#Technically pre ship but you know.

[aceofshitposts]

Well I've been tagged in a couple different wip games but honestly have just had nothing to show for them lmao but uh I've had this rattling around in my head for a while so I hope this makes up for it a bit lmao

-

Tim hikes his backpack up higher on his shoulders, weaving through the throngs of people in the airport. He got a few odd looks from the security people but even with hands clumsy with youth he was able to forge a convincing enough letter from his parents about him travelling to meet them.

It's before disaster, everything is a little relaxed and therefore it's simple, really, to get through with minimal fuss.

Tim isn't entirely sure how he ended up here, in a body too young and too healthy but he's never been one to waste an opportunity. He's perhaps lucky this was one of the weeks between boarding schools, where his mom pulled him out due to her beverage dissatisfaction with various school curriculums. It meant they were out of the country but he was still in Gotham and not being watched over by any teachers.

Gate 57B. This is where he should be. Tim scans the people sitting in the uncomfortable plastic airport chairs, all waiting to board. It's not a particularly busy flight so it's easy to spot.

Off white hoodie and baggy jeans, clothes designed specifically to not draw attention and disguise body shape. Black hair falling over turquoise eyes that are focused on the rough looking paperback in his lap. There's a duffle bag sitting against his beat up sneakers that Tim just knows the contents of without even trying.

"Jason?" Tim asks coming to stand in front of the other teenager with both hands gripping his backpack straps. He's aiming for curious. Disarming. He can't be too formal or Jason will really know something's wrong and not the way Tim wants.

Jason raises his head lazily. Like a bored teenager being called to answer a question by a teacher. But Tim can see the immediate suspicion, the slight tensing of Jason's jaw and the way his eyes scan Tim to identify threats.

Tim isn't a threat. Not yet, anyway. Not like this. He can sneak around undetected, can forge papers and send anonymous emails to Batman while hiding amongst a throng of other school kids. His mind remembers, knows all the how's, of course, but his body lacks the muscle memory to truly execute anything beyond simple defense moves.

Frustrating, honestly, but probably to his advantage right now. He still has his mind and that's the most important part.

"Do I know you, kid?" Jason asks.

"No" --not yet-- "but I need your help."

Jason raises a single eyebrow and Tim makes a bit of a show of inhaling deeply, gathering courage and whispers, "I need Robin's help."

Jason's eyes widen, all pretenses of calm evaporating with a single startled inhale.

It's a little bit of a gamble, Tim knows. But it's a calculated gamble. Telling Jason the truth was out immediately, as was telling Bruce. Waltzing up to Jason to tell him if he boards that plane he was going to die would probably only embolden him further. Telling Bruce would send him into protective parent overdrive. He was trying, Tim knows, to give Jason some space and independence.

Pleading for Jason's help, for Robin's help, it was at least going to get Jason interested. Tim being a kid was also in his favour. Even as the Red Hood, Jason always had a soft spot for kids in need. And with Jason knowing what he currently knows about his mother, that she was an emergency doctor in the Middle East, he would probably rationalize that his mom won't be upset if he shows up a little later than expected.

"Now boarding Flight AA6237, please form a line with your passport and boarding ticket ready."

That's Jason's flight. If Jason gets on that plane Tim still has backup plans but it would be so much easier if Jason just came with him.

Jason stands suddenly, hefting his duffle bag onto his shoulder with one hand and grabbing Tim's sleeve with the other.

"Alright kid, bathroom's this way," he says with maybe a little more volume than strictly necessary.

Tim beams, genuine and wide. Jason was at least going to hear him out. Jason Todd wasn't going to die, not today and not tomorrow or the next day.

This was only the first item on Tim's list but, it was a start.

And if for a moment, only a second really, Tim forgets about a terrible future, about the pain of a blade against his throat or a batarang in his chest or bruises and missing spleens and deaths and revivals, and simply relishes in the thought that Robin was now urgently leading him somewhere more private to probably interrogate him--

Well. That's just the adrenaline.

It doesn't mean anything.

[genericpuff]

All That Glitters is Not Feminism - An Analysis of LO's Brand of "Feminism" and What Remains of its Fanbase (The Twist)

Alright y'all, I've been waiting a hot minute to talk about this because I wanted to see how it fully panned out before saying anything about it. And it's not even specifically about LO, but I do think it's very adjacent to it in a way that I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear. Much of it speaks to how we prop up white writers even at the expense of POC.

This is 'the twist' attached to my first post that I made just a couple hours ago that concerns an entirely other topic but I feel ties into this subject very well.

If you haven't heard, there's this author who recently fucked around in the Del Rey publishing scene.

Her name is Cait Corrain.

In the original tweet calling this person out, names were not dropped, but it was made very clear that what Cait did was unacceptable behavior.

You can read the entire thread that started it all from Xiran here:

There's also a GREAT recap thread from one of the affected authors, Bethany Baptiste:

I want to make it clear that Cait Corrain isn't just a debut author.

Cait Corrain is - or now, was (foreshadowing is a literary device that-) - a debut author who had an agent, a publishing deal with Del Rey (an imprint of Random House which is a MAJOR publisher) and even an upcoming Illumicrate deal - meaning, her book was going to be packaged in a monthly loot crate subscription shipped directly to people's doors, quite possibly one of the best marketing deals a debut author could ever get, usually unheard of in this industry. All the pre-reviews were strong and positive.

Cait's book was literally set up for success. All she had to do was sit back, relax, and watch the fruits of her labors roll in. She had written the book. It was ready for release. The hard part was technically over.

But I guess the racism brainrot got to her because as it turns out, since April - for EIGHT MONTHS - she's been making alternate accounts on GoodReads to review bomb the indie and debut works of her friends and peers, most of whom were POC and did not have the same opportunities set up for them as she did. There are loads of receipts to back this up that you can find in those above threads ^^^

To say that this is appalling is an understatement. This was an intentional and deliberate act of racism by a white queer writer who claimed to be "jealous" - of what, I can't imagine - so much so that she deliberately sabotaged her peers, people who had supported her and her book.

And then when she got caught? She doubled down on it and claimed it was a "friend", also an alternate account she made up.

The exchange between her and this made-up person is actually the funniest shit out of this entire thing, it's so poorly written and as soon as people noticed the time stamps were out of order, that was when it truly cemented her newfound clown status.

"oooooh he's standing right behind me, isn't he?" energy right here LMAO

yes keep expositing cait, that's really selling the "this is a genuine conversation that really happened with a real person" bit 🤡

Anyways, it became abundantly clear that Cait was just going to continue to dig her heels in over something she caused.

This has been a hot topic in the UnpopularLO Discord, not just because of how crazy of a situation it is that we had to talk about it - and we have people within the community who work in the literature and media sector - but because we noticed one very telling thing in the list of series that she had review bombed in her very own personal act of wrath.

You see, Cait made one fundamental mistake that led to her undoing - she didn't just review bomb the works of her peers, she positively reviewed her own book and others.

What's her book about though?

It's an Ariadne x Dionysus retelling set in space.

It's literally another "modern retelling" of Greek myth.

And wouldn't you know it, guess who else created a modern retelling of Greek myth that she included in her positive review raiding while she was sabotaging the work of her actual peers?

Now, I think it goes without saying that what I'm about to say should be taken with MOUNTAINS of salt, I'm sure a lot of you are reading the headline and going, "Ugh, really? You're gonna make this about LO? Could you give it a rest already???"

I need you to understand, with the current state of Rachel's fanbase and 'modern' Greek myth literature as a whole, at this point Lore Olympus - and the works that are literally inspired by it such as A Touch of Darkness - has basically become the shopping cart litmus test of basic decency. It's like when someone says they like Harry Potter - you can't take it automatically at good faith anymore, because there isn't a whole lot separating someone who simply liked Harry Potter as a kid and still rewatches the movies from time to time from someone who fully supports the politics and agenda of J.K. Rowling. No, not everyone who still watches the movies or reads the books fondly is a TERF by default, but it's justifiably a reason for suspicion when the consequences are often too dire to risk.

There's this thing that's been happening in the LO fanbase that I frankly saw coming, but has really recently started to hit its peak. It's what I call the "Kanye Effect", where the comic has become so absurd and backwards in its misogyny and white feminism that the only people who seem to be left supporting LO are the people who are legitimate white feminists and misogynists - because all the normal level-headed people fell off the comic ages ago (or transitioned into the critical side of the community).

I mentioned it in my last post, but it bears repeating - Rachel's fanbase has literally been shipping Hera, a victim of abuse, with her abuser, Kronos. I'm really hoping a lot of them realize how fucked up that is now that Hera herself has called it what it is - abuse - within the comic, but I also can't count on the LO fanbase picking up on that or even noticing it with how quickly people swipe through it each week, it's very apparent at this point that most of LO's readers don't know how to chew their food and don't pay attention when Persephone and Hades aren't onscreen.

But I'm digressing. Or am I? We're talking about Crown of Starlight after all. The debut Dionysus x Ariadne sci-fi/fantasy romance that was quite literally advertised using Lore Olympus as its baseline-

This. This is what the ongoing cultural erasure and white feminist uwu-fication of Greek myth is doing to the literary zeitgeist surrounding Greek myth as a whole. This is why we criticize Lore Olympus and works like it that are created by disingenuous people who only seek to use the assets of Greek myth material as a way to shoot themselves up into fame and stardom. This is why we demand better standards in the literature and webcomic industry, so that people like Rachel and Cait can't use their privileges to quite literally erase the source material that they used to make themselves famous in the first place.

If anything, Cait's actions didn't just affect the people she negatively review bombed, or the people she was affiliated with, but also the people she positively reviewed. While I don't support what Rachel creates, she wasn't the only one who Cait went out of her way to review positively from her alt accounts, there were many others as evident in the Google Doc - but all this really does is tarnish the legitimacy of these books and their ratings by artificially jacking up their numbers that are advertised to others.

Making Greek myth fanfiction or fun creative retellings was never the problem, but it's now being sabotaged alongside so many other genres and mediums by toxic white individuals who can't even keep themselves from committing hate crimes, let alone create something purely for entertainment that's transparent in its illegitimacy, lest it destroy the illusion that these people are qualified to speak over those whose voices are being stifled, often by these very same people. Many of these writers get caught and are still allowed to continue what they're doing - that was certainly what we feared with Cait.

Until today.

It was revealed today that Cait's book will no longer be featured in the Illumicrate May 2024 box.

Del Rey has dropped Crown of Starlight from their publishing schedule.

Daphne Press will be hopefully following suit.

And, most telling of all, Cait's own agent has severed ties with her.

For anyone not familiar with the inner workings of the publishing industry, Cait has essentially been blacklisted. Without an agent or a publishing house, she'll have to entirely rely on her own resources through self-publishing. Unless she manages to sneak her way back in under an alias (which I wouldn't put it past her to try) she no longer has access to the mainstream publishing industry that was already guaranteed for her before she let her 'jealousy' get the better of her.

Her career was already made for her. She had a red carpet laid out for her debut. Her book was getting good pre-reviews and she had quite literally nothing keeping her from her success. The best thing she could have done was nothing. Somewhere in her head, she made up a threat that didn't exist, and sealed her fate in acting on it, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think in these situations such as with Cait Corrain, Rachel Smythe, and - also recently and relevant - James Somerton, we need to become increasingly aware of how white voices are still overpowering POC voices, not just in their actions, but in the opportunities they're given over others which they then use to further stifle the voices of those they feel "threatened" by or feel entitled to speak over. While neither James nor Rachel have used sock puppet accounts to "take out the competition" (at least as far as we know lmao) James did quite literally steal the words and voices of queer writers who were deserving of their time in the spotlight, and Rachel's work is being quoted as "rewriting Greek myth" as if its blatant gentrification and appropriation should be marketed as some sort of positive.

It's all too common for these deeply-rooted prejudices to rear their ugly heads and for the people who carry them to act out in this way while justifying it as "jealousy" or "a mistake". This isn't jealousy. This isn't a mistake. This isn't someone "starting drama". This is genuine, targeted hate, with the intention of snuffing out the voices of others who should be empowered, not silenced.

All that time and effort, and for what? Racism and petty jealousy? It just goes to show, it doesn't matter how many opportunities you're given, how high up on the ladder you already are - it won't fix the deeply-rooted insecurity and racial pettiness that spurs people on to do such horrible things.

I've spent enough of my time and words today talking about Cait, and James, and Rachel. So to end this off, I want to join in with all the others who have highlighted the books that were review-bombed by Cait, and help in uplifting them so they can have successful debuts. I'll be pre-ordering a few of them, so I'll be happy to make dedicated posts for them in the future after they release. Please consider purchasing them for yourself if you want some new reading material <3

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste:

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole:

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang:

Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White:

(I'm sure there are plenty others so if I missed any here, please let me know so I can add them here and check out their books!)

If there's any silver lining to this, I hope that it makes people aware of the media they consume and who it's being created by. I hope it makes people more willing to seek out the books that aren't getting the same opportunities as Cait Corrain and Rachel Smythe. I hope it's a wake-up call to the industry that matters like this need to be taken seriously and that POC writers are still being silenced under their own noses. And most of all, I hope it's a reminder that we shouldn't even need at this point that this behavior is not okay, no matter what level a person climbs to - that just because someone is part of one minority doesn't mean they're not capable of sabotaging another. It sucks that that has to be said, it sucks that despite these groups being so intersectional there are still people within them who submit to their deeply-rooted insecurities and find ways to feel threatened that they use to justify hateful behavior.

Having a platform is a privilege. It should never be weaponized against your own peers or those who you simply feel "threatened" by for no reason beyond your own imposter syndrome or doubts or internal struggles. Because as much as you may feel like you've earned where you are, that never gives you the right to weaponize your opportunities against others who were never given those same opportunities in the first place. "Feminism" is not using your power to crush "other women". "Progressiveness" is not exclusive to the progress that only benefits you.

I wish only the best to those who were affected by the actions of Cait Corrain. You deserve to be heard and seen and appreciated for the work you do and the abuse you've had to tolerate. I look forward to your debuts in 2024 <3

[izzabela]

Ok, here me out! We both love Tomas (sweet cinnamon roll) I was thinking about what would happen if Tomas and the female reader get into an argument and it caused them to distance each other for a bit and it causing the reader to go on a mission for Liu Kang and while the reader is gone longer than planned Tomas starts to worry and lose his patience and decides to go after her?

I'm Sorry - Tomas x fem!reader

in which you and Tomas get into an argument before your mission, and Tomas is a bit antsy to apologize

a/n: Tomas would def be the little brother who always apologizes, whether his fault or not

ship[s]: tomas x fem!reader

warning(s): little angst? pre-kanon story (see what i did there)

get yo ass up, white boy

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

The air between you and Tomas could light an explosion if one was not careful.

Though you were not present, away on another mission by Liu Kang, it was clear that the remnants of that strife still followed the European assassin.

He gave harsher punishments to the initiates under his care, prolonged training hours, and he even punished his own losses with starvation and excessive workouts.

It worried his brothers, though it was not evident on their faces. Watching their youngest do this to himself was something that... terrified them to say the least. Ironic, since they were formidable ninjas.

It would all resolve itself, though, since you would be coming back today. Though, the memory of that fight laid in everyone's head.

*********

"Do you not realize how insane you're being right now?" Tomas howled at you as you sat on your shared bed, head turned and arms crossed.

Tomas roughly shut the door of your guys' bedroom, but his brothers were in hot pursuit to make sure nothing would go wrong once you had woken up from the healers.

Their mistake.

"Insane is not finishing the job," you spat back, turning your head. "Was I to come back empty-handed? Disappoint my grandmaster, our lord, our mission?!"

It was a rough mission, but you got some valuable info on a threat against Earthrealm thanks to your superior skills. Though, those very same skills did not protect you from the serious bodily harm you endured. Cut up and battered, you returned home like an abused animal.

"Not when you return home looking as you are now," Tomas pointed out, "You've been blinded to finishing the job, to the point of neglecting your own health!"

You scoffed, "Says you! You can go get healed without a word from me. But when I have to go get it done, it's like I've committed treason!"

From the outside, Kuai Liang and Bi Han gave a point to you for that one. However, Tomas was more experienced, and you had only recently been getting sent on more dangerous and high-stakes missions. Tomas had been doing this for years.

"If you had trained more, you would not be in this position," Tomas sighed. "Perhaps it was my fault for putting your name in too early."

You jaw dropped at this.

"Don't you dare pull this on me, Tomas," you said low as you get out of bed. Sure, your legs and wounds ached, but the adrenaline of your anger was fueling you to heights unknown.

"I'll have you know-"

"Mind your place," Tomas commanded, voice dripping with authority.

Tomas may be a brother to Kuai Liang and Bi Han, a technical inheritor to his clan, but he never felt like it. He often humbled himself by refraining from using any sort of authoritative tone, especially since he began dating you. Yes, he may be kind to his friends, his brothers, you, but he was still second-in-command along side Kuai Liang.

Of course there were times he needed to use his voice- but now wasn't the smartest time.

When Tomas realized what he had done, it was within a blink of an eye that a mean left-hook took him in, and a deadly powerful palm push sent him flying through the door. Tank the elder gods Kuai Liang and Bi Han remained on the side.

"Do not even bother coming back in here," you hissed, water swirling in your eyes as you turned around to go to sleep.

*********

That was but a week ago, now Liu Kang, Kuai Liang, Bi Han, and Tomas wait at the fire temple for you to come through the portal after your mission.

While his brother's remained calm and still-faced, Tomas was a little more antsy and nervous. You had left during your fight, and without proper apologies being made (not saying you did anything wrong). Tomas wanted to fix it immediately, and that would begin as soon as you came through the portal.

Right... now!

As the fires that lit the portal up continued to crackle and burn, any sign of your presence was not found. Liu Kang, focusing all his energy into finding you, could not sense you either.

Strange, since you were very punctual for any of your missions. It was a trademark that earned you the nickname "Dead-line" from the other ninjas.

"She is late," Kuai Liang points the obvious out.

"She must have had a run-in with something, perhaps we should-" Tomas is cut off by Bi Han.

"Under no circumstances will you do such a thing, Tomas. She is capable of this, so she is capable of coming home."

Liu Kang agrees, "I will keep the portal open and watch for her. While punctual is a great aspect, not everyone is immune to a little tardiness."

The brothers bow before heading out, Bi Han and Kuai Liang walking a little behind to watch Tomas. How did they know he was nervous? Well, he walked right in front of them, forgetting the order in which they travelled. And his eyes were also downcast, like clouds blocking the sun.

As well-trained as he is, emotions were naturally human. So, naturally, Tomas couldn't hide these feelings no matter his skills and experience.

"Tomas, all will be well," Kuai Liang tries to soothe his anxiety. He turns around, nodding to his words, but his face looks as if he is not accepting it.

"You will see to it you keep yourself in check," Bi Han scolds, "All will be well, carry on as per usual."

Tomas rolls his eyes as Bi Han strides forward. Kuai Liang just puts a hand on his shoulder and offers a kind smile.

"He means well, let us carry on for her," Kuai says, patting his shoulder before walking to follow his elder brother.

Perhaps tomorrow Tomas thinks.

~~~~~~~~~~

Except tomorrow you don't come, nor the day next, nor the day after.

You were tardy by three days, and as much as Tomas buried himself in training, missions, and some paperwork, he couldn't shake the feeling off that something was wrong- horribly wrong.

So, after dinner with his brothers, he waited until everyone was asleep before sneaking out of the palace to the Fire Temple. Mask and attire on, he calls on a portal to be opened to the temple.

Walking through, he is greeted by Liu Kang and some monks on guard. He bows, and Liu Kang does so to reciprocate, though is skeptical on the smoke ninja's unprecedented appearance.

"Tomas, this is unexpected," Liu Kang notes as he sizes him up.

"Lord Liu Kang, please permit me to go (y/n)," he says, bowing again to further his desperation in finding you. Liu Kang chuckles, telling him to raise his head.

"You love her very deeply, that much is evident," Liu Kang said, pulling out a chi-director from his pocket.

Tomas stares at the device, back at Lord Liu Kang, and then back at the device. He takes the glowing blue compass and bows deeply, revering him in respect before fire pops and cracks, and the portal opens. Tomas runs through the portal and allows the compass to guide him.

As he takes his surroundings in, Tomas realizes he's in the hinterlands of Outworld, and a cold part of Outworld at that. Of course, he was trained to deal with such weather, but being out for this far for this long, you may be on the brink of your doom.

The compass glows in Tomas's hands, and the hand inside spins like a twister gone rogue. Finally, it focuses on a direction southeast, and Tomas trudges in the growing snow of the region.

After following the compass, he was led to a cave in the side of a mountain. Inside, he saw the faint glow of a fire and heard low breathing from within.

As he rounds the inside, he finds you tending to a gash on your shoulder. You have plants with healing qualities by your side and a cloth loosely pulled over the bleeding. Plus your magic was working over the open wound.

"Who goes- Tomas?" your hands were in defensive positions, but they went back to your wound at him in your sight.

"My darling," he sighs, running to your side as he tries to stop the bleeding.

You wince at the force in which he pressed a ripped cloth into your shoulder, but welcome it as your magic was dulling the pain.

"Fancy seeing you here," you say with a sarcastic tone.

"Dear, please," Tomas lightly scolds you, in which you silently allow him to treat you.

It's quiet between both of you, and the only thing to fill the void of quiet was howling of the wind outside.

Tomas begins to stretch the cloth out in little strings, to make a makeshift bandage for your wound. He's staring at your back, and your head is turned to the side as he tends to the horrid wound.

"Usually you aren't this late," he tries to lighten the mood, but it's clear you're not up to the jokes.

Once Tomas wraps your wound perfectly, he moves around to face you, but your head remains away.

Instead of speaking, Tomas wraps you in the warmest, gentlest hug, and your eyes are shining with tears are you inhale his natural musk.

"Thank the elder gods you're alright."

Your shoulders rack in his chest as you cry and wrap a singular arm around him.

"I'm so sorry," you sob as tears begin flow, "I'm so sorry for being so mean, sorry for being so brash, you're rig-."

Tomas shushes you, one hand rubbing your head and the other your back in up and down motions. You cry harder at his tenderness- why wasn't he angry? Why was he so nice?

You literally chucked him out of the bedroom, and he remains kind to you?

"I don't care about that anymore," he whispers. "The minute you didn't come through the portal that day, everything else fell away."

Oh, that's right.

If it weren't for a rogue blade from the enemy, you'd have gotten home earlier.

You wince as the adrenaline begins to wear off, and the pain in your shoulder finally begins to settle in.

Tomas notices, and he chuckles as he sets you down against the wall softly.

"At least you won't be chucking me through doors anytime soon," he laughs as he begins to clean the wound up a bit.

You flinch at the pain, but push through so Tomas can make sure it doesn't get infected.

"I'm sorry, dear," you begin again. "Truly, I'm so sorry for doing that to you all those weeks ago."

Tomas shakes his head as he rubs some healing plants on the wound, "I want to apologize. Using my tone against you like that, especially after such an experience. It was uncalled for, dishonorable for a man."

He wraps the wound up again, holds a hand out to you, and picks you up after you take it.

"Let's get you home, dear," Tomas says as he sweeps you off your feet.

In his arms, you finally collapse and give your eyes a rest from the crying.

The real talk can happen later, you just need Tomas for now.

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

no yap notes

see y'all in the next fic!

[gilly-moon]

ROTG ship discourse is so insanely funny to me because they’re all morally wrong in some way either because of age difference, beastiality, or technical necrophilia 💀🤣

(Ok but the “I know Jack is over 300 but mentally he’s 17?” What????? That’s not how that works!!)

listen. everyone has a right to think age gaps of any sort are uncomfortable. whether it's blackice, or Twilight, or two legal consenting adults. you can think belle falling in love with beast pre-transformation is gross, or maybe furry porn makes you wicked uncomfortable. i don't care! everyone has a right to their squicks!

but demanding that everyone else share your dislikes is, frankly, stupid. as is treating fiction as anything but fiction.

if people want to think im morally reprehensible for what i ship, then cool. (they're wrong, but that's its own battle for another day.) all i ask is for those people to either walk away from my blog in silence or add me to their blocklist.

[musicalmoritz]

TBHK Mischaracterization

Imo the leading cause behind mischaracterization in the TBHK fandom is that most fans either don’t understand the characters or they dislike them, so they subconsciously rewrite the story to fit their narrative. I don’t have as much of a problem with this when fans are upfront about it, if I don’t like it I just ignore it; but many fans don’t even realize they’re doing it

This type of rewriting is further allowed by the fact that the fanon TBHK characters don’t look like stereotypical fanon tropes. Fanon Kou isn’t an abusive womanizer, he’s a helpless puppy who can do no wrong. They can get away with that because technically that characterization is drawn from canon, Kou is a very kind person and a gentleman. But they run with those two traits until he loses all of the agency and nuance that he has in canon

Similarly, fanon Mitsuba isn’t an uwu soft boy who needs Kou’s help to tie his shoe. He’s a grumpy edgelord that goes out of his way to be rude to people. This is pulled from him having no filter in canon, but that’s where they end his characterization. They take away all of the softness that makes his character so unique. If someone said Mitsuba is the type to cry when his boyfriend ignores him, many fans would probably call that ooc, despite the fact that it’s canon. Because they don’t want to admit that Mitsuba is emotional, or that Kou is mean to a lot of people

To give the fandom the benefit of the doubt, I do think this comes from a fear of going in the opposite direction with fanon. They don’t want to turn Mitsukou into fanon Baku//Deku, so their solution is to swap the roles and make Mitsuba the fanon Bakugou and Kou the fanon Deku. Those should not be our only two options. We should be able to talk about these characters without reducing them to tropes

This goes for all the characters, they’re mischaracterized to be more digestible. Fans don’t have to put any work into analyzing Akane’s character if they reduce him to a creep. They don’t have to think too deeply about the Minamoto’s home life if they make Teru out to be an abuser. They don’t have to wrap their heads around a female character having an unlikable personality if they limit her to one half of a wlw ship. And so on, and so forth

I will also say that since romance is such a major part of TBHK, you’re going to have to put extra work into maintaining accurate characterization for fanon ships. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy fanon ships, I’m like the biggest multishipper ever, but when you’re writing them keep in mind that you’re removing love stories that are integral to a character’s arc and development. They can still be kept in character but try to imagine what they would be like if they didn’t have that development, or if the development happened differently

For instance, if Kou never fell in love with Mitsuba, he never would have learned how to be selfish. He wouldn’t know what it feels like to be relied on, and a lot of his significant character flaws would be erased. So how does that play out if he falls for Hanako or Nene instead? Does he have a similar arc or do things go a little differently? What problems would arise within those relationships that we don’t see with Mitsukou?? If you’re writing them pre-Mitsuba arc then you won’t run into as many problems, but after that Kou falling for someone else would change things up a bit. Just like Hanako and Nene falling for other people would majorly change the direction of the story. It can be done, but do it carefully

A lot of the time with fanon pairings I see fans just sort of try to copy and paste the dynamic of the canon ships. With Aoinene, I’ve seen people write Nene to be the only one who understands Aoi. That removes all of Aoi and Nene’s canon conflict and turns them into wlw AoiAoi. Let ships have their own dynamics and conflict!!

That’s not to say canon ships don’t require any effort for characterization ofc, I did start this off talking about how Mitsuba and Kou are mischaracterized by Mitsukou shippers. They just have an easier start because Kou and Mitsuba being in love with each other already maintains a prominent element of canon. It changes nothing about the direction of the story the way a fanon pairing would. Keep in mind tho, just because that one element remains close to canon doesn’t mean everything else is gonna go right. I see fans butcher the canon ships all the time lol

I obviously give more leeway to AUs but like, guys. Can we please sit down and read the manga😭

[bluestarjay]

Mmmm, here's something easy for today,, I woke up late, and I've run out of pre prepared ship content,,,

I think kamideku is such a cute rare pair, and I've been SO obsessed with them lately bc they actually have a lot in common, and they just work together so well.

One of the most common get-together tropes for them is study dates/sessions, which I love, bc deku is really smart, but also understanding abt adhd and whatnot, so it's a sweet thing for them to study together, and for kami to realize that deku hasn't once made a joke about him being stupid. In fact, deku mentions that he's *smart*? He doesn't understand it at first, but deku tells him that it's because he has a really good understanding of how things work; he's just not good at processing and translating thoughts onto paper properly. But since deku also has adhd, but more manageable, he helps him out.

Furthermore, they both have lightning. Technically. Deku's isn't like lightning lightning, but it has the appearance of it, ykwim?? I don't really know much about how to explain it, or what it actually is, if not lightning, but we all know what I'm talking about,,, I think,,, but imagine kami going "you have lightning too??" And they just kinda bond over how cool electricity quirks are even though Deku's isn't actually electricity. Most fics of them involve them gushing over pro heroes too which is so cute I love ittt

Since deku's closet is mostly just t shirts, shorts, jeans, and just really casual stuff, and kami's has a lot more nicer and alternative stuff, deku borrows his clothes sometimes. In the dorms, deku's has become a lot less all might themed (mainly bc I hate his room sm), and there's a lot more new wave/alternative 2000s elements, more similar to kami's. Kami has some new all might merch in his dorm. They also have shared spotify playlists.

I saw a post under the kamideku tag saying that his electricity would be really good for deku's joint pain, which I love sm, like, imagine them cuddling, and kami just sends little jolts out to soothe his pain??? Kami just gushes to every person imagineable abt how cool and strong and awesome his bf is, and deku gets flustered and tells him to stop. In that one episode, kami mentions something he shouldn't have ( possibly about stain? Not sure, tho), and deku says, "'Minari! ☹️😟" 😭😭😭

People really need to make more content of them. omg there's sm cute stuff on them, but not nearly enough!!!!

[utilitycaster]

anyway this is obviously a wild shift in the topic of conversation, but I was talking about it in the group chat last night as a distraction and would like to continue the distraction if I am being honest, so, with the caveat that this is based off of Fandom Osmosis Observations and a few reads of reviews and I have at this time played neither of these games, some thoughts about BG3 vs. Veilguard and what I've seen. many thanks to @captainofthetidesbreath for actually knowing things about video games and answering my many questions.

also just putting this up front with all said caveats: if you disagree that is great, I am very open that this is an outside observation and I could be very wrong but I am going to block people who get hostile without warning, and make this nonrebloggable if too many people get hostile. You are always permitted to disagree but like, I don't really care about your opinion if you're not someone with whom I have a pre-existing rapport unless idk you're like, actually a BG3 or Veilguard official story writer who happens to be on Tumblr. If you're a player? You have all of your own biases and they are not mine. Save it for someone who wants to get in a fight about this; I am not that person.

Essentially, what I've seen in terms of criticism from Veilguard that isn't just rampant transphobia comes down to the following:

why am I not playing my previous character from Inquisition again

why am I limited to a fairly consistent through line for the story

But first, I'm going to talk about BG3. What's funny is I seem like a much more obvious candidate for playing BG3, as a longtime D&D player who has come around on Forgotten Realms as a setting. However, while I looked at it for a while, I eventually lost interest for a couple of reasons. One is that apparently all the characters are WAY too eager to romance you which is like, a fun fantasy for 10 minutes but would probably annoy me in the long run. Another is that everyone who watched early reviews and kept abreast with the game told me that there was a clear favorite companion (Astarion) and that many of the characters had most of their interesting flaws sanded down (eg: Wyll was apparently much cockier originally; Shadowheart even more petulant; and as these are perhaps the two characters I was most intrigued by, reducing them to something blander destroyed much of the appeal). But perhaps the most interesting one is that as a boring goodie two shoes sort of person, my thought back when I was like "yeah, perhaps I will play this" was "oh, I do not want to have a murderous urge within me."

It became very apparent, through watching people play through and post on my dash, that if you didn't specifically play as the Dark Urge, and didn't specifically resist that urge, the story didn't really cohere. I have to admit, I know the premise of BG3 very well (tadpoles), and I know a lot of shipping trends (put a pin in that), and I know some of the more obvious points within it (Astarion is a vampire, Gale and Karlach both have bombs in their chests somehow, Shadowheart bleaches her hair) but I don't really have a great sense of the ending, and I did not avoid spoilers.

It feels like BG3 is designed for people who have one of those massive spreadsheets of D&D characters they haven't had a chance to play that are meticulously kept and thoroughly realized...and don't really leave room for modifying to fit the campaign you will actually be playing in. It feels like an OC sandbox simulator unless you do actually pick the choice the writers actually wrote for (Durge), and while it's not technically playersexual...it kinda is. I mean, I am a big fan of the trend in video games towards making it possible to romance anyone because it conjures up the idea of a world of high-powered bisexuals running around, which is very enjoyable for me, but the criticism of the Mary Sue archetype originally was never "how dare you fantasize about being cool." It was "wow, the characterizations are all warped beyond recognition solely so that everyone is in love with this character, and that makes for a dull and unsatisfying story." If you're everyone's type, and it's for romance and not just sheer lust, then either everyone around you is boring and wants the same thing, or you are sort of bland and inoffensive, or else the story is bashing characters together without a good basis for a compelling romance. This is also compounded by the fact that the companions can't get together with each other if you're playing your own character and not an Origins character.

None of this is to say it's bad to like BG3 and again, I didn't play it; but it is why I ultimately said "you know, given the effort involved to play it for me, a person without a gaming system, it's not worth it."

Veilguard has specifically intrigued me for going against a lot of this. You have a lot of choices in your character build, but they're all fairly thematically consistent: you did something within your faction that was well-intentioned but upset higher-ups and so you need to step away for a while. This establishes a personality for you! We know why you're part of a faction but also something of a free agent at the moment. We know why you're here and why you might be a good candidate for the current mission.

I'm not going to go into detail for the choices because while I'm not avoiding spoilers I don't want to spoil a relatively new game for others, but a lot of choices are fairly parallel, not in an "illusion of choice" way - they have consequences - but in terms of hitting similar themes. You can only save one city and both are places you have seen and places your companions have connections to; while the exact details may differ you are telling a consistent story.

I also think the fact that the companions can romance each other in your absence is important too! They exist even when you're not there. They are not just here to woo you, and indeed, they might be a better match for each other. I've been informed this is true in Inquisition as well, and I think it's a much more rich world if you, as the player, as the person who can ultimately decide the fates of your companions, aren't the center of their personal life. I also think it prevents the ability to sand down companions to be more agreeable to you as a player if you have to make an NPC/NPC romance compelling (and I will freely admit that, in a move that is not at all like me, I was pretty well sold by a potential in-game NPC/NPC romance, which is usually not the thing that gets me into works of fiction).

I'm not the right person to speak to the Inquisitor not being a significant character because I did not play DA:I, and I get that 'well, this is a new game with a new protagonist, as there has been for every Dragon Age game' is still not necessarily an adequate explanation. Nor is "hey, maybe it's good to attract new players" even though as someone who is highly attracted as a new player that is my opinion. However, I want to go back to the point about Resist Durge being the strongest option in BG3 in terms of story by a long shot. When I was trying to learn more, I said "ok, so just like how you're Tav in BG3 and Rook in Veilguard, you're Lavellan in Inquisition, right?" and was told that you are not - that's just the elvish Inquisitor option. Obviously this is anecdotal, but the fact that one option was far and away the most popular and thematically resonant is an indication that perhaps bringing forth the Inquisitor is carrying over some of the limitations of that game, whatever they may be. The true argument is "they are trying to tell a specific story here, and it is about a different POV than the one you previously had."

And that's really my point. I know I'm not an expert here - in fact I'm usually quite hesitant to write meta about things in which I'm not highly steeped, and very critical of those people who do - but I think an outsider perspective is useful here. The thing that is drawing me to video games is a new way to experience a fictional narrative (the other game I have been meaning to play - and even own on Steam- is Disco Elysium). That's not what everyone wants! But it is what I want. And so I want to be put into a developed, thoughtful narrative, and I don't mind if my choices are restricted in order to support it, and if I am playing a person I did not entirely choose. In tech, there is a saying of "make it easy to make the right choice (and hard to make the wrong one)" and so if you need your protagonist to hit certain beats, you should make that the required protagonist.

I think a story is stronger if your choices matter but if there is something of a foregone conclusion because it gives the writers thematic throughlines. This might sound a little silly given that this blog is largely dedicated to Actual Play but the thing is, most actual play does have, if not a foregone conclusion, at least a strongly intended conclusion of "work towards uncovering this mystery and achieving this goal", though the success of said goal is not guaranteed. I would argue that when a campaign lacks that, it tends to suffer in all aspects. RPG video games almost always have a foregone conclusion, but that's its own liability. In actual play, lacking a forgone conclusion means you spin off in any direction and it's anyone's guess if it's coherent. In an RPG, having this conclusion but not supporting it through the rest of the game will make it feel contrived. I feel a lot of Veilguard criticism is focusing on small contrivances early on that really mostly matter to a highly specific subset of potential players that prevent much larger and less forgiveable contrivances later on.

Anyway. Again, I am an outsider here, and I'm not here to say that it's bad to have a more open-world, sandboxy game with a self-insert-y OC type; but I have to be honest, I'd rather explore that in a true sandbox of fanfiction or original fiction, which is significantly cheaper and in which I can actually tell the entire story I want to tell. I don't want to be given more choices if a lot of them will be profoundly unsatisfying as a narrative. I don't want to cut through the world like a hot knife through butter. I want to be affected by it, and that's very hard to do with a character whose only trait is "self-insert whom everyone wants to fuck" or "guy that already carries the baggage of years of personal headcanons and highly variable choices that are hard to account for for every single person who ever played the previous game."

[august-anon]

Preliminary Data

For Tickletober Day 15: "Are you ticklish?"

Sorry it is Late!!! Though do we expect anything different from me at this point lol. It was technically written decently before the 15th, but real life got in the way and I couldn't edit it until last night, so alas

Also, Sarah, this one is for you. I hope you enjoy it ;)

-------------------------------

Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Ship(s): pre-slash DaForge

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Geordi/Ler!Data

Word Count: 3282 words

Summary: Data is curious about the act of tickling. Geordi agrees to be his unfortunate victim.

[ao3 link]

------------------------------

“I do appreciate your assistance in this matter, Lieutenant,” Data said, watching as Geordi sealed his chestplate closed. 

“Anytime, man, you know that. And we’re off duty. It’s just Geordi, Data.”

“Of course. Thank you, Geordi.”

Geordi smoothed Data’s pseudo-skin back over the seams of his chest cavity, rendering it invisible once more. “I just don’t know how you can sit still through it.” He made a discomforted noise. “Makes me shiver just watching.”

Data cocked his head. “While I do have pressure sensors to indicate when things are misaligned or there is enough force that I may become damaged, I do not feel pain in the same way that you would. I find no discomfort in the opening of my chest cavity, nor in the repairs you complete.”

“No, not that.” Geordi huffed a laugh, turning away to gather up his tools. “I just meant– I don’t know what I meant.”

Data looked down at his chest, tracing over the hidden seams of his chest compartment just as Geordi had done moments ago. He imagined how the gentle touch might feel if he had nerve receptors, why it might make one shiver. He ran a search through his databases, sifting through the information far faster than a human (or any other biological creature, for that matter) ever could.

Ah. Data understood what was happening, now.

“Geordi?”

“Yeah, Data?”

“Are you perhaps ticklish, by any chance?”

Geordi sputtered, fumbling with his tools and sending one crashing back down to the table. He whipped his head around to face Data. “What?”

“Ticklish,” Data repeated, cocking his head once more. “Sensitive to being tickled, which is to lightly touch a person or body part in a way that causes an itching sensation and often laughter. To my understanding, most humans–”

“No, Data– I know what tickling is. I was just surprised by your question.”

“Oh, I see. Are you?”

Geordi huffed another laugh. “You know, most of the time you’re not supposed to just come out and ask it, not unless you’re poking fun at someone, teasing them. It can be embarrassing, for most people.”

“I did not mean to offend.”

Geordi waved him off. “I know. Just caught me off guard, I wasn’t offended.” He shuffled his feet, turning back to his tools and clearing his throat. “And I am, for the record. Just a bit.”

“Interesting. May I try?”

The tools clattered again. “What?”

“May I try? I have never witnessed a reaction to tickling before, I find myself curious. I wish to know how one may react to it, in a more personal sense.” Data paused, running through his database again. “And from my research, I found that it is a form of bonding. We are friends, are we not, Geordi?”

“I– right, yeah. We’re– friends.” Geordi’s voice was strangled.

Data blinked. “Have I said something wrong?”

“No, no. It’s just not everyday that your, ah, friend asks to tickle you.”

“It is not a common experience?”

Geordi shook his head, finally managing to get his tools put away and crossing his arms over his chest as he turned back to Data. His eyebrows were raised, visible above his visor. “Most people don’t ask, not unless they’re teasing, like I said. They just do it.”

Data did another search, the word tease in conjunction with tickle. “Teasing, because the use of it heightens the embarrassment and therefore the emotional aspect of the action, which can in turn heighten the physical sensation for some.”

“Right.”

“I am teasing you, right now?”

Geordi shifted his weight. “I mean. Clearly not intentionally, but…”

“But you still find yourself embarrassed by my words and actions.”

“Yeah.”

They lapsed into silence for a moment. Geordi fidgeted with his hands, then sighed, then moved towards the lounge area of his quarters.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.”

“Geordi?”

“Come on, tickle me.” Geordi flopped on the sofa. “Do your research, or whatever it is.”

Data slowly approached, cataloguing how Geordi warily tracked his every movement, more with sound than with sight despite the presence of his visor. Perhaps even this could be a tease. “Are you certain? I would not want to make you uncomfortable, or cause you anymore undue embarrassment.”

“Yeah.” Geordi lifted his arms, crossing them comfortably behind his head despite the way his biceps twitched like they wanted to come down. Data hadn’t even moved yet. “I– I trust you, you know. I can take it for a bit. For you.”

Data sat on the edge of the sofa, near Geordi’s hip. “Then, if you are certain, I will begin now.”

Geordi tilted his head up and away, biting his lip. Data reached out and hovered his hands over Geordi’s torso, hesitating. He brought up images and videos in his mind’s eye, examining the techniques used. Some even had tools in order to create particular kinds of ticklish sensations. Seeing as he didn’t have anything of the sort on hand, and this was a preliminary gathering of information anyway, Data carefully lowered his hands to Geordi’s sides and wiggled his fingers.

Geordi jumped, a grin leaping onto his face with the action, but did not laugh. He shifted his hips a little where he lay and his arms tensed in their raised position, but he did not squirm anymore than that.

“Does this tickle?” Data asked.

Geordi huffed. “Teasing, Data.”

“Apologies.”

“It’s fine, you can tease. And, uh, a little. I’m not very ticklish there.”

Data tilted his head. “Where are you ticklish?”

Geordi laughed outright, though it had nothing to do with the touch on his torso. “I can’t just tell you, that’s part of the fun. You have to figure it out yourself.”

“I see. I will continue my search, then.”

“Go for it.”

Data contemplated the situation that led them here – Geordi was perturbed regarding his chest compartment. The compartment itself took up most of his torso, where his stomach and sternum and parts of his ribs would be if he had them. Data examined Geordi’s midsection, referenced the data he had pulled up regarding tickling methods, and created a plan of attack. 

If he tickled more than one spot at a time, he wouldn’t be able to tell which was causing the laughter and squirming. Those particular methods would have to be saved until after he had discovered where Geordi’s “tickle spots,” as they were colloquially known, were. Some areas, typically softer ones, were able to be squeezed, while almost anywhere could be poked and prodded and subjected to wiggling and skittering fingers. Mouths were apparently an option as well, but Geordi was certain to have boundaries and Data was not willing to cross them simply for the sake of experimentation.

Perhaps it would do well to move inward, then upward. He would attempt Geordi’s stomach next and seek out sensitive spots there. Kneading and basic wiggling fingers seemed to be a commonplace method for this body part. Then, he would move up to Geordi’s ribs and chest. Squeezing was less common here, though not unheard of, but Data thought the lighter touches seemed the most comfortable. He didn’t quite have nails that grew out like many biological species, and which seemed popular in the act of tickling, but in the attempts to make him as humanoid as possible, he did have a short, blunt set of well-kept nails. Perhaps alternating between those and his fingertips would work best for Geordi’s ribs. Seeing as touches upon the torso were the instigator to this conversation, Data did not know whether to plan past that, or if Geordi would request they stop the gathering of information once the area was covered. Data decided to stop there, and create a plan “on the fly,” so to speak, if he was permitted further exploration.

Plan concocted, Data slowly converged his wiggling fingers inward toward Geordi’s stomach, paying careful mind to trace around the edges of the area where the seams of his own chestplate would be. Geordi flinched inward, looking as though he was fighting to keep his arms from flying down to protect himself, and, based on the sliver Data could see under the visor, squeezed his eyes shut.

“Shit!”

“Are you quite alright, Geordi?”

“Peachy!”

A split-second search, a reminder in which Geordi had used the phrase previously and what it meant, and Data nodded. Although Geordi’s throat and face seemed strained, it didn’t seem as though he was in any active distress. In fact, it seemed almost like…

“It is clear that you want to laugh. Why are you holding back?”

Geordi shook his head, his face contorting in what was probably a very amusing manner. Data hummed, switching to squishing the area around Geordi’s belly button. Geordi wheezed and folded in on himself, trapping Data’s hands between his knees and torso.

“Data! Teasing!!”

“I thought you said that the teasing was permitted?” He massaged his hands near Geordi’s hips and the edges of his stomach.

“Data, come on! Please!” Geordi wheezed. His grin was beginning to look painful.

Data paused. “Are you certain you’re alright?”

Geordi heaved out a breath, collapsing backwards onto the sofa once more. He covered his face with his hands for a moment, hiding his lingering grin. When he appeared to have composed himself, he crossed them behind his head once more.

“So, protesting is kind of a given when it comes to tickling.”

Data cocked his head.

Geordi pursed his lips, seeming to be picking his words carefully. “It’s such a powerful feeling, being tickled, that it can be unbearable – even if you don’t actually mind it. So sometimes, your body fights back and tries to get away or your mouth says things you don’t actually mean in a bit of a panic.”

Data absorbed this information. “Your pleading was not a sign of distress. You were simply overwhelmed by the sensation, and your mind and body were searching for an outlet.”

“Exactly, yeah. I’ll probably say a lot of things I don’t mean when I’m getting tickled.” He turned his head and muttered into his bicep, probably not meant for Data to hear, “Especially by someone as ruthless and methodical as you.”

“And the teasing, this has also been acceptable?”

Geordi squirmed, despite there being no hands on him at the moment. “Yeah, it’s all fine.”

“In that case, how will I know when you are truly in distress, or when you truly want or need me to stop?”

“You can trust me to express when I really mean it, instead of it just being ticklish babbling. Like if I say ‘seriously’ or ‘enough.’ Just… listen closely, yeah?”

“I always listen closely to you, Geordi.”

Geordi cleared his throat. “Right, yeah. Carry on, then.”

Nodding at the permission, Data picked up right where he left off – massaging his fingers around Geordi’s hips and lower stomach. Geordi folded in half again almost instantly and grabbed at Data’s wrists, apparently unable to stop his bark of laughter this time.

“I wasn’t ready!”

“You had indicated that you were. Plus,” Data slipped a smug note into his tone, taking note of his research still running in the back of his mind, “perhaps it is better that you were unprepared. The surprise seems to have finally forced your laughter out.”

“Shut up!” Geordi’s words were now completely infused with laughter, drawing them out and removing their bite.

“I do not think that you mean that.”

Finding the massaging motions particularly effective in this area, Data moved upwards once more. Massaging around the edges of Geordi’s stomach had him rolling toward whichever side he felt was being targeted more, wiggling around in an almost worm-like fashion. Massaging the center of his stomach and around his belly button had Geordi letting out snorts between his laughter, which seemed to heighten his embarrassment as it won out over his instinct to fight back, and he released Data’s wrists to cover his own face. Massaging the area between Geordi’s belly button and sternum kept him giggling, but he was able to lie back on the sofa once more and catch his breath – a similar level of sensitivity to his sides, it seemed. He switched to lightly tapping and wiggling his fingers here, enough to keep Geordi’s nerves on edge but give him a well-deserved break at the same time.

“How are you doing, Geordi?”

Geordi let out an incredulous, high-pitched giggle, completely unrelated to the ticklish ones still spilling out of his mouth. “I think I am getting the most thorough tickling I’ve ever had in my life. I don’t think anything has ever tickled this much, ever.”

Data paused, just resting his fingers on Geordi’s torso. “Is that a compliment?”

Another one of those high-pitched giggles. “Yeah, Data, it’s a compliment. I’d call you a tickle monster, but I doubt a monster could be even half as precise as you.”

“If you are amenable, I would like to continue.”

Geordi’s head thumped back against the sofa. “Knock yourself out.”

Data hesitated. 

Geordi chuckled, raising his arms up once more. “That means go for it.”

Without further preamble, Data shifted his hands to Geordi’s ribs, attacking with fingertips first. Instead of the bubbly sort of giggles Geordi put forth when he was catching his breath, the giggles that escaped him now were borderline hysterical. His feet drummed against the cushions of the sofa and he gripped the cushions above his head to keep his arms from crashing back down. The higher Data went, the more frantic the giggling became.

“You seem exceedingly ticklish here.”

“Data, please! Cut it out!!”

Data hummed. “No. I do not think you mean that, either. However, please let me know when that changes.”

Geordi groaned through his laughter, scrunching his knees up to his chest before extending them outward again.

Satisfied with his preliminary fingertip exploration, Data moved back to the bottom of Geordi’s ribcage and began again. This time, he slowed down, carefully tracing and scribbling with his fingernails to get a more detailed set of data. Tracing between each bone led to Geordi’s squealing and kicking out his feet with even more vigor. Scribbling along the bones as far as he could before the couch blocked his access had Geordi near-cackling. His biceps trembled as they fought to stay up, his knuckles going pale where they gripped the cushions.

“That’s worse!” Geordi howled. “Light tickles are worse!”

“I believe that is the point. However, your input is noted, and very helpful to this gathering of information. Thank you, Geordi.”

“Screw you, Data!”

“I will take that as a panic response to the tickling, and the teasing being used to heighten your current state.”

Once again, the response only became more frantic the higher up Data moved. The cackling and squealing got louder and panicked, Geordi’s feet were going haywire behind him, and the mirth brightened Geordi’s expression beyond anything Data had ever seen. Slightly above the halfway mark, Geordi let out a particularly loud shriek and slammed his arms down over Data’s hands, pressing them tightly to his own torso.

“Please, Data, please. It’s gonna tickle so bad, come on man. Don’t do this.”

Data paused his hands, considering, and let Geordi catch his breath for a moment. He still seemed unable to stop giggling, or to free Data’s hands from where he had trapped him despite the fact that he kept flinching at their touch.

“Are you truly asking me to stop?” Data asked. “Or is this another instinctive protective response to an overwhelmingly ticklish sensation?”

Geordi made an aborted move, like he was going to cover his face before his arms remembered what they were trying to protect. “Instinct,” he mumbled.

“I see. Shall we continue, then? We may stop now, if you prefer.”

Geordi seemed to consider it. “We– we can keep going, but I don’t think I can take anything more after you finish this out.”

“That is perfectly acceptable. Whatever you are comfortable with. I would not want to cross your boundaries.”

A sheepish, almost embarrassed smile rose to Geordi’s lips. “It was kinda fun, actually. I didn’t mind it.”

“Is that so?”

“Shut up, Data.”

“Do you mean it this time?”

Geordi remained silent.

After a moment, Data twitched his fingers and Geordi yelped in response. “You said you were willing to finish out your ribs?”

Geordi squirmed under him, not facing him. “I don’t know if I can just… let you, like I was managing before. Whatever you’re doing – it tickles like hell.”

“So you would like to stop?”

“No, no. I just might need a little help is all.”

“What is it you propose?”

“You might have to pin my arms out of the way,” Geordi said. “Just for this last part.”

“So long as you are comfortable with it.”

Geordi huffed a laugh. “I’m the one telling you to do it, aren’t I?”

Data slipped his hands out from under Geordi’s arms, enjoying the new wave of frantic giggles it provoked. Once Geordi had composed himself, Data carefully grabbed each wrist and pinned them above Geordi’s head, stretching out his torso and leaving his ribs vulnerable. He could see Geordi swallow.

“I will have to do them one at a time,” Data said, “as I now only have one free hand.”

Geordi twisted and tugged at his wrists, but it seemed more born of nerves than a true attempt at escape. “I can’t tell if that makes it worse or not.”

“You will have to inform me after.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Data touched his fingernails down against Geordi’s ribs once more. He had taken note that Geordi responded especially well to the unexpected tickles, and this was no exception. Data believed “leapt out of his skin” would be an apt expression to use for the way Geordi reacted, his laughter loud and bellowing and desperate. His pleading started up again almost immediately, but he never used a tone or phrase that indicated an immediate need for the situation to stop, so Data continued.

“You seem especially sensitive here,” Data said. “What does it feel like?”

“It tickles dammit!”

“That much I can assess, yes. You’ll have to provide me details on the sensation once you are more cognizant.”

“Data!!”

Geordi was practically screaming by the time Data reached the top of his ribs, and it left him endlessly curious about the ticklishness of the underarm just beyond. He and Geordi had a deal, however, and he was not about to break Geordi’s trust. Instead, once he deemed he had enough information (and that Geordi had been well and thoroughly tickled out on that side), he switched to the other side of his ribcage. The renewed wave of pleading was even more frantic than the last.

“Worse! It’s worse, it’s worse!”

“Oh? How so?”

“Means more tickles – Data please! No more!”

“Do you need me to stop?”

Instead of an answer, Geordi simply wailed out, “It tickles!” which Data supposed was answer enough.

Sensing Geordi’s exhaustion, Data made quick work of the second side, or at least quicker than he’d done with the first side. When he was finished, he released Geordi’s wrists, and they immediately crashed down to wrap around his torso in protection. Geordi curled himself up into a giggly little ball, and Data waited patiently while Geordi regained his composure. Or, as much composure as a disheveled, tickled-out man could have.

Once Data deemed him cognizant, he couldn’t help but ask, “Might we continue this experiment another time. After all, it hardly seems finished, only gathering information about your torso.”

Geordi groaned out an exhausted laugh. “You’re a menace.”

[stillfrownyclownlol]

I'm making Tyler x Logan propaganda but for now take another ship ask thingy whatever (shoots my fucking brains out) <3

This is also...long... 🫠

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

1. How did they first meet?

They knew *of* each other since elementary school, but they met officially when they got grouped together for the Savannah project.

2. What was their first impression of each other?

Tyler: Nerd. Wished he'd stop mumbling all the time, it pisses him of.

Logan: internal crying. Jocks are scary lahdhosjdjd- (thought he was handsome tho)

3. Did any of their friends/family want them to get together?

They had never thought about them like that haha. Logan pretty much periodically told the whole squad except Tyler 💀 so they were all like very subtly encouraging him. Taylor was VERY excited. Aiden would be SO obvious about it but luckily Tyler is kind of oblivious. Ash and Ben are just watching the whole thing go down.

4. Who felt romantic feelings first?

Tyleeeeeer. Dork.

5. Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

You know they would 🤡 Whatever let me have my angsty gay pining leave me alone 😭

6. If you had told one of them the other would be their soul mate, what would they think?

Logan: He would combust into flames and melt into a pile of stuttering and blushing.

Tyler: he'd probably punch you.

7. What would their lives be like if they had never met?

No phantom dimension! Tyler would probably get a baseball scholarship to some nice uni and Logan would get a scholarship cuz he's super smart. I think they'd be alright but probably a lot more emotionally stunted

GENERAL

1. Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

Tyler because Logan Gen/ thought he was straight so he'd legit never brought it up. Ngl Logan prob got injured and Tyler was just ranting and confessed on accident hihi ❤️

2. Did they have an official first date? What was it like?

I think yes. I think Logan would ask him and they'd do smth very low pressure :) Go out to eat somewhere (not a fancy place) and then walk around the park or smth until night time, so Logan can geek out about the constellations. Normal friend stuff...but they both know it's a date so they're freaking out. Then Tyler holds his hand and- *slams my head into a wall*

3. What was their first kiss like?

Awkward. They bumped their foreheads together since they tried to do it at the same time. Tyler instigated it :)

4. Were they each other's first anything?

Logan: Tyler's first kiss (with a boy) and first relationship

Tyler: Logan's first kiss (In general) and first relationship

5. What's their height and age difference?

Tyler is 187 cm (he did not get those short boy genes lol) and Logan is 164 cm, so I think that's like, 9 inches? Tyler was born in August 2000 and Logan in December 2000, so only 4 months.

6. What's their relationship with each other's families? Do they share a friendgroup?

You know they share a friend group lmao.

Logan gets along very well with Marianna :) she thinks he's super sweet and he doesn't mind her eccentricity. Taylor loooooves having Logan as a "brother in law" ^_^

Tyler's relationship with James and Mary is...testy 💀 they don't mind the fact that he's dating a boy but they HAVE heard Logan venting about how insecure he is in the friendship because he thinks Tyler hated him. Tyler doesn't really appreciate being reminded of all that and the fact that they might antagonize him. They're working on it for Logans sake.

7. Who takes the lead in social situations?

Tyler usually, he's not afraid to call somebody out on their shit :) Logan is better at mediating tho.

8. Who gets jealous easier?

Logan is more insecure than jealous. Tyler is just normal jealous 🤡 he's a little itty bitty bit possessive...👍🏽

9. Who whispers unsuitable things in the others ear?

Technically Tyler does, but not like, on purpose. They might just be out somewhere and some guy will be being mildly irritating or whatever and Tyler will mutter "this fucking clown" to Logan. Logan is always "!!! Ty!" Lmao

LOVE

1. Who said "I love you" first?

Logan! He definitely cried while saying it too haha. I think Tyler would say it back...after kissing him mwah mwah.

2. What are their primary love languages?

For Tyler absolutely acts of service. It's what he's used to haha. Likes to cook for Logan and help him around the shop (while James and Mary are watching him like a hawk) :) Receiving, tbh, he just likes when Logan wants to spend quality time with him.

Logan...also acts of service; for a long time he valued himself on how useful he was to somebody and its still how he evaluates his relationships. He helps Tyler with homework he doesn't understand, helps him with chores around the house, etc. He really appreciates words of affirmation, makes him feel more secure ^_^

3. Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?

In the beginning it was Logan, he bought a book and everything 🤡 he always fumbles the delivery tho help him. After a while Tyler says them cuz he likes messing with Logan and watching him get flustered lol.

4. How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?

It is 2016 in Georgia, they don't engage in any PDA 🤡 as if Logan needed another reason to get harassed. They like cuddling in the privacy of their houses tho, but just the standard amount ^_^

5. Who initiates kisses?

Tyler will generally ask Logan to kiss him, since he's a little awkward about initiating.

6. Who's the big and little spoon?

Tyler is pretty protective so he likes being the big spoon, but if Logan asks he's also fine with that. He likes rubbing Ty's stomach due to the injury he got there U_U

7. What are their favorite things to do together?

Logan: STARGAZINGGGG. Nothing makes him happier than infodumping :D Ty likes listening to him anyways so. He also likes going to Tyler's games cuz, you know, he wanna be supportive and all that. Plus he thinks he looks sooooo cool while playing.

Tyler: Something chill, he's like, consistently tired lmao. He just likes spending time with him, he doesn't mind if they're just laying down studying or listening to music, or just talking to each other.

8. Who's better at comforting the other?

Tyler is, surprisingly. When Tyler is upset he's just generally mad and needs to cool off alone, plus Logan isn't really good around people who are angry haha ":). When Logan's upset he tends to be more teary eyed, so Tyler just hugging him and reminding him to breathe is enough.

9. Who is more protective?

Tyler 🤡 I don't think I need to elaborate aldhoshd

10. Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

Tyler: physical because verbal affection flusters him a lot.

Logan: verbal because physical affection flusters him a lot.

....Help them, lol

11. What are some songs that apply to their relationship?

*Points to Red's Spotify playlist*

(This doesn't really make sense but Campus by Vampire Weekend reminds me of them by proxy because I was listening to it while I drew them lmao)

12. What kind of nicknames do they call each other?

Logan: Will usually call him Ty. "Babe" if he's up to it haha. When they're older he probably calls him the usual ones like honey or sweetie :)

Tyler: probably something real cringy considering that carrot-top nickname he gave Ash. I mentioned Starboy and Cielo before. I think he'd call him "Bizcochito" (porque le quiere comer a besos jajajajaj)

13. Who remembers the little things?

They're both very detail oriented so they remember all those things.

DOMESTIC LIFE

1. If they get married, who proposes?

Since gay marriage was legalized in June 2015, for most of his life Logan pretty much never thought he would be able to get married. So he proposed to Tyler. Was crying profusely the whole time and dropped his cards haha.

2. What's the wedding like?

They couldn't find a church that would bless their marriage even tho Mary and James had asked for it. So they just got married at city hall. BUT they did have a super big after party with all of Tyler's extended family >:) Logan has no idea what "gringo" means but he's not thinking about it too much.

3. How many kids do they have, if any?

It was really fucking hard to adopt one :") one girl because I said so and this is my list

4. Do they have any pets?

They have a few cats because for a long time they couldn't adopt any kids. It's good for Logan's enrichment, even though the cats don't really like Tyler lol

5. Who's the stricter parent?

Tyler loses his temper easier, but he's also way more likely to indulge their daughter so like, he is stricter, but he's not very consistent about it lmao. Logan is better at disciplining Tho.

6. Who worries the most?

They're both worrywarts kkkkk Tyler a little more tho, it's the ✨️anxiety✨️ kicking in.

7. Who kills the bugs in the house?

Tyler will scream if he sees a bug so 🤡 Logan is very used to bugs because there's usually a few in the plants, so he'll catch them and throw them outside.

8. How do they celebrate the holidays?

Tyler isn't really big on holidays, but he'll help Logan put up decorations and stuff if he wants to. They generally go visit their family and friends U_U

Tyler does celebrate Día de Los Muertos as an adult tho, he spends most of the day at his dad's ofrenda. Logan is there for moral support, and they'll call Taylor and Marianna if they can't come over for any reason.

9. Who's more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

Tyler's naturally an early bird and Logans a night owl, so Logan will pull him back into bed haha.

10. Who's the better cook?

Tyler's the better cook and Logan's the better baker.

11. Who likes to dance?

Tyler! He's a bit reluctant to admit it tho, but he's a good dancer and he loves pulling Logan by surprise to dance bachata or cumbia hihi

[verdantwyrm]

Went back in and decided to have another look around.. is there any reason why Curly's quarters has a door with a lock on it? At first I had thought it was just an oversight since you're not supposed to see past the door, but everything in this game so far has been eerily intentional, that this simply can't just be an oversight. I'm not going crazy, am I?

And there really isn't any other doors of this exact type that we're not-supposed-to-see-behind to reference it too, as this is the only one that is technically inaccessible to us. (Maybe they had plans but scrapped it?)

It also begs the question of how Curly refers to it as such, My quarters. Not our or the quarters. His. We know very little about the sleeping arrangements around the ship beyond them not having locks on them, if they're separated at all by gender or if they're individual rooms. If they are individual rooms, then they probably might only have four rooms to account for the four members, which could mean that Daisuke doesn't have his own room or someone had to give up theirs for him. (Unlikely)

If they're separated by gender, then Anya would be sleeping all on her own in a large room. Which adds its own terrible implications considering what Jimmy did to her in a very empty, very lonely room.

But Curly's quarters seem to have a lock, and why is Curly's quarters the only one you can see and even interact with anyways? And wouldn't he mention this to Anya when she asks about the lack of locks on the quarters?

We can see the door pre-crash and we know based on Jimmy's post-crash dialogue that the showers are beyond the sealant foam and then stopping them all from showering. So is that where the other quarters could be? The layout of the ship confuses me, and I have absolutely no idea why Curly's quarters are so far away, right outside of the lounge room, and separated from the rest.

[lostcauses-noregrets]

As a veteran fangirl who only got into aot 2 years ago. I have been a massive fic reader for many fandoms over the years but the sheer number of long, detailed epics in the eruri fandom needs to be studied.

The number of long cinematic fics with indepth world building that are crafted with sheer love and respect for the characters in this fandom is incredible. Usually a fandom is lucky to have few that becomes classics but there seems to be one in every corner here.

I am very grateful for your Tumblr which has been a massive archive of knowledge and guide to navigating this fandom.

Thank you so much Anon ♡ I didn't originally intend for my blog to become the Eruri archive when I first got into the series in 2015, but 9 years and 23K posts later, here we are!

You're not the first person to be struck by the sheer range of incredible writing in the Eruri fandom, to say nothing of the fanart. We've been blessed by so many amazingly talented writers over the years, and one of the most amazing things is that they just keep coming. Many people predicted the demise of the Eruri fandom when Erwin died, when the manga ended, when then final anime episode aired, but the fandom is still thriving and new writers are posting fic every month.

However as you rightly pointed out, it's not just the quantity of the fic that's remarkable, it's the quality of the writing, the characterisation and the world building. I have a few of my own theories as to why that should be. First of all the canon material is a gift. Erwin and Levi are both mature adult characters with considerable depth and nuance and their canon relationship (regardless of whether you view it as romantic or not) is intertwined with the plot. It doesn't hurt that both of them have tragic backstories and then of course there's Erwin's internal conflict, heroic sacrifice and Levi's determination to fulfil vow. Honestly what more could you ask for from a ship?? It's no surprise that 3 of the 5 most popular manga chapters chosen by readers of Bessatsu Shonen manga focus on Erwin and Levi's relationship. They really are just that good.

I also think that because Erwin and Levi are both adults, rather than typical teenage shonen protagonists, that they attract a slightly older fanbase. That's not to say that younger fans can't be amazing writers of course, many are, but I think older fans often have a range of life experience that they can bring to their writing. Also I know for a fact that there are many Eruri authors who have successful professional careers and are published authors in other fields including technical writers, academics, researchers, historians, poets, journalists and more.

I've lost count of the number of times I've heard fans say that the Eruri fandom has spoiled them because of the quality and range of the fic and art, and honestly, it's hard to disagree. I regularly re-read fics that were written a decade ago and the characterisation is still pitch perfect. Some of them even pre-empt canon events that appeared in the manga years later. At the same time, I'm discovering new authors every week who are writing heart breaking fics that provide new insight into these characters who I've loved for so long. The Eruri fandom really is one in a million and I'm very grateful it's been such an important part of my life for so long. I'm glad you're able to enjoy it too ♡

[mrsshabana]

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 ☆ (𝐰/ 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬)

Hey guys! I got some really cool Gyutaro figures that I wanted to share with you. I'll also be providing links to where you can purchase them (all links should provide international shipping). I tried to take cool photos this time, let me know what you think! (๑•́o•̀๑)

Kimetsu No Yaiba Vibration Stars Gyutaro :･｡☆

I really love this figure, it's definitely my favorite from this haul. It's decently sized too and at a very good price! However, the feet holes didn't align correctly so he only has one foot attached to the base.

Kimetsu No Yaiba Demon Series Vol.10 Gyutaro :･｡☆

You've probably seen the normal version of this figure around a lot, but this one is a special color variation! It has a sort of sepia effect to it. It's also very affordable, and the base fit perfectly on this one.

Kimetsu no Yaiba Chokotto Hikkake Petit Vol.5 Gyutaro and Daki :･｡☆ Pre-order set ☆ Just Gyutaro & Daki (Buyee) ☆ Whole set (Buyee)

These ones are so adorable!! They attach to cups and glasses. There is also Enmu and Akaza in this set. These ones technically haven't been released outside of Japan, so if you want them now I'd recommend getting them from Buyee, that's how I got them. Just keep in mind that shipping can be expensive.

[a-memory-a-distant-echo]

ok, you know what, fuck it, fic recs post. historically i try not to rec works in progress or things i haven't commented on and i'm throwing that fully out the window for this because honestly, fucking whatever.

if you're on this list and i haven't been fully unhinged at you in the comments, please know that it's because (1) i'm the worst and (2) i'm trying desperately to calibrate so i hit 'enthusiastic' and not 'kind of frightening, actually'. i swear that i have written at least several sentences of a comment for every fic on this list, it's just that i'm genuinely impossibly slow, sometimes. it's me, not you.

my previous rec post is here, in case you missed that. as a bonus, special for this rec list and as a concession to the horrors, i am attempting to guess how much any given fic will fuck up the average person. obviously this is a ymmv kind of situation, but i'm trying, at least?

everything else under a cut because i am longwinded.

and found by @dangerouscommiesubversive, explicit, every possible combination of di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua | li xiangyi; bless, but i am not typing all that out. starting off with a wip where i haven't left a comment in like four fuckin' chapters, breaking those rules real good. this fic is a fucking ride. i will admit that i wasn't entirely convinced by the premise when i saw the blurb, but i am nothing if not willing to admit when i was wrong, and i was—once again—totally wrong. this is the fic where i was like 'ok but…is anyone really, like, desperate for gen z li xiangyi?' and then i read it and i was like 'ohhhhhh fuck yeah, ok, i get it, i was actually fully desperate for gen z li xiangyi.' he is. such a little prick. i love him. there has been something unexpected and delightful in every single chapter of this so far, plus a number of impressively memorable one-liners. this fic is fun and distracting and at least as of chapter seven, i'm gonna say it's not even gonna fuck you up. (please note that this is only through chapter seven!)

and the days are bright red by @junemermaid, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. rip to my beloved tumblr mutual @junemermaid, because they're getting called out twice in this list, but: tough. this fic is so delightful. featuring: memories of slut era li lianhua, the mortifying ordeal of being known, an entire box of historically accurate sex toys, fang duobing and di feisheng communicating (sometimes silently) in a way that unsettles li lianhua (back from his months-long sojourn), some very hot sex that is both very much about sex and also about trust and being perceived, casual intimacy, and fledgling tenderness. there are Emotions in this, and they get moderately intense, but it's a very kind and surprisingly gentle feel-good fic.

a drink under a clear window by @momosandlemonsoda, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing and fang duobing/qiao wanmian. a fic that tackles the dreaded v-shaped polycule and makes it work. it seems like perhaps it shouldn't: fang duobing as the hinge, with di feisheng and qiao wanmian on either side, but actually it works perfectly, and is a lovely little glimpse at who they could become and the relationships they could have. i love the thought of qiao wanmian having come into her own as a leader in her own right, as more than just the representative of the ghost of li xiangyi, and this does a wonderful job of letting her be her own person. also, yes, ok, passing fang duobing back and forth like a party favour. this is a post-canon fic in which li lianhua is dead, but the fic itself a straightforward delight that is not at all fucky uppy.

the floating clouds, no resting place, again by @junemermaid (not sorry), technically gen and no ship, but functionally pre-di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. the hair-washing fic. ohhhhhh. i started jotting notes for this post the day that i finished this fic, and i really thought that they were in any way comprehensive, but instead, what i typed and left as a note to myself was this:

and honestly. you're right, hypothetical reader, that doesn't totally make sense, but i stand by it regardless, because i apparently had that thought in [checks date i last saved the file] fucking august, and i'm still nodding along with myself. that is that this is like. this fic is very beautiful and will make you ache and will leave you slightly better at the end of it than you were at the beginning. it may also make you cry; this seems to me a fair enough trade.

the floating lotus by @anndramarama, not rated, di feisheng/li xiangyi. pre-canon stuff doesn't always work super well for me, but i really enjoyed this one, featuring di feisheng and li xiangyi when they're both so young and arrogant and full of themselves—and stupid and naïve and young and almost hopeful in a way that they're often not, in fic, for all that they were barely but children at the point of the donghai fight. they just seem…vulnerable, i guess, in this, in a way that i find touching. seasonal bonus: a ghost story, of a sort. given that this is set pre-canon, i think it's hard to come in any softer than bittersweet, which this very much is.

from here one's hand could pluck the stars by @howlingmoonrise, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing. sex pollen fic! also featuring, a little surprisingly, given the premise, incredibly explicit and enthusiastic consent. look, this does what it says on the tin. di feisheng gets sex pollened. fang duobing is left to stay with him. the obvious ensues. unfortunately, it is also devastatingly charming? fang duobing is earnest and sweet; di feisheng is suffering beautifully terribly and trying so hard not to impose on fang duobing. they're both trying so hard to be respectful of what the other person needs, but they're also still bratty and argumentative and exasperated/exasperating, and it's very entertaining. this will fuck you up none percent, and may even make you laugh.

my war is done by @orchisailsa, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. another wip, with the first of three chapters posted, but please understand that this chapter is nearly 15k and so fucking good and compelling. li lianhua lives! and returns to find that things have changed in his absence, and perhaps that he has also changed in his absence, and now wants things that he had told himself he didn't mind not even having to lose. bonus: road trip and—delight!—only one room at the inn. also some other stuff that i'm not spoiling, but that made me absolutely gleeful. this is definitely a work in progress, and while i don't think there's anything particularly upsetting in the chapter, it does end on something of a cliffhanger. i personally do not feel that this is an upsetting cliffhanger, given the information about the fic that's presented in the tags, but it is technically a cliffhanger.

awkward paragraph break, but it's also important, i think, to mention the absolutely stunning (and not at all safe for work) companion piece to my war is done, you'd be there calling my name, by saki the cup bearer, who i don't think is on tumblr. it's fucking incredible; i am very decidedly not an artist but i cannot begin to imagine how much effort went into this. just. holy shit.

not unlike him in shape and form by @philologicalbat, explicit, fang duobing/li lianhua. ok look. i fucking love when things are deeply emotionally messy, and this is so emotionally messy. li lianhua who's been attracted to fang duobing and not doing anything about it, then discovering that fang duobing is shan gudao's son and is very much going to do something about it. he wants in this, and he's cunty and manipulative and mean about it, and sometimes also almost sweet, almost tender, and i love that, because i feel like li lianhua is very often an object of desire and very rarely gets to desire. i love how human he gets to be in this fic. this is not a sweet or gentle fic, but it does end in a moderately tender place that is tentatively hopeful, i think.

unbecoming heir by @bettercostume, explicit, di feisheng/princess zhaoling. i am taking your hand in mine and begging you to trust me. i know what this fic looks like. it's noncon and a weird pairing and you might look at it and expect it to go in the obvious direction and: it does not. this fic is so good that it makes me angry. it makes me miserable and everyone in this fic is trying so miserably, miserably hard, and it's fucking devastating. i spent literally thirty minutes earlier today yelling at my wife about it. i cannot rec this fic strongly enough. this is not a happy fic, but it is a good fic. it will absolutely fuck you up. this is very complimentary but also you will be fucked up.

until you are its primary evidence by @ilgaksu, mature, di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. the single most effective use of what is effectively a prologue that i've ever seen in fic, are you kidding me. this fic is nothing at all like what i expected it to be, and is something far better than what i could have imagined. it's fang duobing's point of view, which is a rarity already, and it's so well done, and it allows him so much humanity and so much anger and grace alike. there are so many tricky things about this fic—the prologue, the fact that it's set in the amnesia arc, fang duobing's pov, the fact that it actually addresses canonical disabilities and illnesses without being fucking weird about it, the tension between the three of them—and it's all balanced so well. this has some emotionally heavier moments but ends tentatively happily; tentative only because it's set during the amnesia arc, and, well. we know what comes next.

as a final note: if you wrote one of these fics and feel that i've wildly misinterpreted the emotional tenor of the ending, please message me in whatever way you prefer and i will correct it. i would not normally presume to guess how things are likely hit people, as i am in many ways not anyone's ideal reader, but today it seemed like it was kinder to at least try.

[babybulls15]

(Carlos Sainz Jr./Max Verstappen, 1.4k, rated G, 1/1)

(Pre-Relationship, Feelings Realization, Max Verstappen Needs a Hug, Max Verstappen Gets a Hug, thats it, thats the fic)

Summary:

I didn't know where else to go.

Read it on Ao3 or below. :))

(This was written for Day 1 of the All Ships Ship Week 2024 run by @ficwip for the prompt "I didn't know where else to go".

I've been working on it for a while and I am very very happy with the way it turned out! It's technically part 1 of a series inspired by the prompt, because I had so many ideas that I would love to put to paper and share with you!

Until then, I hope you enjoy my take on the prompt and I’d love to hear your thoughts! <33)

---

Carlos’ Driver’s room – 2015

“I didn’t know where else to go.”

Max sounds nervous, unsure.

It’s very disorienting. Very different from how he usually sounds.

Not that Carlos would be a fitting judge of that. They barely know each other.

Sure, they’ve been teammates for half a year now. And sure, they've spent a lot of that time basically living in each other's pockets - becoming friends even. But just because you’re frequently around someone doesn’t necessarily mean you know them.

You certainly know things about them. Carlos knows a lot of things about Max. Max knows a lot of things about Carlos. Inconsequential stuff - favourite foods, TV shows, ice cream flavours, the works.

(They’ve had a lot of downtime, which meant lots of opportunities to play dumb icebreaker games, when neither of them wanted to pretend to be busy on their phone.)

And yet, to Carlos, most of the Max Verstappen jigsaw in his head is still just a bunch of 2- or 3-piece clumps that he has no idea how to fit into the bigger picture.

I didn’t know where else to go.

Carlos knows how Max sounds when he’s in work-mode. How he talks in briefs and de-briefs, on the radio, in interviews and even those silly PR-videos the team makes them do.

There’s a certain harshness to his voice, that makes him sound almost angry at times - even when he’s just stating facts. (It gets him in trouble sometimes, but mostly seems to work well as a deflector. To keep all the drama at a distance.)

The thing is, most people only encounter Max in work-mode. So it’s easy for them to get the impression, that that’s just how he always sounds – how he always is – and put him into a corner because of it.

But Carlos has also heard how Max sounds when he talks to his family.

The harshness is still there – most likely an integral part of any version of him - but it’s not as pronounced. Instead it’s almost overshadowed by something Carlos can’t quite figure out. Something that continuously betrays his annoyed teenager exterior, revealing the fondness he has for the people closest to him with every word he speaks.

He’s never heard him sound like this though.

I didn’t know where else to go.

Carlos had expected a lot of things to happen this year. Had thought through all kinds of possible routes the season and the relationship with his teammate could take. Had talked about it at length with his father as well.

At no point had any of what he is currently faced with even crossed his mind in passing – meaning Carlos is not prepared for this in the slightest.

(Then again, where would a precedent for Max Verstappen breaking down and somehow seeing Carlos’ driver’s room as his only refuge even come from?)

And yet, here they are – Max curled up on the couch, sounding like he might burst into tears in the next five seconds and Carlos standing awkwardly in the doorway of his own driver’s room, utterly out of his depth.

His head is filled with questions. Most of them variations of What happened?, What do you need? and What the fuck happened?. The timespan between them parting ways after the de-brief and now seems to small for any earth-shattering event to occur.

But apparently it has.

Max is looking at Carlos, eyes filled with the same nervousness and uncertainty as his voice.He is looking at Carlos, like his world really is lying at his feet, broken into a million pieces. Like he has reached his absolute limit and can’t puzzle it back together by himself. But also like he isn’t entirely sure if Carlos would be willing to help him with it. Like he thinks that there’s a possibility his teammate – his friend – will actually kick him out in a state like this.

I didn’t know where else to go.

Realizing what his prolonged stunned silence probably looks like to Max, every question about What, When, Who is flying out of Carlos’ head and he finally manages to push through his shock and into action.

Usually, mostly due to Carlos’ own tendencies, physical contact is not uncommon between them. But he has no idea where Max’s boundaries lie when he’s this upset.

So, as he crosses the distance to the couch and sits down next to his teammate, Carlos makes sure to leave a moderate gap between them.

Just to be safe. Even though everything in him screams with the urge to just hug Max and hope it makes everything okay again.

His caution proves unnecessary, when not 3 seconds later, Carlos is hit with an armful of sobbing Dutchman, clinging to him like his teammate is the only thing tethering him to earth.

Mind still blanking on anything even remotely helpful to say, Carlos settles on simply giving in to his instincts and wrapping his arms around the younger man, gently rubbing his back.

When, after a few minutes, the sobs gradually simmer down to sniffles, Carlos is glad that it seems to be enough for now. That even though he has no idea how to go about this, he still managed to help somewhat.

It surprises Carlos a little bit, when Max relaxes more into his hold the longer it goes on and doesn’t make any move to pull away. To get away. He’d expected at least a little bit of that typical teenage embarrassment over having emotions, but, his initial fears assuaged, Max seems to trust Carlos enough to just let himself fall and be held.

The sniffles become fewer and more far between until Max’s breathing completely evens out. With no small amount of satisfaction does Carlos notice, that the younger man has fallen asleep in his arms.

It helps Carlos relax a bit as well – finally having at least a hint of an idea on how to manoeuvrer this uncharted territory in their relationship. If all Max needs is a safe place to land after whatever happened, it’s reassuring to know that he considers Carlos as such.

I didn’t know where else to go.

Carlos has no idea how long they’ve been sitting like this – Max fast asleep in his arms,  Carlos gently drawing patterns onto his back – when he realises that, if a situation like this arose for himself, he wouldn’t hesitate to do the same.

That he too would feel comfortable enough with his teammate – his friend – to let himself be comforted. That he too would trust Max to hold him up when he couldn't do it himself.

This line of thinking seems so far removed from the way Carlos has seen their relationship up until this point and also how he usually thinks about his more casual, circumstantial relationships. Extremely far.

Maybe Carlos has been fooling himself. Maybe it’s impossible to spend as much time together as they have over the last few weeks alone and not grow close enough to trust each other like this. Maybe he just didn’t want to admit that he’s grown quite fond of his teammate. Because maybe, whatever is happening between them is starting to feel unlike anything else Carlos has ever experienced with a friend.

It’s very disorienting.

Especially since the whole thing seems to only be a surprise to his conscious brain.

There’s no tension in his body at their closeness, his limbs oddly calm and comfortable about it all. No subconscious urge to find a way to end it either. Everything about their embrace feels like it could go on forever and all of Carlos would be content with that.

Like it’s been this way for a while. Like Max and him having a connection that goes a bit deeper than just casual friendship is not even yesterday’s news, but last month’s. Like most of him has just been waiting for the last few bits to finally get with the program.

I didn’t know where else to go.

Carlos knows there's a lot to unpack here.

He should probably ask Max what happened. What got him so freaked out on a race weekend, that objectively hadn’t been a complete disaster.

He should probably also figure out what else he has missed in their relationship. And what that means exactly.

But with Max breathing evenly against his chest - a warm and calming weight on top of Carlos, slowly pulling him to sleep as well - he thinks it’s probably best to leave everything tied up for just a little bit longer.

[drunkenskunk]

So, I'm laying in bed, waiting for the painkillers to kick in, with an ice pack strapped to my knee, and I'm letting my mind wander. And I'm thinking about Warhammer 40k, because of course I am, this is what I do when I'm bored and in pain.

While laying here, I got to thinking: when were the first "official" conflicts between humanity and the all the other Xenos factions? So I'm just delirious enough to be like "let's figure this shit out."

And I'm already needing to start off with a mulligan, because the Orks, the Eldar, and the daemons of Chaos have always been ubiquitous in the Warhammer galaxy ever since humanity first walked upright, so trying to pin down "first contact conflict" is a mugs game. It would all be pre-Dark Age of Technology. Who the fuck knows for sure.

So who else is there: in terms of "major" Xenos factions (that is: armies with a codex), we got the Tyranids, the Tau, the Necrons, and the Leagues of Votann. Which is less than I hoped, but about what I expected for James "SPESS MEHREEN" Workshep.

So: the Tyranids. The First Tyrannic War was in 745.M41. However: if we really want to be specific and pedantic (and I do), then the first time the Imperium ran into the Tyranids was "sometime" around 500.M41 when genestealers were first encountered on the moons of Ymgarl. Then again, I'm not actually sure we should count that, considering that the Imperium wouldn't even make that connection themselves until much later.

Next: the Tau. Technically first "contact" was in 789.M35, when an AdMech explorator ship, Land's Vision, found the planet that would eventually be named Tau, and recorded a primitive species that had mastered simple tools and fire. But because that planet became inaccessible due to a warp storm, and the records got lost in the chaos of the Age of Apostasy, we (again) probably shouldn't count that. First real conflict was the Damocles Crusade, between 742.M41 and 745.M41... and it only ended because the Tyranids showed up.

Moving on: the Necrons. Technically, they've been "around" even longer than the Eldar. But they've mostly all been fucking asleep in their tomb worlds, except for a select few who woke up early (looking at you Trazyn). So, really, if we're ignoring shit like Szarekh the Silent King returning from his self imposed exile in response to the Tyranids showing up (are we noticing a pattern here?), first "official" conflict with the Imperium was the Sanctuary 101 massacre in 897.M41.

And finally: the Leagues of Votann. And, again: they've been "around" for who knows how long. It's heavily implied that their generation ships left Earth for the galactic core before even the Dark Age of Technology. But they mostly kept to themselves and didn't venture outside the holds in the galactic core until Cadia exploded and the Cicatrix Maledictum cut the galaxy in half, forcing them to leave. Finally, an "alien" faction being introduced to the setting that has nothing to do with the fucking Tyranids.

And, y'know... looking at all that? That really does kinda put in perspective why everything seems to have gone to shit in 40k, doesn't it?

Between the end of the Horus Heresy in 014.M31 and the start of the Damocles Crusade in 742.M41, the only things the Imperium of Man had to really worry about were Orks, Eldar, daemons, and renegades/traitors. Like, none of that is great (and a lot of it is self inflicted), but that kind of setup seems manageable. The Eldar never show up in huge numbers, and daemons require incredibly specific circumstances to even manifest outside The Warp. Hell, even the Orks for most of that time are basically just a nuisance, since a warboss on the scale of Urlakk Urg wouldn't be seen till Ghazgkull. Really, the most dangerous thing the Imperium had to worry about during that stretch of time was regular humans rebelling (rightfully so) in the face of the Imperium being a nightmarishly oppressive theocratic fascist state.

That's 10,000 years or so that you could almost call relatively stable, where the vast majority of issues were problems that it inflicted on itself. Business as usual.

AND THEN

In the span of just over 250 years, there's several wars with the Tau, the Tyranids show up over and over again, the Necrons start waking up, and... then the Leagues of Votann are also here now lol

Something, something, decades where nothing happens, and weeks where decades happen, etc.

[kanohirren]

rwby fans really are a different breed huh

imply the show could be improved in any way and they'll get on your case telling you that you're actually a hater if you don't just swallow whole the hot garbage mess that shawcross and luna pull out of their butts when writing a season because they didn't plan out the show from the start and just make it up as they go.

and to all the people who say "whaaat of course they planned it out from the start you just don't understand their vision" you're right about one thing, I don't understand their vision but I don't think they do either. In the Volume 3 Commentary video, it's said that Monty only came up with the Maidens after Volume 2. The Maidens that proceeded to become the driving plot point for the rest of the series to this day didn't exist in anyone's plans when writing the show at the start. Not satisfied? How about the fact that Neo wasn't written in until volume 2 because Monty decided that Torchwick needed a henchman. Neo had like ten minutes of screentime pre-volume 6 but became one of the most popular characters so they decided to make her a major antagonist, even the main antagonist of volume 9. That DEFINITELY wasn't planned before the show started.

I think the show could have been so much better if the plot was planned out from the start and honestly a reboot feels like the way to go to me. Too many times, the writers feel like they're not writing to actually tell a good story but instead they're writing to try and get a reaction out of people. Looking at you, bumblebee. Blake and Yang had one (1) interaction in Volume 2. In Volume 3, Blake runs away at the end as isn't reunited with team rwby until the end of volume 5... but somehow by volume 6 they've somehow become a thing? Literally just shawcross and luna seeing bumblebee being a popular ship in the fndm and going "here you go guys! enjoy!"

It seems like their goal when writing is just to make the audience do this meme

"Whoa, bumblebee! These two characters are canon now and they totally interacted beforehand!"

or alternatively, "Whoa, Neo/Penny is back!"

I could make an entire other post about all the lost potential they had with the plot points that had been set up. Penny the robot girl is killed in volume 3 but surprise she's back in volume 7! That's not an issue per se but imagine the juicy angst steak if Penny's memory had to be wiped or rebooted because they essentially made a new Penny (being a destroyed robot and all) and so she'd forgotted Ruby, her only friend and Ruby thinks she knows Penny but this Penny is essentially a different person. But nope, Penny remembers everything and is a superhero now or something.

Oh and don't even get me started on World of Remnant. If your show can't explain your own lore in a way that isn't making separate lore videos to try and make your world make sense, there's a problem there.

I think this post is long enough though so I'm just gonna leave it at this: I used to really enjoy the show but as it went on the bad writing became harder and harder to ignore and I think the show would greatly benefit from a reboot because nothing of great value would be lost if they never finished the current series. The show had some really good ingredients but the cooks tried too hard to make something unique and ended up with something "technically edible" but not really all that tasty (and fans will insist it was perfect how dare you say anything bad about it but oops there I go looping back round)