#because they are starcrossed lovers and they are meant to be in the very end

[junosswans]

Entry to RoyEd Week 2023 August 2nd Day 2 - Soulmate AU

(Edited: Long fic ahead! Also I posted this on ao3 too :> thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments!! I am all giddy over them)

It was already late when they arrived at the Rockbell’s house, where villagers said they could find the Elric brothers if they were not home. The cottage was dim inside, only allowing the faintest trace of dusk to put shape to the helpless boy in the wheelchair, and the enormous suit of armour towering over him.

In the literal blink of an eye, Roy Mustang’s life was turned upside down.

Despite the darkness, Roy saw the boy in foreign vividness that he had never witnessed; colours exploded in front of his eyes like fireworks, rendering him speechless. The boy’s shade was accentuated by a distinct warmth— Roy would later learn the name of the colour that was gold, a pigment that he would come to associate with justice, passion, and everything that was pure and magnificent.

Before arriving at Resembool, Roy had rehearsed his recruitment speech for five different situations, but none of which took the current one into account. For the first time in a long while, he had no idea what to say.

At that moment, assaulted by colours he had yet to know, he only knew one thing— that destiny had cursed this little boy to be attached to him, Roy Mustang. A man who had far more enemies than allies, more nightmares than sleep— more dead than alive.

The boy did not give any visible reaction to Roy’s loud entry into the house, and his aimless eyes had already betrayed his state to Roy.

He could not afford to have a soulmate. Not when his soulmate sat defencelessly like this, deaf to the entire world. Being his soulmate meant putting a target on their back, meant always sleeping with an eye open, meant never finding peace till the day of his death.

He could not, in good conscience— with what little he had remained of it— put his soulmate through what his life entailed. Anyone sane enough would be able to see him from a distance and turn around immediately. Nobody deserved to be Roy’s soulmate to experience what he would inevitably put them through. No one would be tough and yet foolish enough to stay.

Ignoring the nausea this revelation has caused him, Roy bit his tongue and demanded an explanation for the situation instead. He listened, in slowly freezing horror, to the younger brother of the Elrics– Alphonse Elric– explaining how they ended up in their current bodies.

Roy looked at Edward Elric who was missing two limbs, and reminded himself that this young boy in front of him had committed the greatest taboo in alchemy and survived. Then, as if it was not enough, did it again to bargain his brother’s soul back. An improbable, stupid, and lethal decision—yet it was undeniable that he had done the unthinkable and survived the consequences. At such a young age nonetheless, when most alchemists' apprentices were still struggling with the most basic of elements.

Perhaps given time, this boy could grow into someone beyond Roy’s imagination. Perhaps given time, Roy could grow into someone strong enough to shield his soulmate from harm.

And so Roy told him, in an earnestness that surprised even himself, that when he was ready, he could find Roy in East City and Roy would provide him with resources that could put him back on his feet. That it would be a road filled with thorns and danger, but the rewards were worth the risk.

Against his better judgement, Roy had provided his soulmate a choice. Edward could choose to run after him into the shower of bullets and webs of lies, or he could choose to stay in the quiet countryside and never let their paths cross again.

Secretly, Roy wished that his soulmate would choose the latter, wiser option. But he also knew acutely that the world had a morbid sense of humour, and whoever that was tied with him could never have any good sense in them. If fate had decided that they were meant to be, then his soulmate must have been as much of a stubborn fool as him, if not more.

Roy bid the family goodbye, and walked out of the dark shadows of the cottage. He was greeted with an entirely new world, now coloured in radiant hues he could not put words to.

He examined his palm under the flickering street light. He could see his veins faintly under his skin, pumping blood into every corner of his body. It was purple and flesh and red and human. It was warm and colourful and alive.

Remember it, remember what I’ve said, and catch up to me. Roy thought. Those who cannot keep up with me cannot be my soulmate.

I’m putting my faith in you that, no matter which way you end up choosing, our paths will converge, and we shall meet again at a time when you and I are wiser and stronger and unmovable in the face of danger. I’m putting my faith in you that, regardless of the dangers on my journey, you will find me and stay beside me and not be frightened.

I’m choosing to believe, if fate has decided that I’m still worthy of a soulmate despite my sins, then there must still be something redeemable in me, and you must be someone with enough love to love me for the monster I am.

Please find me soon.

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

And then Ed surprised him after a year when Roy expected to wait at least 5 more years lmfao

I wanted to play on the idea of “you only begin to see colour once you’ve met your soulmate” and thought VERY hard about how to visualise it without turning it into a long comic. My very stupid, no good brain came up with the idea of putting a colour wheel in the background :> in hindsight it’s very cringe but at that point it was already too late to give up or change it lmaooooo

I also put paint and paint brushes around as decoration which i think is kind of cute ^^ and special thanks to my sister who helped me fix the colouring because my usual way of doing it just… lacks the vibrancy this prompt asks for. She’s a goddess and 192729% better at this drawing business than me.

@royedweek2023

[calisources]

𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.

All sentences and quotes have been taken from different media about starcrossed lovers or forbidden love, full of angst, some bold words, some nasty ones, possessive nature and letting someone use you as a replacement. So, some toxic energy in this one. Change pronouns, locations and names as you see fit.

I love you,and I will love you until I die,and if there's a life after that,I'll love you then.

Do people always fall in love with things they can't have?

And there is a difference between having your heart break and having your soul shatter.

I'm falling in love with you.

I'm going to fuck the shit out of you. I have waited for this for such a long time. Consequences be damned.

These violent delights have violent ends.

 I’m only human. And you are …all-consuming.

Don’t go into this lightly. If you’re mine, you need to understand I will burn the fucking world to the ground for you.

I will never let you go, do you hear me? 

 will keep you safe. And I will find a way for us to be together.

If you make me cry at my own coronation ball, I’ll never forgive you.

If you were any less the man you are, I would beg you to take me with you.

If you were any less the woman you were, I would beg you to come with me.

I've known lust. This is something worse. This is a barbaric need to possess, to eliminate, to own. This is madness.

This is lust.

She’s your very own forbidden fruit.

You said you didn't want this.

We all desire what we cannot have.

Have you noticed how the boy looks at you?

Do you think I didn’t notice? The way you look at me when you think I’m not watching?

You are dangerous desire, and I am your prisoner.

We can’t do this on so many levels.

I can't even whisper her name, my heart would burst out of my chest.

But I would fight against the stars for you.

I have ruined your life.

Some lines you just don't cross. 

I want to take you under the moonlight.

Having something forbidden is exciting, don't you agree?

The closer we get—the more I let you in…the more dangerous this gets.

Don’t you get it? You’re what everyone wants! But I’m not going to let them win.

Make it so I never have to dream about this again—make it so we can have this…forever.

Desires are what can most easily ruin us, lovely.

We were doomed from the start. 

Nothing is as deadly as the love of a powerful man.

But this kiss? It's ruined me. This is the type of kiss I never knew existed. 

You sure about that, Dad? Because he's done everything to me.

Are you scared of me now?

You loved me - then what right had you to leave me?

I have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.

One moment, you give me everything that I want, and in the next, you snatch all of that away.

It's hopeless. We can never work out.

The world didn’t want us together so I forged a new one where we would.

How could a peacock lust for a lion?

You're tattooed onto my skin, and the more I try to erase you, the deeper you sink in.

I’ve always liked you, from the first moment I saw you.

It's absurd how crazy love can make you...but even more absurd how stupid jealousy can make you.

 That you and I are meant to be together, but never meant to be.

Why does fate seem always to conspire against us? To deny us life's simple pleasures?

We'll meet after this war. I'll certainly find you wherever you'll hide. 

War makes fools of men and women wanton.

What offends you most, Father? That she's Catholic, or that she's poor?

If my father discovers you here, he'd cut off your little nuts and eat them. He can't stand you.

You tempress, I see you once and all I can think of is having you.

Feelings are forbidden, does not mean we cannot enjoy one another.

The more you deny me, the more I desire you. You are a plague in my mind.

Ever since we met, no one else can compare. 

How can I be with someone else, when I’m with them, it’s you I see.

You can have me, think of whoever you love. For tonight.

You can pretend I'm her/him. I don't care. I just want you.

[politemenacephd]

Question: So, if Miguel knows spider!reader in Arachnophilia, and spider!mig is mentioned in AFM, does reader know her own spider variant (personally or from Miguel/other spiders mentioning them) ??

I love both stories, and obvi the idea of Miguel & Reader being tied in several universes, but I was just curious on the idea of reader knowing.

oh im SO GLAD I get to talk about this THANK YOU SM cos its been on my mind for days!! I will use this chance to actually drop the dante fic cinematic universe timeline, which is: easing tensions - arachnophilia - a fortunate mistake - a fortunate mistake II There's certain things I gotta keep vague because I know how arachnophilia ends (and how it might tie into AFM II) and I don't want to spoil, but I'll talk about a bit because I'm rabid rn.

I wanna add for the sake of my lore on multiverse stuff, Miguel's who are turned into Spider-men are quite rare? I think this gets mentioned in AFM but Miguel's in general are rare, Spider Miguel's even more so. I took him saying Gabi's universe was the one where he was happy to heart, along with the fact we see zero variants of him in the society. That shit was always the most interesting thing to flesh out. I also don't know if I've ever talked about nena's multiverse story properly either, but its pretty tragic. She largely only exists in universes where Miguels' exist, and in all the ones where she comes into contact with him she dies. Our Miguel's universe is the only one where she doesn't, and Miguel blames this inititally on his canon but, as we know, canon isn't real, in reality it's because our Miguel was the only one with multi-verse experiences that humbled his apathy and violent tendencies. It's sort of like how meeting Miles put Peter B. on a better course, Peter's influence on Miguel is something no other Miguel had and it changed him in a way that made him capable of growing. Vig is the only other one we've met and it's obviously implied he was a poor partner who became a good dad after nena's death. Nena is like, universal collatoral damage, and it's only in the universe where she wasn't 'meant' to love him that she got to be loved. It's fucked up and she deserved better fr.

BUT I will say, to actually answer the question (sorry lol) the reader in arachnophilia is actually not a variant of the reader from AFM. I am sticking with the rule that AFM reader is never a spider, because its important later hehe.

BUT! But this makes Spider!Mig and readers relationship equally interesting to me anyway. I am a sucker for starcrossed lovers, excellent trope, and while it was meant to be a one-off I wanna use it to explore the idea of fully abandoning ones canon and exploring a relationship beyond the bounds of ones universe. I will be going more into Spider!Migs backstory for this, but I think the films never properly addressed the potential dangers/tragedy of love between people from different universes. I used it a bit with OG Miguel with my explanation for what happened with Gabi, E.g him trying to combine their universes, but this is especially spicy. So, again, actual question (I'm so sorry I swear this is all I think about, rip my PhD) as of AFM II reader also doesn't know about Miguel's variants beyond Vig, YET. Miguel is aware of Spider!Mig and reader as of AFM, and if you go back you can see a lot of his mindset in there, especially when he talks about not wanting kids because of his genetic mess and feeling like he's too dangerous.

Miguel as a character is great, I can't say that enough, he's harboring so much self loathing and unaddressed trauma that while he wants to do the right thing he imposes very strict rules that always end in hypocricy. In the same way I think he's awful to Miles because he see's Miles making the same mistake he did (e.g destroying the universe for a loved one) and a lot of his violence is like, imposed, he's awful to his variants because he knows he's fucked up his own moral compass and takes it out on them.

But yes Miguel knows where they are, he has not told reader though, but I do want to have them cross paths.

[juodojimirtis]

I wonder how much truth is in Adriel saying he loved Areala. I have my suspicion he's sincere enough. I think he did love her, though possibly in his own twisted way.

He saw her as his, from the very beginning. His little Halo Bearer. His key to power. But soon enough, he became intrigued by her. She was sharp. Sharper than anyone else. She saw right through him. His lies. His manipulations. And she was beautiful. His curiosity turned to lust. And then, to obsession. He would have burn the world for her, laid the Heavens at her feet, as long as she loved him.

She was curious about him too. Wary of him, but curious. She found herself attracted to him. She would think of him in the dead of night... It frustrated her. She never cared for love nor sex. Until now. She had given vows, yet still, they meant less and less to her. God was helpless against the charms of the Devil. Her frustration only made it worse. Eventually, she fell for him, in spite of knowing who he was.

One kiss sealed both of their fates. Their relationship was an open secret in the OCS. Sadly, their love did not have a happy ending. She pleaded him to see reason. To cease his unholy charade. But, she could not get through to him. So she did what she had to do, sacrificing her life, and her heart.

"Forgive me, my love..." she whispered with her dying breath, as the look of betrayal in his eyes before he lost consciousness hurt more than any wound ever did.

I find it interesting Adriel appears to be wearing a... Wedding ring? I like to theorize he and Areala married in secret, and he still hangs onto her. Because Adriel doesn't let go. Oh, and that their wedding vows ended with "in this life, and the next". Then, it would make sense for him to keep the ring, he'd still consider her his wife. Maybe, he'd hope to get her back after becoming God.

The OCS nuns giving the middle finger to their vows romance-wise would also make sense, since it started with the founding member.

Damn, Adrieala is such a bittersweet ship. I hate the Starcrossed Lovers trope, unless the lovers are powerful enough to rearrange the stars.

[jaywritesrps]

What do you mean by

There's just two ways to clean this mess and it's very clear that they are not willing to go there to do it, so the best we can do is enjoy the ride and watch it crash and burn.

I personally think that ash should’ve just said fuck it and had a go back at ali and kk, when they started making up lies, but ash was nice enough with her retirement. Ash doing the right thing for the kids only ended up her being the shitkicker in this situation, she waited way to long with her statement and the narrative was set. Like even Sophia said in the video if it wasn’t for ash/kids she would’ve got lawyers involved

I mean there are 2 things that they could do to turn this hate on Ashlyn, without exposing her kids, but they aren't going to do it, cause both of them demands Ashlyn coming out of her comfortable position of using Sophia's resources as a shield. You can try a clean tactic or shady tactic:

1) clean one: Ashlyn stops letting Sophia fight her battles for her, come clean about everything and actually do something to justify the attention on her rather than just being her girlfriend's plus one. When I say come clean, I mean really clean, in as stopping pretending she is something that she isn't or adopting her gf's orientation. It's strip down all this show of fancy clothes and fashionable persona she created over the years, everything that is related to that and dress like a regular person (it's easier for people to connect and hear someone's voice when they notice the celeb is more down to earth when they dress humbly) and speak her version, closer to reality as possible, general public knows well when they are being lied to and she has to win their trust first. Also it's very important she finds something to work with outside soccer or anything sport related (cause she lost sport press' sympathy they won't help her to clean her image) or entertaining/political related, causual audience/main public will have more sympathy towards her if they see her doing anything that is not connected to her soccer past or connected with Sophia's works. They were joking again about her being a trophy girlfriend through this whole day. She only validates those comments by pretending to be a celebrity for association.

2) the shady one: It's try to change the narrative by creating a new one. This is pretty much by starting a rumor that they ended the relationship, then wait for a couple of weeks to the rumor to grow and let the haters really think they broke up, so the fanfics start to run and a lot of versions will pop without moving a finger, and then slowly showing them back together with the narrative that they tried to split but ended getting back together cause they realized they missed each other. This time with Ashlyn being the one doin the talking, and highlight how she felt miserable without Sophia and yada yada yada. The narrative will stop being about them cheating on their partners to something more as a starcrossed lovers, to sell that neither the haters could split them and they are really meant to be and all tht lovey dovey crap general public loves so much.

But again, they already showed they arent willing to do neither of those things, cause especially to the first one, it would demand her to tell what really happened between her and Ali and she won't do that not cause of the BS of "PrOtEcTiNG ThE cHiLdReN" or "I'm A pRiVaTe PeRsOn", it's because it's easier for Ali to debunk her version cause Ali has proof that Ashlyn didn't tell her about the divorce and she has public/press sympathy and it's easier for ashlyn let Sophia tarnish the name she took years to build to protect her than telling the truth.

[supercasey]

What Your TMA OTP Says About You

By a dumb asexual who makes too many sex jokes

Jon/Martin: You project onto/kin at least one of these two fools, but no matter what, you are yearning for a relationship like theirs. You're also probably a theatre kid, at least spiritually.

Elias/Peter: You like the dynamic of Jonmartin, but you think it would be 10x better if Martin bullied Jon back and if they were both GILFs. You also probably have "Big Boy Man" as your ringtone.

Tim/Sasha: You believe that both of these characters deserved better, and you probably love the Archivist Sasha AU more than life itself. Also, Tim gets pegged.

Basira/Daisy: You are a hotbed of drama, which is completely unintentional on your part and you rarely participate in it at will; you just want some quality wlw content, and you will not be stopped from getting it.

Melanie/Georgie: You are completely done with Jon's shit, but you still find him somewhat endearing in his panic induced stupidity. You are also a wlw and want to live in a small apartment with your gf and cats, but only if the apocalypse is happening in the background.

Michael/Gerry: You like Jonmartin, but you also want to crank that shit to 100 and blast MCR in the background while they kiss. You also might kin Nico from PJO, and you are most certainly a scene kid.

Jon/Gerry: You are all about that sadboi content, and I honestly can't tell which of these depressed motherfuckers you kin, but I know you kin at least one of them.

Jon/Martin/Gerry: Same as Jonmartin, but you're dead certain that Gerry would be an amazing addition/middle man for them and that he would've gotten them into a relationship together by the end of season 1.

Gertrude/Agnes: There is literally nothing more heartbreaking yet addictive to you than starcrossed lovers that can never be together because of circumstances outside of their control. You're also gay.

Leitner/Gertrude: You honestly just find it so funny that Jonny Sims' parents voice these characters so that's why you ship them. You either hated or loved when they roasted Jon at the end of S3, there is no in-between.

Jude/Agnes: You are a Jude Perry kinnie/you want to set the world on fire beside the woman of your dreams. Probably a top.

Jon/Tim: You lived for the sassy bits between Tim and Jon in seasons 1-2 and you would give anything for Tim to have kissed Jon to shut him up midway through a rant.

Mike/Simon: You're here to love Mike Crew and fuck some GILFs. Press F to pay respects to our short king.

Jon/Michael: I don't know what's going on with you after S3, but dear God do you wanna fuck monsters, specifically if they look like a Bill Cipher humanization that you can only perceive while doing acid.

Jon/Elias: You are an Eliasfucker and you wear that badge with pride.

Martin/Peter: You are an Eliasfucker and you hide this fact at all costs. Also you probably have a very complicated relationship with your father.

Jon/Basira: You thought Tim was spot on about these two being good together; they're bookworm buddies!

Jon/Georgie: You cannot get enough of absolute off his shits college!Jon and frankly, good for you. You also want Georgie to peg you.

Melanie/Basira: Just a couple of gals being pals, and nothing is sexier than performing life-saving, non-consensual surgery on your GF so she doesn't start killing people... according to you, apparently.

Jonah/Barnabas: You heard Jonah say that he held affection for a character mentioned exactly one time even though he left him to die, and you went fucking feral. Tbh you just wanna get with a Victorian dude.

Jonah/Mordecai: This is just Elias/Peter but with more Victorian outfits and letters that would be considered incredibly scandalous, even for the era. Also it makes Elias/Peter 100x more uncomfortable, but I guess some people are into that???

Jon/Martin/Tim: Why be just friends when you can all be in a gay polyam relationship together and kiss? In other words, every fight between Tim and Jon has gutted you like a fucking fish.

Jon/Martin/Tim/Sasha: Same as before, but you stan the first season of the series so hard that people outside the fandom think it's an office comedy.

Gertrude/Elias: Somehow you came to the conclusion that if Elias got pegged then none of the bullshit in the series would've happened.

Melanie/Helen: You're similar to the Jon/Michael shippers in that you wanna fuck monsters, but more like the kind of monsters that make your eyes bleed and your brain melt when you fully perceive them.

Jon/Helen: You either started shipping this as a joke or to cope with the death of Michael, there is no in-between.

Jon/Nikola: You heard Jon admit that he got daily, fully body lotion massages from Nikola and you lost your fucking mind. Clownfucker.

Breekon/Hope: Breekon's statement made you cry for a hundred thousand years, and you will never be over it. Fuck getting a bunch of divorces like Lonelyeyes, you wanna stay with your soulmate until the end of time!

Nikola/Jane Prentiss: You want more wlw content, but specifically you want them to be cartoonish supervillains who can't stop kissing each other in the middle of trying to murder Jon.

Alright, that's all the one's I'm doing. Please don't send me any hate, these are all just meant to be jokes!

[sh1tbird-shantytown]

sorry this is LONG but i feel like an issue for each of the boys would be feelings like they were a third wheel in the relationship of some sorts.

for bill he’d see these two childhood best friends turned lovers and feel like he’s invading on their destiny. with all their history and memories and inside jokes, he feels too new sometimes like he’s temporary. like one day he’ll end up a side character in their story, someone they’d wonder about in old age. yet the feeling always subsides and he realizes how loved he is.

for steve he finds himself feeling like a drag on billy and tommy’s fun relationship. he fears one day they’ll get sick of his worrying and his fussing and his neediness and realize they’d be happier with each other alone, with no one around to cry wolf when it comes to danger or simply cry all the time. but then they’ll soothe his tears, or cuddle up to him and thank him for stopping their impulsive decisions and he realizes they need him just as much as they need him.

for tom though, the feeling never really goes. it’s just stronger or weaker depending on the day. he feels inferior to both of his beautiful boys in every way, and fears that one day they too will realize how undeserving he is. he looks and steve and billy and they way they love one another as being starcrossed soulmates and himself as some stupid tag along, taking as much as he can get before what he believes is the inevitable. the breakup, the reveal that he meant nothing to them. that they’ve known all along that he was ugly, worthless, annoying and that very other dark thought he ever had about himself was true. he pulls away to lessen the hurt for himself, and it takes a lot of anger, frustration, and heartbreak before steve and billy realize what the true reasons behind tommy’s coldness really is.

i got it, dove 😏. and don’t apologize! thank you so much <3

</3

steve always saw how well tommy and billy just- linked. they were both so smart and impulsive and temperamental and fun. which meant that safety and caution was rarely considered between the two.

they never told steve shit.

one of the worst cases steve had to deal with was when they’d decided to key the principal’s car. all fun and game because the guy was an asshole. steve knew that, wouldn’t have cared all that much.

except the principal had his lunch at 1:15pm every day. and every day he drove down to the diner for a coffee.

any guesses as to when steve’s particular idiotic boyfriends decided to go on with their diabolical plan?

to put it simply. steve got the call that they were in jail. and steve would do anything for his boys. anything.

even call and beg his own father for the funds to bail them each out.

tommy and billy were grateful. hugged and kissed and praised and served on steve once they were released. celebrated and made sure steve stayed relaxed.

except he wouldn’t relax. not after tommy gave a massage. not after billy made steve’s favorite, dulce de leches.

nothing. worked.

so they asked. and steve eventually mumbled.

“i have to work for my father this summer. full time.”

tommy tucked some hair back and out of steve’s eye, “why? you said you wanted to go into—“

“to pay it back,” steve responded. ashamed. ashamed that he was complaining, that he was so banged up for being fortunate enough to have a job. no matter how much he thought about the waste it was going to be. mad. that “tommy and billy quality time” ended like it had. with steve a step more out of the loop and a whole summer of tense lack in communication. and he knew what that led to.

in the end. no one needed to ask what he meant by it.

</3

tommy and steve were close. they didn’t consider themselves closer than either of them were with billy. even if it was a tug at the truth. they wouldn’t accept it. they had a long past but their love was billy’s before it was anything other than.

they told their stories occasionally. and billy felt left out. so he annoyed and rattled the other two more and more until he got their attentions back.

he spat water at steve’s bare back and threw a balled up wet sock that was either billy’s or tommy’s at tommy’s crotch. he missed. just barely. and they two tossed their popsicles off to the side and ceased their conversation about third grade. hopped in and started gulping and spitting water right back at billy.

he was proud. that he managed to pull them out from the times without him. sometimes he wanted to cry because he felt he had to.

</3

now they never left each other for good. they eventually did learn that it was all three of them or nothing.

but before they really became set in stone. before all their silt settled and they grew and little older and wiser.

tommy was the first to lose his balance.

he’d been gone from the room for ten seconds. ten. and when he came back billy and steve were already making out. passionately. tongues out and hands around each other’s shoulders. something churned in his gut and he sat on the opposite end of the couch.

tommy regretted not growing his hair out more. as he ignored how billy and steve rolled and crawled over like puppies, he somehow took notice to how steve twirled billy’s hair between his fingers. billy kissed his temple and it made him feel a little better. but he felt his heart temper up to boiling water as steve watched him. either suspicion or annoyance. both of which tommy couldn’t handle.

they didn’t mention it. tommy leaned more into the couch. and he didn’t speak to either of them for a week and a half.

didn’t return until he saw billy and steve fighting outside the public pool. after hours. tommy had just wanted to sneak in.

“it’s your fault!” billy screamed at steve. he was snotty and his cheeks were wet. steve was blotchy red and his eyes had that hollowed look he got when he was about to break down.

“you’re the one that mounted me! he came back and saw that, how is it my fault. he felt left out. you should have waited until he came back!” steve stumbled over his sentence structure. tommy stayed planted on the gravel.

“you didn’t tell him goodnight before he left,” billy mentioned. tommy thought about it. steve actually had said goodnight that night.

“what are you talking about?” steve asked, incredulous.

“i don’t know!” billy yelled. steve took a step back. a full one. tommy took one forward. watched billy’s shoulders shake like he was a scarecrow in the wind. then he asked in a whimper, “why is he doing this to us?”

steve didn’t have an answer, but he nodded, “it hurts. like he…he took every tendon in my legs and half my heart all at once.” billy dashed to steve, hugged him tight just as steve started crying. both sobbed as the force on both their chests caused collapsed collision.

“i miss him so much.”

tommy took a slow breath. and returned with much more understanding and too much regret to fully acknowledge at once.

[takaraphoenix]

1, 2, 24, 20, 19 for Buffy?

Thanks for playing, these look fun! ^-^

1. First ship you remember

Tara/Willow. When the show first started airing, I was too young to watch. I was only allowed to watch it during season 4, I think Hush might have been one of the first episodes I watched; it wasn't even from the beginning of season 4 on. So just around when Tara and Willow first started blooming, got closer, became a thing. Me, a back then still closeted little lesbian, that was so incredibly impactful and truly, for me the timing I started watching this show was just right.

2. Your newest ship

Probably Robert Dowling/Dylan Turner. Don't even ask me. I just want Spike and Buffy to have a nice, normal couple who they can go on double dates with. I also really like both of them and do think their personalities would fit together.

19. Ship that you never expected to ship.

Mh, probably Angel/Cordelia? Considering how they started out on BtVS, it is pretty amazing how much AtS changed them and their dynamic.

20. Ship that you liked but don’t anymore

Definitely Angel/Buffy. As a kid, I really loved that a lot because of that tragic starcrossed lover vibe and the feeling of validation that this older guy thought she oh so mature. With every year added to my life, I fell more and more out of it to the point of "hell no, and you are not making it any less creepy by having them point out how inappropriate it is every single episode, Joss"... because, genuinely, either you want to be on the moral high horse of showing that older guys/teenage girls are bad, or you want them to be fated, tragic lovers meant to be. He was, in a very weird way, trying to do both.

24. Biggest notp

100% Riley/Buffy. The way she was trying to make herself smaller than she was with him because of his inferiority complex really hurt to watch, she is such an amazing, strong character who deserves to stand tall and own her power. Not to mention the way that trainwreck ended...

Fandom Ship Ask Game

[thegirlwholied]

How about Loki/Stephen Strange from Marvel? I always consider it more of a rivals to lovers ship (especially in the MCU, the comics are kind of a different story) but I've definitely seen people call it enemies to lovers.

The way enemies-to-lovers is used as such a blanket term is what inspired This Dumb Chart, which will/should encompass rivals-to-lovers! i.e., Pride & Prejudice is often grouped as enemies-to-lovers and sometimes as THE initiating enemies-to-lovers novel & while its influence cannot be underestimated, imho it’s more dislike-to-lovers and the dislike is mostly one-sided following a Bad First Impression. Now, thrown into Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, they're more zombie-killing competitors: so rivals>l that go-round! 

But I find enemies-lovers still effective in terms of pitching that P&P-esque, I-despise-you to I-adore-you turn, and so many more obvious e>l stories are very P&P influenced. So The Chart will cover the blanket version... which is a long way of saying it should fit either the E>L or R>L version of this ship!

Which brings me to my other key This Dumb Chart explain-y point:

Within a ship, every fic *could* fall under a different subtype ~ especially as specific as I’m getting.

 By which I mean... oh no do I even want to risk using this example? And yet it’s so obvious: Rey & Kylo Ren from Star Wars are going to be a very different subtype if you follow my silly chart for their canon selves than if you do in a fic where a) he goes full redemption arc or b) she joins him, dark queen style. (I am confident assuming fics of both type exist but yes this is a case of ‘she doesn’t even go here!) 

You’re generally still going to be safely within enemies-to-lovers if the canon ship is enemies-to-lovers (or if they’re downright canon enemies) but- outside canon, variety!

So this may help me find flaws in my draft-system so far as I don't know Loki/Strange well (only via following you! I am as usual in my own little corner of fandom) but to take a crack at it:

we’re looking at different paths if you think they’d group more properly under “PERSONAL” or just “Opposing Sides” (which leads pretty quickly to ‘YOU’RE JUST STARCROSSED’ in cases where characters connect/respect/lurve each other pretty darn immediately despite the opposing sides of it all!)

But my read on Loki/Strange is, essentially, Both, right? 

Even when Loki is teamed up with the Avengers, and he is working with Thor/not directly in opposition to Strange when they meant in MCU canon, in comic book terms, we’ve got the classic comic-book villain/hero dichotomy in play, and I think definitely the Immediately Capable of Grating On Each Others’ Nerves personal aspect? 

...and of course my ‘Both’ section is the most Very-Much-In-Early-Draft-Stage section while the other two paths are fairly together, feedback very welcome and trying to fit ships in will likely help me find major flaws in my paths-so-far... but anyway away we go!

next question once we’re in BOTH will be “is the enmity mutual” (because sometimes it is only one-sided! Darcy influence abounds!). Loki/Strange I’m thinking that is a yes which should then should send us to:

...here. Which is a dilemma.

I think Loki might probably put *himself* more ‘in the certain POV’ & yet I would, thinking of him at the end of Thor & Avengers one & his attitude in general lean more toward “and proud of it”. Mileage may wildly & widely vary but...

...yeah I’m going with ‘and proud of it’.

(there’s only 2 options for the split here because I’m letting the ‘opposing sides’ do some heavy lifting in terms of them already being in clear-enough opposition and the choices ‘only from a certain POV’ will have backtrack options for the ‘neither is ‘bad’ actually’ types that have wandered down this path) 

But if we’re going ‘and proud of it’ my next question (option variety currently so wide I need to narrow it down or this is going to get out of control) is what changes? and  

that is then going to vary by fic.

but means we’re on track for this zone generally... which I think tracks? Or maybe Loki’s getting his Redemption Song on but... this zone seems his vibe.

[im-the-punk-who]

Could you post some more malex thoughts? What about that song? Or thoughts on them being endgame? Or season 3 malex thoughts?

Baby’s first RNM meta request 😭

ABSOLUTELY I can.

So I am gonna start with my S3 thoughts and endgame thoughts because everything else will tie into that.

From what I’ve seen, Roswell had 5 seasons originally planned, which is still what it feels like it needs to me. Which is cool! It also means we’re probably(hopefully, actually) not gonna get canon malex in s3.

The show has set them up as the ‘will-they-won’t they’ couple - most of their tension together focuses on *whether or not they get together* instead of if they’ll stay together. To me at least, it’s pretty clear the show’s assumption is that if they end up actually getting together in a healthy way(which they both seem to want in their relationships now), they will stay together.

If the show actually does it’s job right and takes the time to let both of them heal, grow, and experience other things that likely won’t happen until at least mid s4. It would make a nice dramatic midpoint for the season, they could play out a bit of that relief of finally being together in the late s4, and then whether or not they renew s5 they’ve told the story they wanted to. But if they do get a fifth season they can play with some hurt/comfort with Michael and Alex actually building/cementing their relationship. 

As we’re seeing with Liz and Max, tension has to come from somewhere and where RNM(as most shows do) fails is thinking it needs to come from the relationship, which is what I’m afraid would happen if malex get together so soon after making the(at least private) commitment to get better for each other. There won’t be enough time for growth and dramatic build to sustain the afterglow and they’ll have to find something else to torment the poor boys with. 

I don’t hold out a *super* large amount of hope for it, because like...this is the CW. But I do think either way malex will likely be endgame. Just from everything the show has told us and set up, I would be extremely surprised and honestly really fucking angry if they don’t. Not necessarily because they’re My Ship, or because it would be any sort of queer baiting - they’d both still be undeniably queer and I assume Alex would end up with Forrest or someone else in that scenario.

Honestly it would just be bad storytelling to set up your characters as having this deep cosmic connection, setting them up directly in parallel with our other pairs of starcrossed lovers Max/Liz and Nora/Tripp, dropping all the hints in the music choices(Holy Moly being the big one when linked with the Would You Come Home scene, but there are other small parallels in song choices - ‘Through Your Eyes’ as Alex walks away in 2x06 for example.) Especially with the literal confirmation that they both still *want* to be with each other (Alex’s song saying ‘if I got better and worked through my issues can we be together’ and Michael recognizing he’s got to give Alex the space to do that work so that maybe someday they can be together. ‘It’s not our time right now.“ “But it will be.” “I hope so.”)

Anyway! So, I would count a Not-Malex-Endgame as a bad ending, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we get zero canon Malex content in S3. In fact given where the characters are, I think it would be an AMAZING choice to have these characters who are fan favorites and who everyone *wants* to be endgame - stay apart and work on themselves, and build all that TENSION( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) for an entire season in order to cash in for an s4 payoff.

Also, I really want to see Alex grow as a person. 

Michael really started to change in Season 2 - we’ve seen him start trying to be better, dealing with his emotions more, recognizing how bad his relationship with Alex is and trying to improve with Maria as well as building his other relationships, too. To me, Michael is already very different than he was in S1 and honestly, Alex has some catch up to do in terms of working on his fears and how they relate to how he cannot stand to be around Michael in stressful situations.

To that end, I really want to see how Alex and Forrest interact, and how a relationship with Forrest might change Alex. We heard before that Alex doesn’t really consider himself to have had a real relationship, and Forrest does *not* seem the type to be up for a fast and easy thing, so I think he could really push Alex to face his issues around commitment and his tendency to cut and run. 

Which would actually be really cool! I am not a Forrest-endgame person at all, mostly because he seems both way too put together and way too needy for Alex long term, but I do think they would be really fun to see played against each other and also just .... nice things for Alex Manes please. 

Also then we get lots of Michael making sad eyes at Alex which is just *chefs kiss*.

For Alex, his personal conflict has always centered around his trauma, his father, being ashamed and afraid of being openly gay, and having enough faith in people to believe he personally is worth fighting for and my main wish for Alex is to finally fucking learn how to love and be loved in return.

So in that vein and especially if we see Malex as endgame, it only makes sense that Michael’s journey needs to be a parallel one of him finding something worth staying on earth for. He’s started to build a family for himself fucking finally - Maria, Isobel, Sanders, hell I think there is even the potential for Liz, Max, and Kyle to be family. And of course, Alex has always been his family. But previously no one has ever had his back in the way he’s had theirs. 

From what we’ve seen, Michael has always been the one who gives with his whole self - both Maria and Alex comment on it - “I don’t doubt your capacity for love” & “He keeps secrets because of how much he loves Max and Isobel, not because of how much he loves you.” He is a character who has spent his life throwing affection and emotion at the wall and seeing what(if anything) sticks. 

He took the crayon from Max at the orphanage, told Isobel he killed the girls, dropped his plans to leave Roswell for her, he both defended Alex from his father and didn’t stop him from leaving a place he was in danger, he let Liz experiment with his blood for Isobel’s antidote. He tells Alex once that he was glad that Max and Isobel had an easier time, even if it meant he didn’t. Michael’s biggest character flaw is that he believes he has to be useful to be wanted. That he, as he is, is unloveable. Or, maybe better put, that he is not worthy of the kind of love others have.

In S3 I want this challenged, CW I will fight you. I *REALLY* want to see him have to face head on his assumption that he’s going to leave Earth at some point and everyone is going to be fine with that. I want him to realize he’s become core in someone’s life again. I want to see someone grab hold and refuse to let go. I want it to get messy, and I want them to stay, damnnit! 

I want to see Michael start making plans to stay again.

I said in a previous meta that I thought the growth Michael has gone through already would lead to him being approached by Jones with an offer to leave (so that Jones can separate the pod squad, so that he can use Michael to get to Max, something like that) and I really want to see what decision a more grounded Michael might make in a situation like that.

And what my tiny shriveled shipper heart REALLY wants is a scene where Michael is put to this choice of being able to leave and - despite being offered everything he has been working towards for his entire life - the relationships he’s built are strong enough to make him stay(again.)

(Hint, I REALLY want this to be Alex, for the plot resolution for them in S3 not to be ‘we get together’ but to be ‘we are able to recognize that we can BE there for each other even if we aren’t together’, which would lead spectacularly into an early/mid s4 get together after some light angst :) 

I have a lot more thoughts re: what I want from everyone else and what I’d love to see from the non pod-squad squad (MARIA ALEX LIZ ROSA PICNIC DATE WHEN) (CENTERING YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS OF COLOR WHEN) (TRY MAKING YOUR VILLAIN NOT A FUCKING PERSON OF COLOR!) Also like, Generyx, Deep Sky, Mr. Jones, possible connections between them and characters who aren’t pod squad oh my god can we for one episode focus on someone else, etc, but like.....this is already so long so maybe that’s for another time xD

Also as stated like....this is a CW show so this isn’t what’s going to happen, but it’s what a I *DESPERATELY WANT* to happen. My interaction with RNM is VERY much dead-plot-do-not-eat until proven otherwise and I’m just here to no-thoughts-head-empty enjoy the parts of Malex I like and ignore everything else :)

I’m gonna use this image that Diana made me because honestly this should be a disclaimer to any RNM post I make.

[cherubchoirs]

So i read the word datamines and it made me wonder if youve seen somethig about goro or kasumi bc after the ending for p5r and how liked goro is and how popular kasumi seems to be getting i refuse to believe atlus is just gonna ignore all of that, and maybe p5s plotwist will be that it is in fact a sequell to p5r? Or maybe we will get a remaster for p5s in the future and that will be the sequel for p5r but i dread that timeline

P5R SPOILERS AND (POSSIBLE) P5S SPOILERS UNDER THE READ MORE! (also i. i got on a tangent. i’m so sorry)

unfortunately, i didn’t find anything myself and one of the dataminers on twitter reported that there was nothing to do with goro or kasumi found :( there is a file that’s related to a ray gun, so that’s a SMALL something, but i’m not going to lose hope just yet!! this is only the data that was found in the demo version, and the dataminers stated a LOT of the data had been scrubbed from these files. i have heard that the development of p5s was begun very soon after the development of the original p5 started....but i’ve also heard the ideas for p5r were relatively concrete even before p5 was released, so it’s very up in the air as of right now (although it would be difficult to work on a sequel based only on the ideas they had for the royal, since no one could know what would make it into the finalized version we have now. it’s looking more and more like this is a sequel to vanilla p5, and the best we might be able to hope for is goro and kasumi as dlc, but i’m going to hope that’s not the case and they’re both just in spoiler jail. it seems unlikely given their popularity (particularly goro, who atlus has begun to market quite heavily), and so p5s may actually just be a vanilla sequel that was too late to modify given how early on its production began, and so they had no way of knowing goro would be the most popular character of the game. i’ve already seen some talk on twitter (just fan conjecture, nothing confirmed at all!!) that royal may get its own unique sequel and so basically p5 will have two “timelines”. tbh i wouldn’t mind that, it gives me more p5 to play, but i agree that i wouldn’t just want scramble remastered and updated - doing it with p5r was fine by me, but to do that AGAIN with a sequel??? it would feel super redundant and i would hope p5r gets its own post-canon follow-up completely separate from p5s. 

tangent time!!! honestly too...i would HOPE atlus would just confirm or deny goro’s death. i think it’s ridiculous that they refuse to do it - it’s like story-wise they sort of want him gone but since he’s so popular, they refuse to commit to it. i understand the idea of it being that akira can’t save everyone and that there are victims of society, many of them, that pay the ultimate price (and imo they are going for the starcrossed lovers archetype with akira and goro BUT I DIGRESS), so they want to convey that tragedy. and it does suit the themes of the story, it makes villains like shido and yaldabaoth wholly unforgivable in the eyes of the audience (or it should but there’s a lot of bad goro takes), and it should absolutely be a punch in the gut to make the player know the society can and will twist and harm a child like that without remorse (given that no one spoke of him after his death - that’s the point of it. goro’s life was nothing more than entertainment despite his suffering). but as it stands it feels CHEAP because they refuse to actually commit to that character death, to the entire tragedy they set up with him. and it continues to be difficult in royal - here we get a more fleshed out goro, one that ultimately sacrifices himself because he knows his life is a lie and is being used as a nothing more than a bargaining chip for maruki to try to break akira’s will. this shows us goro did truly die in vanilla p5 (at least in the p5r timeline), but here he’s brought back and used AGAIN against his will in a game he never consented to. he stands with akira in this to decide his own fate and, once again, we come to the conclusion that there’s no way to save him. goro is tragic because he is fated to die in this story (again, super starcrossed lovers vibes - no matter what changes, goro always dies)...but he’s then hinted at in the closing animation of p5r (there is the version without him, but i think the one with him is meant to be canon) but STILL with doubt as his face is not shown. SO LIKE??? it ruins the impact of what atlus is trying to do because they want to have it both ways. they want the tragedy of the character, but they want to string his fans along in hopes that he’ll show up in later p5 games. and i’m not making a case that he should be canonically dead - he could totally be written as a severely battered victim that was twisted into becoming a perpetrator, to see how he heals and how he makes amends, to show what happens to people thrown away by the system and how they start over. that would be a GREAT character for p5, but as it stands, goro is in limbo.

THIS IS ALL TO SAY i just wish a sequel would confirm what happened to him. as a fan, i would want him to be alive, but in the same vein, as a fan, if he is gone, i would want his death concrete so that his message and his tragedy are impactful. so i hope he is in p5s as more than dlc, as a full character with a different message about moving forward after your life is so thoroughly decimated and how important a support network is to that, but if not please don’t just??? ignore him???? alternatively, if royal gets its own sequel, maybe he would be alive there instead of in scramble. goro has a powerful story to tell within the themes of p5 whether he lives or dies, but atlus refuses actually allow him to do so....thank you for coming to my ted talk

[mneiai]

Star Wars AU Drabble

When the beginnings of a clone army are discovered, the Republic turns against the Jedi who must have commissioned an army to take control. 

Obi-Wan/Satine.

AO3 Link

"Ben," the way Satine says his name jolts Obi-Wan from his memories of Qui-Gon, and he's not surprised when she's suddenly there, in front of him.

After tucking Anakin safely away with the Naberries on Naboo, he'd known he had to make a choice (one teenage boy wasn't so hard to hide, a man along with him became harder, he could not risk the Naberries, Anakin, or Naboo). To stay in Republic space at all was to invite death at every turn--he had no illusions about what happened to most of the Jedi who were arrested, he'd felt too many deaths in the Force over the last few months.

The comm to Satine was short, coded with phrases they'd used while on the run. He'd left for Mandalore without a reply, knowing it was too much risk for both of them.

He'd been approached as soon as he entered the space port, taken through backstreets and a utility entrance, and now he was here, in Satine's home.

"I thought--I thought the worst, before you commed."

Obi-Wan hesitated only a moment before gesturing in offer of an embrace, which she readily took. As proper as she could be, as much as she wanted to ignore her people's traditional culture, she still felt as strongly as any of them.

Holding her tightly, breathing in the scent of her (and the lilies that must have been in her hair before she came to see him), he allowed himself to relax for he first time since the Chancellor's announcement.

"Thank you, for doing this. You--I'm sorry for bringing any danger here, with me."

She scoffed. "You're just returning the favor, now I'm the one who gets to protect you." Her voice softened. "I know what it's like, to have your House threatened. I wish you weren't experiencing this."

After, she helped him settle into a grand room, clean up, and the two of them settled in for a meal. The food was familiar enough to be nostalgic and while Obi-Wan normally didn't have much of an appetite, he found himself eating all of it.

"I know enough about the culture here to pass, I can even fake an accent, I just need the papers to go along with it," he finally said, into a lull in the lighter conversation they'd been holding. "I can head to one of the more transient areas and--"

"Your plan is to hide here?"

She was container enough to not be easy to read in the Force, but there as a hot edge of determination that made Obi-Wan pause.

"Yes, it won't be long until the Republic starts pressing the outside systems harboring Jedi to turn us over or face consequences."

Not that he knew why. The excuses given, about the clone army that had been found in its nascent stage, was ridiculous. The Jedi Order didn't want an army and definitely not to take over.

"You'll need to hide. Any slip into that Coruscant accent, any show of the Force, and the game would be up." Before he could protest, she reached over to him, placing a hand over his. "Ben...when we...when you left. What were you thinking?"

She knew, of course she knew. She'd been too familiar with the weight of duty to say anything about it, before.

"...I would have stayed, if you asked."

"You couldn't, because of the Order. Because Jedi can't follow their hearts. But...I don't want to use what we have out of cynicism, I don't want to taint it, but to anyone who learned our story, wouldn't this look like the perfect opportunity?"

He'd dwelt on it for two days as Satine handled her duties and he spoke to her people. Even before he had accepted, they were outfitting him in a wardrobe of expensive Sundari clothing and briefing him on recent politics and policies.

Satine thought it was inevitable. Obi-Wan suspected it really was.

They kicked it off with an official announcement, that included Obi-Wan having to stand up on holocam and say he was no longer a Jedi. It was infuriating, but he didn't know what else to do. Maybe other Jedi would come, knowing they'd be safe, and they could quietly continue the Order until they could become public again.

Not that Obi-Wan would be doing that with them....To save others, he'd have to break some of the most basic tenants of the Order. He couldn't just pretend to be with Satine, he would be, he'd let himself get so attached he wouldn't be able to return to being a Jedi.

His announcement was broadcast throughout Mandalore and picked up, of course, by Republic news. He, Satine, and her speech writers had spun a tale of starcrossed lovers, duty, and how Obi-Wan was finally 'free.'

The Mandalorians ate it up, of course.

So they dated. Or maybe it was more like they courted. Someone, somewhere, dug up a few records of his mission to protect her. He found himself doing activities just for the press, just to make his story more believable (to protect Satine, to protect Mandalore).

Not that it was a smooth process. Not all the New Mandalorians liked him, even as he hid his lightsaber in special pockets and layers, because he wouldn't fully commit to pacifism (his people were out there being murdered, he couldn't swear he'd never find a way to help that could include violence).

A trip to Keldabe in an attempt to mend more ties ended up with him accidentally using Mando'a (blessedly not caught by anyone but the residents and a few of Satine's people), which somehow got around the city enough that the more traditional Mandalorians thought he was on their side.

Which was hilarious to Satine's people up to a point, and that point was Jango Fett's reappearance and claim to still be Mand'alor.

"He has the Republic's backing, no matter how well they're trying to hide it. Because of me," Obi-Wan hissed when they dug deeper into what Fett had been up to all these years.

"You know you're not to blame, the Republic is becoming more expansionist. They want Mandalore to submit to their rule and are using Fett as a way to get that."

"I can't believe he'd give up Mandalore just to rule it."

That had caused Satine to look thoughtful and the very next day that was the speculation across the holonews networks--that to follow Fett was to join the Republic. It effectively squashed much of his support, especially since Satine decided desperate measures were necessary and sent Obi-Wan to talk to many of the traditional hold-outs. He--his attitude towards fighting, his knowledge of Mando'a--was a sign that maybe if they kept pushing, the New Mandalorians would compromise on something.

Obi-Wan felt bad about perpetuating the lie, but he owed Satine too much not to help her. And he'd been trained to play politics, even if that was from a Jedi perspective.

He'd been on comm silence for much of a year when he finally heard from Anakin. It wasn't what he'd been expecting and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach (a warning hum in the Force) as Anakin said the Chancellor had pardoned him and any other Padawan or initiate who renounced the Jedi.

Anakin thought it meant that Obi-Wan should return, that since Obi-Wan had wanted to leave as a Padawan but been forced to stay (and, oh, how the holonet had twisted his story after it had been released) and was a hero of the Chancellor's on planet, that he could get a pardon, too.

But there was something wrong, Obi-Wan knew it. Anakin seemed happy, healthy, but...even with their training bond stretched to near-nothing, he was unsettling.

A part of him felt awful doing it, but he turned down the offer. He used his relationship with Satine as an excuse, so it would not be taken by the Chancellor as some sort of insult.

The Chancellor who lied about the Jedi, ordered them destroyed, and was trying to get control of Mandalore.

Obi-Wan had a sinking feeling he knew why, knew what was behind all of this, and could only pray that Anakin could resist the Dark better than most of their lineage had.

Notes: For the AU verse, basically someone investigated Sifo-Dyas' path way earlier, the clone army wasn't at all ready (nor was the Separatists or the political turmoil set up well enough) and so Palpatine manipulated things to look like the Jedi meant to basically take over the Republic.

[theartificialdane]

Ah 🤣 I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to sound angsty! I just meant it would have been nice to see the friendship between b and v before anything else. I'm a sucker for the friends to lovers trope. and of course because Vanj wouldn't ever flirt with someone else while she had a boyfriend so when b realises he has a thing for her it will initially feel one sided. So a little angst eventually sure but only slight

Are we sure B would develope feelings though?

It’s my headcanon sprinkled with irl facts, but from what I believe a large part of Brooke’s intial attraction first came from respecting Vanjie as a professional with skills he himself didn’t have, and then those feelings only shift after Vanjie (with the help/force of Silky) admitting to having feelings first?

Brooke specifically talks about in Hey Human who he has accidentially chased off a lot of potential relationships by being too intense, and I fully imaging what he enjoys so much with his dynamic with Vanjie and why he ends up behaving so freely is because Vanjie is obviously (in a very positive way) more invested in the beginning.

Vanjie wears his heart on his sleeve, and I fully think that personality trait made Brooke very attracted to Vanjie since he could let go of a lot of his insecurities.

You may not enjoy what you hear, but Vanj will always tell you to your face how he feels.

I don’t think Brooke would nessesarily have the courage to be the one that introduces any amount of flirt into their dynamic, so I could actually see B never developing a relationship with Vanjie at all beyond someone he finds funny but that he doesn’t connect with?

Also this has turned into something super long, but B&V are truly starcrossed lovers because hot dang does/did the planets have to align for them to even find each other like the two blinde chicken idiots they are!

[mariana-oconnor]

@ameliahcrowley replied to your post “Watching the Jane Austen fandom collectively implode after the...”

I read a little about Sanditon, thought "Oh that's interesting", read on, discovered that it was the brainchild of the genius behind *that pond scene*, thought "Ah..." read some more, discovered that the incomplete nature of the text supposedly meant they had creative licence to do as they pleased, and tiptoed quietly away. I now kind of regret my choices because I have no idea what everyone's so worked up about.

SPOILERS below, people. Ye have been warned. Read no further should you wish to avoid such spoilers of Sanditon. If you don’t care and feel like reading more, click the read more link.

I read about it - notably the step-incest and sex scenes - and thought ‘wtf?!’ and decided to see what was going on. I’m not a massive Austen fan, though I have read and seen a lot of it because... literature student and Austen-loving friends. I tend to prefer adaptations because I find Austen’s prose bogs down the humour somewhat for me. I know it’s there, but it comes across better when I see people performing it.

So I come into this with little investment in ‘being true to Jane’.

Having said that, it has often been written that there is an unwritten contract in romance fiction. That being that there will be a happy ending. Jane Austen, though she predated the genre, is sort of the progenitor of it, so that contract is sort of all wound up in her work. What’s that quote? “The good end happily, the bad unhappily, that is what fiction is.” Jane Austen’s always seemed to me to have the decisive belief that everyone’s endings should be suitable to their characters and main characters have to earn their happily ever after married ending through hardship and character development.

Sanditon... did not do that.

The thing that 99% of the people online seem to be angry about is that the main pairing, the obvious endgame pairing, did not end up together. And, in a move that was actually pretty blatantly baiting them, there is a last minute (like really the last minute of the last episode) scene that looks like it’s going to be the romantic ‘I couldn’t let you get away. Everything is fixed. Will you marry me?’ moment, but then turns out to be the ‘I had to say goodbye. Duty compels me to leave you forever’ starcrossed lovers scene. They are apart, they are separated, the male love interest chooses his duty to his family and the need for money over love, the heroine sort of agrees with his decision... well, she never really has an opinion beyond ‘this makes me sad, but my regency manners forbid me to speak of this openly’. It’s very much not the ending that you go into a Jane Austen adaptation expecting.

The thing that upset me more, but which no one is talking about, is different. There’s another character, who’s been set up all along to have (reasonable) ambitions, talent and skill, who has been striving to better himself, and at the last minute, he is struck by tragedy and he turns his back on his dreams because of his own duty to his father and basically decides to continue with the life he chafes against, despite the fact that he’s been an entirely sensible, earnest and good-hearted character throughout. Again, not very Austen.

Overall, they are clearly trolling for a second series, because it is unfinished so why should they limit themselves? Either that or Andrew Davies - the writer - is so fed up of writing Jane Austen adaptations that he has decided to completely break down every cliche and stereotype of the genre in the desperate hopes no one will ever ask him to do it again. But I think he’s actually already adapted everything she’s ever written, so that might be too little too late.

[nerdgenie]

Ashburn sails

In celebration of the upcoming kiss that will probably kill us all, I put down all the things that made me love Ashburn.

They started off in a veeeerrrryy cute sexy way with Ash’s cock sure grin kick the chair out in invitation for Michael to join him teasing yet respectful flirting to Michael’s confused what am I feeling should I be feeling this this is not logical I don’t know how to act around him we should keep this professional but he is very interesting and I like spending time with him dynamics that had me smiling at my TV whenever they’re on screen together.

Their attraction evolved into something deeper as their relationship progressed. Ash helped Michael to be more human– to be more open and in touch with her emotions. Her eyes smiled when she was with Ash. Michael helped Ash heal and find peace after all that he went through. He put up a front around others, but he showed his pain to Michael.

Ash declared not only to protect Michael but to love her No. Matter. What. Michael Said. It. Back.

Another note on the protection thing. Ash is kind of a superhero. 30 something kills over Lorca’s 20ish kills. He is very capable, but he is not afraid to be vulnerable. He knows Michael is smart, strong and just as or maybe even more capable, and he was never threatened by that. Michael was always that one cradling him, and that was refreshing to see on TV.

As much as Michael took care of Ash, Ash did the same for Michael. He was very excited about Lake Shasta, but when Michael reminded him she was going back to prison after the war, Ash responded that maybe the war doesn’t have to end. As much as the needs of the many are important, the needs of the few (or the one) are important too. Michael was important. I think that assertion that early on in her redemption arc meant a lot to Michael.

They were each other’s home. The mirror universe took a toll on Michael. Ash was her reprieve. Ash was her anchor to herself.

I honestly thought the whole Voq mess would be the end of Ashburn. I grieved. When Ash lashed out at Michael, I was turned off. I thought that was the end of my love for Ash Tyler. But then “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for… Starfleet.” Damn, my boy is back! He realized his mistake, listened to Michael and respected what she wanted.

Listen, I never blamed Ash for Voq’s actions. It was painful to watch, but I was always of the mind that Ash was a victim. He was kidnapped and violated. What happened to him was incomprehensible. I even understood why he didn’t tell Michael when he was starting to notice things were off. It was wrong, yes, but it was also a very human thing to do. He was scared so he hid it. What I didn’t like was the whole “you can’t leave me I was a victim you don’t know how to love” meltdown he had when Michael broke up with him. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that Ash was confused and scared. The one he loved the most, the one he wanted to be human for was leaving him. He didn’t think he could ever be okay without Michael so he lashed out. But Michael, the queen that she is, stood her ground and left. Ash was alone. He had no choice but to do it alone. So he did. While Ash and Voq were having their internal battle, I don’t think Ash really considered having to redeem himself. He was focused on surviving and wanting to make sure that Michael was okay. It stopped there. Michael leaving was the spark that lit Ash’s realization that he needed to make amends. He needed to find himself again and rebuild. My love for Ash was restored and increased exponentially by this point, so I was back to grieving Ashburn because Michael was over it.

But them Michael opened up about her parents to Ash. Correct me if I’m wrong but this very important insight about Michael was never revealed before in the series at this point. The show’s main character told another character something very important about herself for the first time ever in the show. If that does not scream the relationship of these two characters are important to us I don’t know what does.

Ash decided to go with L’rell to Kronos. Yay for Ash’s redemption, eeewww for everything else. Michael’s surprised face. Michael was obviously planning to be separated from Ash until their individual redemption arcs were complete and they were both healthy human beings then maybe try or not try the relationship again but that’s okay since they will still be in the same ship and breathing the same recycled air. Ash leaving Discovery was not something Michael wanted.

Bowline. Nuff said.

“To me, Tyler, it feels like violation.” I never really empathized with L’rell.

“I need to take this call”

The awkward small talk. The longing. Ash wanting to end the call after the official business had been taken cared off as it physically pained him to talk to Michael this way and not love her the way he wanted. Michael wanting to hold on to and prolong whatever moment she can with Ash.

The way the scene was shot. The narrative is convincing enough of Ashburn. The juxtaposition of their locations during their call was just an added bonus-- the show telling us that these two are their starcrossed lovers, the love story (among all the other wonderful stories) they wanted to tell.

Michael’s reaction to seeing Ash. She was thrown again. She already accepted that Ash’s and her paths were different. She belonged on the Discovery while Ash chose Kronos. Our boy really needs to stop surprising our girl and start discussing major life decisions with her soon. No matter, we will get to that at some point. 

“It’s good to see you.” “I feel the same”

Michael walked it to the bridge and locked eyes with Ash. Strictly professional interactions blah blah blah. The camera panned from Michael to Ash. The two shared a look. Crumbs. But I’ll take it.

“I was in love with her, and she was not entirely disinterested in me.” Was. Ha! Sure, keep telling yourself that. Ash knows he loves Michael. He admits it, but he is not allowing himself to feel the full force of his love because he needs to be okay without her. It’s the same thing when he wanted to end their call ASAP. It’s his I need to be able to function without her in my life strategy. Also, not presuming to speak for Michael by saying she loved him to. I stan a man who respects a woman's own agency.

Ash’s faith in Michael. He will always choose Michael over everything else, including his new home where he thinks he can belong to. I don’t think I need to say how huge that is for someone who is struggling for a place in the universe, but there. I said it.

Michael’s unwavering faith in Ash. She believes him without a doubt despite being presented evidence that incriminates Ash.

In season one, Michael was closed off, had no rank and was Starfleet’s most famous mutineer. She was at her lowest point. Ash reached out to her or rather kicked out a chair for her to sit with him and showed her she is worthy by believing in and loving her. Season two reverses their roles. Ash is at his lowest point now. He is keeping his feelings for Michael bottled up. He doesn’t fully understand who he is, and he lives with the guilt and stigma of Voq’s actions. Michael is the one reaching out now. She will show Ash he is worthy by believing in him when no one else does.

I honestly don’t know what will happen to these two. We will get an epic kiss for sure, but other than that I don’t know if these two will get married and have five babies, one set of twins and one set of triplets, and live happily ever after exploring deep space where no one has gone before in a new ship where Michael is captain and Ash is her no. 1. All I know is that these two are an epic love story. They are the love story that Star Trek Discovery is telling us.

BONUS: Daddy Pike: "What is going on with you two? And don't say nothing because I am totally sensing a vibe. Tyler, you are confined to quarters. Burnham, I order you to not go near him"

[howlsmovinglibrary]

i'm mad bc dany has been doing problematic things for seasons now but a lot of it has been framed heroically and it pisses me off that the showrunners called that "foreshadowing" as if the audience was entirely to blame for thinking dany's "heroic" behaviour meant she was a Good Guy, when they were the ones who framed it that way. then we had to waste time with tyrion + chairs and jon's emo trek into the wilderness when idgaf ??? sansa being queen in the north is the only thing im not mad about

I’m mad for the exact same reasons. There were some genuine flaws in Dany’s personality and her belief in her entitlement to the throne despite evidence of her being terrible at managing a city, that would’ve been good to exploit in a genuine, nuanced, hero-to-villain arc. I’ve always wanted Danaerys to become a villain, and have her problematic shit - which you’re right, the writers always seemed to portray as good and heroic - called out. But the writing was so rushed and disingenuous that it simultaneously undoes all the groundwork that was done for setting up this interpretation of her character, while saying that we should’ve known it from the beginning.

Instead of exposing her as a coloniser who weaponises non-white people to achieve her own ends, the show seemed to imply that her freeing people with initially good intentions was a sign of evil from the very beginning, rather than the hypocrisy of a would-be monarch who uses liberation rhetoric to try and justify the reasons why she should be given power. Tyrion’s whole speech regarding her past actions as symptoms of madness equates a slave rebellion with a million innocent civilian deaths, when those two things are very differe. What’s more, through the way this speech echoed criticisms of appeasement to Hitler in the second world war, this entire section of dialogue implied that a rebellion against slavery was the same kind of “warning sign” as, you know, racially motivated genocide. Meanwhile ‘Savage’ Dothraki and faceless Unsullied are used as the true signifiers that Danaerys has become evil -_-

I could’ve bought an evil Dany whose character was an exploration of imperialism. Instead I was given an evil Dany who is genetically destined for madness ‘because reasons’, whose sexual desire and ambitions for power turns her evil, who is surrounded by evil people of colour, none of whom question her actions while all the good white man start having deep and meaningful man pain and doubt.

And agreed, Sansa’s plotline was one of the only consistant threads of the series and one of few bright spots in this last episode. I eagerly await the ultimate starcrossed enemies-to-lovers fanfiction where her and Yara Greyjoy set up a Northern alliance in Theon’s memory and gradually fall in love despite the bad blood between their families.