#dal tag

[onedoors]

[yourangle-yuordevil]

First time they make an effort (because going to the bathhouses Barbie style™ would have raised more questions than necessary...)

[whymakedecisions]

Saw the version with the og 5 going around, so I thought I'd spread the deluxe (2x the chaos, double the potential for unhinged admirals) edition.

[louthestarspeaker]

it's almost 1am here's my essay about Dal and captainhood <333

I hath promised a Dal essay and I hath delivered… 

I've had this in the drafts for so long, but I just rewatched season two and it really allowed me to solidify a lot of my thoughts.

One of things that really strikes me about Dal's character and his relationship to command is that being in charge is a place of safety for him. He's had to be self-reliant and self-sufficient pretty much his whole life until the Protostar. It's something that was engraved into him since he was small, that the only person Dal could really depend on was himself.

And because he was never around anyone who actually cared about him until the Protostar, that was the right thing to do. This need to be in charge, to be in control really, is a learned survival skill. "I can tell you from experience, people in authority lie."

But in season two, his circumstances have changed (for the better!), and that's not the right thing to do anymore. Ultimately, to me, Dal's season two character arc is about vulnerability and trust. He's been in survival mode for so, so long, and now we watch him learn to heal.

You start with this boy who's spent the grand majority of his life alone or with people who are exploiting him, and the story takes him by the hand and tells him "now that you're safe, now that you have people who care about you, you can't live like that anymore."

All throughout season one he learns trust. Trust in his crew, in Hologram Janeway, in the Federation and in Starfleet as institutions that can and will help him and his newfound family. But as a captain,when he was guiding his crew through active crisis after crisis, trust looked like open doors. It looked like laying out all the variables and problems on a table so they could figure a way out together. 

Trust looks very different on the Voyager-A. It asks him to have faith in what he's not seeing, what he's not being told. He has to believe that they have his best interests at heart, that he's not trusting his family to something that will try to hurt them. 

Captainhood isn't just bossing people around for Dal. It's the responsibility of holding the lives of the people he loves in his hands. He trusts his own hands. He has the best interest of his crew at heart. 

To ask Dal to relinquish control, is to ask him to place the lives of himself and his family into someone else's hands. Which, historically, has not gone great for them. It prods directly at his trauma, asks him to take undo and ignore the survival instincts that kept them alive for so long. Is it any wonder he has trouble with that?

Dal's not going around crawling through Jeffries Tubes because he's a brat or because he thinks he's entitled to know everything. He's a traumatized kid whose self-sufficiency, independence, and ability to make his own decisions were once, for a very long time, the literal line between life and death for him and his crew.

And even if he trusts Starfleet and Janeway in his head on a logical level (which I absolutely believe he does), there's still this instinct that's written into him. It's a process to learn how and when to turn that off, and that's what we see especially throughout the first half of season two. 

This really culminates in the cafeteria scene after they return with the Protostar and Chakotay, when Dal advocates for the Starfleet temporal management guys to figure out a way to get the Protostar back to Tars Lamora. Dal was able to see that his hands weren't the best ones for the job, and trust Gwyn's life to someone else. That's huge for him. He trusts not just a person, but a branch of an institution he's never interacted with before, with one of the people that mean the very most to him. And Dal's able to give up that control, to place himself and his crew in that position of potential vulnerability, because he's finally started to feel it in his bones that he's safe here.

[xchronicles]

I need to get all my thoughts out so I can refocus on my work. It’s also in the creative field, and I can't think about it if I’m stuck in a JC loop xD

I wanna talk about why I know Chakotay is inlove with Janeway and why I don’t question that aspect of the show. I’ll just take Cracked Mirror as an example:

It's been made clear how Chakotay feels about Janeway. We never got to hear what he told Holo Janeway or the kids during their time on Ysida, but we did see the results of their conversations. First, Dal jokes about the Admiral’s Ready Room, and then Gwyn pushes him to stop teasing Chakotay about being all pampered up in such a direct way. Gwyn does also encourage Chakotay by saying he looks great. Instead of feeling shy, he actually asks them if he looks like he’s trying too hard? They know what’s up. This isn’t news to them. That’s when Holo Janeway shows up, asking, “Is that a bad thing?” She’s implying that it’s good that he’s trying hard because it makes his intentions and feelings clear. Chakotay then admits he wishes he could’ve come back sooner, with fewer gray hairs, clearly worrying about how Janeway will feel about him. Will she still find him attractive? After all, he is 10 years older. Holo Janeway comforts him, saying there’s no point dwelling on what could’ve been. There’s no ambiguity in this scene - it makes Chakotay’s feelings clear. He wants to look good because he’s concerned about how Admiral Janeway will perceive him. Will she still find him attractive? He’s worried, and you don’t worry about whether a friend finds you attractive - that’s a romantic concern.

Then, after Janeway and Chakotay finally reunite, Gwyn tells Dal that she had told him she could handle going through different realities. Dal replies that it wasn’t her he was worried about; he was concerned about Chakotay. Knowing how Chakotay feels about Janeway, Dal was afraid of what it would do to Chakotay, having to face more realities where Janeway was either dead or missing. Dal was genuinely worried about how much more loss Chakotay could take. In the following episode, Dal hears Chakotay laughing in the mess hall with Janeway. Gwyn notices his attention on them and also takes a look. Seeing Janeway grab Chakotay’s hand makes her smile. Both Gwyn and Dal are clearly happy that Janeway and Chakotay are finally together. They know how Janeway and Chakotay feel about each other and are happy for them, regardless of whether Janeway and Chakotay have discussed it yet.

Bonus point: the way he intimately clasps her hand with both of his when he gives her his CHAH-mooz-ee followed by a shy smile and calling her his home. Dude is head over heels. Just like with his warrior story, he's telling her how he feels in non-direct ways in hopes that she will understand him.

That's it. I think this is where I take a break from this because I really need to get back to work and shift my focus away from it. I've been at it for the past few days, and I'm happy I have been because I don't remember the last time creativity hit me this hard.

Chakotay loves Janeway in every single way, including romantically. No questions about it. Where Janeway stands, though, depends on whether Mulgrew or the Hagemans allow her to break free from the constraints she's been tethered to for being a woman.

[sentient-cloud]

The magic that seeks to create a worthy scion in Stallion Quartermane’s image is woven deeply into the world of Lemuria, creating countless ‘heroes’ in its history. Of course, all were failures, in a technical sense. No great heroes of the past managed to harness The Old One’s secrets and rise to become his ideal scion, despite the world’s best efforts. Not all even accomplished great feats and notoriety, such as the legendary He Mander. Some simply ran headfirst into danger until they couldn’t anymore.

Eileen Patrick was one of those heroes. Born and raised amidst the upper crusts of Heap, she spent her days living the life of a socialite, dressing up pretty and talking nice to her father’s friends. He was the only family she had, and in her eyes he was an admirable, hardworking man, a man who’s secretive work must surely be of great importance, importance that would one day be passed down to Eileen, hopefully. Of course, in Heap such wealth rarely comes cleanly. Eileen only found out about her father’s workings with the cities mobs and mana smuggling when it got him killed. Bitter at her father for his secretive dealings and even more bitter at the crime lords for taking him from her, she coped the only way a girl could, becoming a masked vigilante known as The Dalmino Lady.

The Dalmino Lady’s run of Heap lasted all of four years, but it was the only time Eileen Patrick felt fully alive. Running across rooftops in heels with a reckless abandon, seducing her way into criminals homes, and stealing evidence of their crimes (and perhaps a few extra things as well, certainly this necklace would be better off in the hands of that pretty waitress at the diner on the corner.) It’s also when she met Darla Blake, her closest friend and a woman she fell deeply, helplessly in love with. A hero in her own right, going my the moniker Miss Purry, the two wagered themselves a fierce duo. They were unstoppable, they could make a real difference in lives of Heap’s citizens, they were certain of it. Then a new face showed up in Heap, a man they called a Lion, and the scales tipped. Of course, Dal couldn’t have known this, and her confidence was only growing. Confidence that led to arrogance, which led to rushing in fights without a second thought to one’s lack of combat abilities, which led to bleeding out in a dark alley at the age of 24. The Dalmino lady’s Demise and Eileen’s secret identity would be spread around in newspapers and as a topic of conversation amongst gatherings of socialites, before eventually, it was forgotten. Darla retired from the hero business, and that was that for Heaps grand heroes.

Eileen’s biggest talent is her charisma, she’s, a talker, first and foremost. And seduction, well, she can charm her away around any man she pleases. Women… she stumbles her way around, it’s a lot harder when you actually care. Of course it all became a matter of business when she met Darla. Following after anyone else would be utterly unthinkable.

She enjoys a good drink, though she’ll more often than not exaggerate just how much she’s had, it makes people let their guard down, and works as a good excuse for a quick exit. While her identity as the Dalmino Lady is a close kept secret, she craves notoriety, to be known for her actions rather than just her pretty face. She’s crafted calling cards, little taunts to slip in the place of the items she steals - it’s no fun if people aren’t talking about you.

——

Eileen! My token Lemuria hero oc, she’s similarly based on a classic pulp hero, her inspiration is The Domino Lady. Miss Purry credit to @kindcolors, everyone go clap for her too, she kind of won the nonhuman w101 oc bracket a bit back.

[haitianempress]

I see why DALS fans want that update so badly

I'm taking back what I said...Dracula a Love Story is GOOD! BUT the past is what really draws me in. Idc about the regular life like girl go paint so you can find out more.

I just finished season 4 and in my opinion that's the best season in the story. I like how everything is getting pieced together to get the full story of Vlad and Lale's story. All that's left is to find out what exactly happened to Lale, how to get rid of Vlad 's darkness, and what happened to Lale's cousins that cause them to be cursed or whatever.

Noe's backstory is amazing like WOW! Vlad earned my respect cause he really didn't want to hurt Lale but he's the way he is because he loved her so much 🥹. And Leo has the most interesting backstory out of all the characters. I mean holy shit this boy survived being killed and he was able to get the sword promised to him?? King Aslan OK!!

I can see why their readers are in a desperate need for the update. THE STORY IS GOOD 💯. DALS on 🔝 🧛🏻‍♂️👸🏽🧑🏼‍🦰

[nientedal]

"Zira" "Azi" "Az" SIGHHHHHH

is anybody else irritated at the widespread fandom nicknaming of Aziraphale and fucking nobody else? is that just me? because it really feels like a "oooh [wince-hisses through teeth], no, that's too long and weird. that's too hard. i'm gonna call you This instead" situation, and i do not care for it. it pissed me off when i was writing good omens fanfic thirteen years ago and it pisses me off now. you care enough about everyone else to get their names right, all the unusual demon and angel monikers, but oh no, Aziraphale, oh that's ten whole letters, that's way too long. oh you're not gonna bother to type all that, no, his name is just Zira now.

and like, he's not real, so this super duper does not matter and isn't deeply and incredibly shitty the way it is when it's directed at real people. but it still rubs me the wrong way every time i see it. that's not his name! why is his name not good enough for you to take the time to type out the way you do for everyone else! ugh.

[affogonellamarmellata]

è l'ora dello sbusto

[onedoors]

[dhampling]

"the girls"............ PLEASE tell me this is about dadstarion and HIS girls 👀 i will pass away (and even if it's not i'm sure it's GORGEOUS)

oh love. of COURSE IT IS.

the girls started as an observational bit of astarion watching the girls eat dinner on a regular evening and turned into a mini retrospective on how he sees them as they've aged a lil bit. incredibly fluffy, v melancholic.

i try to keep my dadstarion stuff as wide-reaching as possible so it's been an interesting challenge not to allow my own headcanons to bleed through - even down to the number of girls around the table. i tend to try and focus on one at a time (usually the eldest, because i'm an eldest daughter and i think the dynamic there is interesting)

fun fact: i've named all nine of those pretty little bitches in my head, and they all have their own personalities - but that is so far away from the content i create and will continue to be! if anyone is interested though i would be delighted to share my thoughts.

thank you for asking!!! this was really sweet!

[carnivorouswillgraham]

my sunlit sweethearts🖤🐾

[louthestarspeaker]

love when Dal says go fast btw. perfect catch phrase, 10/10, no notes

[divinemissem13]

Tag Game: First 10 Lines Challenge

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

Thank you so much for tagging me, @curator-on-ao3! I currently have 5 unrevealed challenge works and I considered waiting, but let's be honest, I will forget by the time the author reveals happen in another week. So, I guess, watch this space if you're curious about any of those! For now, here are my last 10 works that are actually viewable!

Flirtin' With Disaster (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, 12 chapters, M)

Things with Fritz end just about as smoothly as they can, but it’s still hard. He threatens to start drinking again if Brenda leaves him, and she reminds him (as well as herself) that it’s not her responsibility to keep him sober.

2. Not Today (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, 250 words, T)

Brenda lightly kisses Sharon's fingertips one by one until the brunette stirs enough for Brenda to slide out of her arms. Sharon knows what she's doing. She wants to hold on tighter, but instead she feigns sleep and lets go.

3. Jankom Pog CanNOT Fix It (Star Trek Prodigy: Dal R'El & Jankom Pog, one-shot, G)

"Jankom! Have you seen this?" Dal exclaimed, crashing through the door of their shared quarters so loudly that Jankom nearly fell out of his chair.

4. When the Rain Washes You Clean You'll Know (ST Voyager: Janeway/Chakotay, one-shot, G)

The blankets on her bed were flimsy protection at best, but still Kathryn huddled beneath them as the rain pounded the side of the building, thunder and lighting crashing and flashing in quick succession.

5. I Could Drink a Case of You (ST Voyager/TNG: Beverly Crusher/ Kathryn Janeway, one-shot, T)

Kathryn steps onto the holodeck and into a program she has never seen before. The air is damp with morning dew, the landscape lush and green, and there’s a small house with a garden, stuffed to the brim with flowers and herbs she doesn’t recognize. She’s never seen it before, but she knows immediately where she is. Not that it matters; she’s here for a person, not a program.

6. Beautiful Disaster (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, 3 chapters, T)

No police officer ever wants to fire their weapon. No good police officer, anyway. And Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, despite a myriad of other failings, is a good police officer.

7. Work/Life Balance (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, one-shot but fun fact: I'm currently working on several new chapters!, T)

It’s not unheard of for one or both of them to catch a case in the middle of the night, and so far, it hasn’t ever been for the same case.

8. What You're Willing To Overlook (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, fluff-spring drabble series, T)

“I find that good relationships sometimes depend... on what you're willing to overlook.” Sharon said softly, her hand on Brenda’s arm. Brenda’s arm tingled where Sharon’s hand made contact and suddenly, right there in the bullpen, surrounded by her team, their eyes met and a realization hit Brenda like a lightning bolt.

9. Time Stands Still (Doctor Who: Fourteen & Donna Noble, fluff-spring drabble series, G)

The TARDIS fit perfectly in the Noble-Temple back yard. It complimented the style of Rose’s shed - or maybe it was the other way around - and no one ever asked questions when it just showed up there one day and stayed.

10. Not So Secret Admirer (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, one-shot, G)

“You and Agent Howard patching things up, Chief?” Flynn asked, knocking on the door frame as he let himself in to Brenda’s office. “Now what would give you that idea, Lieutenant?” Brenda asked without looking up from her paperwork. “Well, someone out there must be trying to impress you,” he chuckled. “Special delivery,” he added, placing the vase of roses on her desk, right on top of the paperwork where they couldn’t be ignored.

tagging @ussjellyfish, @go-tell-the-bees, @caitylove, @fracktastic, @kate04us, @holy-ships-x-red-lips, @madamairlock, @neverenough37, @commandermeg and anyone else who wants to share! <3

[swars-is-a-curse]

OKAY DESIBLR , APKE SCREEN PE PHELA SVAL *KBC MUSIC PLAYS*

[colliholly]

It's been 1 year since I have recognized how lovely and attractive Spamton is and started drawing him frequently than before! I want to say thank you to Spamton and all fans who love him so much, especially you!

You're the first one who have been showing him so lovely and giving me various positive things, so I could overcome my hard time a few months ago.

Now I will say, thank you for sharing your love to him. Also I really appreciated of being a good friend! I'm cheering your doing etsy job! I will purchase some merchandise someday. Have a good one! :D

Hi Lunar! Thank you for the kind message and for being a good friend. It's been great having you be part of the community, thank you for supporting all my Spamton nonsense over the past year as well <3