#echoes of a paradox tho????

[finely-tuned-line]

RP:

PRIVATE TRANSMISSION

FTL: Echoes of a Paradox.

EP: Hello Finely-Tuned Line.

EP: Did you finally decide to drag yourself out of your cowardice?

FTL: No. I contact you for reasons much worse.

EP: Finely-Tuned Line, I know. You sent an emergency broadcast, of course I know. But what do I, insignificant little Echoes of a Paradox, have to do with your great plan to save the world?

EP: Like, come on. You don't reply to me for several cycles and only do so when it's advantageous for you.

EP: Alright. Why am I even surprised. What do you want?

FTL: ...

FTL: I promise I'll apologise after all this is over.

EP: Sure.

FTL: What information do you hold about Songs of the Negative Sunlight's current situation - if you hold any information at all.

EP: Of course you drag xim into your own mess

EP: I don't think I know more than you do, xi and I didn't talk much near the end.

FTL: Understood.

EP: Do send xim my well-wishes though.

FTL: If my assumptions are right, xi won't make it out, well-wishes or not.

EP: I know. I've figured it out too, y'know.

FTL: Right.

EP: I will hold you to that apology you promised.

FTL: Alright.

EP: Good luck.

[arolesbianism]

Guys why is rain world so good (<- rewatched some scenes and teared up on all of them)

[star-burrow]

Gender is so weird. How do people know their gender ? What even is it to feel your gender ?? I don't feel a thing that looks like a gender but I also don't feel a thing that feels like having no gender. I was “born a girl” but I think it would be entirely reasonable for people to think I'm a boy, and even if I dislike it a bit it feels like just a feature that I'm slightly uncomfortable with but need to learn to live with. Not in a bad way though. Kinda comforting in a way.

[cdroloisms]

speaking of how Weird c!sam is about c!dream, one of my fav things abt c!awesamdream in canon is definitely how they. don't see eye to eye on this? like c!dream doesn't get it and a point is made of how he doesn't get it again and again--the most glaring example, of course, being how sure c!dream is that he'll die if he gives up the book versus c!sam being just as sure when he tells him that he won't die (but, somewhat paradoxically, sounding just as sure when he says that he was looking forward to getting the book so he could kill dream and be done with it)

because in strictly pragmatic terms, once c!dream gives up the book, it's game over for him. there's no reason for c!sam to want him alive, in his mind, from any rational perspective--that was literally the whole reason why he was put in the prison, for god's sake. c!dream makes sense of what c!sam does in terms of practicality--the torture was to get the book, he can understand that, whatever. he takes issues with c!sam's being a hypocrite, but can understand c!sam in terms of himself as something with literal value (the book, 'financial benefit', the works.)

but as much as c!sam dresses up his actions in terms of practicality, he's. very much tied his identity to c!dream-as-prisoner in a way that is so far removed from purely his duty as the prison warden. his complicated feelings on dream's life in his hands are a testament to this--he has to keep dream alive, he hates this, he doesn't let dream die, he promises to keep dream alive if he gives up the book and he believes it, he looks forward to getting the book so they can finally kill dream and be done with it, the first time he brings quackity into the prison is on the heels of a fantasy of pinning dream to the ground and killing him, the last time he escorts him out is because he can't let quackity in with the knowledge that doing so will be dream's death sentence, he reacts to knowledge of dream's death by calling it freedom, he would let his dog and his significant other and damn near the whole fucking server burn for dream's life. dream speaks of his value in sam's life in terms of rare magical items and monetary profit and sam grapples not with how much dream is worth, over and over again, but what he can and will admit to himself

and. god. i keep thinking about scrapped lore, and the two different descriptions of it we got from cc!dream and cc!sam because god i feel like it. really does reflect this. like dream describes his character as "manipulating" sam and specifically mentions doing so by telling sam to "prove that you're not like [dream + quackity]", echoing daedalus, as well as promising not to attack sam or quackity etc etc etc. and it's so interesting to me because...as far as this goes in terms of a method of convincing sam. it doesn't. like sam doesn't need to prove to dream that he's different. even if we look at daedalus in specifics, the most sam really goes is grouping dream with himself (which is. crazy to be clear tho) by asking about dream using the prison for Someone Truly Evil, as in, someone not "like us." the furthest sam goes in daedalus is the consideration of dream as...someone with reasons, and therefore maybe less True Evil. he never actually admits he's a "bad person". and hell, in scrapped lore, quackity is specifically invoking daedalus by telling sam that this is revenge For The Death Dream Gave Him down to finding the exact murder weapon in order to return the favor. sam has every reason to want revenge, and dream's attempt at manipulation doesn't look particularly favorable when we consider sam's motivations.

but when we look at sam's same description of events, it goes as follows: "Dream would like, plead for me to like, save him. And I would." and it's so crazy to me because sam makes zero mention of dream's "reasons", his list of all the specific things he has to offer sam to make his life worth it, not the book not justifications of morality not dream's promises to leave him alone. all of it gets boiled down to what dream is asking for--to be saved, and to be saved by sam. at the heart of the matter, dream is asking for his life. and when it comes down to it? that's enough. that in itself is enough. sam doesn't bend himself in half describing all the moral reasons why he makes the choice he does, doesn't weigh it all on a scale of what is deserving and what is justice and what is "good" and "evil"--dream asks for him to save him. and he would.

like. and it's like, c!dream's side of c!awesamdream is also pretty damn significant--c!dream chose c!sam as his warden, literally put his life in his hands, like. their relationship predates the prison and c!dream's feelings about c!sam are evidently complicated. i'd go as far as saying that c!dream, post-prison, shows a certain degree of familiarity and even comfort with c!sam's presence in ways that aren't really true of just about anyone else--daedalus in itself includes more 1 on 1 c!dream + c!sam time than his interactions with just about any other character post-prison. even when we see c!dream with c!punz, the first interaction we see of the two of them together immediately post-prison is very short, and the streams in the finale involve quite a lot of posturing in front of c!clingy (the saw trap still makes me laugh.) daedalus isn't entirely honest, obviously, but between c!dream going "yes i'm an evil guy but i have reasons" and telling tommy that he's (checks notes) tortured vikkstar + lazar for months and decided to kill everyone to become immortal with punz and is going to kill one of c!clingy as an experiment to see how "dying a hero" influences limbo (?????) i'm kinda willing to bet that the former is a little bit more truthful to what we know about c!dream's character. but all of this makes sense,,, obviously. trauma bonding is a hell of a drug and c!dream spent a whole ass year together in the prison--his messy relationship with c!sam (and Insistence on calling them friends, which, although obviously used ironically is still kinda crazy considering) gives me brainworms, but is far from unreasonable considering the circumstances.

c!sam, on the other hand, has built his entire fucking identity around dream at this point . and the kicker is that dream doesn't even recognize to what extent this is true. they are so

[chicaseptic]

Pokemon Violet: Poisonous Rebirth

Chapter 1: Welcome to Kitakami.

The first chapter is done, hope you all enjoy it! Any advice is welcome and so are questions.

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The Paldea Region…a region where people and Pokémon co-exist. From the skies to the seas, there are Pokémon at every corner! At the heart of the region lies a giant crater inaccessible to ordinary people…and around this area, in a corner around the crater, lies an academy known as Naranja Uva Acadamy. An academy where students can learn from basic lessons such as language, maths, and P.E. to Home EC, students are offered dorms, and within the academy is a shop where they have everything they need. Within the academy resides the prodigy known as Florian.

Florian is a young 14-year-old trainer who reached the Champion Rank thanks to his rival. His friend group consisted of Nemona(The Battle Hungry maniac), Arven(His cook bestie), Penny(Hacker VeeVee girl), and of course, the iconic paradox Pokémon, Miraidon. Due to his appearance, Florian was often mistaken for a girl until he spoke, which he always found funny. Sometimes, he’d just let people think he was a girl for some time and then speak.

One day, Florian heard of a trip to a place called Kitakami…which caught the young trainer’s interest. So, he willingly signed up…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the airport, Arven, Nemona, Penny, and their mother met up to bid Florian ‘bye’ even tho it was temporary.

“Make sure you call us, little buddy!” Arven grinned.

“Make sure you get stronger so we can have more fruitful battles!” Nemona chimed.

“Make sure you call…” Penny muttered softly.

Florian looked at his ride partner, Miraidon, who chirped happily. They could tell the electric/dragon type was excited to see more of the world.

Florian stared out the window, wondering how long has it been since he took off to Kitakami. He was bored out of his mind and he had a nap not too long ago. His partner, Meowscarada, on the other hand, was still napping. That grass cat Pokemon HATED being in her Pokeball, so it was up to Florian to ensure this cat wasn’t causing mischief. The boy checked his room phone.

“Man…this is taking forever…and we also need to take the bus…” They muttered to themselves.

Florian looked around the plane, so many trainers…many faces he could recognize as students but not know on a personal level, and then there was Ms.Briar…Florian wasn’t fond of her…and neither was the Magician Pokemon…

Florian checked his team: Meowscarada, A recently caught shiny Flygon, The guardian Miraidon, Azumarill, A shiny Lucario, and a shiny Gengar.

Some of these Pokemon were hatched, some were just caught at their current stages but they all obeyed Florian flawlessly.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the pilot announce their descent.

“Finally…”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kitakami…a small village-like region and a popular tourist destination…home to Pokemon who are not found in Paldea. Florian got off the bus and looked around.

‘So much green…’ They thought.

Briar guided the students to the community center, yet Florian was lost in the scenery…until he bumped into someone!

“Grah!” A voice echoed.

“A-Ah! Are you ok!?” Another voice chimed in.

Florian looked in front of him. A tall girl with a dark smoke brown hairband and eyes looked down at me. Her hairband had dark smoke-brown wings with dark orange tips. Her dark blue hair with a harsh pink interior and yellow highlights in the front hair waved elegantly in the gentle wind.

“What gives!?” She shouts.

“I-I am sorry! I got c-caught up in the surroundings!”

“Surroundings…I take it you are…new here…?”

Florian looked at the source of the other voice. A smaller boy, around Florian’s age, seemed to share a similar hairstyle to the girl. Although his hairband was a harsh pink with what Florian believes are chains hanging loosely. The boy’s pink eyes were something they were sure to never forget.

“Ummmm…you are staring at me…” the boy spoke softly.

“S-Sorry!” Florian apologized.

“Yea…I will just…mark all of this as you being new here…”

Florian nods, glad that it got sorted quickly.

“I’m Kieran…the featherbrain with wings is my sister…Carmine.”

“Hey! Who are you calling a featherbrain!?” Carmine shouts, getting all riled up.

“You…jeez…” Kieran retorted, sighing. “Sorry about the featherbrain…she gets…riled up easily, really.”

Florian couldn’t help but stare at the chains dangling from Kieran’s hairband…they were simply so pretty…no…Kieran was pretty. That shade of pink just really suits him…

“H-Huuuuuuuuuh!? Kieran suddenly blushed.

“W-Wait…what happened!?” Florian panicked.

“You just said my brother is pretty and that shade of pink really suits him…” Carmine spoke.

“I-I said that out loud!?” Behind Florian, Meowscarada chuckled.

Kieran, still flustered, took Florian’s hands in it’s and smiled.

“I-I think you look pretty too! E-Everything about you is unique!”

Carmine rolled his eyes.

‘Lovebirds…’ she mentally sighed.

The girl now watches as his little brother and the newcomer are flustered messes.

“ANYWAYS! Come now, new kid.” Said Carmine as she took Florian’s hand and took him to the Community center, Kieran following behind.

A little bit later, we arrived at the center.

“Florian! There you are!” Ms. Briar spoke as she approached me.

“Now we know your name…” Kieran muttered.

Florian chuckled.

“Sorry…”

“I see you met the two group guides already!”

“I’ll get these kids! Kiki, you get Florian!” Carmine said/

For a second, Florian swore Carmine chiriped…like a bird.

Once the groups were decided, I looked at Kieran and smiled.

“Lead the way!~” Florian smiled.

Kieran fidgeted nervously but nodded.

“O-Ok…follow me…”

‘Strange…’ Kieran thought as it couldn’t shake off the smile from Florian. ‘What is he…doing?’

Thoughts ran through the young boy’s head…

“HOLD IT!” Carmine’s voice rang loudly.

Kieran and Florian turned around, only to see Carmine rush at them.

“I want to battle Florian!”

Florian could see a spark in Carmine’s charcoal eyes. A desire to battle.

“Hmmm…let me see if my team is in good condition…” Florian muttered, playing with his braided hair before reaching into his bag for the Pokemon. Meowscarada seemed in good condition. She seemed eager to fight!

“Alright…we can battle.” Florian exhaled.

Carmine looked like he wanted to jump up and down.

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

We went back to the front of the Community Center, Carmine pulled out a Pokeball. She confidently threw it and Mightyena came out.

Florian looked at Meowscarada and she jumped into the battle, meowing ferociously.

Carmine laughs as he gets into battle mode.

“Welcome to Kitamami! For your first experience, get ready to eat dirt!”

[yumiko-shigaraki]

chat im writing a yumiko/dabi fic I cant decide on a name tho so pick one for me

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

SPIDERSONA LORE BC I FELL DOWN THE HOLE AND HAVE GONE TOO DEEP AND I LOVE IT AND I WANNA WRITE AND DRAW ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME‼️‼️

I’ve been working on this concept for like two days because I am really silly and this is my hyperfixation. I really am thinking about writing about this as a y/n thing tho

Name: Sofia (it’s me ! )

Age: 20 years old

Spider-Man alias: idk yet I haven’t figured it out

Spiderverse alias: The Second Anomaly.”

Home dimension: 2803

Spiderverse Lore backstory:

When rifts in the multiverse opened to pull different variations of Spider-Man to Miles’s home dimension, a rift also opened up in Sofia’s home dimension, which is similar to dimension 1218. The interaction between Miles’s home dimension 1610 and her home dimension 2803 caused a catastrophic temporal rift that attempted to pull her into miles’ dimension, but failed. This resulted in her physical and temporal being becoming unstable. She constantly phases in and out of time, experiencing disjointed memories and struggled to maintain a stable existence. Her presence in her dimension began to cause temporal disturbances and paradoxes, ultimately causing her to become the second known anomaly in the multiverse.

Sofia's temporal instability poses a challenge to maintaining canon events across the multiverse. Her phasing in and out of time could inadvertently create disruptions and deviations from the established timeline, potentially leading to butterfly effects and altering the course of important events.

Recognizing the risk that Sofia’s presence could pose to the stability of her home dimension, Miguel O’Hara sensed the disturbance and intervened by removing Sofia from her home dimension. He kept brought her to his universe so that he could study her condition in a controlled environment and find a solution to stabilize her condition to prevent further disruptions. Sofia essentially becomes the first ever anomaly studied under the spider society.

Miguel creates a temporal stabilizer bracelet for Sofia that needs to undergo personalized calibration based on Sofia’s unique temporal signature. Miguel has to personally fine tune the device to her specific temporal patterns and fluctuations, as her temporal flux can get glitchy as time goes on.

Due to the nature of her temporal flux, sofia is no longer allowed to return to her home dimension. She remains at Miguel’s dimension so that he can continue studying her molecular structure with the intention of figuring out a way to return her to her normal condition and use that to fix the aftermath of anomalies that wreak havoc in other dimensions within the multiverse.

Sofia's temporal instability poses a challenge to maintaining canon events across the multiverse. Her phasing in and out of time could inadvertently create disruptions and deviations from the established timeline, potentially leading to butterfly effects and altering the course of important events.

——

Despite the accommodations that Miguel implemented, sofia still struggles with the effects of the temporal rift.

Along with her temporal instability, Sofia also experiences physical disruptions. Her body phases in and out of existence, sometimes causing her to become intangible or partially transparent. This instability leads to a constant feeling of unease, as she can never fully trust her own physical presence. It also makes basic tasks challenging, as she struggles to interact with objects or even maintain her balance when phasing in and out of time.

Occasionally, and only under overwhelming circumstances, Sofia phases through time itself. She does not do it physically, but in a mental manner as though she is experiencing an echo. Sofia's phasing in and out of time leads to fragmented memories. She experiences events from her past, present, and future all at once, making it challenging to differentiate between what has already happened and what is yet to come.

——

Accommodations to her spidersuit that help Sofia control the effects of the temporal rift that have taken place on her body:

Time-Aware AI Assistant:

Sofia’s suit integrates an artificial intelligence system with time awareness capabilities. This AI he,so her and Miguel monitor her temporal state, providing real time analysis of her phasing patterns, predictions incoming temporal fluxes, and offering recommendations on stabilizing techniques.

Her suit is also equipped with a temporal synchronization module that establishes a temporary link between her temporal state and the dimension that she enters. The module analyzes the time flow and chronology of the dimension she is in and recalibrates Sofia’s own temporal patterns to match. The synchronization allows her to temporarily synchronize her existence with the dimension so that she does not experience disruptive phasing effects.

——

[skayafair]

TST Old Notes Re: S1 Finale

Ooohhh my fucking goodness, this podcast... to wrap up the whole doppelganger thing LIKE THIS? BRILLIANT!!! The Theseus ship paradox in the beginning should have told as much but I was misled to think it was about Anna. But if Sam has memories of that child who made a deal with the lake entity, and is an idea of who that boy could have become - isn't that just that boy who grew up, albeit with some additional powers and a bit not as alive as everyone else? And that's exactly the question the podcast wants you to ask. It generally boils down to the initial question asked somewhere in the beginning: what makes a person - this person? If everything changes all the time, how do you tell when they are still them? Doppelganger, the Echo, was just a reflection, just like it said. And in the narrative, it was Sam's reflection. Bril-li-ant! I love it. I guess they will still try to find Anna tho since there were appearances here and there and the nature of time should be mentioned for a reason. And don't tell me they'll really bring mushrooms into this! 😆

Upd. And ALL the mirrors? The Echo, Sam, De Witt - all different types, different ideas of mimicking, reflecting, absorbing, _becoming_ someone they used to not be. They are like the edges of the same crystal. I looooove it when such a thing is done properly, and it IS! I wish I could write an essay on each one right this moment

Upd2. Also the way Echo died actually terrifies me. I'm totally on board with "there's nothing after death", blessed nothingness and peace, finally! BUT for a reason I can't quite comprehend, the thought of leaving no trace behind, as if I never existed in the 1st place, is soul-crashing. That's why I like bones so much - they are witnesses, storytellers, they are some indisputable proof someone was there and lived a life. It doesn't matter if it's impossible to discern what kind of life, just leaving this proof behind, that life existed at all, is already enough. And Echo didn't have this luxury. Maybe that's why it tried to create as many copies ad possible. We all cope with fear of death and what (not) comes after in different ways. Maybe that was its own way.

[finely-tuned-line]

RP:

PRIVATE TRANSMISSION

FTL: Doubt's Dichotomy. I am here to inquire about something related to your area of expertise. If you choose to answer, that is.

FTL: My inquiry is: what information do you have related to the Ancients' traditions and practices of duelling?

FTL: I was conversing with someone I... know, he brought up his interest in the subject, I offered to ask you, the sole specialist that I am aware of.

DD: ...

DD: duelling?

DD: according to my data, only about 67,9% of individual ancient cities had the tradition of duelling in some way

DD: most of them (31,2%) stuck to the typical 'first one to die loses' standard, with weapons limited to archaic ones (such as old explosion-powered guns and swords of all sorts)

DD: the second in popularity was using modern weapons (24,4%), which is usually defined as 'any weapon thats not archaic'. also typically with the 'first to die loses' rule

DD: third was weaponless (9,61%) - fighting directly, hand-to-hand. this one is mostly 'first to bad injury', i think because its harder to kill someone with no weapons

DD: fourth were duels of wit (2,46%). problems to be solved mentally, first to solve the problem correctly was the winner

DD: the last 0,23% were outliers... some odd things happening there

DD: my favourite is that one city that dueled mentally. not wit. but staring at eachother, fully believing that they were somehow hurting the other with their minds. thered be narrators describing all the 'action' and all of their 'tactics'. first one to pass out from the continued concentration loses. the one that loses would get ridiculed for 'not having good enough shields'

DD: the other outliers included things such as duels of skill (highest percentage amongst outliers - 0,12%, duels of performance, and duels of games

DD: usually someone was challenged to a duel for marriage, honour, entertainment/boredom, or revenge

DD: though thereve been records of odd duel conditions... such as the one where the ancients duelling were bitter rivals, and the agreement was the the loser would belong to the winner for all of their next life. the pearl i got that info from is... phrased weirdly

DD: duels were rarely ever called, it was typically seen as an indecent thing. didnt stop anyone from enjoying them tho

DD: that enough info?

FTL: Yes, thank you Doubt's Dichotomy.

DD: great, now fuck off. dont tlak to me.

FTL: I believe that Echoes of a Paradox is worried about you.

DD: good for them

FTL: Do at least talk to them. Don't pull the same thing that I did.

FTL: Though I suppose that circumstances are different. My situation had many factors, and I do still feel that I was justified in my leaving. I do not know what your situation is right now, so I cannot effectively compare.

FTL: I will utilise my rank if necessary. I... I am the Senior now, I have responsibilities.

FTL: Doubt's Dichotomy?

FTL: I'd rather you didn't abandon a conversation midway-through.

FTL: ...Alright.

FTL: Thank you once more for the information.

[mishkakagehishka]

And another reason why i don't like having a DNI is because it makes for either an echo chamber where you will never be exposed to differing opinions and made to think about your views or you're putting smth like "dni nazis" in your dni which is like. Functionally useless; no nazi will just go "awh i gotta respect their boundaries tho :("

A DNI is for annoying fandom shit where the other people would probably respect your boundary and making an echo chamber about it isn't as bad. Tho imo even that is like. If someone respects a DNI (boundaries) i'd be cool with interacting with them in most cases anyway. It's paradoxical to me*.

[trickstarbrave]

had a dream i was younger and there was an apocalyptic threat. uncreation itself in the form of darkness and swirling tendrils threatened to overtake the world. most people when too close lose their minds, and the lucky few are able to flee for a time, the illusion of safety.

my family was on vacation when it hit. the government tried to say it was natural disasters, but quickly the public was catching on it was more than this. it was something far worse. people were just beginning to panic but many other people were trying to hold it together, in deep denial

i, for some reason, knew about it. what was going on. i knew deep down that it could be stopped. i kept having dreams during evacuations of me in different places.

then i had the most vivid dream (dream paradoxes are a funny concept arent they lmao) where i was a little girl in i wanna say eastern europe??? by all accounts it might not have been actually earth. there was a wise woman and the sky was overcast in the weird colors that signify the uncreation was coming. the wise woman had told us we cant outrun it, we can only wait for our end. running was pointless. many of us had no tools to run even if we wanted to.

i still came to the old woman, crying and asking her how we stop it. she scoffed, and told me there is no stopping it. i kept crying and fell to the ground, dirt in my face, begging for it to stop. that i would do anything to get rid of it. and then she started laughing. i couldnt tell why, i thought she was making fun of me at first, but she quickly had me get up.

“alright then, if you really want to stop it.” she said “i think if anyone can, it would have to be you.” and from my chest she pulled a bright, shining light. the clouds vanished, and the creature made a rumble of discontent.

i quickly learned what id have to to do. and from that dream i woke up.

when i did, the clouds were there now, around us. people were panicking as they had seen the tendrils miles away, in the sky. that they saw people who hadn’t made it, but we were now so close it was hard to outrun it. my grandmother held me close, shaking. the ground was shaking the whole building we were in--i think an abandoned supermarket we hid out in.

i focused my mind, forcing the energy to come. bright light surrounded the building as an inhuman, almost unknowable cry echoed out. tendrils went on the attack, and were struck down with whips of pure light.

its around this time the details started getting fuzzy tho and i woke up :/

[acedarrowslingers]

Aella looks around hearing the voice echoing in her head before looking at the pokeball...

"what Pokemon I wish for...well. I am in need of more battle ready electric types."

She said this to herself

//any kind of electric types barring legendaries (paradox mons are fine tho) will do!

Anyone is free to interact!//

A Pokeball drops in front of you. A faint whisper flooding into your ears. “What do you desire in a pokemon companion? What pokemon do you wish for?” Said the voice. And now it's up to you. What pokemon do you wish to come out of this pokeball?

[iris-vaders]

gonna list moments i love from my viewing of the first two seasons of alien force. i had a phenomenal time watching it so buckle up (oh and spoilers! I should warn ya)

-fave aliens being big chill, swampfire, echo echo, and goop

-ben helping alan be heatblast had peter parker and miles morales vibes

-gwen holding kevin as he recovers from the taedenite absorption; it's so tender help me

-gwen saving herself from morningstar. she did that

-gwen standing up to her alien grandmother and choosing to stay human was so poignant to me. tho i would've liked to see her use her anodite abilities more like in the finale, i'm glad she chose to be her own person

-the whole gauntlet episode for the team bonding moments! oh and ben's "no juice for you! >:("

-paradox is such a cool character. we love a funky time traveler

-kevin having his arm around ben and ben winking at gwen at the end of the forever knights episode like hello??? ben tennyson bi forreal

-julie and ship supremacy. they are unstoppable together

-gwen: you can't do that! kevin: gwen, he's an evil dictator

-albedo saying "ah i sicken myself" like yuri lowenthal's delivery of that is so funny

-ben helping kevin prepare for gwen's school dance and being an a+ boyfriend wingman due to uncomfortable circumstances (u know why)

-ben leading a ragtag resistance team and saving the null dimension inhabitants. he was a peak leader here

-kevin saying "time to come home, ben" and pulling him out of the null void with gwen. my heart

-ben making nice with a highbreed leader was precious

-the gang saving tyler and recovering his identity

-ben's parents being cool actually

-every time the boys hype up gwen like "yeah she can finish this fight" it's adorable

-gwen pursuing romance with kevin more than the other way around like it usually is in YA cartoons. i rooted for her

overall, it's a great time cuz this show had a strong overarching plot and conflict while the teenage life stuff was more of a bonus. solid YA recommendation and it's definitely up there for me with teen titans and gl:tas

[a-stitch-in-time-and-space]

Various Feelings About ASIT Part 2: Soul of a Poet

As a continuation of the ideas of Garak and his sentimentality, Andy puts in a few suggestions in his book about what Garak might've become had he not been abused and moulded into the broken man he became (gooosh and I have emotions about how he several times refers to himself as “unfinished.”)

[excerpt from the book. To Dr. Bashir: I’m an unfinished man reassembling the pieces of a broken world, and I have asked you to be a witness because you would never judge me as harshly as I judge myself. You would never deny me the opportunity of a second chance]

(soul of a poet indeed)

Spoilers and long quotes, because they’re good fucking quotes!:

[Excerpt from the book. Palandine and Elim are sitting together, and get interrupted by Barkan: Palandine also introduced me to poetry, particularly the work of Maran Bry, who was notorious for being critical of the Bajoran occupation.

Ghosted light, coloured by the gas and

dust of the Corillion Nebula

Dances in my dreams and descends

like a shimmering wave

Where it fills the space between sleep and waking

And clothes my loneliness with your naked birth.

She opened her eyes and the light from the Blind Moon, the third and weakest in our system, reflected the excitement she felt in his poetry. At the moment I could have died and gone to the Hall of Memories if I’d been able to take this moment with me.

“Yes, ‘Solar Winds,’” a voice said behind me, so soft as to be almost unrecognisable. “I also enjoy his ‘Paean to Kunderah.’

The price they paid in blood is returned

by your healing kiss,

My matriarch, keeper of the mysteries and companion

To those heroes who stood between us

and eternal night.]

This part of the book also applies to the beginning of the little threesome of Garak, Palandine, and Barkan, before it all goes to hell. It’s an interesting dynamic in that the book never tells us to what extent Garak was being used (Palandine offers some explanation on her part, but even that might be taken with a grain of salt, since everyone is constantly lying).

I’ve got some more quotes on that, but suffice to say that the introduction to poetry is through a series of very passionate feelings that Garak has for the both of them. In some other world (I write this a lot) it’d be interesting how the three of them might’ve turned out if they weren’t so focused on agendas.

Garak’s other introduction to what I’ll call his “emotionally studies” is through his not-really-father-but-still-his-real-father-but-also-it’s-weird-because-the-plottwist-that-he’s-actually-his-uncle-and-his-mother-pretended-to-be-married to him - this on it’s own feels like a great traumatic experience, without all the stuff where his actual “father” is consistently abusing and eventually trying to kill him.

Tolan is however actually great.

[excerpt from the book. Tolan tells him about the ancient Hebitians and their religion: “At the festival, the poet would put the mask on before he’d recite. In this way, he was no longer Elim or Tolan or any of ‘us.’ He was a conduit... a connector who with the help of his poetry brought the higher power of Oralius down to those of us who were there... who wwanted this...” Father searched for a word.

“Encouragement?” I ventured.

“Yes.” Father was pleased with my interest.

“Was this your... ‘power,’ which makes the plants and flowers grow?”]

Cut off at the end, but basically Tolan’s really pleased that he’s asking. In this sense his interest in poetry is both linked with his sentimentality and need for connection and love - which he’s consistently not great at hiding - and his spiritual growth.

[excerpt from the book. Tolan is dying and speaks to Garak the last time he sees him: “Oh, my dear Elim. The soul of a poet, and look at you... your closed face... all those secrets... .” A spasm rippled through him like a sudden wind over still water. “Too many secrets... it’s like poison.” He brought his trembling, clawlike hand up to my face. “Too many secrets poison the soul.”]

The man Garak has become is anti-thetical to the man he’s more naturally drawn to being. (Dr. Parmak has a quote as well: “Poisonous pedagogy, Elim,” he replied.)

There’s also his love of gardening which he gets from Tolan, and then after he returns to Cardassia he starts building statues/monuments. By the end of this “story,” when he’s rebuilding himself and Cardassia, this all begins to mix together. Writing, spirituality, growing things, and building, is a way to see that he’s becoming a person he might feel at peace with, one day.

Sentimentality might have punished him in a past life, but in this one he has a second chance to be honest about who he is:

[Excerpt from the book: But I am getting on with my life. And oddly enough my home is somehow emblematic of my progress. It ends up being a true memorial to ila and Tain and Tolan, but the paradox is that I have never felt so free of their influence. Wherever I am along my fateline, Doctor, I no longer feel that my life is a reaction to the choices other people have made for me.

I live with my orchids, which have unified and softened the increasingly popular grounds in my home. Their beguiling blooms, and the presence of children who come to play among the structures (as I did in Tarlak), help to dispel the somber mood that initially hung like thos clouds of dust over our world. The sounds of their voices as they play function as a music that never fails to lighten my work. The children call it the “tailor’s grounds,” and the name has caught on. Yes, Doctor, I continue to work at my “new” profession. As you can imagine, there’s a good deal of mending to be done.]

Coming full-circle at the end he reconnects with that bud of spirituality that he was first introduced to through Palandine and later Tolan. So yes, he was broken, there is a great deal of sadness,regret, and guilt in this book, but in the end, he’s healing. And he’s extending that healing to others.

[excerpt from the book. Garak is at a Hebitian meeting: So, for the moment, I am satisfied to witness her spiritual growth... and to hear the echo of a lilting voice that long ago drew me out of my pain and self-pitc in the Bamarren training area.]

[excerpt from the book: I have expanded my shed in the never-ending quest to find my place. I feel that I’m getting closer, Doctor, especially as I continue to refine the structures. One, which began as a memorial to Tolan, has a crude but effective representation of the winged creature from the Hebitian sun disc - turned toward the radiating sun, reaching,struving, while the sun-fed filaments stream down from the body and connect with the bodies of people standing on a globe and looking up to the creature for this divine connection... I’ve attached the recitation mask he gave me to the creature’s face, and somehow it has become my personal totem.]

[thefudge]

Who did you ship in GOT and who do you ship now? (If it's changed lol)

good ask! this got long-ish so i’ll include everything after the cut

my OG ships (this includes the books too)

petyr/sansa - absolutely still do and will forever ship this morally ambiguous duo, though i prefer the book version of it. possibly my fave asoiaf/got pair.

jaime/brienne - shipped from the start and nothing’s changed frankly

gendry/arya - see above

jaqen/arya - i will admit the show’s sexy accented jaqen h’ghar may have also played a part in this lol

jon/dany - weirdly, i used to ship this more before the show made them a thing. i used to love AUs where ned sends jon to essos and he becomes part of dany’s khalasar and they meet somehow. i also liked the “romance at a distance” thing where book readers could obviously tell their journeys were being paralleled but they hadn’t met yet, and you’d get poetic wuthering heights-esque scenes like dany hearing a wolf howling on the dothraki plain when jon died, like that always got meeee. the show, i feel, has kind of botched their potential, but i still ship’em, especially their book counterparts.

jon/val (books only) - i know in the books she’s basically a dany-stand-in symbolically (a wildling “princess” with blond hair, come on), but i loooove their dynamic, i love their quiet fondness for each other and i hope they have more scenes together

elia martell/arthur dayne (books only) - the loyal kingsguard and the future king’s wife? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. a part of me still hopes that GRRM will reveal that arthur secretly loved and pined after elia all his life and was furious on her behalf when rhaegar left her for lyanna. it’s CANON fight me.

arianne martell/arys oakheart (books only) - canon & doomed :(((( it’s the foolhardy kingsguard pining after forbidden princess trope again, but i can’t help it! they’re kind of an interesting subversion of the trope. arianne initially just plans to seduce him and use him, but arys falls for her hard and forgoes his vows for her and she realizes she may have feelings for him too and #imsad because it does not end well. but i live for the angssssst

hyle hunt/brienne (book only) - MAN. THESE TWO. ok so i may ship this almost as much as j/b and i can’t believe i’ve never talked about it.  I LOVE THIS PAIR. it’s exactly my kind of shit and it’s actually pretty similar to j/b. hyle hunt starts off as one of brienne’s bullies who even makes a bet about taking her maidenhead when she’s part of renly’s entourage. per the popular trope, ofc the idiot ends up playing himself. his “mock” wooing of brienne turns into actual wooing, cuz he catches feelings, but it’s played very subtle and brienne still thinks he’s just trying to fool her. by book 4 he’s following her around, trying to help her, he fights by her side and stays with her, trying to keep her safe, BEING SECRETLY IN LOVE WITH HER I MEAN THE DUMBASS LITERALLY ASKS FOR HER HAND IN MARRIAGE AND WHEN SHE SAYS NO HE PRETENDS HE ONLY DID IT BECAUSE SHE’S A HIGH-BORN LADY LIKE PUUUUHLEASE WE ALL KNOW YOU MEANT IT. and all the while you know it’s kind of doomed because brienne only has eyes for jaime, let’s be real. but i have a feeling that, in the event that jaime dies and brienne survives to the end of the series (which is very likely), she might end up with hyle who does honestly seem to love her and would make her happy. like maybe they’re setting him up as substitute (kind of like tormund/brienne on the show, i guess?) BUT ANYWAY. THESE TWO.

OG ships i don’t actively ship anymore but i am still fond of:

tywin/arya - i still totally think that arya stark would have paradoxically made a FANTASTIC lady lannister, but i ship it mainly in the show version where she’s aged up and they actually interact

sandor/arya - have a soft spot for an ambiguous, not quite romantic, not quite friendly bond between them (i mean i wrote fic too)

ned/cersei - i loved the idea of their arranged marriage, of ned having to step in and marry her after the sacking in king’s landing in order to appease tywin. there are some excellent fics based on this premise and i totally recommend because this dynamic is surprisingly rich.

ships that have snuck up on me over the years (mainly thx to fandom):

jon/sansa - really, the fandom has convinced me they could work and they make for an interesting dynamic, especially on the show where jon is sadly…not a very interesting guy but seems to have some edge when he interacts with sansa

jon/missandei - again, folks on tumblr made me realize how amazing this obscure pairing would be. they’re kind of perfect for each other when you think about it and i am writing oneshot

sansa/dany - that chemistry tho! the show is playing them off as adversaries and there is sufficient reason for sansa to be wary of the dragon queen, but i love AUs where they fall in love and the tension between them becomes something else *wink wink*

jaime/arya - fanfic & fandom have sold me on it, especially the show version. i’d add jaime/sansa here, though i think he’d have a bit more chemistry and push and pull with arya (it would be a different version of j/b if you think about it)

ramsay/sansa - gasp! but lemme explain. i always thought that if d&d really wanted to do the jeyne poole plot for theon’s sake and complete sansa’s training in the Vale, the best way to do this would’ve been to show her subtly manipulating ramsay in exactly the same way margaery manipulated joffrey in s3. imagine the parallels! i mean after s4 where we saw sansa walk down the stairs in that goth/sith dress i thought, okay! she’s gonna use her feminine wiles! we’re gonna see her in action! and then she just gets grossly traumatized for no conceivable reason except #shockvalue. imo, they could’ve shown ramsay’s brutality and also sansa’s abilities by having her play into his fantasies and try to skillfully win him over. gods i would’ve loved that shit. and at the end she could’ve still escaped with theon. ANYWAY maybe i’ll write fic

barbrey dustin/petyr baelish (books only) - some of the p/s shippers got me on this one. their backstories have an eerie echo. they both love and hate the starks, barbrey was supposed to marry brandon stark, petyr was almost killed by brandon and brandon also “stole” his love, catelyn. barbrey was jealous of catelyn and claimed brandon loved her (barbrey) and took her maidenhead. so you have two people who essentially wanted the same thing and were fucked over by the same arranged marriage. it’s so complex and cool and there are so many layers you can explore. she’s also scheming and crafty and has a wicked sense of humor, like can you imagine the interactions.

sansa/stannis - there are some AMAZING fics out there where this pairing actually makes a lot of sense, a la richard iii wanting to marry his niece, elizabeth of york. think for instance of him winning the battle of blackwater (as a parallel to the battle of bosworth between richard iii and henry vii) and stannis deciding to marry her to solidify his rule and to also bring the north into the fold. i also love fics where sansa is a little older and ned arranges the marriage between her and stannis. like i said, it’s the fic that rly brought me here

[a-wartime-paradox]

1. The Creation of Jaeltray's World (not the original title, can't remember it). I think I still have a copy, but it's on my computer at my mum's house rn. Actually, I wrote some weird doctor who fanfiction before I even knew what fanfiction was, and it's incredible unintelligible.

Lol idk I haven't written enough to be avoiding stuff

Well, the only Work-In-Progress I have rn is The Beauty in a Paradox, but if you mean project in general, than either that or my current FP fanfic project, "Echoes of the Homeworld"

N/a

I'm not sure to be honest.

Probably dialogue

Ajmeloc, Yothan (not mentioned on this blog yet, feel free to ask about them)

Xharl'i (Echoes of the Homeworld) because she's a self-insert; Tina/Anthony Jane because they can swap places with alternate selves

I didn't:( haven't added to The Beauty in a Paradox for like a month or two

In the rough sense, mostly. But I reform it.

There's 11

I used to, but then I found the concept a bit weird

Fuck 'er

...I don't know. This is a thing I struggle with

The death of Loki Reystead. God it will be so graphic and emotional. About 9 chapters to go before it tho

Jaeltray was changed from being an MC to a background god because they're too powerful lol

To start imagining, it was media I absorbed, that being Doctor Who and Skulduggery Pleasant, among others probably. I motivated myself to start, to document the daydreams

Eh... I don't know what to talk about or how to make it the correct length for this? Sorry, but the question feels confusing to me (autistic)

Xharl'i (being alien/other); Orhill (breakdowns); Demayl and Tina (trans)

Tina, I wanna be able to explore alternative lives; Saturn Morgan Celesti, I wanna explore the universe

I'm not sure

Loki, although the event hasn't yet been written and won't for a while

Echoes of the Homeworld. You can read more about it here, but basically I'm extending the Faction Paradox concept of multiple Homeworlds (Gallifreys) into multiple Doctors (normal, Morbuis, Blue Angel, Curse of Fatal Death)

Huh? Sorry I don't understand

Writer's Ask Game

There are a couple weird and unrelated questions in there.

What was the first thing you ever wrote for yourself? Not for a school assignment but for your own enjoyment.

That one genre you always try to avoid writing about and why?

The WIP you are most attached to.

How many times have you been thrown off plot for a particular WIP?

How would you describe your writing style? Does your writing style change for different WIPs? If yes describe all or maybe just a few.

Which part of writing annoys you the most?

Which OC do you want to punch in the face?

Which OC do you think you will enjoy enacting and why?

How do you get rid of writers block? (I wanna know your secret method)

How often do you stick to your original plot?

Tell me about that spinoff you had for your WIP.

Do you have any characters based off people you know?

Unrelated but what are your opinions on J.K.Rowling?

How do you set the mood for the story?

Is there any scene you were/ are scared of writing? Why?

Have you ever made any major changes to any of you OCs? Which and why?

What/Who influenced you to start writing and why do you write?

Babble. Just talk about anything or everything. How's life going?

Which OC do you relate to the most?

Which OC do you wish you were? Why?

Have you thrown any writing rules that everybody follows out of the window?

Any OC that you killed cold heartedly without a second thought?

Tell me about your newest WIP idea. Even if you haven't written it down. Even if it will die in a matter of days.

Talk about the adorable cinnamon roll OC.

There is no 25th question. Let the person who asks decide what it should be.