#Spaceship Bars are my FAVORITE

[marlynnofmany]

Honking Trouble

This job was a pain from the start. The customer was pushy, giving Captain Sunlight a run for her money on the diplomacy front — not bad enough for us to refuse to make the delivery, but pushing the boundaries — and the cargo was awkward. 

And since it was animals, that was my problem. 

“Keep your distance,” I told Zhee. “I think it can get its beak between the bars.” The cage was large and rickety, with bars a few inches apart. As if to prove me right, a long furry neck with a beak at the end stabbed outward and hissed at us. 

Zhee flared his pincher arms and hissed back, but the creature wasn't impressed. It just spread its batlike wings as far as the cage would allow and made a surprisingly deep honk that echoed through the cargo bay. 

I hadn’t read the documents yet about what kind of animal this was, from which planet, but if those documents turned out to say this was a genetic experiment in unwise combinations, I wouldn’t have been a bit surprised. It was vaguely goose-shaped, just with four feet instead of two, equipped with talons instead of webs, white fur instead of feathers, and a beak that ended in a wickedly sharp hook. After all the hawks and parrots I’d encountered back on Earth, that beak looked ready for either mischief or violence. Probably both.

At any rate, the goose-thing’s honk set off the tiny creatures in the other cage, which thankfully were better contained. That cage was a mesh sphere not about to let any of the little drifting dust motes out. As enchanting as it might be to have the spaceship filled with colorful bits of fluff that moved gracefully and made a chorus of tiny peeps, they just looked like allergies waiting to happen. And I didn't want to think about finding them behind the wall panels later. 

Zhee hissed at the furry demon goose again, clearly hoping to frighten it into submission. No luck. 

“Knock it off,” I told him. “That'll just make it louder. Here, help me get the lifter under the cage.” The customer had brought the cage onboard for us, but this wasn't a good spot for it. So it was up to me, the resident animal expert, to get it moved safely to a room more suited to animal cargo. Nobody wanted to sneak past this biter to get to the rest of the crates. 

Luckily we had a freshly refurbished hoversled with a lifting scoop that could slide under anything as long as the thing in question held still. I convinced Zhee to hold the cage stationary, since his exoskeleton was tougher than my fingers. The goose-thing pecked at him from an awkward angle. I worked the controls, and soon our misbehaving cargo was lifted up onto the sled. 

I looked over at the round cage full of chirping alien pixies. “Let's come back for that one.”  

“Agreed.”

The goose was quiet while we moved it down the hall, taking in the sights with all the attention of someone casing the joint. I told myself not to be too judgmental. Maybe it had never been on a spaceship before, and was curious.

Then Blip walked out of a side corridor, wearing her favorite flowy silk outfit that made her look like a muscley flower, and no: the goose was just looking for opportunities. It snapped at the nearest hem and almost got a beakful, but Blip moved just in time. Then she scolded it for almost ripping quality Frillian clothes.

“Do you know how hard this is to replace? Of course you don’t; you’re a rude animal.” She shook a blue finger at the unrepentant goose. Behind her, Blop appeared and aimed his own frown into the cage.

“Sorry,” I said. “Don’t get too close to this one. At least it was only aiming for your clothes, not something that would bleed.”

Blip folded muscular arms, flared her frills, and scowled. “It would have regretted that.”

I sighed, pushing the hoversled forward. “Don’t punch the cargo.”

Blip muttered as we left. There were no further incidents on the way into Storage Hold B, and the goose didn’t even try to bite us as we got the cage off the sled. It was busy inspecting the view: boxes, cabinets, and the large clear containment pen that had held troublemaking cargo before. It would have been nice to shove this guy in there, but the cage wouldn’t fit through the door, and there was no way I was going to voluntarily let it out.

“I’m watching you,” I told it as I followed Zhee back into the hall. Technically Kavlae was watching, or maybe Wio — whoever was in the cockpit behind the security cameras. They’d be making sure the onboarding process went smoothly before the ship took off.

I knew that, but I was still surprised to hear Kavlae’s voice on the hallway intercom a few minutes later.

“Walk faster,” she said from a single speaker. “It’s trying to open a box.”

“It can reach that??” I asked, pushing the hoversled more quickly. The aura puffs squeaked and twirled. (Their cage had a label, with a species description and the number of creatures inside. They were behaving.)

Zhee scurried ahead on his many bug legs to open the door. Before I could get there, he charged inside, hissing again. I heard answering hisses and the sound of a crate being scraped across the floor.

Once I got the aura puffs into the room, I found Zhee inspecting a gnawed-on box corner with splinters on the floor. The goose looked pleased with itself.

I asked, “What’s the damage?”

“Nothing significant,” Zhee said. “Luckily this is our own ship’s supplies, not something for a client.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t look good.” I parked the sled. “‘Here’s your delivery! You don’t mind a little artistic nibbling about the edges, do you?’ I’m sure that would go over well.”

Zhee shoved a couple other boxes further back and helped me set the aura puffs a safe distance away. Then, under Kavlae’s watchful eye, we went back to the cargo bay for some non-animal cargo.

The intercom chimed before we got there. “It’s trying to pick the lock on its cage,” Kavlae said, still on single-speaker mode. “I don’t know if it c— Oh no, it’s out.”

I left the sled in the middle of the hallway and ran, with Zhee right behind me.

Speakers all along the hall chorused, “It opened the other cage.”

I said a very unprofessional word and charged forward to slam my hand on the door-opening panel. Expecting the one cargo to be actively eating the other, I dashed inside, only to be knocked off my feet by the goose making a break for it. I fell amid clouds of happily chirping aura puffs.

Zhee lunged for the goose, but it dodged what would have been a very painful hug from his pincher arms, and I heard it honking triumphantly down the hall. Zhee ran after it while the whole-ship intercom chimed.

“Escaped cargo. It is large and likes to bite. Currently heading towards the crew lounge. Captain, permission to use stun guns on the cargo?”

After a moment, Captain Sunlight answered from somewhere else on the ship. “Permission granted. All available crew, arm yourselves and proceed with caution. Kavlae, keep us posted on its whereabouts.”

Trying not to feel like a failure, I scrambled to my feet and checked a cabinet for stun guns. Found one. Waving the aura puffs away from the door, I regretfully left them floating about the storage hold while I chased after the bigger problem. Zhee had already disappeared.

I met Trrili in the hall.

“How dangerousss is thisss animal?” she asked, looming over me and flexing her pincher arms in delight.

“I don’t think it wants to seriously hurt anyone, but I can’t say for sure,” I said. “It might go for the eyes if it’s cornered. Try not to damage it.”

“Frrrrightening causesss no damage,” Trrili said, and flashed away down the hall.

I ran after.

Kavlae reported, “It’s in the crew lounge, searching the furniture, probably looking for food. This could be a good place to corner it.”

Trrili waited in position outside the lounge when I arrived, crouched like a spider ready to spring. Zhee was moving toward the kitchen entrance to flank it. A flash of yellow scales at the other end of the hall was Captain Sunlight hurrying forward with a stun gun aimed at the floor. The goose made a muffled honk from inside the lounge, crunching something that sounded like snack food scavenged from under the couch.

I stopped behind Trrili and waited for everyone to get into position. Two threatening predators and two stun guns ought to be a recipe for success against one alien goose.

Then the goose dashed into the kitchen before Zhee could get there, and the whole plan went out the window.

Trrili raced after it. Zhee got in the captain’s way. I reached the kitchen in time to see the creature hiss in defiance before prying open a cabinet door.

It might have thought that was an exit. In reality, it was Paint’s hiding spot, and she shrieked fit to shatter eardrums, curling into a ball of scales and panic.

That was enough of a distraction for Mimi to drop from the high shelf he’d been waiting on, and wrap the demon goose in all of his tentacles. It was surprisingly effective.

That’s not the plan, but I’ll take it.

Everyone was shouting and in the way. I followed Mimi’s example and climbed onto a counter, where I could get a clear shot with the stun gun and not hit him.

I stunned the goose in the butt, and it finally stopped flapping.

It took a while for all the yelling to subside, but the captain wriggled past Zhee and Trrili to declare no harm done. Kavlae told the rest of the ship. Mimi untangled himself from the goose, who had frozen in an inconvenient position. Paint stayed in the cabinet. Zhee clicked away to get the hoversled, then stopped when Trrili simply dragged the goose towards the hold.

Captain Sunlight looked up at me. “Good shot.”

“Thanks,” I said, getting down from the counter. I’d have to wash the footprints off that later. “Paint, it’s safe to come out.”

Mimi was already coaxing her out of the cabinet, offering some of the snacks that she’d apparently been eating when she heard the alert about the dangerous animal.

Speaking of which, I thought. With Paint in good hands (or the equivalent), I hurried after the others. I heard Captain Sunlight say a few words to Paint and Mimi before following.

So we got to put the goose in the Clear Pen For Naughty Animals after all. This pen didn’t have anywhere it could stick its beak out of once the stun wore off, only mesh-covered air vents way at the top and a door that locked (very reliably) from the outside.

Take that, you troublemaker.

We caught the aura puffs carefully by hand (or the equivalent), and put them back in their own cage. Thankfully the goose hadn’t damaged the latch, just opened it with bird-brained cleverness.

“It’s just those last two left,” Captain Sunlight said after counting. “Up there.”

The two in question were floating higher than her little lizardy arms could reach, so I moved to do the honors. As I did, Blip and Blop arrived with the bug-catching net that no one had been able to find earlier.

They also brought with them a feline blur that I caught mid-leap, just before Telly snatched an aura puff out of the air.

“Not for you,” I said, heart beating wildly. “Let’s get you some proper cat treats that don’t belong to a paying customer.”

Blip and Blop exclaimed loudly at Telly’s speed, my reaction time, and the fact that they’d had no idea she was there; they were sorry they almost got the cargo eaten.

Captain Sunlight repeated, “No harm done.” She waved me off to my quarters with the disgruntled cat, and spoke to the others about plans to notify the customer of just what kind of danger fee he’d brought upon himself by not properly securing his chaos-causing animal.

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[doumadono]

I just wanna know why so many adult mha smut creators say they age up minors as if it justifies their attraction to them. Would you say it's okay to age up Eri too?

Ah, aging-up fictional characters, my favorite controversial topic! ♥ You know, I was low-key anticipating an anon to drop this kind of question, sooner nor later (what a pity you didn't have balls to come off-anon tho!). I've had my fair share of childish anons before, and trust me, those went straight into the digital dumpster. But hey, this time, I've decided to lay it all out on the table, crystal clear 🙅‍

You know, I've done it all – murder, rape, summoned demons, even glorified Satan and had several children killed in my stories. But guess what? Not a single pair of handcuffs in sight! 😎 And don't get me started on the horror section at any bookstore - it's like a buffet of dreadful deeds.

Let's be real, the purity police can take a hike. There's something oddly fishy about the fact that fanfic, mostly crafted by awesome writers, gets the brunt of the criticism or some ridiculous accusations, especially the smutty bits, while the gruesome stuff gets a free pass 🤷

Look, folks, it's all about context. Fiction is a realm where creativity knows no bounds, right? So, if I want to age-up a character for a mature storyline, I'll go for it 🤷 Look, it's all a part of the creative process. Fiction is like a playground where we can swing from the monkey bars of imagination, right? Aging-up fictional characters is a common practice in creative communities, and it's important to remember that these characters exist solely within the realm of fiction - they are not real, so it doesn't hurt them in any single way. It allows creators to explore different scenarios and relationships without crossing any ethical boundaries :) Also! Aging-up characters isn't some sneaky scheme to write "inappropriate" content about youngsters. It's about taking characters you adore or find fascinating and giving them a new lease on life. It's like those college AU fanfics for characters in their late 30s or kidfic for full-grown adults. It's all about exploring different phases of their lives. So, whether it's smutty or not, the essence remains the same 😎 You see, the whole "aging-up" thing in fanfic/fanart is just common sense. We're not into the whole "let's sexualize kids" scene, so we gracefully turn our characters into adults. It's all about creating content featuring responsible, grown-up folks. And let's get real, if reading about something meant you were all in on it, then every mystery novel reader out there would have to be either an undercover detective nor a murderer 😎 So let's dial down the judgment and just enjoy our creative freedom, shall we?

But you know, trying to equate aging-up with things like grooming/pedophilia is like saying eating a banana is the same as piloting a spaceship because they're both hands-on activities. Let's keep our perspective here, folks, and not get too carried away with the terminology 😂

If you don’t want to read those stories (containing aged-up characters/dark content/smut with aged-up characters) - then don’t read them - problem solved!

Oh, how times have changed, my friend! Back in the day, I used to let all those comments and anonymous hate bring me down. But guess what? I've evolved, and I've got news for the critics: I write what I want to write, and nobody's gonna tell me otherwise. I've got this little thing called free will, and I'm not about to hand it over to anyone who thinks they can dictate what I should or shouldn't put on paper. If that means ruffling a few feathers, so be it. I've shed my tear-soaked days and embraced the fact that I couldn't care less about those sensitive souls who can't handle a bit of fiction. So, to all you "snowflakes" out there, if you're trying to stifle my creativity, good luck, because I'm just going to crank up the heat and write even smuttier storylines with aged-up characters! Thanks for the encouragement, dear Nonnie – you've only fueled my fire! 🔥😎 I might even consider writing some very dark-themed fic with aged-up Eri, why not! 😈

Oh, hey Anon! Quick question for you. Have you ever picked up a Stephen King book? You know, the master of horror and suspense? Well, if you have, you might've noticed that he doesn't shy away from some pretty explicit content, and not just with adults. Sometimes he writes about kids too, and they're sometimes off legal age as well! Surprise, surprise. You can stroll into a bookstore, grab a book off the shelf, and guess what? There's a good chance that some of those books contain content that would make a sailor blush! Yet, the world isn't collapsing because of it. The point is, even in mainstream literature, you'll find situations that might make you raise an eyebrow. So, let's not throw stones at age-up fiction creators when the literary giants sometimes walk on the same edge, right? 😏

In the conclusion, if you've got a problem with aging-up fictional characters, dear Nonnie, you might want to take a chill pill and remember that it's all just a bit of fun in the end ♥ Well, you know what would truly make my day? If you took the liberty to hit that "block" button with glee and gracefully vanished from my interactions. And if, by some chance, you decide to stick around, don't hold your breath for a response. I'll be too busy conjuring up some fiery, smutty tales featuring Bakugo or Shoto or any other character I like to bother with your, shall we say, less-than-enlightening queries. But hey, chin up, pal – here's a little nugget of wisdom from your "older and wiser" friend: go get a life. It's an absolute game-changer 😜 I'm tagging some content creators who write dark fics or use aged-up characters and might face similar anons/anon hate: @mrskokushibo @ectologia @kyojurismo @bakubunny

[alien-ln-disguise]

Something I love doing when I study or do homework is listen to these two ambiance videos made by Ambience Lab on YouTube!

I use the bar ambience more when I study and the spaceship ambience when I’m reading my space books or when I nap/sleep. I like to imagine that my room is a room on a space ship, and that outside of it is basically the Axiom from Wall-E (my favorite Pixar film btw lol)

For the bar ambience, I like to imagine that I’m doing my homework in the bar. When I was sick one day and incredibly unmotivated, I created a character I’d talk to as a way to try to trick my brain that I’m body doubling. This character is named Ilef (pronounced Eye-Lef) who is an amphibious alien with tentacle arms and cuttlefish eyes. I’ll show him off later as I don’t have a full drawing of him just doodles and sketches. He studies languages in the galaxy and will sometimes study the culture the language originates from. This is the reason why he knew English perfectly. The lore in my head is that we met at this bar and we both needed someone to body double and we ended up becoming friends. We keep each other in check by letting the other know that they’re distracted and to go back to studying.

I love these two videos very much, not only do they help me, but it makes me feel closer to something I unfortunately will never reach.

[takaraphoenix]

My Ranking of D20 Campaigns

So I actually managed to watch all of them (or all that are out so far; not counting the still ongoing Junior Year yet) and since I like making lists, I drafted this post early on to keep track of which I love the most and how that love changed whenever I started watching a new campaign.

A Starstruck Odyssey

The Seven

A Court of Fey and Flowers

The Unsleeping City: Chapter II

The Unsleeping City

Mice and Murder

Burrow’s End

Fantasy High: Sophomore Year

A Crown of Candy

Pirates of Leviathan

Escape From the Bloodkeep

Coffin Run

Dungeons and Drag Queens

Mentopolis

Misfits and Magic

Fantasy High

Ravening War

Tiny Heist

Neverafter

Shriek Week

This was actually really, really hard, because the recency bias usually has me go “this is SO SO GOOD”.

I started watching D20 back in April last year, Misfits and Magic was the first campaign I watched - and The Seven was, I think, maybe the fifth or so? And it was my number one for the longest time. I love the girls, both the characters and the players, I love the plot, I love everything about that campaign. It is so heart-wrecking with the emotions it goes through for them all.

But then I watched A Starstruck Odyssey and it just hit all the right spots - the found family crew of a spaceship having wacky space-adventures is just something I deeply, deeply love and these characters were so much fun - and has the benefit of being longer and giving me more to fall in love with, I suppose. Still though, the difference between first and second is very narrow.

And I consider 4 and 5 a tie, to be honest. The Unsleeping City is one story, to me, I know the seasons are very distinct, but the flow of it and also my love for both is near equal. This campaign has the highest concentration of favorite PCs for me, like, when I made a list of my favorite Intrepid Heroes characters, their TUC characters all came in as either first or second place. Sophia Lee is the best Emily character ever, I will fight for her.

I am so madly, deeply in love with A Court of Fey and Flowers, which features my favorite PC romance so far, plus an impeccable cousin dynamic between Lou and Emily, also... there’s no fighting. While most fights are somewhat entertaining in DnD, I still remain Just Not An Action Gal and could skip on those in favor of more roleplaying scenes of character development and relationship exploration. And this campaign absolutely hit that spot just right. Plus, the fantasy fairy setting, and Aabria’s wonderful storytelling (how is this woman so talented? She was my first introduction to DnD as a DM, and then I got to see her as a player in the Seven and Pirates of Leviathan and she makes such great choices as a player too).

This list was ridiculously hard to make, because I look at it and I see Mice and Murder only on 6th place even though that definitely was the campaign where I had the hardest time to stop watching, I pulled an all nighter to watch half of it because it had the greatest grip on me, but then I look at the ones I placed higher than it and I can’t find it in me to move any of them lower either.

Recency bias definitely made placing Burrow’s End very hard. Not to repeat myself, but I am madly, deeply in love with Aabria’s storytelling. Combined with talking animals, the family focus, Brennan playing a mom as a PC (moms are my favorite Brennan characters), I have a lot of love for this campaign and I hope so badly that we’ll get a second part.

And here’s the reason why I couldn’t count TUC as one. Because Fantasy High: Sophomore Year ranks so much higher than the first FH for me. This was such a fun, ridiculous story, and it introduced my two favorite NPCs of all campaigns; Ayda and Garthy. It set the bar for FH3 really high and I am looking at Brennan to keep up the great work.

A Crown of Candy is well-placed in the middle. I am not the biggest fan of tragedies and definitely not into character death, but the characters and the world, are so very compelling still, even if I prefer the ones that died over the replacement characters - and that’s what puts it in the middle. Good, but could have been better.

Pirates of Leviathan was short but the characters, the players. Aabria is so so so good in this, it kills me. And she’s not alone. Bob is one of the greatest PCs of Dimension 20, to me, and that is vastly due to Krystina’s talent.

Escape From the Bloodkeep is one of the most surprising campaigns for me. This is a LotR parody that turned out to be way too heartfelt and much more found family than expected and it is great.

And Coffin Run is honestly one of the funniest D20 campaigns and I am wildly in love with about every single decision Izzy Roland made in this campaign. I am also entirely and absolutely gay for every decision Erika Ishii made.

Dungeons and Drag Queens was a very... standard adventure, but the players were so much fun to see. This would honestly be such a good campaign to start your D20 journey with, because the way Brennan eases them in and explains everything is so wonderful, and the excitement and joy of everything new they’re trying is contagious.

Mentopolis was cute, though I’m not big on noir and detective stories so that factors into why it ranks relatively low for me, even though the players and the characters were amazing. Dan Fucks is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

And though the very first campaign I watched, Misfits and Magic didn’t make it too high. Some of it is the bytaste of HP, which I have come to just... not be able to stand anymore even though I am well aware that it’s a parody of it, and the other factor is the length. It’s hard to compete with 10 to 12 episode campaigns, that had so much more time to flesh out dynamics, worlds and characters and make me fall in love with them all, and that’s not really a reflection of the quality of this campaign.

I remain not much of a fan of the first Fantasy High. Maybe because I watched The Seven before this so when I watched FH, it gave me more of a feeling of “why is there a prequel spin-off about Zelda’s boyfriend who never had a proper appearance anyway? My girls should have bigger roles in this??”, but I largely feel that FH1 was more set-up, and the Bad Kids and their story really took off for me in the sequel, which I greatly enjoyed.

While I enjoyed the characters and the players’ dynamic in Ravening War, I am just... I guess I’m generally not much into “and it’s all futile anyway because I know how the story continues and these guys are not in it”? Matter of taste, I guess, but if that has to compete with others, it will lose.

Honestly, I enjoyed Tiny Heist when I watched it and I don’t dislike it, but it’s just so short and didn’t have anything that incredibly stood out to me in a manner that gripped me, so it had a hard time competing with other campaigns that gave me something I deeply fell in love with. 

I don’t like Neverafter, it had some good characters in it but on the overall this absolutely did not vibe with me. Which is a huge disappointment for me as a lover of fairy tale crossovers, but the dark horror approach does not work for me at all.

The only thing that was easy was the bottom of this list, honestly. Shriek Week was, hands down, the only campaign I absolutely did not enjoy. The storytelling was a mess, even before watching the Adventuring Party for it, it was clear that the whole ~villain plot~ was improvised and I still wish it had just... not... been in there.

[woodsy-hoe]

the aim of the game is to answer and then tag some mutuals you wanna know better or catch up with. tagged by @rivercreature thank you friend <33

favorite color(s): dark/forest green and teal

last song played: bad habit by steve lacy

currently reading: re-reading annihilation by jeff vandermeer for the millionth time bc it's a permanent fixture on my side table

currently craving: a vacation back home to see my friends and to be in a gay bar until 2am dancing and having fun with said friends </3

coffee or tea: i'm either a green tea or latte girly; i don't discriminate bc both are good for different situations :-)

i'm tagging @sparklehoard @thewanderingdoodler @forestofsprites @cold-ugly-confused @spaceship-meri @faantasizee @gfdelmar @hanhowls @girlyblunts @forestslut @5yin @goblinofkingscounty @mythicalmanicphantom and anyone else who wants to do this since i have so many wonderful and amazing mutuals!

[creepyfruit]

Favorite Exocolonist characters? And maybe least favorites if you have any?

I'll give you my character tier list (I decided to include only the kids idk maybe I'll make a separate one for adults)

Answer under the cut ↓

My least fav is obviously Vace. I don't think I need to elaborate but to make it clear l, I haven't ever tried to befriend him so I don't know much about him other than his obsession with killing things, being abusive and a bully.

Next I'll have to put Nomi Nomi not because I don't like them but simply because I've never went out of my way to befriend them so I don't really have an opinion.

Cal was my best friend in my first play through so it hurts me to put him so low but he deserves it. Listen mate I love animals as much as the average gal but you're doing too much. The victim blaming as well?? I'm sorry that I was born on a spaceship set to colonize an alien planet, what did you want me to do? Swim through space and go back to earth? Also your girlfriend's dad died a horrid death and that's still all you have to say? Pacifism isn't a good look on an environment like this one.

Rex is a great dude, there's nothing I dislike about him, he's just simply not as interesting as the others.

Tammy is also kind of on the same boat. I did have a lot of hearts with her on my second play through and helping her be more confident was a very enjoyable journey, she is obviously very kind and empathetic and that makes her incredibly likable. I wish she had some flaws to make a bit more realistic.

This is where things get tough because all the next characters are kinda close but Nem will have to take this one. I romanced her in my most recent play through and she really is just the cutest... until Kom dies and she adopts the whole Helio package. She did become slightly annoying even though I understand her trauma. It's good that you can help her grow out of it, that gives her bonus points. A fun character with some nice character development.

And here comes everyone's fav boy Dys. It took a lot of trying to befriend him, he made it very hard for me and I liked that. I liked how they made him weird and antisocial, he wasn't the misunderstood boy that no one likes but rather it's actually the opposite. His relationship with Tang is so beautifully complex I love every part of it although I still haven't gotten them to reconcile (that damn bar will be the death of me). I would have put him much lower if it wasn't for the exploration buddies relationship that he had with Sol because the most unlikable thing about him (that I honestly never understood) is his obsession with the gardeners. Maybe it's my lack of understanding or the fact that I never really went down that road (making him a gardener/befriending Sym) because it creeps me out but I just don't like his views on the subject. And also I hate his relationship with Sym, nothing cute about a 100+ yo alien praying on a 16 yo boy.

Marz is a character that I thought I was going to hate straight from my first play through. She seemed like the typical mean girl character, who's very pretty has a lot of money is obsessed with clothes and stuff and also bullies every one just because but she's not exactly like that. Sure she has kudos and status and loves her fashion but she has genuinely kind intentions behind her "bullying". She doesn't understand how words can hurt because due to her augument they can't hurt her, she thinks she's helping Dys fit in with her comments and she doesn't want him to be lonely. She's naturally a very commanding person and a true leader but she isn't looking for mindless sheep, she wants you to have self respect and a backbone and I love her for that. Also bonus points to our girl for helping us overthrow the government. I have to say though, all the above doesn't excuse the fact that she can be seriously mean sometimes, but we love her regardless.

My favourite girl, my sweet baby Tangent, who's gone through so much but no matter what you do she doesn't really get a happy ending. I had my eye on her the moment I saw her (her child sprite reminded me of Ino from Naruto that's why) and she was my first romance. Obviously that didn't end well cause my first ending turned out to be tangent's cure (I thought I was just helping my gf bro) and now I'm scared to even talk to her thinking I'll trigger it again but I love her non the less. She's such a complex character I could talk about her for days (special thanks to the person with the multiple tangent discussion posts) her relationship with Dys, the obviously toxic and abusive relationship with Instance, her importance to a whole colony at such a young age, the fact that she's held to adult standards which results in self harming habits and her loneliness, her struggle with mental illness and the death of her mother. I'm writing everything down in a synopsis pretty much because if I start I won't stop. I also love how this abusive relationship was handled compared to Nem and Vace. No matter what you say she won't see how bad Instance is for her and the product of all this abuse is ultimately horrible for her. It adds a realism that hurts to death but is necessary. I also adore her character because it gives us a reminder that not everyone gets a happy ending in life, sometimes the things people go through never really leave them, although admittedly I would kill to see my baby happy, she deserves it.

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. earlier tonight, my eyes were cursed with star trek generations, a very very bad movie. if you don't know the big spoiler for this movie (the character death), please stop reading here. or keep reading actually i'm not your mom. fuck this movie anyway.

with the tos movies, i tried to keep notes on notepad as i watched so as to better type up a "liveblog" later. i was a bit spotty at remembering to do that this time, but i have enough to put together a reasonable write-up. here's kind of how it went

cried multiple times during this movie. first time was when kirk showed up because i knew it was the last time we were ever gonna see him. got bonus aftershock tears when i saw scotty and chekov - i was under the impression it was JUST kirk. second time, i THINK, was when he showed up again, though i just misted up a little. big boo-hooing when he mentioned spock, naturally. MORE crying when he finally bit it, though it was mostly because i was angry!!! and finally, even though i promised myself i wouldn't cry over data, i did start sobbing when he was reunited with his cat. gave myself a crying headache.

it was difficult watching kirk be on the bridge and want to be captain and he's not captain. and then crisis strikes and oh yeah he is. and really, the captainly thing to do WAS to go down to the lower decks and do whatever the fuck. needs of the many. he saved that guy's life. that would have been a fine death.

it was a little ruined by chekov going "was there somebody in there?" like to me it struck me more as funny than anything

oh, spotting guinan in the tos era made me absolutely thrilled btw. i missed her so much in s7 it was UNREAL.

OH YEAH AND. sulu's daughter. wah. ik aos sulu is gay do we think tos sulu is gay too. either way i;m very happy for him

apparently one of the guys in this is from succession. i'm choosing to blame this whole debacle on him.

switching directly to a fucking holodeck scene KILLED me. i HATE the holodeck. at first i thought they were giving worf a retirement party to send him to ds9 but they were just doing all of that for fun. deanna's outfit was hot though. also, data shoving beverly WAS FUNNY tng writers just hate autistic people

i have mixed feelings about data and the emotions chip. i was surprised they never covered it in tng proper and i think it would have been handled better there...data having the chip WAS the reason soren got away, which makes it plot-important, but it felt like a b-plot to a normal tng episode and this is supposed to be a feature film. instead it was a tng two-parter with a budget and william shatner. it was fun watching data experience emotions (happiness, terror) and struggle to control them, but there ironically wasn't enough time to really get into it, except when picard gave him the tough love speech, which i think was uncalled for. why is he so against suicide when it's data when he was out here telling worf to kill himself over an empty barrel??

titty klingon sisters. i never remember their names or their faces but i ALWAYS recognize those boob windows. at first it was really annoying because it is pretty sexist but honestly i've become very endeared. it's absolutely devastating that this movie killed them too. they were everything to me 💔

hey, sorry, side bar, were they watching geordi bathe through his visor? freaks.

also, geordi in the bondage gear while he was kidnapped. ALSO, wasn't he growing new eyes in the tng s7 finale? whatever happened with that???

stellar cartography looks better than it did in tng but it brought back memories of picard running around on poor beverly. idk what he's so worried about continuing his family line for wesley crusher IS his affair baby

hey, also, the lighting??? the "distant sunlight" atmosphere when the lights are off vs the brightly lit interior of the show? truly, the upgraded lighting was probably my favorite part of the movie. it looked SO fucking good. i really felt like we were on a spaceship.

no, wait, ACTUALLY my favorite part was data getting to say "oh, shit!" that was really good. they got one bad word for this whole movie and used it in the perfect place

no, my favorite part was the spock mention.

did not like kirk referring to picard repeatedly as the captain of the enterprise. kirk's the real captain here, bitch. picard doesn't have what it takes to die for his ship. he doesn't love his ship the way kirk loved his.

i did like the nexus reference to the tmp wife. in the novel she was named lori but she didn't show up in tmp proper much less get a name so i'm ok with them calling her the wrong name, but i just know it's the same woman. less okay with kirk's nexus dream being all about some random woman we've never met. he's in love with the IDEA of a woman to come home to, sure, but it's just lazy writing. we don't have any reason to care about this girl. at least if it had been carol ruth marcus or something we'd have SOME basis to give a shit on. the nexus was the perfect place for spock and bones! i wish they and uhura and sulu had had cameos...

i also liked him warning picard to NEVER retire/accept promotion, bc retiring wound up being so traumatizing for him. this is not really consistent but i'm making it that way in my mind palace.

also, kirk being a horse girl is FAKE. they just made him be into horses bc picard is into horses. gross. he was really good at chopping wood though lol

the scene with the kids evacuating the spaceship...WHY WOULD YOU HAVE CHILDREN ON THIS SHIP. i also worried about the pets the entire time, which is part of why i lost it when data found spot :(

it's sad that a piece of guinan was left behind in the nexus...does that happen to everyone? is a piece of kirk in there too? i really wanted to write a fix-it for this someday but they have given me so little to work with that it's hard to imagine a fixit that isn't just 80% "yeah we're ignoring that" which isn't very satisfying.

the crash was SO long. also, why was data holding troi? she's got 2 different boyfriends who could be doing that for her

since i was going into this knowing kirk died, i expected that he was gonna die because the nexus swallowed him or something. i was expecting something grand. instead it was like, tos scene, an hour and a half of very mid tng content, and then half an hour of rushed and poorly paced kirk and picard scenes. typical tng episode that it didn't get to the point until it was almost over, but jesus. i can't believe they got shatner for their movie and then barely had him in it. like, kirk at the end was a total surprise narratively (obviously everyone watching it knows bc of the opening at LEAST that he'll be back, but imagine if this guy had been some rando - it would have been so unsatisfying and weird).

see, this is the thing. the nexus actually has the potential to be incredibly compelling. the way picard's scenes were shot were very very good, if one could ignore the clothes from 1790 and the horrific portrait of himself looking like he stepped out of les mis and also how creepy his kids were and WHY WASN'T HIS WIFE BEVERLY I HATE HIM. kirk's were rushed and messy (he likes horses? his dog? none of this connects us to the character we knew in tos...), and picard's involved, well, picard. but the CONCEPT absolutely fucks, and i did love the creep factor in spite of it all. this whole movie had huge potential and instead it's a steaming pile of shit. i could have learned to live with a good kirk death but living with a bad one is gonna kill me. at least he had good last words. "oh, my" right before he dies kinda fucks tbh.

my final note is that i think sir patrick stewart got sunburnt filming some of those scenes near the end. there were a few shots where he looked quite pink. give the man some sunscreen. oh yeah also why did some people randomly wear the ds9 uniforms...what on earth

anyway, terrible movie, 0/10 stars, i'm never gonna recover. tng never disappoints in disappointing me.

NEXT TIME: back to ds9, thank god. we're doing "meridan" and "defiant."

[raccoonfallsharder]

Reconnaissance for Beginners: An Instruction Manual ✩°｡⋆

The Fourteenth Visit. (excerpt below the cut) Domestic Scenes in Space Travel ✩ Installment Three

18+ only MDNI | no use of y/n | f!reader | oneshot | complete | word count: 14,329.

date night. in a gesture of true romance, rocket takes you to a dive bar. of all the stories he's shared with you, his favorites are the ones where he gets saved by the space princess. not that he'd tell you that. ✧⋆｡°✩ loosely based on Rocket (2017): The Blue River Score. excerpt behind the cut.

WARNINGS: smut with feelings & domestic bf/gf silliness & fluff. orgasm delay & overstimulation, references to exhibitionism, dirty talk, praise, use of "slut"/"whore" (affectionate).

read Reconnaissance for Beginners: An Instruction Manual on ao3 ❤︎‬❤︎

✩ Domestic Scenes in Space Travel Masterlist ✩ Fuckin adorable sweatshirt girl art by @blueberrysquire back one installment ✩ forward one installment

“You’re fighting again?”

“M’ flarking done with ‘em this time,” Rocket says flatly. “Can’t trust ‘em.”

You roll your eyes from your place snuggled into the corner of the loveseat. You’ve been browsing zillow, looking for some tiny house in a cheaper area - somewhere outside the city, with a yard big enough to park a spaceship, apparently - when the sound of a key in the lock had alerted you to another unexpected visit from Rocket.

Unexpected, unannounced - but not unappreciated. Every time he stops by feels better than the last.

This time is different, though. This time, his face is stormy, brow furrowed, and he’s pacing the living room while muttering and cursing under his breath. Even with your new translation chip, you can’t figure out what the hell he’s saying - all you know is that he’s pissed.

“Who knew the Guardians of the Galaxy break up more times than a high school garage band,” you murmur mildly, half-under your breath. Rocket’s hand snakes out on his next pass in front of you, and he pinches your thigh in retribution.

“Hey!” you squeal in protest, slapping your laptop shut and wriggling away. “Motherfucker!”

“Just looking for a little sympathy from my flarking girlfriend,” he sulks, leaping onto the other side of the loveseat, and you freeze in the middle of your playful scramble over the arm of the furniture.

“Your - “ You blink. “That’s… me, right?”

He cuts you a dead-eyed glare. “I swear to every god in this flarking universe, Sweatshirt Girl - “

“It’s me,” you interrupt quickly, nodding. “It’s me. Yup. I’m the girlfriend.”

read more on ao3 ✩°｡⋆

some explicit statements or references ✩ explicit scenes or fantasy sequences ❤︎‬ long, detailed, and graphic explicit content ❤︎‬❤︎‬ deliberately smut-free, mostly or entirely platonic ✮

[petitelepus]

so transformers (any series) with a human/ghost reader. They find a seemingly abandoned planet, but turns out it wasn’t abandoned fully. The race that used to inhabit it (humans) have all died out yes, but some have stuck around as a thing called ghosts.

(Could be another humans are cute one like the apocalypse request you got a bit ago)

It's been so long since you last saw another living creature. For some reason, when you died you didn't go to Heaven or Hell, the next life, or whatever happened after death.

No, you stayed around as a ghost and it was honestly such a lonely life to spend alone with no one to talk to except yourself. Since the apocalypse, any evidence of humankind was year by year wiped away.

The huge skyscrapers and buildings fell into ruins, plants took over the huge cities and animals roamed the lands.

Then it all changed when this alien spaceship with it came to these giant alien machines. They took one look at your planet and saw how the apocalypse had destroyed its human population.

They didn't stay long, but they didn't need to. All you needed was a second and you had you left the Earth's atmosphere with the Bots.

After years of loneliness, you were so glad for another intellectual species! You looked around this ship called Lost Light and learned about its residents.

It was exciting and interesting to follow their lives, but you didn't want to be an invisible and mute bystander anymore.

No, you decided to haunt the Lost Light and so you took control of the huge ship.

Your presence was noticed immediately when you complimented Rodimus for almost making a perfect black flip to his chair.

Or when you asked Ultra Magnus if he would like you to record the next captains' meeting.

Then there was a time when you took over the music in Swerve's bar night and played some of your favorite party songs.

"Do we have a virus or something?" Rodimus asked as he, Megatron, and Ultra Magnus were having a meeting about the weird occurrences.

You smiled as you watched them talk through the cameras.

"I assure you, captain, I'm no virus." Your voice echoed in the speakers and Rodimus nearly jumped out of his armor, "What the frag are you!?"

"Oh, I'm an organic lifeform called a human, from planet Earth."

"But-!" Ultra Magnus blinked, "Humans are dead?"

"And so am I. Or, I was, but now I'm this ship."

"So... You somehow took over the ship?"´Megatron asked.

"I AM the ship now, Captain Megatron." You said with a smile, "And I'm happier than ever before, serving you guys."

Rodimus, Megatron, and Ultra Magnus looked at each other and you could tell they were talking through commlinks, but you could still hear them.

'Can we erase them?'

'Like a virus?'

"I wouldn't recommend that." You warned them, "I'm here to help, befriend, and serve you guys. I'm an ally, not an enemy."

"Can we trust you?" Ultra Magnus asked and you smiled, "Of course you can. You gave me a new home so the least I can do is to be there when you guys need me."

"Alright," Megatron nodded, "So you are one of us now? Then what should we call you as?"

"My human name doesn't matter anymore. You can call me Lost Light." You replied, "Would you like me to inform the rest of the crew that there is a new lifeform, aka me, here?"

"Uh, how about asking them to come to a meeting and introducing you there?"

"That sounds wonderful Captain Rodimus." You nodded, "I promise, I will look after you all."

[seaside-lovers-archive]

[WIP] 🧪 Shockwave & Overload 💫

icon for me TBA

Transformers: Animated AU [TBA]

Ship name/tag: 🧪 mad scientist power couple

Anniversary: April 26, 2023

F/O source: Transformers: Prime

My backstory: I'm a Cybertronian who, after creation, developed an interest in fauna of all kinds - including both Cybertron and alien fauna. I begin a program of study in biology, eventually graduating and beginning work under a scientist as an intern of sorts.

How we meet: I am assigned to work as an intern under Shockwave, serving as an assistant to him. This mostly starts off with me taking notes for him and providing help with experiments as needed, but eventually, I become his lab partner and we work equally on experiments.

First impressions: We're both neutral toward one another when we first meet. Neither of us is very conversational, so most of our time together when it comes to speaking stems from our lab work rather than personal lives. Shockwave especially can come across as cold when he does not know someone well (or does not respect them).

Getting closer: As I progress in my training and eventually become Shockwave's lab partner, we form an actual friendship. Shockwave, while still not a conversational bot, warms up to me, and we start conversating during our working hours. Eventually, I end up inviting him out for the evening, and we start going out around once a week to relax and catch up.

I had already found Shockwave physically attractive and developed a crush on him but kept it to myself for the sake of our professional relationship. However, Shockwave surprises me one evening when he admits that he has developed romantic feelings for me - something that he was not at all experienced with.

Beginning our relationship: I am taken aback by this confession but confirm that I feel the same way toward him. Though we prefer to keep our relationship strictly professional, I end up moving into my own lab eventually as our scientific interests diverge. Shortly after, I begin courting Shockwave, and we become Conjunx soon after.

Canon introduction: I stick closely with Shockwave as time passes and eventually end up joining him as a Decepticon - though I don't fully agree with Megatron and his methods, I wish to follow Shockwave wherever he may go. I primarily work as a lab partner to Shockwave, doing some research of my own on the side as well. I stay behind with Shockwave on Cybertron, using a spaceship to start exploring other planets to document their fauna. When Shockwave is injured after Cliffjumper and Arcee destroy his laboratory, I help him repair his wounds and stay at the lab to assist him as he heals. Once he meets Knock Out, Shockwave comes back for me on Cybertron, noting that I am a necessary asset as his laboratory assistant.

Ship trope(s): None ATM

Aesthetics: Experiments, space/stars

Our song(s): "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Queen

Favorite forms of affection: Very subtle forms of affection in front of others are our favorites - gently brushing our fingers or touching the other's back are favorites. In private, we will gently touch our heads together as a "kiss" (since neither of us have proper mouths). Shockwave also enjoys having his ear fins stroked gently (though always in private).

Favorite kind of date: Spending time out of the laboratory is how we like to bond. On Cybertron, we would go to a bar and find our own corner to sit in and talk. After making our way to Earth, we like to go for drives/walks together and enjoy the scenery.

Ways we comfort one another: [WIP]

What we love most about each other: [WIP]

[s0ckh3adstudios]

Haunted Hats #1: Co-Op

Welcome BACK to the Haunted Hats, my nonsensical A Hat In Time Swap AU based on the shift in fate that would happen if Hat Kid, Bow Kid, Mu, and Timmy were the Subcon Ghosts. Guess who's back in that mood~

Might take this similarily to how my buddy Bee presents the USAU characters: Character dedicated posts and short comics. I guess this is kind of Haunted Hats rebooted? I'll be taking this one area at a time!

But here's your favorite protagonist duo: Beta and Mask! Their Time Pieces, their fuel and important artifacts, have been scattered all over Earth... What will our... uh... heroes do?

(LOOK DOWN HERE FOR CHARACTER INFORMATION!!!)

Beta Kid / 14 years old / She/they/her/them Non-binary

Beta is a shy, mysterous young teen living above Earth's atmosphere, hiding from social interaction in her best friend's spaceship. Beta is a recluse, a shut-in. They try to avoid people other than Mask and stick to their job of time-related deeds. She is known as a Time Guardian, and has been one since she was young. How? Why? Where did this mysterious enby come from? Inhabitants of Earth might see them sometimes, but not for long. She's often in rifts fixing glitches or cracks in time, or wandering in between the coded fabric that makes up the space time continuum. Fixing time and protecting it.

They deal with heavy anxiety and are nervous around people, but you wouldn't be able to tell by how they interact with those they're close to. They've even got an irritated and passive-aggressive side, but Beta is usually very friendly and polite. She tries to be, at least. Beta also speaks via sign language. She has the ability to speak, though it's strained a bit, but otherwise very much prefers to use sign language. She can also speak Russian!

============

Mask Kid / 15 years old /He/him (but doesn't mind they/them) Demiboy

Mask (or Moon) is Beta's best friend and current ONLY friend. He's sort of like a brother figure to her, responsible and polite and better at talking with people (Though it's not a high bar to reach as he's equally bad with people as she is). Mask is kindhearted and intelligient, though memory is where he lacks. The years prior to meeting Beta he has no memories of. He woke up in his crashed spaceship with no memories, but the reflection of his permanently-masked face told him something was different. Mask hopes to regain his past, but he's happy to sit where he is with Beta in the present.

The mask he wears is... something Beta hasn't seen before. It seems to be something otherwordly, even acting on its own accord at rare moments. Strange abilities, magic red strings, a large pack of power... Mask has managed to control most of it, but sometimes... It's not Mask who is conscious.

.....But Im sure it's nothing to worry about!

============

That's all for now! Feel free to ask questions >:D

[spinningbuster98]

Fusion may just have my favorite intro of the series

Just the intro cutscene where, without context, we see Samus crash into an asteroid belt while the music rises in a creepy pitch, followed by the classic title theme, which has a delightfully unsettling undertone now, good stuff! Really sets up Fusion as being a much scarier experience than usual

Also contributing are the ambient noises of the station when you enter, again: really good stuff, the kind that I guess is what Metroid 2 wanted to go for with its blips and bloops

I do have a couple of problems with that intro monologue however

The first is that, like others have pointed out in the past, given how quickly the X are shown to assimilate other creatures in both this game and Dread, it's weird how they take their sweet time with Samus, who gets just enough time to be given a vaccine, with the game not really giving a clear cut explanation

I used to thing that the whole explanation about her armor slowing down the X infection was pure headcanon, but to be fair Samus here does say that the X were infecting her Power Suit first, so maybe that's indication that they were struggling to get through its defenses, plus later on in Prime 2 if an Ing tries to possess you the armor rejects them

However we are also shown that the X had reached her nervous system, meaning that they had managed to get through the armor and reached her actual body....so by all accounts she should have died right there.

Granted, given that Fusion is the game that establishes the bio-organic nature of Samus' suit and how it's intrinsically tied to her biology (though I think that the Super Metroid Comic had already established something similar though that thing isn't really canon as a whole) I guess you could kind of speculate that the armor was still slowing down X infection even at that point

Dread will kind of put a wrench in this explanation by having Raven Beak be instantly infected by an X....but eh, we could explain that one away by saying that either his armor had been drained of too much energy by Samus' Metroid powers or that the X that infected him was a more powerful variant given that we had never seen a purple one before and that the resulting abomination took and extensive dosage of the Hyper Beam to be defeated rather than die on the spot like the other X during the escape sequence. That whole section is honestly a bit dumb and unneccesary but eh

Probably my biggest issue however is how Samus, right after having this weird gelatinous thing she had never seen before enter her armor, seemingly just...carries on like it's nothing and boards her spaceship

There's being reckless and then there's being just fucking stupid, are you seriously telling me she wasn't worried about that just because it had no immediate ill effects? And what about her armor? Shouldn't it be flashing all sorts of Warning messages? Barring Other M this is probably Samus' dumbest moment, at least with how it's presented here

Moving from that am I the only one that thinks that the "Elephant Bird" boss holding a fake Morph Ball makes no sense? You get the Charge Beam from this Core X so....why doesn't it have a fake Charge Beam power up?

Speaking of which, I LOVE the Charge Beam in this game. In Super it was mid, not really needed and it took a while to charge

Here it charges more quickly, it does great damage, has a deliciously crunchy sound effect (Fusion's sound design is actually my favorite in the series purely for how crunchy every attack sounds, which makes them feel more satisfying) and even slightly improves your uncharged shots!

[neurodiversebones]

what are some of ur favorite episodes, if you don't mind sharing? i'm in the mood for a rewatch but don't know where to start 😭

gonna do this by season !!! there are SOOO many that i adore lol

season one :

- 1×09 , man in the fallout shelter (MY COMFORT EPISODE OF ALL TIME my mom and i like to watch it together and i can recite parts of it from memory)

- 1×17 , the skull in the desert (for the brengela content mostly LMAO)

- 1×22 , the woman in limbo (BRENNAN ANGST !!)

season two :

- 2×03 , the boy in the shroud (MORE BRENNAN ANGST !! so much good brennan development + brennan/cam moments here)

- 2×08 , the woman in the sand (brennan hot im so gay)

- 2×09 , aliens in a spaceship (not a hot take this is everyones top 5 but <33 god its SO GOOD)

- 2×11 , judas on a pole (i love max keenan ....)

season three :

- 3×05 , the mummy in the maze (BRENNAN/CAM/ANGELA'S COSTUMES IM SOOO GAY .....)

- 3×09 , the santa in the slush (this is the first episode i remember watching when i was a kid + im a SUCKER for a christmas episode)

- 3×12 , the baby in the bough (ACCIDENTAL BABY ACQUISITION !! i have done 'dancing phalanges !!' to my nieces btw .)

- 3×13 , the verdict in the story (I LOVE MAX KEENAN)

season four (currently where i am in my rewatch) :

- 4×04 , the finger in the nest (RIPLEY BRENNAN IM SOBBING)

- 4×08 , the skull in the sculpture (idgaf abt the case but ANGELA GIRLKISSER)

- 4×12 , double trouble in the panhandle (CIRCUS BRENNAN !!)

- 4×14 , the hero in the hold (ghosts confirmed ?? b&b angst ??)

- 4×21 , mayhem on a cross (SWEETS ....)

- 4×22 , double death of the dearly departed (watched this ep after taking a 40mg+ edible . i had never been high before . insane experience .)

- 4×26 , the end in the beginning (AU EPISODE !! B&B KISSES !!)

season five :

- 5×10 , the goop on the girl (CHRISTMAS EPISODES !!!)

- 5×12 , the proof in the pudding (bones canonically solved jfk's murder and thats just . a thing .)

- 5×16 , the parts in the sum of the whole (i fucking love this episode its everything to me)

-5×17 , the death of the queen bee (I LOVE A GOOD HS REUNION TROPE)

- 5×21 , the boy with the answer (i love a courtroom drama episode)

season six :

- 6×03 , maggots in the meathead (ONE OF THE FUNNIEST EPISODES OF ALL TIME)

- 6×09 , doctor in the photo (god this episode is so sad but its SO good)

- 6×14 , the bikini in the soup (valentines ,,,, i LOVE holiday episodes guys)

- 6×16 , the blackout in the blizzard (I LOVE THIS EPISODE SM EVERY SECOND OF IT IS FANTASTIC AND ITS SO UNDERRATED)

- 6×21 , the signs in the silence (brennan w kids makes me emotional)

- 6×22 , the hole in the heart (oh yk . the agonies)

- 6×23 , the change in the game (hi its wanda im at the bowling alley . bowling . I'M PREGNANT, BOOTH . YOU'RE THE FATHER . THE ADELE FADE AT THE END . IM CRYING)

season seven :

- 7×06 , the crack in the code (BANGER setup to an arc i have complicated feelings abt . this ep has such a spooky vibe i love it)

- 7×07 , the prisoner in the pipe (BABY !!)

- 7×13 , the past in the present (THE END JUST MAKES ME SO SAD I LOVE THE ANGST)

season eight :

- 8×06 , the patriot in purgatory (i love having all the interns YIPPEE)

- 8×07 , the bod in the pod (im just here for camastoo . you are my carburator .)

- 8×14 , the doll in the derby (ANGELA ON ROLLERSKATES ....)

- 8×15 , the shot in the dark (ghosts are real part 4 . christine brennan triggers my mommy issues . i want her to hug me .)

- 8×23 , the pathos in the pathogens (ANOTHER TOP TIER FAV EPISODE THE ANGST IS SO GOOD)

season nine :

- 9×04 , the sense in the sacrifice (YIPPEE LOVE !! PELANT DEAD !!)

- 9×06 , the woman in white (brennans vows make me sob every time .)

- 9×10 , the mystery in the meat (COWGIRL BAR FIGHT IM SO <33)

- 9×11 , the spark in the park (brennan talking to the professor makes me SOB .)

- 9×24 , the recluse in the recliner (tbh i never understand the fbi conspiracy arc but this episode is crazy)

season ten :

- 10×02 , the lance to the heart (you put the lime in the coconut ....)

- 10×10 , the 200th in the 10th (INSANE OLD HOLLYWOOD AU ITS SO FUCKING FUN)

- 10×15 , the eye in the sky (booth angst booth angst)

season eleven :

- 11×09 , the cowboy in the contest (I LOVE UNDERCOVER I LOVE COSTUMES)

- 11×10 , the doom in the boom (HODGINS ANGST)

- 11×12 , the murder of the meninist ("we love going viral" "so do infectious diseases")

- 11×13 , the monster in the closet (PUPPETEER ARC !!!)

- 11×18 , the movie in the making (comfort episode I LOVE A MOCKUMENTARY AND ALSO THE CAMASTOO PROPOSAL)

- 11×22 , the nightmare within the nightmare (this episode scared me so bad bc i watched it at 4am 😭 THE FUCKING ZACK REVEAL IS CRAZY)

season twelve :

- 12×01 , the hope in the horror (I HATE THE DEMONIZATION OF DID ITS SO GROSS BUT I LOVE SEEING ZACK)

- 12×07 , the scare in the score (I CRIED SO BAD ....)

- 12×09 , the steal in the wheels (i giggled i <3 silly undercover time)

- 12×11 , the day in the life (CAMASTOO WEDDING IM SOBBINGGGG . ALSO THE END HOLY SHIT)

- 12×12 , the end in the end (i fucking wept . i love tge finale im so emotional abt it .)

[crescentblossom66]

Prompt 26 We regret

“We regret to inform you that the bird house is not accessible to travelers today. Only birds are allowed to enter.”

Hat Kid sighed “What? But last time I was here, I could just access. How come I can't go in there now, this is stupid.” She pouted a bit, crossing her arms. This crow was really going on her nerves. Maybe she could sneak inside or something.

“Due to our favorite resident waking up because of a certain unruly visitor, anyone who isn't a bird isn't allowed in anymore.” The crow explained while Hattie looked up at the huge sleeping crow that was once again lying upside down. She had to agree that the crow was quite adorable, even she tried to make sure to not wake the bird. She could only imagine that the one that upset that bird was probably Mustache Girl.

Hat Kid pretended to walk away again, ignore the time piece that had appeared in the cage area of the Alpine Skyline. She noticed that one of the nest looking platforms in the huge cage was very close to the metal bars. If she jumped onto the bars and walked them for a bit, she could likely sneak in undetected. She managed to jump onto the platform quite easily, but didn't expect one of those egg bombs which charged at her. She gasped in shock, looking around frantically for a way to dodge the explosive objects, not remembering her freezing hat. The thing exploded in her face, pushing her down into the abyss. Thankfully, she reappeared again...outside the bird cage, much to her chagrin.

Just how was she supposed to get in there? She tried to use the green ethereal platforms that were barely visible under the bird house to sneak in, but ended up falling again when a red dweller erased the solid green landing spot that her mask had created. It was frustrating to say the least, she only had two hits left.

She tried to reason with the crow again. “I really just want my time piece and then I'll be out. It won't take more than a minute.” She pleaded, however, the crow didn't budge. “No entry for non-birds.”

Wait...she WAS legally a bird! The bird passport that she had received at Dead Bird Studio should apply here too! “Hang on.” The space traveler wasted no time and teleported back to her spaceship where she grabbed her bird passport. She smugly shoved it into the annoying crow's face as soon as she landed back on the planet. “There! You see, I'm legally a bird! I can enter.” The crow looked at the passport that had picture of her that had a monocle and fancy glasses drawn on in sharpie.

“Uh...you may enter, I guess.” With that the girl confidently walked past the crow and took the time piece. Such a fuss just to get one time piece back.

[shiitnoonecaresabout]

my music alphabetized

PART TWOOOOO time for the second letter baby.

B is for............

BOYGENIUS FUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all time favorite(still together)band. u guys don't get it. getting these three on a song together is best decision ever made sorry. i love these three a lot. phoebe, lucy, and julien are BRILLIANT songwriters who make explosive material when they're together. every song is breathtaking and every song makes u feel every emotion in the book. it may be a 'controversial' opinion but their ep (2018) is my favorite album. they each have their respective moments the same way they do on 'the record' (2023) . it also came out on my birthday so maybe i'm biased. overall, their ep hits every mark perfectly even with a whopping SIX SONGS. the lyricism within that album will hit every time. to put a song calling out ur fans ('bite the hand') as the OPENER for ur debut ep is absolutely insane and perfect. do not get me STARTED on 'me and my dog'. i won't stop:

'me and my dog' has been my comfort song for a while. but its true resonation came through more recently. in a mundane wrap up by 'Beyond The Stage' magazine, the song is essentially about an imaginary situation that is "a peaceful escape from anxiety - one that includes an entire solar system and Phoebe's late senior dog, Max" (Pasterchick, 2023; https://www.beyondthestagemagazine.com/me-my-dog-boygenius-lyric-breakdown/). i have always loved the lyric "i wish i was on a spaceship/just me and my dog and an impossible view" because it makes me think of my darling baby boy, stanley, my very bestest dog friend who has made my life insanely more bearable. the only difference is he's not very senior, being only 5 years old. but recently i had to deal with him passing and listening to this song made me feel so seen and it put that final nail in the coffin of why i love it so much. it's interesting to think how something so devastating can bring about a relation to something i had found so much happiness in beforehand. it comforted me when i needed it the most and boygenius i'm oh so grateful for that. in my safe spaces i can always imagine stan and i on a spaceship. he sure would love that view.

their ep could make me talk for hours but 'the record' is an absolute masterpiece next to it. for them to have a hit debut album like that is so well-deserved. the writing within that album is perfect and 'we're in love' only solidified my love for lucy more. to be able to hear such mundanity in the instruments in order to amplify her soft voice is a beautiful use of sound and very understandable when she is spitting the bars that she is. i have consistently attempted to dissect meanings that could be hidden within this song just because i know lucy is way too smart for any critic to know what she is singing about. people may try to dissect those songs but julien, lucy, and phoebe are tooooooo big brained for them. it's not up there but 'true blue' is another beautiful representation of lucy's talent and to write that about her bestest friends is very sweet :)))))). 'without you, without them' is underrated but is a gorgeous way to introduce the album, especially a debut one. to open themselves up to us is not a small thing and their appreciation for that intro should be larger. tell ur friends, father, mother, sister, brother, they are opening up girl LISTENNNN.

another thing i love about 'the record' is the amount of JULIEN we get. the triangle between 'anti-curse', 'satanist', and '$20' is grammy worthy. the way the album flows together is 'folklore' level and no i do not say that lightly. the friendship that flows between each and every song is important to truly understand the tight community they have formed among themselves. 'anti-curse' focuses around julien's encounter with the ocean and getting pulled under a wave "making peace with [her] inevitable death." and listening through the album you start to notice her underlying theme of feeling grounded by the two people next to her on this whole journey, phoebe and lucy. their friendship has had a strong and lengthy lore that has brought devastation among many fans realizing just how much they really love each other. which is also emphasized by their common theme of playing the "big three," as some fans like to call it, at their shows: 'please stay,' 'favor,' and 'graceland too.'

now, i saw boygenius live and experiencing those three songs was another experience for me. and that was the most i cried the whole show (can u believe that?) knowing their friendship was so strong that they could write those songs about such a vulnerable moment within it was a beautiful thing for them to feel comfortable sharing with us. i think people took for granted the way they were able to perform those songs for us after the history that has happened to produce them. additionally, i think the creative decision to place julien in the middle of all three was essential to solidifying the sole reason all those songs were being performed. they have found strength and solidity in their friendship and turned it in to some of the greatest music of 2023.

whoever said trios don't work should really meet boygenius.

this is my boygenius cover playlist. if someone wants to get it to them thank you. i need them to cover these songs.

[kyratittyfish]

Shiny And New (But I'm Still Me, And You're Still You)

Read on Ao3

‘Please let it be empty’ was the mantra playing in Angela’s head as she stood in front of the door to the port side observation deck, waiting for it to slide open. 

If there was a god of spaceship bars, she must not have been on his good side. Either that, or he was too busy with drunken privateers to answer her pleas for solitude.

She walked in anyway, but the figure slumped in front of the large window didn’t react to the door sliding open or her approaching steps, seemingly lost in thought. 

Angela herself often let her mind roam freely across the stars, forcing herself out of the cold and motionless spaces her brain usually took her to.

Aimless drifting across her mindscape happened without effort here, with the endless blanket of space extending out in front of her. It was almost as easy as actually being out there, floating away like a leaf on a pond. 

Like the body of a spaced woman.

She hoped the imagination of her fellow deck occupant was kinder than her own, but with a start, she realized his daydreams were probably as nightmarish as hers.

“Joker?” she asked.

He turned to face her, and perhaps it was the later hour or the different light, but she didn’t recall him looking so tired earlier that day at the helm. The dark circles under his eyes and unkempt stubble on his cheeks betrayed too many awake hours spent in his chair and a stubborn reliance on caffeine as a stand-in for sleep.

“Commander.”

“Your shift ended three hours ago, shouldn’t you be in your bunk?”

“Yeah, well. You ever heard Donnelly snore? I swear the man’s part combustion engine.”

She suspected this was only half the reason why he was still awake, but pointing out the obvious would’ve written her name in bold letters in the little book of hypocritical jerks, right on the front page. Her shift ended an hour ago too, and yet here she was, roaming around the deserted ship in her off-duty tracksuit, looking like the reanimated zombie she was. She dropped the matter, snorting instead.

“Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.” Angela chuckled, shaking her head.. 

“Well, consider yourself lucky.”

“Fancy a drink?” She offered, propping her elbow on the counter. “It’d be a waste to sit next to the bar without making use of it.”

“Nah, Doc is going to kill me if she figures out I mixed alcohol with my nighttime meds. Last time I did that, she had me sleep in the infirmary for a week. As far as relaxing resorts go, I wouldn’t exactly recommend the Medbay. You go ahead and have yourself a beer or something if you wanna, as long as you drink one on behalf of your favorite pilot, of course.”

“And who might that be?”

He smirked despite his visible exhaustion. “You tell me.”

She ambled towards the bar to examine the array of bottles neatly arranged on the refrigerated shelves. The little bar wasn’t lacking in alien beverages; a surprising fact, given the Cerberus logo eloquently painted on every corner of her ship. She counted a Turian brandy, a couple of bottles of batarian wine, some colorful asari spirit, and even a small flask of ryncol.

She decided against the heavier stuff, grabbing a bottle of red ale and a can of non-alcoholic soda.

“Here,” she said, sliding the can over the smooth surface of the table in the general direction of her pilot. “Suppose Chakwas won’t mind you having a, uh…” she squinted as she deciphered the name written on the label in an overly flourished font, “... a Red Varren Sodalicious with your favorite commander?”

“Eh, she’d probably scold me about the amount of sugar in it, but no complaints about interaction with my meds. I think.”

No quips about who his favorite Commander would be? 

“Only one way to find out,” she said, cracking open her beer. 

One and a half drinks and twenty minutes later, their idle chat had shifted from a discussion about the latest Dog Or Not episode (during which an Elcor contestant had correctly recognised a Shi-tzu and a Corgi, only to mistakenly identify a baboon as a Cocker Spaniel) to a ranking of the various installations of the Blasto franchise.

“Come on, Shep, Blasto IV has a guy biotically controlling a vorcha into flying a Mako through an asteroid belt.” Joker exclaimed, his appalled voice half an octave higher than usual. “You can’t look at that scene and tell me, your pilot, that this isn’t the best Blasto!”

“Alright, I give in,” Angela conceded, “but only because of the improbable use of biotics.”

“Score!” He exclaimed, slapping his can of orangeade onto the tabletop. The carbonated drink didn’t appreciate the sudden impact, though and erupted in a bubbly stream that quickly trickled down the table and onto the pavement. His eyebrows shot up under his hat as he scanned the mess. “Whoops,” he muttered with an apologetic grin as he tentatively poked the sugary volcano. “Just like Therum all over again!”

“Yeah, well, Gardner is not going to be happy about that.” Angela hoped her amusement wasn’t clear in her voice as she played the part of the scolding Commander. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.” she continued, shaking her head. “He’s probably gonna make you lick the floor clean.” 

“I’m in!” he exclaimed overenthusiastically. “I bet it tastes better than that clump of sawdust and hot glue he tries to pass as meatballs anyway.”

“Hey, it wasn’t too bad! Now, the so-called sausages and mashed potatoes he cooked up the other day... That makes me suspect he’s a little too comfortable with mixing his cooking and toilet cleaning duties.”

“That a fancy way of saying it tastes like shit, Commander?”

“Looked like it, too.”

He chuckled, and her alcohol-impaired gaze followed his fingers as he absentmindedly rolled up the right sleeve of his sweatshirt to scratch a spot on his forearm. Her light dizziness turned into the much less pleasant sensation of ice-cold fingers running down her back as she spotted a long surgical-looking scar running along the outer side of his wrist and disappearing under the hem of his hoodie. It looked relatively recent, and she didn't remember ever seeing it on his skin before back on the original Normandy. 

“That looks gnarly.”

Confusion lingered in his eyes for an instant. Then, something different took its place. Something darker, that made his lips twist into a sour grimace and his shoulders drop.

“Uh, that. Yeah.”

“What happened?”

He lowered his gaze again and hastily pulled down the rolled-up sleeve till the hem almost touched his knuckles. 

“I, uh, slipped in the shower. I tried breaking the fall with my hand but ended up breaking my arm instead. It was pretty dramatic. Needed surgery and some shiny new hardware to fix it.”

Joker was many things: a stellar pilot, a surprisingly decent cook, and master of pop culture references, old and new. He wasn't, however, a liar. His gaze was about to burn a hole through the wall next to the bar shelves with how hard he was concentrating on avoiding Angela’s eyes, and the napkin that until a few moments ago had been collecting condensation under his can was now reduced into tiny scraps of balled up paper. 

“It was Alchera?” She asked, her question more of a statement than an inquiry. She was there when he injured his arm. She did it to him. 

He turned towards the window panel, his left hand tightly holding his other arm over his chest and a pained wince painted on the reflection of his face. 

“Yeah.” he nodded, his gaze locked on some distant star.

“How bad?”

“Pretty bad.”

“Shit. Joker, I’m sorry…”

“Yep,” he cut her short, “me too.”

“What happened the two years before I, uh, woke up?” Angela asked when the silence finally got so heavy it was threatening to have its own center of gravity.

“You mean beyond unfathomable levels of suckiness? Like I told you, the Alliance practically disbanded us, everyone went their own way, and they swept everything you did under the rug. Made you out to be crazy! Bastards knew you were right about the Reaper threat, but they would’ve rather kissed a yahg than admit it. So yeah, it sucked balls. Krogan ones. All four of ‘em.”

“Yeah, I figured as much, But… that’s not what I meant. I wanted to know what happened to you.”

He sighed without turning around, and in the drawn-out silence before he finally spoke, Angela’s heartbeat pounded louder than a roaring cannon in her ears.

“Is this some sort of test?” He slurred, narrowing his eyes at his fingers and fiddling with the tab on his coke can.

“Why would it be?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He snapped. “You’re asking the guy who got you killed what he did while you were dead.”

He stood up and staggered towards the bar, grabbing the first bottle he touched. He poured some of the brown liquid into a glass before shuffling back to his stool.

“Shouldn’t you…”

“Fuck the meds,” he declared. Clearly, the kind of pain he was dealing with tonight wasn’t one that could be quieted with a dose or two of analgesics.

He swirled the liquor a few times around his glass, then downed it in a single gulp. He poured some more. 

“695.” He muttered, his knuckles whitening around the glass. “That’s the number of days you were dead. I know ‘cause I counted ‘em. That’s how long I had to live knowing it was my fault. And honestly, Commander, out of the two of us? You had it easier,” he snarled.

“I was dead!” 

“Oh yeah? Well I spent every one of those 695 days wishing it was me instead,” he shot back. All at once, his bent shoulders sank along with his gaze. He looked so small. “And what’s worse… I deserved every second of that hell.”

He stared at the table, reaching for the bill of his hat, trying to hide beneath its shadow. If his gesture was meant to hide the watery glistening at the corner of his eyes, it didn’t work. Angela saw it. Angela felt it, the familiar prickle of incoming tears that made her tear ducts sting and her throat burn. 

Her pilot, her friend, couldn’t stand to look at her. Of all the pain and frustration during the last few weeks, this hurt her the deepest.

“Alright, then. You’ve obviously been thinking about this for a long time.” She stated after a drawn out breath, voice steady despite the growing ache of the black hole that had swallowed her heart whole and taken its place in her chest. “What would you have done different, then? If it really was your fault, if you made a bad call, there must have been a good call, right?”

“I…” His voice caught in his throat as he tried to force the words, but his only confession was a drop of blood falling from his bitten lip. He wiped it away and studied the red stain it left on his finger.

That’s what he sees each time he looks at his hands. Blood. Mine. The black hole between her lungs expanded at the thought, sucking air in until breathing felt like a hot blade piercing through her ribs. 

“There’s nothing you could have done that would have changed the outcome. Nothing that could have kept me from dying. Had you acted differently, we almost certainly would’ve died. Would it have been better? They would’ve brought me back anyway… and I would have been stuck in Cerberus’ hands without you.”

Her voice turned into a brittle whisper as the last words left her lips and the heaviness of her heart felt a little less suffocating. 

“They would’a found someone else to take my place,” he grumbled “Hell, I’m sure Mister Creepy Eyes has dozens of replacements ready for me just in case he wakes up in a bad mood one morning and decides I’m not worth the trouble I cause.”

“Well, can’t say you’re wrong on that,” Angela conceded. She was confident that the Illusive Man had countermeasures in place in the event that the good, righteous Commander Shepard turned out to be a bit too good and a bit too righteous for his plans. Still, the idea of some nameless, mindless Cerberus lackey sitting at the helm felt ten times more terrifying than that knowledge. “But someone else wouldn’t be you. And there’s no way in hell I could do this with anyone else instead of you. And trust me about that, I know a thing or two about the afterlife.”

He chuckled, raspy and low and bitter, and Angela sighed, wishing that he could just believe her, that he would just give up the grief and guilt that had been weighing him down since the day she died. But life can’t just be that simple, can it? 

Joker’s stubbornness was one of the things about him that made him such a fine pilot and a good friend. He never shied away from telling shit as it was. If he believed in something, he fought for it with all he had - teeth, nails, crutches, and Thanix cannons. Now that it was holding him under the muddy water of his own despair, though, it was so damn frustrating.

She’d done the impossible so many times before: she’d saved an entire colony from slavers without losing a single man, she’d granted humanity a place in the Galaxy, she’d protected the Citadel from the attack of a sentient AI older than time itself. Hell, even death had a go at keeping her down, and she showed it her ceramic-plated middle finger. So why couldn’t she do this one simple thing and make things right with the man sitting next to her? 

“Can I ask you a question?” Joker finally asked.

She arched her eyebrow at his words, breaking the silence that had fallen over them like a blanket of snow. 

Snow. Heavy over the debris of my old ship, my old life, my old body.

“Sure,” she replied.

“Why?” He asked, his head bowed down over the glass, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his cap. Was he looking at her, now that she couldn’t return his gaze? Had he been doing that for the whole duration of her new life, watching over her from a distance, torturing himself with the weight of guilt he couldn’t free himself of?

“Why what?”

“Why did you come back for me?” he asked, his voice for once as small and fragile as the rest of him.

And there it was, the question that lingered unspoken between the two of them since the day she died, seeping through the cracks like poison gas. Or like oxygen slipping out of a punctured breathing tube...

“Why wouldn’t I have?”

“I mean, come on, let’s be real here,” he spat as if his words were thresher maw acid burning his lips. “Yeah I was the best pilot in the Fleet, but I’m no Commander Shepard. I’m replaceable. You’re not, and the fact that they literally resurrected you is  pretty damn good proof of that. You are a hero, a leader, the only sliver of hope this galaxy has to live to see another few years. I‘m just a cripple with a bad attitude. It doesn’t take a genius or a philosopher to see which life is worth more.”

Replaceable. 

No.

“And which one would it be?”

“Come on, you wanna hear me say the answer is yours? We both know it's true.”

She took one last sip of her beer- the now warm beverage tasted almost as bitter on her tongue as Joker’s words felt to her ears.

“And yet it was your life I chose to save.”

“Can’t say I follow your logic on that one.”

Angela sighed and rubbed her fingertips over her eyelids. Heavy. It’s all so heavy. For all their cyber tech and medical miracles, Cerberus couldn’t mend fissures that ran soul-deep. 

“Alright,” she began, sitting up straighter. “You look at yourself and you see what? A cripple with a bad attitude, your words… I look at you, and see a skilled professional, with rock solid work ethic, excellent decision-making abilities, and no problem in speaking his mind to let his superiors know when their plans are really just a horrible idea.” 

Angela paused, and bent lower to meet his gaze through the shadow of his hat. No more running away from this, no more running away from you, she thought as she continued. 

“I see a man who is 100% committed to what he does, who never lets bad odds stop him from reaching his objective, and who knows what it means to make sacrifices.” 

She took in a slow breath, catching herself aching just to lay her hand atop his closed fist. “I see somebody I’m lucky to call a good friend, and whom I hope feels the same way towards me.”

“A friend, huh?” He asked tentatively, wide eyes shooting furtive glances at her from underneath the bill of his hat. She held his hesitant gaze with a soft smile.

“Of course.”

“Even after…?”

“Especially even after. You could be safe on the Citadel, or on Arcturus, or back with your family, or at the helm of a different ship… anywhere else but here. Yet, here you are, on a Cerberus vessel, working for a terrorist organization, following your undead commander on what’s most probably a suicide mission. If this isn’t the epitome of loyalty, I don’t know what is.”

Joker nodded slowly and let out a long, deep breath.

“Alright, then. So... friends?” he asked. 

“Friends. If you want to, of course.”

He looked up from his glass with a soft, genuine smile that lit up his eyes and set her heart on fire. 

“Yeah,” he finally responded. “I do.”

It was rare to see him smile. True to his name, he sure laughed a lot, but it was always so guarded. 

This time, with a simple smile, his defenses were down and all the rest of him shone through, naked and true. 

She felt her lips curl up and with a last flick of its tail, the little black hole inside of her twisted and curled before swallowing itself. Her heart, now back where it belonged, felt lighter than solar dust.

“Oh and, Joker, one last thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Permission to hug you?”

As he slowly stood up from his stool, she braced for him to just leave, to walk through the door and abandon her here with a whole bunch of feelings she couldn’t quite make sense of.

But he didn’t.

“Uh, yeah? Uh, granted,” he said, taking an uncertain step towards her.

She walked closer until his breaths tickled her neck. They were almost hesitant; as if one puff of air might blow her away like smoke.

She could almost count the stars reflecting in his eyes.

She never noticed how green they were before.

Carefully, she wrapped one arm around his shoulders, feeling his muscles tense underneath hers for a brief instant. 

She assumed he’d pull away almost immediately - the last time she touched him was the reason why they were having this talk right now, after all. She’d dragged him to safety and traded her life for his. The sickening crack she felt under her fingers when she grabbed him by his arm had been the least painful way she hurt him that day. 

Instead, he took a long, shaky breath, and took her into his own arms, drawing her closer until his chin brushed against her shoulder.

Although his embrace was a gentle one, it took her breath away all the same. 

She laid her free hand on his back, rubbing light circles over his shirt, feeling the tension in his limbs fade away and his breaths slow down, and for a moment, she was at peace.

Special thanks to...

@commander-krios, for being my muse, source of inspiration, and listening ear to my ramblings. @spaced0lphin, for your amazing work as a beta- your precious input made this fic 100x better. @nightmarestudio606, for helping me come up with a title that actually makes sense.