE FOX AND THE HOUND. This early version of the movie took a much more stylized, Tex Avery approach, with a Roger who looked like he could've stepped in from one of the legendary director's many cartoons:

That version was put on ice after Disney executive Thomas Wilhite, who wanted to shake things up in the dormant Disney domain by greenlighting more ambitious projects (such as TRON, which he gave the go-head in his first year in that position), left the studio by the middle of 1983.

Upon Michael Eisner's arrival to the enterprise, there was renewed interest in WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, and they got Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis on board. A huge freakin' deal for the Disney ship, who had previously passed on BACK ON THE FUTURE and an alien invasion movie Spielberg had pitched to them around 1979, that would later morph into E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.

The thing was, Spielberg didn't feel that Walt Disney Feature Animation - as they were at the time, circa 1985 - were up to the task of creating the film's animation. Interestingly, the last time the animation wing had done any major hybrid live-action/animation work was PETE'S DRAGON, released in 1977... But this film needed to be unlike what had come before in the realm of hybrids, and Spielberg was far more impressed with what he saw of Richard Williams' resume... Thus, Richard Williams Animation Ltd. in London was assigned the film's animation, with some help from the Dale Baer studio on U.S. soil.

So, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT is not a Walt Disney Feature Animation picture, but it is a Disney movie under a different label with plenty of animation in it, including several Disney animated characters - from the Mickey Mouse gang to characters from feature films, like Dumbo - making cameo appearances. Many Disney animators worked on it, too, such as Eric Goldberg and Andreas Deja...

Disney Feature Animation took on the first short film made in the aftermath of the movie's runaway success, 1989's TUMMY TROUBLE. Richard Williams was not going to be back for more Roger Rabbit, he entered a deal with Warner Bros. to finish THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER, which sadly did not happen... And by 1989, the studio was more than fit to make a Roger Rabbit follow-up, as TUMMY TROUBLE would prove.

May 1, 1989, over a month before TUMMY TROUBLE screened in theaters with HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS, Disney opened the Disney-MGM Studios theme park outside of Orlando, Florida. And nestled in that park was the defunct Florida unit of Disney Feature Animation. The folks there were the ones tasked to make this sure-to-happen movie event. They were primed for it, they were handed the second short film starring Roger, Jessica Rabbit, Baby Herman, and Mrs. Herman, ROLLER COASTER RABBIT... As you could imagine, there were larger theme park plans for the characters as well, hence the new animated stuff being made within a literal theme park and the second short involving amusement rides!

But many things kept waylaying the prequel, which - after lots of development and changes - would've been titled WHO DISCOVERED ROGER RABBIT... Which meant that Disney Animation Florida had to find other things to work on, as the relationship between co-owner Spielberg and Disney was on shaky grounds, putting Roger Rabbit's future in limbo. Namely helping on the Burbank features, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and THE LION KING for example. They eventually got one more short, TRAIL MIX-UP, released in 1993.

Suppose we got WHO DISCOVERED ROGER RABBIT, or the scrapped live-action/CG hybrid film that was being planned around 1998, which Florida was also supposed to do... Let's go with the movie that was targeting a 1992-ish release, to make things easier.

WHO DISCOVERED ROGER RABBIT would've been a full-on Walt Disney Feature Animation movie, and would've been the first one - animation-wise - made entirely in Florida. MULAN ended up being WDFA-Florida's first in-house production, released in 1998. Rob Minkoff would've been the director for both the animation and the live-action on WHO DISCOVERED ROGER RABBIT, and in this timeline, I suppose THE LION KING still happens but it's with another director in place of Minkoff. That's a fun scenario to ponder, because Minkoff didn't direct LION KING alone, for he was paired with Roger Allers on that movie. In this alternate timeline, maybe LION KING is from Allers and someone else. Maybe former director George Scribner stays on the movie and works with Allers, who knows...

True, there would've been the live-action portions in this ROGER RABBIT prequel and it probably would've been an Amblin movie as well... But, would Disney have counted it as part of the "Disney Animated Features Canon"? Would this have been - had it debuted in mid-1992 - Feature #31 between BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and ALADDIN? A sequel to a movie WDFA had such little involvement with?

Hell, would this have been a Touchstone release? Or would Disney have eased up a little bit and made it a mainline Walt Disney Pictures release? Now that the characters were to have much more of a presence in the Disney theme parks? Complete with a Walt Disney Home Video clamshell VHS release as part of The Classics line? I think a Touchstone movie that's all animated by WDFA would've been unusual, to say the least!

It also would've been WDFA's first real hybrid, in a way. SONG OF THE SOUTH, SO DEAR TO MY HEART, MARY POPPINS, BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS, and PETE'S DRAGON are not really WDFA movies, but they have Disney animation in them, this would've been more of a half-and-half thing than those movies, but still not as all-animated as the 1940s package features that have a significant amount of live-action in them, like THE THREE CABALLEROS and FUN & FANCY FREE.

This makes it possible that the movie is not billed as a WDFA movie whatsoever, even if it all the animation in it would've been done by them. It'd probably be seen as a live-action movie, with lots of stuff provided by WDFA.

Definitely a bit of a conundrum if you think about it!

Then again, look at Amblimation, to tie this to Spielberg once more. Amblimation's first feature was AN AMERICAN TAIL II: FIEVEL GOES WEST. Don Bluth and his studio, the originators of AN AMERICAN TAIL, had no involvement in FIEVEL GOES WEST. The only major link is Spielberg.

MGM/United Artists went ahead with a sequel to ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN, without Don Bluth and his studio being involved. ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN 2 was produced by the very short-lived MGM Animation, most of the actual animation work being outsourced at that.

You also have the Disney animated sequels that went direct-to-video, made by Disney MovieToons/Disneytoon Studios, and had little to no involvement from Walt Disney Feature Animation, but sometimes they involved people from the original movies, such as Roger Allers having some say on THE LION KING 1 1/2 (or THE LION KING 3: HAKUNA MATATA, if you don't live in the U.S.). Sometimes, most of the original casts, even. Almost everyone was back for LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE.

Disney would also use DisneyToon to make TINKER BELL movies, adjacent to the classic PETER PAN, and also spin-offs of Pixar's CARS in the form of the PLANES movies, and they had big plans for this extended CARS-verse. Lots of scrapped movies that would've involved spacecraft, boats, metro trains, etc. Disneytoon Studios was shut down in mid-2018 following the exit of John Lasseter.

The list goes on, even into today, such as the upcoming ICE AGE 6, which is the first theatrical movie in the series to be distributed by Disney, and the first to not be a Blue Sky production... Since Disney shut that studio down after acquiring 20th Century Fox and them, and I keep thinking how unusual - and sad- it's going to be to see an all-new ICE AGE movie in theaters without the Blue Sky logo, because that places does not exist anymore. And top that off, ICE AGE began life as a Don Bluth/Gary Goldman-directed Fox Animation Studios film in the late '90s...

Sometimes these things are like nomads, going from one studio to the next, sometimes having completely different filmmakers involved...

[kuiperror]

TELL ME ABOUT THE CHIPMUNKS LORE. pretty please.

1st thank you for indulging me (even tho i asked lol) 2nd.maybe dont open this unless you want to get blasted with useless information + unimportant yet dearly held opinions + offtopic addendums + true sincerity. i tried to hold back guys im sorry. hold onto your hats im getting fucking crazy in here

firstly ill summarize and say that my "version" of the story of aatc [1] is basically just an idealized version of the "lore" the 1960s version gave us (i say "lore" in quotations bc there was. none lol).

now a lot of my ideas concerning the "lore" of story are interconnected to my opinions about the actual application of aatc media in real life . for instance, the story is set, vaguely, around the late 1950s - early to mid 1960s, like the irl "run" of the original chipmunks records. i personally believe that, as a real media franchise, aatc really has no reason to exist within our modern world with the technology we have today [2] so aatc as a fictional story is affected similarly. along with that, when the story is played out in the context of 1960s america it creates a richer thematical experience as the themes are compounded and expanded on. [3] a lot of the themes that i consider Essencial to the story deal with acceptance of differences and familial love and questioning of ones own humanity and sense of belonging, both within oneself and within the family unit and within larger society, and conservative 1960s suburban america is just a rlly good backdrop to place all of that. so basically i believe in the Contextuality of 1960s aatc and i love to allude to those contexts within the story.

another thing about my version is that i allow it to be inconsistent both with itself or with real life, just cuz it doesn't really have to be. for instance, this story has a floating timeline and i consider the chipmunk's ages to range from 8 - 10 years old— theodore is 8, alvin is 9, simon is 10. (simon is the oldest in the 1960s era idc who says what, i will die on this hill) however at the same time i think it would make the most sense for them to come from the same litter, which would make them all the same age. so i consider the chipmunks to be different ages while also considering they were born at the same time. i do have an in-world resolution for this discrepancy [4] but you get what im saying: my version of events is a little fictional story for me and me only so inconsistencies like that can be brushed over . mainly so i don't think too deeply about the logistics of things (cuz i tend to do that to avoid any possible criticism cuz i am Afraid of flaw) . like i'll catch myself being like "but how does the development of a real 8yo match theodore's behavior? 🤨" and i have to tell myself "bro.. this is a fictional cartoon world ur literally talking about a talking chipmunk its Not That Serious it doesn't have to be that realistic dude" so i just say its my own little play place and i get to do what i want :)

my version of the backstory of the chipmunks is not really all there in terms of external and internal consistency, but it mostly resembles the 1980s series' backstory where dave finds the chipmunks on his doorstep. (see [4] for entire story) i think that the months after dave took them in were honestly a p dark period for the family. i don't imagine dave had good support system and i think the mental struggle of suddenly caring for 3 incredibly strange children all the while fearing societal reactions to them (which restricted him from getting the help he needed) [5] definitely aged him. ithink hes like, early 30s when the chipmunks arrive, late 30s when the timeline "starts floating"... not as young as most (?) fans/iterations interpret him to be. i think that, before "the chipmunk song" was created, dave had raised the chipmunks for like.. 3-5ish years. what i'm saying is that dave definitely took in the chipmunks out of the kindness of his own heart and not cuz he wanted to capitalize on their singing prowess (aHEM looking at a certain movie 🤨)

also, i like to accentuate the animal-ness of the boys by taking real world information about chipmunks and applying it to them :) in general its a little bit of a pet peeve of mine when ppl just completely disregard the animal part of funny animal characters... esp with alvin and the chipmunks bc thats like. Their Whole Thing . they are chipmunks ? why do you just ignore that 😭

now i have talked a LOT about angsty stuff but i do want to make it clear that legit all this stuff is the subtext and background for interactions shown within the 1960s chipmunk media. the chipmunks are still happy kids who have fun and goof around and piss off david !! its just that they have fears and their own Issues like any real person.

so yeah! thats my chipmunk lore!! ^^ i have a whole document about my version so im definitely. fucking insane about the chipmunks. if any other aatc fans are reading this please be nice to me 😦 i feel as though i am very much a weirdo in my sandbox all alone soo dont h8 me plz :)

and just to send it off with some silly lore here are some random headcanons for each character that i have taken straight from my lore document ^^

alvin: would 100% be a leash kid . just sayin (as a former leash kid myself)

alvin: takes after david musically— when he writes his own music and makes up little songs to himself it sounds very similar to the songs dave writes. alvin doesn't recognize this but dave definitely does :,)

alvin: insecure about his height and constantly reassures himself that he will have a growth spurt when hes older

simon: loves loves LOVEs non-conventional and instrumental music! especially those set in different modes

simon: astronaut kid he loves space and wants to b an astronaut . born at just the right time B)

simon: knows better than to follow along with alvin's troublemaking + rebelliousness, occasionally tries to push back, but often is just like. fuck it we ball and goes along with it, especially if its fun ^^

theodore: LOVES the technical aspect of music + the recording process . he will tell you all about the science behind how vinyl records work unprompted.

theodore: doesnt like to sing solos as much as his brothers do bc of past childhood asthma at age 3 and also because he can not stop himself from giggling when hes singing hes just so happy :)! (THIS ONE IS CANON 💥💥💥 SOURCE: UP ON THE HOUSETOP CHRISTMAS W THE CHIPMUNKS VOL 1 ‼️)

theodore: although he is the most naive of the bunch, he is not dumb . hes just a little kid who likes being silly !

dave: before taking the chipmunks in in his early 30s he was the world's most regular guy . wrote hits for other people, continues to do that occasionally into the boys's careers

dave: literally has a song for everything . he will do everything to a beat .

dave: embroiders and cross-stitches to regulate his anger + knows how to sew really well since he has 2 make all of the boys' clothes. (CANON ⁉️😍) also it was his decision to color-code and embroider their initials onto everything they wear lmfao

FOOTNOTES (color coded for your convenience!)

[1] - in this post i refer to the media franchise as "aatc" (alvin and the chipmunks) and refer to the actual trio of characters as "the chipmunks" to avoid confusion. i just want it to be said that i personally dont like to call the media franchise "alvin & the chipmunks" on account of the whole "uuu if alvins a chipmunk why is it called alvin & the chipmunks" joke, i personally prefer to call the franchise just "the chipmunks" as it is shorter and includes the 1960s era as for most of it the franchise went by several different iterations (if we lived in a perfect world the franchise would still be called "david seville and the chipmunks" . just saying)

[2] - back in the early 60s, combining pitch-shifted vocals and character-acting was an innovative technique that took real time, effort, knowledge and skill to achieve. but nowadays not only is the concept no longer fresh but literally anyone can create their own "chipmunk" vocals in a matter of minutes. the story & characters (also nostalgia) are really the only thing keeping the aatc franchise going, esp since that's what more modern iterations of aatc focus on rather than the actual music.

[3] - in the media outside of their albums (the alvin show & the dell comics, specifically) there is always an underlying theme of comparison between david and the boys and the 1960s concept of a nuclear american family. its not exactly an "Intentional" theme, it more or less comes with the (irl) time-period the original aatc media was created in. the seville household is, inherently, a subversion of the ideal of the "perfect family" that households were compared against and strived to be, even at the expense of their own comfort, ideals, safety, etc. this subversion can be played into for drama and angst in a richer, more plausible way than it would be if the story were set in a more modern time period, u know? but yeah i believe that, as a fictional story, aatc shouldn't be divorced from the context of the attitudes and values of what mainstream society thought a family should be in the 1960s.

[4] - essentially in my version of events, dave was given no information about the boys and he basically made up their ages. when david found them in his backyard, they were oversized chipmunks as large as your average cat. they all sort of acted like young human children, but they were a lot more... chipmunk than child. they could only babble— but the sounds were recognizable as human speech. dave was obviously freaked out and resolved to keep an eye on them whenever they were in his backyard. he really only resolved to take them in due to the fact that he could literally see them change throughout a single week. how i imagine the chipmunks' biology is that they are a mixture of human and chipmunk (not literally, mind you, more as a physiological, figurative thing) so they have the intelligence and development of a human while still doing certain things like undertaking hibernation, wanting to forage and stockpile and burrow, things like that. however their growth rate is incredibly fucked up, going from the actual size of a newborn baby chipmunk to the size of a human toddler within like, a year. with this rapid growth also comes more human-like intelligence. once they were actually living in his house, dave knew there was something human about them with these creatures so he couldn't just let them return to the wild, especially since they were becoming more and more dependent on him and more and more human-like as days passed... i definitely think there was a moment of pure clarity for dave where he realized like. wow, that's a child. these things are children. and they are relying on me to provide for them. they are absolutely attached to me by now. and i think i might actually be attached to them too. and thats when he decided to name them and truly care for them like any other human child. overtime the chipmunks slowed their growth rate and matched their developing rate with the same as an average human. the chipmunks don't remember much of their early childhood and nothing can really be disputed so davids word of what happened is gospel. And yeah thats their backstory basically. if you want more on dave's view point on the chipmunks and their fucked up growth process, you can read this post here :)

[5] - he overcame this, of course. he did not want the boys to think that he was ashamed of them. public school was a different story, however, and the boys were more-or-less in a state of homeschooling before the release of "the chipmunk song." knowing that most of their peers would actually look up to them rather than down upon them extremely reassured him.

[meruemx]

the biology of meruem

If there's one thing I do, it's imagine the biology of each anime creature. I even thought about what Piccolo Daimaoh's biology must be like for him to lay an egg through his mouth and what the biology was like for the cell that gave birth through its tail. Well, here I'm going to do the same thing with meruem's biology. with his reproductive biology to be more exact. If you're offended, pretend you're a meruem from a parallel universe. Also remembering that I'm going to talk about Meruem with the anime design.

the meruem has several segmentations on its tail. I think this different colored segment connected to the stinger is a place where an internal semen sac is stored. so Meruem can feel pleasure if he himself or if someone strokes that specific spot on his tail or if he sticks his stinger into a female. In that case, ejaculation is something he could normally do.

(end of my opinion on how meruem could reproduce. If you wish to proceed, please note that the following information is fanfic.)

Some things in my theory get out of control and they already say that he is a half-hermaphrodite because he is the king. The theory goes on to say that he has ovaries where his pelvis would be. that big pelvis. remember that his tail is connected to a circular volume that is on his hip?

then the meruem could perform a retrograde ejaculation, which would be perfectly safe for him. his semen would pass through that voluminous structure, reaching his lower parts. This even reminds me a little of the vaginal canal. My theory continues saying that the gestation would take 5 months and the meruém's abdomen would normally enlarge, with it being able to do a little phagogenesis but without the queen's crazy appetite.  as meruem is a mixture of several DNAs, his body would take these characteristics and pass them on to his offspring, thus making it impossible for meruem clones to be literally born.

When the time of birth arrives, the umbilical cords are broken inside the womb and the puppies have a little more time until they run out of air. meruem chicks would pass through an internal passage that connected the belly to the tail. The puppies would then slide internally through Meruem's tail and the stingers on his tail would dilate only and only during birth to give way to the puppies. the placenta is digested by the meruem's own body, making it have more energy in the postpartum period. As the Meruem's tail is 140.8 cm long and 14.1 cm in diameter, the puppies are normally 12 cm or a maximum of 13 cm. Meruem's arms would also develop blisters that would be uniform and beautiful that would serve as temporary mammary glands that would disappear within 1 month.

but this natural mpreg process is something completely optional for meruem. If he doesn't want to, nothing will happen and no hormones will activate for him, being an alpha male

[nitholites]

I refuse to believe clover didnt immediately know who he was arresting when the crew first arrived in atlas

Qrow's an old huntsman- a skilled huntsman from a famous team. He's literally actively known as the best scythe master in remnant- even if we fans sometimes forgor that from time to time. Kids would have grown up hearing his name, seeing him on tv, knowing his face. He was probably like a kardashian or snoop dog or any other celebrity you dont really actively care about as a kid, but still know the name of

For a captain in atlus, who's (probably) only a couple of years younger than him? Clover probably saw the footage of team strq in tournaments and festivals! Live or within a few months! Probably looked at them and went 'that'll be me someday'- like the rest of his classmates did

Now, i can absolutely believe clover'd still be so smug in that moment. Imagine for a second, that you had the opportunity to stand above someone you idolized. Where you could beat them in their own game, if only for a moment. That'd be cool as hell- and idk bout you, but i'd certainly be smug about it for a while! (... before awkwardly apologizing and makin a lil joke over the situation, tbh)

Tldr, clover and the ace ops def knew who qrow was, and decided to arrest him anyway. Whether that was to fulfill a childhood dream or because they were just That Obidient and willfully ignorant to Ironwood is up for debate, but that doesnt change the fact that the ace ops were prolly giddy as hell when they took qrow and the group in

[walvure]

I'm Not a Prodigy, This Within Agony.

What a year. I never thought 2024 would mark the turning point of my life. It’s strange how life twists itself into something unrecognizable overnight. Every day, I found myself tangled in questions, wrestling with the highs and lows that defined my days, wondering how everything could change so suddenly. so irreversibly.

As 2024 began, I was full of anticipation, curious about what the year had in store. Soon, my questions were answered. I got accepted for a remote position, working from Shibuya, Japan. I remember that day so clearly. The rush of excitement, the feeling that everything was finally falling into place. I can confidently say those next few months were the best of my life. I mean, who wouldn’t feel on top of the world? I was earning more than I could have imagined three paychecks a month. I thrived in a diverse, fast paced environment, surrounded by brilliant minds, shouldering responsibilities I had only dreamed of. Life felt surreal, like a dream I was afraid to wake from. Every day I would think, this is too good to be true.

And yes it was too good to be true.

The sky, once so clear, began to darken. The signs were subtle at first small things breaking down, cracks in what once seemed flawless.

The sky was falling apart, piece by piece.

When it all finally collapsed, I was left standing in disbelief. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t process. It happened in the dead of night one of those quiet nights when there’s nothing to fear. And yet, everything crumbled before my eyes.

I was in shock, trying to convince myself it wasn’t real. I didn’t know how to fight back, but I tried. God, did I try. I did everything I could think of to save what was left. Every ounce of strength I had was thrown into “fixing” it, but deep down, I knew I was helpless. The words that echoed in my mind were “just keep going.” That was all I had.

But the truth is, I’m human. And no matter how hard you try, some things are meant to fall apart. And when they do, no force in the universe can hold them together.

I lost everything.

Still 2024. I lost the things I held dear the parts of me that gave my life meaning. And when you’ve lost so much, your mind goes to dark places. I started wondering if ending it all might be the only escape.

Emptiness settled in, like a heavy fog. Every day felt like a slow, creeping death. I was completely alone. Can anyone even see me? I thought, over and over. I felt as though I was disappearing. I wondered, if life keeps unraveling like this, will I even have someone by my side to face it with me?

And then, I met him.

The day you, Dicky Arya Nugraha, walked into my life felt like an accident, like fate throwing us together just to see what would happen.

I didn’t know him. I didn’t even like him at first. His confidence rubbed me the wrong way, and the way he spoke I hated it. I hated how sure he was of himself. Who was this guy? I couldn’t have cared less.

But then I noticed something, something small but undeniable. There was a light in his eyes, a kind of energy I hadn’t seen in anyone for a long time. It was there when he spoke to my friends, a spark that caught my attention.

Hope.

When I finally spoke to him, the first thing I said was, “Hey, we’re in the same shoes, aren’t we?”

But he denied it, almost defiantly. He didn’t want to be compared to anyone, to be leveled with anyone else’s pain. He thought he was different. But life has a funny way of proving things. it turns out our shoes, quite literally, were the same size.

I don’t know how I knew, but something deep inside told me he was the one. The one I had been waiting for, the answer to the question that had haunted me for so long: “When will help arrive?”

Out of nowhere, he became a part of my life. And now, he’s my boyfriend.

And we’re planning our engagement for next year.

Dear my future husband.

Dicky Arya Nugraha,

You are the light that pierces through my darkness. You are everything to me. From the moment I saw you, I knew. You’re strong, brave, and yet so full of tenderness. Your kindness is like a beacon. You push yourself beyond your limits, and somehow, through all the battles, you keep the fire in your soul burning bright.

You helped me find peace when I thought peace was impossible. You stood tall, right in front of me, shielding me when no one else could. You faced a world that seemed determined to break us, and yet, you refused to back down.

You love me despite everything. despite all the mess and chaos that I carry with me. When I thought you might leave, you fought for me harder. You loved me deeper.

Day by day, month by month, the hope inside me has grown stronger. And now, I can’t imagine a life without you in it.

Thank you.

No,

There are no words to express how grateful I am. I can never thank you enough.

You are the light that shines in my darkest hours.

and i proud of you, yang.

will always be.

[rhetoricandlogic]

David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

By: Gautam Bhatia

Issue: 9 December 2019

David Mogo is an ordinary Godhunter, scouring the streets of Lagos to find and capture stray gods in return for payment. For this is no ordinary Lagos: here, the city is populated by gods of all descriptions, who arrived there in an event known as the “Falling.” Now, they dominate one part of the city, which has become a no-go zone for humans. Mogo, a “demigod” of unknown descent, considers himself to be an ordinary guy, surviving in the new god-oriented economy by solving small problems, such as those caused by godlings stuck in water tanks.

But all that changes when Mogo accepts a lucrative assignment from Lukmon Ajala, a local Baálẹ̀, to capture two gods and bring them back to him. During the course of his assignment, Mogo realizes that there is more to it than meets the eye. Before he knows it, he is neck-deep into an ancient internecine struggle of the gods, a struggle whose consequences threaten to spill over into Lagos, and from there, into the rest of the world. It is a struggle that will envelop Mogo and those around him: Papa Udi, the old “divinery” (or “wizard”) who has brought him up, Taiwo and Kehinde, the twin gods he was supposed to hunt but who become allies, his absent god-mother (who turns out to be the goddess of war), and the women and men he meets along the way, struggling to survive in a god-besieged Lagos.

Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s debut novel takes us careening into contemporary Lagos, and the Yoruba pantheon. A blurb reference describes it as belonging to the “Nigerian Godpunk genre.” While the word “Godpunk” comes with its own historical baggage, it is perhaps a reasonable placeholder: Okungbowa writes in a gritty and fast-paced—but eloquent—register (people “cling to the shadows of the evening,” there is laughter like the “clatter of metal sheets in the wind,” and voices like a “whiff of black pepper in the air”); the story tracks the familiar theme of conflicting relationships between humans and deities on (primarily) human terrain; and finally, the conflict is (sought to be) resolved through a military confrontation, where god-powers clash spectacularly upon a human battlefield, in a war that is—quite literally—larger than life.

Beyond some of the overarching themes that place it within the “Godpunk” genre, however, what immediately stands out in David Mogo, Godhunter, is just how situated it is (“Growing up Nigerian, nights without lights are not new to me”). The novel is of the city of Lagos, much like Neverwhere (1996) is of the city of London, or Djinn City (2015) is of Dhaka. This doesn’t simply mean that the novel is set in the city; but rather, that the events of the novel are deeply entwined with the city’s geography (spatial, economic, and social) and daily life. Or, in other words, it is the city that gives the novel its identity, and it is impossible to imagine that novel set anywhere else. Okungbowa accomplishes this with a very rich visual—almost visceral—account of the locales of Lagos, from its lagoons to the airport (visual enough that I kept thinking, while reading, about how good a cinematic adaptation would look like!):

The smell of faeces in stagnant water is still there, overpowering. Papa Udi, Fatoumata, Femi and Shonuga cough and choke, wrapping their palms around their noses. Mosquitoes buzz around us. The familiar swish of lagoon water is a welcoming sound; I’ve missed it, holed up in that airport for months. I get a flash of Hafiz’s orange ankara cloth and Justice’s Pasuma Wonder t-shirt, and realise I’ve missed them too—I should stop by and greet them once we’re done here.

At the same time, however, these are unfamiliar locales. The colonial history of the world, and how we, its inhabitants, are given that world, ensures that (for example) to an Indian like me, the underground stations of Neverwhere will provide an immediate set of reference points. On the other hand, Lagos’s Third Mainland Bridge or the floating neighbourhood of Makoko (both of which constitute spectacular set pieces for some of the significant events of the novel) will not. Importantly, David Mogo, Godhunter elects not to give the reader those reference points: the reader is presumed to know of the Third Mainland Bridge or Makoko just as well as they know of Blackfriars or Islington; and she is presumed to know exactly what it means when the narrative voice wryly remarks, for example, that “trying to get the owners of divineries to band together for a common cause is like asking Hausa northerners and Igbo easterners to come together and eat from the same bowl.”

This is a risky authorial choice, but—I believe—a necessary one: because, if decolonisation is to mean anything, it must surely mean that books of London and of Lagos are read on their own terms, and there is no additional burden of translation upon the latter. In the end, the quality of Okungbowa’s writing, and the vividness of his descriptions make the problem of translation a moot one. Nonetheless, I did think—as I read the book alongside open Wikipedia links to Lagos’ geography—about the unfairness of a situation that requires a novel set in Lagos to either engage in geographic explanations, or be simply so good that the absence of explanation ceases to matter.

There is, of course, a similar issue when it comes to the gods themselves. “Godpunk” novels such as Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (2001), for example, or some of the works of James Lovegrove, are familiar and comforting in their pantheons, because familiarity with the Greek, Egyptian and Norse gods has become something of a lingua franca amidst the cosmopolitan, English-speaking population that constitutes English-language SF’s global constituency. Okungbowa’s Yoruba pantheon offers no similar comfort (in this respect, it is similar in some ways to Marlon James’ recent Black Leopard, Red Wolf [2019]). We begin our acquaintances with Olorun the creator from scratch, Esu the trickster and the god of the crossroads, Ọya, goddess of the river, and many many more. The loss—as we soon realise—has been ours all this while, and there is something quite fascinating (and, dare I say it, magical) in watching a fresh pantheon unfold before your eyes, where the gods (in general) do not act in ways that you expect gods to act, and gods (in particular) come unburdened with the weight of far too many layers of prior, English-language interpretation:

The god’s signature flashes across my consciousness: the beauty of sunset and waterfalls; the smell of raw incense; the sound of water from a fountain; a bell pinging underwater; a chalice—big and beautiful and royal—made for wealth alone; wine, drunk from this chalice, the back of my tongue tasting of grapes, but also of fish; a bleak day of mist and fog, but which is really a dream; the cry of a big fish, calling to its mates underwater. I reach out, heady with nausea, pushing my godessence, asking the signature questions of its origin.

There may come a day, of course, when we know exactly what Olokun will do with water, what the “sponge ritual” really is, and why shigidis exist; perhaps, on that day, novels will be trying to disrupt those expectations, and that will perhaps be the day that SFF is truly decolonized; but until that time, we can perhaps only be grateful that there are worlds yet left to discover, and writers like Okungbowa to guide us through them.

Finally, David Mogo, Godhunter is not just about spectacularly choreographed battle scenes amidst the wreckage of the neighbourhoods of Lagos. It is also a bildungsroman, tracing the interior life of David Mogo from hesitant demigod and general chancer, to one of the protagonists of an epic struggle, suddenly faced with the prospect of bearing the moral and ethical weight of the consequences of his decisions. Through Mogo’s evolving interactions with the people around him, Okungbowa also has the opportunity to bring on to the stage a host of keenly-drawn characters (gods and humans both), forming a network of relationships that is explored by a sensitive—and loving—authorial eye. Perhaps most interestingly, however, Okungbowa chooses to give his villains good arguments as well; so at the end of the novel, there is just that hint of lingering doubt about whether we’ve really been rooting for the good guys all this while.

You couldn’t ask much more of this “Nigerian godpunk novel”!

[ntls-24722]

Miguel actually used to have ill intentions! Well, less inherently malicious moreso just apathy. Humans would noclip through reality into her, and she would provide a way out, but most of the time they couldn't figure it out (considering the point of exit was just as inconspicuous as her entrance - Literally just a random spot somewhere in her. Unmarked, no signs pointing to it, the only way of finding it was exploration) and she'd watch them miss the exit over and over and just get stuck. For what could be thousands of real-world years until the offchance that you walk on that spot sends you home as a shell of your former self. In the real world, no time has passed, you have been sent back to the second before you clipped through.

It was like a more extreme version of having a fly in your room and leaving the window open so it can escape and it just keeps flying into the glass. For Miguel it was obvious, and she thought it would be obvious, considering it's how they got here. "It's through the same way you got in here, just GO." But thankfully Cameron was able to enlighten her, as someone who spent 4 months wandering one of her levels for his first time that the tenants have no idea how the exit looks like. Now the spot looks like it has a negative filter over it, and emits a creepy red glow.

Sorry for that first ramble, but I think it sets the stage for everything else - Miguel kind of understands breathing? Breathing still happens, but she wasn't aware that not breathing after a while is bad, so breathing is optional, which is honestly more of a perk considering there are poolrooms. Though, she also doesn't know that you can't just continue breathing underwater, so you can do that too.

Hunger, originally, I was going to say that hunger still happens and that if you can't find the exit you just starve to death, but I thought it was infinitely more messed up if you didn't need food and you could actually be stuck there forever. Hunger is based on how hungry you were when you arrived, and while you can eat, you will eventually return to however hungry you were at the start.

But age. Age doesn't happen. Cameron, in total, has spent 26 years inside Miguel, but all of that equals to mere milliseconds in his lifespan of 72 years.

But she is aware that he's old, and that he's aging. And it brings her genuine distress.

Cameron is the only person that she has had any interest in whatsoever, and that interest goes far beyond mild curiousity and into the point where she feels romantic feelings and genuine joy and wonder for him. And she has no idea how long he has left.

But she had a thought.

There is another dimension that she has created, one actually akin to what the "true backrooms" is. An infinite maze, infinite levels, one with no exit. It spans on forever with nothing but peaceful, whimsical rooms for him, filled with his dreams and everything else that she could even imagine he would enjoy. One where he'd stay, immortal, forever.

Every single time he enters Miguel she changes her mind on sending him there. He's got friends, he's got family. How long in that infinite maze before where he would forget his life on Earth? He would stop talking, he would go mute with nothing to talk about. He would resent her forever. He would grow sick and tired of this place, jaded with nothing more for it to offer after millenia - she can't provide joy for him forever. He would just shamble aimlessly through each level with nothing to say, nothing to feel, but hatred for the person he used to love.

But every single time he leaves she is worried that that is the last time she will ever see him. She can't go to the real world - if he died out there, she wouldn't even know it. She wouldn't even be able to visit the funeral. And she would go back to being just as unfeeling, uncaring, for everything and everyone within her for as long as time would allow it. And she will know, forever, that she missed her chance. That she had the opportunity to stop it all and she missed it.

He's better off alive than dead.

Maybe next time she'll muster up the courage.

in whatever djmm content i was lacking in before, i most certainly am not today

An early concept for Comet for the Oort cloud was that he should be both the puppet and the puppeteer. This was short lived.

This particular Prototype is Murphy and while his existence was short and ridiculous, the mask made for him stuck and the design for it is the design Comet wears today. This ridiculous handyman is the first "ancestor" of Comet

Also, Cameron!

I cannot explain how surprised i was at how postively yall received him, i thought he would have been a little too weird. He has returned and he is still fawning over his wife.

One thing in particular that he tends to ramble about is just... how the real world works. Miguel, while she can mimic reality very well, also does not know how certain things work - Flowers and plants have no roots underneath, anything mounted on the wall isn't held up by a nail or a string but instead just floats in place, and in some levels, there's nothing but light visible from windows. Cameron originally just talked to himself about "well that sure is strange, that's not how that works," but eventually began actually explaining to Miguel when he fell in love with her. Though he has also insisted that Miguel does not need to change these things - those are simply parts of Miguel, and that he likes her just the way she is.

Bonus: Comet and Fritz turned into birds and flying reptiles

The shoebill stork one is less based on likeness but more on the fact that Fritz's mannerisms and movements are actually inspired from that of a shoebill!

The anurognathus one however is solely based on the fact that this rendition looks exactly like Fritz.

Look at it.

It's even got a little mustache. The COLOR PALETTE's even kinda similar

[loxley-blair-lockhart]

[ Brush ] - Catelyn

"M' dad used to braid my hair." Loxley mumbled quietly. The two of them stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Loxley only talked in his sleep, and it was normally not very clear or very nice. Catelyn composed herself long before Dona, who sat at the stool next to the kitchen bench, half her hair in puffs of coarse, curly hair, and half of it braided neatly. He sat with them most of the time, taking everything in with dark, sad eyes, but he perked up at braiding time. He liked the smells of the little pots of various potions to help with their hair. Hair seemed like an important ritual to them and he never wanted to intrude, but he couldn't help being curious. Cat never pushed him to participate in anything they did, but she always encouraged his curiosity.

[[MORE]]

"Do you want to go next?" She asked casually, trying not to make it seem like the big deal that it was. Loxley nodded eagerly. Dona made a small excited squeak before Cat could click her tongue at her. It was best not to make a big deal, or he might get scared off.

Like a wounded animal, Loxley bristled when Cat first brushed her fingers through his hair. He felt a pang of guilt, of shame, of mourning. He missed his dad. Not his mum. More guilt. She still shouldn't have had to die like that... maybe. He felt a bit sick, but Dona pulled a chair right up next to him and sat with her knees touching his. "Can we match?" She asked her mother. The hair at the front of her head ran in rows to meet with two perfect puffballs in the back. Cat laughed before she could catch herself.

"Uh, no. Loxley's hair won't do that, sadly. He has a little curl, but nothing like that." Dona's shoulders sagged, but Loxley was undeterred. His braids had never looked like Dona's anyway. Cat played with Loxley's hair for a couple of minutes, brushed a few different things into it, and gave a small frustrated sigh. He looked back at her with a curious frown, and both Dona and Cat knew how to read his expressions by then.

"Oh, I've only ever braided black women's hair before honey, I'm just not sure what to do." She explained to him slowly, choosing her words carefully so he wouldn't scurry away. But by then, his trust was built. He snapped his fingers in the direction of Cat's phone, and Dona retrieved it faithfully. He started typing, "how to do a crown braid on straight hair." A video came up. Dona had shown him YouTube tutorials for months by then. Cat beamed. "Of course!"

He beamed with pride, his shoulders back, and stayed very still while they learned a new way to show love. He even wore a bonnet like Dona and Cat did, but it still didn't last very long. Loxley came to Cat in the morning of the third day, his blonde curls falling around his face. He was pulled into a tight hug while his foster mum tried not to cry with him. "It's okay! It's okay, I promise. It just means we can do it again! It's okay." She brushed tears from his eyes and Loxley felt little arms grab him around the waist, her head tucked against his back. "Can I have a turn braiding?" Dona piped up.

---

It was one of his fondest memories, and one of the first times he felt true peace after the trauma of losing everything he ever knew.