#i think it could have been integrated way better with even less work

[ganondoodle]

you know, i talked about it before but i still, for a much more rare totk gameplay complaint-

i still cannot wrap my head around how it went all the way to the finished product to have 5 ghosts that love to glitch around and threaten your frame rate (espeically bad in combat) help in combat, 4 of which are MELEE fighters, AND have their abilities tied to their model forcing you to chase after them constantly if you want to use any of it AND ALSO give them collision so they can get knocked over cancelling their ability if it needs charging (RIJU!!), the one needing a long time to charge being not jsut one of the most useful and fun to use but then making that one also be one of tHE MELEE fighters meaning anytime you manage to catch her and activate it she instantly charges into battle and due to her being rather small and using short swords she basically sticks to the enemy like glue and keeps gettign knocked over, i swear yelling riju was my most spoken word in any type of combat in all my playtime

also how they teleport back and forth in and out of your arm the second you dare to look at a climable surface or are in one thats too small for them (even when you need them the most like yuno in one of those caves stuffed to the brim with destroyable rocks thatd take out all your swords if you did it by hand) or just .. randomly teleporting around but then can still get stuck on environmental collision until you cant even see them anymore (stares at sidon giving me a heart attack in the underground when he got caught on a light root until i was so far away he was barely visible and instead of teleporting he started to sprint at me with inhumane speed when i turned around making me frozen in shokc bc he turned dark in the distance for some reason making me think one of the creepy ghost soldiers was out to murder me, granted that was one of the best moments in the game for me, but also, imagine if they actually did that with one of the creepy ghost soldiers instead of it being a glitch??? another missed opportunity tbh)

how did that never come up during playtesting?? if they really were done somewhere in 2022 and spent the rest of the time with polish like they said how did that never come up?? i loved having the champ- sages around in their dungeons but the ghost version thingy wasnt really that optimal and id rather have their abilities be either integrated into your controls like in botw (tbh i find that really thoguhtful, to have your dead friends abilities they granted you inegrated into your basic controls as dynamically as they did) or in another ability wheel (like i did in my rewrite) with maybe mineru beign the only one you actually need around via summon since you can ride ... her

idk about anyone else but i only had them around bc i liked them walking around with me and was too lazy to constantly de and reactivate them but tbh i think it caused more annoyance to me than it brought anything interesting to it

[flavorcountry]

I got a cold and watched that Jenny Nicholson video about the Star Wars hotel (it's very good) and fully lost my mind: even after experiencing a comprehensive four-hour deconstruction of why it didn't work for Star Wars, I still think a version of this would absolutely work for Star Trek. Take my hand and walk with me on my journey into madness, where I have infinite money, talent, and team to make it all happen!!

Overall vibe

If you want to make a hotel/resort experience that takes place inside a fake spaceship, I still think Star Trek is the way to go: so much of Star Trek takes place on ships, and we've seen the rooms are pretty nice!! Like the Star Wars one, my Star Trek hotel is also a simulated starship, but with better rooms and more fun stuff to do.

Are you ready for this shit

Can you tell I drew this myself

You'll arrive at Farpoint Station,* where the concierge checks you in and your luggage gets whisked away by station staff. Gift shop's also here. When you're checked in and ready to head to your room, you're brought to one of several transporter rooms. If you never went to the Star Trek Experience at the Vegas Hilton when it was active, I am truly sorry for you, because they had a ride whose boarding process included getting beamed away: you and your pals were herded into a zone where you were clearly meant to board a run-of-the-mill 20th-century simulator ride, and then there were jets of mist and a sound and suddenly you were in a transporter room on board the goddamn USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. It was fucking magical and I never, ever want it explained to me. Anyway, that's what happens to you at my Star Trek hotel: you step onto a transporter pad and get beamed from Farpoint to a Galaxy-class Federation starship. Exit the transporter room and walk down the ship's corridor to take the turbolifts to Cargo Bay 1, where a "temporary muster point" has been set up (this is where the guest services desks will be), or just follow the lit-up companel signs to your cabin. Yes, it will look like guest quarters aboard the Enterprise-D, more or less — maybe a little smaller — but it'll have the carpet, the plant, the glass coffee table, and most importantly a window that looks out into space.

Or!!! If you booked the resort, keep heading down the hallway and take another turbolift to a different section of the ship where the holodeck entrances are. The holodecks, naturally, are running a Risa program, so you walk through the doors and under the arch and suddenly you're outdoors looking at a beautiful landscape with a pool and whatnot, plus the resort accommodations where the more conventional fancy rooms are, and also the restaurants and entertainment venues, all themed. There's a Quark's. There's a Klingon bar and grill. A Bolian salon/spa. Talaxian arcade?? Nausicaan axe-throwing pit?!?! Come on!!!!!!!!!

Here, have a floor plan

Key learnings

Two things stuck out to me that the Star Wars hotel fucked up that I think the Star Trek version can do better:

🤷‍♀️ LARP too complicated: Give 'em credit where it's due, the Star Wars hotel fucking swung for the fences trying to make a multi-hero story guests could integrate with, but it just didn't work. Technical failures! Possible conceptual flaws! Too much stuff packed into the schedule!

The fix: Just make it mostly a hotel most of the time. One or two weekends a month, there's a two-day fully-immersive LARP adventure that people explicitly book separately, and it's more expensive (more on that later). But at all times, hotel staff will be in uniform with division colors that make sense: concierge and guest relations in red, support and janitorial in gold, teal for any medical personnel. I think that means the people working in food services have to wear that plaid/vest combo the Ten-Forward staff have on, but there are certainly worse outfits.

🌴 No resort: The food at the Star Wars hotel was good, but there was no pool and no other luxury resort type stuff to do. It didn't sound relaxing.

The fix: Putting an actual resort in the Star Trek hotel under the guise of a permanently-running Risan holodeck program. The sheer elegance of it!! When the weather is bad, hotel staff in gold uniforms can make apologetic comments about how the sim's malfunctioning.

Roleplay though

People are going to want to stay onboard the ship. That's good! The thing about the ship cabins is you can build them in maybe two semicircular layers (the rooms will need to be curved because these are quarters onboard the saucer section, naturally) and just bury them underground. They don't need real windows — you're putting screens in that'll show a space view, especially when the ship goes to warp and you can see those rainbow trails. Inside the semicircle there's a lot of space where you can put the other, bigger sets: the bridge, main engineering, Ten-Forward, etc. None of those have real windows either, and also I don't think it matters where you put them physically: just stick a pretend turbolift in front of all the entrances and make guests take those whenever they need to go there! One thing we're also doing is putting little hidden speakers everywhere that put out a small amount of shipboard white noise; it may not even be noticeable on a conscious level, but it'll be there and it'll be soothing. This speaker network is also a great way to make an actual announcement if there's a real park emergency.

During most of the month, I think the bridge and main engineering are mostly just photo ops — maybe you have to book a timeslot? Just so you're guaranteed some time with just you and your buddies? But I also think there should be opportunities for what I'm going to call mini-LARPing: you and your pals can book an hour-long session and the staff trains and then runs you through a short scenario. If you've ever played Artemis or the actual Star Trek VR bridge crew game they put out a while ago, you know where I'm going with this: for however long, you and your friends are now the crew of a genuine-ass Federation starship trying to survive a battle! It's fuckin' Kobayashi Maru time, motherfuckers!! Everyone gets their own station! Lights flicker! Mist shoots out of stuff! The whole bridge shakes! There might be a warp core problem — better call down to main engineering! Whoever's down there gets escape room-style minigames and puzzles to work out and help their shipmates. At some point — and this will happen in every run of every scenario — there'll be a very mist-forward "coolant leak" near the warp core that forces whoever's in the room to duck and roll beneath a descending garage-style blast door before heading up to the bridge to activate their station up there; bonus points if the player can work in a "We lost a lot of good people down there, Captain." Maybe there's an actor in makeup who menaces the crew on the main viewer from time to time (pick beforehand from a list of villains! want to fight Klingons? Romulans? a rogue Borg tactical sphere? etc). Can you see it? I can see it, and it fucking rules.

I must at this point mention that in my world, you can buy an add-on where a camera crew joins you, and they cut up the footage afterward to make you and your pals your very own mini-episode. Yes the editing and post-production are expensive and time-consuming; I'm creating jobs here!!!! Maybe …… okay, hear me out: there's an array of hidden fixed cameras and microphones built discreetly into the set, and also players are issued a combadge with an individual RFID tracker that pings the cams and mics, so they only save footage when a player comes close. After the players are done, a machine algorithm uses the data gathered to assemble a rough timeline of each player's material and create a draft movie that a human editor can pick up and fine-tune. Yeah?? When you check out, you get handed a USB drive that looks like an isolinear chip with your mini movie on it, and maybe another one with all the raw footage just in case you're feeling ambitious!!!!

For one or two other weekends during every month, there's a heavily advertised, much more involved, and way spendier LARP for people who really want to get into it. It takes place over two days. There are lots more actors portraying characters necessary for the plot/gameplay. Don't bother packing for the daytime: all players are issued a uniform they get to keep afterward. Do I have any details on the scenario or RP? I do not. But I fully believe it's possible to construct something you could run over the course of a weekend that would keep a hundred paying guests occupied, amused, and delighted, provided you have a truly ridiculous amount of money and people, which I do because this is utter fantasyland.

Also it probably won't cost six grand. Probably??

Let's gooooooooooooo

The rest of the time — and I cannot stress this enough — the Star Trek hotel is just a very heavily and specifically themed all-inclusive resort that has nice, fancy rooms and luxury amenities plus bookable ship cabins and opportunities for photo shoots or quick one-shot roleplay adventures for the real heads. You don't ever have to enter those latter parts if you don't want to! You can just hang out at the resort and have fun with all the themed entertainment, which I must stress is going to be both in-universe plausible and great, with something for everybody. Yes, there'll be a daycare, and yes, Flotter will be there in some capacity to entertain the kids. The food hall is my favorite part by far; I could pitch you Trek restaurant concepts all day. Romulan gourmet soup stand. Gummi candy store staffed by Ferengi where all the offerings are shaped like alien bugs. A vending machine where you can get a jumja stick or a three-pack of those nutrient pucks Picard and his new friends kept getting in "Allegiance." There will be an entire plant-based food vendor with a wide variety of delicious options for all meals, and it will be run by Vulcans.

A word on the gift shop

Question for you: have you ever watched a Star Trek show and seen a Starfleet officer pull on a jacket or shoulder a duffel bag that had the words "STAR TREK" on it? If so, then friend, I want to know where you get your hallucinogens because I want to experience this exactly once. All of the gift shops on my hotel grounds sell responsibly sourced, highly thought-out, well-made items that would be in-world plausible and have no obvious branding. Of course you can get a hand-carved horga'hn, but let's go bigger. Why not a light-up Tox Uthat for your nightstand? Ressikan flute for you, queen? How about a whole-ass knife store that's nothing but various kinds of Klingon cutlery? There will absolutely be an entire tailor's shop whose whole job is to put you in the Starfleet uniform of your choice; there may or may not be a Cardassian managing the place who's got a 50/50 cheerful/menacing vibe going on. There'll be not one but two stores that sell little models of ships: the regular ones and the gold ones. Don't tell me you can't picture it!!!!!

I think that's about it

Thank you for coming along with me on this bespoke journey into 100% insanity; now can somebody put me in touch with the Star Trek licensing people and also give me a billion dollars to build all this? Okay, thanks a lot!!

For timeline purposes and because it's fun, I'm positing a version of Farpoint that got built after the events of the TNG premiere where the Denebians got their act together and just built a normal surface base without suborning an interstellar lifeform.

[34to42]

Okay. So.

It’s no secret that I’ve been eagerly anticipating season 2 of The Night Agent so I made the very adult decision to take a vacation day from work and binge watch the whole thing in one day. And I have some thoughts.

Obviously spoilers lay ahead so please be aware of that before you continue reading if that’s something you care about. There might also be some swearing.

It’s not often we see a Netflix show get to season 2 and more importantly, have a season 2 that either lives up to or exceeds season 1 but I think The Night Agent is one of them. Season 2 is SUCH an experience, one that I was desperately worried about before it aired, and one that I am so happy I got to participate in now that it’s done. I was worried that the show would forget the events of season 1, that Rose would play a less integral role, that the show’s bigger and better storylines would be overdone, that they would play America as the hero when dealing with plot lines regarding international relations - none of those fears came true.

Though the showrunners were in uncharted territory having no other Matthew Quirk novels to adapt, they did a fantastic job in creating a new situation that felt similarly dire and equally as convoluted as the events of season 1. And the events of the previous season are directly referenced, and Rose continued to be integral, and the bigger and better storylines were handled well, in my opinion at least.

The overarching result of the events of season 2 however, has to be… tragedy. So many different characters have their lives upended, affected, or changed and it’s all just tragic. The character of Noor, an outstanding addition to the show, risking everything to get her family into a better situation only to lose her brother, traumatize her mother, and receive a cheque from a smiling bureaucrat for her efforts. Warren’s son Ethan, having to go through the betrayal of a friend (David), meeting his estranged father, getting so much conflicting information about his dad, only to lose him and be traumatized forever. Rose, desperately wanting a normal life but unable to fully process her grief and trauma because the only person she fully trusts left her and isn’t coming back. Even Alice’s family and the way they had to deal with their broken hearts when she took the Night Action job and stopped keeping in contact with them.

And finally… Peter.

Peter, who is a good man and wants to do the right thing but keeps getting into situations where the right choice has consequences. Who desperately wanted to clear his father’s name only to learn that it was all true and then have to make the same choices to save the one person he loves. The soul crushing tragedy of the scene with Peter and the broker in the rail car as he taunts Peter with the knowledge that by making the choices he did, he will become his father and follow in his footsteps. The absolute fucking agony on Peter’s face.

And then the tragedy of Peter telling Rose to forget him, because he knows that he cannot keep her safe and she will be used against him even though she means “everything” to him. 😭😭😭😭

My poor shipper heart.

Although I, and I suspect a lot of people, would have loved to see a happier ending for Peter and Rose, I will say that this one felt true to the story they were trying to tell. I can think of other ways this could have gone to get them that ending which I will definitely be exploring in fanfic but I can see why this choice was made. That scene in the hotel broke my fucking heart. Again, the absolute agony on Peter’s face.

So… yeah. Just, tragedy all around with this season.

I do want to mention a few things that I really appreciated about the new episodes. First, that Rose continued to not be a damsel in distress but rather continuously came to Peter’s aid and helped him out, much as she did in the first season. Second, the character of Javad was INCREDIBLY acted by Keon Alexander and made for an excellent villain, even if not the ultimate one. Holy shit, watching the shifts from romantic interest to quiet, seething menace on his face and in his demeanour throughout the show were so compelling. Third, all the scenes between characters at the Iranian mission. I was really worried this storyline would feel rushed but instead we got so many sweet moments between characters such as Haleh and Noor and an insight into their relationships.

Some specific moments I loved:

- Noor wearing her friend’s headscarf to the event at the mission

- Haleh warning Noor that Javad knew she was at the UN even though it could have cost her her job

- The ambassador’s handling of how to get Javad out of the mission, such a stroke of brilliance

- Rose’s conversation with Catherine where she told her off for talking about her aunt and uncle because she didn’t know them

- Peter holding doors open for Rose even when they were trying to get away from gunmen

- Peter immediately crawling into bed with Rose when she was having a nightmare

- Basically ever scene with Peter and Rose

- the fight scenes, they felt incredibly realistic and used a lot of elements from around the scene

- Peter and Rose’s silent communication regarding shooting Markus, it was so awesome to see them in sync like that

- Rose’s speech to Tomăs regarding the chemical weapons, she was able to get through to him even without any type of training because she is awesome

- Peter’s immediate confidence in Rose when Catherine asked “who knew she could do that?” Fuck, that was an awesome moment

- Peter and Noor’s conversation on the steps of the UN where she understood why he did what he did and accepted his apology by holding out her hand. The number of times Peter did and tried to apologize to Noor for her brother because he wants to do the right thing

Despite how much I loved the new season, I do have a few lingering questions and complaints that I also wanted to write out in case anyone else is struggling with them:

- How did the broker know to contact Rose at the beginning of the season if Peter’s name and involvement in Camp David were scrubbed?

- that President Travers wasn’t in more episodes. I really, really appreciated the way she stood up for Peter in front of Catherine at the beginning and wish there could have been some follow through later on in the season

- it feels like Rose and the doctor could have maybe thought of knockout gas a little earlier? I understand why the show did what they did for the plot but it didn’t ring quite true that they would both make so many cannisters of KX without trying something to get out of there

- Soloman’s speech to Peter as he was taking him to meet the broker regarding the one agent of theirs Peter killed in Bangkok. How they all attended his funeral and he had 40-some people who loved him. Dude, YOU killed Peter’s partner!! That whole speech just felt off.

- the character of Catherine. Things improved towards the end of the season but I really didn’t like the character at the beginning and especially didn’t like the way she spoke about Peter. It isn’t his fault that they sent him in without a lot of training and it was her job to make sure he was ready

- Peter’s tattoos being gone. I understand why it makes sense that a spy cannot have very identifiable tattoos but come on. I think we can all agree that Gabe’s tattoos are incredibly hot and we should be able to see them

So, those are my thoughts. I’m sure I’ll have more once the dust settles from watching all the episodes in one day but for now, I hope you enjoy the new season as much as I did.

[lsunstreakerl]

omegaverse is great because it introduces the concept of courting which means charles can be ever more a downbad simp then before

definitely absolutely 100% open to writing more on this later, but for now- about 700 words <3

There's another basket outside of Max's door. It's the fourth one in two months, and it has flowers and fruit and chocolate in it. Just like the other three, Max has no idea why it's here.

They're in the off-season, so- maybe a gift from Redbull? He finds that hard to believe.

At the same time... there's Kinder chocolate in there, he can see the edge of the packaging peeking out from under the flowers.

Well. If it's a bomb, Max has had a pretty good life. He grabs the basket, slightly surprised at the weight, before he brings it inside, settling it on the kitchen counter.

Sassy jumps up onto the chair, sniffing at it.

"I tried that, and it does not smell like anyone."

She sniffs it anyways.

Max huffs a laugh, carefully pulling the flowers out.

Flowers, chocolate, fruit, and the culprit for the weight- there's a heavy blanket settled at the bottom, thick and soft.

Max runs his fingers across it. He's pretty sure it's a nesting blanket, though why anyone would give one to him- he's not sure.

It'd be weird for Redbull to gift him a nesting blanket, but he can't exactly think of who else would have done it.

Daniel doesn't gift him things- Max goes to his apartment and steals things directly out of his closet. He's been doing it since he was 18, and Daniel gave up arguing with him about it around the same time.

Max has a few of Carlos's things, but less often since he'd gone to Ferrari.

There's a concerning amount of Checo's things in his nest at their den in the factory, but that's because Checo is used to his wife and their pups- his things go missing for nests all the time. Max isn't even sure if Checo's noticed.

Definitely not Checo.

He pulls out the blanket, unfolding it. It's huge, definitely designed to be a foundational piece of a nest. It's a light baby blue color, and Max swears he's seen it somewhere, but he can't put his finger on it.

He barely realizes before he's doing it, rubbing the side of his cheek against the fabric. It's good. It's really good.

Whoever sent it knows him well. Max bundles it into his arms and makes his way into his bedroom, where his nest is set up.

He eyes it for a moment, trying to decide where it'll fit best. He can reconstruct part of the right side, by the window. It's been unstable for a few months, ever since Max finally gave into Pierre's complaints and let him have his airport blanket back.

He'd complained the entire time, informing Pierre about what this was doing to the structural integrity of his nest, and that the slight would not be forgiven easily, and-

Max frowns at the blanket. Surely it's not from Pierre.

No, he just can't see it in his head. He crawls into the nest, carefully unfolding and removing things, picking the perfect spot for the blanket. It's somewhat scentless at the moment, but that will change quickly.

Max is feeling much better about it when he finishes tucking it in, and the light blue is a nice contrast to the other colors. Jimmy has wandered in, and Max scoops him to his chest before lying back into the middle, tucked between the blanket and a pillow from Yuki. There's a jacket that smells like GP nearby and Max takes a deep inhale, settled by the scents of his pack.

Jimmy readjusts in his arms, and Max starts up a soothing purr, lets it rattle through his chest until Jimmy tucks his head under Max's chin. Sassy makes her way back in, because the purr is practically a bell, and Max feels perfectly content.

He doesn't need an alpha, despite what the press has been desperately discussing the last two seasons since his designation got leaked.

It's just him and the cats. It works great.

Max isn't even sure what an alpha could add to this- besides maybe going back and grabbing the Kinder chocolate that Max had left on the counter.

It's as he's dropping his head back down that he catches the faintest scent off of one corner of the blanket- but he can't quite make it out. It's familiar at least, which is a small comfort.

Max resolves to start interrogating people. Later. When he's not so sleepy.

[triangularz]

SHOTA- IRRITABLE about 1k, fluff, a tiny bit nsfw (no detailed sexual acts), est. relationship, "slice of life", feelings, connection. Grumpy Shota eventually steps up. I visualized the same reader in each of the Shota fics here, though not as series- more like vignettes. Includes some of my usual style points in terms of form and themes <- I saw a post about this and whether it's true of my writing or not, I loved the perspective- have a peek.

You see and hear it, what's just beyond your thin glass window; it's simple and so invaluable: Golden, late afternoon light replacing the day's cloudy drizzle and crisp, brown leaves camouflaging the school's sidewalks, crunching under the feet of yakking students and yawning staff members. Routine, uneventful Sundays like these meant that UA was safe; they refresh your senses, cozy up close to your heart and feel like home. But what you found comforting was to Shota (groaning and mumbling and long since annoyed by the world) unwelcome noise.

"What are they doing out there? I can hear it from here!" he yells to no one in particular from his watchful, stationary spot in the bathroom. Slightly amused this time and also hoping to shut him the hell up, you stride into his personal space and lean against the wide counter, drawling with faux drama, "They're walkiiing. And for fuckssake stop whining about everything Shota Aizawa, you've sucked the life outta this place all weekend."

A shouting Vlad barged into his office Friday to yap, and Hizashi submitted curricula without edits, leaving hours of work for him yesterday. Toshinori canceled brunch plans for the third week running, and Nezu ticked him off during a discussion about "the benefits of educational autonomy". Over and over again you'd heard it, including a deluge of other long-winded grievances. Embedded in them were frequent little jabs and snaps, with you as the target.

His elbows rest on either side of the sink, and motionless fingers serve as a thermostat under the faucet's rushing water; 60 seconds and the temperature still felt tepid.

"Lukewarm is all we'll get for now; bet the heater's completely done by morning. Should've been replaced years ago, but Nezu's too cheap to-"

"Babe you could turn off the water, maybe check it less often? I think that might conserve whatever life it has left." You and your casual, correct logic; turning off the faucet, he clicks his tongue and shoots an icy glare your way.

"We'll just shower together tonight an-". Shit, you knew better than to say it. A salty, hunched over Shota wasn't up for solutions, but you'd given him two. What he's thinking, he shows- a clenching jaw, stiffening arm muscles, a sharp hassled exhale. For just a second, it stings you. What you'd suggested seemed as distasteful to him as those crackling leaves or the damn water temperature. Pausing for a beat and with an inaudible sigh, you disappear into the bedroom to strip off your clothes. Whether he joins or not is up to him. He finally sounds his agreement a moment later with an exasperated huffed, "Fine."

His reserved nature and dry wit, his intellect and integrity, his tremendous love for his students. God, the man was infinitely attractive to you. But you knew to leave him alone when his usual temperament devolved into an extra pissy mood. With humor and bluffed indifference, you'd do your damndest to avoid adding kindling to his fiery complaints. So you resolve- suddenly tired and melancholy- to get clean and continue enjoying those loudly crunching leaves. A relaxing evening and his actual attention... are ebbing little hopes.

You'd showered together before. Not a regular thing, but it felt so good, even to him- the nearness of it, washing away sweat or cum or the day's work. The catch was intermittent shivering, rushing to switch places for a turn under warm, streaming water. The warmth was absent this round; Shota's discontent infused your togetherness with cold.

Finishing with speed, you step onto the floor's fluffy, cotton mat and grab a massive towel, relieved.

Shit. It hits him now, as he notices your slumped shoulders, quiet deep breath and hasty exit, what not only now, but for two-days his attitude must've cast over you. Shota loves you more than even he can comprehend, and it hurts his heart to have been so caught up in his own miserable mess. He'd done it less and less over time, and you'd always affirm him right away with sweet thanks he felt he didn't deserve. But he hates that he does it at all.

Stepping out after you, Shota furiously runs his hands over your toweled arms and quickly gifts you a long, solid embrace, a stubbly cheek against your temple.

"Better?"

"Mmm hmm." You always felt it, the calm he blanketed you with, so definite and immediate. "Come down here, you jerk." He's used to this cute-the cutest to him- habit of yours, so with a short grunt, he squeezes you more tightly and presses his forehead to yours to listen, really listen to you. Soft, damp strands of dark long hair stick to your cheeks.

"I'm still headed to Osaka tomorrow my Shota sensei; you'll be busy annoying students and missing me these next two days. It'll be fixed before you realize it, and you'll be back to steaming, relaxing showers on your own. Now just be glad we're both fucking clean, ok?" Not a shred of irritation in your words, you always speak so softly and confidently, dispelling his negative energy and surging his love for you. You were beautiful as hell.

"I know, I'm really sorry... about this afternoon, all weekend really... guess I wasted time we could've had before you leave, didn't I? And I love showering with you, a lot more than I dislike being cold... I hope you know, not that I've shown you today, that yeah I am gonna miss you... You'll be gone two days too long as far as I'm concerned," he mumbles into your ear. Tender-hearted, you bury your face into his wet shoulder. Three years together, and with a few gentle words, your pulse races as wildly as it did in the beginning.

The next hectic 48 hours leave you tired and a little numb, but you instantly feel soothed crossing your apartment's threshold. Those several steps remind you that no matter the bickering or rift, anywhere with Shota is where you belong.

A very faint scent wanders through the living room, reminiscent of chalky plaster. Before you can think on it, Shota emerges, with a mischievous vibe about him and a rarely seen sparkle in his worn eyes. His drawn-out, soul-melting kiss sends you skyward.

"Hi there," he mutters softly, grabbing your hand while your head swirls and leading you to the bathroom.

"You were right as always- the water heater's fixed. You should hop in."

"Good, I'm glad. And I think I will. I don't even wanna talk about the trip yet, I just feel yucky after the drive- traffic was awfu-" The change registers slowly. The old showerhead has been replaced with a shiny, silver one, detachable and with multiple settings. And on the opposite wall, is an identical one. "Wha-"

"So neither one of us gets cold." To stare at him is all you can do, blown away.

"You ok with company?" He knows the answer and carefully pulls your shirt over your head.

Twenty heavenly minutes- testing sprays, kisses along all of your curves, and your laughter as he recounts his manual labor snags.

"I need to be better for you," he whispers, draping you with a towel and cascading lazy kisses on your neck.

He's much more than better- his subtle thoughtfulness is more constant than he knows, and it drives you wild.

"Shota."

"Hmm?"

"You take really, really good care of me. You always have."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Dropping the towel, you take his hand, beyond ready to fuck the man who's crazy in love with you and who you- grouch and all- love with your whole heart.

[nerdishpursuits]

Who needs enemies with brothers like Andres & Tasio. The very definition of disappointing, incompetent, useless and petty. For once finding myself agreeing with everything Jesús and Damián said. The rest can go immolate. Andres is such a coward he doesn't even have the courage to vote or look his sister in the eye. He also never works but claims he doesn't like the way things are going: ergo, I don't like the new business we're getting that everyone stands to profit from. Don't think I've ever seen a more insipidly moronic male lead. He should know Marta the best. His trust in her should be absolute and irrevocable. She’s always been firm but kind and, most of all, fair. And if she’s in trouble because of Carpena now? It’s Andres’ fault because she tried to protect him. This inept man, much like Tasio, never takes responsibility for his actions and cowers under the guise of neutrality. Looking at his face this episode made me sick, not going to lie. As for Tasio? His is a case of bone-deep idiocy, worthy of study. The way to earn your father's love and family's acceptance is to vote against your sister? I hope he gets the cold-shoulder from now on because he deserves nothing less. Damian's chilling don't call me father in the preview is golden. Eat sh** Tasio. And then some. I just can’t with these two anymore. The brothers who Marta did everything in her power to protect and support are the very ones to betray her when she needs them most. Both Andres and Tasio deserve to cry tears of blood as far as I'm concerned and I hope Marta doesn't give them the time of day. I want them to fucking grovel at her feet.

Not to mention the Merino have the audacity to question Marta's integrity and Andres not only fails to defend her, but tries to gaslight her? And nimwit TOSSio the cherry on top. Toss him away indeed. He reeks of idiocy. Truly, if stupidity hurt? Andres and Tasio would be howling in pain, and the Merino too. The look of surprise, pain and betrayal on Marta's face. Ugh. They don't deserve her, they really don't. Cannot wait to see the Merino brothers fail though. They deserve the chance to prove how truly inept they are. These PEEople don't deserve to profit from the business Marta bent over backwards to create for the company. The bathhouse project is nothing but a drain on their resources and they won't know how to manage it. Looking forward to everything blowing up in their smug, condescending faces. And when I say faces I mean Digna as well. Short of murder she's no better than the very people she condemns. She's the kind of fake-nice that's utterly repugnant. The way she used the information about Marta and Fina when it best suited her purposes? Vile indeed. I hope Fina and Marta learn about this and confront her. She should be held accountable.

However? Now that I’ve gotten the initial ire off of my chest? Long term? I also have to say Marta being deposed via treachery could end up being a good thing for her personal development and character growth. It opens up a lot of doors for her, doors towards new possibilities and opportunities.

Too long has she chafed under the yoke of her family, always trying to prove herself to them, always putting herself last. So long in fact? That taking distance from her family and family business might help her reassess things. It might help Marta clear her mind and, hopefully, start removing the last of her shackles. @midniteowlet and I got rambling after this last episode and we’re finding this new development quite interesting.

1. Marta needs to learn how to be more combative and severing the proverbial umbilical cord might be just what the doctor ordered. Does it sting to be blindsided and betrayed by soggy-brained, mediocre people who claim they’re family? Definitely. Not only does it sting but it fucking hurts. For all her good will and intelligence? Marta needs a more ruthless approach when dealing with this kind of individuals. They dare question her intentions and actions? Slam them with a boatload of undeniable facts and figures, gloves off. They’ll only prove their so-called expertise amounts to nothing. She also needs to stop holding back and simply call it as she sees it. Her brothers and cousins need to be held accountable. ¡A cantarles sus verdades, ale!

2. Through her alliance with Pelayo, Marta might end up carving out the kind of independence she truly needs. Sure, she’d be tied to Pelayo but she also stands to gain power and influence in a way that might benefit her and Fina. One possible scenario could even be the Merino bankrupting the business and Marta injecting capital and owning it herself. There’s many ways for her to reclaim her throne, sometime down the line. If done well? Such a storyline could prove immensely satisfying.

It also stands to reason it would be good for Marta to secure new income because her cousins will run the business into the ground. She’ll need to finance that vacation with Fina somehow. Priorities and all, just saying.

3. Too many people within the business know about Marta and Fina. Which means they need to find a way to be together that’s sustainable, long term. One that doesn’t hinge on the benevolence of person x or y. And who knows? Becoming part of a hotel empire might offer them such a chance.

Is it ideal? No. Sure, they could just run off together. But that would mean the end of Mafin on the show. And I think we all want so much more. So all aboard the Angst-Express.

4. Angst can be very satisfying if well-written. And if Marta and Fina’s journey continues to be treated with the same level of respect and care? (which the screenwriters said it was, especially given how beloved this narrative is) It will be a treat. Their story needs to have ups and downs and twists and turns. But as long as the characters remain true to who they are? Their trials and tribulations will be most rewarding. That deliciously angsty pining, the bittersweet longing, the feverishly wanton desire, the ever-growing need that culminates in passion unleashed. It’ll all be there, for the taking. Just biding its sweet, sweet time. I, for one? I’d love me some delicious, quality Mafin angst. And, by the looks of it, I think that’s exactly what we’re going to get.

We’re going to suffer. But we’re going to love it.

[tumblingxelian]

Crossposting from SV:

https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/iwiw-rwby.125050/post-32676154

Regarding the expectation of perfection, yeah, I don't think the team expected it. The one who could be arguably said to have put the most "pressure" on Ruby is Blake as we saw in V8, but having faith in someone isn't the same as demanding perfection. & Blake showed she was fine stepping up and trying to help or support Ruby when she needed it.

The others applied even less pressure, at least knowingly, but none of them are aware of how Ruby had internalized Ozpin's lesson (& from what I know of Coco Second Semester does not make his lessons better)

But Ruby definitely took a lot of these things to heart in a way likely never intended. & more to the point that likely wouldn't be nearly as bad if not for the trauma conga-line the last volumes have been.

For instance in V8 Ruby does seem briefly hurt by Yang noting that following her lead hasn't worked out, but Yang's language is still rather casual, this isn't her trying to deliver some cutting barb to wound Ruby's pride. & given their reunion in V8 it didn't have a lasting impact... Up until V9 landed because with everything that went wrong, suddenly those words pack a lot more sting.

In regards to Yang & Ruby in particular, one thing I find interesting is that in early volumes, even after Ozpin's leader talk Ruby was more comfortable showing uncertainty, discomfort, fragility and the like.

Especially around Yang. She was sulking in V2 about Blake not coming to the dance and feeling overtly helpless, she was fine with being uncertain about her decision to reveal the WF's location to Ozpin & co, also in V2.

But more integrally, in Volume 3, after everything had gone to hell what is the first thing Ruby did once she could move under her own power?

Was it go to her dad for comfort? Seek Qrow for advice? nope, those two came to her, with Tai mostly being used for an intel update and Qrow being prodded for info, and only seeing a flash of vulnerability.

The person Ruby went to was Yang, Yang who she was surprised to find wasn't in a good head-space, and who when Ruby asked what to do couldn't answer her, seemingly leaving Ruby unsure of what to do. In essence, there have been periods where Ruby also expected others to be more sturdy than they could otherwise be expected to be. This isn't a jab, just an observation.

More integrally however, in V4 we see Ruby really hit hard on the repressing.

Oh she did it before, the fact she's modelled her entire persona after her missing mother and was raised by a girl two years her senior should already make it clear she's gonna have some issues. But it becomes a lot more overt with her being all smiles around JNPR but sad when unseen until she's hitting a breaking point. One that is... Sort of countered though of questionable help by being told she's inspiring.

The time we really see it break in in Volume 5 when Yang & Ruby reunited, she cries, she fumbles her words, she gets a damn hug.

But then, the next day, she sees that Yang is not nearly as recovered as she's trying to act. When Yang is upset & removes herself from the situation to calm down and mourn silently, its Weiss who has to help her out of it, because Ruby has no idea what to do.

That's not just her sister in there, its the girl who raised her, & this stuff is not Ruby's forte, but more integrally, Yang is the one who has always been 'all right', the one who Ruby could turn to whenever she needed and who she never had to worry about in combat.

But she's not OK the one person Ruby could always rely on is more fragile than Ruby ever realized, and so clearly, Ruby can't go to Yang with her problems either.

& thus closes her final person to really, properly, well and truly reach out to.

& the thing is Yang would have no idea this is happening!

She didn't hear Ozpin's speech, or Ruby re-phrasing it. She wasn't present when Ruby was really building her walls in V4, and any that existed before that will have been interwoven with Yang's own issues and thus be something she deemed as normal the same way Ruby deemed Yang's self sacrificing penchant as normal.

Put simply, Yang isn't aware that Ruby's mental image of her has shifted and so is not aware that Ruby no longer sees her as someone viable to reach out to.

None of which is helped by the fact Yang canonically admires Ruby and so is prone to see the best, strongest, most idealized side of her, and so like Ruby would need to be told Ruby needs help before keying into it.

Both these girls are very traumatized and damaged and they care about each other so god damn much, but also just cannot wholly see one another.

Its agony, I love it.

[swaps55]

Hiiii currently doing yet another Opus readthrough to help maintain my sanity and have had an absolute earworm of a question; I can't remember if this has come up before, but if Daniel never disappeared, if he was still around by the time the games events roll around, how do you think Sam would be different?

This is SUCH a good question. Because while Sam's desperate need for approval from his mother is one of his primary drivers, another is the guilt he feels about his father. He believes that his very existence robbed his father of the life Sam imagines he wanted - N7 - and he made it his mission to live the life his father didn't get, to repay the debt.

And the thing is, both of those things are integral to him becoming Commander Shepard.

So what happens if Daniel doesn't go missing?

I don't think their relationship is magically fixed. It was only his disappearance that knocked it into Sam's head that his father was so much more than Sam believed him to be. He didn't even know his father had gone through any of the N program until after he was gone. So if he doesn't have that moment of clarity at age 15, when does he have it, if he has it at all?

I still think the N program is something Sam would have pursued - he had his eye on it before Daniel went missing - but I imagine Daniel would have finally told him about his own history with the N program as an effort to talk him out of trying to get back in.

Now, the Sam who went into the N program without losing his father would have been far less angry at the world. The Sam who had Daniel still would have been ready to fight god in the target parking lot, but that Sam picks the fight for lack of something better to do. The Sam who did lost his father has so much anger at himself and at the universe that didn't even bother to look for him, that he'd fight god because he wants to see him bleed.

So when Daniel tells Sam about his own experiences with N1, this Sam might have listened. After all, most of his disdain for his father came from believing he wasn't the brave hero his mother was, because Daniel worked a desk job on a space station while his mother was out exploring the galaxy. Learning that his father gave up the N program because he wanted Sam, when his mother won't give him the time of day unless he's earned a commendation - might have changed everything between them.

And if that happens...maybe he does give up the N program. Which means he doesn't play the same role on Torfan, if he's there at all...which likely means he doesn't even wind up on the 'Yang. Would he still be a hell of a soldier? Yes. Would he be the person everyone looks to when the galaxy is in peril?

No.

One of the many things I love about Sam is how everything that makes him Commander Shepard is the result of Sam's own needs not being met.

But if Sam doesn't suffer that pain - if he gets the nurturing and love he needs and deserves - the price is the entire galaxy. His mother has to emotionally neglect him. He has to lose his father. He has to go down the dark path that almost costs him his soul. He can't realize the love of his life is right in front of him until the weight of the galaxy sits square on his shoulders. He has to die. He has to be resurrected. If any of those things don't happen, if at any point the holes in him are filled by the love and support he deserves...everyone dies.

I've worked out enough of my plan for the end of ME3 to know it will play out in such a way that the only hope this cycle has for surviving the reapers is Sam. Not just because he is the baddest badass who ever badassed, but because the paths he has walked, the things that he has done, and the things that have been done to him create a unique set of circumstances that literally no other being in the galaxy could replicate.

It has to be him. And saying no would condemn the entire galaxy.

So basically, TL;DR, if Sam doesn't lose Daniel, Sam would be so different the reapers would win.

[nostalgicmiscellaneous]

Rewatched everything carefully. And i stand by my opinion: i love season 3. Do i have things i wish we had more and things i wish we had less? Of course, but it's the most satisfying one so far. I'm always not one to justify things much, if i like, i like it; if it touches me, it touches me. I cheered, i cried, i was upset, frustrated, i smiled and i finished with a soft smile on my lips and happy for the characters and hopeful for what's to come for them. And when a show does that, it worked. Sure, we all wish we had more Penelope and Colin together but what we did get is so touching and theirs was a season about the depth of love and the idea of keeping oneself while still giving everything you can to love. About loving and accepting yourself and the realities of love. I also like they kept the integrity of Colin as a character. He's an introspective character, he needed to handle a lot of feelings by himself, and his struggle, turmoil is important to understand everything, including himself. He's very vulnerable and his insecurities were very well portrayed by Luke Newton. He was so compelling to me, with his eyes shining with love for her but trying to repress it, because of his own self-doubts, but eager to protect her. As for Pen...Nicola, the strength you gave Pen within her own vulnerability, her traumas and her apparent conflicted aspirations. I love how Pen never lost who she is, she let her personality free and she didn't settle for what could be easy. Because she learned to love herself, she was able to love Colin deeply, better, without losing her sense of self. Her identity and her courage to take her life on her own hands. I think we could've had at least one more scene of them with real intimacy, i don't even mean steamy, i mean intimacy, with a deep conversation about them. But his love confession was, in my opinion, flawless. I also think the way they conducted Eloise and Penelope's friendship was beautiful. The Featheringtons were a welcomed surprise, Portia and Pen finally trying to see eye to eye, trying to understand each other was something i really needed to see. I love the little nods to the book and the focus on the letters Pen sent Colin, how he missed her and how much she influenced his decisions and actions. I love the very end, their little family. As for Cressida, Benedict and the Mondrichs. I understand Cressida was not to be given a redemption, just that we could understand her better. But i think less would've been more with her. Same with Benedict, we get it, no need to have so many scenes with him having threesomes. The Mondrichs...i'm sorry, but completely irrelevant to the story. With that said: I enjoyed very much and i'm really happy. Because i think compared to S1 and S2, it was a much more engaging season. It had deeper conflicts and romantic love, profound discussions that elevated the plot.

[snexy-the-snail]

Well That's New

Losing Castor had left a hole in his entire being that Dionysus could not ignore. Losing children always felt like divine energy being wretched from his being, like a knife being twisted and dragged into his skin. It hadn't been Percy's fault, he knew that, but the loss still ached. It had been seconds for him, a flash in his life, and it didn't hurt any less.   He taps his fingers on the chair he had been sitting in before standing. He still had Pollux. The boy was still safe within the camp, most likely practicing his swordsmanship with the sea brat right now. The stupid, self-sacrificing boy who managed to drag himself into trouble every single summer felt like it. Younger than his own son. Whispered into his mind, causing his chest to clench.  

  With each year, he swore the boy aged his father by centuries. Then again, the boy did that to any god fond of him. He sighs heavily as he starts making his way through camp towards the training area, and just as he expected, there Percy was, clashing swords with his son. Both focus intently on the sound of metal filling the air. The bitter feeling that had been bubbling all morning twisted in his chest with each slash and falter, whether it was his son or Percy. Now, that was a new development. For the past few weeks, he focused a tad more on the little whirlpool. Maybe it was because Percy had the same carefree tendencies as Castor, the same playful attitude.    

He watches each of them carefully, wincing when Pollux lands a good hit, blood oozing from the cut. Percy throws his son back after blocking another strike, sword pointed at his throat once the boy hits the ground, a forced surrender. The tense moment didn't last long, Percy capping the bronze sword and offering a hand, hauling Pollux off the ground.    "Good hit."  "Come on, you let me have that. Don't even pretend it was good." Pollux laughs, brushing his hand back. Neither of them had noticed him, and it was strangely satisfying seeing them interact. Percy had a way of just flawlessly integrating himself into other cabins, nearly acting like another sibling. "It was pretty good. I barely had to block it."     Dionysus couldn't help but crack a smile. After the wars, seeing such a carefree attitude was a breath of fresh air. He watched as Pollux stretched, sticking the sword in the dirt to adjust his breastplate. "Mmhm sure, which is why two seconds later, I was on my ass, kid."   "Ugh, don't call me kid; I'm only like two years younger than you."  "Still younger," Pollux says with a shit-eating grin, nudging Percy. They acted so at ease with each other, so painfully similar to how the twins had been. Castor and Percy would've gotten along together even better.    Pollux seemed to have noticed him; however, his smile was brightening. That warmed his ichor when the boy grabbed his sword and made his way over, Percy following shortly after, already undoing his armor. Dionysus's fingers itched to do it himself rather than seeing the teen struggle.  

  "Have fun; I'm gonna, I don't know, offend the Hephaestus kids trying to make another metal abomination," Percy says with a smirk, giving Pollux a mock salute, the other boy groaning. "You suck," he grumbles, crossing as Dionysus ruffles his hair. The curls do not settle one bit.

  "Actually, Jackson, you'll be joining him."    The silence settles over the three before Pollux starts to cackle, a wide grin on his face nearly doubled over. Percy's face slackened as he stared at the god as if he were trying to figure out whether it was a joke. "What? You- I mean...what?" He trips over his words, taking a step back.   

Dionysus scoffs, raising a brow. The idea did seem...slightly ridiculous, though he didn't think it too odd. "Are your ears not working?" He prompts. The bitter feeling eased as Pollux stepped closer to him. As much as he tried not to get attached to any camper, he couldn't help but feel a fondness for them all, yes, even Percy.   "Nope, heard you loud and clear, I think; how about no." The boy says, clasping his hands together, turning, and going to no doubt walk back towards the cabins.  "I'm sorry. Did that sound like a choice? Pollux, did I offer it as a choice?" He asks, glancing at his son before approaching the sea child, resting a hand on his shoulder. He didn't miss how the boy flinched at his touch before relaxing. "No sir, not at all." his boy answers in a sweet tone. Sarcasm is a beautiful thing humans use.

"Yeah, well, I'm not doing that, thank you." Percy shoots back with no hesitation, though he doesn't shove his hand away. Everyone knew about the Apollo incident as well, and he had a good laugh about the sun god being bitten. Either way, if Percy was against it, he would know.  

  "Telling a god No never goes well for it, does it Jackson?" He muses, adjusting his height. The larger he grew, the lighter he made his touch on the boy's shoulder.  With practice ease, he loosens the straps of the breastplate, allowing the armor to hit the ground with a dull thud. "I've made it this far, haven't I?" Percy shoots back with a grumble, turning so his gaze settles on Dionysus. "To be fair, half the time ends up with them cursing you." Pollux points out. The idea didn't sit well with Dionysus either, a sense of bitterness settling more in his chest. Ugh, he truly had gotten attached to the little sea brat, hadn't he?  "Shut it, Pollux." However, there was no heat really behind the boy's grumble. Dionysus chuckles, wrapping his hand around Percy's waist. The boy was still skinny, no doubt from his trip..there. That protective feeling flared up again, demanding that he shield the boy from the suffering. "Be polite." He scolds, lifting the boy.

  "Or what? You're already eating me."    

"Do not call it that. I am not eating you." The idea was laughable, honestly. Yes, there was a similar process, but the thought of harming any demigod in such a manner made his stomach revolt. "It's holding."   

"Gods, you and Dad. Get off your high horse. It's totally- hey! Hey, easy!" Percy shrieks, wriggling in his grasp when he lifts the boy, slipping him in face first into his waiting jaws. Pollux cackled as he saw kicking legs. Even with all the movement, not once did he allow any of his teeth to graze the boy. He wasn't sure he could handle an accident harming a demigod when doing something meant to keep them safe. "Hey! Hey, come on- Really head first?" the boy continues to complain, Dionysus chuckling as the complaints continue. Saltwater taffy came to mind as the boy's taste seeped into his tongue. A stark contrast to the soft grape taste he was used to with his own son. "Not his fault, you're being a brat, is it!" Pollux calls out, waiting a few feet away. Dionysus hums in agreement, easing Percy in, not even giving him a chance to answer before swallowing. The feeling was familiar, comforting almost as he followed the movements, slipping the boy's shoes off as his legs were pulled into his mouth. He brings his other hand to his throat, tracing the descent as he swallows again, following the progress down until the demigod's body slips past his collarbone.   

Percy scrunches his face up as he meets open air, then unceremoniously slips face-first into the organ. "You ass!" He calls out, scowling when he just gets a chuckle in response. The warm scent of grapes curled around him. He squirms around, gritting his teeth as he tries to right himself, finding it hard against the rippling surface. "oh, come on-" He hisses out. His cheeks go red when he feels Mr.D pressing in from the outside, helping him into a more seated position. "Need some help there?" the smug voice rumbled around him.   "You suck." He mumbles, shifting a bit more. "It's funny you think I care." Percy rolls his eyes, jabbing the muscle. There was swaying, causing him to press against the front of the stomach..so was the god bending over? Why would he be doing that? "Are  you ready, Pollux?"  Oh  Oh, absolutely not! 

  "There's no way you're going to eat him too!" He says, very much not squealing. Thank you. "There's no room- come on, you can't be serious!" His pleas went unanswered. Instead, a swallow sounded from above him. It was weird hearing swallowing and feeling the stomach churn around him as Pollux obviously was making his way to him. "This is so freaky," Percy murmurs, trying to get used to the dim lighting surrounding him. He had to admit it was a tad odd seeing hands splay out from the top of the stomach, followed by Pollux's head, the elder boy grinning widely. "Hey, Perc, how's it going." The boy grins, laughing as another swallow had him intruding more on Percy's space.  "This is literally so weird." He grumbles, awkwardly reaching up to help avoid being crushed by the older boy; it worked sorta, a bunch of wriggling from both parties until Percy ended up pressed against Pollux's side."Really? I think it's weird when it's just me- like there's too much space." Sharing the space sounded atrocious, actually. There was no way to have any room to yourself, practically being tucked against the other boy's side. Pollux moved a bit before sneaking his arm across Percy's shoulder.

  "You know I'm supposed to teach the Hermes cabin after this, right?" Percy points out, jabbing a stomach wall. The scent of grapes was nearly dizzying and comforting at the same time. A scoff was his reply, accompanied by a slight jostling as the god started to move. Probably back to the big house. "There are other capable trainers, available brat." came the reply, a soft touch accompanying, letting Percy know the god was more than fine with subbing out sword training for the day. "It's nap time either way."  

"Do you seriously have mandated nap times?" He looks to Pollux, the boy shrugging. "What can I say? It's a perfect excuse to skip out on lame activities," he says before stretching out, pressing Percy more into his side, an arm still around his shoulder. "Plus, it's time with dad."  Right. It was easy to forget that Mr.D was a parent. "You're like an adult." Percy points out with a huff, closing his eyes still. It wasn't like he could see much anyway. It always weirded him out when the stomach didn't glow. He was so used to Triton and his dad's soft blueish glow, hell, even Apollo's weird golden sun-like glow. He guessed Hermes was dark, too. "Yeah? Still a demigod, so I'm basically just a toddler in Dad's eyes." Pollux answers without hesitation. Huh, he never really thought about it that way. Would they always be considered young to their godly parents?   "are you going to keep yapping, or will I get to enjoy my magazines?"   

Percy cracked his eye open just long enough to see Pollux roll his eyes, a fond smile on the boy's face. "That's code for taking a nap already." He stage whispers. A grumbling rumbling all around them. Maybe Mr. D wasn't as grumpy as he first thought. Then again, half the time he met with the gods, some crisis had been happening. The prophecy, various other incidents, and a lot, really. Granted, he did help on some quests, even if it didn't seem like it at the time.  "I can keep yapping; some people say it's my specialty." He shoots back with a light grin. A soft pressure from the outside ghosts against his back. The touches were always weird, but Percy couldn't help but find them comforting. No matter how close the gods were able to get them, there were always touches. Always. Hermes did it, and so did Apollo, his brother, and his dad. He had a feeling the others would, too, but he didn't exactly want to test that theory out. "Hush or I can make you." Mr.D grumbles though the fondness in his tone took the danger out of the threat. Percy rolls his eyes before closing them, resting a bit more against Pollux, the elder boy patting his shoulder. The organ gurgles around them, and the soft flesh presses into them rhythmically.  It wasn't much longer under Percy found himself slipping into sleep.   

[lgbtlunaverse]

My stance on literary criticism in fanfiction communities is and will stay "only if it's explicitly asked for" and my usual go-to reply to the followup of "But you need criticism to improve!!" is: this is a hobby space, people are putting stuff out for free on the internet, it's not ABOUT quality, it's about fun.

And that's true. But the thing is that I do care about quality, actually. Controversial opinion but I like it when things are good. I want to make good things as a creator and enjoy them as an audience member. I think high quality art is just... a good goal to strive for inherently. And fanfiction is art (We're not having a debate about this. 'Art' is not a word that means high quality or high value. Because then bad art could not exist. Art means that it's art. Artistic expression. Nothing else)

And I think where me and the people talking about how criticism is necessary lose each other is that when we talk about quality, we both want good art to be made. But does that mean "I want a higher number of good works of art to exist" or do we mean "I want a higher fraction of all art that is created to be good"

Because those are 2 very different things.

See: if we mean the first, bad art existing is irrelevant, we only care about making sure good art comes into existance. But for the second, guarding against bad art is an integral part of reaching our goal. We not only have to encourage people to make good art, we have to discourage them from making bad art.

And those dual goals are important. Because criticism can make someone who is less good at art into a better artist. But it can also just make them... not make art.

And THIS. I think. Is where the distinction between paid professional art and hobby spaces, like fandoms, becomes important. It's not that I think you only get to criticise something if you paid money for it. It's that professional art spaces have a finite amount of resources. People need to eat, and they need to be paid, and art costs money to make. And if it's spent on the creation of bad art, that means less good art has the resources to be made.

(Even in something like indie e-book publishing with a lot less gatekeeping or upfront costs, this is still true. Resource allocation is perhaps more direct, directly from audience to author, but even before factoring in things like marketing and amazon's algorithm the truth is that writers have bills to pay and if they're not selling they'll need to find a different job)

What all of his means is that criticism is essential to professional art spaces. Because in order for quality to exist, you need to encourage the allocation of resources to good art and discourage the allocation of resources to bad art.

(It's more nuanced than that. Everytime a bad tropey romance book blows up people start whining about all the superior art this money could've been spent on. But there isn't ONE singular art money pool for the entire world. There are several thousand smaller resource pools that will be distributed among different regions and niches. The money spent on that tropey romance book was never going to be spent on an experimental sculpture. The work that lost out here is another better tropey romance book. Which is why you actually need to know and respect a genre to critique works in it effectively– ok I'll stop now)

And if there are more good artists than you can give resource to (which, by the way, is always true. Every moment of every day there truly great art not being made because the resources weren't there. From rejected ideas to talented people who never got to be artists in the first place because they needed a more stable job) then it doesn't matter whether an overall increase in quality comes from someone improving their craft or from them leaving the industry, leaving more resources to someone with higher quality work. They both have the same effect on the overall quality within the space.

But... in hobby spaces, those limits do not exist. People make stuff and put it on the internet for free. it's not just that they're not making money– even in professional spaces many people don't make money off their art– it's that making money isn't even an option. So that pool of limited resources doesn't exist.

Which means that the ONLY limiting factor for fanfiction is interest. The amount of fanfiction you get is dictated by the amount of people who are interested in creating it. That's it. Someone writing bad fanfiction does NOT mean that a different better fic writer will not get to write theirs.

"But criticism can make the bad fanfic writer better!" This is true, and it's usually what people who advocate for constructive ciritcism want. They do not want bad writers to be replaced by good writers, they want the bad writers to become good.

This makes sense, because as we just established, individual improvement is the ONLY way of improving the level of quality, because the only limiting factor is the amount of interested people

So, do you know what criticism can also do?

Make someone stop creating.

Well phrased or not, constructive or not. ANY critique that wasn't asked for has a chance to make someone want to stop creating. There really isn't a way to make sure you're not hitting someone in their deepest insecurities. And in unregulated spaces like fanfic you also don't have a way to screen for critique quality. There's no professional reviewers here. You can say "criticism is fine as long as it's constructive" all you want, but complete assholes giving absolutely useless critique can and do regularly think their criticism is the best writing advice in the world.

And if someone does stop, you have less interested people. You have decreased your one limiting factor.

And the thing is: people improve by just writing on their own. They might (keyword: MIGHT) improve faster if they had regular audience critique, but they'll improve by the mere act of repeatedly writing. It's the most important factor in improving.

And removing someone from the pool of interested people inherently means they stop writing, and thus stop improving. You have unavoidably DECREASED the amount of quality work that could be created.

The bottom line is: in spaces with limited resources, people either improving or quitting is the point. It's how you gatekeep, and get more good art to be made by freeing up those limited resources. In places where the only limiting factor is the people themselves, anyone being discouraged from making art because it's "not good enough" is a NET LOSS for quality.

Regardless of the fact that human enjoyment should be the first priority in hobbies, if you primarily look at it through the lens of caring about quality, unsolicited criticism hinders quality instead of serving it. The people who want to improve and who will not be discouraged by criticism will seek it out via beta-readers or editors or writing groups, or will explicitly invite their audience to give constructive criticism. At that point, go wild! But if you weren't asked: stay quiet.

[bibibbon]

people have been debating whether mirio really was a better successor for ofa has given me an idea for my rewrite. In my universe, izuku is much nore attentive and analytical of his surroundings, and due to facing discrimination for his quirklessness, he has a less rose tinted view of hero society and wont just follow orders like lemillion. An example is when he and lemillion first meet eri and lemillion give eir back to overhaul, a long tongue snatches eri from his grasp and darts away. Lemillion tries to chase after the villain but izuku recognizes it as my oc herpeton and due to them already having worked together in the past izuku trusts his instinct enough to stop lemillion and get both them out of the alley and away from an angry overhaul. Also after izuku discovers who herepton is with nezu and after nezus deal, izuku acts as a benefactor to herpeton and gives him intel on what pros patrol the cities that herpeton is visting for the first time and what their tactics are. This willingness do what is right instead of just following what the commision want is why all might chose him as his successor. Speaking of which, nana shimura and the rest of the ofa holders were also vigilantes, which explains why they most people have never heard of them. What do you think?

Hi @suchusoid 👋

This has been a long and ongoing discourse that's been reignited a few weeks back after the series ended.

Personally, in Canon itself we aren't truly given a concrete reason as to why izuku is better than mirio and why he deserves OFA more than mirio. This gets even more annoying as the series ends with izuku not even claiming the quirk or making it his but simply still viewing it as a gift from his favourite hero.

I remember @mikeellee asking a similar ask as to why izuku was picked and not mirio and Canon doesn't give us a concrete answer heck it's even worse when you realise how non existent izukus relationship with all might is.

However, I think that you're changes here to izuku are honestly what was needed!! Having izuku carry and cement the idea of no man is created equal and making sure to make that an integral part of his character would allow for izuku to really see the grey morality and messed up system especially since Canon does try and point this out but constantly fails due to the lack of introspection and development izuku has.

Izuku understanding the cruelty of the system yet still trying to save everyone is what makes him different to mirio who has a goal if 1 million people but izuku has an ongoing gaol that in reality would never be achieved and will always be added onto and altered to help produce a fairer society one where people can at least have the same opportunities.

Making Izuku much more attentive also makes sense and is crucial since Canon misses that part of his character completely. In Canon we do get some interesting analytical moments from izuku but they are inconsistent and its a shame because with a bit more digging and thinking izuku's character could of became so much more.

Mind you this is the same character that saw Hawk's once and said that it's weird that he is only 6 years older and so much more mature then them.

This is also the kid who ended up copying his classmates move multiple times with his quirk like shooting blackwhip from his mouth to mimic froppy or the use of his legs when it comes to ofa mimicking iida.

Due to his analytical abilities I feel like midoriya would be able to peice together that herperton is one of his classmates friends.

They would form a partnership of sorts. Izuku wants to help herperton out in hopes of helping achieve a better future and society so he would give him information in return and maybe he would even give him some quirk advice.

A part of me thinks that herperton would get a sense of deja vu especially when he finds out that izuku was quirkless. This would all remind him of his own quirkless mentor and from that they would slowly grow closer to the point where they both trust each other to make the right move if needed. This means that izuku allows for eri to be taken and then herperton and izuku manage to get her into safety.

In the end izuku wants a better society and he has already done many things to show us that he would do what is morally right over following the rules. This is the same izuku who ran and intervened the moment he realised iida was in hosu and trying to kill Stain. This is the same character who tried to take down gentle criminal so the school Festival wouldn't be disturbed. Even if it means getting himself into trouble or being hated izuku midoriya does what is right and that should be his character

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! : ) You guys are amazing.

Sorry if this is stupid or offensive but i have a question regarding terminology describing facial diference/ disability

So my first language/ the language i write in is not english so while the terminology post is helpfull since i can translate it/ use it as a genereal guide in what to look out for it does not cover everything. I am sorry if this falls into the category of research question but how do i find good resources for terminology in my own language/ make sure its a good resource with the terms people with facial diferences in my country prefer? Its hard since my country is small and not great when it comes to ableism so there is not many resources availibel in the first place.

The second is a bit more specific. I want to include a character with cleft palate in the wider supporting cast, or at least in the background. So not a mayor/important character I can't spend much time describing them and i dont want to center their description on their facial diference. The term for cleft lip in my language literaly translates as "hare lip" into english whic is...yeah. Its probably not an uniqe case either. There might be some better term for it but i have not been abel to find it and i am not sure there is anything thats not overly medical. If that is the case should i use the medical term instead even if its jarring and include what it describes in a footnote? Does the mod team have sugestions on what else to do in this situation/ similar ones I probably will find myself in? How do i handel ableism thats literaly the integral part of my language. How do i catch terms that have ableist/ bad conotations bejond the basics since it is less called out over here i might not even notice its problematic? I dont want to make the issue any worse, further normalise bad terms by not caring about terms.

I thank you, so much in advance.

Hey! No such thing as a stupid question.

I'll just say that I very much relate to these issues considering my native language calls congenital disabilities “innate flaws” : ) so;

As for first question:

The first step would be to check if there are any organizations/groups that have resources in your language about facial differences, or checking if some international orgs have translations of their pages where they talk about facial differences. Moebius Syndrome Foundation has a page on face equality in 8 languages (+ English).

If there aren't any (high probability that this is the case unfortunately), try to see if there are any advocates for face equality that write in your language and what do they use (and in what contexts).

If you still have issues, there's always the ultimate beauty of writing - making words up. When there's nothing you can use as a reference, the best way is to just create the word that you need. I'm aware that it could be hard to figure out what's appropriate and not accidentally offensive or insensitive, but your good intentions and putting care into it are already doing a lot of the work for you.

I really like this essay - which is about a very different disability-related topic - that asks a great question in this “how do we make [language thing] good for disabled people?” sphere: what feels beautiful? What term do you feel like sounds nice and not othering or pointlessly medicalized? Because honestly, if I encountered an invented word for facial differences in my native (very non-English) language and the explanation behind it was “I thought it sounded pretty” then I'd take it. Always better than “gross deformity” that many consider neutral without thinking about it at all.

Obviously the easiest way would be to ask someone who speaks your language and has a facial difference, but I'm aware that not everyone has that possibility - still, it could be a good idea to reach out to your local disabled community if you're able to. Or just ask on whatever social media is popular where you live.

You can also send us what is the language that you're having this issue in - despite the blog being very American-centric and English-only, a lot of us speak different languages and might just happen to know the one.

Second question:

First thing I'll address is that cleft palate and cleft lip are two separate things. They are often lumped together because they very often co-exist together, but a person could only have one of them.

Cleft palate hasn't, AFAIK, been referred to as a harelip anywhere, so I'm going to assume the question is about a cleft lip.

There are a few options as to what you can do here, in my opinion;

you describe the cleft lip without using any specific term (“they had an opening/a faded scar on between their upper lip and their nostril”);

the character calls it by the medicalized term* because that's what their doctor has told them, and they could mention how awkward/long/difficult to say/no one knows what it is/etc. the word is;

the character is self-aware and points out that the term “harelip” is weird as hell to say about a person when someone refers to it as such;

or, again, you make a word up. The word “lip” probably has to stay for clarity's sake, but try to replace the animal part with something: cleft, split, parted, fissure, opening, etc.; You can also check how other terms with “cleft” are called in your language: cleft chin, cleft palate, cleft hand/foot, etc.;

or you can make up a word fantasy-writer style and describe a cleft lip but give it a completely new name that fits the setting more - [Name]'s lip, [Some sort of deity]'s blessing, you can kinda do whatever (take a look at the Terms That Suck guide below first though).

*my go-to way of finding the medical term is going through English Wikipedia (yeah, I know, but it works for this) and switching the language to the one I need. The cleft lip and palate page has 55 languages, so there's a chance it's on there - if it is, you might potentially find a nicer synonym in the “other names”.

Now for my (very personal) guide on catching if a term Kinda Sucks because doctors have some... tendencies in how they name various conditions:

does it use a word that is just a synonym for evil, or otherwise immoral or broken?;

does it have an animal connotation? (hares, wolves, elephants, fish... there's so many);

does it have a monster/fantasy creature connotation? (i.e., Donohue syndrome being called leprechaunism, Hypertrichosis being called Werewolf disease, etc.);

does it just sound rude? (my native language uses the word “maw” to mean cleft palate, which is absurd);

is it straight up racist and/or xenophobic? (like most of the historic words for syphilis were just “[nationality] disease”).

There's obviously nuance to everything (“vitiligo” is considered neutral, despite being derived from the word for “blemish” in Latin) but as a vague framework I find these to be useful. Again: what feels good or neutral will probably be the better option over “animal face disease”.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

ten weeks left, five to go… two thirds of the way there! i am, indeed, le tired…. but it’s gonna be okay… this week is pretty full throttle but next week i’ll get at least one day off for thanksgiving, so that’s… something…

i had a major work win this week in that a kid i had been pulling my hair out over did WAY the fuck better than i thought he would on his first test sitting. it’s looking like he’s still going to take it again even though he has scores that are perfectly adequate for the schools he’s looking at, so… i am holding on to my most work-intensive client… but a) his sessions will no longer bum me out and b) i can finally feel confident that the 1 billion hours i have put into writing or compiling from various sources follow up problems because none of the one-stop-shop ones felt good enough have actually served a purpose and therefore i can feel less conflicted about my regrettably unkillable sense of professional integrity. two other kids also tested, one landing at “so close but not totally quite” and the other at honestly a little worse than i would have expected? but her next test date pretty far out so i’m not too stressed. (i am learning over time that the first couple times they take a test straight through, practice or real, it goes bad… sometimes they don’t improve despite my best efforts but even the ones that do wind up doing well almost always do worse than i expect for a while and then somehow pull it together through a process that remains mysterious even to me….)

i think i am going to try something this week which is to plan to work approximately 35 hours spread out approximately evenly. based on recent weeks this should be enough (and if it’s not enough i’ll know that soon enough to course correct) and i think going into the week with this intention will help with the part where like… there almost always is theoretically work i could be doing which is an annoying psychological cloud to have hovering around me. i feel like maybe aiming for “about 5 hours a day, including any sessions” will help me feel more balanced and hopefully more able to sort of compartmentalize and think occasionally of other matters lol. the trick with this kind of thing is not to let it oppress me under a rule of my own devising - it has often happened in the past that i find myself feeling totally insane about my struggle to live up to completely self-imposed expectations that don’y matter at all - but i feel like perhaps i am finally beginning to outgrow that tendency, because of how i have finally learned what it is like to feel actually pretty chill most of the time and how much i enjoy and cherish that feeling.

the other work related insight i have recently had is that i really do fucking hate getting up and having to do work before a set time (session) later that day, with the exception of just kind of gathering my materials digitally or physically for any sessions. updating the homework docs the morning after is both unavoidable sometimes and tolerable but it’s amazing how much worse it feels to prep a practice test i’m doing in 4 hours than one i’m doing even just as far away as tomorrow. i AM for the first time in a while going into this week going into monday fully prepped for all of tomorrow’s tutoring and ALSO caught up on admin work and it feels really nice and i hope that having a certain regular allotment of Work Time will make it easier for me to keep that up while also, like, doing laundry and stuff. (i find it hard to do multiple types of things a day so if i’m in a Chores Day then usually i’ll work as little as possible and then suddenly i have to prep a whole ACT by tomorrow… anyway)

the kitchen remains… acceptable! although i should at some point probably purchase “groceries.” room still very bad, is what it is. i only worked out a measly three times this week but at least one of them was full body day & another day was a hiit day that honestly was very fun but still has my calves knotted up three days later. i did not text g. bc i am a terrible friend. i did see the apprentice and it was not good and i did not mind bc jerbear ate as i knew he would and honestly sebstan was p. good too! i have started rereading jonathan strange & mr norrell primarily as a bedtime book bc it is a good inducement away from bedtime scrolling which has been a Problem, my sleep has NOT been great. actually that reminds me that i might start doing little mini versions of these nightly because i have come to really like this little sunday night ritual and the sense of closure it gives me on the week as well as optimism or at least fortitude for the week ahead, and i feel like it may be the case that doing a little “and this was the day that was” post may offer a helpful transition in moving into Bedtime Mode. (part of me is like, could i just do that in a journal…. but… the thing is i actually don’t think i could…. journal is very good for some things but it is not good in all the same ways as Blogging……… for me, an insane person)

[aalghul]

read boywonder and exploded died (in a bad way)

talia... what have they done to you... what do they always do to you... ‘there is no honour in assassin’s work’ talia... where are u... the apple of my eye, i adore her sm very close to sending pipebombs to GM everyday waow...

watching people talk about how good this was for talia feels like chewing glass. boy wonder was clearly written by someone who has not read anything involving talia prior to grant morrison and doesn't care about her outside of whatever can justify her becoming an abusive backstory for damian.

boy wonder completely disrespects her struggle during the time when she was so conflicted because she wanted to be loyal to her father but wasn't sure if she believed in him entirely anymore. the struggle existed because talia knew she would not abide by nor aid him if she did not agree with him. because talia has her own moral compass and beliefs that she follows. juni ba disregards this very important part of her journey to instead make her an entirely different character apparently did not disagree with ra's at any point before her own son was threatened (going as far as making her uncaring towards damian's former caretaker to show us how twisted her way of thinking is. mind you, this is supposedly the same talia who cried the first time she accidentally killed someone and has risked her life to help strangers, the JLA, jason todd, etc). she has to be turned into a different person just because boy wonder needs her to be framed as a somewhat sympathetic villain who gets what she deserves by having her son leave her for a better family. her "happy ending" is knowing that damian's other family is making him happy, which she never could because the story deems her incapable of that.

along these lines is another thing i found insulting: juni ba insinuating that talia's love for bruce may have been caused by talia wanting to please her father, who wanted bruce as an heir. when in reality, ra's only took notice of bruce after talia fell in love with bruce. it was because talia was outspoken enough in front of her father to bring up bruce that ra's cared about him at all. it was because talia had been off in cairo studying medicine that she had been caught up in a scheme that took her to bruce. all of those were her own choices, and juni ba wants us to question whether any of it was real because he doesn't believe talia has ever had agency. all because he himself clearly has never read talia outside of recent comics.

related to the above: juni ba insists talia wanted to be the heir to the league of assassins. pre-GM talia has never expressed this. she's never even implied it. from everything we've seen, it's pretty clear she would never want to nor would she able to stomach so much death. because it's canon that talia's heart hurts for everyone she sees killed. but, again, juni ba does not care about this whatsoever because his story is about damian and the bats. talia's characterization is always acceptable collateral damage when it comes to damian and the bats.

the more I think about it, the more I hate juni ba's misinterpretation of her. people so readily accept things like boy wonder and WFA when it comes to talia because they know so little about the most foundational parts of her character and it's really upsetting that big projects will continue to give such ooc stories as the best case scenario for talia. this is equivalent to someone writing a story where bruce decided to not take in dick or jason because the mission's more important than one kid. that would make bruce a different and less compelling character, right? that's exactly what happened to talia here (and in wfa and in everything GM wrote and in pretty much every story written since then). these are very integral parts of her character. if boy wonder as a story can't function without talia being so thoroughly destroyed? it was never a story worth telling (and it really isn't. because it's truly not a good story at all, which makes talia being wrecked for it even worse).

it makes me so angry because things like this are exactly why people don't see talia the same way they see selina or bruce or any other character ever! she continues to be pushed into the role of the harmful past who can only atone for her mistakes by now becoming an obsolete observer.

[jjkbambi]

hey! i hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s your most controversial luigi take?

i have a lot of complicated opinions on luigi mangione’s case

i do think he could be capable of carrying this out. from the bits and pieces:

luigi’s tweet about japan, while clumsy, reflects an underlying interest in societal improvement, even if his execution often misses the mark. engaging with societal dynamics. only a month after traveling to japan and befriending locals, he put out a lengthy tweet calling for a cultural change: this pattern reveals a tendency to act impulsively but with good intentions, reflecting someone who wants to contribute to meaningful conversations but hasn’t quite mastered the delivery.

286 theory his twitter profile now sits at exactly 286 tweets, coincidentally aligning with breloom’s pokédex number (#286). google trends data for “breloom.” whether intentional or not, it adds an intriguing layer to his online presence.

fun note: rise in “breloom” google trends + word associations

the recurring number 286 ties to proverbs 28:6: “better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich.” he did confirm he’s an atheist but i think an argument could be made that he’s presenting this in a deliberately sadistic way, mocking religious people who would point to moral absolutes like “murder is wrong.”

last on 286 - it can be linked to a healthcare code used when appeals are denied for exceeding the time limit. the bullet casings meticulously carved out supports the idea this was an attack on the healthcare industry. could also be a signal that he’s reached his breaking point. could reflect frustration, or could even serve as a declaration that he’s done waiting for change or resolution. (as if he’s saying he’s had enough of delays, whether external or self-imposed, and is ready to act or confront whatever has been holding him back.)

everyone who met mangione spoke highly of him as a friend. he was cared for them very openly, and was deeply interested in conversations about mental health and even worked as a head counselor at stanford.

to say the least: cutting everyone on his life off before the murder seems a bit suspicious

and most of all, his sudden outburst outside the courtroom just doesn’t make sense if he is innocent.

my less supported opinion is that this is all a bit too meticulously planned out. idk. i just don’t think he worked alone.

…. i do think someone this smart and pretentious would come up with an insane plan to take down the “root of the problem” — realistically, i don’t think it would be as straightforward as described in his alleged manifesto. his reddit history suggests he has been struggling with brain fog since college, which would make carrying out this mission alone even more challenging.

last and least important, i don’t think the monopoly money was planted by him at the park, either. seems like a waste of time. Definitely feels like funny thing a New Yorker would do to piss off the NYPD