#i have simply Perished

[aceofwonders]

playing veilguard is bad for me cause i just keep getting ideas for vigilant pcs smh

[a-most-beloved-fool]

trick - post canon Cardassia garashir

sorry for the delay! It's been a hot minute since I've worked on this one, and I had to wrangle my brain into the right headspace for it!

__

Bashir was staring after the retreating nurses, his brows drawn together in a strange expression. One finger tapped idly at the glass in his hand, a restless motion that suggested that the Doctor was thinking.

Always a dangerous occupation, where Bashir was concerned – and in this case, very likely dangerous for Garak, as well. ��

He took a sip of kanar, the flavor heavy on his tongue, and then let himself slip into a practiced expression of vague disinterest, directing his gaze somewhere over the Doctor’s shoulder. He suspected, however, that this would not be enough to dissuade Bashir from pursuing this thought of his, the frustrating man.

But, oh, it was Garak's own fault, wasn't it? He was the one who had allowed the Doctor to grow so close to him, who had invited him to Cardassia, of all things! Truly, he had no one to blame but himself.

And sure enough-  

��Garak,” Bashir began, tone almost frighteningly conversational as he leaned forwards over the table, “how many of my colleagues think we’re married?” 

---

from this ask game

(I know we are now well post halloween, but if people wished to send me more of these based on the game, it is good incentive to write, so i will surely not object.)

[stickylizardcave]

I'm well aware that I'm probably alone on this hill but this is basically my ideal dynamic for them. Sorry not sorry lmaoooo

[temtamtom]

On the topic of Heta OCs, I'm finally getting around to exploring this idiot gooner Vatican (Feli's greatest opp)

(Design still not final!)

Please excuse the OC stuff recently, I just got through a major deadline so I'm indulging myself as a lil reward <3 Alternative version under the cut:

[myokk]

“She’s tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me”😤😤😤

(Regency AU with Eloise and Sebastian inspired by my slow trek through Bridgerton these days & @bassicallymaestra ‘s AMAZING regency inspired art😮‍💨😇🙏)

[the-way-astray]

you could theoretically read the series in the order 8.5, 9.5, 9 instead of 8.5, 9, 9.5 because books 9 and 9.5 take place parallel to each other but also sophie and keefe never interact between them so hypothetically there should be no difference (and no spoilers either way).

another thing you could theoretically do is alternate between reading books 9 and 9.5. a chapter here, a chapter there. it would be like reading a longer version of unlocked, with the povs alternating between sophie and keefe.

in fact, in theory, there could be a possibility of even less spoilers if you read it 8.5, 9.5, 9. for example, if vespera makes an appearance in unraveled, and you didn't know she would die yet, it could be a really cool way to see her last minute and have an extra layer about her before her death. whereas if vespera makes an appearance in unraveled and you already know she's going to die, it feels a little more empty. not completely meaningless, but like. kinda empty. like if vespera hints at a larger plan or something in unraveled and you didn't know she was going to die, you'd be super excited to see this plan shake out, but now that we know she's going to die something like that wouldn't hit as hard.

[v88sy]

I've said it before and I'll said it again, it really hope this isn't the "kids conversation" because God, I hate that media trope.

I know it's too early, and I can see Buck totally acknowledging that fact but adding "if this is gonna be a deal breaker it's better to know now before we're in too deep" and Tommy just says "I think it's a little late for that."

[milkbreadtoast]

looking back at the yjh webtoon screencaps i have saved and giggling... hes so cute... moe... my pookie ^___^ 🥰🥰 poor little meow meow woof woo- *eliminated where i stand*

also these poses are sooooo... 꺄아악🖤🫣🫣🫣🫣

[bidokja]

I was joking a while back that the actor they have playing KDJ for the orv movie was too handsome for him and a friend who's read orv was like "KDJ is actually secretly attractive!!" And I just felt my soul leave my body right then

SIGHS...

Okay. Buckle in. I'm gonna finally actually address and explain and theorize about this whole...thing.

I'm not gonna cite any exact chapters cause it's like 11:30 and I've got an 8 hour drive in the morning but I'll at least make an approximate reference to where certain things are mentioned. Also, this post is just my personal interpretation for a good bit of it, but it's an interpretation I feel very solid about, so do with that what you will. Moving on to the meat of things:

There is one (1) instance in the web novel that I know of which describes specific features of Kim Dokja (especially ones other people notice). This takes place when members of KimCom are trying to make Kim Dokja presentable to give his speech at the Industrial Complex (after it's been plopped down on Earth). This is when they start really paying attention and focusing on Kim Dokja's appearance since they're putting makeup on him; I still don't think they can interpret his whole face, but they can accurately pick out and retain more features than usual. If I remember correctly they reference him having long eyelashes, smooth skin, and soft hair. These features can be viewed as (stereotypically) attractive.

Certain parts of the fandom have taken this scene and run with it at a very surface level, without realizing (or without acknowledging at the very least) that this scene is not about how Kim Dokja looks. This is, in part, due to not realizing or acknowledging why Kim Dokja's face is "censored" in the first place, and what that censoring actually means. I think it's also possible that some people are assuming the censorship works like a physical phenomena rather than an altered perception.

I'll address that last point first. The censorship of Kim Dokja's features is not something as simple as a physical phenomena. It's not a bar or scribble or mosaic over his face. If that were true it'd be very obvious to anyone looking at him that his face is hidden. But his face is not hidden to people. They can look at him and see a face. If they concentrate on his eyes, they can see where he's looking. They know when he's frowning or grinning. They see a face loud and clear. But what face are they seeing? Because it's not really his, whatever they're seeing.

No one quite agrees on what he really looks like. And if they try and think about what he looks like, they can't recall. Or if they do, it's vague, or different each time. We notice these little details throughout the series. Basically, Kim Dokja's face is cognitively obscured. Something - likely the Fourth Wall, though I can't recall if this is ever stated outright - is interfering with everyone's ability to perceive him properly. This culminated in him feeling off to others; and since they don't even realize this is happening, they surmise that he is "ugly."

Moving on to the other point about what the censorship means: To be blunt, the censorship of his face is an allegory for his disconnect from the "story" (aka: real life, and the real people at his side). The lifting - however slight - of this censorship represents him becoming more and more a part of the "story" (aka: less disconnected from the life he is living and the people at his side). The censorship's existence and lifting can represent other things - like dissociation or depersonalization or, if you want to get really meta, the fact that he is all of our faces at once - but that's how I'd sum up the main premise of it. (The Fourth Wall is a larger part of the dissociation allegory, but that's for another post).

So you see, them noticing his individual features isn't about the features. It's not about the features! It doesn't matter at all which features got listed. Because they could describe any features whatsoever and it would not change the entire point of the scene. Because the point isn't what he looks like. The point is that they can truly and clearly see these features. For the first time. They are seeing parts of him for the first time. Re-read that sentence multiple times, literally and metaphorically. What does it mean to see someone as they are?

This is an extremely significant turning point dressed up as a dress-up scene.

---

P.S. / Additionally, I'm of the opinion that Kim Dokja is not handsome, and he is not ugly. He is not pretty, and he is not ghastly. Not attractive, nor unattractive. Kim Dokja isn't any of these things. More importantly, Kim Dokja can't be any of these things. The entire point of Kim Dokja is that you cannot pick him out of a crowd; he is the crowd. He's a reader. He's the reader. Why does he need to be handsome? Why must he be pretty? Why is him being attractive necessary or relevant? He doesn't, he doesn't, it's not. He is someone deeply deeply loved and irreplaceable to those around him, and someone who cannot even begin to recognize or accept that unless it's through a love letter masquerading as a story he can read. He is the crowd, a reader, the reader. He's you, he's me. He's every single one of us.

[lavenoon]

Was overcome with the urge to smooch @clxckwork-sun-n-moon So Cries The Wolf Eclipse - only I ran into a slight issue

Namely, they're 10ft tall:

Had to bait them down with chicken nuggets <3

[the-list-of-ao3-weirdness]

“Listen here, you life size skull emoji, I am the fuckee in this situation"

[perpetualprocrastinationisme]

I’m a simple person, I don’t ask for much in this life. I really could live without a lot of things if I could just have my basic needs met.

My basic needs: food, shelter, human connection, Ty Blackthorn’s POV.

[unluckyhorseshoecrab]

@extravierge put the idea of bishop's knife trick back in my brain and now i am pacing like a caged animal imagining it as patrick's emotional devastation piano ballad leading right into don't stop believing

[ohbo-ohno]

guys my exchange fic is going so badly it's actually like. embarrassing

[gaywatch]

Hey brittanyyy Here are some leaks of luo yunxi as chu xun from immortality (when will it air im so sad)

https://www.tumblr.com/stellarflex/710415267980886016

W A I T

I haven't looked at the MDL page for this in aaaaaaaages, what the fuck do you MEAN Chu Wanning is Till The End of the Moon guy who was all over my dash for months last year!?!!!?!!?! WHAT DO YOU MEANNNNNNN

[mynonclicheblog]

Miss Fisher fans. Do any of you know. Where I can find the episodes for download in 1080p. You know. I'm just asking. For no particular reason at all.