#around the world in 80 days meta

[atwi80d]

Share your ATWI80D Christmas headcanons!

Question from @exuberantocean:

Sooo…what's everyone's headcanon for the trio's Christmas? Are they busy traveling and barely acknowledging it? Have the holed themselves up somewhere for the day together? It is spent pouring over maps and making traveling plans? Or do they (and Grayson) have a cozy little Christmas and put all that off until the next day?

First answer from @thinking-with-quadrants:

All of these are great possibilities! My favourite is celebrating it with Grayson cause i love him. I imagine they might make sure to return to London every Christmas so Phileas can celebrate it with Grayson. After Grayson does I think Phileas's might try to busy himself with traveling and ignore it the first couple of years, until the loss grows less painful. Over time I think they might create their own little traditions to celebrate it, the kind that don't rely on place, so they can celebrate no matter where they happen to be...

Second answer from https://acsalva.carrd.co/ :

I agree with this. Phileas clearly loves Grayson so hopefully they schedule their travels to spend the holidays with him (or take him along to somewhere close by)

[atwi80d]

#it was that or DT’s other speciality (psychopath villain) so they went the right direction

Damn the writer of around the world in 80 days did not have to come for DT’s entire body of work like this. ​She was truly like yeah book Fogg was boring and we were wondering what to do but David came on board and we said well what choice do we have but to make him an unwell girl who can’t throw a punch

[rovermcfly]

since we're talking about david tennant again, can I just recommend Around the World in 80 Days? I devoured it when it came out but it only got very little attention then. It was just a genuinely good show. I remember that more seasons were planned (following the main characters as they experience the stories of other Jules Vernes novels) but I don't know if that's still happening. either way I think everyone would have a great time with it, especially classic literature and history nerds (if the stunning main cast isn't enough to convince you)

[amuseoffyre]

"I don't even know who I am"

What I have loved about the show from day one is that it has been an unflinching examination of identity and what makes it: the things that shape people into who they are and how that impacts on how they act and react to the world around them.

The exploration of Ed’s sense of self has been so beautifully handled and I know that if/when we get a third season, they’re going to do even more with it.

This is a character who has been raised with violence and cruelty his whole life, who was told “we’re just not those kind of people” when he yearns for something better, who killed to protect his mother, who ended up under the heel of a brutal tyrant of a captain who used sadistic punishments and death to keep his crew in line.

It’s the only life he knew and it’s the only option he sees himself as having. He has no concept of any other alternative until along comes Stede “there’s always another way” Bonnet and he’s fascinated. He even tells Stede as much the first time they met – “do you have any idea how hard it is to find someone doing something original out here? It’s impossible, man.”

Ned Lowe cements that fact in 2x06, describing Ed as a generic pirate and Ed immediately calls him out on the fact that he’s as messy as the rest of them even if he’s trying to act like he’s not, observing “It’s usually family stuff”. Stede even observes “A lot of your friends are troubled” and Ed fully admits “Yeah. Well. They’re pirates.”

There’s so much juicy meta to be had about the fact that Stede wants to desperately be a pirate and Ed doesn’t even catch that not only is Stede fully troubled but that it’s got Family Stuff etched all over it. He even says “you’ve got it all figured out”, but the Stede meta is for another day.

In S1, Ed’s in a pretty depressed space and finds a bit of a respite from it in Stede’s company. It lets him try out new things, things he didn’t think he was allowed/able to do, but he still follows a lot of the patterns of behaviour and actions that are standard in the pirate lifestyle that has been 80% of his lived experience.

He can switch violence on and off when he needs it (“next one goes through your fucking eye”), he doesn’t see anything wrong in talking about the violence he’s inflicted (“Well, this one time I was gouging an eye out of this lad’s skull”), he has a deep well of punishments that he can draw from (force-feeding body parts, mutilation, skinning, maiming) and all of these things are just so normalised for him that he’s desensitised to how horrific they are.

He’s still doing all those things while also telling stories, having fun, teaching people about fuckeries and generally being “more open and available than I’ve ever seen him”. He hasn’t wanted or needed to shed that side of his life because he’s getting the best of both worlds.

Only then Calico Jack pays a visit and ramps Ed’s behaviour up to 11 and this is the first time Stede – who is dealing with his own issues at the same time – says that there’s something wrong with the way he’s behaving.

Ed says to Stede, confused and stung, “This is who I am. This is me” when Stede points out all the behaviour he isn’t enjoying. And for him, at this point, this is him. This is what he’s grown up knowing and being. This is his lifestyle and part of the culture of the pirate community. We see it repeatedly when we see Ed encountering people from his past or in the Republic. It’s the frog-in-the-pot scenario. He’s been in the pot so long, he doesn’t know it’s been boiling the whole time.

Only the very next episode, at the academy, pared back to just be Edward Teach, born on a beach, he admits “I don’t know if I want to go back to the old days, drinking all day and forcing some bloke to eat his own toes for a laugh”. He’s been played and double-crossed by people who trusted him and he sees an alternative in Stede – “I’m your friend” Stede told him, and he wants that. He wants a friend he can trust. They can go off together, away from all that and everything’ll be fixed, right? That’ll make it all good.

And then…

And then we all know how that goes.

Briefly, very briefly he thinks he might be able to hold on to that different kind of thing, that softer, brighter world, but Izzy reminds him of the reality of their situation. That people he considers allies and friends can and will warn him to “watch his fucking step” and that this is not a world where he can let his guard down.

Either you’re part of that world or you die. Izzy said it as far back as episode 4. The only retirement they get is death. And so that’s the option Ed takes: either watch the world burn or die trying. Not like he can have anything else. For ever and ever, trapped in his life and world he has come to hate.

He sinks him into the worst of it to try and end things faster. He’s crueller. Relentless. Brutal. And no one seems to care that he’s shattering under the weight of it, until he forces their hand and goads them into killing him or letting him kill all of them.

Izzy says “we did this to him” to Stede, but neither of them seem to realise how much deeper Ed’s hurts go. Yes, they both had an impact on Ed, knocking away his sense of place and self and acceptance, but the wounds are far older and far deeper than they know.

It’s only when Ed is first forced to confront himself in the unsettling not-reality of the gravy basket that he takes the first step in understanding himself better. He’s forced to face the stuff he’s done and the worst parts of himself. He even tries to kill them, over and over again, until he realises.

I find it especially interesting that Buttons describes getting out of purgatory as “escaping”. That this is a place where you’re flayed down to the bones and forced to face the worst parts of yourself.

It’s so vital that he – and Stede – have the encounter with Anne and Mary. He’s reminded of the world that he was part of and the casual brutality that came with it. He’s shown that he and Stede could easily fall into those patterns, but instead Stede offers him honesty, comfort and the assurance that he is loved.

“A lot of your friends are troubled” Stede observes after and Ed admits that yeah, they’re pirates. He recognises that this is part of the social culture he grew up in and that it’s still impacting on him now.

But what happens next is so sweet and important. Buttons talks to him of learning to change, that nothing is fixed and that if you want to, you can change your path. And then Buttons shows him it’s possible and Ed’s face just lights up. Yes, brother. Fly. You can change things. You can choose another way.

Only it’s not simple. It’s not straightforward. With the probation period, Ed looks for quick fixes – offers to let Lucius push him overboard to get it over with and the like – but part of him still doesn’t quite get why some of the stuff he did was wrong because it was so normalised to him.

It takes Fang saying “I was terrified” to make him see it and coming from someone who has been with him for 20 years, realising someone else from within his own world was terrorised by him brings things into focus for him. That the things he thought were games weren’t. That the stuff he told himself was normal in context absolutely wasn’t normal.

And this is where Ed’s entire world view pivots. Fang shows him how to sit with himself, how to reflect. Ed takes this lesson to heart and he’s still working through it, gazing out to sea and thinking about it at the beginning of episode 6. He goes from never apologising for anything as a captain to telling both Fang and Izzy quiet, but meaningfully, “I’m sorry”.

He’s known for a long time that he’s tired of piracy, but the Ned Lowe situation is the thing to put the final nail in the coffin: this man hunted him down because of his pirating. This man hurt them all because of it. And worst of all, Ned took the man Ed loves and pushed and provoked him until Stede killed him. This was Ed’s “you defile beautiful things” moment. His face in those scenes, when he said “don’t do it, you can’t come back from this” is a call from his own experience. Stede is taking that step onto a path that Ed desperately wants to get off.

That night makes the decision for him.

The next morning, his leathers go overboard, a symbolic end to Blackbeard (and I will yell another day about him putting the proverbial beast back under the waves. Ed and his sea metaphors are gnawing me alive) and he’s happy about it, humming and hurrying back down to join Stede in their bed.

Stede doesn’t notice, though. Stede never would notice something like that being important because for him, Ed is Ed. Whatever he wears, whatever he does, he is Ed. A change of clothes doesn’t change him in Stede’s eyes.

But other people notice. Hell other people not noticing Blackbeard and only seeing some hobo dude is such a change. There’s something so significant that the people he chooses to talk to about it are the old guard in his field. He tells Jackie “it’s not a phase” and Izzy that it felt “fucking great” and both of them get it. Both of them have been there, seen it, experienced it.

Only it happens as he’s seeing Stede become what he used to be, stepping into the space he’s willingly leaving, and Stede is so happy about it. And he’s happy for Stede to have his moment and be appreciated, but it just throws into stark relief that this is absolutely not what he wants or needs right now. He still has a lot of figuring out to do and unfortunately, they’re both highly-emotional people and when they’re emotional, their communication goes down the toilet.

Once upon a time Ed said “this is who I am, this is me” to Stede, when he was acting exactly like Stede is now: raucous, drinking, chaotic and loud. Only time and reflection has let him see that wasn’t necessarily him but the environment and his circumstances shaping him to be like that, just as it's now making Stede act that way.

“I don’t even know who I am,” he admits in this argument. “I’m not ready for whatever this is”. He knows he has a lot more to figure out and because he’s latched on so hard to fishing as a place to be quiet and contemplate, that’s why he runs there. He wants to work himself out without the weight and pressure of the pirate world breathing down his neck.

Only he doesn’t talk about it, he doesn’t explain, he just tells Stede he’s leaving and Stede immediately sees it as something he’s said/done, rather than something that Ed is trying to figure out. They both hurt each other because Ed has always worried that Ed isn’t enough – the loss of the beard still weighs on them both – and that Stede is only humouring him to get Blackbeard, while Stede is so convinced that being a great pirate will mean he and Ed can be together as equals instead of him being a bumbling amateur who isn’t worthy of the man he loves, only to see it slip through his fingers.

They both need to talk to each other, but they don’t know how. Ed’s made quick, rash decisions, but they’ve come on the back of a lot of reflection and he just didn’t explain it. He’s right that he doesn’t know who he is himself. He’s never had the chance to just… take the time and figure it out. He needs that time, but they just don’t have it right now and they end up hurting each other more because of it.

I’ve said from the beginning that both of them are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum and that they’re destined to meet somewhere in the middle. Ed got his fantasies of a fancy life shattered in season one and now, Stede is seeing the impact of his pirate fantasies on the life he made for himself in season two.

Both of them are on the edge of a catastrophe curve, misunderstanding each other’s motivations and totally at odds with who they are versus who they have been told they need to be. They will get there, but two little lost boys finally taking off the rose-tinted glasses and dealing with the mess that they have carried with them their entire lives isn’t easy.

And I will fully admit I am loving it.

[thenamesblurrito]

I’m so far down the SNAP rabbit hole I’m now interested in the fictional tv show in a fictional transformers continuity

Anyways, what kind of media is As The Kitchen Sinks? Who’s Thundercracker’s favourite character? Will he ever get his friends interested in the show?

hehehe WELCOME TO ROBOT MAHOU SHOuJO HELL WITH ME!!

ofc there's no real substance to it in canon, we only get that single bit in G1, so i completely made up everything except the title for SNAP! ATKS is kinda an in-universe species swapped standin for the role that actual the Transformers franchise plays? it's a much smaller franchise with far fewer tie-ins, but it has the same feel as the 80's cartoon. i could also compare it to iCarly, Wander Over Yonder, or the animated Barbie movies/show. it's an animated show, mostly for nymphs/younglings, following a broad, wacky cast of organics from a fictional species (that are uncannily similar to humans! but not actually humans, i am doing other things with humans in this universe) in a more episodic dilemma-of-the-day simplified soap opera plot structure rather than an overarching story with a specific climax to reach. there's a few smaller spinoff cartoons, a good chunk of comics, probably a couple novels, games, and direct-to-TV movies? a broad selection of toys and merch also. smallish but ongoing and respectable franchise with decent sized fandom

while it's similar in tone, it's not a one-to-one equivalent of Transformers, or any Earth media. Cybertron has a very different media/entertainment culture than humans do and their genres, production methods, and publishing forces don't act the same way (don't ask me to elaborate on this, i have nothing solid beyond "their civilization has been digital, interconnected, and interplanetary from the start, unlike our extremely recent information age, which would have shaped their media industry tremendously"). it's part of a general genre of specbio organic fiction, which is distinct from extant organic fiction (usually concerning actual organic aliens Cybertron once encountered, or their local organic lifeforms). a critical eye would note that this genre is usually infantilizing, demeaning, dismissive, or otherwise condescending about organic life, with an underlying attitude that they are simply inferior, stupider, incapable, etc in comparison to mecha. subtle and often unintentional propaganda wound up in otherwise average entertainment, despite the current absence of any known organic contact with Cybertron

resident nerd Thundercracker is something of a weeb for the very concept of organics, largely due to this show. TC's favorite character would be his OC, Buster, who is a "dog", a species he very carefully designed to plausibly fit into the world of ATKS, and who is absolutely the Mary Sue protagonist of his novel-length fanfiction. the Sweeps are modeled directly after Buster and Galvatron had to thump him a couple times to prevent Scourge from actually calling them that, because basic infosec even about ur OC could be the thing that keeps your secret identity safe. if he had to pick a favorite ATKS character, it would be a close tie between a cute little genius who gets around on wheels (Chip Chase standin) and a determined spitfire warrior he's written as one of Buster's best friends (Marissa Faireborn standin). his siblings and Megatron are pretty tired of hearing about ATKS, but now he's got a buncha new folks to preach to at the JAAT! folks like Powerglide simply cannot resist!

note that i'm never going to draw what ATKS looks like, or actually name the characters, etc. it's supposed to be a wink at the audience, a meta reference to canon Transformers humans without actually being them. enough that someone can go "is TC talking about Agent Fowler???" but never confirming it. mostly bc i don't want to figure out how mecha would perceive and design organic characters, and also i don't want to preclude using those human characters for real after SNAP's plot is done. Earth might be out there in the big wide universe, i don't want to confirm it only exists as the setting of ATKS and nerf myself that way

[atwi80d]

Agreed on most points, but I think it's important that the OT3 DON'T end up in Phileas' giant empty sad townhouse! To me, the ending makes a point of showing how once they arrive in London they almost fall back into their old social roles and drift away from each other, or at least from Phileas, because you can't cross lines of class, gender and race in London. They just barely escape with their friendship! The newspaper article is what offers them a chance to escape and shows them they don't have to stop running. I can point out the details I mean if you're interested.

Around the World in 80 Days

Hello! Can I interest you in a miniseries where David Tennant is various levels of disheveled and/or in peril? Do you like OT3s? Let me tell you about Around the World in 80 Days.

This post DOES include spoilers up to and including the end of the show, so if you don't want to know whether they make it back in time, please just scroll past.

Phileas Fogg is a sad, rich, lovable twit who cannot button his own shirt.

Everything is not fine. He spontaneously decides to travel around the world in 80 days, a feat that has only then been estimated to be possible, given advances in British colonialism and travel technology.

He is joined by Abigail Fix (Leonie Benesch), a plucky lady journalist;

and Passepartout (Ibrahim Koma, who deserves better lighting), a working-class man who pretends to be a valet so he can get away from a sticky situation.

Phileas likes trains, and is fascinated by hot-air balloons, and loves the idea of travel.

But the man cannot undo his own cuffs.

It's an adventure that I would describe as "rollicking." The screenwriter did a good job of taking a story that was really steeped in era-typical racism and colonialism, and turning it into a story that recognizes and criticizes racism and colonialism.

But we're here for the peril.

Drugged and feverish peril.

Needs to be propped up by his companions peril.

Flogged for a crime he didn't commit peril! Peril that makes me hope the PBS video player doesn't report on how many times a user rewinds a particular scene peril!

Hypothermic and needing to be cuddled and have your legs briskly rubbed peril. This also introduces the second important part of this show: the OT3.

There's excellent character development throughout the show and the three main characters grow to like and respect each other. The real adventure is the OT3 we made along the way.

(The show is of course trying to sell you on Abigail/Passepartout, but . . . .)

ot3 ot3 OT3

Please don't try to tell me that these three end up anywhere but in Phileas' giant empty sad townhouse and make it less empty and sad.

Please join me in watching this! It's a good show! It deserves more than 105 works on AO3! It's cheap to watch--PBS is five bucks a month, and if you sign up at the right time you might get a free water bottle.

In conclusion:

[jo-harrington]

Wanderlust (James "Sawyer" Ford and STFF!Reader)

Summary: You don't really know what your place was in this story. One minute you're taking your first plane ride to Australia, and the next you're stranded on a deserted island and you have a new best friend.

Word Count: 5.6k

Themes: Metafiction, AU within an AU, Isekai, Friendship, Platonic Relationships, Criticism of Media, Philosophical Ideas, Fate vs Free Will, Supernatural Elements, Time Travel, Fix-It Fic, James/Juliet Canonical Pairing, References to Other Media (NBC's Community and Heroes) but no additional knowledge needed to understand this fic, Temporary Reader Character Death

Notes: Wishing my lovely @somnambulic-thing a late happy Solar Return. Every day I get to chat with you is a gift and a treat. I love getting to pick through ideas and listen to all of the ideas that your beautiful brain has. The universe placed us, quite literally, halfway around the world from one another because if we were any closer we would be too powerful and too happy, I think. But I will take what I can get.

And I could've just sent this fic to you, but I know that there are a few others who love Sawyer as much as you who might want to read.

For anyone who else that is interested, Reader Character is from my Stranger Things Meta Isekai AU called "Stranger Than (Fan)Fiction" and is a character from a made-up 80s Cult Classic TV show that, uh, gets bounced around universes quite a bit and is aware of their fictional existence. It's hard to explain if you're not already in the know, but it is mind-fucky.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

Wanderlust - a strong longing or impulse towards wandering

Day 1

You know, you'd done a lot of things in your weird, long, fictional life. Been to a lot of places. And generally, you enjoyed it. But being in a plane crash was one thing—one place—that you didn't think would ever experience.

Damn, being a passenger on a plane hadn't even been on your list until you woke up and found yourself on a flight to Australia.

You had been suspicious--for the duration of your existence in fanfiction, your trademark mode of transportation had been your Beetle--and now you felt justified of that suspicion as you woke up amid the chaos of the aftermath of a plane crash.

There was fire, explosions, people screaming, people running.

People were bleeding.

People were dead.

You didn't know what to do, what to focus on, how to help. Because people were helping, running around and hauling people further from the water, further from the wreckage. A man in a suit was doing chest compressions on an unconscious woman.

And as your consciousness settled into your body, you simply felt overwhelmed. By the sights and sounds, the soreness that you felt; there were cuts along your arms, and you felt a throbbing pain in your head.

You'd been through so much. All of your lives, all of your deaths. But this? There was nothing like this before and it was the cherry on top of the shit sundae that was your miserable existence.

What story were you a part of this time? Whose fantasy did you exist to serve now? How could you possibly find a lesson or love or...whatever...here of all places?

A young woman with blonde hair stood several meters from you, screaming and crying but not much else, and your system decided it was a good idea and that you needed to join her.

Hot tears blurred your vision and rolled down your cheeks.

Time passed, as time does, but you stayed as stagnant as you felt. The sky started turning an array of pinks and purples and oranges as the sun set.

"Hey kid, get up." A gruff voice came from behind you, and you ignored it until a hand was shoved against your shoulder and your world shifted sideways.

Your head snapped towards a man with light brown hair, a cigarette hanging from his lips, and a permanent "fuck off" stamped on his forehead. He'd been sitting next to you on the plane. You hadn't talked much, except to shuffle past each other to go to the bathroom. He had let you have both arm rests.

"Get up," he grumbled at you again. "Come on."

"What?" You sniffed and ran the back of your hand across your cheek to wipe the tears away; the grit of the sand on your skin made you want to cry more. "Why?"

The man scoffed and threw a hand out exasperatedly. "Fine. Stay there. Let the tide come in and get you wet. Drown. Starve. What do I care?"

He grumbled under his breath, something along the lines of this is why you don't help people out, no matter how pathetic they look.

You took a few deep breaths to level out your emotions, despite the pang at, once again, accepting the fact that you were alone here. On this island, in this predicament that you seemed to perpetually exist in.

Help. What a foreign concept. You hadn't ever thought to find help before. You were always in it alone, always at the mercy of the Writer who put you in their story, only serving to further their narrative. True help was rare to find; why would it be different here?

But, unlike all of the other worlds you'd visited and all of the stories you'd been a part of, you didn't feel the pull of a Writer's pen here. Only the guilt at pushing away the only person who'd noticed you sitting here.

Maybe things could be different here.

You took a few breaths and then called out to the man as he started walking away.

"Don't you think that's a bit much?" He turned back to you and raised a questioning brow. "Smoking."

He took an exaggerated drag and shrugged.

"You could just breathe in the toxic plane crash fumes if you wanted tar in your lungs," you elaborated.

He snorted a laugh; however, his expression remained generally blank. He was reluctant to find you funny, but it was still there.

"Alright, kid," he nodded. He took one last drag and then flicked the half-finished cigarette away. "No need to be a smart ass."

Day 25

You really didn't know how you fit into this story.

You were utterly and sincerely baffled.

But you could say that about a lot of the stories you found yourself in; this one felt like it was just to make you suffer, more than anything else.

"What's on your mind Wanderlust?" Sawyer groaned as he collapsed beside you on the sand. You rolled your eyes at the nickname; he liked to pick on you for how well-traveled you were, but it wasn't the worst nickname for him to give you, so you didn't complain.

He held out a water bottle--still a bit cold, meaning he'd just come back from refilling them at the caves--which you took with a grateful nod.

"You're staring into that fire as if it's about to tell you the meaning of life."

"I think that's exactly what I'm hoping it does," you told him honestly before taking a swig.

"Well if you find out," he laid back with his arms folded behind his head. "Be sure to share with the class."

You rolled your eyes at him and then kept up with your pity party.

To add to the list of things you didn't know: Sawyer was also one of them.

He was a shithead of the first degree, dangerous, shifty, rude, selfish, suspicious...and somehow the only person you consistently talked to here on the island.

You appreciated his compassion, and the subsequent companionship that he shared with you. The care. The protection. The no-strings-attached, no-questions-asked nature of your relationship. You had his back and he had yours.

"You have a boyfriend back home kid?" he asked abruptly.

Spoke too soon.

"Loaded question," you snorted, thinking back to the many loves you'd had throughout this strange life you lived.

"Always the bridesmaid?"

"Something like that." You kicked his leg. "What about you?"

"Married to my work, sweet pea," he grinned, eyes still closed. He must've heard you roll your eyes at him. "I'm sure you're curious about why I'm asking."

"The question crossed my mind, if you'd like to share with the class," you parroted his words.

"Might've heard through the grapevine that someone has a little crush on you."

"Hmmm." You hoped the judgment and distaste was clear.

You weren't hostile to any of the other survivors, but you couldn't say that any of them were crush-worthy either.

"Figure it was my duty as your unofficial big brother to scare them away before they started sniffing too close. 'specially if you had someone back home waiting for you."

"Well, no one's waiting," you huffed a breath. "But that doesn't mean I'm interested in a weird beach hookup."

"I figured. I'll tell 'em to scram."

"Please don't be rude about it."

His eyes popped open and he pressed a hand to his chest.

"Now when have I ever been rude?" You kicked him again. "Alright, I'll be nice."

"Thank you."

There were a few beats of silence, filled with the crackle of the fire and the roar of waves just a few yards away.

"What are you looking for then?" Sawyer's voice broke through. "If it's not sex or love or whatever. What's got you looking so deep into that fire for?"

"I think..." You took a second, because all of those things were nice. But what did you want? What did you really want?

You inhaled deeply and then turned your gaze back to him with the hint of a smile.

"I think I just need a friend."

Day 44

It was the definition of an awkward goodbye.

You knew he'd either be back, or he'd be dead.

That was the way, wasn't it? The two of you had talked about the Gilligan's Island of it all once...just once. Until he got too cranky at the implication that he'd be stuck on this island forever, and then he gave you the silent treatment for a whole 24 hours.

"It's a stupid tv show," he'd scoffed at you. "This is life, kid. Real life."

Of course, you couldn't tell him that no, actually. It was not. Not for you, at least.

If there was anyone that you'd want to go through this farce of an existence with, Sawyer wouldn't have been too bad. Unfortunately, you were still alone in your limited omniscience.

Still, as he, Jin, Michael, and Walt prepared to depart, you felt like someone should wish him well.

Because Kate certainly wasn't there to.

You were not jealous of whatever she and Sawyer had going on; in fact, you hoped the two of them would get their heads out of their asses and stop dancing around each other. But you were bitter because of Kate's reluctance to commit to her feelings and Sawyer's refusal to feel them at all led your friend to make stupid decisions. Like getting on this raft.

"You've got that forlorn look in your eye," you said, announcing your presence and effectively startling him as he stared longingly back at the beach.

"Jeez, you can't just sneak up on a guy like that," he grumbled.

"I don't think that I'm sneaking." You gestured to the crowd around you, saying their goodbyes to Jin, Michael, and Walt.

"And where did you learn a big word like forlorn, anyway? You been reading my books?"

You frowned at him. "Am I not allowed to say goodbye to you? To tell you to stay safe? Would you rather I spit in your eye?"

"Maybe." You started making a hacking sound, but Sawyer mashed a hand to the top of your head and pushed you away with a laugh. "Alright. Enough. Say your goodbyes. Tell me how much you'll miss me."

"I will miss you," you said honestly. "No one else...no one talks to me or makes this place as bearable as you have. Maybe Hugo."

"Who's Hugo?" he frowned.

"So please stay safe," you ignored him and continued. "Don't do anything stupid. I believe you're at least a little bit capable of that. And get us rescued, please. That's your responsibility as my unofficial big brother, after all."

He had the good sense to look a little misty-eyed at your words. He opened his mouth, but made the decision to close it and simply pull you into his arms in a hug instead.

Day 58

Sawyer made himself at home and burst into your tent, dropping down onto the makeshift bed with a groan.

"Who pissed in your Dharma Initiative Flaked Corn Cereal?" you asked and turned the page in your book.

"Couldn't sleep. Spent the whole day with Hurley, finding a damn frog."

"Why?"

"Because I knew you would laugh at me if I asked you to come and help me find it."

"Did you want a pet? We can barely take care of Vincent."

"No, I had to kill it." You stared at him silently and he turned his head to look back at you. "It's a long story."

You huffed a sigh and set your book aside.

"Lucky for you, we have nothing but time."

Day 76

"I'm sorry, ok?"

You looked up at him in annoyance. "What could you possibly be apologizing for?" You asked sarcastically.

He said your name in a warning tone, but you knew you needed to let him have it.

"You've barely been back for a day after being imprisoned by the Others for weeks. Surely, you've dreamed some sort of slight. It's not like you came back and blamed me for letting the others take some things in your totally not dick-headed secret stash. Or called me a pest. Or said you were grateful for the time away, that it was almost like a vacation."

"Alright, kid, I've got it. I'm a jerk. You knew this from the moment you met me."

"I do, but I want you to grovel." You shot him a perfectly innocent, angelic smile.

"Well I brought you a present, so maybe that'll be enough."

You finally noticed his hands were tucked behind his back, and you raised a brow in question.

"Remember when we were talking about getting rescued early on, and you said that you'd like nothing more than a burger and a cold beer?" he asked.

"I don't think that was me." You narrowed your eyes at him.

"Sure it was. Because I made a joke about Hurley being as big as a cow if we ever got desperate, and you socked me in the arm for it."

"That does sound like me," you agreed. You hated when he made fat jokes about Hugo. "So what? Did you magically find a cow when you escaped from the others?"

"No, but...the boys and I--"

"The boys?" you snorted.

"--We found an old Dharma Van out in the forest and it was full of little surprises. A skeleton, a bunch of trash, and..."

He presented you with the dirtiest, rustiest looking can of beer that you'd ever seen in your life.

"It's warm, it's flat, it stinks, it's well-beyond expiration, and it might give you tetanus," he explained. "But it's beer."

And you wouldn't lie, you would have squirmed uncomfortably at the combination of unsettling words that had just come out of his mouth, if only he didn't have the proudest, most self-satisfied smile on his face.

You knew you were one of the few people who got to see the softer sides of Sawyer, but even this was pretty big for him.

So you took the beer from his hand with a soft "apology accepted."

Day 78

"Hey, so, I need your help with something," Hurley said to you, but not directly at you.

You were in the pantry, scrounging for a bit of breakfast, and he stood at the other end of the table staring past you, towards the beach.

It took you a second to realize he really was talking to you.

"Uh...sure, what's going on?" you asked, concerned.

"Everyone has a certain issue with a certain...let's say mutual friend..."

"So, Sawyer..." you prompted him.

"Uh...yeah." He fidgeted where he stood. "And I've come up with a plan to change their minds, but I'm gonna need some help with it. It requires a certain level of deception."

"So we're tricking Sawyer into being nice to everyone so they don't think he's such a shithead."

Hurley's gaze finally snapped to you and he threw his arms up in the air.

"Dude! How did you get that so fast?"

You dug your spoon into your bowl of cereal and smiled widely.

"Because I was thinking of doing the same thing."

Day 83

You settled down in the sand beside the newcomer.

Or, you supposed, she’d been here longer than you guys had been.

Juliet Burke, one of the Others.

You felt so stupid, just plopping beside her. When there was a whole stretch of beach you could’ve sat on.

“Hey,” you said, awkwardly.

“Hey,” she greeted with a serene smile.

What the fuck were you supposed to say?

You introduced yourselves and then both stared out at the water again.

“So, Sawyer mentioned that you’re a doctor,” you said after a stretch of silence.

“I’m a researcher, actually.”

“Oh!” Your brows jumped in surprise. You didn’t know anything about that, what could you say? “Well, you'll be a great help regardless. Jack is…nice—“ You wondered if she could sense your distaste for the doctor-turned-de-facto-leader. “But sometimes you can’t confide in a man for…certain, uh, female...medical…issues.”

What the fuck was wrong with you!

“They sent you over to keep an eye on me, huh?” She asked, trying to keep herself from laughing at you.

You debated lying, but ultimately decided that it didn’t matter.

“Technically, Hurley drew the short straw,” you explained. “But he bribed me, so here I am. He thought it would be more painful if he was here instead of me. But I don’t think I’m doing a good job.”

“Better than the rest of the Welcome Committee.” She gestured behind you, where the other survivors all roamed about camp, shooting suspicious glances at her. Sawyer, especially, was the embodiment of if looks could kill.

“Do the Others usually give out gift baskets?” You asked.

Day 91

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Punky Brewster?" You shook Sawyer's hand off your arm and scowled at him. "How many times have you said you'd rather stay here on this island? That your wanderlust has settled down some, and you'd take a nice beach and mangoes for the rest of your life over uncertainty? And now you're taking the Doc's side?"

"I'm not taking any side," you argued.

"You don't even like Jack!"

"I don't...get along with Jack."

"Then why stay with them? Why try to help them? Charlie died."

"That's right, Sawyer!" You shouted. "Charlie died trying to get a signal to that freighter so that all of us could go home!"

"And it turned out to be a lie. It's not Penny's boat. Naomi is a fraud!"

"But there's still a freighter out there!" You grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Which means there's a chance for us...them...to get home."

The Writer might've chosen this path for you, but it was a path you'd have chosen for yourself regardless. Because this was the path that would lead these people--these characters--to be able to get home; you could feel it in your gut.

But how could you tell him? How could you tell him that this was the kind of stuff that happened in TV shows? In movies? In fictional stories. And that there might be another bit of uncertainty, but in the end, they'd be able to get home safe. That there would be a happy ending.

You couldn't tell him, was the thing. Even if you wanted to. You physically could not tell him that.

"Maybe..." You swallowed hard. "Maybe one day, I'll be able to give you more of an explanation as to why I'm sticking with Jack, instead of Locke. But for now all I can say is...good luck, Sawyer."

1974

Well this was...interesting to say the least.

Time travel. You couldn't say you hated it. Hadn't you time travelled with Peter and Claire and Hiro before? This was no different.

That is, it was a lot different, because now you and your friends seemed to be stuck in 1974, with the Dharma Initiative.

"Least we're not all about to start hemorrhaging," Miles had said dismissively when you'd awoken inside the Dharma Barracks.

"We need to keep our wits about us, and wait for Sawyer, and then we figure out what happens next," Juliet tried to keep him calm.

But now you were put up in Dharma housing, eating Dharma food, given...well, they weren't Dharma clothes but they certainly weren't your clothes either.

The 70's. That's where you were from, sort of. You remembered a childhood, growing up with a station wagon and funky music like the Dharma-favorite Geronimo Jackson, cookie cutter houses in your midwestern suburb, and your mom's trendy clothes and haircuts. This place was decidedly not that, even if it tried to be some sort of facsimile of it.

Of course, everything was a facsimile of something else. This world wasn't real. Even though it was to its inhabitants. Your world wasn't real, even though it was to you. What was even real? You didn't know.

You didn't let yourself go down that spiral of thoughts very often. Any time you thought about it, you got a headache. So you generally just played your part, lived your life. But there was something so...existential about this world, about this Island, and especially now as you found yourself travelling through time, that made it all hit you like a ton of bricks.

So as soon as you'd showered and put clean clothes on, you'd gone back out and sat on the swing set in the little playground at the center of the barracks and you let yourself have your existential crisis.

Even the swing was Dharma-issued.

"Wasn't expecting to find you out here."

You ignored it and just kept swinging, pumping your legs as the set creaked under the weight of your adult body.

"Are you trying to take flight?"

"So what if I am, Juliet?" You called out to her. "That would get you off of this stupid island too."

She sighed and took the swing next to yours, but she didn't move.

"Do I need to ask James to come out here and talk to you?" she asked after a few, long minutes.

"I'm surprised he hasn't."

"You mad at him or something?" You didn't answer her. "Are you mad at me?"

You let your sneakers skid against the sand and you came to an abrupt stop, then you stared at her.

"I don't even know you, Juliet," you snapped, tears in your eyes. You let them fall freely; the first time you'd really allowed yourself to cry since Flight 815 crashed. "I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at LaFleur. I'm just mad. Ok? Am I not allowed to do that?"

She held it together for approximately one minute before she started laughing. You stared at her incredulously, then scoffed and got to your feet with a curse.

"Wait, wait," Juliet got up and chased after you. She grabbed your hand. "It's ok. I wasn't laughing at you. I was just...I said practically the same words to Ben. I was angry, I am angry. Do you think I want to be here either? I want to go home too; he kept me on this island, never let me leave...and now...now it seems impossible. So we just have to...play our parts. Alright? I've gotten really good at it over the years."

You let out another scoff, that turned into even more tears. Until you she was preaching to the choir. You had a part to play, even now. She pulled you forward, into her arms, into a hug.

You stayed like that for a while, a comforting embrace as you cried. You even felt your shoulder get wet as she started to shed her own tears.

You had been indifferent to Juliet before that moment. You didn't know her, just like you said. The former-Other was nice enough, courageous enough, but even when you'd sided with Jack, you kept your distance from her. Now...she was stepping up. Supporting Sawyer, supporting you...when she didn't need to.

"But it'll be ok," she finally whispered to you. "You keep fighting, you keep surviving. And one day...one day something good will happen. You'll meet someone who changes your life, or...or you'll do something that will be the most important thing you'll ever do."

"Will it?" you sniffed.

"Yeah."

"Did it happen to you?" you asked.

She squeezed you tightly, but didn't say anything else.

1977

"If I never meet you, then I never have to lose you."

You waited until Juliet stomped away before you called out to Sawyer. "You really fucked that one up."

"What, did you come to take a cheap shot out of me now too, kid?" Sawyer growled at you.

You pushed through the foliage until you were out in the clearing with him.

"Was that a cheap shot?" you questioned. "Or was Juliet telling you how you made her feel and you're too much of an idiot to get it? I'm just here to drill the point home."

"Am I an idiot?"

"Yes."

"Because I might have...lamented over the opportunities I lost with Kate?"

"Are you kidding me?" you screeched at him. "You're lucky Jack beat the shit out of you, otherwise I would have to take a hit right now. Lamented? How many romance novels have you been reading lately?"

Sawyer said your name sternly, but you ignored him and continued.

"There is no lost opportunity with Kate," you explained to him. "Not while there's a Juliet. Do you get that? Because if there is, that invalidates every moment that you've shared with Jules. Every time you've kissed, every time you've said I love you. She thinks...she knows...that you've been wondering how it would've been if Kate was in her place instead."

"But that's not how it was!"

"Then why didn't you tell her that! Why did you say the wrong things!"

"When did you suddenly become the expert on relationships?" He let out a sarcastic laugh, but you held your ground. "What was I supposed to say?"

"That Kate means nothing to you."

"I thought I said that."

"You said..." You stepped right up to him and poked him in the chest. "You said it didn't matter who you looked at. That you were with Juliet. It doesn't mean the same thing, James! And I know you've been too busy trying to keep everything under control the last few days since the others have been back, but Juliet has been falling apart for days and not once did you reassure her. She knows how much you love her...you just made her feel like you would rather love someone else instead."

"Oh, like she told you?" He snorted.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, she did."

That took him aback. Like, it visibly shook him to his core.

He didn't say anything after that, as you trekked back to join the rest of your friends to accompany Jack on his suicide mission. It was the quietest you'd ever seen him.

And then you knew.

You'd been on this island and in this universe for almost 1200 days--yes, you'd been keeping track--and you always wondered what it was that you were here for.

Why was there a writer out there who picked...you, a silly kid from Port Geneva, to be a part of this story when there was no real use of you.

You'd made friends, family, been a shoulder to cry on, been shot at more than once, experienced all manner of wild, supernatural encounters. But there was no obvious reason that you were supposed to be here.

Juliet had told you, once, that the Others believed that a mysterious Jacob brought people to the Island that needed to be here.

"Is he like a God?" you had asked.

"Something like that," she responded. "But I suppose there's more to it than that. We're not really supposed to ask, or think about it too much."

As if that had been really helpful.

But you thought, as you watched the chaos unfold at the Swan construction site, that maybe there was no writer this time. That maybe this was real, and Jacob had brought you here to fix something that otherwise would not have happened.

He brought you here for them.

Everything moved in slow motion when the magnetic pulse pulled the chains towards the drill; it was unfortunate that Juliet just happened to be in their way.

They knocked her to the ground and dragged her towards the mining shaft. Her blood-curdling scream made time stop, and then spurred everyone into action. Sawyer, Kate, and you.

Kate tried her best to hold the chains back, to pull Juliet up.

Sawyer dove and gripped onto Juliet’s hand with a gruff “where d’you think you’re going blondie.”

You acted on instinct, without a care in the world for your own safety. You weren’t the most athletic, weren’t the smartest, but you climbed your way into that shaft and through the twisted mining equipment like they were monkey bars to get to her.

“What are you doing?” She sobbed.

Your purpose was clear, filtered into your mind by Jacob or by a Writer or maybe you were just ingenious enough to figure it out yourself, the adrenaline of hanging over the precipice of certain death enough to drive you.

Untangling a necklace would be easier than trying to figure out how to unwind the chains from where they were wound around her waist and her legs with one hand. And she was dangling, being pulled into the void, with only Sawyer to hold her.

“Kate, try to help her get those chains off,” he barked, nodding to you. She slid under an I-beam and tried to reach for Juliet but she was careful, full of self preservation. Unlike you.

This was what you came here for. To save Juliet. To save Sawyer’s heart.

“It's ok,” you whispered to Juliet with each whimper. One chain came free and plummeted down the shaft. The piece of scaffolding that you were clinging to shifted and you held on for dear life. Juliet sobbed and you cried out to her. “It’s ok! It’ll be ok!”

“Hold on,” Sawyer growled at her. “You hold on to me.”

“I can’t, I can’t.” She cried weakly.

“You can,” you grit your teeth and worked her free.

“I’ve got you,” Sawyer ground out, gritting his teeth. “You hold on.” He looked at you now. “Work faster. Come on.”

And you did, until Juliet was free. Until Sawyer could haul her as you pushed her bloody, bruised body upwards. They fell backwards and vanished from your sight, and as you heard their cries of relief, you felt a sense of fulfillment wash over you.

Kate called your name and stretched to grab the back of your shirt to pull you up as the scaffolding you clung to groaned. Then Sawyer appeared again, cheeks wet with tears, with a huge grateful smile stretched across his lips.

“Come on, Wanderlust, let’s get you out of there,” he laughed.

It was a glorious sight.

And the last you would see of him as the magnetism grew too strong, and the metal around you finally snapped.

You closed your eyes as you fell, the crashing sound drowned out his screams.

And then…flash.

Greendale Community College - April 2011

“Perfect timing!” Abed said instead of a greeting as you walked into the study room. “We were about to finish the final episode of LOST.”

“We just rewatched the whole series,” Troy explained. “God, what a perfect show.”

“Ehhh, I have a list of continuity errors.” Abed tapped a notebook on the table and then pointed at Troy. “We can compare notes later.”

“Lost?” You shook your head. “Never heard of it.”

You tuned out his and Troy’s enthusiastic explanation and admonishment that you’d never heard about the “hit ABC show” as you pulled up a chair and stared at the laptop screen. This wasn’t the first time that they’d told you about some must-watch program that you couldn’t care less about.

The camera was focused on a scrungly, sparkly eyed pilot as he prepared to take off. Then his face shifted to incredulity as he announced some “late arrivals” and the scene cut to people running on a grassy runway.

And then you froze as the shot returned to the cockpit and the pilot, and a man wearing eyeliner, and…

“Miles?” You muttered, causing Troy and Abed to pause their rambling.

“So you have seen Lost!” Abed cheered.

“Shh, shh, shut up!” You exclaimed and scooted closer to the table, eagerly pulling the laptop to the edge.

The scene cut to a dying Jack struggling to move a rock in a pit of smoke and glowing lava—wow, what an oddly fitting, if Sisyphean, conclusion to Jack’s story—then back to the plane where Miles and the Guyliner guy hauled the late arrivals up into the plane.

Claire—Claire was alive—and Kate.

Then Juliet…and finally Sawyer.

You covered your mouth with your hands in disbelief as tears built at the corners of your eyes.

It had been…years since you’d been on the island. Since you died on the island. But you’d always wondered what happened, if James and Juliet had made it off the island and been able to live their lives. You’d always hoped, but there was no way to know until now.

“Way to wait til the last second, Jim,” Miles scolded him and pulled the plane’s door shut again.

“Good to see you too, Enos,” Sawyer greeted gruffly.

The scene flashed with uncertainty as they all said and waited for the plane to take off, as the Island cracked and died around them. Claire and Kate held hands. James and Juliet pressed their foreheads together. Miles gripped his armrests tightly.

The music swelled as the plane took off and banked to the left over the highest peak of the island.

“Hey wait a minute,” Abed flipped the pages in his notebook. "I swear I thought Juliet died in the Swan Incident."

He listed off events that he had taken notes on--the mine shaft, the bomb, the flash-sideways to the alternate universes--and kept saying that this wasn't the right ending.

"Maybe this was a deleted scene," Troy offered. "O-or...what if...what if we're in an alternate universe."

You were oblivious to the rest of their discussion about alternate timelines and Mandela Effects. Instead you basked in the sight of your friends getting their wish.

Making it off the island. Alive.

“We did it Blondie,” Sawyer said gruffly and closed his eyes in relief. “We did it.”

“We’re going home,” Juliet smiled, tears in her eyes.

You choked on your tears, but couldn't help but grin as they kissed and the scene faded to black for a commercial.

Tagging @undead-supernova @fkinkindagauche @alwaysurvalentine

[raayllum]

I keep seeing people calling Callum Snake boi what does that MEAN

Little slice of fandom history and also because it's my fault (TLDR at the bottom in bold):

Years ago, a few days after S1 came out and when JK Rowling wasn't an outspoken bloody TERF there were discussions of what Harry Potter houses the characters would fit into. The general consensus for Callum seemed to be that he'd be a Ravenclaw because he's clever and artistic, but I argued for Slytherin (whose symbol is a snake) because I saw him more so as ambitious than just curious and more selectively loyal when it comes to his motivations, etc etc.

If you've been following me for any period of time you might know that I tag Very Meticulously, so as a trans person and a trans ally I was like I don't wanna use the TERF's terminology anymore, but having a tag to talk about a specific aspect of Callum's characterization (his wonderfully harsh temper, his intense selective loyalty, his obsessive ambition, etc etc) was still a useful prospect to me. Thus Snake Boi Callum as a tag was born, mostly as a joke? And so I could find metas that talked about his characterization (specifically) as I don't think I had a characterization tag almost at all for a while?

It started to pick up steam in my tags specifically when there was starting to be a little bit of - pushback isn't the right word cause everyone's entitled to their own interpretation and characterization of a character, nor does everyone have to engage with every part of a character's canon personality or actions in their fandom stuff if they don't want to.

But there'd be stuff of people forgetting that he can be pretty mean when he gets angry or not seeing him as selectively loyal to Ezran and Rayla? People would also be surprised but accepting, or resistant, to his growing and consistent parallels in characterization with Viren and Claudia (even if they are all still, ultimately, different from one another).

I saw a fair bit of sentiment during the hiatus of "oh he'd Never ever do dark magic again" (which I never believed even immediately post-s2) or in discussions of how he'd respond to Rayla after she left in Through the Moon graphic novel (set shortly after S3). Some people thought understandably that he'd care a lot about the lie (that he'd get to go with her) and the abandonment, understandably so - they're both shitty things to do, but I also sympathize/cry over why Rayla thought she had to do them, but I never thought he'd think the lie was that important, and focus more on the abandonment aspect as a source of hurt.

Snake Boi Callum as a concept also got some mileage in the development of my Cube Hostage Exchange Theory as well, an ongoing theory since November 2020-ish that Callum will help Aaravos / give him the Key of Aaravos in order to save Rayla's life if she was injured / taken hostage. I don't know if they'll do that scenario now because S5 basically delivered the exact thing, just with Finnegrin instead of Aaravos, but there was some more legitimate pushback to said theory/scenario during the hiatus because people thought Callum would never help a villain like that or take such a big risk for someone he loves. I'm not gonna say that I was wholly right (because I wasn't) and again people can interpret his actions in S5 in whatever way they want, but I will say that all of S5 was one of the most validating experiences of vindication I've ever had in my whole life, so that probably speaks for itself

But yeah, it's a term that's kinda caught on (I would say 60-80% of the fandom sees Callum as someone who would risk the world for Ezran and/or Rayla, with 20-30% - maybe less? - seeing otherwise, hence why I think it's caught on; but again, having an 'unpopular' opinion in fandom doesn't necessarily make it wrong, god knows I've had plenty) and then in the discords I'm in, a few people thought a week based around those traits would be fun and boom. Snake Boi Callum Week was born.

TLDR; Snake Boi Callum is a fanon catch-all / shorthand for the 'darker' / more emotional and torn side of Callum's personality (his ambition, his temper, particularly his fierce protectiveness and selective loyalty) that is being explored by whoever wants to in a fun fandom week. His bio in official series material does read that he values "those close to [him] more than anyone or anything" after all (which again, was very validating after years and seasons of seeing and writing him with that exact sentiment)

The tagging also means that for people who don't agree with this characterization for whatever reason, or whom dislike the emphasis on it, can blacklist it easily (as is the intended purpose with all tags on my blog)

He's a goofy nurturing guy who will Cut You and verbally eviscerate you without question if you hurt his loved ones or piss him off enough, and I love that for him. He's a little snake boi and we think he should have lots of angst (or sometimes not enough when it comes to killing/threatening people) over how far he'll go to protect the people he loves, as a Treat

[finalgirlminamurray]

reading update: horrorstör was good! the idea of setting a sort of haunted house story in an ikea-style furniture store with those kinds of showroom displays of fully furnished rooms is a great one and i almost wish the book had done more with that instead of just transforming the store into its original prison setting, but it still worked very well as what it was. hendrix’s novels have all felt very cinematic to me - you can really envision everything happening like a movie - and it’s a shame that apparently the only film adaptation of his work so far was not very good. (my best friend’s exorcism was an excellent book, i don’t know how they would have managed to screw that up.) really enjoyed reading this one. the one thing that took me out of it was any mention of actual ikea because i feel like orsk shouldn’t exist in the same universe as the real-world store chain it’s obviously based on, and if it did then everyone would just say “so like ikea” when describing its features. but then again i haven’t been to real ikea enough times to know that much about it. the equation of a soul-sucking retail job with a literal panopticon prison is in no way subtle but i kind of dig it.

we sold our souls was good too but i don't have that much to say about it. maybe i would have more if i was more familiar with the 80s-90s metal scene, or was more of a music person in general, but i enjoyed this one too. reading these books right next to each other had me noticing parallels between the cuyahoga panopticon and the imagery of black iron mountain. maybe they share a universe. both novels had solid character writing and swift steady pacing so i got through them pretty quick. i can say i am a fan of most of this author's work and i will probably be there for his newest novel when it comes out this month.

the third book i just read was stephen graham jones' i was a teenage slasher and that one absolutely ruled. sort of a perspective-flipped companion piece to my heart is a chainsaw and its sequels but also entirely its own thing. this one is probably less of a slasher novel despite the title - it really feels like a particularly well-done and very empathetic coming-of-age period piece and i loved it. i think the reason there are so many meta slashers these days is that after a certain point the subgenre had no place to go but back in on itself - see the revival of the genre coming with scream, which explicitly acknowledged that we've all seen these movies and we all know how this goes, and again with movies like happy death day that base themselves around a central gimmick (not necessarily a negative descriptor) that adds an extra new twist to the formula. this one kind of feels like a body horror transformation movie along the lines of the fly, except the main character is transforming into a slasher, and most of it is more mental than physical (and sounds highly distressing to experience). manages to do the meta horror thing of "people's minds are literally being influenced by the Horror Movie Situation to act differently (i.e., less rationally) than they normally would" in a way that doesn't make me roll my eyes out of my head. between this, the only good indians, and the indian lake trilogy, jones is quickly becoming one of my new favorite writers and i'll probably be diving deep into his extensive bibliography even more. i already have a hold on for mongrels and we'll see what else the library system has

[irrealisms]

jun wu or bwx for character asks? 👁️

starting off: hi yen if you're reading this it's got spoilers so pls skip this post ty <3 u can come back to it when u finish tgcf which at your current rate will be in like. a couple days lol

How I feel about this character

Im Normal About Him.

the ending is. perfect. the bamboo hat. it's never too late. when he's defeated he looks relieved. quoting myself from discord:

he cannot face being proven wrong, because it means he’s done terrible things and hurt people when he didn’t have to. he wants so badly to be proven wrong, because it means that maybe there’s good in the world and not just endless crushing pain and evil.

i have a lot of thoughts abt him & the tragedy of him & his entire ideology!!! i am sort of failing at condensing them but i have a lot of thoughts about him .

All the people I ship romantically with this character

hehe. xie lian (i am a sicko). i can also justify this to some extent--jun wu/bai wuxiang (i think mostly bai wuxiang, actually?) remarks positively on xie lian's appearance a notable amount, there's the "makes one ache, makes one excited" bit which i cannot read as anything other than Kind Of Weird And Horny, there's the thing where jun wu tests xie lian's virginity by making him bleed on jun wu's sword (i have another whole meta in my heart about swords as blatantly phallic in tgcf but i assume you do not need to be convinced of this lol)--but honestly i don't fully stand by it. this is a ship i have at least 80-90% because i am a sicko. i hope you can all understand

My non-romantic OTP for this character

ALSO xie lian. im complex. i contain multiple guys. the thing is that i have a beautiful google doc that consists of every time jun wu/bwx is analogized to a parent/teacher and xie lian is analogized to a child and it has . like. 30 quotes? somewhere around there? it's a lot! it's a lot. "i have decided that we are the same guy due to The Parallels but also i am going to enforce this and Make us the same guy by Molding You into Becoming Me" is an incredibly good dynamic whether it is slash or gen, and i do think the "weird forced adult-child relationship going on" reading is in fact more supported by the text than a shippy one. also when i'm not being a sicko about it there's also something deeply beautiful to me about their ending, about xie lian defeating jun wu but also showing him this moment of grace. and of course the Parallels which apply equally when it's slash vs gen. also you may have noticed that neither this question nor the last one do i bring up guoshi. this is bc idgaf about him. sorry mei nianqing . he exists i just Do Not Care

My unpopular opinion about this character

im gonna be so real i have no idea what is and is not popular wrt jun wu. what are the popular jun wu opinions.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

once again im kind of at the same place i am wrt mu qing of, like.... nothing, honestly? i am incredibly happy with what we got, i think it's beautifully written and the resolution is perfect, mxtx is a good writer and tgcf is a good book, no complaints

having a bit more of his backstory with mnq might be cool, i guess? we get the huge infodump but it's kind of just an infodump, it is just Pure Exposition, going into that a bit more / more naturally than "guoshi helpfully exposits for us" could be neat even tho i dont think its necessary. as mentioned i'm p much happy with what we got

(ask game, give me a character)

[pyxilate]

An HSR OC I may or may not have made to date SW.

EVERYTHING ABOUT HER (except what she actually looks like because I haven’t drawn her yet):

Name: Nyx

Affiliation: Antimatter Legion

Age: Between 17-21

Path: Harmony

Type: Lightning

Quality: 5 Star

Trailer Name: Speed Me Up

Relations: Nanook (parental figure), Seele (biological sister), Silver Wolf (best friend/crush)

Home Planet: Punklorde

Planet of Birth: Belobog

Hair Color: Red/Purple/Black; Can turn Blue

Eye Color: Violet

Accessories of Note: Butterfly behind her right ear; giant scythe, also butterfly themed; Sonic the Hedgehog pin in her hair

Important Actions of Note: Elio cannot predict her; beat the Sonic the Hedgehog Speedrun world record with an in-game time of 8m35s on PC; emanator of destruction; Infiltrated the Stellaron Hunters under the guise of allyship, betrayed them, and got out unscathed; nearly accidentally died when young due to following around a butterfly and being lost in the fragmentum of the underground; was temporarily abducted by aliens for a brief time period before their planet was blown up by Nanook; Seele’s younger sister and a diehard Bronseele shipper- an efficient wingwoman indeed.

REGULAR STATS

LVL 0:

HP 134

ATK 156

DEF 69

LVL 80:

HP 1842

ATK 2978

DEF 237

RESTING STATS:

Max Energy: 95

Speed: 120

ABILITIES:

Talent: I Am Starchasm (Battle-imitating strike that applies lightning DOT to all enemies and deals a small amount of Quantum DMG to any enemies with that weakness)

Technique: Gotta Go Fast [Enhance] (Immediately raise Nyx and her allies’ speed so they will, no matter what, be faster than the enemy in the next triggered fight)

Basic Attack: A Simple Game (Nyx hits the enemy for simple DMG. One stack of ‘Normal Speed’ will be applied to an enemy up to a maximum of 5 times. A single stack of Normal Speed will increase the enemy's speed slightly but also greatly increase their vulnerability)

Skill: For Nanook and Bronie [Blast] (Nyx will hit the target enemy before her with her scythe and apply one stack of ‘Normal Speed’ to it. The enemies to the side will be hit for an equal amount of DMG but not be applied with any stacks of ‘Normal Speed’)

Ultimate: This is Not a Drill (Nyx will run extremely fast, striking the enemy several times with an attack based on her running so fast it doesn’t look like she’s running. Increase her and ally’s speed by 15 instantly, and increase allies’ crit rate by 15%)

Follow-Up Attack: Snow Hill Zone (Once per charge, requiring two turns to charge up, if at any point on there fight Nyx’s speed exceeds 135 a follow up attack is initiated after every Basic ATK, dealing Lightning DMG equal to that of the character. If the 135 speed threshold is not met, Snow Hill Zone will take an extra 2 turns to be charged. An exception to this is an enemy with 5 or more stacks of ‘Normal Speed’)

Signature Light Cone: Runner’s Meta

RUNNER’S META

Path: Harmony

Quality: 5 Star

Increases the user’s base speed by 10/12/14/16/18, and Break Effect increases with a base chance of 10%/13%/16%/19%/22%.

It is said that the most effective tactic available to a runner is to run like you’re being chased by a monster. This is of course totally made up, as that running style is generally inefficient for competitive racing, however, it’s possible it could help someone one day. 

LVL 0:

HP 64

ATK 73

DEF 14

LVL 80 :

HP 904

ATK 1286

DEF 193

Secondary Light Cone: Seele Onee-Chan!

SEELE ONEE-CHAN

Path: Harmony

Quality: 4 Star

Increases the user’s base speed by 1%/2%3%/4%/5%. Increase Break Effect by 7%. If used with Seele on the team, double the amount of speed boost given to the character using this light cone.

This light cone is perfect for little sisters who miss their big sisters! Once they run fast enough, they can finally catch up to their big sisters with lots of nice and shiny achievements to impress her with.

LVL 0:

HP 38

ATK 41

DEF 14

LVL 80:

HP 984

ATK 989

DEF 206

TRACES

Bonus Trace 1: Find Your Flame (Upon entering battle, if Nyx is the first character to act, the use of a basic skill will enhance every other team member’s turn to repeat once after their first action)

Bonus Trace 2: Aria Math (Once Nyx breaks an enemy’s weakness with 3 or more stacks of ‘Normal Speed’ from her Skill, immediately trigger her follow up attack as well as an extra turn for the character with the highest speed other than Nyx)

Bonus Trace 3: Dream in Drive (The use of Nyx’s ultimate will automatically increase the Crit Rate and speed of the ally with the highest ATK by 15% and 12 respectively, and increase the Crit Rate of the ally with the lowest ATK by 25%, while also refilling any follow-up attack gauges by 1 required turn)

EIDOLONS

E1: Minecraft (Break effect is increased by 17% in a single fight every time she lands a single crit and resets outside of the fight)

E2: Undertale (When Nyx’s health gets below 50%, once, on a single battle, increase her speed to the 135 threshold. If already there, cause her to automatically go next two times in rapid succession)

E3: Hollow Knight (Increase the DMG dealt by the ultimate times 6.78% of Nyx’s break effect)

E4: Sonic the Hedgehog (Every time Nyx uses her Basic ATK increase speed by 10 in a battle up to a max of 170 total speed)

E5: Scarlet Nexus (any Antimatter legion enemy will take 15% less DMG from Nyx’s skill, but all other enemies will take 30% more)

E6: Honkai Impact 3rd (When another character executes a follow up attack, automatically trigger her follow up attack regardless of speed or charging point. This includes enemies)

BEST RELIC SET:

Head- Iron Cavalry’s Homing Helm (HP%)

Body- Iron Cavalry’s Silvery Armor (ATK%)

Gloves- Iron Cavalry’s Crushing Wristguard (Break Effect)

Feet- Iron Cavalry’s Skywalk Greaves (SPD)

Rope- Talia’s Exposed Electric Wire (Break Effect)

Sphere- Talia’s Nailscrap Crown (Lightning DMG Boost)

VOICELINES:

First meeting: Hey, (Trailblazer). I guess we’re working together from now on. How ironic.

Greeting: Hey there, Speedy. How’s your day going?

Parting: Leaving so soon? I’ve barely had enough time to run circles around you.

About Self (Trust): I don’t trust easily. Don’t expect you to be any exception.

Chat (Plushies): Silver Wolf once got me a stuffed Saber Tooth for our two-month friendaversary. I can’t sleep without it.

Chat (Nicknames): I give everyone nicknames. Sometimes they’re ironic, like yours. I call you Speedy, but you’re actually quite slow.

Hobbies: Speedrunning video games and playing Super Smash Bros with Wolfie.

Annoyances: Whenever someone interrupts my speedrunning, it’s so irritating. Unless it’s Wolfie or big sis. Then it’s okay.

Something to Share: I call Silver Wolf ‘Wolfie’. At first she hated it, but after we got close she seemed to get kind of mad when I didn’t call her Wolfie. She’s so cute.

Knowledge: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your experience playing Honkai: Star Railed? :P

About Wolfie: She’s so calm and chill all the time. It’s a nice change of pace from how Punklorde is always loud and busy. She reminds me of Belobog sometimes, in that way.

About Seele: Big sister is amazing. She does so much for the underground and she did so much for me back before we were separated.

About Bronya: She’s my future sister-in-law, I tell you. Mark my words.

About Sparkle: It’s kind of weird to have a yandere obsessed over and evil clone of you, y’know?

Eidolon Activation: I’m ten steps faster and one step closer.

Character Ascension: Update running!

Max Level Reached: Top score any% glitch less speedrun! I’ll always be one second ahead.

Trace Activation: These were hell to make, you know. Show some respect and put effort into them!

Added to team with Wolfie: Wolfie! Hey, how are you? Wanna come over and play video games later?

Added to team with Seele: Hey sis. Glad to see you again.

Added to team with Bronya: Break my sister’s heart, I break your neck.

Added to team with Sparkle: Oh. *It’s you again.*

Battle Begins - Weakness Break: Faster than ever.

Battle Begins - Danger Alert: Gotta be ready to run.

Turn Begins 1: I could do this all day.

Turn Begins 2: Nah, I’d win.

Turn Idling: Could you hurry it up already?

Basic ATK: So slow.

Skill: I am all I am.

Hit by Light Attack: Is that all you got?

Hit by Heavy Attack: Dangit. I shoulda dodged that one.

Ultimate - Activate: They’ll know your name, burned into their memory.

Ultimate - Unleash (x2 Speed): So break through it all!

Ultimate - Unleash (Normal Speed): Override and overrun the competition.

Talent: Nyx does not feature any Talent voice overs.

Downed: I… wasn’t… fast enough.

Return to Battle: Nyx does not feature any Return to Battle voice overs.

Health Recovery: Finally got to keep up.

Technique: Disappear among the sea of stars!

Battle Won: I’m reaching far across new frontiers.

Treasure Opening: Nyx does not feature any Treasure Opening voice overs.

Precious Treasure Opening: What a gift. Hey, can I have it? I wanna give it to Wolfie.

Successful Puzzle Solving: Well that was quick.

Enemy Target Found: Let’s break em’ down.

Returning to Town: Back home in the green hill zone.

ASCENSION MATERIALS

Lvl 20: x5 Thief’s Instinct

Lvl 30: x10 Thief’s Instinct

Lvl 40: x6 Usurper’s Scheme, x 3 Void Cast Iron

Lvl 50: x 9 Usurper’s Scheme, 7 Void Cast Iron

Lvl 60: x 6 Conqueror’s Will, 15 Void Cast Iron

Lvl 70: x 9 Conqueror’s Will, 27 Void Cast Iron

Y’all, I’m so sorry, I had to put the Sonic references in there. I don’t know why, it was just a compulsory urge that I gave into. On a scale of 1-10, how would y’all rate her chemistry with SW?

I’m not telling y’all all her lore. Let’s just say she’s been thru it :/

[manasurge]

GW2 30 Day Challenge

6. Favourite Elite spec?

(I couldn't find any fancy pics of my own to use, so instead have a couple angles of mirage cloak glitching out and turning the Mirage into an eternal swirling and glowing vortex. These are old screenshots before the Aurene mounts were released as well since I use those for my main) It's... Mirage!! (surprising to absolutely no one who knows me). I just LOVE being invulnerable and hard to hit, plus all the mobility that comes with the spec and the SUPER fast gameplay (I love very fast inputs and reactions, which makes playing slower classes difficult for me bc I'm impatient and spam click abilities lkdjflsf). Being able to jaunt/blink everywhere, shadowstep, clone+phantasm distractions, and evasion hax dodging (mirage cloak my beloved) made dodging part of my rotation, making me really dumb with a lot of other classes bc I instinctively want to dodge all the time due to muscle memory. Also fun fact: Mirage/Mesmer was the first spec that I used a 80-boost on, and I was able to learn it just fine! (and even became my favourite!) so boosting a class to learn it is totally okay in my opinion!! Just do cozy open world map comp to ease your way into it and it'll be cherry!

Granted I also don't exactly play the class as intended. While I have 3 builds for her (guess I should say my main, Vespaura), I tend to just use her power build (since Mirage is moreso meant for Condi and boons or w/e, which I have builds for and also never use lol). I think this build I like to use was originally made for the Labyrinth (tagging everything with GS), but I tweaked it a bit with other preferences since it has pretty good survivability and is an absolute monster when I attack huge groups of mobs (Greatsword lasers are the best invention and it NEVER gets old. Also the amount of laser ricochet gets me pretty high damage and looks absolutely bonkers on my side (what a lightshow!), plus my lasers are HOMING lasers, which means they will automatically hit any enemies in the vicinity around me and helps out if I don't notice them from a different angle, allowing me to re-orient myself. I also don't have to worry too too much about aim bc of this too! (oh yeah, and especially with relics being a thing now. Mabon relic has been pretty neat so far cuz I can take advantage of that boost being used to hit all those targets!). Though power GS does fall a bit against single targets, but that's fine! (I sort of have the daggers for that at least!). I also play with a trackpad, which is a funny thing to tell ppl, especially when playing a class like Mirage, lol. I just hate using a mouse and only have it for certain games that force me to use it. I just don't want carpel tunnel and my wrist is more relaxed this way (never had problems! so far at least). I just love playing at ranged with non-ranged weapons (Greatswords, daggers. Mine actually has all 3 types of blades (very lesbian of her) bc she has a sword as well. I literally gave her both of Caithe's weapons askjflfj. I'm so glad that I can give my Mirage daggers now!! much more fun than another sword/axe!). It's just so much fun, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what rifle is gonna be like!! I just love ranged classes bc stacking ALWAYS gets me killed constantly... so yeah I'm the annoying person who doesn't like stacking bc I'd rather not be dead!!!!! (I'm sorry I just HATE stacking. I can't see SHIT and it's just so much visual noise for me!! let me breathe!!) and plus I revive everyone in fights thanks to invulnerabilities allowing me to rez through attacks. You're welcome!!! (I rez so many people during metas and other fights) I also just love Mesmer in a class in general bc it's unique in comparison to a lot of other fantasy classes, and I just adore the concept and the aesthetics (flamboyant fancy dramatic magic user? HELL YEAH. Literally the gayest magic user ever and I'm eating it up). I also love the ability to make clones and all the pretty butterflies, and phantasms and all that! I know a lot of ppl don't like clones/phantasms, but they save my ass every time and I appreciate them very much.

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

Nearing 80 and long retired, ’m not entirely sure what day of the week it is most of the time, so I try not to get too worked up about inevitabilities. Drones, UFOs, aliens borrowing our Wi-Fi—whatever is zipping around over New Jersey doesn’t seem to be in a hurry or have a need to explain itself. Still, I can’t help but feel a twinge of amusement (and fascination) at how this whole "drone" story is being handled.

Take the nightly news. Over on World News Tonight, Perfect Hair Muir has been teasing this story with the same earnest delivery usually reserved for hurricanes or royal family scandals. He’s on vacation now, but the drone narrative lives on. Here’s how it plays out:

First, the tease. "Coming up: mysterious lights spotted over the Garden State. Are they drones? UFOs? Something else? Stay tuned." Cut to commercial. Then, after three ads for pharmaceuticals with enough side effects to warrant their own documentaries, we’re back. There’s a quick clip of flickering lights in the night sky, a one-liner about drones, and…another commercial break. That’s it. Curtain down. Nothing to see here, folks.

Except, of course, there is something to see—or at least to think about. Because this story isn’t going away. And the way it’s being doled out—one vague soundbite at a time—feels like it’s straight out of the "How to Break Big News Without Scaring the Sheep" playbook.

Imagine for a moment that the government announced tomorrow: “Yes, those lights are extraterrestrial. We’ve been aware of them for years.” Here’s what you’d see:

Social Media Meltdown: Twitter (or whatever Elon is calling it this week) would immediately divide into factions. On one side, you’d have the “We’re Saved!” crowd posting memes of aliens holding hands with humans and singing "We Are The Worlds" On the other, the “They’re Here to Harvest Us!” doomsayers, complete with grainy screenshots of Independence Day. Instagram would be flooded with filters featuring UFOs in the background, and TikTok would have at least five viral dances dedicated to greeting our new overlords.You’d have pastors, rabbis, imams, and gurus scrambling to update their doctrines. Some would declare the aliens as divine messengers; others would see them as harbingers of doom. Fringe groups might start building intergalactic landing pads in their backyards or reveal the ones that have already been built and have been waiting.

Amazon would sell out of telescopes and "I, for One, Welcome Our Alien Overlords" t-shirts in record time. Aluminum foil companies would see their stock prices soar, with DIY hat tutorials trending on YouTube. Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists would be bulk-ordering bunker supplies faster than you can say “Area 51.” Tech CEOs would race to announce partnerships with the aliens. “Our new AI technology is now extraterrestrial-approved!” Elon Musk, after revealing that blood tests revealed that "he was not only one of us but also one of them" would probably be halfway to their home planet before the press conference ended. Meanwhile, companies like Meta would scramble to launch the first alien-friendly social network, complete with universal translators.

Picture the Dow Jones as a rollercoaster. Defense stocks would spike—because who doesn’t love a new arms race?—while airlines would tank overnight. (“Why book a flight to Florida when we might be able to hitch a ride on a spaceship?”) Crypto markets? Forget it. Somebody would create a “galactic coin” within hours, and it would be worthless by the next morning. Depending on how the story unfolds, you’d have equal parts panic and celebration. Some would take to the streets demanding transparency (“How long have you been hiding this?!”), while others would host impromptu parades welcoming the visitors. And in true modern fashion, someone would inevitably try to sell alien NFTs during the festivities.

Given all of this, it’s easy to see why the powers that be might prefer the gradual approach. Let’s call it (in honor of Mary Poppins) the “sugar makes the medicine go down” strategy. Start small: unexplained lights, talk of drones, a few grainy videos. Gradually, add more detail—classified reports, credible witnesses, maybe even some clearer footage. By the time the truth comes out, the public will already be half-jaded.

The beauty of this strategy is that it manages expectations. The initial shock of “something’s up there” is softened by months (or years) of teasing tidbits. By the time the real story lands, people will have adjusted. “Aliens? Oh yeah, we’ve been expecting them. Pass the chips.”

There’s an undeniable humor in how "we’re" handling this. The nightly news teases, the vague government statements, the endless speculation—it’s all a little absurd. But beneath the laughter lies a very real question: if these “drones” aren’t just drones, what does that mean for us?

For now, we’re left with more questions than answers. But if the soft rollout continues, we’ll eventually get there—one teaspoon of mystery at a time. Until then, I’ll keep watching the skies, half-expecting to see something extraordinary and half-wondering if I just need better glasses.

Or what day it is.

[jiamiuxin]

reflecting on my genshin characters

electro / hydro / pyro / dendro im p chill on .. for electro i have yae who's almost done w her first build (will refine her stats later, they could be much better) and i have a pretty ok raiden (world lvl 8 open world is too easy for her and up to floor 11-3 abyss isn't too bad). i also just pulled fischl (not built yet, will soon) and keqing (also not built) if i need it.

for hydro i have ayato with p good crit dmg (211%) and bare min crit rate (40%) but i'll def improve it later on after i get some other units with the primary build. im also in the process of building xingqiu; i j got him to lvl 80 and im currently working on his primary artifacts which are almost done as well. after that it'll be his talents (2/7/6 rn) but i can do that simultaneously with other stuff. and then with neuvillette coming up that'll give me a third good hydro unit

pyro is my most covered element. i have my og beloved diluc... I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON HIM IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS.. im pulling xianyun for him (but i also like her in general). he's a little bare bones rn until i finish building some other chars. i also have gaming who highkey eats (c4, ok crit ratio ((~50:150)) and when i pair with bennett, kaeya, and xingqiu he goes pretty hard for having a mediocre crit ratio. PLUS my bennett / kaeya / xq arent even built yet LMAO anyway as i j mentioned i have bennett, i slapped the free noblesse set on him but he could get better substats. this is low priority tho tbh, i think the set effects are more important. xiangling as well, im building her along with xingqiu since they both use emblem. her talents are mid rn (1/6/6). also j got her lvl 80 so she's a work in progress as well. finally i also have chevreuse; i lowkey am unsure of how to build her but i will probably put her on songs of days past. low priority rn as well since i mainly j use her skill and then switch out but shes fun in my overloaded team.

finally for dendro i have nahida and kirara. nahida was such a good decision to pull. amazing dendro app, saur cute, and her dmg in reactions is insane (even at c0). kirara is so cute as well and shes the main shielder i use. her skill also makes it easy to explore. nahida is on some bare minimum artifacts rn but since i j mainly use her burst / skill and not an onfield dps i'll get around to it later. same w kirara. when alhaitham reruns i'll then have a third dendro unit!!

with anemo i do have sucrose and jean but i dont use them too much. ik they're usable but i j have sm other characters id rather build rn. I DO HAVE HEIZOU i think some ppl think he's mid but i like the way he punches instead of casting. i think i'd def build him + resist being a meta slave lmao and then ik i'll def being pulling xianyun. im also not interested in either kazuha or wanderer.. hoyo tall anemo male when

cryo... i do like shenhe but she's such a niche supporter and i think wrio could be fun to play. but given w how primos are hard to get and how i dont wanna whale too much (i lowk whaled / dolphined for yae im crying) i might not pull him unless i come to like him more. it's not that i dislike ayaka but im j not interested in her design (similar to how i feel abt sparkle from hsr). im not interested in ganyu either.. i am begging hoyo for another 5 star cryo dps sldjfhald bc i think mono cryo would be a fun team. i do have layla and kaeya, and then paired with shenhe or rosaria (who i also have) and a 5 star cryo dps seems fun to play.

as for geo i do want zhongli and navia. hopefully zhongli reruns soon (most likely on regional banner/chronicle wish??) i didnt pull for navia on her first run (well i tried but she wasnt coming early thats for sure) and i knew raiden was coming up and i wanted her c2 so i j started saving for c2 raiden. i think chiori would pair well w my ninggaung and zhongli when i do get him but idk .. i also think itto's burst is fun to play but also not high priority for me. i want to incorporate more geo into my gameplay but i want a character who can rly wow me. or like i want to have more geo chars than just zhongli and navia

[swldx]

RNZ Pacific 1311 2 Mar 2023

7390Khz 1259 2 MAR 2023- RNZ PACIFIC (NEW ZEALAND) in ENGLISH from RANGITAIKI. SINPO = 55334. English, s/on w/bellbird int. until pips and news @1300z anchored by Vicki McKay. Doctors and those working in hospital emergency departments are concerned as the funding for extra security guards ends and it's unclear where more money will come from. As part of its 100-day plan, the government paid for 200 extra guards across some hospitals over summer, but the $5.7 million in funding finished on February 29. In a statement Thursday night, Health Minister Shane Reti said December's initiative addressed an urgent need. More than a billion people are living with obesity around the world, global estimates published in The Lancet show. This includes about 880 million adults and 159 million children, according to 2022 data. The highest rates are in Tonga and American Samoa for women and American Samoa and Nauru for men, with some 70-80 percent of adults living with obesity. Facebook owner Meta says it won't renew commercial deals with Australian news media companies worth millions of dollars. Three years ago, the company signed deals with Australian news outlets following the introduction of laws requiring tech giants to pay for displaying news on their platforms. In a statement, Facebook said its users were not coming to its platform for news and political content and that it would invest its money elsewhere. New Zealand Food Safety is recalling Zany Zeus brand halloumi cheese after a bacteria was discovered. Zany Zeus branded halloumi with a best before date of 4 April is being recalled. The increasing demand for Kura Reo and te reo Māori courses across New Zealand signifies a pivotal shift in the cultural landscape, with both Māori and non-Māori communities actively participating in the language's revitalization. Notable figures such as theatre and film actor/director Jennifer Ward-Lealand and South African immigrant Jo Pannell share their journeys of learning te reo Māori, reflecting on the profound impact it has on understanding Māori culture and customs. This growing interest underscores a collective effort to honor and preserve te reo Māori, acknowledging its significance beyond linguistic boundaries. Sports. @1303z Standards and Complaints PSA. @1304z Weather Forecast: Mostly cloudy with rain, possible thunderstorms. @1307z "All Night Programme" anchored by Vicki McKay. Backyard gutter antenna, Etón e1XM. 100kW, beamAz 35°, bearing 240°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 12912KM from transmitter at Rangitaiki. Local time: 0659.

[lbibliophile-sw]

Whumptober 2023 Masterpost

@whumptober-archive

And that's another year done! 31+ prompts, across 31 fills, in 31 days.

Badges:

Participant | Completionist | Secret achievement ('reluctant whumper' fill)

Statistics:

Characters The first year it's all been in the same fandom. Mostly clone-centric, but also a handful of Sith/Falling plotlines (including an AU I've had in the works for months).

Fox took the brunt as usual (15 fills, sorry Fox), with a few less common characters (Kix, Ima-Gun Di, Wolffe) or group/meta.

Format This year's fills were all written rather than art, totalling almost 6000 words across 17 drabbles, 8 ficlets (av 360w , max 660w), and 7 poems.

I also trialled a new system of posting drabbles as their own work on AO3, and was reminded that means finding 31 sets of tags...

Fills:

Day 1: Safety Net | Breaking Habits (A03) | drabble | Rex Day 2: “They don't care about you.” | Trust Fall (A03) | drabble | OC Day 3: “Make it stop.” | Good Commanders Follow Orders (A03) | ficlet: 430w | Fox & Zontal (OC) Day 4: Shock | Out of Clear Sky (A03) | ficlet: 660w | Fox Day 5: Pinned Down | Deal with the Devil (and the Devil is Winning) (A03) | ficlet: 415w | Fox & Palpatine

Day 6: “Do or die, you’ll never make me; Because the world will never take my heart.” | Raise Your Glass (A03) | poem: 190w | Clones Day 7: Radio Silence | “Can you hear me?” | On Mute | poem: 80 words | Fox [OC] Day 8: Outnumbered, “It’s all for nothing.” | Supernova (A03) | ficlet: 380w | Ima-Gun Di Day 9: Polaroid | Memories Caught in Amber (A03) | drabble | Rex Day 10: “You said you'd never leave.” | Missing You at My Side (A03) | drabble | Fives & Echo

Day 11: “All the lights going dark and my hope’s destroyed.” | The Tragedy of War (A03) | poem: 200w | Obi-wan Day 12: Red | Bloodgilt (A03) | drabble | Fox Day 14: “Feed me poison, fill me ‘till I drown.” | Fuel to his Addiction (A03) | drabble | Darth Vader Day 15: Suppressed Suffering | Business as Usual (A03) | drabble | Fox

Day 16: “Don’t go where I can’t follow.” | Guiding Lights (A03) | drabble | Fox & CG Day 17: “Leave me alone.” | RE: For Approval (A03) | drabble | Fox Day 18: “I tend to deflect when I’m feeling threatened.” | Need to Know Basis (A03) | drabble sequence: 600w | Fox Day 19: “I’ll take one final step, all you have to do is make me.” | Not Your Success Story (A03) | drabble | Dooku Day 20: “People don’t change people, time does.”, Found Family | Alternate Love Language (A03) | ficlet: 290w | Fox & batch

Day 21 : “See the chains around my feet.” | Until the Music Stops (A03) | drabble | Fox & Palpatine Day 24: “I’ve got a head full of chemicals; mouth full of ridicule.” | You Didn't Kill Him | poem: 80w | Darth Vader Day 25: “They’re not breathing!” | Forever Unanswered (A03) | poem: 120w | Fives & Fox Day 26: Working To Exhaustion | Decisions (A03) | drabble | Fox

Day 27: Scars | Markings (A03) | drabble | Wolffe Day 28: “You'll have to go through me.” | Mix & Match Clones (A03) | drabble | Clones Day 29: Troubled Past Resurfacing | Safety Briefing (A03) | drabble | Fox & Rex Day 30: “Not much longer...” | The Nightmare (A03) | drabble | Cody Day 31: Emptiness | Standard Procedure (A03) | ficlet: 490w | CG

Alt 2: Aftermath of Failure | Out of Time (AO3) | drabble | Kix Alt 5: Body Modification | Vader’s Miracle | poem: 45w | Vader Alt 15: Reluctant Whumper | Would Not, Could Not | poem: 60w | Vader & Obi-wan