#cross gene fanfics

[cocoeclipse]

A Separate Interview

I took a deep breath as I entered the building. It felt off-putting to be the one entering the building rather than dropping Finny off in front of it; for me to be the center of attention and nobody else. The entrance room was small with a brown carpet and couch. The walls were a simple off-white color with pictures of the student radio hosts. On the wall to the left of the door– the side the couch was facing– there was a large window into the recording room, bordered by a simple wooden frame. On the opposite side of the entrance door, was a wood door with a clear window to see into the room and above it an “On Air” sign, which led to the recording room. As I sat on the couch, I couldn’t help but reflect on what got me here; writing that novel. A Separate Peace was only meant to help my patients understand the impact of lack of communication; not be an award-winning book. It was meant to explain the complexities of jealousy, admiration, and friendship as well as how they intertwine with one another; not a popular story simplified down into something unrecognizable. Most of all, it was to display how war affects the mind; not encourage people to force themselves or their kids towards war.

I was never supposed to be interviewed over it.

“Mr. Forrester,” someone called, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. I looked up and saw a student standing in the doorway. He looked to be an Upper Middler– so about 16– and was wearing a black suit and white undershirt; fairly standard attire for a radio show host. “We’re ready for your interview,” he continued. I stood up and walked into the recording room. It was pretty small with a desk and a pair of chairs in the center. On the desk, sat a panel with buttons and knobs; probably controlling the radio’s music and talking segments. In front of the chairs were microphones, one preset to a specific height and one unadjusted. The host sat in the chair with the preadjusted mic, so I sat down in the other chair and pulled the mic down to my height.

“So, Mr. Forrester,” the host began, “my name is Todd. Are there any specific questions you would like me to ask once the broadcast starts?”

“Nope,” I replied, “as long as it doesn’t pertain to my personal life, you can ask me anything.”

“GREAT! We’re going to go live in just a few minutes, so I hope you’re ready.”

I sat in the chair composing myself for the next five minutes, this was just an interview. Finny does these all the time and I’ve done multiple to get to where I am today; so why were my hands shaking? Why was I so nervous? I took some deep breaths while I waited for Todd to announce that the radio station was live 

“Welcome back to WPEA with your host, Todd!” he announced. “As always, today we have an alumni interview, if you could introduce yourself,” he continued, switching the focus over to me.

I took a deep breath before beginning, “Hello students of Devon. My name is Gene Forrester. I’m an author and psychologist who was part of Devon’s class of 1943.” I took another calming breath before continuing, “My most recent and most popular work is A Separate Peace.”

“Thank you for coming Mr. Forrester; now, my first question is, what inspires you to write your books? I’ve read a few of them and they’re quite good.”

“Thank you, I’ve worked quite hard on them,” I admitted. “Most of my books are written to help my patients or their families understand mental health problems. Some are more specific while some were primarily passion projects, but overall I wrote my books to help the public to understand how different actions are caused by or affect people’s mentality,” I explained nervously.

“That’s quite interesting to learn, sir. Now, pertaining to your most recent book, what most heavily inspired the novel?” Todd inquired.

“Well, there are a few things I wanted to touch on in A Separate Peace,” I started, conjuring up confidence I didn’t have. “First was the importance of communication in a relationship, specifically friendships,” I continued, omitting that Finny and I began dating later that summer. “Another important topic was jealousy. The combination of these things is what causes the main conflict. Finally– and I think most importantly– was how war affects the mind. Most of my patients and friends have experienced the effects of World War Two, and I feel that it is important to show how much it affects people, especially those who are younger.”

“Wow, Mr. Forrester, that’s quite a noble reason for writing your book,” Todd replied. I felt myself blush with a bit of embarrassment. Out of all my pieces, A Separate Peace had been the least noble. While the book may appear admirable, I wrote it as more of a self-dissection and reflection than anything else. A passion project, if you will. “Moving onto the plot of your book, what inspired the specific scenes in the novel? And were any of them based on your real life?”

I chuckled, thinking about the most important moments. “Well, most of the scenes in the summer were real events with some slight discrepancies of course.”

“Could you elaborate on those changes for us? I’m sure our listeners are eager to hear the details,” prompted Tom.

“Of course!” I replied, “The main changes include a slight change to the dialogue of the beach scene, the spiraling over Finny hating me during chapter 4, and jouncing the limb. The dialogue change was done to further explain the importance of communication and the other scenes were the byproduct of that,” I explained.

 “During the scene at Finny’s home, there were two changes, though neither of them were particularly important, so I don’t think I need to go into detail over them.” I paused here, thinking of other important scenes. “The ordeal with Quackenbush was based on interactions some of the other boys had with him, I don’t remember which exactly. Most of chapter 7 is the same except for the application to the war. The inverse can be said about chapter 8, as the only real event is when Finny told me the winter loves him and that whole conversation.” I took another pause to think about what to say next, and avoid mentioning anything about my relationship with Finny.

“Chapters nine and ten– that’s the Winter Carnival and my talk with Leper– are mostly unchanged except for Finny’s leg being broken. Chapters 11 through 13 on the other hand are almost complete fabrications. To be honest, the end of my time at Devon was actually pretty nice; the novel’s ending was written solely for narrative purposes. I guess a slight inspiration of mine for the key scenes in those chapters would be the time I was on jury duty while writing the novel, which really helped with the trial scene of chapter 11. I’m fairly certain those were all the scenes that had inspirations from real-world events,” I finished. Part of me thought I talked for a bit too long, but it was an interview so that should’ve been okay. Thankfully, Todd reassured me with his reply.

“It seems like most of the novel was based on real experiences. This being said, are the characters based on real people?” Todd asked.

“Yes, each of the characters are real people from Devon with the Gene in the novel being a stand-in for myself.”

“Now I’m curious, have I or another host interviewed any of them?” Todd asked. I had to think about this for a bit; other than Phineas, had the other boys been interviewed at all? Well, I think Brinker was interviewed last week. I believe Chet had one last month too.

“I believe three of them have been interviewed, then again a few more may have but I can’t remember,” I finally gave as my reply.

“I’m a bit curious as to which ones, but I want to try and guess.”

I chuckled, for it was probably pretty obvious, but I let him try anyway. “Go right ahead, Todd.”

“Let’s see,” he began, “I believe I interviewed Brinker Hadley this time last week. Then a few months ago I interviewed another 1940s alumni, what was his name again… oh! Chet Douglass! They were a CEO and an orchestra member respectively,” he exclaimed. “As for the last one, I’m not entirely sure. I can’t remember interviewing anyone else from the 1940s years, much less the 1943 class specifically. Maybe it’ll come to me later, so let’s continue with the questions. Who is the person that inspired Finny?”

I gave another chuckle. “Phineas, of course.” He was clearly a bit confused here, as he raised his left brow and gave me a curious look.

“But who is the real person behind Phineas?” Todd inquired again. “You gave most of the characters’ last names, but not Finny’s.”

With a short laugh, I commented. “I didn’t realize that I never mentioned Finny’s last name, he’s always been so distinct that someone not knowing who I was talking about just seemed wrong. Anyways, Finny is based off, well, Finny. His full name is Phineas Pell.” Todd went silent for a minute so I looked over at his face; it was filled with shock. I guess that was a big surprise.

Upon recovering from this Todd inquired incredulously, “The Olympic Gold Medalist in hockey?”

“Aey-uh,” I began as an homage to Finny, “We talk nearly every day.”

“That’s quite the bombshell to drop, Mr. Forrester. However, I now know who the last interviewee was– one of my co-hosts interviewed him right after the Olympics. Anyways, did any of your friends know that you wrote this with their real names?” Todd asked to get the interview rolling again.

“Most were vaguely aware, although many did not know the plot of the novel, with the exception– ironically enough– being Finny. He had a hand in making sure I did the characterization of pretty much everyone properly. I was not the most attentive person towards my peers back in school,” I explained, slightly embarrassed. After all, I am a psychologist these days; my job is paying attention to other people and their emotions.

“Well, Mr. Forrester,” Todd began again, signaling that the interview time was up, “thank you for providing us some insight into your most popular work. To all the students, let us know if you would like to hear him return to the interview table in the future. For now, let us listen to "Ticket to Ride” by everyone’s favorite British band, the Beatles!” 

Todd then pressed a few buttons on the panel. From the window to the waiting room, I could see the light from the “On Air” sign turn off. “Ticket to Ride” then began to play faintly from the speakers. We both turned our microphones away before Todd turned to face me.

“Again, Mr. Forrester, thank you for the interview. You know the way out of the building, and I need to stay and make sure the music is played properly. We will send you a letter if we want you back for another interview,” Todd told me with a smile. I gave him one in return as I stood up and headed toward the door.

“Thank you for the interview, Todd. I hope to see you again in the future,” I replied. When I walked out of the building, I gave a long sigh of relief. The interview was nowhere near as bad as I had assumed it would be. I got into the Ford Mustang convertible that Finny had convinced me to buy; excited to return home and tell him all about my latest adventure with my new-found fame.

Cross posted links:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63999970

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14453573/1/A-Separate-Interview

https://www.wattpad.com/story/391791722-a-separate-interview

[aoflameandco]

Runs in the family: the mystery behind the heterochromia

One of my favorite tropes in DanteLady fanfics is Dante adoring Lady's mismatched eyes. But who did she inherit such a unique trait from? DMC3 and Netflix give us different answers, and I dare say it's not a coincidence.

Let's start from the origins. While reading about character designs in the "Devil May Cry 3142 Graphic Arts" book, I came across the following info:

Lady, Arkham and Jester's heterochromia was an angle Itsuno really pushed for.

As you can see, Lady's heterochromia in the game is clearly something she got from her father. It's safe to assume that the heavy emphasis on her eyes when she first meets Dante was meant to give the player a hint that yeah, this badass girl and the creepy bald guy from before are somehow connected.

Let's pay attention to the colors too. Lady and Arkham's eyes look almost identical when the lighting doesn't affect our perception. The lighter eye ranges from blue to gray and gray-green, the darker one from brown to red. But then there's Arkham's demonic alter ego, Jester, with his glowing orbs: blue and red.

This may be why the DMC 2007 anime design for Lady favors blue over green.

Sadly, dmc3 never showed Lady's mother, Kalina Ann, so it's hard to say if Lady inherited anything from her visually. Before Netflix, the only source of speculation was the DMC3 manga, which unfortunately never reached the volume dedicated to Lady. However, it did bless us and Dante with this sweet family portrait.

Sure, manga isn't the best format for guessing eye color. However, it did confirm that Kalina's genes are in fact strong. So strong that they completely took over in the Netflix show.

Meet John Arkham, a man denied of his heterochromia. At least he wasn't always bald. But there's no doubt that little Mary is a mini-copy of her mom.

And here's where things get interesting. As you know, Lady's backstory is different in the show. John Arkham wasn't a power-mad black arts mastermind, in fact he used to be a respected professor at NYU who genuinely loved his family. The number of family photos in their house is also telling, and unlike in the manga, he's present in them.

In this universe, he never thought about sacrificing his loving wife to gain demonic power. And he certainly never tracked down the ancient bloodlines of priestesses. This Arkham had no cultist mindset, he was a man of science. But, what a pity, science also drives you crazy.

Having confirmed one of his old theories in the worst possible way and unable to admit his own weakness, John isolated himself from his family and threw himself into experiments. It is a good question who supplied him with demonic arms though. In any case, a line was crossed. Kalina Ann tried to stop her husband - and again, even though Arkham's black board got some summoning circles on it - in this story his wife isn't a necessary ritual component, but an obstacle on John's path to self-destruction.

A mysterious bloody injection summoned Jester. Or at least a proto-version of him, without his irritating sense of humor but with a raging thirst for blood. Note that both of Vampjester's eyes were red - until he bit Kalina's neck.

And then suddenly dmc3 accurate heterochromia appeared. The blue and red orbs. Finally the whole Arkham family was (mis)matching...

Now it raises the question: would any blood "complete" the transformation or was his wife's blood really special? Because now not only Jester, but John himself is stuck with heterochromia, albeit different from his wife and daughter.

Honestly, the whole Arkham family drama in the show keeps an intrigue. I don't believe it's over and Dr. Arkham just died in a fire. His demonic form continues to prey on Mary's mind, and it would be a shame not to show Jester in all his glory after all that teasing.

But was the priestess lineage plot completely abandoned? Since the whole point of activating the amulet was already explored without it. Sure, we have no Temen-ni-gru yet, so there's no need to sacrafice the priestesses. But who knows? Maybe, just like Dante and Vergil inherited their father's appearance and power, Lady being a copy of Kalina has a deeper meaning. Maybe the ancient priestess if she ever existed in this universe also had a heterochromia. And maybe Adi wasn't trolling by asking about Lady's priestess powers on Twitter now that's the least realistic part

I'd love to hear your thoughts! What do you think of the changes to the Arkham design? The adaptation of the family backstory in general? Do you believe in the Lady Priestess? Also, since I'm far from being a DMC veteran, I may be missing something or misinterpreting some little things, so please feel free to correct me and guide my soul to the light!

[taleeater]

Fragile Part 7

Sorry for the wait! It was hard to focus while writing this chapter, so I might be editing it for mistakes here and there. I hope you like it! :] <3

Generation: Bayverse TMNT

Tmnt x Reader Fanfic

Pronouns: Gender Neutral (except ‘dudette’, 'miss', and ‘princess’)

Warnings: injury, broken limbs, violence, drowning, not proof read

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

You were laying dazed on the cold metal floor. In too much pain to focus on anything else besides breathing. You heard a commotion, voices muffled through the thick glass. At least inside this tube they couldn’t touch you anymore. Your mind strayed to the turtles. You weren’t able to save them. You weren’t able to do anything. You just hope they can somehow get away safely. That April and Casey can somehow save them.

“I won’t ask again…. Where’s (y/n).” Leo growled. He grit his teeth as he lowered his stance, ready to strike.

Baxter Stockman was quickly typing commands into the program on his computer. Karai stepped in front of him and drew her katana.

“Out of your reach, Turtles.” 

“Aaaaand, there!” Stockman hit one last key on this computer and a red light started to flash on the tank, bringing the turtle’s attention to the crumpled form inside the glass. At the same time a multitude of files and programs started closing on the screen one after another, Stockman’s signature digital self-destruct program. Baxter stepped away from his computer and lifted his arms up triumphantly.

The sound of rattling pipes overhead catches your attention. 

“Ha! You’re too late, Turtles. For years, the Foot Clan has sought out the means to fight you mutants on equal footing. And now, we have our secret weapon! An endless supply of pure mutagen!!!” 

You heard a loud beeping sound, then a click, and the squeak of metal.

A gush of icy water pours down on you from above. The sudden cold shocks you and marginally distracts you from the pain. You pull yourself to the edge of the glass away from the heavy stream of water coming down from above, slowly starting to fill the base. You take a shaky deep breath and bang a fist on the glass. No use. Dizzy and numb, you look outside the tank for someone, something, anything that might help you. That’s when you see them.

And with dawning horror, they see you.

“Guys….?” You press your wet hand up against the glass. They’re here! They’re safe!!!

“(Y/n)....? (Y/N)!!!!” Leo shouts and lunges towards the tank. He tries to rush up to the glass but Rocksteady blocks his path. There’s blood on your cheek, and even a good distance away he can tell you’re in bad shape. 

“OUT OF OUR WAY!” Raph roared at Bebop and Rocksteady, crossing his sai in preparation for a fight.

“Uuuh hey guys? Why is (y/n) in a giant fish bowl…?” Mikey asked, nunchucks at the ready.

“They ain’t comin’ out anytime soon, short stack.” Bebop said with an evil grin. 

“You turtles totally fell for our trap!” Rocksteady chuckled.

Donnie immediately noticed the computer hooked up to the tank’s controls. He tried to subtly sneak past Bebop to get to Stockman but Karai stepped forward and blocked his path.

Karai pointed her sword at Donnie. “The Foot will be unstoppable.”

“And I will FINALLY get the recognition I deserve, for single-handedly creating an entire race of superhumans that will rule over the city!!!” 

“You’re crazy!! You don’t even know what kind of side effects that mutation will have on regular humans!” Donnie activated the electricity at the end of his bo staff, ready to fight Karai to get to Stockman. 

“I do have to thank you turtles for activating their mutant gene. Without your help, none of this would be possible!” Stockman’s laugh echoed through the large room. He waltz over to the canister filling up with the distilled mutagen from your blood. “We originally got (y/n) by a…. foreseeable mistake. But to our surprise, they survived where others had failed. And yet- their results were incomplete. Their animal DNA wasn’t materializing no matter what we did to them. So we came back to New York, where the population could supply us with countless more test subjects.” Baxter said cheerfully, popping the lid off the canister. “But now that we have the results we wanted, we have no need of them! We can preserve (y/n)’s body in a special chemical compound that will put them into a permanent hibernation. No need to worry, their body will be harnessed for science!” Stockman’s laugh was deep and evil, and to everyone’s shock-

He dumped the canister of mutagen over his own head.

Karai lept back out of the trajectory of the splash. Baxter’s laugh increased in volume as he began to morph and change. His head and eyes grew large, his body shrank, little papery wings sprouted from his back, and he mutated into a giant mutant fly. 

Bebop and Rocksteady were stunned by the transformation. “Eeeeewwww… he turned into a bug?” Bebop whined.

“Nasty!” Rocksteady shook his head. Neither of them were paying attention to the turtles so Raph and Donnie covered for Leo and Mikey to make a break for the tank you were in. By now it had filled enough that you were starting to float.

“We’re here babe! We’re gonna get you out!” Mikey reassured you. 

You whimpered helplessly. You were having a hard time keeping your head above water, not really able to swim with a broken dislocated arm and broken ankle. 

“Stay back!” Leo sliced at the glass, and Mikey hit it with his nunchucks as hard as he could, but their attacks barely left a scratch!

“Guys! We have incoming!” Donnie yelled as Stockman had started flying around the room, maniacally laughing as he swooped down and kicked the back of Mikey’s shell, almost knocking him over. 

“Dude, gross!” Mikey protested. Stockman looked to be drooling some kind of acid substance from his mouth.

Bebop and Rocksteady had recovered and started to charge towards them. Leo and Mikey had to jump away from your tank to avoid getting trampled. 

“Donnie, that glass is as hard as steel!!” Leo jumped up and kicked Rocksteady across his cheek, then retreated.

“What’re we gonna do? (Y/n)’s tank is already half full!” Raph shouted. He was using his sai to hold back Bebop’s tusks as he tried to charge them. 

You were doing your best to calm your breathing enough that you could float, but every time your head ducked below water you panicked. Your body was exhausted and protested against your desperate movements, but you needed to survive long enough for the boys to break you out.

“Donnie! See if you can turn off the water!!! I’ve got Karai.” Leo ordered

“Mikey! It’s you and me!” Raph called over, clanging his sai together and shouted a war cry running up to strike Rocksteady. 

“What?! What about the bug brained dude??!! Eep!” Mikey ducked as Stockman flew over his head. He looked down and realized he was kneeling at the feet of Bebop, who had taken the black taser out of his pocket.

“You wanna taste too, little man?” 

When Bebop flicked on the taser, Mikey saw the small stains of fresh blood on the pointed tips that buzzed with electricity. He looked back over to you struggling in the tank and how heavily injured you looked.

He saw red.

Mikey had a rare moment of true anger as he jumped to his feet and knocked the taser out of Bebop’s hand with his nunchucks, and in a flurry of rapid hits he beat back the warthog. He finished him off with a powerful roundhouse kick to the head.

“THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH MY BAE!” He shouted triumphantly.

Raph looked back to Mikey with wide eyes, proud of his little bro for letting loose. “Woah. Way to go Mikey!” He ducked a hit from Rocksteady and punched him hard under his chin. Knocking him out cold. 

Leo was crossing swords with Karai. She was a skilled fighter. But he was much stronger than her. While he pushed her back with a heavy strike, she slipped on some of the mutagen that had spilled on the floor, allowing Leo to take advantage of the opening and disarmed her. He flicked her sword out of her hand and knocked her back. She glared daggers at him, quickly recovering. But seeing as Bebop and Rocksteady were knocked out, she opted for a tactical retreat.

“This is just the beginning.” She hissed and ran out of the lab door. 

Stockman was buzzing around your tank, still laughing maniacally. 

“You turtlezzzzz cannot defeat the mighty Dr Stockman!! I am invincible!! I am-“

Donnie turned on the taser at the end of his bo staff and vaulted it at the annoying human insect, striking him and electrocuting him, knocking him out of the air to fall on the floor with a gross splat.

“Good thing I always carry a bug zapper.” He deadpanned.

Donnie went back to trying to hack into Stockmans computer. He managed to get past the firewall with his hacking program, but he discovered that all of the interfaces connected to the tank control had been erased. 

There was no way to stop the tank from filling up completely. Donnie would have to write a whole new interface from scratch to control the tank.

There was no time.

You were running out of air, trying desperately to keep your head above water as the tank was almost full to the top. You took in one last deep breath just as the water consumed the last of the space. You held your good hand over your mouth and nose hard, trying to hold in the air, and floated down towards the bottom of the tank. 

No more air.

“(Y/N)!!!” 

“ANGEL CAKES!!!” Donnie and Mikey yelled out in panic.

Your eyes snapped open, hearing their muffled voices outside the tank. You swam over to the glass and met eyes with Raphael. He had picked a spot and began punching at the glass over and over again with his sai in his fists.

The needled jabs just managed to scratch the surface. 

You looked at him sadly through the glass. He was stressed, sweating and desperate to break through. Mikey had grabbed a chair and had chucked it at the glass from another spot but it just bounced off and broke on the floor.

Leo was standing behind Donnie with his hand on his shoulder, but his eyes didn’t leave your face. 

Time was running out. You were choking on the stale air in your lungs. Head getting dizzy from lack of oxygen. You removed your hand from your mouth and pressed it up to the glass, some bubbles of air escaping your mouth. Your eyebrows knit together to concentrate on not breathing in the fluid in the tank. But you were suffocating and in pain. 

It was hard.

You looked back up at Raph, and forced a smile on your face. You felt sad. You didn’t want them to see you like this. They felt so far away. 

Darkness was consuming your vision. The last remaining bubbles of air escaped from your mouth and your eyes slipped closed. 

“NO!!! NO-! (Y/N), STAY WITH US.” Raph pounded his fist hard against the glass. 

“DAMN IT.” Donnie frustratingly slammed his fist down next to the keyboard, his head falling into his hands. None of the lines of command coding he was typing in were working.

Leo left Donnie’s side and strode up to the tank.

“Move.” Leo ordered as he came up behind Raph. He unsheathed his swords and began slicing at the glass again. It was barely making a scratch. But combined with the small dents Raph had been making, he was slowly chipping away at the surface.

“Leo! If you can manage to cut 1.2 centimeters deep, it should weaken the glass enough to shatter with enough force!” Donnie yelled from where he was still furiously typing into the stationed keyboard. His attempts to unlock the system all in vain. 

Leo and Raph worked together to stab and slice at the weakest point in the glass until finally-

*crack*

A small fracture appeared in the glass. 

“There!!” Donnie called out. Raph and Leo switched to charging at the glass and ramming it full force with their shoulders. Over and over as the cracks grew wider and wider.

Mikey came over, and with a hand on Leo’s shoulder, the leader stepped aside to let his little brother help. Mikey joined Raph and rammed the glass again with such force the crack split all the way across the glass. One more strike-

The glass shattered on impact.

The gush of water that burst through swept Mikey and Raph off their feet. The floor of the lab flooded, and your body washed up on the floor. Lifeless and unmoving.

“(Y/N)!!!!!!” The boys all yelled. 

Leo reached you first, falling into a kneel at your side. He ripped out the two needles from your back and held you in his arms. Donnie rushed over and slid down into the other spot at your side, his goggles pulled into place as he quickly checked you over.

“They’re not breathing. Put them down flat, now.” Leo obeyed and laid you on your back. Donnie first pressed down on your diaphragm to check for water blocking your lungs, then began compressions. 

The room was dead quiet all except for the sounds of Donnie’s whispered counting as he pressed down on your chest. He paused, opened your mouth, pinched your nose, and breathed into your lungs. 

Mikey was nervously walking around you back and forth, and Raph watched you from a distance, a vacant expression as he watched your face for any sign of movement, pleading with himself for you to be okay. 

After what felt like an eternity, you coughed. Leo quickly rolled you lay on your side. You spit up water, gasping for air. You felt like you were coughing up a lung full of ethanol. 

Mikey cheered and Raph took a deep breath, covering his face with his hands. Donnie fell backwards onto his butt and pulled his goggles off his head, so incredibly relieved you were breathing. Leo rubbed your back comfortingly as you got your breathing back under control.

Once you got a suitable amount of oxygen back in your lungs, you whimpered. Your throat was burning and a pain in your stomach and chest made it hard to breathe.

Leo picked you up again, and held you close to his chest. Your eyes fluttered open and you winced at the bright light from the ceiling.

“Welcome back.” Leo said with a smile on his face.

“Leo…?” Your voice was quiet and scratchy. You looked around at Donnie, Mikey, and Raph that all came into view around you and Leo.

“Guys….?” You felt barely conscious. Head foggy and tired like you were still under water.

“We’re right here.” Donnie assured you, reaching down to pick up your good hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

All the fear and emotion of drowning and being captured suddenly crashed down on you all at once. You sniffed and big tears gathered in your eyes.

“I was… so scared… I thought I was going to lose you….!” You hiccuped and sobbed as Leo held your trembling form tightly against his chest.

“Shhhh, it’s okay. I’m here. We got you.” Leo soothed, rubbing his hand down your back. He buried his nose into your damp hair and held you tight.

“You had us worried there for a minute!” Donnie was smiling at you, soft and relieved. Mikey was standing behind him rubbing tears out of his eyes.

“Let’s get you home.” Raph said, kneeling down behind you. 

“Wait. I need to splint their arm and their ankle first. Mikey, can you find me some-“

*crack*

“Will this work?” 

Mikey had already broken off the thin legs of a chair across the room. 

“Yeah that works fine.” He pulled out two rolls of gauze from one of the pockets on his belt, and took the offered sticks from Mikey, who knelt down by your feet. 

“What’re we gonna do about him?” He asked, motioning over to Stockman’s twitching form across the room.

The brothers all sneered at the fly mutant with similar levels of disgust on their faces, finding him rather gross. You smiled.

“Just leave him there, we can worry about him another time.” Leo offered, adjusting you in his grip. You winced terribly when your arm was moved. 

“….Is ...your arm dislocated?” Leo asked you, holding you upright in a sitting position, now thoroughly checking you over. 

Donnie and Mikey were working together to splint your ankle, Mikey holding up your foot while Donnie wrapped the splint to it.

“Let me see that.” Raph placed his hands on your shoulder and you clenched your teeth and whined quietly at the sharp pain.

“Leo, hold them still for a minute.” 

“Just hold onto me tightly, it’ll be over in a second.” Leo hugged you close, wrapping an arm around your good side.

Raph got hold of your tender arm, and with practiced ease, popped your shoulder back into place. You cried out loudly and buried your face in Leo’s shoulder, taking deep breaths. 

Raph tried to rub the soreness out of your poor shoulder. “Good job, princess. Now let Donnie get a look at that break.”

You hesitantly detached yourself from Leo, your shaking red and swollen arm was carefully picked up by Donnie, who set the splint and carefully wrapped the bandages.

“I’ll be able to get a better look at it with the x-ray machine back at home. For now we just have to be really careful not to jostle them too much when carrying them back.”

“I got em.” Raph volunteered. Leo looked to Raph, wordlessly nodding his head for his brother to take you from his arms.

“Careful of their arm….”

“Got it.” 

Without much effort, Raph scooped you up in his big arms. You winced as a sharp stabbing pain radiated through your stomach as you were held close to Raph’s chest.

Something was definitely wrong.

“I’m sorry, princess. It’s just until we get you home.” Raph apologized. Leo led everyone quickly out of the lab. 

Once back out in the hallway you had entered from, you noticed with visible shock the literal sea of bodies that covered the floor. Foot ninja. They fought through all of them, just to get to you.

Everyone exited the lab, careful to stick to the shadows as the sun began to rise. As the turtles made their way for their home, your stomach burned worse and worse with a white hot pain that radiated through your body. The movement of the city passing you by made you become dizzy, and your head felt like it was spinning. You felt nauseous and incredibly tired. 

“Hey Raph….?”

“Yeah princess?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you guys…. You had to save me instead….” You weren’t making any sense. Raph could barely hear you as the wind whipped past his head. You just felt so tired.

“Hey, stay with me, princess. We’re almost there. It’s okay.” Raph didn’t know what the right thing to say was. But your eyes were starting to slide closed.

“Can we…. Can we watch Princess Bride again…. When we get home….?”

Raph smiled at that.

“Yeah. We’ll watch it as many times as you want, short stack.” He didn’t care if his brothers teased him for secretly liking the girly movie. He didn’t care if he had to watch it with you a hundred times. He just wanted you to get better.

“We’re almost there. How you holding up?” 

Silence. 

“(Y/n)…?”

“Mmh?” 

Your eyes were closed.

“Come on, wake up, we’re almost there.”

He was desperate. 

“Mm…hm…” 

You hummed, but your eyelids felt too heavy to lift. You felt yourself sinking into a dark liquid abyss. You could no longer fight the pull.

“(Y/n)….. (y/n)? Hey…! Hey, no no no no no, you gotta stay awake. Come on princess…! (Y/N)!!!”

You felt Raph try to shake you awake, felt his muscles tense as he pushed himself to go faster. 

“We’re almost there, hold on…!”

“Hold on….”

Darkness overtook you.

Part 8

@itsberrydreemurstuff @thecreat0r64 @eli-chris @kurlyfrasier @autisticnutcase @drenix004 @donniesgirlie @cherryp-op @foggyturtleknightangel @blackrockshooter780 @l-n-g-t @peachesdabunny @silverwatergalaxy @willy-the-witch @caeliasaida @veri-varily @xnorthstar3x @leonardo-dabitchy @sh1ga-to3s

If anyone else wants to be tagged for the next update, let me know in the comments! :]

[risestarkissomega]

A question from @overthinkingspark-blue

"So, I’ve been thinking a lot about these Steven universe-style fusions that @teenagenutant made for the rise turtles. I’ve been working on a fanfic of them with another writer actually!

here’s the tag for them: https://www.tumblr.com/teenagenutant/tagged/fmau

So I’ve just been wondering- since I have absolutely no knowledge on fashion- what kinds of outfits *these* characters would wear, them being fusions of the rise turtles and all because it’s kinda hard to imagine they’d just wear both their components’ clothes together

if that makes sense?

Theres also the fact that a lot of them are designed wearing shorts/pants, so that may give hints to what kind of style they’d prefer. So since you’re well versed in the topic of fashion for the turtles, I figured why not ask you what you thought about it!

...And I was thinking specifically for what their wrestling outfits would be like or what they’d wear in a. “clothes don’t make the turtle” scenario...Though the ones that seem the most intriguing to me are Titian (Raph and Donnie fusion that looks like a mech) and Caravaggio (Leo and Raph fusion with the loooongggg mask tails and mega anxiety)

Because those two are hard to guess

And also Newton! (Donnie and Mikey fusion.)..."

○○○○

Ooo.

Firstly, combining the turtles into fusions is a really cool concept! The boys' personalities are already so interesting, so blending them would surely yield some very intriguing results...

Also, I just so happened to have watched all of Steven Universe. So, I'll be using my understanding of the SU rules for these fusions. (Assuming that these turtles fusions are using the same rules. If not, I'm so sorry! 😣)

Let's get started!

From what I've gathered from SU, the fusion rules are not as hard and fast as they could be when it comes to their designs...

Sometimes, the fashion is a true amalgamation of what each component was already wearing, which is usually in the case for Stevonnie.

Other times, and in my opinion more commonly, the designs involve the fusion's personality coming out in their fashion choices. But, it's not necessarily a direct reflection of the component's clothing.

My example for that is Sugilite.

The design for her clothing is not exactly what Garnet and Amethyst is wearing, but is more a reflection of who they become when they're together; this rough and tumble, rough around the edges, strong-willed, and powerful gem-which is reflected in the exaggerated and excessively ripped outfit, so it still works!

(BTW, this is also an example of the "Exaggeration" component of good character design.)

Alright, so I've said all of that to say: In SU, I believe that there's no absolute way to have a fusion. It seems to be more of a sliding scale from a "perfectly balanced physical amalgamation" to a "completely emotional combination," depending on the design choices of the creators, if that makes sense...

So, I'll summarize the SU fusion rules (in my opinion) that I'll be using going forward: This is a more "Physical Amalgamation" Fusion Design: Rainbow Quartz 2.0

vs.

A more "Emotional Amalgamation" Fusion Design: Sunstone

vs.

Something Right in the Middle: Sardonyx

Additional SU Note: In the end, the sliding scale of physical to emotional fusion choices is all at the discretion of the character designer! - IE. Rebecca caught a lot of flak for her Sunstone design, but in the end it's Rebecca's design (as revealed in the "Steven Universe: End of an Era" book.) Thus, how she chooses to depict the fusion of Steven and Garnet is up to her discretion!

Phew, ok. With that foundation out of the way...

Let's look at the turtles!

And since you mentioned their wrestling outfits, let's look at those specifically:

I found the easiest way to come up with a good representation of various turtle combinations is to do what we've always done in science...use punnett squares!

However, instead of crossing "alleles/genes," let's cross clothing design characteristics! (Stay with me! 😂) I went ahead and made a square using their wrestling clothing choices.

Let me just pop that baby right here:

Here's a reminder of all of the boys' wrestling fits:

And as an example, let's look at T.I.T.I.A.N. (Donnie and Raph's Fusion) since he seems to be one of the hardest to predict:

(T.I.T.I.A.N. as depicted by the original creator, @teenagenutant)

BTW, the design for T.I.T.I.A.N. is so logical!

With Raph's overly bureaucratic nature (as he's a stickler for the rules) and Donnie's hyper-analytic personality, the two of them combining to be a giant robot just makes sense! 😌❤️💜

"Uh, Ma’am, you misplace your five dollar bill directly into my palm."

"I need pre-game stats, highlights of past stats, projections of future stats. We’re missing the stats, people!"

Anywhoozle...

Here's a close up of my estimations for T.I.T.I.A.N.'s outfit based on the "SU fusion rules" I established earlier and the general application of the punnett square:

For me, the takeaway is the DRAMATICS!

Raph was a natural showman in the ring, and Donnie is just dramatic in general. Sooo, in my eyes, T.I.T.I.A.N.'s wrestling persona would be HIGHLY theatrical. 🙄

But yeah, by using the punnett square, you can just fill in the blanks, thus making any combination you'd like!

Or scrap all of my thoughts and start fresh! The point is it's a tool to make combining the turtles easier. 😁 Psssst! BTW.... I don't think you were the only ones inspired by Steven Universe:

💙💜🧡❤️Happy Creating! ❤️🧡💜💙

○○○○

YOUTUBE | KOFI | 🎵 BANDCAMP 🎵

I appreciate you! 😌

💜💜💜

[moon-boy0814]

#GOALS

Summary: You and Gene complete your Togetherness Goals Worksheet :)

TW: None (I don't think)

The smell of toast and eggs should’ve been comforting, but I was too busy stabbing my fork into a stack of pancakes like it owed me money. Across from me, Lucien sat at the dining room table, sipping his orange juice with the air of someone waiting for drama to drop like it was morning news.

“You gonna tell me why you came home yesterday with a bruise on your forehead ?” he asked, eyeing me over his mug.

“I slammed it on my desk,” I muttered.

He raised a brow. “Why would you do that? Ever since the school day ended, you've gone through the two emotions of pure age and anguish, from what I could tell.”

I sighed heavily. “Gene is my partner for the senior project.”

Lucien went silent.

Then snorted so hard he almost choked on his toast.

“You’re joking,” he said through wheezing laughter.

“I wish I was,” I groaned, shoving my plate away like it offended me. “Mr. Cassian said we’d be working with our seatmates. Which, funnily enough, I wanted to change my seat, but it was already too late, my fate was sealed, which isn’t even fair since he was the one who sat next to me.”

Lucien clutched his chest. “Irene help me. He chose to sit next to you?”

“Like it was his birthright,” I muttered, glaring at my eggs.

“Oh my god,” he said, practically vibrating with joy. 

“Don’t even start,” I warned.

“I’m just saying,” he said, grinning like a villain. “Forced proximity? Partnered for months? This is a prime enemies-to-lovers setup. I’ve read enough fanfics to know where this goes.”

“I will throw this juice at you.”

Lucien gasped. “Threatening me over breakfast? How rude .”

I buried my face in my hands. “Please let this be a coma dream. I’d like to wake up now.”

Lucien pushed a napkin toward me like he was offering tissues at a funeral. “At least breakfast was good, right?”

“I can’t even enjoy my pancakes in peace,” I grumbled.

He smirked. “Well, you better finish them. You’ll need the energy—you’ve got a whole semester of bantering with your boyfriend.”

I threw a wadded-up napkin at his head.

By the time we got to school, I had mentally prepped myself for one thing and one thing only: survive the day without committing a crime and my surprise the majority of the school day was fine no problems besides the average potion failing but I wouldn’t keep my hopes up 

Lucien and I parted ways at the stairs, him shooting me one last smug look over his shoulder.

“Play nice with your boyfriend,” he sing-songed.

I flipped him off… Lovingly.

The hall leading to Advisory was already buzzing—students dragging their feet, clutching coffee cups like lifelines, and pretending they didn’t forget their homework. I slipped into the classroom right as the bell rang and, as if summoned by pure spite, he was already there.

Gene was lounging in his seat, as if he were allergic to effort, his arms crossed behind his head and his legs stretched out under the desk, as if we were in a beach cabana rather than a senior-level advisory. For once in my life, I genuinely wished he'd skip a class. Honestly? I bet he showed up just to spite me.

“Miss me?” he asked as soon as our eyes met, that smirk slithering onto his face like it never left.

I dropped my bag to the floor with a satisfying thud. “Like a migraine.”

Gene clutched his chest dramatically. “Ouch. So cold, and we’ve only just started our academic honeymoon.”

“If this is a honeymoon, I want a divorce and full custody of the grade.”

“Ruthless,” he said with a grin, clearly entertained.

Mr. Cassian, ever the picture of calm chaos, strolled in holding a box. “Good morning, seniors. I hope you’re all ready to bond. Today’s assignment: shared goals worksheet. One page. Start thinking.”

“You know,” I muttered, dragging out my notebook, “if lounging were a sport, you’d still somehow manage to cheat and lose.”

Gene cracked one eye open and smirked. “Aw, don’t be jealous just because I make slacking off look good.”

“Right. Because clearly, academic success is measured in how far you can lean back without falling.”

He laughed. “You’re really on a roll today. Keep going—I need some quotes for my fan club.”

“I’m gonna need hazard pay for this partnership,” I mumbled, flipping to a blank page. 

Gene raised a brow. “So… we have to set goals together. That sounds fake.”

“Well, it’s real,” I muttered, pulling the worksheet toward us. “And we’re doing it, because unlike someone at this table, I like passing classes.”

“I like passing, too,” Gene said casually. “I just prefer to do it with the absolute minimum amount of effort and maximum amounts of charm.”

I shot him a look. “Congratulations, you just described how not to get into college.”

He grinned, totally unfazed. “Good thing I’m not trying.”

“Okay,” I said flatly, reading the first question. “Shared goal number one?”

Gene leaned forward, pretending to think. “Don’t commit arson?”

“I already wrote ‘don’t tank our futures,’” I said, scribbling furiously.

“That’s basically the same thing,” he said, squinting at my handwriting. “Wow. Intense pen grip. You sure you’re not writing a cry for help?”

“I am. You’re the cry.”

Gene just laughed. “We’re off to a great start.”

I roll my eyes and continue writing. 

He chuckled, leaning on one arm to watch me. “You know, this is kinda fun. I haven’t seen anyone glare at me this hard since Zenix ate Sasha’s leftover fries.”

“What do you do in that club?” I asked, side-eying him.

“Not a club—it’s a gang. And we chill. Strategize. Plot school-wide pranks. It’s like chess but with way more flair.”

“And illegal activity.”

Gene shrugged. “Details, details.”

“So… what do you actually do for fun?”

“Not talk to you.”

“Harsh. But fair.” He looked over at my paper. 

Gene smiled wider. “Y’know you’re fun when you’re mad.”

“You’re fun when you’re unconscious. Want to test that theory?”

He laughed. I wasn’t joking.

Eventually, we finished the worksheet, somehow without me flipping a desk. Gene stretched and yawned.

“This was surprisingly easy,” he said. “I give it a solid B+.”

“This wasn’t a Yelp review,” I muttered.

“I rate all my social experiences.”

“In that case I give this an F.”

Gene chuckled, tapping his pencil against the desk. “You’re really not gonna join the Shadow Knights?”

“Not even if it came with a college scholarship and lifetime supply of sweets,” I deadpanned.

“Dang. We were gonna make you our cover. You give off ‘responsible enough’ energy.”

“Do I also give off ‘please leave me alone’ energy? Because that one’s real.”

Gene gave me a mock salute. “Message received, Captain Buzzkill.”

I easily shot back. “Ya mama.”

The engine of Lucien’s car hummed smoothly as we drove through the quiet streets, the weight of the day still hanging heavy in the air. I rested my head against the cool window, staring out at the passing houses while Lucien, ever the chatterbox, casually drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

“So,” Lucien said, breaking the comfortable silence, “spill. How was it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what happened.”

He smirked, glancing at me. “Okay, but I want to hear it from your perspective. I need the tea.”

I huffed, leaning back in my seat. “Gene’s a nightmare.”

“Worse than I imagined, huh?” Lucien raised an eyebrow, his voice dripping with amusement.

“Way worse,” I groaned, throwing my hands up in frustration. “We had to fill out this ‘shared goals’ worksheet for the project, and the one hope I had of him not showing up was torn apart once I saw him already sitting in his seat.”

Lucien’s grin was practically contagious. “Oh, I can just imagine you glaring at him the entire time. Did you guys even come to any conclusions?”

“Yeah, we agreed on not destroying our futures, which I find funny because he doesn’t have one. It was the only mutual goal we could agree on without wanting to kill each other,” I muttered.

“Ah, the classic enemies-to-lovers arc begins,” Lucien teased. “You’re already halfway there.”

I shot him a death glare. “I will throw you out of this car.”

He laughed, clearly enjoying himself. “Come on, you’ve got to admit it—there’s something oddly charming about how much you two hate each other.”

“I’d rather hate him in silence and out loud,” I grumbled, fiddling with the hem of my sleeve.

 “OH, AND GENE ASKED ME TO JOIN THE SHADOW KNIGHTS.’”

Lucien snorted. “Oh, please tell me you said yes.”

“Don’t play with me, of course I said no,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “But he just kept going on about how ‘exciting’ it is, and how I need to add some ‘spice’ to my life. Like, dude, I’m trying to graduate, not end up in juvie.”

I sighed, but the tension in my shoulders loosened just a bit. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just want to get through this without losing anything, especially my sanity.”

Lucien reached over and gave my shoulder a playful nudge. “Trust me, you’re gonna make it through. Besides, if Gene pushes your buttons too much, I’ll be there to make sure he doesn’t leave with all his limbs intact.”

I snorted. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Lucien parked the car and turned off the ignition. “Well, chaos or not, at least you get to unwind tomorrow. You, me, Aphmau, Laurence—park day. A perfect scene to experience our stalker portfolio grows.”

I groaned but nodded. “I’m holding you to that. If I even think about the senior project or Gene, I want you to shove me in a fountain.”

“Deal. Just don’t fall in love with him before midterms.”

“I will strangle you.”

“Worth it,” he sang.

[sshbpodcast]

He’s from that other Star Trek!

By Ames

Over on the A Star to Steer Her By podcast, Discovery has finally met up with Ethan Peck’s Spock after weeks of teasing us with the cross-series cameo we’d been promised. And it got the SSHB hosts thinking: When are guest appearances of characters from other Trek series worth it, and when are they strictly for the audience's recognition? And when are they inexplicably simultaneously both?

Gene Roddenberry spent all of The Next Generation insisting that it be kept separate from The Original Series, but once the Great Bird was no longer with us, that door was unceremoniously kicked down! Every series after TOS has its moments of “I know this character from the other thing!” for the audience to do the Leonardo DiCaprio point at their screen and feel immediately good about themselves. We’re going to go through all the instances of main characters showing up in other series from TNG through the Kelvin films. Follow along with us on this week’s podcast episode (jump to 48:19). You’ll never believe who shows up!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

TNG: “Encounter at Farpoint” Every series premiere after The Original Series has some sort of baton-handoff scene between one of the preexisting characters and our new folks, and in The Next Generation, that came as a lovely moment between McCoy and Data. The scene obviously evokes an amicable succession while also promising to the audience that the franchise will be in good hands. But we’re just such fans of Bones here that we’re fine being catered to.

TNG: “Unification” It’s not until season five that we see another TOS alumnus, and that’s when Spock drops by to work things out between the Vulcans and the Romulans. It’s something we can emphatically see being relevant to his character, especially after the steamy events of “The Enterprise Incident,” so it’s a pretty seamless plot in that regard. Even if we know that behind the scenes, this was a marketing tie-in with Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, we’re here for it.

TNG: “Relics” We have one more classic Trek appearance in TNG, and that’s a temporally-displaced Scotty popping out of a transporter buffer—which is the most Scotty way of showing up somewhere that we can think of. The episode is also more than just a “I know that guy” bell and whistle. Seeing Montgomery Scott, a genius of his time, struggling with obsolescence is more impactful than it would have been if they’d written the episode for some rando we don’t care about.

TNG: “Birthright” I may have said that was the last TOS main who shows up in TNG, but we still have more crossover cameos! When Julian Bashir shows up to be an eccentric weirdo in “Birthright,” it’s definitely more wanky. Clearly, they’re just trying to promote Deep Space Nine, and not even all that well because the scene would have made more sense with a different character. There’s no reason a medical officer would be involved in this engineering plot!

TNG: “Firstborn” There’s just one final TNG cameo that we could think of, and it’s the wankiest one. When Quark appears on a screen to talk to Riker in “Firstborn,” it is only to advance the plot. Strike that, anyone could have done that. It was only so viewers could get that sense of righteousness when they recognize a thing they know and get to feel smart. At least they probably just filmed Armin Shimerman between scenes on the DS9 set.

Generations Let’s move on to the TNG films, which also feature cameos from the other shows, some more blatant than others. Generations is super obvious about this because the whole film is a “what if Kirk and Picard had an adventure together?” fanfic that, frankly, glosses right over a perfectly serviceable Kirk character arc. But we also get clear the fan service inclusion of Chekov and Scott at the beginning, complete with tongue-in-cheek press. Clearly Nimoy, Kelly, and Nichols all said no, and it’s all so obvious the two who showed up just inherited their lines.

Nemesis One more quick wank and then we’ll move on. Admiral Janeway pops up in Nemesis just to help Picard advance the plot. It’s a fairly throwaway scene that could have gone to anyone, but fans of Voyager would feel rewarded to see that their favorite captain has gotten promoted and is safe and secure in the quadrant where she belongs. Shockingly, there’s no dog yapping in the background of her Zoom window.

DS9: “Emissary” Onward to Deep Space Nine! We’ve got a much bigger baton handoff for the series premiere this time, with the captain of the previous show showing up to give our new hero his mission. Having Sisko immediately loathe Picard was a daring move to kick off a show, but that animosity propels the whole series forward. DS9 promises not to be the cuddle-factory crew that TNG boasted, and contrasting the two leads in front of your very eyes highlights that for you.

DS9: “Defiant” This cameo has a one-two punch! Just when you think it’s just going to be a William Riker appearance for the fans to wank about, it’s revealed that this is actually Tom Riker! Who’s technically the same person, so we’ll count it. After his introduction in “Second Chances,” it’s nice to see Tom’s character get a little arc that makes sense for him, that brings peril to the station’s characters, and that’s a genuinely solid story on its own.

DS9: “Through the Looking Glass” If we counted Tom Riker in this little exercise, we might as well count Mirror Universe characters too. For the most part, including Mirror Tuvok in the Terran Resistance feels like it’s mostly one of those “Look, it’s a guy to wank about!” instances. But the more you think about it, the more interesting it gets. On the podcast, we give the Mirror Universe more scrutiny than it merits, but here’s an example of things not always being 1:1 because this Tuvok isn’t in the Delta Quadrant! Fascinating!

DS9: “Trials and Tribble-ations” Here’s an episode that is expressly fankwank! And we wanked! Almost all the DS9 crew gets to meet all of the TOS crew, so this episode is much more than allowing a character from another series to appear for a story. It’s forming the whole story around that and making it so self conscious and impressive that “Trials and Tribble-ations” is really its own kind of animal. The references are the entire point, and seeing the two crews together feels earned.

VOY: “Caretaker” Before the plunge into the Delta Quadrant, the Voyager has time for one of the franchise’s typical baton handoffs at Deep Space Nine, and it’s a fairly good one! Not only do we get the prescribed cameo from a previous show’s main character when we see Quark trying to rip off Harry at the bar, but the whole scene sets up the Tom-Harry dynamic that will become emblematic of the whole series. It’s a Ferengi two-for-one special!

VOY: “Death Wish” You’re going to see Riker turn up in other series the most, and this is the second of three times we’re going to see him in this list (and we’re not even getting to streaming Trek this week!). In Voyager, his appearance just seems kinda dumb. It being Riker of all people whom Q manifests during Quinn’s trial doesn’t add anything specific to the plot. He’s just there because the audience will recognize him. At least Frakes doesn’t play his ancestor in the photo.

VOY: “Flashback” Coming out at about the same time as DS9’s “Trials and Tribble-ations,” Voyager’s recognition of the 30th anniversary also brings some familiar faces to the screen. This time, it’s Sulu and Rand (whom I’d argue is a main character, underappreciated though she was) appearing in flashbacks on the Excelsior during the time of The Undiscovered Country. It all makes sense in the context of the episode while still being distinct as an episode of Voyager.

VOY: “Timeless” I’d put the Captain La Forge cameo in “Timeless” about on par with the Janeway cameo in Nemesis on the wankiness scale. There’s no good reason for him to be the one chasing down Chakotay and Kim except that the audience knows who he is. And frankly, we don’t think his career journey would lead to captaincy anyway. Maybe this is where Riker should have turned up? Or better yet, have it be Captain Data and establish in this timeline he never died in Nemesis!

VOY: “Pathfinder,” “Lifeline,” and “Inside Man” What’s much more conducive for a guest cameo is utilizing Troi’s role as a counselor usefully for a change! We probably see her do her job more in her three appearances on Voyager than in all of The Next Generation, and it’s so nice to see! She influences the plot! She shows competence at her job! She has a very believable rapport with Barclay! And Marina Sirtis gets to actually show her humor in her scenes. This is one of few times when we’re glad we got more of a character. Until...

ENT: “These Are the Voyages…” Riker continues his pattern of popping up somewhere in each of the subsequent Trek series with our final broadcast-era show, Enterprise. The 2000s series did have a sort-of handoff scene in the premiere, “Broken Bow,” with the Zephram Cochrane footage, but he wasn’t a main character, so it doesn’t count for this exercise! The finale, on the other hand, just plain shouldn’t exist. The SSHB hosts find forcing Riker and Troi into this prequel series to be in poor taste, as we’ve discussed many times before. Fuck this episode.

Star Trek (2009), Into Darkness, and Beyond It’s appropriate that we end with more Spocks! We just met him on Discovery, and we wouldn’t have gotten here without the Kelvin films. Making Nimoy’s Spock integral to the plot was a smart inclusion and we have to commend these films for doing it tastefully, cleverly, and most important: logically. It’s much more than sating the crowd with things they’ll recognize. Nimoy’s inclusion was pivotal to making the universe make sense in the most Star Trek–y way.

—

One of these days, we’ll come back to this assignment after we’ve seen more of the streaming series and see what the differences and similarities are there. Will it be more fanwank? Will the proportions of cameo appearances be overwhelmingly represented in Lower Decks? Keep following along to find out! Until then, you can keep listening to our watchthrough of Discovery over on SoundCloud, YouTube, or wherever you podcast. You can also make a cameo appearance to us by finding us on Facebook and BlueSky, especially if you’re William Riker. That guy shows up everywhere!

[aealzx]

Masterpost

I should make things easier to navigate since custom domains aren't as common as ye olden days |D

Original Content:

All of my artwork can be seen under the (#my art) tag.

Rizen (#Rizen): My original story about an amnesiac cyborg and his two brother/uncle/dads trying to figure out who turned him into a cyborg and why. It's easier to read on my sub blog for it, aealrizen.tumblr.com

Lullabies of Frozen Tears (#LoFT): Bits and pieces of my oldest RP OC, Trance. The story is written along with my best friend Awa/NaBa

Fan content:

🦇👻DCxDP:

Phantom Rogues (#Phantom Rogues): (Update Post) A brain rot fic about Team Phantom getting stuck in Gotham and having to steal and avoid authorities to take care of themselves and a comatose Danny. They get picked up by team BatFam. First post. And also on AO3.

🐢ROTTMNT:

Better Genes (#Better Genes): A short comic + writing mix of ROTTMNT based on the episodes Good Genes from TMNT 2003. Got interrupted by CDK.

Cross Dimension Kidnapping (#cross dimension kidnapping, rise + 2003 crossover, #CDK): A crossover illustrated fanfic between ROTTMNT and TMNT 2003. Posted both here (first post) and on AO3

Tethered Timeline : A fic about the adult Rise boys being sent back in time as spirits who are tied to their younger selves. AO3 only for the writing, but some images are under the tag #tethered timeline

🗝️Kingdom Hearts:

Heart Transplant AU (#htau, #heart transplant AU): A modern setting AU of Kingdom Hearts where Sora, Roxas, Ven, and Xion have all had open heart surgery. The posts aren't linked together very well, so there's a masterlist page over here. I also finally got it on AO3 if that's easier

[whump-in-the-closet]

for the writer goals asks: 🥸 and 🫘!

🥸 Does anyone in IRL know you write fanfic or original fiction? If not, do you plan on telling anyone this year?

Aahhh okay so long story short— I showed my blog to this one good friend of mine and they asked a couple questions abt it, looked a bit weirded out…then we’ve never talked about it since. And they’re really the only person I’ve told irl about my writing lmaooo it’s a bit silly

🫘 Spill the beans. What's a new project you're doing this year?

wait how’d you know?? seriously thanks for giving me an excuse to yap about the new living weapon whumpee(Gene) that I’m so so so excited about!!! I want to write a little story that follows his brainwashing/training and then rescue by Villain, his previous mentor. It’s basically a cross over between Villain and Hero storylines with all the angst and suffering that comes with being forced and tricked into becoming someone you’re not. In my vague rats nest of a plot, Gene was Villain’s sidekick and had regenerative abilities and Hero and Superhero thought it would be a blast to finally get Villain to surrender if they could “convert” his sidekick. By uh. erasing his memory over and over until he follows their orders. So yeah Gene doesn’t have a great time because they’re both like “hey it doesn’t matter what we do to this guy! He can’t die! Look he can grow his arm back!”

[superpyodan]

hi!! my name is gene!! welcome to my blog!! ⭐

this post includes an introduction, and links to all the stuff that you're 🫵 gonna want to see :D

Intro:

i am 21 years old, gay, and use he/him pronouns :P

my account is mostly stardew valley centred, and includes a LOT of me rambling about my farmer OC, kenny (apologies in advance).

i have adhd, and may struggle to reply to dms! please don't take it personally <3 (asks, however, are always welcome!)

i am an artist (fanart and OCs) and a stardew valley fanfic writer!

i am a university student. everyone sighed (i'm half-joking. i love my degree)

i am also an aries. if that interests any of you

My Other Interests Include:

Games: Sally Face, Detroit: Become Human, anything Mario-Related, Animal Crossing, Until Dawn, Catherine: Fullbody, Breath of the Wild

TV: The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Bob's Burgers, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Heartstopper, Breaking Bad, Squid Game, The Walking Dead

Books: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (+ the other Simonverse books), All That's Left in the World (+ sequel), Heartstopper, Aristotle and Dante

(I also love music, and enjoy singing and playing the guitar!)

Important Links:

The Kenny and Alex Fics

My Stardew Valley Playlists (Includes the Playlists for all of my fics, among other things!)

In Defence of Alex Mullner

Alex & Tyler the Creator

My Ko-Fi - I take art commissions!

My art Instagram

My Tags, Explained:

superpyodan - For all of my art!

boys will be boys - self-explanatory, really. anything BWBB-related

everybody's cool (except for me) - anything ECEFM-related

kenny archer - ... anything Kenny related

official kenny song - sometimes i post random songs that remind me of kenny. they are here

bwbb fanart - what it says on the tin, but also including commissions!!!

Thank you for being here! <3

[mmcgemino]

How I almost went on stage with Gene Simmons (and also a heavy vent)

Today was the first day of Summer Breeze here in Brasil and Gene’s on the headline. I traveled 8 hours just to see him and Sebastian Bach play. I was so excited to see them and my mind was set on giving Gene a poster and a letter. I really wanted to give him a piece of my work and say how much KISS changed my life.

There was going to be a signing session at 3pm and when arrived there at 11am there was already a line. No problem for me, honestly, I could wait. But then somebody from the staff told us that the time changed for 7pm. I didn’t want the whole day of festival + Sebastian’s show, so I gave up on that.

Sebastian Bach’s show was amazing (I even got an autograph!). It was kinda short but I still had a lot of fun. Next would be Mr. Big (that I didn’t bother to watch) and then, finally, Gene’s band.

God, I was right in front of him. LITERALLY. This was my view the whole show:

I was SO close from the stage, already at the barrier (is that the right name in english?) It was actually funny, because the first thing he did when he finished the first song was to point at me and say with eyes wide opened: sua bunda é linda! That’s a silly thing he says every time he’s in Brasil. (There’s a video of him saying it on a tv show just for reference). I also had some silly interactions with him, like me motion grabbing his tits and him looking shocked. Honestly, if the show ended like that it would be just fine. I’ve never been this close to someone who’s so important to me, much less recognizing my presence and being silly with me. Hell, I didn’t even care about my letter anymore. It was a kick ass show.

But in the last song (that was obviously Rock n Roll All Night), he started calling a lot of girls on stage. There were some in front of me, between the tiny gap separating the stage from the fans. I guess they were sponsors, photographers or idk, more than VIP. But then he pointed at me and called me!!! What ??!????? It sounds just like a fanfic, unbelievable. And I swear on all my family that I ain’t lying. I crossed that barrier with the help of other people and ran backstage.

To have Gene pointing at YOU and calling YOU to be on stage with him is once in a lifetime. To be ON STAGE, my literal dream and goal in life. What I’ve been working for the past couple of years. To have the chance to give my letter to him and even sing by his side. With Gene fucking Simmons from KISS, my favorite band.

But when I got backstage, they told me that I couldn’t go. “There’s too many girls there.” I was the last one he picked and the only one who didn’t make it. I begged that guy, not from Gene’s production but from the event. I even cried. The securities around me were sorry but if I didn’t leave, their jobs would be on the line. I couldn’t even see the man leave the stage. I couldn’t even see the show end.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do from now on. There’s nothing to say, no consolation prize, nothing. “But there will be other shows, other opportunities”, that’s the kind of bullshit that I had to hear. No, there won’t be another Gene Simmons in Brasil calling me to be on stage. My life could have been changed forever.

I was never lucky, never won any raffles or had accomplished great achievements in life. In my letter, the first thing I wrote (as cheesy as it is) “If you’re reading this, everything is possible”. I also wrote how KISS literally changed my life when I went on their last tour here in Brasil, how they took me out of a really bad place and made me run after my dreams. It seems silly, part of me feels like an idiot to be that sad. But I just can’t get over this, can’t have any consolation on that. To be always “almost there” but never actually “there”.

Also, this is the poster I wanted to give him:

The quality is crap and I definitely could do better if I had more time. But I gave my all making it.

Sorry for the long post and the crappy sob story. This just happened like 2 hours ago and everything is still fresh. I decided to write this post because I wanted to share my frustration with people who understand that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

(Fun fact his pants were tearing up but nobody told him)

[gingeragenda]

Get to know your mutuals

Thanks for the tag @gauntletgirlie

What's the origin of your blog's title? A random comment from my husband circa 2018 that I no longer recall the context of other than me being a ginger

Favorite Fandoms: I have a lot, but Tolkien, Star Trek and Buffy endure

OTP(s) + shipname: Currently all about Adar x Sauron (Maidar)

Long time appreciator of Melkor x Mairon (Angbang)

I’m going to totally scattergun some ships I’ve been into over the past 20yrs:

Spangel, McShep, Face/Murdock, Sam/Gene (uk life on mars), Rickyl, MCU - Darcey x anyone, Loki x anyone

Favorite color: Burgundy

Favorite game: RDR2, Shadow of the Colossus, Vice City, Skyrim 4-way tie

honourable mention to: Monkey Island, Simon the Sorcerer, Doom (1993) Wolfenstein 3D

Song stuck in your head: The Tempest by Pendulum

Weirdest habit/trait? Unintentionally mimicking the accent of whoever I’m talking to

Hobbies: Writing, cross stitch, visiting tombs

If you work, what's your profession? Teacher

If you could have any job you wish what would it be? What I do now but for only 3 days a week and still pay my mortgage

Something you're good at: Making people laugh

Something you're bad at: Housework

Something you excel at: holding grudges

Something you love: linguistic pedantry

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: C5th Athenian Drama, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Something you hate: lorries overtaking each other on a two lane motorway

Something you collect: Lego

Something you forget: The way to places I have been many times before

Favorite movie/show: Can never really choose today will say Kind Hearts and Coronets / DS9

Favorite food: peanut butter

Favorite animal: cat

Are you musical? Can just about sing, never practiced instruments enough to get any good when younger

What were you like as a child? A pleasure to teach but needs to socialise more

Favorite subject at school? Drama

Least favorite subject? PE, Geography

What's your best character trait? Overwhelming desire for equality, justice, peace and love for all humanity in the abstract

What's your worst character trait? Despising all people in person

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? Not having to be up early in the morning

If you could travel in time who would you like to meet? Mary Shelley

Recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!):

Big fan of Shifting Priorities by @admirably-abhorrent

Top quality smut ❤️‍🔥

Last but not least, show your favorite fanart of your favorite character(s) (please remember to credit/add links!):

https://www.tumblr.com/kneekooh/762724528048701440/ocean-of-color?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/arianwen44/761691219376095232/why-do-i-hear-tiny-evil-whistling-noises?source=share

I like getting tagged in these games but it makes me weirdly nervous to tag other people in case it annoys them, but if you see this and want to play I am very nosy ❤️

[orofritokathy]

Sparring Partner.

Jin/Xiaoyu. Fluff. Post Tekken 8.

My first attempt at a Tekken fanfic and a first fanfic for A WHILE so please be nice:

I don't own any of these characters.

---

"A sparring session? From Jin? While he's still recovering from the... You know...?"

Xiaoyu sat on a random table with Panda, Asuka and Alisa discussing that the other night Jin asked his best friend to join him for a sparring session this evening.

"You sure he wasn't still recovering from all the blows he got from his deadbeat devil dad?" Asuka asked.

"I mean could very well be but Jin has always been alert and on his toes and I wish there was a way to say that danger is truly gone." Xiaoyu scratches her head.

"Still, I think you should go and that's when you tell him..." Alisa noted.

"Tell him about what?"

"That there's a super sized edition of the decaffeinated coffee by Ortiz Fa... No, that you've been having the hots for Jin, pigtails!" Asuka smacked the table, almost startling Panda who was enjoying a can of fish.

"Hey, those aren't pigtails and how did you know?!" Xiaoyu protested.

"Where do we begin? You've always been so damn nice to him and stood by his side even when he literally went demonic and started WWIII!" Alisa crossed her arms.

"I just had to help him! I know him better than anyone else!" Xiaoyu passed another can of fish to Panda.

"Rawwwrrr awwwraaaarrr!" Panda answered.

"Oh come on, I don't stare that much at his pecs, Panda!" Xiaoyu groaned as the other girls laughed.

"I've fought demons, like actual demons and was responsible for an actual war yet... How do I kiss a girl?!"

Jin was walking around the panel room where Lars and Victor were listening to the young Kazama's problems.

"You're saying you asked this Xiaoyu lady out without practice?" Victor asked in his french accent.

"I didn't think she'd say yes on the spot!" Jin growled.

"You're not saying that you didn't see that coming? Oh Kazama, your bloodline is full of cunning and smart people, surely you're not an exception...!" Victor shook his head.

"Take that back you greyhaired frog!" Jin hissed when Hwoarang peeked in.

"Who am I high-fiving for insulting Jinbo over here?" Hwoarang grinned.

"This is none of your business, get lost!" Jin crossed his arms.

"You better leave." Lars glared at the Korean rival sternly.

"Alright... I'll leave quietly... AY YO, DEMON BOY IS A VIRGIN!" Hwoarang ran off cackling into the distance before Jin took off.

"Better pray that I don't have any demon genes left, dicknugget!"

-

Despite Xiaoyu's protests, she appeared at the training dojo looking beautiful and dolled up thanks to Lili and Panda fixing her up (While Asuka insulting Lili's styling tips).

She wore a gorgeous dark pink traditional outfit and a sweet headband. She looked around as she was alone.

"I knew it. It's going to be just a sparring session and I will look like a fool for dressing up too nicely for this... Grrr, once I get my hands on Jin I will..."

"You will what?"

Xiaoyu turned around and saw Jin wearing an all black suit, the top buttons undone and holding out a flower.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who was freaking out over this." Jin chuckled and handed over the flower to Xiaoyu.

"Thanks... What's going on?" She asked.

Jin took a deep breath.

"The only reason I did not notice your... Advances to me was because I was afraid... Not afraid of feeling wonderful emotions but I was afraid of hurting the one woman that means as much to me as my mother. I saw a lot of her in you but... I was scared of committing the same mistakes as my..." Jin felt a lump on his throat.

"Your father." Xiaoyu added and Jin added.

"The devil gene has done lots of damage but it also saved me in some ways... Yet now with that gone... I'm ready to become a whole new man and I just want to start with... A new move." Jin finished as Xiaoyu looked at him sideways.

"A what?"

"Come on, arms up... Fists on the ready. Defence stance." Jin held up his hands and Xiaoyu shrugged as she obeyed him.

"What kind of a move are you...." Xiaoyu was interrupted by Jin - kissing her on the lips.

It was a gentle yet a passionate kiss, something Xiaoyu has only seen in her favorite romantic movies but did not expect from the usually tough and silent Kazama. She held him close and answered the kiss with the same enthusiasm and need.

"Well...?" Jin asked after their lips parted ways.

"That was... Smooth. Didn't know you had that in you, mister Mean Demon." Xiaoyu teased and Jin just nudged her. "Shut up, Xiao." He chuckled before kissing her again when Panda stumbled in, gazed at the couple before passing out.

"I'll get the fish..." Jin shook his head with a grin...

THE END.

[olderthannetfic]

As immature as this makes me, I giggled to myself when I saw one person reblogging End OTW Racism posts whose blog title is "Lily Orchard Stan". Lily Orchard is the creator of that Steven Universe Is Awful And Here's Why video and is white but claims to be Native despite not being claimed by a tribe or attempting to learn anything about the Cherokee people simply because she "has the Native gene" aka has black hair. Her most popular fanfic is also a Star Wars sequel trilogy fic where Rey, a white girl, was human trafficked and sold by black slavers, and then Rey falls for one of the slavers' daughters, a black woman who mercilessly murders everyone who crosses her path, doesn't feel guilt, remorse or empathy, and who is so violent and unhinged that when Leia says "your mom human trafficking people was bad, actually" she electrocutes the old woman.

Gee sorry we can't all be as "anti-racist" as people who write black slavers who murder and torture white people. Sorry I can't be as progressive as "and then the merciless black sociopath took over the galaxy and ruled as a benevolent dictator and lived happily ever after". My stories contain zero characters of any race who have assaulted the elderly and been praised for it, actually. Maybe I'm racist against all races. /s

In all seriousness I don't know how someone thinks of themselves as anti-racist while supporting a racefaker with a brownface YouTube avatar who writes black slavers that victimize white people. I know this meme phrase is overused but make it make sense please.

--

Anything that grants power, even in a limited sphere, will be used by people who want power.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1186: Jailhouse Bros. (Tekken 8)

5:34 p.m. at Urban Square's Police Station.......

'Sound of a Cell Closing Shut'

Jin: (Sighs While Sitting on One Side of the Long Seat He's Sharing with Hwoarang) I knew I should've kept riding by and ignore you when I still had the chance.....

Hwoarang,: (Lounging Around on the Other Side of the Seat) Don't be such a drama queen, Kazama. I always ended up coming here more times than I can even try to count. You'll get used to your stay eventually.

Jin: (Rolls his Eyes) With you as my cell mate, my doubts are measurable

Hwoarang: (Glares at his Rival) Hey, I am treat to be around! At least compared to your smart ass.

Jin: (Raises an Eyebrow) Is that so? Then, why would a "Treat" like you, go out of your way to help me during the war?

Hwoarang: (Scoffs While Crossing his Arms Together and Turning Away) Isn't it obvious? You were literally the one and only key we have to save the world from pure chaos, so it's no brainer for any of us that we decided to work with you. It seems like you needed the help too considering how out of it you've been feeling lately.

Jin: ('Sigh') You're not completely wrong with that observation. Despite everything, It's honestly a miracle that I was able to pull through till the very end. I don't even think I'd still be here right now if weren't for you and everyone else's help, so.....(Smiles at Hwoarang a Bit) Thanks for that. Truly.

Hwoarang: (Lazily Waves at Jin) Yeah, whatever. Speaking of which.....(Slowly Turns Back to his Rival) How are you feeling now after you fought your old man alone? You didn't really......you know.....

Jin: No. I spared him. Risky move on my part, but I'd rather not continue the cycle of trying to kill one another any longer, no matter how much he deserves it. But on the bright side, neither of us have the Devil Gene anymore, so he probably won't do much other than trying to punch me really hard.

Hwoarang: (Snickers a Bit) I bet he ain't happy about that one bit-

A loud scream of a very long "NOOOO!" Is suddenly heard from outside echoing inside the very police station, ringing both of the boy's ears.

Hwoarang: ............('Clicks Teeth') Case in point. We're never gonna hear the end of it, are we?

Jin: (Rolls his Eyes) Considering how vengefully insane he is, I doubt we'll hear the last from him anytime soon. (Takes a Bit of a Deep Breath) But it's fine. I'll be ready to take on as many times as he wants to fight. I'm through running away from my problems.

Hwoarang: (Simply Nodded with a Small Smile on his Face) Good. (Starts Smirking Now) I'd hate to kick your grumpy ass again.

Jin: (Scoffs While Smirking Back at Hwoarang) Again? Last I checked, I've beaten you twice already. In the ring and on the road.

Hwoarang: Okay, first off, you only gotten lucky on that fight. Let's not sit here and forget that I was molly whopping your ass in the first half of the match, okay? And second, like fucking hell did you beat me in that race! I was on the lead ever since the very moment we started and you know it!

Jin: What I know is that I had far more of a chance of winning it all than you could ever hoped of accomplishing.

Hwoarang: (Went Back to Glaring at Jin) Careful, Kazama. We may be cooped up in this small cell, but you ain't too far off from another kicking session.

Jin: You're more than welcome to try. I'll dodge every. Single. One.

?????: Alright, that's enough outta you two for the night.

The duo turns to see the officer waking by their cell along with an older man with dreads, walking with a cane.

Officer: 'Specially now that you have this gentleman gracious enough to bail both your hides outta here.

Jin: (Instantly Recognizes the Old Man Along with Hwoarang) It's you.

Hwoarang: Old Man Smith!?

Leroy: In the flesh. I ain't the only one here to get you out though.

Leroy's puppy, Sugar, happily sticks her head out on the left side of the cell, letting out a bark, while the person carrying her, Xiaoyu, slowly sticks her head out as well. And yeah......she does NOT look happy in the slightest.

Hwoarang: (Stares at Xiao's Glare Towards him and Jin)............('Clicks Teeth') You know, I don't really mind staying in here for a bit longer actually-(Starts Walking Back ti his Seat)

Jin: (Immediately Grabs Hwoarang by the Back of Gi Collar Before Dragging him Out of the Cell) Come on, before she comes over and kill you in there.

Hwoarang: GAH- Hey!

Moments Later Outside of the Station.......

Xiaoyu: (Walking Out of the Police While Scolding her Two Boys with Her) ('Groans') I can't believe you two! We JUST ended a whole wide war against G Corp and yet here you guys are getting yourselves arrested over a dumb motorcycle race!

Jin: In my defense....(Points at Hwoarang Next to Him) He's the one who challenged me to race him in the first place.

Hwoarang: (Comically Glares at Jin) Oh, so we're snitching now then!? (Angrily Points at Jin) You accepted the damn challenge!

Jin: True. But I wasn't the one trying to kick me in the middle of the road.

Hwoarang: Well, maybe if you weren't hogging my space, I wouldn't hafta kick that much- (Felt Someone Slapping him on the Arm) ('Smack') Ow! (Turns to Xiaoyu) Why did you hit me?

Xiaoyu: (Pouts at Hwoarang) Because, Hwo, you can't go around kicking people you like in public. Especially if one of them happens to be our very own boyfriend!~

Jin: And here I thought you loved me.

Hwoarang: (Turns Back to Jin) Oh shut your trap already, Kazama! You know damn well I still love your ass to pieces! (Turns Away While Pouting and Blushing a Little) You just get on my nerves sometimes.....(Points at Xiaoyu) Same goes for you too, shortie!

Xiaoyu: (Smirks a Bit) Quit getting yourself and Jin into so much trouble and maybe I'll consider getting off of your case for the rest of the year.

Jin: Don't bother, Xiao. (Smirks as Well) Knowing him, it'll only last a few weeks until he ends up back in the slammer.

Xiaoyu: Nah. I'd give him four days tops at most.

Hwoarang: (Comically Glares at His Boyfriend) Hey, have some faith in me at least, you assholes!!

Xiaoyu: Bit what kinda partners we'd be if we didn't give you little hard time?~

Hwoarang: Normal ones maybe!!

Leroy: (Chuckles Lightly While Walking Sugar on a Leash) Those two never gave you an ounce of break, huh boy?

Hwoarang: (Groans While Facepalming Himself) Ohhhh you don't even know the half of it.....But hey, gramps?

Leroy: (Turns to Hwoarang) Hm?

Hwoarang: How's Master been doing in hospital? If you don't me asking.

Leroy: Baek's doing just as fine as he always been. 'Kept asking about you a lot these days, said you need to visit him more. I didn't tell 'em about you getting locked up today, so you don't have to worry on that front.

Hwoarang: ('Sighs in Relief') Thanks, gramps.... The last thing I wanna do is make him have another heart attack.

Xiaoyu: (Starts Gushing Up Over her and Jin's Boyfriend) Awwww~ You're still worried about your dad, Hwo?~

Jin: Guess the Street Punk really does have a heart after all.

Hwoarang: ('Scoffs') Oh piss off. I've always had a heart.

Jin: Then why don't you show it off that often?

Hwoarang: Cuz unlike you nerds, I have an actual reputation to maintain.

Leroy: (Raises an Eyebrow) Of being a hoodlum?

Hwoarang: (Forms a Cocky Smirk) The Strongest Hoodlum that ever lives.

Jin: (Gives Hwoarang a Deadpinned Look Along with Everyone Else) Right....

Xiaoyu: You're impossible sometimes.

Leroy: No wonder why your old man been stressing over you....

Sugar: ('Whimpers')

Hwoarang: (Comically Glares at Everyone) Again! Piss off, all of you!!

@cyber-wildcat

@ma-lemons

@caleb13frede

@albion-93

[demonsfate]

as much as i love shipping hwoarang x steve, as a jin main i can't help but feel like a loud minority of them seem to really hate jin. i remember someone on this site said like "they clearly get along better than Hwoarang ever did with Jin". like they think jin is a rude bitch who constantly trash talks hwoarang. when jin has shown throughout the series (especially tekken 3-5) he actually gives a fuck about hwoarang. unlike other "edgelord" characters like say sasuke or vergil (especially the former, who is such a jerk bastard that constantly calls naruto and sakura "annoying" and tries to kill them multiple times on his own volition), jin never intentionally hurt hwoarang's feelings or downplay his strength in any way. jin straight up apologizes to hwoarang for breaking a promise in tekken 5, and also says he's busy with family issues at the time. if jin really was a rude person, he would've called hwoarang "an annoying weak nuisance who is nothing compared to him". jin also saved hwoarang's ass in tekken 4 when he was about to get arrested by the military, jin could've easily just left hwoarang behind but he decided to help instead. in his non-canon tag 2 ending, jin clearly enjoys going on a motor bike race with hwoarang. jin also actually smiles when he is around hwoarang too, which means he is happy around him and actually appreciates his friendship with him. the only time jin "tried to kill him" was in tekken 5, when he lost control of his powers and hwoarang got hospitalized. jin is only distant towards hwoarang because of his fucked up family starting shit and his devil gene which he couldn't control at the time. he doesn't want hwoarang to get into the cross fires. it's thanks to tekken 6's existence where jin kazama was OOC as fuck in that game we get takes like this in the community.

like i said earlier i LOVE hwoarang x steve, i enjoy looking at fanart of the two being shipped together and i have so many bookmarks of them as a gay couple on ao3. i wish hwoarang and steve got to interact more often in canon outside of tekken 5 intro, tekken 8, and street fighter x tekken. i love watching hwoarang's character relationship with steve fox. but i get so angry when they hate on jin for "being a stupid kazama/mishima getting in the way" of their ship just like how so many damn SNS/SasuNaru shippers hate on literally every female character in Naruto (I hate both SNS and Sasuke with a burning passion). I enjoy reading HwoSteve fanfic, I just hate seeing my main being basically a victim of yaoi sometimes lol. (T＿T) hope you have a good day, been enjoying your blog so far.

surprisingly i don't care much for the steve x hwoarang ship. i dunno why! maybe due to their lack of interactions outside the stuff you mentioned? (not that that's ever stopped me before haha!) but i do see the potential in it. and well, jin, hwoa, & steve are my brot3.

the funny thing is, outside of tk6 and awful crossovers that were affected by tk6's virus, jin is usually nicer to hwoarang than hwoarang is to jin. usually hwoa tries to instigate jin, much to hwoa's failure. actually, it's not like jin is any "meaner" to hwoa than steve is. in all their official interactions, they tend to fight or insult each other lol.

i find it funny that there's a big belief that kazuya was influenced by the devil gene and is truly a Fine Guy, but when jin was genuinely not in control (devil nearly killing hwoa in tk5) -- everyone still blames jin and uses that as ammo as to why he's truly a Bad Guy lmao.

really and sadly, many shippers tend to hate any one that "potentially gets in the way." i know i used to argue with jinxiao shippers who would go as far as to deny jin & hwoa even being friends just because they can't stand the idea of the "hwoajin" ship getting in the way. even though i'd only say they're friends not lovers -- which is true! they are CANONICALLY friends, it's so silly to deny that.

LOL, can't say i share your hatred of sasuke tho just 'cos i've never watched / read naruto! i probs won't ever just 'cos it's too long for me to hold interest in lol. but thank you! i hope you're having a good day, too.

[wonkyjaw]

Some TSC things I can’t stop thinking about that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

Jean (and likely Riko) had no idea the Foxes knew as much as they did… and Jean already thought the Foxes were crazy for keeping Kevin and Neil.

Dealing with Neil over Christmas Break was a “salve for Jean’s sanity” despite how hard Neil made things for them by fighting back and despite having “a longer leash” than Kevin was ever afforded. Despite Zane’s reaction to Neil’s reappearance.

The fact that Kevin knew just from Jean's reaction to him mentioning Neil didn't sign the Raven contract that he and Riko had waterboarded Neil. Like… the implications of that????

Subpoint: Does Neil even realize that’s what happened or has he fully blocked it out??

I can’t tell if I’m just getting older or if Jeremy and Jean’s view of Wymack makes him that much more… compelling.

Jeremy’s POV during the Foxes v Trojans game. The way the Foxes picked Trojans back up so casually endearing them to Jeremy. Just that when they weren’t fighting for their lives, Foxes had time to spare energy on just being kind in a way no one had cared to see before but it’s important to Jeremy. Ugh.

Jeremy used the phrase “duty-bound” more than once to describe things he didn’t want to necessarily do. What the fuck is up with that?

Also, sir, why is your rich white ass hiding from cops. I would like the tea, please.

Renee’s rediscovered simple delights being “butterflies, fresh baked bread, the crunch of leaves on an autumn morning.” And then Jean taking that idea up and consistently listing his own simple delights as he discovered them (it might kill me yet).

“Her love was so tender it looked like grief” (I am going feral what the fuck)

Bee getting Jean to talk to her by pretending to know less than nothing about Exy and after Jean goes off about it she explains she did it because she was curious if he cared enough to explain it to her. That she wasn’t sure if they were at the court for comfort or contrition and the fact that she specifically used the word contrition…

Also the fact that she likely brought up with the goals look like because everyone seems to be under the impression that the goal has a net for some reason? I’ve read so much fanfic, the goal always gets described a hundred different ways, part of me feels like this was Nora’s way of saying “no you’re wrong!” And I laughed really hard when I read it.

Also also, I would kill to know what all Bee knows.

After the Raven game Jean made a list of every time Kevin and Neil got bullied by the Raven backliners and by the end had four full pages of scathing remarks about it. I’m not sure what to read into that, but it has not left my mind since I read it.

All of the background noise when Renee calls Jean and tells him not to watch the news. Glass breaking and yelling, a scene I’ve always wanted was Neil telling (or not) the rest of the Foxes about Riki’s death. So these little insights are so tantalizing. Wait, dear god, is it in the EC?

Jeremy’s conversation with his sister??? How a new scandal was overdue because he should end the way he started??? Neil didn’t give a shit about the Trojans and Jeremy refuses to think about it so now I’m desperate to know what the fuck that meant. Along with the comment about a fall banquet tearing his family apart????

The fact that every time Jean refers to Neil/Kevin/Andrew/Nicky’s room in Fox Tower it is always always just Neil’s room. It’s so funny to me.

Renee gave Jean her cross 😭

Wymack flew with Jean to California only to fly directly back to South Carolina. Jean referred to Wymack as unreal and I so fully agree.

Jeremy’s yo-yo.

The random “fan” calling Jean “Gene Moore” making me realize that there’s a large amount of people who would not know how to pronounce his name and how insufferable that’s going to end up being when he’s forced to handle the media and public more often.

Jean just casually grabbing Jeremy by the chin… more than once.

“You are not them.” Vs. “I won’t be like them. I won’t let you let me be.”

“I’m fine.” Vs. “Accidents happen in scrimmages.”

“Don’t I at least deserve the chance to not be a villain in your story?”

Jean breaking a glass when Cat mentions Laila was going to get him a sex toy. Jeremy making it to the kitchen in record time.

“You are Jean Moreau. Your place is here with me, with us. I’m your captain. You’re my partner.” Vs. “You’re Neil Josten. You’re starting striker for the Palmetto State Foxes. Your father is dead. You are safe.”