#big gay energy pod

[pennybunpirate]

Ok yeah all the things about the robe and Taika keeping it and Rhys channeling Stede and pouting about no fineries. Absolute SNACKS of knowledge from Gypsy Taylor.

But I DESPERATELY need to see Wee John's socks.

[bengiyo]

BL 2023 Review

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to write about BL for this year. I was originally going to do a The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly framework for it, but that feels meaner than I actually am about it. Instead, I think I’ll just write out some sections and unpack some things I felt along the way.

I Watched Too Much Again

Last year I engaged with about 92 productions around the world. This year it was 99 (I tracked stuff I completed here). Sure I dropped 18 of them this year, but goddamn. The problem with watching as much as I did this year is that I worked full time this year and also maintained a separate hobby. I also continued my twice-weekly watch sessions with my friend Emily, so there are an additional 100-ish watch sessions in here of rewatching, plus a few other rewatches (Theory of Love and My Ride most notably).

One of my struggles at this point is I’m far too familiar with the genre, and find myself feeling impatient and irritable with shows that aren’t to my taste the way I used to. Throughout the late summer and fall I found myself increasingly grumpier about the genre, and it didn’t get better until I had a holiday and basically slept a day to get some energy back. I also found myself growing apart from fans I’ve known and followed a long time. It’s been a difficult year for me as a long-time fan because my tastes, habits, and friendships in the genre have changed even if the amount I watch hasn’t really.

I Wrote a Lot This Year

I recently converted my watch tag away from my gaming internet persona to just my shortname, so all near-1000 of my Stray Thoughts posts can be found under #ben watches now. I’ve also been going back and adding #ben writes to some of the standalone pieces that I really liked. In reviewing them, the pieces I’m happiest about are my ode to Framboise from Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to Be Recognized, my post begging everyone to watch La Pluie, my post about what it means to actually like queer men, my SBS ep 10 post that ended up being wrong, my post about the Lavender Scare and Be My Favorite, my Tokyo in April is… post about the breaking of the BL line,

However, the two posts I am most proud of is my half-joking response about why I think tagging each other back and forth across Tumblr in our writing is so important. and The Knowing: Being Queer in BL because I had so much great conversations with folks as a result of both of these posts.

Looking back at my own blog, this is probably the most active I’ve been in my entire time on this website, so thank you to everyone who interacted with me this year, because it really is people talking to me that gets me most inspired to write things down. Big shout out to @lurkingshan who will bug me repeatedly until I blog something that I said in passing.

We Started a Podcast!

After hanging out with @shortpplfedup since Bad Buddy, she got inspired and really wanted to bring something different to the BL podcasting sphere. I had time, and liked talking with her enough, so we started @the-conversation-pod. Now we’re a full year into it and planning out future stuff. It’s been so much fun being able to get things off my soul and break poor NiNi in our recording sessions.

From this year, I think my favorite episodes we did were The Moonlight Chicken Episode, the Eighth Sense episode, the ITSAY Anniversary Episodes,  The Wedding Plan episode, , and The Holiday Clip Show. Huge shout out to @ginnymoonbeam for anchoring the transcription process, and @lurkingshan for editing.

The VIIB Awards will begin airing soontm so look forward to that.

Favorite New Term: Business Gay Performance

Let’s be clear, Bump Up Business is not good. It is an obvious BL cash grab from OnlyOneOf that seeks to comment on the fake nature of BL while doing everything it can to trick the audience into believing that the BL pair is real.

Before we got deeper into this year, I was a big fan of a certain pairing, and then their fans took it too far and it affected the way I engaged with their performances and their work. I like that we have a new term for “fanservice” that communicates that you understand that this is for work. (thanks to NiNi for this comparison) I can look at the latest behind the scenes video from Last Twilight and say that I think Sea really understands the work they’re doing, and he and Jimmy have a very relaxed and mature version of BGP without feeling like I’m feeding into shipping.

Do I think they’re dating? No. Do I like the way they fake it? Absolutely!

I can look at one of @respectthepetty posts about Yin and War having personalized, color-coded mics, and we can talk about the next level BGP between the two and both communicate that we know that this is a performance.

It actually makes the extra PR work fun for me again, because now I can just shout “BGP! BGP! BGP!” and it not feel like I’m giving myself brainrot.

Thai BL Needs to Finish Stronger Next Year

Let’s get into some of the show stuff. This year was defined for me by Thai BL starting strong with good premises and then squandering them by not focusing on the details that mattered or leaning into baseless melodrama. Time for some reads. Some of these shows were generally good, but they failed at these things:

609 Bedtime Story: The world building crumpled in the back half and both endings are flat.

A Boss and a Babe: Cher is a pro gamer who worked for a gaming company and there was no plot point about this at all, or collaboration between the two groups.

Bake Me Please: Why was a show about cake so lacking in flavor?

Be Mine SuperStar: You had a real opportunity to explore a fan and idol romance and had Punn show so little growth. I hope the footage of First’s range is helpful now that Ja is out of BL.

Be My Favorite: You redid that whole amusement park date and muddled so much of what the hell happened on that day.

Between Us: You had years to make this interesting. Why are there five pairs and why is the end of this a JC Penny catalog photoshoot?

Dangerous Romance: What the fuck happened to the Sailom we had in episode 1 and 2 before that gun incident?

Hidden Agenda: Tee, what the hell was this? Twelve weeks of this?

I Feel You Linger in the Air: You may be the most beautiful show, with some of the most impressive performances of the year, but you absolutely botched this ending. Finish the goddamn season next time.

Love in Translation: I love you, but that whole kidnapping plot was so stupid at the end.

Low Frequency: I like your OST. That's about it.

My Dear Gangster Oppa: No examination about how gaming friendships become close quickly because of the combination of anonymity and teamwork (shout out to @twig-tea for this excellent summation).

My School President: Saving your gay commentary for the final episode felt like a conservative choice. I want more from you next time.

Naughty Babe: You retconned your own characters to tell a worse story. Unforgiveable.

Never Let Me Go: You didn’t know if you wanted to be a high school BL or a mafia story. It was difficult to watch.

Only Friends: I cannot believe you did Boston like that at the end. Either give Force’s character a clear personality next time, or keep him enigmatic; half measures make him and Book look worse. Sand was absolutely embarrassing. Boeing was a waste. Ending on all of them paired like that felt so unearned.

Step By Step: You forgot to ground Jeng’s external dreams at the end, so the final two episodes are just frustrating.

I’m glad I got that off my chest. We can go into the next year now.

Korea Put in the Work This Year

I really like the efforts from the various Korean studios this year. I really hope we get a Strongberry joint next year, but I want to acknowledge that we had 18 Korean BL dramas I watched this year, and at least three of them I think are must watches: Our Dating Sim, Sing My Crush, and The Eighth Sense. Beyond that, I think Love Tractor, Unintentional Love Story, and A Breeze of Love are easy recommendations.

It’s really impressive how the complaint for me this year with Korean BL is not about them using their time poorly. It’s more about normal drama concerns, where I think characterization is a little weak, or a theme doesn’t land squarely. This rapid iteration from the Korean studios is really impressive to watch, and I’m excited to see what some of the recognized players do next year.

Taiwan and The Philippines Have Been Quiet for Me

I wasn’t really able to connect with much from the Philippines this year except for The Day I Loved You. I never wrote about The Day I Loved You, but this beautiful and heart wrenching show is one of my favorites from this year. I wasn’t too keen on the Oxin Films offerings of this year, and I’m still chasing down the ones from The IdeaFirst Company.

As for Taiwan, this new BL project from the end of the year just isn’t hitting. Kiseki: Dear to Me also ended up really hurting me with the way they used Wayne Song and Huang Chun Chih. I love that angry little man with the white hair, but I’m still salty about Wayne and the general mess of that show.

Japan was Busy This Year

I watched 16 new shows, a few older ones, and a few movies this year from Japan. We haven’t gotten this much from them ever. I continue to love the Drama Shower project from MBS, and my beloved What Did You Eat Yesterday? returned this year. We had pretty stellar outings with Our Dining Table, If It’s With You, and I Cannot Reach You.

I think a third of the Japanese BL I’ve tracked on MDL actually released this year. That’s huge.

Still, I am going to side eye Minato’s Laundromat 2. You were the show that let me down the most this entire year. More than Only Friends, more than Step By Step, and even more than Kiseki. You absolutely blew it. You were telling a great story about a man with an acute case of internalized homophobia coming out of his shell and learning to love his younger partner and you blew it for stupid amnesia nonsense. I will never forgive you for this.

Where Were All the Uncles This Year?

Really, without Jim from Moonlight Chicken, and without the men from What Did You Eat Yesterday? we had an alarming dearth of older gay characters passing on knowledge and wisdom to the youngsters this year. What the hell happened?

Rare Dynamics Won: Second Chance Romance and Friends to Lovers!

We had so much second chance romance this year. It’s really my favorite version of gay romance because gays don’t always have ideal settings when they’re young. We had Our Dating Sim, Individual Circumstances, Jun & Jun, The End of the World With You, Tokyo in April is…, Be My Favorite, Love Class Season 2, and A Breeze of Love. I am satisfied.

Friends to Lovers is actually so rare in romance and we have so many to choose from this year! The best examples are I Cannot Reach You and Sing My Crush, but we also have one of the pairs in Love Class Season 2.

Gay Thoughts

I had a couple of ongoing thoughts this year about queerness in BL.

First, I want to return to my post about Sing My Crush and La Pluie, and how I assert that Men Need to Be Angry Sometimes. More than giving men grace to be righteously angry or upset about things, along with letting them express it in ugly ways, I really want to get into how we engage with these shows. I will stop engaging with moralistic reads on characters in 2024. I will no longer engage with asks, reblogs, or meta gripping the fandom where we're judging the moral fiber of the character.

The question that really only matters for me at this point is: Is this act from the character justified from their characterization, the narrative, or genre conventions; and is it interesting? Whether or not the character is good or bad reeks of the lame arguments about good and bad representation, and I am not watching BL like I’m being graded in Sunday school.

The second thing I really want to acknowledge at the end of the year is that the gay sex is finally getting better again. I watched The Novelist this year, and we have taken so long to get back to the space that show took us on the portrayal of male-male intimacy. We are in the genre about people with dicks. It should feel like it. There should be a masculine component there that feels specific to queer intimacy.

I will acknowledge 2 Cutie 2 Pie, A Boss and a Babe, Be Mine SuperStar, Bed Friend, Candy Color Paradox, For Him, I Cannot Reach You, Kiseki: Dear to Me, La Pluie, Love Class 2, Love in Translation, Love Mate, Middleman’s Love, Naughty Babe, Only Friends, The End of the World With You, Tokyo in April is…, and Wedding Plan for your contributions.

Final Thoughts

I like how broad the genre felt this year, and I enjoyed how much speculative fiction is entering into the conversation. I don’t know how I feel about there being five vampire stories in the works next year, but overall I’m glad that we’re getting more experimental concepts. I’m burnt out on the college engineering BL, and would like to see more shows about working adults.

Despite how grumpy I was for at least three months, I think this has genuinely been one of the best years we’ve ever had in the genre. I made a lot of new friends in BL this year, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Thank you all for spending some of your time with me this year and I’ll see you in the next one.

[ofmdrecaps]

07/07/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samson Kayo; Leslie Jones; Vico Ortiz: OFMD S2 BTS, DateMyAbeulitaFirst; Rachel House + Cats; Gypsy Taylor; Uproar In Canada; #YouBearFineThingsWell; Articles; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards; Big Gay Energy Podcast; Our Flag Means Fanfiction Podcast; NeverLeftPodcast Preview; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

== Rhys Darby ==

New episode of The Cryptid Factor is available on Spotify!

Source: The Cryptid Factor Podcast

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika attended the Corti a Corte 2024 Film Festival in Italy this past weekend!

Source: manifesto_cieco Instagram

In addition to these lovely photos of Taika-- he posted another cut of the Belvedere Vodka video he Directed and Starred in with Future. Idk about you, but I love hearing Taika's voice again in these posts, you can tell he's feeling more himself and comfortable talking on socials again!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taika Waititi (@taikawaititi)

== Samson Kayo ==

Samson posted a preview of the new F1 movie he'll be starring in that comes out in July 2025! Check the trailer out below!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samson Kayo (@samsonkayo)

Source: Samson Kayo's Instagram

== Leslie Jones ==

Leslie out again at the LA Sparks game! She's also been out guest starring on Howie Mandel's show! The content was a bit raunchy so I will link to it instead of posting it here, but if you're interested, there's plenty of content!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leslie Jones (@lesdogggg)

Source: Leslie Jones Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

= OFMD S2 BTS =

Vico has uploaded more OFMD S2 BTS on their Patreon!

Source: Vico Ortiz' Patreon

= Date My Abuelita First! =

New episode of Date My Abuelita First with Vico! Check it out here!

Source: DateMyAbuelitaFirst's Instagram

== Rachel House ==

Alright, so Rachel has uploaded many cat videos to her Instagram Stories from a cat competition! They're adorable and she did a lot of commentary on each cat, so I figured I'd share one and then a couple picture of the rest. Yes, more cat content, I will never get tired of it!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram

== Gypsy Taylor ==

Our genius costume designer from S2, Gypsy Taylor put together this pretty amazing outfit for the McCrispy campaign!

Source: HayleyEganDesign's Instagram

== Uproar in Canada! ==

One of our fantastic crew-mates @uncertain-delights was kind enough to bring up on the last recap that Uproar is also available on Hoopla in Canada and you can watch it free with your library card! Check out HooplaDigital here!

Source: @uncertain-delights

== #YouBearFineThingsWell ==

Only a few days away from the start of Rhys' new show: The Hungry Games: Alaska's Big Bear Challenge! Our crewmates over at @adoptourcrew will be celebrating this upcoming week! You can check them out on twitter!

Source: AdoptOurCrew Twitter

== Articles ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew shared several articles that mentioned OFMD!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

In addition to the articles that mentioned OFMD @adoptourcrew also brought up the following article regarding queer storytelling.

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

More Emmy Submissions tonight for @melvisik's Cast Cards! John Enroth, one of our OFMD composers, with Mark Mothersbaugh and Albert Fox 'for Outstanding Music Composition in a Series for Mermen'

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= Big Gay Energy Podcast =

Big Gay Energy Pod is back covering OFMD Season 2, Episodes 7 & 8!

Source: Big Gay Energy Podcast Instagram

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

The Silly Voices Episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction drops tomorrow! Check them out on your preferred Podcast Platform via their Linktr.ee!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

= Preview: Jul 16 Never Left Podcast =

Never Left Podcast has an exciting upcoming interview with our Father Teach - Damien Gerard! It'll be released on July 16th! You can follow Never Left Pod on Instagram or check out their linktree for the best place to listen once it's released!

Source: Never Left Podcast's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! Here we are, at the end of the weekend again. Hopefully you got some good rest, or had some good clowning, or generally just had some time to yourself.

I have a bit of an odd question for you tonight, and that is --

Have you thought about Little You lately? About the little person you were years ago when you were younger? Little You could be a kid, or a teenager, or really anyone you were before today. Do you know how much Little You loves you? Do you know how proud they are of you for getting this far? Even if you're not in the place you want to be, that younger you is so grateful you're still here, and you're still trying. Little You loves you more than anyone else on this planet-- even if you didn't love yourself when you were them. They are still rooting for you every single day. Little You can see how far you've come, and Little You forgives you for all the things you hold against yourself. Remember to give your Little You a hug sometime, they're always here for you if you need them. Sometimes Little You's need the you you are now to help them heal the places they were in at the time--sometimes you're not ready for that, and that's totally okay too. One day you will be, and Little You will still be there, still loving you, and still rooting for you, and you can give them love right back when you're ready. You are wonderful, and unique, and beautiful, and brilliant and always have been lovelies---when you were Little You, and how you are today.

Even if your brain tells you otherwise sometimes-- You are so very loved, and you always have that Little You in your court if you need them. Feel free to exchange hugs with them whenever you need it, they're always there. I'm thinking of you lovelies, take care of yourselves and get some rest -- tomorrow is a new day.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

No real theme tonight, unless you want to consider it the Sunday Sillies. Gifs courtesy of two of the kindest, warmest, funniest, darling folks on the planet @agaywithcoffee and @ofmd-ann <3

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

06/23-24/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby: Cryptid Factor; Madeleine Sami; Vote for Logies!; Con O'Neill; Kristian Nairn; Anapela Polataivao; Damien Gerard; Samba Schutte; Jes Tom; Hugo Pierre Martin; AdoptOurCrew Raffle; AdoptOurCrew Basingstoke Comic Con Clips; FiberArts Brigade: New Auction Items; FanSpotlight: Cast Cards; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Big Gay Energy Pod; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

Hey friends, sorry it's been a lot over here and probably will be over the next couple days. I'll do my best to keep up with the recap but it may be some two dayers for a while depending on my availability. Thank you to all the sweet people sending me messages/asks, I'm so sorry I haven't responded! I will soon I promise!

== Rhys Darby ==

The video for the latest episode of The Cryptid Factor is up on Patreon!

Source: The Cryptid Factor Patreon

== Madeline Sami ==

Our beloved Mads, aka Eddie Redcliffe in Deadloch, aka The Baddest MF in Tasmania, has been nominated for a 2024 Logie for Best Lead Actress! So was Kate Box, her costar, and Deadloch was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy Program! -- and guess what? It's done by vote! If you feel so inclined, please take a moment to go and vote for our dear Archie/Deadloch (or Dulcie whomever you'd like)!

Source: Madeline Sami's Instagram

== Con O' Neill ==

Con's fundraiser for Mermaids and True Colors United is still going on over at Stands! You can sign up for his class on how to verbally flip people off, or pick up some Izzy shirts! Visit Shop Stands

Source: Shop Stands

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian was out and about at the Yorkshire Comic Con this past weekend! Definitely had some sightings of our dear Wee John/Hodor!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

Source: Zhawl's Instagram

== Jes Tom ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew managed to surprise Jes Tom!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Anapela Polataivao ==

Opening night picture from Anapela's "Red White and Brass" Play!

Source: tama_ulu_kafilo's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Some shots of Samba's new movie Advanced Chemistry that comes out June 26th!

Source: colinohdp's Instagram

== Damien Gerard ==

Our dear friend Damien Gerard is up to something in the Fox Studio Lot!

Source: Damien Gerard's Instagram

== Hugo Pierre Martin ==

I almost forgot! Hugo gave a couple more BTS pictures of him in his outfit in that tweet thread he did! He is indeed purty!

Source: Hugo's Twitter

== Adopt Our Crew Charity Raffle ==

Reminder! Last few days of the Adopt Our Crew Raffle! Want to enter? Be sure to send your entry here! As of yesterday everyone has donated $3,392 to 84 charities! That's amazing! Great job everyone! They're hoping to make $4000 by the end of the 28th!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Tumblr

== Basingstoke Comic Con Clips ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew were also kind enough to upload a video of the interviews with Vico, Con, and Kristian at Basingstoke Comic Con! Check them out on their post below:

== Fiber Arts Brigade - Auctions ==

New week-- new amazing hand made items from your fellow fans! All proceeds from this auction go to Sage USA! For more info on the auction feel free to visit their FAQs.

Source: FiberArtsBrigade's Ebay

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Tonight's cast card, by our beloved @melvisik is none other than the AMAZING Production and Set designer, Ra Vincent!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

== Our Flag Means Fanfiction ==

New episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction! This time, the Astroholery Episode! Feel free to listen on your favorite podcast platform here!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

== Big Gay Energy Podcast ==

Our amazing crewmates over at Big Gay Energy Pod are discussing OFMD S2 episodes 3-4! Check them out on your favorite podcast platform over on their linktree!

Source: Big Gay Energy Podcast Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies, I really hope the end of the weekend and start of the week hasn't been too hard on you. I'm sorry I've been so swamped and haven't been able to send much love, but I hope you know I'm thinking of you all <3 Remember to drink some water and get some good sleep lovelies. Sending love <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beth Evans (@bethdrawsthings)

Source: bethdraws Instagram

== Daily Darby/Today's Taika ==

Happy Murray Monday to all who celebrate! And Happy Murray Monday to these two FOTC managers and their bullshit. Today's gifs courtesy of the badass @celluloidbroomcloset and @fandomsmeantheworldtome!

[iamsweden]

WE GET POSSESSED? | Ghost Hunting with Friends! Pt. 3 SECOND FLOOR

Summary: Is there anything better than ghost hunting? Yeah, some pizza at home.

Read on AO3 here!

Read Pt. 1 Before the hunt here!

The Rumor Come Out: Does Alfyn and Therion are gay?

249,109 views | Oct 8, 2024 #phasmophobia #gaming

Five episodes in and we’re definitely experts at this whole ghost hunting thing, right? (Spoiler alert: Alfyn dies within the first five minutes again).

********

Buy our stuff:

gbgmerch.com

********

We’re also here:

Facebook: @GrabBagGames

Instagram: @GrabBagGames

X: @GrabBagGames

—

SECOND FLOOR

The second floor is cold.

The change in temperature hits Tressa all at once, like she walked out of the stairwell and straight into a freezer. Her first thought is oh, there’s a hella draft up here. Her second thought is, it wasn’t this cold outside earlier.

“Good grief, it’s freezin’ up here,” Alfyn says. He tugs Therion flush to his side, caging him in a big bear hug. “Good thing I brought my personal space heater, yeah?”

Therion levies a weary sigh, but he can’t be mean to Alfyn now. Not when he’s finally crawling out of his funk. That’s illegal.

Immediately, H’aanit shucks off her coat and presents it to Primrose. There’s absolutely no arguing with her (and Prim is probably freezing in that dress anyway) so she tugs it tight around her. Olberic tries to do the same for Cyrus, but he’s already wandering off, twittering, “I say, this floor is nearly identical to the Royal Academy! I’m going to find my office! This is so exciting!”

“Don’t go too far,” Olberic warns as he hurries after him. 

If this was a horror movie, Cyrus would absolutely be the first guy to die.

Well, they’ll rejoin him soon enough. At least they know where Cyrus and Olberic are headed.

Tressa, criminally single but laying claim to her status as the Final Girl in this theoretical movie situation, braves the cold and films another intro: “We made it to the second floor! Right out the gate, looks like we’re experiencing some ghostly freezing temperatures! Stay tuned for more as we dive deeper into our investigation of the paranormal!”

“That’s really considered evidence?” Primrose asks.

“It is in Phasmophobia,” Alfyn says. Before they ask what the heck Phasmophobia is, he explains, “It’s a ghost hunting game. We’ve done, like, ten episodes of it.”

“We’ve done five episodes,” Therion corrects, voice muffled by Alfyn’s chest.

“We’ve done, like, five episodes of it,” Alfyn corrects.

Well, Tressa hasn’t seen any of those five episodes. She doesn’t have the time nor the patience to watch Let’s Plays, unless it’s a game that particularly gets on Therion’s nerves. She always makes an exception for those.

“Well, this is ghost hunting for real, so let’s, I don’t know, find the spookiest office and see if… the REM pod works?” Tressa asks, choosing the first device she gets her hands on.

The REM pod is the goofiest piece of equipment she bought for this excursion–and that’s including the Boo Buddy teddy bear. It’s a plastic cube with very fake-looking lights and an antenna. Apparently this thing is supposed to measure temperature and proximal distance. So if a ghost or some other source of electromagnetic energy draws close, it’ll light up and make noise. Kinda hokey, but isn’t everything related to paranormal investigation kinda hokey? Tressa thinks so, at least. And she’s the captain of this adventure, so what she says goes.

Alfyn and Therion shuffle off with Prim and H’aanit in search of their new haunting grounds. Tressa is ready to get things moving, but she hangs back to wait on Ophilia. She’s been quiet since they left the cafeteria, only responding in vague hums or not at all. Tressa figured she was just as upset about the Estes Method as Alfyn was, and didn’t want to bring it up again. But now she looks… distracted.

Ophilia looks down the opposite hallway from where the rest of their friends walked down, eyes flicking to and fro as if searching for something.

“You okay, Phili?” Tressa asks.

With a jolt, Ophilia blinks heavily. She summons a smile. “Oh, sorry. Yes, I’m alright. Did everyone else walk ahead?”

Something’s definitely going on with her, and Tressa isn’t super sure it’s about the ghost stuff anymore. “Yeah, they’re just exploring a little. Is something bothering you?”

Ophilia has a bad habit of tugging on her sleeves when something makes her uncomfortable. It’s always subtle, too, because she never wants to draw attention to herself. One glance at her sleeves show that they’re tugged all out of whack, wrinkled with worry. Ophilia catches her looking and casually pulls her hands behind her back. “I’m fine, Tressa. I promise.”

Ophilia is also a really bad liar.

But she’s stubborn, and she won’t tell Tressa what’s on her mind until she’s ready to talk about it. Ophilia inches towards the hall, nodding towards the dim sound of their friends’ chatter. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

“...Okay,” Tressa relents. “Let’s go.”

Just as the classrooms downstairs were all identical, so are the offices up here. They end up converging on one of the central rooms with a decent view of shrouded street below. A sense of deja vu hits Tressa as she walks through the doorway. She’s visited Cyrus’s office countless times before, so she’s incredibly familiar with the layout.

He keeps his desk shoved in the corner, just out of reach of the window. Instead, he keeps an armchair for students to use by the window instead. The wall behind his desk is crowded full of skinny, perilously-full bookcases. A basket beside the door holds a bunch of dusty old maps he rescued from a renovation project years ago. In the back corner sits an ornate little cabinet kept well-stocked with tea. A kettle rests atop it, always ready for action.

None of that liveliness is present here. Tressa knew the room would be empty. She never once expected otherwise. But to see the barebones office now, drenched in uncaring darkness and a healthy layer of dust, makes her feel unwelcome.

Tressa clears her throat, trying to shake off that sense of wrongness. No matter how similarly built, this is the Old Royal Academy, not the (new) Royal Academy. “Okay, I thought we’d check out the REM pod next. Are we ready to try and make contact again?”

At everyone’s nods or yeahs, Tressa sets the REM pod in the middle of the room and flicks it on. The cube erupts into flashing lights, squealing with an electronic fury. Tressa quickly backpedals, moving against the wall with the others. The REM pod dies down the further away she goes, until, finally, it falls dormant again. “So that’s what this thing does,” she jokes.

With a deep breath, she turns the camera back to her face and delivers a more concise explanation to the audience. She makes a mental note to ask Noa to make an infographic or something showing a visual explanation. That’ll look more professional than a regular monologue. Once that’s out of the way, Tressa takes a page out of Primrose’s book and addresses the eerily empty air with gravitas: “If there are any spirits here who want to communicate with us, please give us a sign. You can use this box in the middle of the room if you want.”

The room is still. Ophilia digs her thumbs into her cuffs, kneading her secret anxieties into the knitted fabric. Cyrus eyes the REM pod, expectant and hopeful. Olberic absently rubs the back of his neck.

Nothing happens.

“We know this used to be an office,” Therion says at length. “Are there any professors here? Our pal Cyrus would love to talk to you.”

They wait a little longer, but the REM pod remains quiet.

“Are there any students here?” Primrose asks. She tugs H’aanit’s jacket tighter around her. Tressa is already used to the cold.

They wait, and wait, and wait. The room is silent save the sound of their breathing. No cars drive on the street outside. The building does not settle. The floor no longer creaks under their feet, even when Alfyn uncomfortably shuffles.

Tressa doesn’t like it in here. The room is too big and too small all at once. Their flashlights don’t shine bright enough. Tension pools in her gut, making her nauseous. Ophilia keeps kneading her cuffs. Olberic rubs his neck again like it aches. Alfyn shuffles. H’aanit runs a hand through her hair. Prim pulls her jacket closer. Something is wrong. Nothing is wrong. Tressa feels like she’s about to explode but doesn’t understand why.

“Is anyone else here?” Ophilia quietly chimes in, right when Tressa was about to call it quits.

Instantly, as if waiting for this very moment, the REM lights up and buzzes. A moment later, it falls silent once again.

Cyrus, delighted, claps his hands. “Marvelous! Are you part of the staff?”

He receives no answer, but that doesn’t deter the professor now that he’s made contact. Unless, of course, that brief burst of activity wasn’t just a fluke. Olberic has the same thought: “To confirm you are present, please touch it again.”

Tressa jumps when it responds. The REM flashes rapid colors along the walls, forcing life, however briefly, into the room. Her stomach does a flip.

“Hmm,” Olberic hums.

Cyrus tugs on his sleeve, excited like a kid on Aelfric’s Day morning. “That was express confirmation, Love! Spirit, are you in any way associated with the Royal Academy?” When that garners no response, Cyrus asks, “In that case, do you have a connection with one of us?”

Lights dance along the walls. The electronic wail rings in Tressa’s ears long after the machine stops.

She maybe thinks this was a bad idea.

“O-oh,” Cyrus stutters. “I… see. Well, then. That’s–that’s certainly–”

Somewhere out in the hall, a door slams shut with such force that it reverberates through the floor. Tressa can’t help it–she shrieks and flails away from the doorway. She bumps into H’aanit, who reflexively grabs her. Final Girl Tressa is going to be so real right now: in her terror and panic, she tries to climb H’aanit like a tree. This does not work, and instead she just stomps all over H’aanit’s boots while she hisses, “Tressa, calmen thyself, ’tis naught but a draft–”

“That wasn’t a fucking draft!” Therion curses. He sticks his head out the door and wildly darts his flashlight to and fro, searching for–oh god what if a serial killer snuck in after them and they’re all about to get stabbed to death and die gods that would suck Tressa still has her whole life ahead of her and she’s just about to hit one million subscribers and now she’ll never get that gold play button.

All the while, the REM pod wails. The electronic warble sounds louder and more frantic than ever. The lights flash rapidly, maniacally, and Tressa dimly thinks it shouldn’t be able to do that before the REM pod explodes.

…Okay, it doesn’t really explode so much as overheat and spark a little, killing both the dizzying lights display and the screams of the robotic damned.

Tressa’s heart beats a mile a minute, thundering in her chest and in her ears. She swears she can hear her friends’ hearts, too, each of them a part of some gruesome, horrible symphony. The only thing holding Tressa together at the moment is H’aanit’s sure, steady grasp.

What was that? What was any of that? The REM pod, that slam, the legit responses from something that came here with them–

It can’t be a good ghost. Not after that display. The way this room made her nauseous, the pervasive and otherworldly chill on this whole floor–no, a good ghost wouldn’t be so hostile. Any thoughts of that spirit being Alfyn’s mom fly right out the window. Maybe they were wrong about the Estes Method and Tressa wasn’t talking to Holly Greengrass at all. Maybe it was another spirit, and maybe that spirit wanted to make Alfyn upset. Maybe it wanted to make all of them upset.

Honestly? Tressa doesn’t care what the ghost’s motives are. All that matters is that the spirit only showed itself here at the academy. As soon as they leave, they’ll be free from it, and it’ll never, ever bother them again.

Tressa has filmed more than enough to throw together a video. She has no reason to stick around here any longer.

“Let’s–” Her voice catches in her throat. Tressa tries again. “Let’s just get out of here. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“I believe that would be for the best,” Olberic agrees. He’s the first to escape the spell laid upon them. He shrugs off his coat and bundles the REM pod inside it, mindful of any potential electric shock. “We can reconvene at our house and order pizza, if that sounds amenable?”

Pizza is always good. Tressa nods, finally extricating herself from H’aanit. “Yeah. We’ll rent a movie like we did last time.”

With a new plan of action, Tressa and her friends set into motion, gathering up their bags and booking it down the hall towards the stairwell. They do not see any serial killers or evil ghosts lurking in the dark. They do not hear any heavy slams. No, it is a very normal, very chill walk back to–

Tressa stops at the stairwell landing.

She looks down at the giant hole where a staircase once stood. In its place, a heap of rubble lay blocking the door that leads back out into the ground floor hall. It’s just gone. The exit–it’s gone.

They’re trapped.

[peachiesnake]

My little tl;dr and questionnaire for @sonic-oc-showdown !! tl;dr/questionnaire:

Genesis was born as Project Genesis! Due to his constant emotional outbursts and effectively ripping a hole through the ARK, Genesis was deemed a failure and put on lock down in the worst corner of the colony. There he was mistreated horribly to the point of becoming selective mute and losing the smile he always had. Shackles were also placed upon his wrists that effectively drew out his chaos energy and made him useless, only a select few could remove them with a certain key. On a late night walk with Shadow at her side 3 years later, Maria happened upon Genesis' pod, she wasn't supposed to even be in that area. She sets him free every few nights and he hardly ever speaks but when he does his voice sounds torn and like it hasn't been used in forever. Eventually they find out they found Genesis and allow him to live with the siblings as their big brother. (SKIPPING THE FALL OF THE ARK AS IT'LL GET TOO LONG HERE) Genesis awakes in a pod decades later, after the events of SA2, and finds himself with mild amnesia, not really understanding why hes not on the ARK but instead inside a home to a rabbit and doctor named Vita. They spend their time looking for Shadow and Maria not knowing shes passed.

Questionnaire:

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

I knew I wanted something that meant first or original! I couldn't find anything for a while that I really liked until I asked my bf his thoughts and he just said Genesis!

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

His mental age is 18! But he can as a trauma response age regress.

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

Hes with a rabbit named Vita!

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

He loooooves Taro! Specifically the raw root that you get slices of at hotpot!

💼 - What do they do for a living?

Doing usually what he wants but for a majority of his time in the beginning he spends it looking and hunting for Shadow.

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

Not really, he plays around with Cream a lot when Vita visits Vanilla!

🎯 -What do they do best?

Pretty much everything that's physical like Shadow, but hes exceptional at puzzles!

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

He loves gardening! It can calm him down usually. He HATES being in groups, when there gets to be too many people even if he likes them he can feel trapped.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

The second time Maria and Shadow came to visit! He wasn't sure of them at first, even scared. But he could see the kindness in Maria's eyes and felt a familial buzz in his ears looking at Shadow the second time around!

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

The abuse he endured that almost made him catatonic but was forced to live with because they threatened to do it to Shadow too if he didn't cooperate. (empty lies he had no choice but to believe).

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

No actually!! He had one other design to him that was a bit more gnc but I didn't like how the quills looked so I scrapped it.

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

I was originally making me and my friends as sonicsonas!! Just some silly fun but then I became deathly attached to Genesis and Vita and made a story with them with my bf!

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

I'd definitely say more psychological horror/thriller. A lot of what makes Genesis, Genesis is his mental state and how he views things. When he's done most of his healing then maybe slice of life?

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

He's male, but you can call him they or it too he doesn't care so long as you don't call him a girl. His sexuality is gay and he's aro!

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

Two!!!!! Shadow and Maria. :)

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

His relationship with Gerald was actually good! Though he very much still felt like a new kid around him despite knowing Gerald cared for him even a little. Genesis didn't meet doom, during the events of Shth he was looking specifically for Shadow to kill him and midway had a horrible mental break.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

He's got a huge heart despite it all!!!!!!

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

NOT ENOUGH!!! I have a full time job that usually takes a lot of my energy away, esp as the holidays are approaching.

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

I mean! Not officially. More like au's or for what if's.

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

Yelling, small spaces, being restricted in any way, the dark. ect

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

He doesnt have one yet! I made some fun art with Moss' oc Franz but nothing official. If anything, he fights Shadow but thats more personal and less rivalry.

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

A couple months!! Hes just a baby :)

[a-thirst-for-dunmer]

My favorite things about all my Skyrim followers:

KAIDAN

-wicked ass armor and weapon with fucking tigers on it

-realistic cursing in life or death situations

-literally the most realistic male dialogue ever with his corny ass innuendos. ‘This monument, does it remind you of me, love? Just kidding.’

-so goated in battle. Mans can kill a dragon so easy and i don’t need to do anything but look pretty

-ACCENT.

CARYALIND

-his hair is so fluffy. I bet it smells like roses and vanilla bean, what’s your secret bb

-such a sweetheart all the time. No wonder he can’t be Thalmor, he has too much heart for it

-fucking backstory. It’s very Zuko without villain redemption arc, and the fact that he still worries about the LDB thinking worse of him for being Thalmor royalty is just *chef’s kiss*

-ACE REP. I really fucking love how he can dress like a hoe, flirt like a hoe, and look so hot but have no interest in sex. Mmm that’s my jam that’s what I like.

-boob window

-Kaidan interactions! Proving that Altmer can be kind and sweet and not lighting-shooting British assholes

INIGO

-the backstories for everyone are so damn tearjerking but this guy?? Don’t even get me started on this mans scars I will cry

-literally autism. Says everything on his mind. Sir you are me

-blue. And a cat. What else??

-Lucien and him have a bromance that hits so good

-suplexes Nazeem with only his vibes

-sings original songs, where’s his soundcloud

KHASH

-okay first off i was writing a character just like her for the daughter of my LDB and Revyn. Never knew about her but this is Leeta come to life and i crave it

-pottymouth

-Kaidan Big Bro protection dialogue

-so happy when she kills things

-literally exactly what I expected a baby Argonian to sound like. So cute. So grumpy

-her outfit is just on point. If i hadn’t transitioned i would be cottagecore peasant dress woman with cats

LUCIEN

-like Cary, he is just sweet himbo no brain

-kid in a candy shop vibes. He is amazed by the wonders of this world

-the nerdiest mans you know, would probably never shut up about shit with Auryen but i haven’t gotten that far yet

-bottom energy

-AUTISM once again

-also sings!! Can sing ‘Toss a Coin to Your Witcher’ parody!!

AURI

-she is the Moment

-eats people and only meat. Wanna see someone react to ThatVeganTeacher with her as a vtuber model oml

-bullies Lucien (affectionately)

-cool pod

-looks like she could kill you and could actually kill you

-slams ALL haters and unworthy into the ground with her dialogue. Faendal ily but you don’t deserve her

RUMARIN

-a sweetheart himbo

-very Skilled with magic, specifically bound weapons. As someone who uses conjuration as their main line of magic, because dremora and bound bow go brr, I LOVE THAT

-not really good at speaking poorly of anyone tbh

-like lucien, he’s optimistic and fun to be around

-very…earthy. Jank. Grungy. Not what you’d expect from an Altmer, to be living as an adventurer mercenary, and i like that for him

-eats in bed, brain too empty to clean for long periods of time

-polyamorous pansexual King

-says Z like zed, which makes linguistics in Skyrim lore interesting

NEBARRA

-literally me

-sarcasm to the max

-name means ‘foreigner’ or ‘scorned’ or something transgender. anyway, king nihilist shit

-only wants the good wines

-also, the Accent, very good very sass

-Shakespearean insults for days

-also regular insults

-just…insults

-mystery and striking fear into the hearts of all

TALIESIN

-i thought no one could top Revyn in vibes of what Elder Scrolls character i would kin but then ✨he✨ came along

-no idea why Altmer are Brits but with him, i can vibe with it he sounds so good

-giggles evilly in fights

-s a s s

-pansexual!! We are putting queer in the game! (Even tho all vanilla spouses are, in the most Basic sense, bisexuals)

-the spice he can add with Cary as a protector/snarky best friend. I Need their backstory

-afraid of dogs, cat person

-just an absolute bitch to the Dragonborn but like in a way my gay friends are to me

-eyeliner on fleek

HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR SKEEVER AND CROC

-silly voice go brrr

[biggayenergypod]

In honor of Valentine's Day, we’ll be reading Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake for our February book of the month club! Grab a copy and head on over to the BGE discord to participate 💕

[beelsari]

Hey! Could I get an Obey Me matchup? Fluff or Smutt, I’m not picky, with any of the male cast.

My name is Kody, I’m 18, Gay and Trans (He/Him pronouns). I’m a zoology major, minoring in ASL. As far as hobbies, I’m an acrobat, horse rider, and makeup artist. I tend to be super excited and snarky. But I can also be pretty bitchy sometimes and if I don’t like you, you’re painfully aware of it.

Anywho, here’s my face lol

And thank you!!

I pair you with……

Asmo!!!

I think you guys are like two peas in a pod. You’re both easily excitable and feed off each others energy perfectly! You both have similar hobbies, which you love doing together. I also think Asmo would pull you out of your comfort zone, taking you to big events with him and constantly posting about you. You are both bright fun loving people, while is why I paired you with Asmo!

One day you and Asmo decided it would be fun to do each others makeup! Something you two do quite a lot as its a hobby for you both. Asmo also just likes to see your adorable face up close so its a win-win for him. Right now you’re straddled around Asmo perfecting the lip liner you just put on him but all you can think about is how soft and inviting his pretty lips look. Asmo can see your thoughts as he puts a hand under your chin and raises your head to see him. “What are you thinking about my lovely boy? “ he says cockily but also lovingly. You see a hint of lust in his eyes making you further flushed. “Nothing you’re just so pretty” you say to him. He grins wide while pulling your face up to his, “is that all hm? Why dont you show me how pretty you think I am” he says while smashing his lips into yours. This quickly turns into a heated makeout session, forgetting all about makeup. Asmo keeps you close and loves feeling all over your body, something he finds almost more beautiful than himself. He’s truly in love with his pretty little boyfriend. The rest of the night is long with smeared lipstick all over both your mouths.

[prof-peach]

I’d love to hear about professor Greys team! you mention them on occasion, would like to know more about them. Does Grey have something he specializes in?

For sure! Professor Grey is my partner, both in life and work, and he specialises in high energy species, such as fighting types, and held items! He’s a guy with a lot of energy, and runs many sports events for the pokemon on the island, to keep everyone social, happy and fit. He will crack ALL the dad jokes. 

Greys work led him to initially creating prosthetics for pokemon who have lost parts during battle or due to genetics. He had caught a docile Gyarados at the start of his journey who had no tail, and was forces on land, unable to swim correctly with its own kind. The missing tail spurred his first creation, and now that same water pokemon lives in the largest lake on our island, and is very sweet, able to swim, battle, and live her life to the fullest! Grey uses her often when visitors come by with preconceived notions about the species, as she’s very happy with strangers, comfortable with other pokemon, and not at all hostile like the dex likes to mention.

After the build of the new tail, he focused on items in general, he can forge blades, 3D print parts and limbs, and form new and unregistered held items for his team mates and those who come to him with a need for specialised equipment. His study has made him capable of creating held items that a pokeball will recognise and take in, as a lot of things aren't able to be ‘returned’ to the capture units. 

Currently he’s been tinkering with the pokeballs themselevs, unsatisfied with the state of stasis the pokemon within are held in, he’s been generating dream like states with code, so the pokemon has enrichment while within their pokeballs. It’s still a work in progress, but theres a lot of headway being made in the topic, and he’s slowly building more diverse and immersive worlds for pokemon within the balls. 

When he’s not working, its either high energy sports, or he’ll take to the water. He loves it out there, and being on an island, he has a lot of chances to ride waves with one of the many water pokemon. since meeting him, he’s become fond of Bonsai keeping, his one truly calm activity, and tends to them in a quiet corner on slow days.

His main team mix with mine a lot, we've been together so long now, they're kind of all one big team/family, but those registered to him as his main party include:

Garchomp - Ginseng ( A friendly, loving dude, with a lot of personlaity)

Lucario - Gai (A energetic and perhaps over enthusiastic, hyper-positive Pokemon)

Houndoom - Saxon (docile in his old age, but certainly not complacent)

Cubone - Harley (his oldest pokemon, a grouch, but quite adaptive!)

Aside from those three, he’s got a handful of Charizard, used for forging and Rocket defence around the island in the skies, and his years of travel have led him to keeping a lot of Gyarados aside from the one without the tail, that travel in a pod along our coastline, keeping the waters safe from invading boats and subs. He loves Relicanth, and so weve ended up taking in quite a few of those, seeing as we have the waters for them, its a good fit for him. 

In the above image, technically Pam, Andy and Olly, Zeke, Jo, Harley and Vladimir are all his pokemon, and they do have respective blurb about them on the blog.

Theres an old Scyther that hangs about in his bonsai area, a Carracosta that chills in the pond out behind our house, and a Nidoking that is very sweet and handles a lot of the baby water pokemon who come to us with no parents. Grey’s recently found a Sawsbuck that came in with a dodgy spine, a few surgeries and its on the mend but the two bonded, and i doubt it’ll leave after its recovery, we have a few of them around, it could easily enjoy a life with its own kind, with Grey, and in a safe environment. Oh, theres a very young Dieno thats imprinted to him quite recently, no name as of yet, and he’s got a messenger Talonflame that comes and goes with notes if the phone signals dodgy, which is pretty often, our island hasn't got the best connection.

Most individuals he’s worked with in the lab will end up adoring the guy, he’s a ray of sunshine, especially next to me, and often a pokemon who he’s aided will return to him many times, for company and to offer help should he need it. He’s like a bright light, things just kind of flock to him, they get his good intentions.

He’s a bit like me, we’ve released a lot of partners over the years to allow them to go off and have a life of their own, and so whats left behind is usually for work, or bonded for life. 

He’s very much the opposite to me, but together we make a complete picture, and the labs work smoothly when we’re both around.

[pineapplebread]

Can we talk about a Pacific Rim AU where Steve hasn’t piloted a jaeger in years and retired from public life since his last drift partner Bucky died on a mission? And then Fury calls him back to the Shatterdome when a new invasion attacks and he meets Tony? And they’re both sad and too gay to function but there are giant robots and aliens and soulmatism? Okay, buckle up:

Steve Rogers was part of the first groups of pilots for the experimental jaeger program headed by Nick Fury, Howard Stark, and Peggy Carter and sponsored by SHIELD. It was a group created to fight the threat of alien invasions that came out of a rift in the ocean floor, monsters called kaiju. Jaegers (giant robots) were built in response to fight these threats.

It was with Steve that they discovered that it takes more than one pilot to successfully run a jaeger, and with two minds joined with the robot, it is significantly more powerful and better controlled. The catch is that the pilots must be completely in sync with one another, or “drift compatible.” By being in the drift together, they have access to each other’s thoughts, memories, intentions, and it takes a lot of trust to drift.

Steve’s co-pilot is Bucky Barnes, his childhood best friend. Together they pilot Captain America, the most advanced jaeger of the fleet at the time. They’re one of the most successful teams, with the highest kaiju kill count. They become national heroes and are often sent out to take care of the most difficult and dangerous missions. 

On one such mission, everything goes horrifically wrong, and Bucky dies in action. Steve is devastated. They were still in the drift when Bucky was ripped out of the cockpit by the kaiju, and the severance of his mind where it connected with Steve’s nearly drove him crazy. It took everything he could to finish the kaiju and survive. After that mission and Bucky’s death, Steve swears he will never pilot another jaeger again, he can’t. He disappears from the public eye and lives a quiet life in the wilderness, until the day Nick Fury comes knocking on his door.

The invasions are coming in quicker succession, he’s told. SHIELD has lost many good pilots, and there are few who can do what Steve and Bucky did. He’s needed again. There’s a war to fight. It takes a lot to convince Steve, but it’s been over ten years, and while he still misses Bucky, maybe Steve can fight for the greater good again. He agrees to meet with Fury in the New York Shatterdome.

There, Steve meets young Tony Stark. He’s the son of the late Howard Stark who had co-founded the jaeger program (Howard and his wife were assassinated by anti-jaeger extremists who think the existence of jaegers invite kaiju invasions). Tony is the head of the Jaeger Advancement Research Venture Institution Syndicate and he’s rebuilding the old jaegers as well creating new ones with better weapons and defense. He created arc reactor technology to pilot new jaegers with more efficient clean energy. He got his hands on Steve’s old rig, Captain America and not only fixed her but made her a new shield with a magnetic return and better recoil as well as an updated AI system Tony built himself.

Tony is intelligent and sarcastic and ridiculous and Steve is painfully reminded of Bucky. Tony takes no shit and doesn’t pull his punches, and he’s sharp as a whip, but he’s also kind and understanding, and his big brown eyes are so sad. Steve can’t help but be drawn into Tony’s orbit but he can’t pay afford to attention to that because he needs to find a new partner and he was told Tony isn’t an option. He’s not a pilot.

Steve runs through a gamut of potential drift partners and none of them work. He’s not drift compatible with any of them. He misses Bucky, and he doesn’t think it’s possible to drift ever again. His mind is too loud to let anyone else in. Fury finds him more candidates. They aren’t compatible either. 

Meanwhile Tony has been on the sidelines taking notes to collect the data. Steve has a sudden idea, and maybe maybe maybe. Why not?  He wants to try with Tony. Tony recoils. He says no. “Apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others.” 

The newest kaiju horde they named the Chitauri are at their doorsteps. Steve still doesn’t have a partner. He’s at a point where he thinks he’s just going to get into Cap by himself. At the last moment, as he’s suiting up for the final test run, Tony comes in and says he can try to see if a drift with Steve would work, but he warns him he’s not the kind of guy to lay down on the wire for others. Steve smiles and doesn’t believe him. 

They’re drift compatible. Their connection is stronger than anything Steve has ever felt and there are a few bumps in the road when they train, they often clash and they fight a lot, but this is it. This is the bond he’s looking for.

When they’re in the drift together, Steve realizes that Tony’s reservations about being a pilot are because his best friend, James Rhodes had been a jaeger pilot, now retired after his injuries. Tony had been in War Machine with Rhodes when the mission had gone horribly wrong and Rhodes was injured, resulting in the loss of the use of his legs. Afterwards, Tony became obsessed with building more powerful jaegers to keep his friends, and the world safe. Tony just wants to build suit of armor around the world.

They end up piloting Captain America together. The battle begins, and they’re part of the front line with Thor and Bruce Banner who copilot Thundering Hulk, and Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton who copilot Widow Archer. They almost all get destroyed in the first wave of the invasion. They survive, but just barely. 

After Steve is knocked unconscious during the initial battle, and they’re surrounded by Chitauri with no way out, Tony ejects Steve from the cockpit in a lifepod and stares down the horde himself. He still has a nuclear payload strapped to Cap but her autopilot function is shot, and there’s only one way to get the payload close enough to have any effect. Tony knows it’s going to be a one way trip but he needs to manually pilot into the portal the Chitauri had opened in the tectonic plates deep in the ocean and detonate it there. 

Somehow, Tony manages to send Captain America into the portal and just barely survives after ejecting in a lifepod at the last moment. The old jaeger is lost, but the mission is successful, and the nuclear detonation in the portal manages to close the wormhole and kill the remaining kaiju. 

On the surface, Steve regains consciousness thinks he’s just lost yet another driftmate and copilot when Tony’s pod bobs up in the water. Steve rips open the door of the pod to find Tony unconscious, and he fears the worst, but Tony wakes after CPR. After Tony says, “please tell me nobody kissed me,” Steve could weep with relief. 

Tony babbles, apologizing that he destroyed Cap, he’s sorry, he’ll rebuild her again, even better this time, but Steve doesn’t care. He’s just so happy Tony is alive, he hauls him in for a kiss, and for the first time in a long time, his mind quiets.

And Tony does rebuild Captain America. He adds rocket launchers, repulsors, and gold to her red, white and blue. Her new call sign is Iron Patriot.

[bealittleimprobable]

Generations

I've poked around a bit before about looking at the aliens through various lenses - in terms of mapping them on to real life groups. Something I keep coming back to is my own view as a disabled person, where I think one of our big challenges is we often don't have our elders or previous generation available to us - people who've been through what we're going through now and can show us a vision of the future.

And it had me thinking about the characters. The big difference between Original Roswell and Roswell, New Mexico is the age. But the whole "I'm an adult and now entirely independent" is a myth. And quite a few of this lot need an older adult right now.

Entire Pod Squad (+ Dallas, and to a certain extent Maria and Mimi) - needs someone to tell them about where they come from. They know who they are but they don't know what, and they have literally no way of finding out. They're still a bunch of kids together trying to come up with a language and rules for how things work, from scratch.

Rosa - needs someone with more experience with sobriety. Someone who has been through the anniversaries, highs, lows, challenges, and day to day, and can support her in that and show her what long-term looks like.

Isobel - needs a woman or women who have escaped from abusive relationships and moved on to good lives. So she can see what the work she needs to do in herself to heal looks like, and see the good possibilities beyond that.

Alex - needs a father's approval. Some people with his kind of upbringing run from anything like that, some people are still looking for it (and a whole range of behaviour/emotion in between). Alex strikes me as someone who is still looking for that. (I know we made "Daddy" jokes about Ramos but Eduardo was definitely leaning on Dad Energy.) (I still think he also needs gay community, and that's a mix of peers and older.) So... this one is a little more complicated.

This isn't complete but I ran out of steam, so I'm just going to put it out there.

[whatiwillsay]

Ok so Cam I guess I am the anon who sent the insane drivel so that's embarrassing. It seems like my writing skills are very very bad (I'm ESL, your pods actually have helped with my English) bc that's genuinely not what I was trying to say lol. I'm a big Sally Rooney fan so I'm biased but I loved the book and actually really enjoyed the show, it was imo a very good adaptation of the source material. I wasn't trying to say that gaylors (I'm a Swiftgron believer so I myself am a gaylor) were the reason it's being bad received by reviewers lmfao that's on whatever weird accent Joe tried to do and just the general awkwardness of the show lol. Girl trust me I do NOT want to fuck Joe🤮🤮🤮 I'm too gay, I said I'm bi bc I kissed a guy once but I mostly date/hook up with women. I just meant that it's not worth it to shit on the show for the sake of anti-ing Joe bc he's the least interesting and most boring part of it like honestly. I mean shit on it if you want but not for his sake lol. Alison and Sasha are amazing and I really felt one of my recent wlw experiences mirrored in the dynamic between Bobbi and Frances. I just meant to say that if gaylors are gonna watch CWF we should focus on the queer storylines instead of Joe's meh character yk why give him more attention when we have queer content to focus on, that's just silly and makes us look like freaks. The protagonist is bi and the other two female characters are queer, and one of the actresses Sasha Lane is queer irl. So since it's getting sm attention, I thought it's a good opportunity to relish on an LGBTQ main character/s and storyline, that's all. Didn't mean to be offensive in any way.

Also, I hope you get well soon, being sick sucks. Hopefully you'll get better soon🙏

ok babe well your English was great that was not my issue with your post just that it seemed like you are trying to blame the show's failings on gaylors when gaylors literally have nothing to do with it. i'm glad you liked the show but not everyone will. many unbiased critics watched it and simply did not like it and were not impressed with joe's lackluster performance. that has nothing to do with a few gaylor fanatics on twitter being obnoxious.

but i haven't said a word about the show just mentioned the reviews and hosted people's takes on it so idk why you're bringing all this defensive energy to me. i'm not out on twitter saying joe looks like a serial killer or whatever.

i'm glad you enjoyed the show! that's awesome. but not everyone will. a show simply including gay characters doesn't automatically make it good.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

09/08-09/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Leslie Jones Bday; Rose City Comic Con (Rhys, Kristian, Vico, Matt); Nathan Foad; Alex Sherman; Vico Ortiz; Dominic Burgess; Rachel House; Samba Schutte; Baby Baby Baby Reminder from AdoptOurCrew; Tell Tale TV Voting Results; Fan Spotlight: IllustoryArt Affirmation Cards; Big Gay Energy Podcast;

Hey Lovelies, the way things are going, I'm gonna aim for 2 day recaps for now, I know that kinda messes with the name, but hey! Hope you're all staying healthy and safe <3

== Leslie Jones Birthday ==

Happy Belated Birthday to Leslie Fucking Jones! Her birthday was Sept 7!

Source: Leslie's Instagram

== Rose City Comic Con (Rhys, Kristian, Vico, Matt) ==

The weekend wrapped up with more and more fun with the crew! Kristian even got to meet a llama during RCCC! .. apparently Nathan in disguise!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

Our fabulous crewmate MentalDevass over on twitter was such a sweetie and allowed me share this super cute interaction with Rhys on the recap tonight! <3 Thanks hon!

Source: MentalDevass's Twitter

Lots of shots of the panel from Seattle Refined!

Source: Seattle Refined

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan telling Germany he'll see them soon! Looks like he'll be joining the StuttGart ComicCon happening at the end of November!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram

== Alex Sherman ==

Alex is out seeing Beetlejuice!

Source: Alex Sherman's Instagram Stories

== Samba Schutte ==

"Take Me To Your Baker"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samba Schutte (@sambaschutte)

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico is Narrating a new book-- "American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era"! Wanna preorder it? Here's some options!

Booktoopia

Libro.Fm

Audible

Barnes & Noble

Source: Queer News Instagram

== Dominic Burgess ==

Happy Star Trek Day to all who celebrate! Dominic sends his regards!

and also-- more Cat Content!

(And although this was prior to the news, very appropriate given the passing of the Late, Great, James Earl Jones. Rest In Peace sir <3)

Source: Dominic's Twitter

Dominic also shared the good news about his current show --Congrats to the Team of Palm Royale for winning an emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music!

== Rachel House ==

Rachel was out promoting the fabulous TE MAUNGA at that Toronto International Film Festival!

Source: Collider Instagram

== Baby Baby Baby Reminder ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew are promoting the Baby, Baby, Baby Event! Remember to schedule your tweets!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Tell Tale TV Voting Results ==

Source: Tell Tale TV / Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Illustory Art - Affirmation Cards! =

I cannot tell you how much I absolutely adore how our brilliant community continues to spread love, kindness, and support. Tonight's new Fan Spotlight is on Illustory Art! Illustory does absolutely adorable and beautifully colored illustrations, pins, and fan-themed affirmation cards! I'm sure you've seen some of their charming work around-- they've done so much fun stuff for the Doctor Who, Good Omens, and OFMD community! Do you have one of their affirmation decks by chance?

If not, and you're interested -- there's some great news -- coming this Friday, Sept 13, new preorders are becoming available on Illustory's Ko-Fi!

OFMD Season 2 Booster

Full OFMD Deck

and a new set-- What We Do In the Shadows!

The WWDITS set was made in collaboration with apolin.art, another gorgeous illustrator! If you'd like to see more of their works-- or put in a preorder, you can follow the two of them on their socials below!

Illustory's Socials: Ko-Fi / Linktr.ee / Instagram / Tumblr / Twitter

Apolin Art's Socials: Linktr.ee / Instagram / Twitter

== Big Gay Energy Pod ==

New episode of Big Gay Energy Podcast comes out on Wednesday! They'll be discussing the OFMD Cancellation with their friend Chloe!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Big Gay Energy (@biggayenergypod)

Source: Big Gay Energy Podcast Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Tonight, since the delightful Illustory Art gave me permission to spotlight some of their works, I'm gonna add a couple from their Good Omens Deck to the Love Notes since I just feel so warm and fuzzy inside when I look at them <3 Remember lovelies that you can do anything. You don't have to do everything, even though sometimes it feels like you need to-- but you have the potential to do so many many wonderful things. Please be kind to yourself and give yourself a break, you're getting to where you want/need to go in your own time. Rest up and keep on keeping on <3

Source: Illustory Art's Instagram

[nekophiliaff]

how they move (a personal reference)

I said I was going to do a Twitter thread for my headcanons on how the characters dance in my GenIno socmed au When You Move (I’m Moved). But there was just so much to unpack. 

So my self-indulgent ass wrote a whole LONG ASS post instead!!

Most of these are just for the benefit of the the story (Sakura being unable to look alluring when dancing to sexy choreos lmao) but some of these I believe would be true outside of the story (Hinata having ballet experience, Shikamaru is a tutting machine). 

Genma Shiranui

Big Daddy G mainly dances hiphop but he is not master of one style/technique (whereas kks is god of popping and isolation, obi is a b-boy). BUT.

HE IS AMAZING AT CHOREOGRAPHY N FREESTYLE. THIS MAN. PUT ON ANY SONG. HE WILL DANCE. BEAUTIFULLY. JAZZ. HOUSE. SALSA. ANYTHING. You best believe this sexy motherfucker memorized TaeYang's Wedding Dress choreo in high school and decided from then on that he was going to be a dancer.

Ino Yamanaka

Ex-cheerleader (position: dancer and backup flyer). Used to be stiff but loosened up after time away from cheering. Mostly hiphop n absolute beast with sexy dance (but ALSO contemporary bc she is flexible ((but not as flexible as hinata)) n not afraid to fall. Oops.).

Think BP's Lisa. She takes choreo. ELEVATES IT. Sets the blueprint. Shows you what it's supposed to look like. Every choreographer's dream. Plus, she knows to communicate with the audience while performing. She is trained NOT to get too carried away or too lost in the moment.

Obito “Veto” Uchiha 

Obito loves breakdancing. He's not as fast or powerful as Gai and Lee but he knows how to work the floor. His moves are cleaner, more cohesive than the capoeira duo. When it comes to choreography, this man is GOOD but tends to FORGET STEPS bc he's TOO INTO THE MOVEMENT.

ALSO: "Naruto, Kiba, look! The parking lot is empty, let's do tUMBLES!!!!" Does stunts with Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, Lee, and Neji.

Rin Nohara

Not originally a dancer. It will show when she's dancing with everyone else. BUT. The experience also comes across because she will never look out of place. She will execute choreo AS IT IS INTENDED.

Think how BoA dances in "Only One" or Kahi in Wall to Wall. It LOOKS EASY and SIMPLE when in reality, it's actually very difficult and requires understanding of how your body will move and look like (because if someone who isn't aware of their own body tried the Only One dance, it would most likely look AWKWARD.)

Kakashi “Kash” Hatake 

This man. Is GOD of classic locking, popping, and isolation. Will never give more power than is required of the choreo. His movements are smooth. Clean. Precise. He has full understanding and control of his body. Good in freestyle. Revels in minute movements.

Weakness? Do NOT expect him to CHOREOGRAPH a whole routine. He cannot. For the life of him. Create a routine.

Sakura Haruno

She. Is an absolute BEAST. This woman will stand beside Naruto and Chouji. and KRUMP. Total opposite of Kakashi's precision. She can pop like kks but hers is not as clean bc she puts more power in releasing her muscles. If they danced together, it would prolly look like this (skip to 0:38).

Sakura cannot EVER look alluring in a sexy choreo. She's got too much power (and swag). She can dance it. But it doesn't look sexy on her. It comes across more as attitude.

Tenten

Took martial arts as a kid (arnis). Transferred all that athleticism into dance. Will get doWN ON THE FLOOR WITH THE B-BOYS MAN (it's why she always got her hair tied) and just SPIN.

Also: Freestyle! When outside of a dance circle (a “cypher”), Tenten will make use of the surroundings to dance. practicing in the park?? ok lemme just juMP ON THAT LAMP POST and DANCE. parking lot??? OMG it’s veto’s car lemme just kick on it a lil bit on Rin’s behalf. 

Hinata Hyuuga

Took ballet as a kid. HATED the control. HATED being too restricted. Taught herself contemporary and eventually hip hop (oh how the Hyuuga clan GASPED). Helps Genma choreograph contemporary numbers for S-Rank but mostly dances them with Sasuke.

As for hip hop, Hinata SERVES!!! Sakura’s POWER is overwhelming but Hina will hold her own just fine and will KILL YOU with the attitude in her EYES ok. Hinata working sexy routines with Rin is also a must-see.

Sasuke Uchiha*

Took ballet as a kid. Go-to guy for contemporary numbers. Only trusts Hinata to choreograph (and dance with) for contemp bc she's the only one WHO UNDERSTANDS the forms and techniques.

In hip hop, like Rin, he does the choreo AS INTENDED. He is also used for stunts sometimes because he jumps high n come on twinkle toes let's use that ballet experience to good use.

Shikamaru “Bullshik” Nara

No words for the TUTTING GENIUS. Clean angles. Fast hands. Can create scENERIES USING A WHOLE TEAM'S FINGERS, HANDS, ARMS, ELBOWS with his choreography. Ya know, like this but faSTER. 

Like Kakashi, he is also a master of popping and isolation. Not so much locking. Locking needs a lil more energy to pull off. He's too tired for that.

Shino Aburame

ROBOTIC. That's it. Jk. Also a master of popping, locking, and isolation but he has a specific style he sticks to whereas Kakashi is mostly just freestylin it n feeling the groove. Kash actually likes dancing with Shino and Shikamaru (my lovely funky trio). But Shino is mostly focused on his own thing. 

The one time Shino choreographed, Kakashi danced with him n it looked like this (it mellow af man).

Chouji “Ciao” Akimichi

S-Rank's very own KRUMP KING. Chouji is POWER incarnate. And only Sakura and Naruto can stand next to him, dance next to him when he's doing his thing. He may not be as FAST and AGILE as his teammates but. He will CRUSH choreo if u tell him to let loose. 

Break a leg? Chouji will BREAK THE FUCKIGN FLOOR with this routine!!!! 

Naruto Uzumaki

Almost a male version of Sakura only he isn’t afraid of stunts (yea she can’t even cartwheel). Takes ur Tiktok choreos and gives it the ENERGY it deserves!!!!! But, like Obito, he tends to FORGET CHOREO esp when he's feelin the music.

Also the glorified HYPE MAN of S-Rank. Someone else dancing in the circle? “YEEEAAAAA WORK IT!!!!!” Dancing WITH the team during training or on stage? “AYE AYE AYE LETS GOOOOO” his energy is CONTAGIOUS. 

Kiba Inuzuka

This man. An absolute SLUT FOR STUNTS. He rly prefers doing stunts than the dancing, tbh. Always pulling Naruto so they can practice whatever NEW THING he came up with!!!! (he mostly likes stunts bc the more impressive, the more the crowd cheers and he is a whore for cheers) he'd totally come up with smth like this with naruto, genma, and obito!

He is also good at creating choreo. But Kiba, pls STOP with the pelvic thrusts. Not all the routines need a pelvic thrust, u horndog. 

Neji “NJ” Hyuuga 

You mean ALL 3 JUNIOR members (and Gai) have martial arts experience?!??? Neji has a black belt in Taekwondo but that doesn’t matter. he is mostly just here for choreography. BUT this man is precise af. Never misses a beat. Is all about hitting those complimentary beats in between counts and listens for other instruments in the song.

Rock Lee (and Maito Gai*) 

Lee and Gai (both have some training in capoeira). Two peas in a pod. Both super into old school hiphop and breakdancing!!!!! Before Gai's injury, he and Gai were the ULTIMATE B-BOY duo. 

*Sasuke and Gai (along with Kurenai and Asuma) are no longer part of S-Rank, sadly. 

Ending note: I might make another post with just links to choreos and who I feel they belong to lmao bc this was way too fun to conceptualize. I didn’t include choreos to GenIno bc I don’t wanna spoil some of the other stuff lmao.

[atamascolily]

lily reads “Aftermath: Life Debt” by Chuck Wendig

This was one of the first nu-canon novels to come out in 2016, meant to fill the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. So far, all of the nu-canon stuff has been readable (unlike, say, some of Legends’ more memorable failures) but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Wendig’s writing is the most exciting and engaging I have encountered to date.

The problem is, of course, that he keeps using it to accomplish things I disagree with, but I am sure he did the best he could within the constraints Disney gave him and I don’t take it personally.

Anyway, I had to skip the first Aftermath book because it’s AWOL from the library right now, but fortunately, Wendig is pretty good about explaining How We Got Here without huge infodumps, so I got oriented pretty fast.

This book is written in present tense, which also surprised me. Even though I have read several pro-published novels that use present tense, I’m still not used to seeing it outside of fanfic, and it feels delightfully novel. I like present tense because it encourages concrete verbs, as well as a sense of immediacy and groundedness in the action (which is one reason I use it in fics). Present tense forces me to be a better writer precisely because it doesn’t come naturally. But I also enjoy it as a reader. 

Life Debt is set immediately post-Battle of Endor in 5 ABY. Leia is a few months pregnant. Luke is name-dropped a few times, but never appears. (Sigh.) Han is upset that the New Republic is dragging its feet on liberating Kashyyyk and he and Chewie decide to take matters into their own hands. When things go wrong, Leia asks Wendig’s OC Nora Wexley and her crew to bring him back.

Nora Wexley was one of the Y-wing pilots at the Battle of Endor. Now she roams the galaxy hunting Imperials for New Republic bounty, with a motley assortment of beings. There’s Sinjir, ex-Imperial and gay; Jas Emari, a Zabrak bounty hunter; and Jom Barell, who didn’t have any defining personality traits that stuck in my mind outside of his on-again, off-again friends-with-benefits with Jas;. There’s also her teenage son Temmin “Snap” Wexley and the refurbished battle droid he built as a personal bodyguard, Mr. Bones. Mr. Bones is an unrepentant murderbot and utterly delightful, especially when he tries to “blend in” by being more human.

More backstory: Nora joined the Rebellion after her husband Brentin was imprisoned by the Empire and presumed dead. Nora and Wedge have a thing as well. Mon Mothma is chancellor of the New Republic, and Leia is... I’m not sure what her official title is.

Meanwhile, on Team Empire, there’s Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, ostensibly in charge of a large slice of the Imperial Remnant, but who is being manipulated--to her deep resentment--by a man named Gallius Rax with ties to both Palpatine and Jakku. Sloane tortured Wedge in the previous book and Nora is frustrated she didn’t kill the Grand Admiral when she had the chance.

There’s also a hilarious sequence where the guy running Coruscant tries to surrender and Mon Mothma and Leia refuse because he doesn’t have anything they especially want.

In addition to the main plot, there are also short chapters titled “Interludes” showing various doings in the wider galaxy. I think a lot of these are supposed to be tie-ins for other material because they mostly don’t have any relevance to the current storyline. There’s one about a Vader-inspired death cult on Corellia, a pirate queen named Eleodie, Alderaanians mining asteroids from their former homeland and arguing about politics, Twi’leks freeing Ryloth, Malakili the ex-rancor-keeper gets a new job training a baby Hutt (?? - would have liked to hear more about that one!). I like the one about Maz Kanata’s castle, even though it still makes NO SENSE in terms of world-building.

I like Sinjir’s relationship with his slicer boyfriend, and I like that from his perspective, it’s not that the Empire particularly cares about homosexuality per se, (as long as you’re discreet about it), but the Empire uses relationships to manipulate and control people, so being open about them is a form of weakness. Just brings home the point that the Empire is a piece of shit (which is why it’s so hard for me to care about Rae Sloane or any of the scheming on Team Empire).

I don’t think I like Sinjir as a person, mind you, but he is certainly interesting, and he has no illusions that he’s a good guy, even though he’s now working against the Empire.

Also, there’s a bounty hunter named Mercurial Swift, which is the most metal name ever, and cameos from Brendol Hux, who ran some sort of boarding school, and whose bastard son is name-dropped occasionally.

No one will be surprised that my favorite scene is Leia meditating next to a sanctuary tree sapling on Chandrila she grew from a seed that Wicket gave her, and she touches the Force for the first time, and realizes that her child is a boy. Nice.

Anyway, Nora and her team find Solo--Chewbacca is a prisoner on Kashyyk when their rebellion attempt failed--and they sneak into a prison called Ashmead’s Lock on Kashyyyk, which happens to be where Nora’s husband Brentin has been this whole time! The prisoners have been stuck in stasis pods and mined for energy in a Matrix-like scenario that really should have been explored more, but they bust out, with Nora taking the prisoners home and Han and Chewie continuing to lead the rebellion.

Time skip! Brentin is distant and has PTSD, Snap is angry and acting out, Nora feels guilty because she’s attracted to Wedge and she isn’t able to connect with her husband anymore. Wedge is, of course, heartbroken.

Sloane comes to Chandrila for peace talks, and Leia leaves to go after Han on Kashyyk when Mon Mothma refuses to back her up. She ends up getting Wedge to come with her for back-up, and her pilot is Evaan Verlaine from the comics (nice to see you Evaan!)

Meanwhile, the Empire continues to be a piece of shit on Kashyyyk, and it’s way more graphic than I expected this book to go. They get what’s coming to them eventually, when Han and his team disable the chips that are keeping all the Wookiees prisoner. 

The peace talks turn out to be a trap engineered by Gallius Rax--all of the prisoners from Kashyyyk are brainwashed to start murdering people at the big ceremony and Mon Mothma narrowly avoids assassination at Brentin’s hands thanks to Nora’s quick reflexes. Sloane escapes, is super-pissed about being manipulated yet again by Rax, and she and Brentin (who also wants revenge) go to Jakku to follow up on a lead about Rax’s past.

Han ends up stealing a Star Destroyer, and Leia saves the day, and they finally kiss and make up and it’s lovely. Han leaves Chewie behind on Kashyyyk to be with Leia. Norra and her remaining team members go after Sloane.

But the biggest disappointment, of course, is the New Republic’s inability to liberate Kashyyyk, which I think epitomizes the difference between Disney’s version of Star Wars and Legends for me. In Legends, it was never a question that our heroes would liberate Kashyyyk; that was important and the entire point of the Rebellion. Even though it happened more or less off-screen, it was mentioned and cited as proof of the New Republic’s victory and triumph. So to see Mon Mothma and Ackbar trying to dissuade Leia from this is just... wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Like I said, I think Wendig’s hands were tied on this one, but it just... lands wrong. It will never not feel wrong. Is it grittier and more “realistic” this way? Maybe, but what is the point?

Overall,  this is an action-packed adventure, with lots of good moments and funny bits that feel very much “Star Wars” to me. The interludes range from fan service-y to “hey, that’s neat, tell me more!” to  “wow, is there going to be a payoff for this years down the line?” In general, I find Disney Star Wars depressing as hell, but despite the downers I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. Like I said at the beginning, this is probably the best nu!canon thing I’ve read to date outside of the Shattered Empire comics. 

I came to like most of Wendig’s OCs, even though I’d really rather read about characters I already know--like, say, Luke! Imagine that!

(I don’t know why Disney thinks we’re not interested in what Luke’s doing, but tbh they write him so poorly when they bother that I’m not really sure I want them to.)