#and every ship that those encompass lol

[eldritch-ace]

Highlights from trying to do anatomy practice with some Hatchetfield blorbs

[lycankeyy]

Jesus Christ these doodles already feel so old . I was not lying I really am using this fixation to speedrun learning to draw humans LMAO. Anyway I made some of those silly "understand ship in 5 minutes" memes with my Favorite pairings in funkycule au not ALL of them just the ones that I brainrot hardest about. If I did one for all of them we'd be here all day I'd probably hit image limit it's called the funkycule for a reason

ANYWAY infodumping/details under the cut:

BF/GF/Pico:

I am a "BF and GF are Fucking Tall™️" truther because it's funny to me. With BF it's harder to tell because his posture is absolutely atrocious but GF is just So Fucking Tall

I'm going to be honest with the gender headcanon for BF. I guess I default to him being transmasc but I can see him as. Like. Anything. In fact I think he's just every gender. But I'm a coward so he's transmasc for the purposes of the chart. GF is a girl but identifying her as "cis" or "trans" doesn't mean much when demon genders don't really work like that. It's complicated. Pico is just a guy

Pico likes being the big spoon because he likes knowing that his partners are safe. However GF likes being the big spoon More. The result is Pico Sandwich. He will never admit it but Pico feels the safest he ever has in his entire life when he is being Pico Sandwiched

BF is very much a verbal affection type of guy. Yes he is nonverbal. His words of affection are various dubstep noises. His partners appreciate it so much

BF grew up kinda spoiled and never really learned how to cook. However after noticing that Pico is like extremely bad at feeding himself (canon six pack means nothing to me. That boy is skin and bones I won't be told otherwise /silly) he for the first time managed to convince himself to try it and he got Really into it he's actually good at it. He still loses his mind when GF makes him pb&j sammiches for dinner though it's his favorite thing in the world

Pico is Insanely overprotective mostly because he's extremely hypervigilant and sees potential danger in everything. BF is the exact opposite and even in situations where he's in immediate danger he'll be ironically more worried about Pico getting too worried about it. GF is also pretty ditzy about this due to her confidence that her boys can handle Anything but if either of them ever got hurt she would explode everyone in a 50 mile radius with her mind so like that counts for something

Random headcanon: the group's favorite date night activity is looking up an extremely bad movie and then commentating over it like old-school rage youtubers the whole time in an effort to see who can get the others to laugh the hardest. BF wins often because the flatness of the TTS voice he uses adds something to the humor of it

Pico/Darnell:

I kinda bounced around with what label to use for Darnell for a while. I definitely see him as arospec, with the stipulation that he does feel romantic attraction just like very not traditionally and after a Long Time. After going between quoiromantic and demiromantic for a bit I landed on grey bc it's open-ended enough to encompass it. The point is it took Darnell like 3 full years to realize that his feelings were less platonic than he thought and even then theyre still like. Only half-romantic lmao

Unfortunately as he cannot provide the Pico Sandwich Darnell is getting little spoon'd by a guy nearly a foot shorter than him. F

Pico and Darnell are pretty verbally coarse with each other in a way only people who've been through the amount of shit they have been together can be w/o jeopardizing their relationship. That being said they often express affection and insane amounts of trust through actions very frequently, sometimes even without either of them realizing. Them immediately making up after weekend 1 was one of those times lol

I put Pico on the "squashes the bug" end of both charts but in reality I think he just takes them outside unless it's like a gnat or something. Darnell isn't scared of bugs he just wonders what would happen if he set one on fire. Pico refuses to let him set them on fire

Even though Pico 2 is in a weird limbo state in funkycule just like it is irl, there's still some point in the timeline where Pico expressed protectiveness over Darnell, to the point where, years later, when Darnell heard Pico took down a whole army for BF and GF, he got jealous, because that was supposed to be their thing >:(. This was quickly followed by his Oh moment

Random headcanon: Pico and Darnell had been acquaintances for the whole time they were in school together, but they became friends when Pico (and Nene by proxy) were the only kids to continue hanging out with him after The Class Presentation Gone Wrong (Darnell Plays with Fire). To return the favor, Darnell stuck by Pico even after the events of PS fundamentally changed him as a person. Though their relationship can be messy, they've been virtually inseperable since.

Nene/Cassandra:

The levels of toxicity of this are mostly dependant on When in the timeline by the time these two are like 21 they've normalized a bit dw lmao

Okay so like. I've made so much Lore. For Pico's School. For no reason. Anyway penilians have nothing against child soldiers so Cas was shipped off to infiltrate Earth at the penilian equivalent of 13. Also while on a surface level she's transfem in more depth it's like "all penilians are One Sex and have One Gender so technically she is xenogender, using neopronouns, and if you want to be extra silly with it, by the time she's 19 she's functionally alienkin but for humans as a coping mechanism for being banished to earth (dw abt it)"

[Projects my trauma and its side effects onto Nene] who said that

I didn't think much on the borrowing clothes thing until I realized that I draw Nene and Cassandra wearing the same style of turtlenecks I was like. Do you know what would be really funny

I don't have many intimate cute headcanons for these two Yet because I'm so early on in developing my shit and these two are Not cute at first. However I do like to imagine that Nene calls Cas all kinds of over-the-top cutesy or stupid nicknames just to get a reaction out of her. She called her a "vixen" as a furry joke + something between a compliment and insult once and she almost died

Nene is literally the only one in this entire cast who's never gotten her license suspended also she's somewhat good at car maintence which Cas find inexplicably hot

Giggles and kicks my feet at putting both Pico and Cassandra at the far end of the overprotectiveness spectrum. Anyway

Random headcanon: in the short period of time before Cas started ghosting Nene and FNF happening, they were in contact for One Christmas when they were like 15. Nene got Cas a cute little switchblade with hearts carved into the handle. Cas keeps it in a box by her bed and refuses to let anyone touch it or to let it ever get dirty.

If you have read this far I love you. Here is your reward should you choose to accept it:

[sodaliteskull]

The Gods Of Marenkes

The pantheon of Marenkes, going clockwise from the upper rightmost (red), we've got:

Coraxborax, the god of the arts, craftsmen, and revelry

Tarnagaar, the god of prophecy, destiny, and dreams

Zhadhul, the god of justice, law, and truth

Xanghul, the god of the day, harvest, and animals

Vulrani, the god of trade, travel, and seasons

Ransaran, the god of the afterlife, karma, and perseverance

Grelthor, the god of knowledge, innovation, and gratitude

Lyrrath, the god of the sky, storms, and forests

Quasvina, the god of duty, celestial bodies, and history

Pelexal, the god of night, the sea, and mystery

Jendrosia, the god of war, victory, and faith

Ahazhada, the god of love, passion, and courage

The gods have made sure that they are omnipresent in the lives of mortals on Marenkes by making their domains as all-encompassing as possible. Under their rule, they demand that every action a person takes is a prayer to their glory.

(I go into more depth about what each god's domains cover below the cut)

These gods are parasites (lol that fact is established in chapter 3 of this thing!), usurping the place of the actual Gods of Marenkes for their own ends. While their domains cover a wide array of concepts, there is no one god of Life or Magic, or even of the world as a whole, as all of the gods claim joint custody of these things.

There aren't any gods to "evil" concepts (things like Asmodeus, Bhaal, or Shar of D&D fame), as they are purposefully painting themselves as being benevolent, parent-type deities. That doesn't mean that they don't accept prayers from people offering them up for nefarious purposes. On the contrary, someone would have to jump through some serious hoops to justify why their prayers should be answered for evil, and these gods are in it for the energy put into a prayer, not its intent!

"Art" is subjective, and so Coraxborax has a lot of wiggle room when it comes to what it can consider prayers to itself. Anything from a composer's magnum opus, to a toddler's unsupervised crayon wallpaper scribbling are "art" enough for Coraxborax. Those who create owe their prayers to this god. And what is a celebration but another creation? This is the logic as for why parties are under this god's domain.

The hazy hopes and dreams of a people are what Tarnagaar dines upon. Anyone who hopes, or wishes, or dreams, must offer themselves up into prayer for this god's use. Any kind of divinatory practices (tarot, runes, entrails, cootie catchers, etc.) are just another form of worship as far as this god is concerned.

The rule of law, the meting out of justice, and what truth actually means are what Zhadhul feeds upon. All of these concepts are governed by this god, and so it has final say over what is (or isn't) considered a crime. Judges and criminals alike both pray to this god.

The glory of the sun, and all that grows under its divine light, Xanghul claims credit for all of these things. Food, resources, pets, a perfect day at the beach, prayers should be offered up in thanks.

Getting people and goods from one place to another in the world is highly dependant on what time of year it is, and so Vulrani takes advantage of this interconnected system when harvesting prayers. Farmers looking to ship their produce are as likely to pray to this god as vacationers looking for favourable weather are.

Death is a scary concept, but knowing that there is someone standing at the precipice between that and life is a comfort, which Ransaran takes full advantage of. Rebirth is a known fact on Marenkes, and so the people offer up their prayers that the departed will get what they deserve in their next life, for good or ill. Continuing on in the face of adversity, knowing that your next life will be better, is something that keeps people praying.

Technological advancement is something that the gods keep a tight leash on, and so the people better be grateful for what they allow to come to fruition! Grelthor is the arbiter of what can or can't be developed, and so this god, more than any other, has a heavier hand in controlling what information mortals have access to. The knowledge that it is doing this is certainly not one of those pieces of information!

The natural world can be a scary place, the forest a beast at your back while the weather above is a fickle monster, Lyrrath demands prayers in exchange for safety when dealing with these forces. Fear of uncertainty, and fear of the unknown, this god will have its tithe.

The iron clad oath and the one who upholds it, the past made immutable thanks to the passage of time, and the perceived eternity of the heavens above, Quasvina is the overseer of all these things, an immovable force that will have its due. Those who pray for change and those who pray for things to stay the same will both bend in supplication to this god.

Things that are vast, deep, and conjure an existential dread in the soul are the things Pelexal holds domain over. Sailors hoping for an easy journey, the child afraid of the monster under the bed, those who revel in the wonder of the unknown, all of them pray to this god.

For Jendrosia, war and faith go hand in hand, as both lead to the other. Under this god's control, that is. The stability of peace times and the chaos of conflict are fertile grounds for prayers, and with all sides praying for their own successes to the same god, it means there's never a shortage of prayers coming in.

Matters of the heart are Ahazhada's source of prayer. Familial love, romantic love, the love of a little treat after work, all these things fall under this god's domain. Passion could mean lust of the flesh as much as it could mean a drive in one's soul for some cause or desire. As for courage, well, you need that to pursue both what you love and what you are passionate about.

[freesia-writes]

Chapter 14: Incitation

During the Clone Wars, the Bad Batch is tasked with a variety of missions across the galaxy. An unexpected addition to their team throws a wrench in the mix, particularly for Tech, who finds a particular connection with this disillusioned Padawan-turned-mechanic named Vel throughout the events in this action-adventure romance.

COVER ART BY @zaana!! And this was my first fanfic ever, y'all! :D

Master List of Chapters

Author's Note: Another scene I noticed has similarities to TBB Season 2!! LOL. This was before the ipsium cave episode too, so the waterfall and goggle-adjusting was another happy coincidence, believe it or not. LOL

Days faded into weeks and weeks faded into months as Vel grew increasingly fonder of the Marauder crew. The next mission ended up being one of those "adaptation situations" that Hunter seemed to use as a rather all-encompassing phrase, and she found herself sprinting along the edge of a cliff behind Tech. He was simultaneously running and sending coordinates to the rest of the team, who had been split up and tasked with retrieving the ship for a quick pickup. 

They heard branches cracking behind them; they were still being pursued. Vel glanced over her shoulder, missing the fact that Tech had skidded to a halt in front of her, and she ran straight into him. They both tumbled to the ground, his datapad flying off the cliff into the water below. He scrabbled to grab hold of something as he continued to slip downward.

Vel, who had landed on her backside, felt time grind to a halt as he disappeared over the edge of the cliff. "Tech!" she screamed, scrambling to her hands and knees and crawling to where the ground gave way to nothing. She peered down, letting out an audible "Oh!" of relief as she saw him clinging to a thick tree root for dear life. She looked around frantically, searching for a vine or branch or anything she could throw to him.

"It's too slippery!" Tech yelled, fighting to regain his grip, and Vel felt her panic build to a crescendo, then pause. She had an idea. She returned to the edge, forcing herself to focus, fighting with all her might to center herself on the Force within. 

She could feel her heart beating, feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She stretched a hand toward him, willing with all her might that she might connect. She gasped as she felt an awareness of him and focused on pulling it upward with every fiber of her being. He suddenly found it easier to grasp the root, nearly getting an elbow over the top, and then...

He fell.

A long way down. And he landed with a loud splash into the water below. 

"No!" Vel shrieked, and without thinking, jumped off the precipice after him. 

They resurfaced after what felt like an eternity, coughing and spluttering in a sparkling pool below. The entire cliffside, now rising high into the air above them, was made up of a roaring waterfall that created shimmering rainbows of mist that disappeared as quickly as they appeared. They made the relatively short swim to shore, dragging themselves up onto the sand and coughing explosively.

Tech flung his helmet off next to him and tilted his goggles up at the bottom to let some water out before collapsing onto his stomach, chest heaving. Vel was experiencing a similar recovery nearby, although once she had regained her breath, it was gone again as she let out a frustrated yell from the core of her being. She punched the sand, angrily flipping her sopping wet hair out of her face and curling onto her side, dissolving into hefty sobs. 

Taking a moment to assess the situation, Tech pushed himself up to his hands and knees, crawling to her side and sitting on the sand. He was unsure of how to best approach this, not having a positive reason for her current emotional state. He reached out a tentative hand, touching her shoulder gently, bracing himself for an angry outburst or indignant rejection. 

But Vel rolled over, sitting up suddenly and melting into his chest. Tech lifted a leg to brace himself, putting an arm around her shoulders to hold her steady, and simply waited as she cried, considering possible responses. There weren't any opportunities to test them out, however, as Vel launched into mourning. She confessed a lifelong sense of failure, of unworthiness, of never being enough to be worth keeping around. She lamented her lack of specialness, her constant shortcoming, her futile pursuit of purpose, and Tech listened to it all, formulating counterpoints but reserving them for a better time. 

She exhausted herself of all the feelings and beliefs that had been rankling within for ages, then she fell silent, the crashing waterfall and her own shaky breaths the only sounds remaining. "I just want to be enough," she finished, after a quiet moment. 

"What if you are sufficient simply by being who you are?" Tech asked plainly, honey eyes observing her through thick glass. "I am not sure that being particularly unusual is always desirable. In fact, it has been my experience that quite the opposite is often true."

Vel sat up and steadied herself with a deep breath, eyes downcast. "I guess that's my best bet," she replied dejectedly.

Feeling uncharacteristically bold in his need to be understood and propelled by the previous positive experience of physical touch, Tech lifted a hand to her face, raising her chin with two gentle fingers to make eye contact to emphasize his words. Her eyes met his, intense and oversized in his adjusted goggles, and she found herself holding her breath unconsciously as she was enraptured by his earnestness. 

"I would posit instead that your 'best bet' is to fully realize your complete and total sufficiency. You are a fantastic mechanic, a quick learner, and a curious observer of life." Vel's mind was racing at his words, but his honey brown eyes enraptured her completely as he continued. "I do not find you to be lacking in any way," he stated matter-of-factly, desiring to convey a simple truth. He was entirely unaware of the tumultuous storm it was causing within her.

Overcome with affirmation of a deep longing that had been undermining her life for years, Vel let out a breath held far too long. Her hands reached up to either side of Tech's face, cupping his cheeks and leaning in. Her heart was pounding as waves of euphoria cascaded over her at his scent, his presence, just... him. His lips parted and he sucked in a short breath, questions and statements brimming yet, for once, inexplicably held at bay. Swimming with inexpressible gratitude and undeniable affection for him, she brought her lips to his in a tender kiss.

He stiffened for a moment, calculations and questions fighting for priority in his mind, but the novel sense of both delight and contentment kept him from pulling away to further analyze the situation. Vel pulled his face closer, gently yet with just enough strength to convey the deep sense of gratitude and need. His lips were so soft, his sharp features pressed against her own, and she felt herself melt in a way that she knew to be irreparable. Tech found himself still unable to move, simultaneously confused and relaxed, intrigued and alarmed. But as quickly as it began, it was over. Vel pulled back, hand moving toward her mouth as if in slow motion, as if her brain had just caught up with her body.

"I'm so sorry," she spluttered. "I just... that was... I didn't mean..." She dropped her hands to the ground, scooting away from him and turning her face away. "I'm sorry, Tech," she repeated. His eyes fell, darting back and forth in an attempt to wrangle a coherent thought before he raised his head to return his gaze to her.

"An apology is... unnecessary," he replied, adjusting his goggles with a hand that, she noted, had a bit of a tremor to it. "We have narrowly escaped a harrowing fate and it is completely natural to act in illogical ways following such an event."

"That's not it," Vel muttered, rising to her feet. She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and rubbing them with a single hand. How could she even begin to put words to it all?

"Then what precisely—" Tech began, but was interrupted by a voice from his wrist.

"Tech, come in", Hunter demanded, sounding strained, "We made it back to the ship. Where are you?"

"We took a slight unintentional detour," Tech replied, tapping quickly onto his wrist keypad, "But we are alright. Sending our coordinates now. There is a grassy knoll that should be sufficient for landing."

"Copy that," Hunter said. "Be right there."

Vel was pacing restlessly, then stopped to face the waterfall. She felt the incredible weight of the moment, wanting to determine the perfect words or actions before the team arrived on the Marauder. Coming up empty, she shook her head, as if resolving to shake the entire ordeal off, and picked up Tech's helmet. Returning to where he stood, still manipulating his wrist pad, she held it closely in front of her. "I'm sorry, again. And... I would appreciate it if you didn't share this with the others," she said slowly, hating the feeling of vulnerability. 

Tech stopped typing and observed her. His gaze felt heavy, laced with a million attempts to understand and connect. But his words were simple, "I would agree that discretion is the best course of action, all things considered."

Vel nodded, extending his helmet out to him. He took it gently, fitting it over his head in a swift movement of muscle memory. She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a need to say more, to explain somehow or find some kind of resolution. As she was searching for the right words, however, Tech spoke again. "However, I do find it difficult to reconcile the way you can be so proficient in nearly every mechanical wonder and full of appreciation for the way each part contributes to another, and yet you do not see your unique part in the world and the way you contribute to it."

As he finished, the steady hum of the ship grew closer, and the breeze began to grow as the large shape loomed above them. Vel stared at him wordlessly, and he met her gaze evenly. The landing gear met the grass with a less-than-graceful thud, and the stairs folded out to welcome them.

Tech turned and trotted toward the ship, as though he had simply imparted some universal wisdom, and Vel stared after him for a moment before following slowly behind.

———————————

Ayyyy we’ve got fanart for this chapter, courtesy of the illustrious @acruelerdonut!! 💕

Tag List: @merkitty49 @vimse @arctrooper69 @dystopicjumpsuit @starrylothcat @ghostperson69 @dreamie411 @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @523rdrebel @clonemedickix @sinfulsalutations @ughhhhfoff @coraex @amorfista @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @followthepurrgil @littlefeatherr @sunshinesdaydream @thew0nderer2342 @dangraccoon @iceskategirl18

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Click here to join or leave the tag list. <3

[mellohiizz]

I'm pretty sure what I felt when I read "I'd love to hear more if you ever wanna talk about it" is the closest thing I'll get to what allomantic people feel when someone proposes to them

Anyways, question, if someone, not saying names, were to, hypothetically, rant about a ship, maybe Pentar x Flame but who knows, in your asks... Would you rather, they send you just one ask that encompasses everything they have to say but they probably only finish writing in a few weeks maybe a month if they procrastinate, or, for them to send you multiple less long asks every now and then that over time will encompass all their thought?

Hypotheticaly of course, since, I don't think anyone is enough of a loser, to spend that much time writing about fictional gay people, that only they think about /s (Have I made it clear it's sarcasm and that I'm the loser in question?)

hello, anon!! hypothetically speaking, if someone WERE to do that, i honestly don't mind either way. ^_^

i love yapping, so however way works best for them, i'm cool with it. i think the second options will work best, though. i already have people sending in multiple asks (looking at you, kade/aff), and i honestly don't mind it at all when people do that. it might just take me a little bit of time to get to those, lol.

[andreaphobia]

9 people you'd like to get to know better!

tagged by @meibemeibelline !! sorry im gonna be a boomer and write a lot, hope that's ok lmao

three ships : fresh new brainrot: tim and hawk (fellow travelers) had brain worms for years: joker and akechi (persona 5) in perpetuity: yamamoto and hibari (katekyo hitman reborn)

first ship : I had to really think about this one. It's hard to say because when I was growing up, it was illegal to depict homosexual themes or content in the media. It actually still kind of is that way, although they've relaxed their standards for censorship a little. After racking my brains, I think I want to say it was......Yuki and Shuichi from Gravitation??? If not that, then Sirius and Remus from Harry Potter. One of those two. Also, after talking to my bestie about this one I remembered "ship" also encompasses het lmao. In that case it would be Buttercup and Butch from the Powerpuff Girls because that's the first fanfic I ever wrote xd

last song : Feels Alright by Spoon. Recently for black friday I didn't want to wait for something to be shipped to me so I drove 4 hours round trip over to a best buy warehouse in the central valley to pick it up, and I probably listened to this song for two hours straight on the way. This song is from their newest album, and I love that they haven't drastically changed their sound, only polished it -- they still have the same grungy Austin rock and roll feel that I fell in love with in high school.

last film : I'll skip over opining on the real answer for this bc it was despicable me and I didn't like it much lol. But before that, I embarked on a journey with some friends to watch every single Jurassic Park movie, and I'm proud to say that we succeeded. No one asked but here is my ranking: 1. Jurassic Park (original) 2. Jurassic World 3. Jurassic Park III 4. Jurassic World: Dominion 5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 6. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

currently reading : Embarrassed to say that I'm not in the middle of reading anything right now, there's a couple of books I've been meaning to get around to (captive prince xd) that I just need to work up the motivation for. But I am thinking about reading the book that Fellow Travelers was inspired by because lol brainrot

currently consuming : "honeycomb banana milk" that I got from a boba place yesterday. In terms of media, I'm crying screaming about Fellow Travelers every day. I recently finished a playthrough of Baldur's Gate and I just started Persona 5 Tactica.

currently craving : Nothing in particular, although every day I wish that I could play Outer Wilds for the first time again.

tagging friends old n new, but no pressure!! @whitnerd @lobotomizes @exampleofinconsistency @yuki119 @somanyjacks @benicemurphy @mastershearts @aquathunder @sxnnoh

[randonauticrap]

I Love You, Goodbye.

Pairing ~ self ship/Jin Grandet

Word Count ~ 825

Author's Note ~ Hey guys! This one is crazy personal for me. I normally don't post self ship fics because I'm not one to hoard a character to myself, and I don't like excluding anyone from getting in on the fun! But this one kind of tumbled out of me, and even though it's personal, and definitely kinda sad, I wanted to share it. It's kind of hurt/comfort, and it comes directly from Madame L's personal little fantasy bank. lol I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

I danced with him. He led me around the dance floor in a beautiful waltz, my waist encompassed by one of his large hands. He held me close, as if he knew; as if he could possibly know, that this dance was our goodbye. I fought the tears that threatened to fall, and let my head cradle into Jin’s chest, absorbing his warmth into my soul, and trying to memorize every stretch in his muscular body. His kiss imprinted itself on the top of my head, even after his lips left it. The hand that held mine squeezed it gently, reminding me of our promise; the promise we had pledged to one another, wrapped in pleasure and safety. Only I knew that it couldn’t be kept. Jin would remain blissfully unaware until it came to pass; until I had to leave him. 

I had no choice. 

Fate had dealt us the worst possible hand, and I could do nothing to change it; nor could he. So we danced. We danced once more in the wistful gaze of the sconces on the walls, our bodies mimicking those of the other guests around us. The rustle of skirts swinging in unison and the click of the ladies’ heels on the floor; the swish of each gentleman’s coat tails as he spun his lady in his arms, pulling her back to his chest with the intent of never letting her go. As Jin pulled me back into him, he grasped my chin, so gently I almost didn’t discern it, and tilted my head upwards, forcing me to meet his garnet eyes. “Something’s wrong,” he murmured, concern laced in every beautiful feature. “What is it?” 

“Jin,” I muttered softly, a rogue tear escaping my eye and traveling the length of my face before Jin caught it with a kiss and erased it from existence. But where there was one, there were many, and I knew that they would overwhelm even his intense love eventually. “I can’t-” I choked out the words, but the knot in my throat would allow no more to pass between my lips, and more tears found their way to the surface. I couldn’t do this, not here, so I grasped his wrist and pulled him behind me, away from the color, away from the light, out into the darkness on the balcony. The rain poured from the sky, drenching everything below it in its descent. This… this was a place suited for what was to come. “Jin, I can’t stay.” I whispered, so softly I almost hoped the rain swallowed the sound so that he didn’t have to hear it. 

But I knew he had. I knew because I felt him stiffen; though he was several feet from me, I felt the way his corded muscles pulled taut beneath his skin, and how each hair on his body pulled to stand on end. I felt the hurt build inside him as my words sunk in; the desperation, the betrayal, the fear. The fear. 

“What?” he managed to utter, a near-silent cry in the night. 

“I- I’m not real, Jin. Not.. not to you. Not to this place.” I stuttered, gripping the rain-soaked banister with all my might, as if it could steady the spiraling descent of my heart into war-torn pieces. 

“What does that even mean?” his forceful whisper had anger in it; misunderstanding; fear.     

“This,” I gestured to the scene before me. “All of this, is a dream for me. You are a dream. I don’t know when it will happen, but soon I’ll wake up. I’ll wake up and I’ll be alone, and you’ll be here.” The tears fell unhindered now, violent as the rain. “You’ll be here, and I’ll be there, without you. I always wake up without you. I always wake up alone. I try so hard to hold on to you, but you’re not there and you can’t be there. Just like I can’t stay here… no matter how much I want to, and God, do I want to.” I closed my eyes and let the sobs come, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop them anyway.

Strong arms wrapped around my trembling body and pulled me close. “You’re always here, to me. Let me always be there, for you.” he said, dropping a tender kiss to my head, then to my neck, and as I turned to meet his eyes, he captured my lips in a kiss filled with so much love that my heart broke again, just for him. “I’ll be there when you wake up too. You may not see me, but I’ll be there. Believe that. You have to.” 

“Why do I have to?” I asked through my tears.

“Because I do.” he replied, tears of his own staining his blush-tinted cheeks. 

I nodded and pressed my lips to his again, pulling him closer than should be possible. 

“I love you, Jin Grandet.”

~

Tags for the lovelies: @aquagirl1978 @violettduchess @ikehoe @rhodolitesroseforclavis @atelieredux

[hell-heron]

*inhumane screech* show me the forbidden: -TrisTheon -birthday Thyra -thou counterfeitst a bark, a sea, a wind (bb!Asha y/y???)

Also, what's "snuggles"? :)

Lol you know what the TrisTheon is ahahfh. For everyone else reading: its an AU where Tris goes with Theon to Winterfell, they kinda develop a stressed out fwb relationship there, and Ramsay used that against them when they're captured, lets try to post a slightly less graphic bit:

He doesn't know many prayers - his mother taught him the silent ways of Lonely Light, not those approved by the priests, and Baelor Blacktyde stopped praying to the Drowned God the day his father died. 

Those he does remember he says under the whip, and it feels like every word is erased from his mind as soon as it's spoken, until all he can say is <i> What is dead may never die </i>, over and over again. It makes them angrier than anything else he said, even more than when he still had courage to call them mad beasts and turncloaks, but for that it feels like it has power. Every time they take a bit of skin he imagines shedding all his scales, not like a fish but like a snake, leaving a brand new creature beneath, and he can imagine rising again.

Birthday Thyra: that was supposed to be your birthday gift and then to be battleship Word count boss fodder and I could finish It for neither lol. I have about 3k of it and its a classic Theon and Kyra run away from the Dreadfort together thingie. A snippet:

She lets him stew for just a little before she huddles back-to-back to him, the cloak thrown over both as best as can be done. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries not to picture how very easily now, if he hadn’t fucked everything up, she could be wrapped around him and laying her head on his shoulder. He had been ashamed of how much he liked being held by her, back in lord Stark’s fucking bed, musing that the child was there and he was at a point of disgrace where he couldn’t exclude the gods to give him back his voice just in time to gossip about his frailty to the entire North, that the ironborn were used to ships and unaccustomed to knocking. Fully convinced the fucking army at war’s chief concern while he was leading them to their deaths was to pry into his fucking bedchamber.

Any concerns he had conceived when he had all his skin and a warm fireplace feel very far away now and immaterial, regardless of what danger had actually been there. It’s hard to evade the thought that when he was there and could have appreciated it, he should have drawn Kyra’s arms tighter around himself and showered them with kisses and perhaps even wept, though he probably didn’t feel like it then as he does now.

Yeah thou counterfeitst is the baby Asha fic and I don't have any new snippets to give you 😭 it's meant to extend from the very end of the rebellion to about a year later and encompass the whole Tris misadventure + lots of family drama, predictably. I had It so long i probably already put all the interesting parts on the Citadel

Snuggles is just a sequel to this fic where the Montacrew bois get to chill and snuggle after having rescued Romeo from the Capulets lol. V self consciously Italian and i have only disjointed bit.

[monstrousfemale]

34 for the ficlet thing (either ship, whatever would fit the song best!)

Ohh thanks for asking!! Looove this song, and it gives me such Robin vibes, so here goes something. Also this totally got away from me lol

It's unclear if there is a moment in life where things just start making sense, but Robin’s pretty sure that moment won’t come for her. She had used to think she had wanted certain things, had grown up so sure that she would be a wife someday, a mother. It had been the path laid out for her, anyway. It is what she had learned she should want. It is what her friends would giggle about in middle school, before she had hit that age where she was just a bit too weird to hang out with. 

She remembers sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor of a pink washed room, nervous enough for her hands to be sticky and cold with sweat, as pigtailed little girls asked each other about crushes. She remembers her dad taking her on a rollercoaster she was way too young, but just tall enough for. She remembers her mother showing her that old wedding dress, telling her one day she’d get to wear it.

She remembers hoping things would start falling into place. 

Instead, here she is. In disarray. 

It gets worse when she comes home from college for the holidays, and so does Nancy Wheeler. Nancy, whose hair is cut short enough that all of Hawkins can hear Karen Wheeler’s gasp when she first sees her. Nancy, who is brilliant enough to actually have a shot at changing the world. 

It gets worse, because Nancy wants to hang out. And Nancy is so excited and passionate about college, about her degree, about the way-too-many classes she is taking. Robin hangs off of every word she says, and Nancy’s eyes are all-encompassing. 

Some time around Christmas, when they sneak alcohol from the Wheeler’s liquor cabinet and hide away  in Nancy’s basement, Robin is hit by the terrifying reality that this is it. She’d had crushes before, yes. But she had been young, and all those girls had been so far removed from her. All those girls had only had eyes for the likes of Steve. And fuck, she loves Steve, but she could never be him.

Nancy likes her. Maybe not the way Robin wishes for, but enough that it makes Robin’s heavy heart soar just a little. Nancy wants to be her friend, she gives Robin attention, she makes her feel heard, even when Robing starts spiraling into a babbling mess. 

Robin realizes, this is it. This is the love she had been told her whole life she should feel. And it comes, it topples her over, it shakes her to her core. But it’s not what she is supposed to feel. Not for another woman. 

In so many ways, being around Nancy just makes her life an even bigger mess.

But she can’t look away. 

On the last day of Christmas break, she sits in Nancy’s room, on her bed, watching as she packs. A part of her is telling her this is a good thing. With Nancy gone, maybe all these feelings will settle down, fold away into something more manageable. 

But then Nancy sits by her side, slips her fingers through hers. 

“I really liked seeing you,” Nancy says, and Robin’s heart cracks in her chest. She tries not to breathe, doesn’t want to let these feelings escape out of her lungs and into the room.

“Yeah,” she says, voice small, measured. “I liked seeing you too, Nance.”

Nancy smiles, her nose wrinkled, her mouth pulling up to one side just a little. Like she’s confused, but endeared. Robin’s used to this face, but she doesn’t know what she did to earn it now. 

“I’m really going to miss you.” 

Robin wants to sob. 

Instead, she says, “Yeah. Me too.”

Nancy’s eyes search Robin’s face, but she doesn’t seem to find anything she might be looking for. 

“You know… you’re the best part of coming home,” Nancy says, squeezes Robin’s fingers; she doesn’t seem to realize she’s also squeezing Robin’s whole being in those delicate fingers, a tight grasp on her very soul. 

Robin doesn’t know what to say to that. She looks away, because Nancy’s eyes are kind and warm and brown. Her lips don’t need to move, don’t need to form a single word, to call to her. 

“Sorry, am I…? Oh, I’m sorry,” Nancy says, chuckles. Looks away like she’s embarrassed. 

“Hey, hey,” Robin says, pulling Nancy’s hand up to her chest, trying to get her eyes back on hers. “Hey, you’re good. I’ve had… a wonderful time hanging out with you. I love having you around, uh, I usually only hang out with Steve, and you know, boys kinda suck. Besides, you’re so smart, you came bearing all that knowledge, I feel like I haven’t learned a fraction, nay, a blip compared to you. And I know you’ve been in college longer but come on, I should prob–”

Nancy kisses her. She squeezes her hand tight, and presses their lips together. Nancy kisses like she lives: fiercely, but oh so soft below the surface. She kisses Robin until she unfreezes, until she remembers she’s supposed to have her eyes closed for this. Nancy kisses her, swallows her nervous banter, swallows all of her nerves, really. She kisses her until Robin feels giddy enough, light enough, she might just float away. 

“Oh,” is all Robin can muster when they pull apart, foreheads still pressed together. She keeps her eyes closed, scared that she’ll open them and wake up. 

“Yeah,” Nancy breathes out, like she’s content. Like she needed this as much as Robin has been desperately craving it.

“You’re really pretty,” Robin says, because that’s all she can think about, the only coherent thought.

“You have your eyes closed.”

“I know your face by heart.”

Nancy chuckles, kisses her again. Like it’s for good measure.

“You should come visit me,” Nancy says, and Robin finally finds it in herself to pull back, open her eyes. 

“Yeah?”

Nancy is looking at her with something warm behind her gaze. It makes Robin’s insides rearrange, refurnish, reset. 

“Yeah. My place is tiny, but please come. Whenever you can.”

“Okay,” Robin says, and nods so eagerly it makes Nancy laugh. 

It's unclear if there is a moment in life where things just start making sense. But Robin’s pretty sure, even if there is no such a thing… This is pretty damn close. And she can live with that.

--- let's spice up the spotify wrapped games, send me a number from 1-100 and I'll write a ficlet to go with it. ---

[vhsghostricks]

Hiyaaaaa, I'm the one who sent I the celesgiri hcs not too long ago aksvkav, came back to send you some more.

Celestia and Kokichi love to steal Kyokos outfits and try them on together and have photo shoots. They aren't even subtle about it, they give her a photo album as apart of her birthday one day. Meanwhile Maki is just like "you both are dorks *insert soft smile*" and Kyoko always just has a good laugh. Sometimes though Celestia will refuse to give her back her coats so Kyoko has to go searching for them to find them, lol.

Gundham and Celestia love to tease each other about their crushes back in high school, and to keep up tradition they still do it even as adults as a fun little sibling joke. I don't know who you ship gundham with, but for him imagine him being like "so the abyss sorceress has been tainted by a love potion for a the timeless detective mortal and that love has encompassed her whole, how pitiful, how anticlimactic, how... adorable >:)" and just insert Celestia tackle hugging him to shut him up and playfully messing up his hair and teasing him about his crush in return.

Kyoko's good luck charm is a key chain Celestia has given her. It's of a cat because yes (Celestia has adhd and hyperfixates on them so <3). Whenever Kyoko goes on a job, she always clips it to her bag so she can keep apart of those she loves close to her.

Kyoko wears a suit. Celestia gay panics. That's it, that's the hc. /lh

Celestia decides to say I love you in French first because she was scared of how Kyoko would react if she understood it the first time, little did she know Kyoko knew a decent amount of French. Kyoko smiled and said I love you too in response in perfect French, causing Celestia to be flustered before Kyoko kissed her.

Maki and Kokichi both like to draw, so for Kyokos birthday, they worked together on a drawing for Kyoko of the first time her and Celestia met. Kyoko was very happy with the gift, meanwhile Celestia was hugging both of them so much.

They both hate coffee, so Celestia orders tea and Kyoko orders water whenever they go on "coffee" dates. Whenever people ask why they go on them, Kyoko always says "Celestia just likes the aesthetic, and I like it when she's happy". :)

Hope you like these! Sorry for the spam in your inbox ajqgqks - uhhh idk what to name myself ajqgqkwg, so let's go with 💙💖 anon! ^_^

(if you can guess why those hearts, you are amazing /pos)

*INCOHERENT SCREAMING* YES YES YES YES YEESSSSS THESE ARE ALL SO <3 <3 <3 ANON I OWE U MY LIFE....

oh boi Kokichi and Celestia stealing Kyoko's clothes is such a good hc, Kokichi probably learned from Celestia do it a few times and thought it would be fun. They ended up doing it every other day and Maki walked in, saw them, and immediately walked back out <3

YES I HAVE RLY OLD WHITEBOARD DOODLES THAT ME N MY FRIEND MADE OF GUNDHAM AND CELESTE SIBLING STUFF LIKE THAT ,,,, Celeste teasing on Gundham for being the partner of a princess despite being the lord of darkness ,,,, while Gundham picking on Celeste for dating a detective <3 cuties, this is real. (i ship sondam the most thou :D ty)

CELESTE ADHD HC, YES, correct, i relate to her an ungodly amount so i say this is true. Lemme add onto that by saying that Kyoko probably didn't know Celestia had a lucky charm until she found it on the floor one day and was very confused as to who's it was for a few months, planning to return it n stuff. and when they start hanging out more, Celeste sees it on her bag and smiles abt it and explains, and ultimately decides to let her keep it <3

DRAWING THE GAY CELESTE ONE AS I TYPE THIS ....

oh boy yeah, Celeste probably let it slip by accident, remembered it was in French, and felt relieved for a second. Until Kyoko looks flustered and just smiles and Celeste goes "oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck–" and then Kyoko says it back ofc <3

AWWWW THAT'S SUCH A CUTE IDEA Kokichi probably had the idea and got everything started and Maki ultimately helped him to make it extra perfect <3 wahhh i need to draw my family au SOON ...

lmaoo they're probably guilty of also just really liking the smell but not the coffee itself.... Dorks, i love them <3

TYSMM THEY'RE MY OTP AND HEARING FLUFF ABT THEM IS JUST . idk i just love them sm <3 <3 <3 also i dont mind the spam!!! love long texts :) !!! /gen

[kazuwhora]

Way’! (Hello!) If you’re new to my blog, welcome! Thank you for being here! I initially planned on doing an event for my 100 followers milestone, but we got so close to 500 so fast, so here we are doing it now! I’m so thankful for everyone who’s shown me support and taken the time to interact with me and my posts! Your encouragement is what keeps me going and I really love putting out content for you all to enjoy! In celebration of 5 milestones in one, I’d like to host an event to show my appreciation for you all!

There will be a few options to choose from for this event! Please only choose one!

1. Matchup & Headcanons: I usually host a matchup event every weekend, and since this event will likely spill into the weekend I’m going to reduce my workload and put matchups into the event options!

2. Moodboards: This is new for me! I don’t want to overwhelm myself here so I’m going to list some rules below. But essentially, you will be given a moodboard for you + your character of choice as well as a song!

3. Anime Matchups: Diverging a little from my usual matchup format, this one will be more of a personal and less of a relationship type matchup for those of you who prefer it!

4. Ship Playlist: We all know playlists are my love language, so this will be a mini playlist (5 songs max) for you and the character of your choice created based on the description you give me!

5. Kin Matchups: Similar to regular matchups except instead of assigning you a character ship, I will assign you what character you seem the most like!

All I ask if you’re participating is that you’re following me! Of course if you’re new or just found me through this event, you’re still welcome to participate if you just started following me. Anonymous requests are of course accepted as I know it can be wildly anxiety inducing to come off of anon, but again I just ask that you only request if you’re a follower of mine! Of course this is an honour system type thing. It takes a lot of time and energy for me to do these things and I love doing them so I would like to continue to be able to offer this :) I will be closing this event either when I reach 600 or when I get overwhelmed with requests LOL. Also please only request once and make sure to check out the guidelines below! Any requests that don’t follow the rules/guidelines will be deleted. FEEL FREE TO LIKE/REBLOG THIS POST

PLEASE CLICK THE READ MORE FOR REQUEST TEMPLATES

REQUEST TEMPLATE: SHIP MATCHUPS

Please send the following emoji along with your request: 🌹

Emoji + "Ship Matchup"

MBTI and/or Enneagram

Zodiac (if you want)

A short blurb about your core personality

A short blurb about what you want in a partner

Hobbies or interests you may have!

Please note these will be SHORTENED VERSIONS of my regular matchups to account for the additional volume of requests coming in with the event. If you want a longer matchup feel free to wait until I’m back to a regular schedule!

REQUEST TEMPLATE: MOODBOARDS

Please send the following emoji along with your request: 🥥

Emoji + "Moodboard Request"

5 description words/phrases/ideas that encompass your personality (see my about me page for an example)

5 description words/phrases/ideas that encompass your personal style

A character you would pair yourself with

A colour to define you

Moodboards will be 9 images that I think give off the vibe of you and your relationship with your preferred character!

REQUEST TEMPLATE: ANIME MATCHUPS

Please send the following emoji along with your request: 🍄

Emoji + "Anime Matchup"

MBTI and/or Enneagram

Zodiac (if you want)

A short blurb about your core personality

A short blurb about your favourite genre of anime

Hobbies or interests you may have!

REQUEST TEMPLATE: SHIP PLAYLIST

Please send the following emoji along with your request: 🌚

Emoji + "Ship Playlist"

MBTI and/or Enneagram

Character you want to be paired with

A short blurb about your vibes

A short blurb about your relationship vibes with this character

Favourite genre of music

REQUEST TEMPLATE: KIN MATCHUPS

Please send the following emoji along with your request: 🌊

Emoji + "Kin Matchup"

MBTI and/or Enneagram

Zodiac (if you want)

A short blurb about your core personality

A short blurb about your favourite genre of anime

Hobbies or interests you may have!

[franeridart]

Anon said: i love love love LOVE how you just draw gojo leaning onto getou, hiding his face in getou's neck or back or chest <////3 im just so heartbroken over those two

So glad to hear you like him clingy as much as I do!! TT^TT as far as I’m concerned he wasn’t clingy enough in canon, so I’m fixing it as much as I can with every new doodle haha

Anon said: whenever im sad i just come to your account and look through your art :")) it brings me so much comfort :')) also i gotta mention that the teacher getou art you've made has healed my broken heart bc of jjk and now that is the only canon i accept thank you very much gege akutami has nothing on me

GAH GETO-SENSEI MY ONE AND ONLY I’m happy he makes you as soft as he does me, he’s such a comfort to me ;;;; and thank you for liking my stuff!!!! Means the world to me to hear it ;A; <3

Anon said: I miss your krbk sm 😔 No pressure intended!!!!!! I still love and support u and ur art!!!

Man I miss them too!!!!! @ hori when are you bringing my loves back from the war I’m here waiting good sir!!!

Anon said: v v curious on your thoughts on what’s currently going on in bnha manga :)))

HMMM what are my thoughts on it? Well, let’s split it in two: Deku’s side and Todoroki’s side, because that’s how it’s split in my brain atm, and allow me to start from the second because it’s easier to get through for me

I’m in love with everything Hori is doing with Todoroki and everyone involved with him - that’s to say his whole whole family and Hawks and Jeanist too, all of it, I’m so into it it’s no joke at all. Always been in love with how he handles Enji’s character and his interactions with his family and the latest developments didn’t disappoint me at all, wasn’t very much into Dabi right after the “reveal” but the more I think about it and about the story from his pov the more behind it I am, forever and always head over heels for Shouto’s way of dealing with a situation that’s as complex as one would expect from a protagonist of their very own story you could really make a manga out of the Todoroki’s family plot from Shouto’s pov alone, it’s incredible I can’t state how in love with it all I am enough. And Hawks, don’t make me start on him I’ll straight up never stop, absolutely and most definitely my favorite pro-hero I would trust him with my money and my kids 100/10 just assume I’m constantly crying over him. Also Jeanist is just hilarious so bless him and his presence in an otherwise too heavy story

Deku’s side........ well, the main problems I have with it are that one, I don’t really understant the need to keep ofa a secret from the class for the biggest part of the story when the reveal wasn’t forced upon Deku, didn’t have a huge impact on him or his relationship with the others (his leaving wasn’t directly caused by him coming clean after all, he wouldn’t have had to leave earlier had he not kept it a secret and he would have still left at this point had the class already known all along) and didn’t, like. Matter. All that much. Two, this manga is called my hero academia and I’m genuinely starting to wonder why. What was the point of all the arcs set inside the school anyway? Most of the characters growth (Deku’s especially) and the progression of the main plot happened in the arcs outside of the school anyway, and at this point it’s clear we’re not going back to the school after this or even seeing anyone graduate. What of Shinsou? What was the point of his plot when we’re not even gonna see him being active part of the class in a school environment? I’m just confused about it all, I guess. Three, which is really my biggest problem with it all, is the way Deku’s set on saving Shigaraki. It’s not like I don’t like a story in which all the villains are saved and the good guys win and love prevails and all that, call it corny but they’re exactly my type of stories, but I’m not sure I can get behind it when Twice died like that, and Midnight did as well, and Aizawa lost a leg, and Nighteye died, and Hawks might have lost his wings, and Shirakumo ended up Kurogiri and it’s still unclear whether he can be saved, like... why does Shigaraki get to be saved when so many people suffered like that? And it’s not only about them suffering by his hands, it’s about Hori and how he was ruthless with so many characters but lets the story show arbitrary kindness to Shigaraki alone, it’s all... well. Unfair. The way I see it. At this point I at the very least expect kindness for Touya as well, here.

That said if I pick the chapters one by one by themselves I do enjoy them very much. I just don’t gotta think about the big picture lmao AH but it’s all a personal opinion, of course! I know people who enjoy the way the story is going and I can see where they’re coming from, this is all arbitrary tastes and preferences on my part, I’m aware of it!

Anon said: Hi hi! I finally got into jjk AND finally caught up on the manga and i appreciate your doods soooo much more now!! They’re so great!! But imcurious, is there one specific moment in the story where you Gojo and Geto became IT for you? Just genuinely curious!!

THANK YOU happy to hear you liked jjk!!!! And that’s!!! a great question, I’m not sure I have an answer actually? I binged the manga in a day and a half, you see, and when I binge stuff that fast I rarely stop to overthink things - I did ship them as I read too since, well. They’re in love lmao but I shipped them in the same way I shipped itafushi or yuutoge after I read the prequel, you know? Just a general aknowledging of how good they were together. The main point with satosugu specifically was probably that satoru has been my favorite character since the beginning of the story and suguru got there as well as soon as I read their backstory, so once I was caught up they’re the ones I ended up spending the most time thinking about, both by themselves and together, and that ended up making me a bit obsessed..... just a bit lol

If I had to give one specific moment that got me by the heart and squeezed the hardest it’d be... probably Satoru’s “my soul knows otherwise”. And the way his voice alone could bring Suguru back, even for just a single moment. The thing about satosugu for me!!! one of the many things about them, but the main thing for me, is that they love each other. Be it platonic or however you wanna see it, they love each other. Despite everything and after it all, even if Satoru had to kill Suguru, even if Suguru killed so many and betrayed Satoru and they went their separate ways in the harshest of ways, they love each other. It’s insane, isn’t it? That they’d love each other so much they could pass over everything and anything. I’ve seen the “best friends become enemies” trope so often in shounen manga, but this is the first time I see it treated like this - with love so strong that they never blamed each other or turned that love in hate. The way satosugu do it is all-encompassing! It goes beyond the world and their differences and death itself! So if I had to pick it’d be that one, because that scene happens after it’s all over, and it all went to shit and way beyond too already, and still their souls resonate with each other and answer to each other and that sends me insane, just thinking about it. Like, god, they really still love each other. Satoru’s mourned for Suguru for a year, Suguru’s been dead for a year, they’d been separated ten whole years before then, and still! And still!!! It’s so tender I don’t know how to deal with it

Anon said: “What’s a god to a nonbeliever?”—That tag is going to haunt me for a while. The entire tag section for your latest Gojo and Geto drawing is meta-worthy.

THANK YOU it’d been eating at my brain I had to write it down somewhere why are those two like that

Anon said: Do you take commissions? No pressure! ✨❤️

Not right now!

Anon said: How do you feel about sukuna ? like/dislike or thoughts on him

AMAZING QUESTION I love him. I have absolutely zero clue as of why so don’t ask me to elaborate, I’m literally that marge pic with the potato when it’s about Sukuna, I have no meta thoughts about him nor deep reasonings behind it - by all accounts, I should dislike him! But he shows up and I’m like nghhh king, so that’s where we stand. It’s Sukuna, you know. I just think he’s neat.

Anon said: sighs time to get into another fandom bc i simp too hard for ur art 😔

HAH thank you for the trust I hope you’ll like ror if you do get into it!!! hahaha

[transsexualhamlet]

If you're still doing the song ask can you do Sherliam?

Yes, of course! Sorry it took me a while to get to this one lol but yessss

Song ask was make a 10 song playlist for a ship or character and since I think there's demand for this Im just gonna stick it in the actual sherliam tag!

Generally, it's a lot easier for me to do characters than ships but I have actually thought about this one a lot. I know a lot of the songs are pretty basic, but they work really well so stfu. I tried to put these in chronological order according to the storyline from when they first met to where things are now, but a lot of them would be simultaneous, so yeah lol

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5flNUgIR44PNjUOd8inbgh?si=8ac0229621ba4694

Catch Me If You Can by Set It Off: I made an amv for this song as well with them, and I really cannot think of any song that fits them more than this one to be perectly honest. I mean. Catch me if you can. But seriously it is everything with how they interact with each other. They're having way too much fun with the game, they're playing with each other and leading each other on and both on opposite sides and completely in sync. Motherfuckers are basically canonical soulmates but hmm intellectually fighting each other is basically sex for them.

From The Gallows by IDK HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME: As soon as I read ynm I knew this was exactly Liam to Sherlock. I think a lot of my ships fit this dynamic very well, but. Yeah. Mans is like yes we are enemies yes I'm deeply in love with you please judge me to be worth saving or not so if you don't think you can kill me and I'll be happy. Pretty straight forward there.

Masterpiece Theatre I by Marianas Trench: This one is Liam singing, and I think that altogether, the whole set of those three masterpiece theatre songs work for the whole series, both the anime and manga. But the first one especially. God, it works so well. It's all this incredibly guilt ridden person lamenting their great plan and how at the end they 100 percent plan to let it all be destroyed, including themself, over Yearning towards someone they're not supposed to be with and that they've been hiding a lot from. They've become all lies and fronts and they've had to ignore all their emotions for quite some time, and all they want to do is give it all up and cry into this person's arms even if it would go against everything they've worked for, even if it would kill them.

Collar Full by P!ATD: This one is pretty easy, I think both of them could be singing it at once. They're both awfully head over heels for each other and they've been pining for an ungodly amount of time that their natural state is just Yearning, but they know that if they ever got together it would be a chemical reaction that would destroy everything. All of the world is watching them and they have to hide it or die, they know if they were to be open about their secrets there would be nothing left between them to stop it from all falling apart, so they'll try to be together and try to pretend to be oblivious to why they can't. At this point though, it's been so long and all they've done is fall farther that they don't really care and they would rather collide and let the chaos happen just for the chance to embrace each other. AND "You've got a pocket full of reasons why you're here tonight, so baby tonight just be... the death of me" is LITERALLY JUST THE CANON

Hell by Dear Sherlock: I cannot believe how lucky i was to come across a song by a band called DEAR SHERLOCK? But yeah this one basically delves into Liam in the final problem, in his thoughts and in his letter. He's not in a good place at all, and he's sunk to his darkest, thinking himself to basically be the devil incarnate, and things are coming to their climax, shit's going to go down, and he's obsessed with trying to get Sherlock to kill him and end it all. Liam has been holding back all his emotions for a long time and they're all going off at once and he wants to expose all of them to Sherlock alone, leaving him vulnerable. Even though it's the thing he's always been most scared of, he craves it. He knows he's in love and he knows that's a problem but he'll do anything to die at Sherlock's hands at this point and he's convinced that Sherlock must hate him enough to do it but he'll confess everything anyway.

Achilles Come Down by Gang Of Youths: Surely, everyone knows this song, and it can be way overdone, but once again... it's them. Sherlock is desperately trying to convince Liam not to jump. Liam isn't listening.

Come With Me by Chxrlotte: I've actually made a sherliam amv to this song. I just happened to stumble across it and every single lyric fits perfectly into the storyline, especially in the anime. It's super soft and shippy yknow but this one is definitely Sherlock singing it- he doesn't care if they're supposed to be on opposite sides, he wants to make Liam happy even if the whole world is against it. He'll cross any line to reach him and he wants to always be there for him and even if he has to wait years and years he'll always forgive him and no matter what he believes they'll eventually reunite.

It's Alright by Mother Mother: Man, this song always gets me, but I think this really encompasses how good they can be for each other after it all goes down. They've both been incredibly reckless, self destructive, and kind of fucked up. They each have complimentary problems that make them feel like they're barely worth being alive. But because they love each other so much and they want the other to survive and be happy, neither of them is allowed to die, and they're going to live on together and they're going to heal each other and they're going to cry to each other and embrace each other and learn to live with themselves and get better and fix everything. God, they need it so much, and they need each other.

In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars: Again, I know this song is overdone, but just imagine this after the fall? Imagine this when they're both healing from the fall and learning to live with Billy in America? And like, it's a really tentative time, they're all still hurting so much and Sherlock has got to constantly worry if Liam is gonna throw himself off the fucking roof? But he hasn't yet and it looks less and less likely that he's gonna, so that's one good thing at least. They're able to settle down and try to calm their nerves and get away from the shit that's happened, and they cling to a very domestic routine, at once still so broken but healing and constantly reminded of just how much they have to be thankful for.

Laughter Lines by Bastille: I've always thought of this as a song for nezushi (from no. 6) because of the whole eventual reunion somewhere far down the line yearning but GOD they REALLY DID THAT IN THE ANIME and even kind of in the manga they have still been separate from each other a lot and on like, other ends of the goddamn planet. They spent a long time trying to be able to reach each other and get together, and they finally got to a good spot where they're able to accept it. Because so many things happened and there was a lot yet to be done, they had to leave each other for a long time with no way to contact each other, but they'll be waiting for the time when the other can finally come back and they're both healed enough to settle down. Cries real tears.

[ifeelallwrite]

Let’s talk about Hospital Playlist. (KDRAMA REVIEW)

note: does contain spoilers

When people ask me what is my favorite Korean drama of all time, with no doubt, IT’S HOSPITAL PLAYLIST. This drama has the comic relief, the emotional scenes, realistic characters-just to name a few. No toxic relationships and petty revenge fights. Nothing else will stop me for saying that this is the ultimate feel good drama.

SYNOPSIS: The drama shows insights into the daily lives of doctors and nurses working at Yulje Medical Hospital. It focuses on 5 doctors who have been friends since medical school, who also play together as a band.

This drama encompasses so many elements and characters so bear with me yo this might be real long 

Hospital Playlist is produced/written by the Shin-Lee PD and writer pairing, whose previous works were the renowned Reply trilogy and Prison Playbook (which are *chef’s kiss*) I really like that all their dramas really highlight humanism, and puts emphasis on creating a heartwarming and realistic series. There isn’t always a major conflict to be resolved, but instead it showcases how different people-in this case mostly those in the medical field-go on about their daily lives.  I also liked their reasoning to produce a medical drama which was that hospitals were where the most dramatic moments occurred, for example during births, deaths or sickness. And since we are still in the Covid-19 pandemic, it ties in greatly to be paying homage to all the medical personnel saving lives. Hence, props to those who were involved in this meaningful masterpiece <3

The drama is not the usual 16 episodes, but has 12 episodes for each season (SEASON 2 IS COMING SOON YAAS) Good thing is I felt that they were still able to weave a dynamic storyline in the first season even with lesser episodes. The writing was just top-notch with the witty humor bits. Additionally, the music is AMAZING. I love the concept of the main characters being a band and playing different songs every episode too.

Okay, now onto the characters. I thought that every character in this drama was well rounded. Starting of with the main five characters, also known as The 99ers, whose distinctive personalities and natural chemistry make all of them extremely likeable. All main characters are professors of different specialties, and I find the male OB-GYN (Seokhyeong) and female neurosurgeon (Songhwa) very refreshing. Also, I like Shin-Lee dramas always have characters that might be realistic yet hardly seen in other dramas or films. For example, Professor Ahn Jeongwon. Despite being a chaebol (inheritor/heir), he isn’t depicted as a spoilt brat or a cold character, instead as a warm Pediatric doctor who uses his wealth to secretly support patients in need. However it makes him stingy to his friends LOL

To be honest, I really thought I was gonna dislike Junwan due to his cold and tsundere nature. I pretty much believed that he was going to be the party pooper type of the bunch, but with the writer being a master of character development, he turned out to be really sincere and hilarious at times. Same for Ikjun, who apart from his enthusiastic and happy go lucky exterior, cares the most about the people around him. Although Seokhyeong seemed detached and introverted, he shows a emotional side to his friends as well as his mother. Songhwa is literally a girlboss though haha she’s smart, capable and gets along with everyone well. And she’s the most sane out of the bunch. 

With all the main characters, we have the relationships. Junwan is the first to date seriously with Iksun (the dog or Micky? jkjk) who is Ikjun’s sister. When it first happened I was like not again Jung Kyung Ho (bc he dated his best friend’s sis in prison playbook too LMAO) I think their relationship was realistic and open. It also showed a more sensitive side to Junwan who would do anything for her. I especially liked how he said he didn’t need access to her phone because he trusted her. Yet as all couples do, they have their fair share of ups and downs. Like conflicts on getting married and a long distance relationship as Iksun moves overseas for graduate studies. I don’t really know how to take the ambiguous ending for these two, as Junwan receives the returned box (that has the ring he sent) I really hope nothing bad happens to these two though.

I’m sure we all love Wintergarden couple though, tbh they’re kinda my OTP at the moment 🤣 It was pretty much a ‘will they won’t they’ relationship with a relatively slow build. I think Gyeoul turned out to be one of my favourite characters. Shin Hyun Been did a good job at portraying her as a straightforward but innocent Resident, who is pretty much openly crushing on Jeongwon. The scenes they had together were adorably awkward (and the scene where he gives her chocopies omg) And when Jeongwon battles his inner conflict to become a priest, the final decision where they kiss was beautifully shot, with the actors both showcasing their emotions extremely well. 

Then we have Chihong who pursues Songhwa, his professor. Midway through the drama, it is also shown that Ikjun and Songhwa might have had romantic feelings for each other. Songhwa ends up rejecting Chihong’s confession. In my opinion, Chihong was quite a interesting character but I didn’t really like him at the end. (I like the actor though) He did a real jerk move during drinking games, insisting on Ikjun to confess his feelings towards her even though he is already trying not to put Songhwa in an awkward spot. Although his character did end up making a cool exit and when I thought about his incredible story of soldier to doctor, I kinda regret disliking him that much. As for IkSong, In the final episode Ikjun confesses to her one last time, and we are left waiting for Songhwa’s reply. As much as I love this pairing, I don’t think that the ship will sail or maybe not as quickly as we think. I believe Songhwa would meticulously consider the sacrifices to their friendship or other aspects and might not be able to bring herself to it, but I hope it’s otherwise. 

Lastly not forgetting Seokhyeong and Minha, another Professor+resident pairing. This one’s a bit ambiguous though, mainly because there hasn’t been much romantic development. To me, the most impactful scene came from Minha who had been irritated by continuous night shifts and was on the verge of a breakdown. She ended up remarkably saving a patient, starting off surgery on her own for the first time. Oh man Minha was such a lovable character, I remember feeling so bad for her but extremely proud of her for her accomplishment. Although Seokhyeong seemed a bit aloof and distant (which was intentional bc he’s an introvert) I think the backstory and all the hardships he faced with his family really made me feel for him. I hate to break it to you, but I’m not so sure if the ship will sail because of the phone call from his ex-wife and Minha’s somewhat rejected confession. But who knows, they might pull off a twist 👀

Apart from all these characters, there are more characters HHAHAH However, I think this is the killing point of ShinLee dramas. Unlike typical dramas which usually focuses on a main character and 2-3 side characters, they like to cast a diverse range of actors (especially those from theatre/musicals and lesser known drama/movie actors) while actually give their characters personality or a reason to be there. I’ve seen many dramas where extras or side characters were kind of irrelevant thus making me feel that they weren’t needed to build the storyline, yet ShinLee dramas hit different y’all. Every role, no matter how small, holds significance to the drama. It really seemed like a collaborative work that shows off every actors skills (and not forgetting staffs) and teamwork.

Anyways because there are way too many characters and too many scenes for me to mention them all, I’ll just talk about some honourable mentions heheh

1. Sunbin and Seokmin confession scene (ahh so cute)

I kinda sensed that they liked each other at the start but I didn’t know Seokmin would ask her out on a date at the end. Even though it’s kinda awkward that they are dating and working with each other though (both are in the same department) but hey the confession was cute and awkward and just warm and fuzzy 🥰

2. MAMA ROSA IS THE QUEENN

I think we all (would) love Mama Rosa because she’s a real one ☝️ (probably the coolest mother ever) She’s feisty, hilarious and kind to others. Plus her friendship with Ju Jong Su was just adorable and super wholesome. The scenes where they were supporting one another through tough times and hanging out with each other when they felt lonely always put a smile on my face. Oh and how Mama Rosa treated Gyeoul was extremely sweet. (as well as Seokhyeong’s mother) Despite her tough exterior, she’s a likeable character for being a strong but caring woman.

3. Just Do Jae Hak

I seriously love this guy so muchhh omg he’s so funny

Do Jae Hak has a funny amd clumsy personality, though it’s clear he’s been through a lot and is strong willed person. From admitting his indecisiveness to counselling Jun Wan on his love issues, there’s literally nothing to hate about him.

4. Uju and his dadd

The father and son chemistry between these two is so good omg. The scenes with these two are so adorable and heartwarming (not to mention hilarious) It’s amazing to see how Ikjun cares so much for Uju despite his hectic workdays while going through infidelity issues with his ex-wife. Uju is matured for his age and shows his love and appreciation for his dad too, making their interaction a great portrayal of a healthy family relationship💞

5. the food stealing the show🥘

Who doesn’t love food and when a show has great food scenes? Some of the best scenes are definitely when the 99s gather to eat. It really showcases each character’s personality with the tiniest details as well as highlight warm delicious meals. Just don’t watch this when you’re hungry at 2am in the morning guys you’ll be drooling all over your screens HAHAHA

Of course there are way more aspects, like Hongdo and Yoonbok, Ikjun and Iksun’s pigeon jokes and raps, or Jeongwon drunk crying in the chicken shop with his brother (who was his coach in Reply 1994 when he played Chilbong LOL)

Most importantly, I think it is the themes and messages that you get from the drama that really create such a lasting impression. Not only does it hit you in the feels with the hardships of hospital patients, or the hardworking doctors+nurses who are working long shifts saving lives, it also tackles topics of friendships through the possibilities of platonic and friends-to-lovers relationships. However I think the biggest lesson for me came from Seokhyeong, who learns to live his life doing what he want, with the people he treasures. Although the drama might seem slow at times (mainly because there isn’t really a main plot line/conflict occurring), but this drama would still bring you on a journey where you would laugh, cry and finish the series, begging for season 2 ✌🏻

[isabellehemlock]

Author Interview Tag Game

Both @energievie and @ceraunos​ tagged me in this lovely author’s interview (a month ago eeek) and I am so excited to fill this out - such a cute one! - thanks for the tagging me, and I'll tag:

@boutiquetraveltravelboutique @bewires @disregardandfelicity @ao3-arkada @pinkninjapj @emjee @mieraspeller @shatterthefragments @catherine-batty-author (feel free to skip, especially if you've already done it!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Thirty-three, four are fanarts 🎨

2. What’s your total word count?

762,097 (in the last 15 months - and that’s not including a couple of things I haven’t posted yet lol WHAT - how did that happen?!)

3. How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

Well I joined AO3 five years before I started posting in August of last year.  The majority of my fics are hands down The Old Guard - but branching out to other Luca Marinelli Multiverse characters, and crossovers (so including those, five total - but again, mostly characters for crossover purposes vs canon adjacent fics)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Endless Ocean (TOG AU), Cleanse (TOG post canon), The Bet (TOG pre canon), Catch Me If I Fall (TOG AU), The Purpose of Art (TOG Modern AU)

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Aw I love responding to comments!  I don’t think I’ve ever missed any??  I’m pretty extroverted though and love chatting with people, and of course am always humbled someone has gone out of their way to leave a comment, so, grateful for the opportunity to express my thanks in return 🙏🏻

The rest under the cut because this got long haha

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Define “angst” lol.  Because gosh, I was going to say none, but it is sort of implied in a couple - The Necklace (TOG pre canon), An Interrupted Oath (TOG pre canon), and Memento Mori (TOG pre canon) - not sure how much I can share about any of those without it getting spoilery, but basically: sad, saddish because reunion is “off screen”, and uh, the third ends on a cliffhanger.

Some of my other stories do have angsty themes in them, but otherwise happy endings 💕

7. Do you write crossovers?  If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Hands down, Pwimo - but I got an even crazier one outlined muwhahahaha

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Mmmm, define “hate”?  I’ve had unwarranted/not asked for commentary and “jokes” around ship dynamics in my fics, as well as people suggesting I shouldn't write one or the other (both in comments and DM’s). Spoiler: you can't win, someone is always going to be unhappy with the ship dynamics, write what you want (I write both btw and yup have received commentary across the board)

9. Do you write smut?  If so, what kind?

Lol, let me whip out my list - can I sort by rating? Haha.  I mean, I think tags can be fairly subjective, like there’s a lot I can’t personally read.  There’s a lot I’ve written, that others can’t read, so I’m not sure if I should say “kink”?  Because I feel like half the peeps will say “Oh yeah” and the other half would say, “Lol whatttt?”  

Hm, but without writing out a whole list, I think kink encompasses enough haha.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of - I think I would cry, please don’t.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, not that I’m aware of?

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not so much co-written, but EO was co-created with my beta, and we spent the better part of six weeks piecing together a fairly elobrate outline with backstroies, plot points (she came up with half of them!).  She was kind enough to beta every single week for the better part of six months to make sure I didn’t miss anything haha.  

I am itching to co-write something, but it’ll be a surprise, so I can’t say more than that - but the co-author has already looked over the outline and seems they liked it 😘

13. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Joe and Nicky!  I’ve written some 762k+ words for them (and characters in their lives, and crossover AU’s), I love them your honor

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oh I’m going to finish them - might take me another six months, but it’s going to happen 😎

15. What are your writing strengths?

Within the story: hmmm, I really like to explore what makes a person tick, so I’d say dialogue, and character backgrounds - I like to pretend I’m funny sometimes, too.

Writing in general: this might be the ADHD, but I don’t really need to carve out time to write.  I can do like thirty minutes here, stop, do something else, then dive right back in and write like another hour.  Obviously if I can schedule more time at once that’s great and all, but it’s not a necessity.  Really helpful when I have other errands, appointments to do, just sort of tap in/tap out as needed.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel like I’ve read some fantastic, beautiful allegories to describe scenery and people, and I just - never seem to use that for my own stuff, and I don’t think that means my fics are necessarily lacking because of it, but I just notice it when I read it in other places. I think I tend to focus on the dialogue more, or when I do describe things, tend to rely on colors and emotions but gosh the epic, sweeping, poetic imagery kind of stuff I've seen in this fandom?? Yeah drag me stunningggg

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Hey if you got someone to help you (Lisa has helped me several times with Arabic!), then go for it - or there’s a few tumblr authors who have resources/guides.  Otherwise, I stick with one or two words here and there at best, but not like long chunks of dialogue. I'm bilingual myself, so I know how inaccurate Google translate can be lol.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I did a lot of RP/OC stuff as a teen, then didn’t do any of that for almost two decades - save some short lived RP stuff a decade ago - TOG is the first fandom I wrote a posted fic for

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh gosh, such a loaded questionnnn 🙈 Because I love them all for different reasons but I guess let me pick like a baker's dozen? And share little things I liked about them?? (numbered by posting order from oldest to newest)

They emerged once more, and beheld the stars

My first posted fic! How can it not have a special place in my heart??

The Little Church

This was based on the first post I made in the fandom, about how Joe and Nicky might have discovered similarities between their faiths and bonded over that. I'm really into interfaith dialogue so it was wonderful to write some of that out here as the interfaith couple of the millenia 🥲

Cleanse

A post canon fic that weaved their past, into a post movie world with flashbacks, and though disguised as a road trip fic was really about healing from a ptsd flare up - also, this was my first sex scene writing (so I was nervous!)

The Purpose of Art

My very first modern AU and oh my gosh though on surface level looks like a restorative social justice fic, it was definitly more like a romantic comedy featuring all three major couples - and the first time I wrote about demisexuality in a fic (so again, totally nervous!!). But it's still one of my top three that I think back on fondly for its found family themes, and healing from traumatic events (I'm already seeing a pattern lol)

The Bet

My first, on purpose, explicit fic solely for the sex lol. I wrote some 17k+ words in three days and wanted to try my hand at some kink themes. I definitly used a lot of religious imagery as well though, and it turned into an actually tender PWF. I truly believe I peaked with this one haha.

Crimson Moon

Once again, my attempt at writing smut, ended up being a long multi fic exploration (under the guise of vampires and werewolves) of world building, explicit consent, soul mates AU. It featured the other pairs as well, and is also one of my top three favorite personal fics ever!

Piece of Heaven

This was actually a last minute fic - someone had to drop out of the holiday exchange and I got to be one of the called on subs if you will haha. And gosh this turned out to be one of my absolute favorite fics - it's a modern AU, sweet, gentle, featuring seminarian!Nicky and scholar!Joe and it's just adorableeee

12 Days

This was a kink based prompt fic, but since I seem incapable of writing any porn without feelings (I didn't mean for my demi to come out this hard but here we are lol) - I completely, though totally accidently, projected myself onto Nicky coming to terms with his sexuality with a sweet, kind, patient partner (i.e. my hubby). Whoops at the self insert lol.

Through the Lens

Speaking of hubby, I used this big bang fic to share my own (and his) personal experiences with the starving artist tropes, xenophobia (though only a smidge in the story), and even included me and hubby's meet cute via Andy and Quynh’s story. Plus the tSoA symbolism is thiq within this fic y'all 😎

Endless Ocean

By far my most read fic (and now a whole series with a time jump epilogue). I won't get too personal here with it, but there were several themes and even full on dialogue scenes taken from my personal life, as well as family history, and I really, really wanted one thing to resonate above all else: that there's hope after pain. Also almost 250k of that stat number at top, came from this fic alone whoops

Pwimo

Alright here me out, this is the most niche, self indulgent, crack/smut I could have ever written and I regret nothing. I don't care that it is one of my least viewed fics because I love Pwimo enough for everyone lol. He's my cursed child on the server, I even have emotes for him from memes, there's art now featuring Primo as a catboi and it's all thanks to Chelsea, who allowed me to adopt him. I'm the Mother of Cursed Children now lol.

Misunderstandings

My first time writing Roberta, and a trans character, so I was nervous! I really appreciated the positive feedback and enjoyed getting to write for her - and did another one as well ;) But I loved the historical, French provincial vibes, and the opportunity to flesh out such a beautiful character - Roberta is a Queen, who deserves everything ❤

Called You By Name

I almost didn't post this one! The religious imagery is not only fic, it's blatant lol. I wasn't even sure if it would be too Catholic in the sense it might go over some people's heads and make it too hard to follow along. Like, would someone need to pause, look up what the heck I was referring to and just - not finish it lol. But luckily that doesn't seem to be the case and I'm grateful for the positive feedback I received. It's one of my favorites and I loved exploring the potential HC of how Nicolò became Nicky di Genova 😏

+ bonus Miracoli

I'm currently writing my first Daan x Paolo fic, and you loves, it's so fluffy and adorable and the single Dad vibes but also the pining but also the kiddos but also the self loathing my goodnesssss.

Oh my gosh this got so long, I'm sorry 🙈

That's all folks!

[princesssarcastia]

Thoughts on Star Trek AOS? (And do you think Kirk was on Tarsus?)

i have SO MANY THOUGHTS about star trek aos, so buckle up.  brace yourself.

star trek aos is a terrible disaster and i love it SO MUCH.  for me, star trek 2009 is still in that class of unreasonably pleasing movies like the mummy or stardust or jumanji: welcome to the jungle.  what they are isn’t exactly top notch but you love them for being exactly what they are.

star trek aos is a star-studded fucking phenomenal cast of some of the best actors working today, which makes up for the very inconsistent writing and unfortunate low-level current of sexism.

literally where would i be today if chris pine could not make faces Like That. i honestly couldn’t tell you.

overall, I have quite a few bones to pick with JJ Abrams for setting up a star trek universe that is less Wacky Space Utopia adventures with liberal political commentary ranging from unsubtle to im-hitting-you-over-the-head-with-my-opinions-like-they’re-a-brick—

to this kind of overtly militarized action-hero adventure porn where one white man saves the universe from Scary People Who Don’t Look Like Us And Are Crazy.  I also don’t appreciate what they did to Jim Kirk, turning him into this womanizing self-centered bastard who has to be in charge.  I REALLY don’t appreciate the casual misogyny, what with the last of rank stripes for women and the gratuitous sex-ed up scenes and the way that Amanda Grayson gets fridged for man-pain and and and— you get the picture.

Or at least, that’s what they tried to do to jim kirk.  and god fucking bless chris pine for being able to make facial expressions, because i firmly believe if pretty much almost anyone else had played Jim Kirk as written by JJ Abrams, that’s exactly what he would have been.

But because of chris pine’s acting, instead, most of the AOS fandom and I realized/decided that this “womanizing” version of jim kirk actually really really hates himself so much, most likely for trauma reasons. 

we took that shit and ran with it and never really stopped.

zachary quinto is also like god tier casting.  unfortunately the writers for the first two movies mostly gave him Anger as a primary motivator, which like, is not exactly how I would interpret Spock at all, but quinto played this Angry Spock so so well.

ZOE SALDANA PLAYS THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE, NYOTA UHURA, PERFECTLY AND THAT’S ALL I’LL HEAR ON THE MATTER.

john cho should be cast in everything ever he’s amazing and I love seeing him.  this man has the range. hikaru sulu is the backbone of this fucking ship.  this man wins the big damn hero award every single movie. 

i still miss living in the same world as anton yelchin. i really, really do.

I also have found family feelings all over these movies, where these baby versions of iconic characters from the sixties are brought together too early to witness too much fucking trauma.  harry potter references aren’t exactly in vogue right now, but there’s this one piece from a—well, actually, its a harry potter reference in an mcu fic i read years ago, now that i think about it, but anyway:

it was something like, there are some things you can’t go through with a person—like that mountain troll in harry potter—without becoming friends for life.  there are some crucibles that will bind you together forever.  and awful as it is, I think Nero and the Vulcan genocide were the AOS crew’s mountain troll.  there’s no going back or separating, after that.

also I feel like there’s a ton of competence porn in this trilogy that i deeply, deeply enjoy.

star trek: 2009 and into darkness are both grimdark male power fantasy bullshit that only accidentally hits all the right buttons for me.  I love them dearly but i know EXACTLY what they are, thank you.

star trek: beyond is a delightful movie with no real plot where our favorite crew are finally Adults With A Modicum Of Common Sense And Stability, instead of Disaster Children Angsting All Over The Place, and they get to save the universe with the power of excellent rock music and friendship. how cool is that?!?  i wanna give simon pegg a high five for making this movie.

on a more meta note, what I find kind of satisfying about these movies is that—for all his many faults that i’m always happy to expound upon—JJ Abrams actually went for it.  He Did That.  He just made his own brand new timeline, killed jim kirk’s dad, then gave him an abusive uncle/step-dad, then literally destroyed one of the founding planets of the Federation, then he, in an iconic fashion, switched Jim and Spock’s places in the infamous “wrath of khan” death scene, so instead Spock gets to watch Jim die. 

and you know what? I can forgive a lot of bullshit for that kind of poetic angsty fanfic plot detail. 

every time uhura says, “an alternate reality,” in star trek 2009 just gives me chills.  every time she says it, you feel the weight of sixty years of history and legacy sitting on these people’s shoulders, the weight of arguably one of the most popular TV shows of all time.

imagine, living in a new world you’re aware isn’t the one that was supposed to be.  imagine that!

oh! and on the question of tarsus:

what I think is probably true irl: JJ Abrams has never thought that far ahead in his life.  correct me if i’m wrong, but hadn’t he.....not even watched star trek.........when he made these movies............like lol i’d bet you this man didn’t even really know Tarsus was a thing.  And even if he did, I don’t think he thought it was part of the new canon he was creating.  AOS is much more self-contained than the serialized universe the original star trek was, so I don’t think that AOS was intended to encompass all those things, like tarsus, that we as a fandom like to obsess over.

what I personally enjoy: i love me some AOS fic that explores the ridiculous amounts of trauma that comes from living through a genocide.  I think that, given we all decided AOS Jim Kirk hates himself, and engages in a shit ton of self-sabotaging and destructive behavior to cope, it’s a reasonable jump to think that at least some of that comes from some survivor’s guilt bullshit from Tarsus.  And honestly, hit me up if you want recs for this, because boy do I have them.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: no one does angst quite like AOS!Jim Kirk.

what I believe wholeheartedly: this is like Schrödinger's Plot Point, okay, it both exists and doesn’t exist simultaneously.  it’s easy to read tarsus into some of jim’s behavior, and it’s easy to read none of it in, and both of those choices are valid.  go with your gut, go with what makes you happy, go with what you think makes sense.  This is where fandom lives, in these little details that fall through the cracks.

anyway WOW did I talk a lot.  those are at least some of my star trek thoughts.  i do have others, but i’ve expounded on them before on this blog, and y’all don’t need me to repeat myself

ask me my thoughts on ______