#i would have married Fritz this way

[onemoretryx2]

Fem Fritz and Matthew cause I love women

[whore-ibly-hot]

OMG SPEAKING OF MARRIAGE honeymoon with Joey or like anyone really what would Fritz honeymoon be like? Like I'd assume they didn't get one cause man's busy

Honey-mooning with Joey would be fairly simple, he'd take you to the inn or motel of one of the slightly larger nearby farming towns, and treat you to all the southern comfort food and hospitality you could want. He'd get you a nice breakfast, and flowers, but in the evening he'd make it very clear that he wants to begin the process of knocking you up. He will back off if you tell him to, but he'll make his intentions known. He just wants you knocked up as quickly as possible, and as much as he wants to enjoy the honeymoon he mostly just wants you back in the farm, acclimating to life with his family and getting settled in. It'll feel all that more real that your truly his once he can wake up in his own bed, with you their everyday.

"I hope you liked dinner, I've never been to that restaurants before, but my chicken was great. Um, darlin'? I know your probably stuffed, but are you too stuffed to work up the energy to go for a roll in the hay with your new husband?"

Fritz wouldn't be able to spend anytime honey mooning with his bride, and as a traditionalist this upsets him. Instead, he'll settle for a very extravagant one night wedding and ceremony away from the small town he's stationed at. He wants to give his bride the luxury you've never been accustomed too. You'll meet all his fellow military officials, and be shown off like one of Fritz medals. That night, he doesn't let you do anything during the consumption of the marriage. He wants to worship you, not the other way around. He will insist on some sort of white lingerie being sent in, as he wants you looking like a bride when he takes you, but he doesn't want to ruin your dress or suit. He asks beforehand if he'll be able to start trying for a baby that evening.

"Being a woman is not enough for a slimy cadet or confident rookie to simply respect you my poor dear, and I am sorry for their behavior. Being an officers bride should help, but we get new soldiers so often on the front lines, they may not know."

"What are you saying?"

"I think it'll be a little more obvious your an officers wife if you're walking around with a little bump next time we go to town. All for your safety, of course."

BONUS!!!: Mattias doesn't have the money for a big wedding or an extravagant honeymoon, but while he may not have the money, he has the spirit to party, and he knows others who do. The entire wedding reception is held as a block party at his mother's home in old Harlem, and the guests are a mix of neighbors and family. Mattias loves his family, and his perfect way to solidify a marriage is to blend you in with them. His biggest regret about the wedding is his father wasn't there to see him get married, so it's also nice for him to be around his Mami at a time like this. He loves how the two of you get along, and the two of them share stories of Mattias's papa, from when he was alive.

Mattias cannot handle it when his sees you playing with his young primos and primas, and the other neighborhood kids. Dancing with them and helping them reach the tinfoil trays to get food onto their plates. This results in him returning back to your apartment and immediately begging to dick you down, and give you a baby.

"Cmon, pretty girl!" He's kissing up on your neck, pulling you out of your reception outfit. "Gotta have you, mi esposa guapa, give you some kids. I've been shaking with nerves and energy all day, and I can't exactly fight it off at a block party. So please-"

"Let's make some hijos..."

[pepi1989]

Starstruck - Ben Shelton

The atmosphere backstage at the US Open was its own kind of chaotic. Between players rushing to their next match, coaches barking advice, and the constant hum of the crowds outside the stadiums, it was a whirlwind of noise and energy. Ben had just finished his warm-up and was headed toward the players’ lounge, his mind focused on his upcoming match. Or at least, it was, until he saw her.

She walked out from one of the practice courts, her tennis bag slung casually over her shoulder. Her hair was pulled back, her face still flushed from whatever grueling training she’d just finished, but she carried herself with a confidence that immediately drew his attention. Ben froze mid-step, his gaze locking on her as she moved through the hallway, completely unaware of the effect she had on him.

His heart rate, which had already been high from practice, seemed to kick into overdrive. He felt like he’d just been hit with a serve straight to the chest. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. It wasn’t just her looks, although she was stunning, it was the way she seemed so effortlessly focused, so in her element. Like she belonged there in a way that made everyone else fade into the background.

She didn’t see him, though. Her eyes were set ahead, completely engrossed in her own world. As she walked past, her shoulder brushed his, and he swore electricity shot through him. His brain scrambled to come up with something, anything, to say, but the words died in his throat. Before he knew it, she was already halfway down the hall, her footsteps light and steady as if she hadn’t just flipped his entire world upside down.

Ben stood there, still staring, until a sharp elbow nudged him in the side.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Taylor Fritz’s voice snapped him out of his daze, but Ben couldn’t pull his eyes away from where she’d disappeared around the corner.

“Who…who was that?” Ben finally managed to croak out, his voice hoarse, like he’d just run a marathon.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, glancing between Ben and the direction the girl had gone. “You mean her?” he said, a knowing smirk creeping across his face. “That’s Y/N, She’s been killing it in the women's draw. You seriously don’t know her?”

Ben shook his head, still trying to process what had just happened. Y/N. The name alone made his pulse quicken. He repeated it in his head like a mantra. He couldn’t believe he’d never noticed her before, and yet now it felt like he couldn’t stop.

Taylor chuckled, clapping Ben on the shoulder. “Good luck with that, man,” he said, his tone both amused and sympathetic. “She doesn’t pay attention to anyone. Too focused on tennis, from what I hear. She’s, like, all business,never dates, never even gives anyone a second glance. Pretty much married to her career.”

Ben’s heart sank a little, but there was a flicker of determination in his chest. The idea that she didn’t pay attention to anyone just made him more intrigued. Sure, she was focused, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have space for anything, or anyone, else, right?

Still, Taylor’s words echoed in his mind as he headed off to his match. Could he really stand out to someone like her?

Hours later, Ben was exhausted. His match had been a tough one, stretching into five sets, but he’d come out victorious. As he sat in the players’ lounge afterward, towel around his neck, mind drifting, he saw her again.

She was walking into the room after her match, her eyes downcast, focused on the floor as she made her way to grab a water bottle. He watched as she sighed, the kind of tired but satisfied look of someone who’d just left everything out on the court. There was something so grounded about her, despite the pressures of the tournament.

Ben’s heart raced again, but this time, he didn’t let the moment pass. He stood up, tossing his towel onto the chair, and made his way toward her, rehearsing what he would say over and over in his head.

As she turned to leave, he gently called out, “Hey, Y/N?”

She stopped, turning around slowly, her eyes locking with his. For a second, he thought she might just walk away, completely uninterested. But instead, she stayed, blinking at him, her expression a little wary but open.

“Yeah?” she asked, her voice soft, almost shy.

Ben was momentarily thrown off. Taylor had said she didn’t pay attention to people, that she was all business. But now, face-to-face, she seemed almost…nervous.

“I-I saw your match,” Ben stammered, his nerves getting the best of him. “You played really well out there.”

Her cheeks flushed a bit, and she smiled, though she looked away quickly, like she wasn’t used to compliments. “Thanks,” she mumbled, shifting slightly on her feet. “You did too. I, uh, caught a bit of it.”

Ben’s heart soared. She watched? He swallowed his nerves, deciding now was the time. “I know you’re super focused on tennis and all,” he began, scratching the back of his neck, “but I was wondering if maybe, uh, I could get your number? You know…for after the tournament or something. We could hang out, if you’d like.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, Ben was certain she’d turn him down. She looked even shyer now, her gaze dropping to the floor again as she considered his offer. He could feel his pulse in his ears, each second stretching on like forever.

Then, to his astonishment, she nodded, her voice almost a whisper. “Yeah… sure. I’d like that.”

Ben blinked, processing her words. She said yes? He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as she was typing in her number before handing his phone back to him.

“Thanks,” he said, a little breathless, feeling like he’d just won the biggest match of his life. “I’ll text you.”

She smiled again, this time a little more relaxed, a little more genuine, before turning to leave. And as she walked away, Ben couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, this tournament was shaping up to be unforgettable in more ways than one.

[fritzes]

the curse of ATP Madrid 2024

remember toronto's chaos? yeah this one's crazier

(shoutout @rodlaveraryna for helping me find the toronto post when I totally lost it)

first of all, the World #1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the tournament, making the fairly new #2 Jannik Sinner the top seed at a Masters 1000 for the first time.

In the first round, Félix Auger-Aliassime (who, keep in mind, took Nadal to five sets at Roland Garros) loses the first set to Nishioka. However, he comes back in the second and third sets to win the match 4-6 6-1 6-4. We'll be seeing a lot of him. In a Next Gen battle, young phenomenon João Fonseca loses the first set to the clay incompetent Alex Michelsen but proceeds to bagel him in the second set and then win the third with 4-6 6-0 6-2. Fabian Marozsan (of beating Alcaraz in Rome fame) saves eleven set points against Karatsev to win the first set and goes on to win the match 7-6 7-6. Moutet and Shang play an almost four hour match in which Moutet caused a massive delay by demanding the umpire give him coffee. And, most insane of all, teenager Darwin Blanch is drawn against Rafael Nadal for his second tour match ever. The scoreline is 6-1 6-0 (at least he got a game!)

Second round - here come the seeds. Jakub Menšík, yet another Next Gen wonder, upsets Dimitrov in three intense sets 6-2 6-7 6-3. Félix bagels known clay flop Mannarino. Fonseca loses quite brutally to Norrie. The ultimate clay hater himself, Daniil Medvedev, loses the first set to Matteo Arnaldi and looks absolutely done but comes back to win 2-6 6-4 6-4. Another known clay hater, Alexander Bublik, jokes his way through a win against Carballés Baena, who was so frustrated that he hit a serve directly at Bublik. Ben Shelton bagels Machac. Rafa manages to beat de Minaur, who he just lost to in Barcelona. Stefanos Tsitsipas, fresh off of two clay finals, is beaten by qualifier Monteiro 6-4 6-4.

In the third round, our top seed Jannik Sinner starts to show sign of discomfort, and his opponent Kotov is serving for the second set after Jannik won the first. Kotov has set point... and hits a questionable underarm serve that Jannik crushes down the line. Jannik goes on to break back and win the match 6-2 7-5. In the beginning of a long line of strange occurrences, Félix's opponent Menšik retires in the second set. Daniil loses the first set to Korda, yells at everyone, accuses the umpire of working for the Illuminati, but comes back to win the match 5-7 7-6 6-3. Bublik, the other resident clay hater, beats Ben Shelton 3-6 7-6 6-4, stetting up a match against who but Daniil. Holger Rune, who made two clay masters finals, loses to Griekspoor 6-4 4-6 6-3.

We start off the fourth round with another shaky Jannik match where he barely gets past Khachanov 5-7 6-3 6-3. At the exact same time - I kid you not, the exact same time - is a rematch of last year’s final. Carlos Alcaraz has match points over Struff at the very same minute as Jannik, but loses all three of them and extends the match another half hour or so, eventually winning it 6-3 6-7 7-6. Daniil comfortably wins the clay hater battle 7-6 6-4, and Bublik seems perfectly fine with it. In a strange occurrence of two varying levels of servebots on clay, Taylor Fritz beats Hurkacz 7-6 6-4 (including a very predictable tiebreak). Perhaps the strangest of all, Félix takes out Casper Ruud, the man who would marry clay if he could, 6-4 7-5.

And now to the quarterfinals. Think these matches have predictable outcomes? Wrong! Only Taylor manages to emerge as the favorite who wins, beating Cerundolo 6-1 3-6 6-3, an American servebot into clay masters semis. Meanwhile, Jannik withdraws entirely, giving Félix yet another walkover. In what may be the calmest match of his career, Andrey Rublev beats Carlos 4-6 6-3 6-2, ending his Madrid title streak. And, Daniil retires against Jiri Lehecka.

So, the semifinals no one expected. Andrey dispatches Fritz 6-4 6-3 after they traded breaks in the opening two games. And Félix receives yet another walkover when Lehecka retires a few games into the match. Yes, he received not one, not two, but three walkovers en route to the final.

In the end, though, Andrey wins it and claims a second masters title. So, that’s the end of the story, right? No, because in his interviews afterwards, Andrey reveals that he has been extremely sick for the entirety of the tournament and that he could barely sleep or eat. A bizarre yet fitting end to this strange tournament.

[queer-geordie-nerd]

“In 1941, after a dramatic turn of events, both outside and inside the country, Croatia proclaimed independence, becoming a puppet state of the German Third Reich. The Independent State of Croatia (NDH – Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska) was born. Almost immediately, racial laws were introduced. Fritz (my grandfather) had just come back from his travels abroad when the new law forced him to return to the town of his birth in order to register as a Jew and get a yellow star on his sleeve. His sisters who stayed in Bosnia were in hiding. Both of them had married Serbs because, even with Serbs being hated and persecuted, it was still better to be a Serb than a Jew.

“It’s still better to be a Serb than a Jew” – I would hear that same exact sentence from a Hungarian consul in London in 1993, while we were applying for a visa. The consul meant it as a joke. But my husband and I, people with no country or passport at the time, did not laugh. We could not understand how this man had managed to identify us as a Serb and a Jew respectively, although we ourselves had never mentioned those facts and our travel documents did not hold that information. Are all racists of this world connected in some unknown, mysterious way? Do they know facts about us that even we don’t know?

Fritz was torn. He had an invitation to emigrate to Israel. My mother would mourn his refusal to take that offer throughout her whole life. Why didn’t he leave? He was a fairly well-known figure in Zagreb. One of his best friends was Bozidar Adzija, a respected leftist writer and politician. A street in Zagreb bore his name until the right wing Tudjman government changed it in the nineties.

This group of young people was infected by progressive ideas about a world without nationalism and religious sectarianism. Fleeing to Israel must have seemed like giving up on those ideas. It meant seeking refuge with your own tribe and thus denouncing the idea of being a citizen of the world. At least I presume that was one of the reasons to stay. There was also the well known human habit of refusing to believe the worst could ever happen. Also, finding solace in the word of the law, even if that law seems wrong (If I obey the law, they would not hurt me, would they? The answer is: yes, they would.)

Fritz obediently returned to his town of Bijeljina and registered as a Jew. He went searching for his sisters who chased him away: he was a danger to them. They were hiding in a Serbian Orthodox church where the authorities didn’t dare to touch them. They both took their husbands’ Serbian names. They didn’t want to risk capture because of their brother. Later on, in discussions with my Jewish family in Belgrade, I would always detect an animosity towards Fritz: how dared he endanger the family? Fritz was on his own, without protection from anyone. He was immediately captured by the Bosnian pro-Nazi Muslim police and transferred to the Croatian Ustashas. And that’s how he found himself in Jasenovac concentration camp.

That beautiful, soft, elegant, educated man was now digging mud from the smelly ditch surrounding the camp, at the mercy of enthusiastic killers. It wouldn’t last long. How old was he when he died? I could never find out. He had disappeared without a trace. Branka spent the war in Zagreb, under the strict antisemitic laws, studying French and Yugoslav literature at the university. She would hide from all the horror behind books. They were saving her life. On the practical front, she started using her biological mother’s name, Savić, because – as I said before – in that time and that place it was still better to be a Serb than a Jew. But what really protected her during the Nazi years in Croatia was her adoptive mother, Ljuba.”

- Mira Furlan, Love Me More Than Anything In the World

[centrally-unplanned]

positive take on: “western” animation vs. anime? And vice versa?

Oh sure - western animation has put in so much work into developing "comedy or edginess as design" in ways that have really pushed the envelope. We live in this world so we sleep on it, but actually imagine showing someone from the 1930's like Courage the Cowardly Dog or Powerpuff Girls or (for a different angle here) Fritz the Cat. I think they would struggle a bit to relate to the level of "distance" those designs have from anything resembling reality. But under the umbrella of "animation is for the oddball shows" we kept pushing audiences along and we don't even question now that you can make something like Invader Zim and we will not only be like "yeah those are people" but they are a specific kind of person as communicated by bodily proportions, line width, etc. Its a very fun space for aesthetic-cultural expression.

I talk about anime a ton so maybe, hm, in the same vein as above - I don't think any artistic movement has ever so effectively married specific stylistic elements with trope concepts. Anytime you see western groups try to make "anime style" shows, it tends to fail, for a bunch of reasons but mainly because they try telling western stories in that style, without the anime tropes, and that sits wrongly with audiences. Part of this strength comes from the "superstimulus" aspects - I do think anime designs are, for the right kind of brain, as a local maximum of appealing, and they are built in a way that compliments the tropes of the genre itself. That strength-of-design was the foundation for building a far more coherent media language. Like, Disney did this, because it had its own coherent style. Anime did that across hundreds of different studios.

[gaycragula]

do u have any sub zenyatta smut for us beloved 🙏🙏 the way u characterize Zen is unmatched tysm

First Time for Everything

Pairing: Tekhartha Zenyatta x Male Reader Warning: 18+/NSFW under the cut

Warning(s): Bottom Zenyatta, top reader, not human anatomy for Zenyatta/using valve terms from the transformers fandom(?), no actual penetration with a penis, fingering Word Count: 2029 MasterlistAO3 Link

“Zenyatta?” You call out, knocking on the door that led to your shared room. The omnic had gone out early in the morning and gone straight into your room without a word to you. It had you worried the longer he stayed there.

You’d just gotten back with him, having been away for nearly 2 months. You were hoping you’d be able to relax for a couple days before you had to go out again. Zenyatta had other plans. 

You hear him hum from inside the room and you take it as a go ahead to open the door. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to you. You find it strange, he almost always faces you. 

He listens to your steps as you walk up behind him before he feels the bed dip as you crawl over to him. Whatever reason he’s got his back to you, you assume it’s for a reason. So, you sit on your knees behind him, looking over his shoulder at his hands. “What’s wrong?” You ask quietly.

“I have been thinking,” he admits, holding his left hand out to the side. You take it and he intertwines his fingers with yours. You squeeze his hand, urging him to continue. “Humans make love, do they not?”

You feel your face flush at the question. You force yourself to take a deep breath before responding. “Some do,” you start, glancing at his hand in yours. “Some wait until they’ve married and some never do. Why do you ask?”

The hum of his fans fills the room as silence falls over the both of you. You watch as Zenyatta pulls your hand in front of him before you feel the metal of his mouthplate press against your flesh. “Would you want to make love to me?”

You move to actually sit behind, your legs one either side of his and your chest pressed against his back. “Is that what you want?” You ask, pressing your nose into the metal of his shoulder in a gentle kiss. 

He nods and you smile against him. “I’d love to then.”

The relieved buzz that seems to radiate from the omnic warms your heart and you press your lips against his shoulder in a proper kiss. “What do you know of human love-making?” You ask him.

“I do not know many of the details.”

He leaves it at that and you take the hint. “I’ll walk you through it,” you assure with a quiet voice. You pause for a moment. “What.. parts do you have?”

For the first time that night, you hear him let out a small puff of air that sounds awful close to a laugh. “I have both, do not fret.”

You let out your own awkward little laugh and press your lips against his cheek. “Do you want to stay like this? Or would you like to face me?”

Zenyatta is quiet for a moment, a rare thing for him to be in times like these. You almost believe he’s about to change his mind about this. And then he speaks. “I wish to stay like this.”

“Will do, my dear,” you whisper against him. He lets go of your hand and you begin exploring his body with your hands. He vibrates softly as you run your hands over his chestplate, finding the little nooks under what would be his pecs if he was human where some of his wiring sits.

Expert fingers run over the sensitive wires there, gently pulling on a few to gauge his reaction. It’s lovely, to say the least.

Zenyatta almost seems startled by the feelings, his back arching and a fritzing gasp coming from his voice modular. You pause and remove your fingers from his wiring immediately, not wanting to overwhelm him so soon. “Are you okay?”

“I am fine,” he says in return, his head tilted forward to look down at his chest. Zenyatta truly seems confused by the sensations you’d just managed to pull from him. It would’ve been endearing if you weren’t concerned.

“Do you want to continue..?” 

Another short beat of silence before Zenyatta nods. “I do.”

Your hands return to their places, return to the sensitive wires in Zenyatta’s chest. You don’t pull at them- you suspect that was what caused the reaction. And it seems your suspicion was right.

Zenyatta lets out soft puffs and huffs of air, some of his vents releasing a bit of steam to keep his body from overheating but he doesn’t repeat the visceral reaction from before. You were both learning about his body, it seems. 

Your touch remains gentle, caressing and loving. If this was his first time (and you’re positive it is), you wanted to make it good for him, make him comfortable and feeling loved. You certainly don’t want to scare him.

One hand continues to caress the wires in Zenyatta’s chest and the other travels farther down to tug at the hem of his pants. “Do you want to take them off?”

“Not yet.”

“Of course.” Your hand moves from his pants to rub over his tummy area, looking for any nooks you can fit your fingers into. You find one just above his waist and your fingers dip into the opening. 

Zenyatta’s body jerks and a hot jet of steam releases from his shoulder. Right into your face. “Whew, that’s hot,” you whisper as you adjust so it doesn’t hit you again. It wasn’t scalding yet but who knows how long that will last. You knew Zenyatta wasn’t used to these sensations and you didn’t know how his body would react to it. 

“Apologies,” you hear Zenyatta manage out. His voice was strained and it surprises you.

“You’ve nothing to apologize for,” you assure, pressing another kiss to his temple. “Are you still doing okay?”

A nod is all you get. You worry you’re going to push him too far too quickly. But you also know Zenyatta would tell you before you did so. You had to trust him. You take a slow breath before gently pulling at one of the wires in his side. 

It pulls another fritzing hiccup from the omnic and his hand grips your wrist. You stop as soon as he does so. Silence fills the void between you for what seems like forever before Zenyatta pulls your hand from his side and brings it down to his pants. 

Relief floods through you and you move your hand from his chest cavity as well to take his pants off. 

It wasn’t the first time you’d seen him without his pants. But it was the first under this context. It definitely felt different. 

Your hands trail over the insides of Zenyatta’s legs, finding openings between his metal plating for future reference. You knew a thing or two about omnic anatomy. You’ve repaired your fair share of them during your time with Overwatch. 

“Can you.. open your valve for me?” You request softly, your fingers ghosting over the metal plating that covers said valve. There was a manual latch but you figured it would be better for his mental if he did it himself.

The quiet hiss of air as he opens his valve seems so loud in the quiet of the room. You can’t get a very good look at it- that would have to wait for another time. When your fingers glide over in, you can feel the slick-like lube that’s already gathered there. 

You gather a big glob of it and simply circle over the valve entrance with your fingers. Zenyatta twitches against you, those pretty fritzing sounds coming from his modular unabated. You smile to yourself before you press your lips to Zenyatta’s jaw. “Still good?”

“Yes,” he confirms with another vent of steam. You had a feeling he wouldn’t last long once you actually started something. 

You tease the tip of your index finger into the mesh of the valve and you can feel Zenyatta begin to vibrate against you- basically his equivalent of trembling. But he doesn’t tell you to stop, so you don’t.

The mesh walls of his valve are soft and warm, much different than the hard and cold metal that makes up his body chassis. Your finger presses in to the second knuckle, his walls clenching around your finger, throbbing. 

You bump your nose against his cheek, drawing his attention back to you. His body, usually so relaxed, was tensed. His servos whirred in protest of the tension and he hadn’t even noticed. “You’re going to damage your joints if you don’t relax,” you murmur softly, your free hand rubbing soft circles into his hip.

You feel his head move to nod and he leans back into you completely. His hands come to rest on your thighs and he takes a moment to let out as much steam as he can to cool his body back down to core temperature. 

And you wait. Of course you do. Even as moisture soaks your shirt and you feel yourself start to sweat. You wait for him to give you the go ahead to continue. 

And when he does, you slowly begin pumping your finger in and out of his valve, listening to the lewd squelch of the natural lube he produces. 

Zenyatta lets out the prettiest sounds as you do. His voice modular isn’t used to the sounds he’s making and you can hear it give out a couple times as the feeling of your finger inside him overcomes him. 

“You’re doing really good,” you whisper to him. He gives you a strained laugh in response, a sound you return before kissing his cheek again. “Another?”

You tease a second finger against his valve, gathering more of the lube for when you get the go ahead. 

“Another,” he repeats with a small nod. He then tucks his head into the crook of your neck, the cold metal of his forehead flush against your heated skin. 

The second finger joins your first and Zenyatta lets out another hiccup, his hands tightening around your thighs and his hips twitching in their spot. 

You slowly finger him open, whispering soft praises to keep him grounded against the feelings he’s going through. He seems to be grateful for it, nuzzling into your neck in what you’ve long since learned was his way of kissing you. 

The mesh inside him squeezes your fingers, actually making it quite difficult to spread your fingers much. You don’t think you’re going to go all the way tonight. 

 Not that you mind. The sounds he’s making are worthwhile. The usual sure spoken omnic is stuttering and fritzing all over the place. It’s endearing, in your opinion. 

Slowly but surely, you stretch him out. You’re able to push a third finger into him with very little, if any, resistance. You’re surprised when Zenyatta starts moving his hips in tandem with your fingers, practically fucking himself on your fingers. You feel your heart (and your dick) jump in response to his actions. 

“Feeling good?”

Another static hiccup in response. You’ll take that as a ‘yes’. You crook your fingers and you swear you hear Zenyatta shout before he’s overloading against you. 

You hold him upright with your free arm, removing your fingers to let him ride out the overload without risk of pushing him into overstimulation. 

Zenyatta lets out one more hiccup before he basically slumps back against you. Your nose presses against his temple, soft whispers of praise and endearment leaving your lips as he comes back down. 

He lets out a soft hum after a bit, his modesty plate clicking back in place as the two of you simply bask in the warm afterglow of the intimacy you just shared. Even if you’d not gone all the way, it was a tender moment to share. Plus, you’re sure there will be a next time. 

“Did it feel good?” You ask him with a small smile. 

“It did, my love,” he hums in response, knocking his temple against your cheek gently. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for asking me to do it,” you hum back, pressing another kiss to his temple. 

[fullscoreshenanigans]

What do you think a REN wedding would be like?

I feel like there would be one! Possibly two!

REN enthusiasts have been blessed with some absolute gems of fanfics that I've adopted as my own personal canon on this topic, making me very fond of Emma learning about weddings from the books' in Grace Field's library and immediately thinking of course she and her two best friends should have one. They've been inseparable since she arrived at the house, and she can't imagine her days without either of them, so the only solution is for all three of them to marry each other.

I adore the way Ray's chapter of Between Your Fingers, Between the Lines by honeynpeaches opens when he's around six years old and Emma dropping flower crowns on the boys' heads, declaring they'll be wed that very day.

Everything about this little snapshot is perfect. Emma walking onto the scene framed in the imagery of a halo. Norman being an adorably smitten baby going on the fritz for the first few minutes of the entire conversation. Ray being an amalgam of emotions held together with a rubber band on the verge of snapping. His reaction to Emma's quick and casual defiance of whatever she deems arbitrary is a wonderful blend of comedic and heartbreaking. The pure frustration at her flippancy born out of a deep and endearing love that trumps his fear of the whatever consequences result from confronting Isabella.

But he sees how Emma and Norman smile, and he can’t deny them. He’s never been able to. Not really. Not when it matters most…He’d give anything for them, and he already knows it.

Down to the more minute gestures of Norman moving to calm Ray after he's calmed himself down in a familiar, reassuring rhythm

(Chapter 28 Bonus Comic about Chapter 14's flashback)

with the gentle placement of his hand over the other boy's, and Emma taking his other hand to move close to her heart to subconsciously convey how much it would mean to her to be able to reify their bond through such a ceremony, even if it's only pretend.

For how their play wedding goes, I love what @carnivorouswillgraham does in w.a.m.s. that I've already gushed about here

But aaah do I love the idea of the music box Emma received from Isabella as her gift being the musical accompaniment to their ceremony.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 Q&A)

In addition to them just all being adorable little babies enjoying the chance to recreate such an important ceremony between all three of them, even if just pretend.

Baby Ray going through an existential crisis but still trying to be present for his bffs/soon-to-be spouses and genuinely finding some solace in these moments with them that will solidify his resolve to confront Isabella in just a few days.

Just continue to fucking gut me.

For adulthood, I'm half and half of whether they'd have one, but if they do and Emma regains her memories, I imagine it playing out very similar to how it does in @salsae's to have and to hold, which I've gushed about a bit already here.

All of their friends and family gathered together at one of their homes or whichever quiet venue could accommodate such a large gathering, some of their siblings walking them down the aisle as Nat plays the piano, Emma in relaxed summer attire befitting or her kind and free spirit, incorporating the paper cups as part of the vows and the galaxying braining of turning it into a REN thing rather than solely an NE one, the trio taking turns crying out of joy (because ofc they can't all cry at the same time), Ray somehow getting roped into catering his own fucking wedding…it all comes together in such a beautifully brilliant way that I can't really think of anything to be altered except Alex walking Emma down the aisle.

If Emma doesn't regain her memories, I'd still imagine something similar playing out with it being a lowkey event in someone's backyard, but there's less chance of Ray prioritizing getting NE together separate from him (for a while) because in his mind they're forever classified as a matching set that he's not a part of

(2020 Exhibition Interview)

And more of a chance of them officially getting together as a trio to start off due to both the search for Emma leading Norman and Ray to grow closer in her absence (while holding off on progressing further in a relationship until reunited with their third) and then all three of them navigating her memory loss.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Katherine Pulaski

By Ames

We may have only had Dr. Pulaski for one season of The Next Generation, but that didn’t stop her from leaving an impression. Your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By are big fans of her character and also of Diana Muldaur’s performance of the cantankerous and brilliant doctor who graced the Enterprise-D’s sickbay during Dr. Crusher’s time away from the ship (more on her next week!). She even made a couple of our top characters lists from TNG!

There’s a lot of negative feelings about the McCoy knockoff in the Star Trek community, and we’ll cover some of those below, but overall we have to give credit to the good doctor for how much she grew in only the twenty episodes we had her. By the end of season two, she was viewing Data as a peer, saving lives left and right, and fighting for the rights of other species. There’s no telling how much better she’d get if she stuck around. So raise a cup of Klingon tea to the best CMO of the Enterprise (I said it!) with our highlights below and elaborated upon in this week’s podcast episode (timestamp for this one is 58:29). Fight us, haters.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Crammed full of crumpets We’ve made a running gag on the podcast about how Professor Moriarty stuffed the doctor full of crumpets in “Elementary, Dear Data” but there’s more to this episode than crude jokes and blue humor. Pulaski ran with the Holmesian scenario in the holodeck, proved to be stalwart and brave in a hostage situation, and totally rocked the period attire!

At least someone still remembers quarantine procedures While the whole thing did backfire on her, Pulaski’s actions in “Unnatural Selection” kept the rest of the crew safe. She was willing to risk her own health on her hunch that the augmented children weren’t carrying any pathogens, but let’s give her credit for taking the child and Data out in a shuttle so that, if (and when) things went wrong, things were contained.

Knives and bearskins! When the biobeds are on the fritz due to the contagion in “Contagion” and her staff is whining that the bone knitter isn’t working, Pulaski pulls some tried and true methods out of her back pocket – make a splint! It may be archaic medical technology, but it’ll do in a pinch and having that kind of medical knowledge saves the day (or saves someone’s leg at least).

Generous doses of PCS I just really love the sweet little moment during “The Icarus Factor” when Dr. Pulaski is tending to some crewmember suffering from the flu and says part of her prescription is PCS – Pulaski’s Chicken Soup. It shows how much she cares about her patients and gives the audience that warm feeling of having someone care for you when you’re home sick from school.

Jettison the emotional baggage you’re still carrying around Also I have to give my girl some props later in “The Icarus Factor” when she’s flirting with Kyle Riker right in front of Will. We find it a nice character inclusion that she and Kyle used to be down to clown, and even that she would have married him in a heartbeat, and she tells his son off in the most “oh no she didn’t!” way and then proceeds to drop like fifty mics all over Ten Forward.

Take your Prime Directive and shove it up your hatch! We on this podcast (who am I kidding; it’s mostly Chris) have a certain skepticism about the Prime Directive sometimes, and it’s usually the CMOs of their respective shows that get to question it most blatantly. Pulaski sure does in “Pen Pals” because screw the prime directive in this case! When a whole planet is on the line, Pulaski is the conscience that we all need!

Forget me, forget me not This is one that could have gone in either the Top Moments or the Worst Moments list because, face it, mind wipes are horrifying. But I’m gonna give Pulaski the win for erasing Sarjenka’s memories in “Pen Pals” because it’s impressive as hell. And she uses it to kinda-sorta stay within the Prime Directive that we just shat on. Plus she let Sarjenka keep the singing rock!

You’re still the Captain. Invincible. I’m still not certain what Chris was getting at about Pulaski’s letting Picard avoid the heart treatment he’s been neglecting out of sheer vanity in “Samaritan Snare,” but I’ll do you one better: she winds up fixing his stupid ticker for him in the end anyway! And is the grouchy little man thankful afterwards? Not even a little bit! Pulaski gets no respect, I tells ya!

Quote me a little of that poetry While you’ll see in just a moment that Pulaski’s views on Klingons were initially unkind, by “Up the Long Ladder,” she’d bonded with Worf enough that she was willing to engage in some Klingon rituals. She goes out of her way to concoct an antidote so she can take part in a poisonous tea ceremony with him, which is above and beyond (and also fuels some shipping), and she also keeps Worf’s measles a secret!

Bust him up, Data! In “Peak Performance,” it’s Pulaski who sets up the Strategema match between Data and Sirna Kolrami, and she ends up feeling really bad for goading him when he loses to that smug Zakdorn prick. So it’s that much sweeter that she’s there cheering him on when Data thinks outside the box causes the stalemate, telling him that in that way, he did indeed beat him!

Feelings of warmth and friendship What a shame that the last episode we got with this amazing character was one of the most infamously bad. But none of that is on Pulaski because she’s actually on full display in “Shades of Grey,” partly because she’s one of few characters in the non-clipshow scenes. But she (and Troi, as I brought up last week) pulled out all the stops to save Riker’s brain from certain doom.

Pull your head out of your ass! Okay, this last one’s not canon, but I just couldn’t help including this plug to go read Caitlin’s fanfic “The Pulaski Maneuver”!!! Or listen to it on the podcast back when we wrapped TNG with our episode “Tales from the Holodeck.” Pulaski finally telling Geordi everything that he’s deserved to hear might be my favorite moment, and it’s so in her character that I say it counts!

—

Worst moments

The cold hand of technology Most of Pulaski’s negative personality traits are going to circle around her treatment of Data as a piece of equipment and not an individual. In her introduction episode, “The Child,” one of her early interactions with Data is to tell him he’s not wanted in the delivery room because he lacks the human touch. Lucky for us, Troi sticks up for him and he gets to watch her whelp an alien baby.

One is my name; the other is not Shortly afterwards, still in “The Child,” we get one of the fandom’s most hated moments from Pulaski when she not only mispronounces Data’s name, but doesn’t seem to understand that doing so is rude and problematic, instead deciding to put the onus on him for being capable of offense. It’s a tough moment for fans to accept, and if that were the level of bigotry her character stayed at, I’d understand why so many Trekkies dislike the character.

I’m not accustomed to working with non-living devices More growing pains come from Pulaski in “Where Silence Has Lease,” in which she refers to Data as “it” and Picard has to gently correct her. We’re two episodes into the season at this point, and Pulaski is still finding it difficult to accept the personhood of this fan-favorite character, something viewers pretty much got on board with in episode one. At least she apologized.

The mystery of the lack of any mystery Here we are, three episodes in when we reach “Elementary, Dear Data” and we see more of Pulaski judging Data for being incapable of thinking creatively when he solves Holmesian riddles. We may have blamed Geordi for accidentally creating Moriarty when we covered his character spotlight, but it was definitely Pulaski who goaded them on in the first place.

Medical research is sometimes a risky business While we may have praised her above for not putting everyone else at risk when she released the augmented child from his wrapper in “Unnatural Selection,” Pulaski was still dead wrong about the experiment being at all safe. She still got contaminated by the fast-aging disease and was resigned to her fate until Picard and O’Brien were able to transport her back. Speaking of which…

I’m a doctor, not an original character One rather understandable complaint we can see in the Pulaski character is that she’s just Dr. McCoy in a skirt. Which may not be a bad thing, per se, but when we see her racism against the outsider character, her Bones-like irascibility, and even her specific fear of transporters in “Unnatural Selection,” we start to wonder if the writers couldn’t have been a little more original.

I’m just glad that humans have progressed beyond the need for barbaric display We get a couple glimpses that Pulaski is a little repulsed by Klingon culture throughout the show. First, in “A Matter of Honor,” she’s grossed out by Klingon cuisine and calls Klingons barbaric, and not in the way Klingons would probably like. And she also gets a little smug after watching Worf’s Age of Ascension ceremony in “The Icarus Factor,” which she seemed pretty judgey about (but hey, at least she went!).

Quit cloning around! We gave Riker some guff for this as well in his character spotlight, and there’s enough guff to go around to give to Pulaski as well for their actions in “Up the Long Ladder.” Sure, the clones were made of them without their consent, but to take matters into their own hands and murder these people without discussion is not the Starfleet way.

Never to be heard from again… Obviously the worst character moment for us is Pulaski leaving the show after just one season. Notice how most of the bad moments come from earlier and the good moments are mostly from the latter half of the season. That shows how much the character was getting better, even in the rough first couple seasons of the show (you’ve heard our coverage of Chaos on the Bridge, right?). And while many celebrate the return of Crusher, we still have to wonder what the show would be like with more Dr. Pulaski.

—

And just like that, she’s gone and so is this blogpost. Keep following along because we’ve got another doctor of the Enterprise-D to discuss next week, and it’s not Selar! We also hope you’re making the schlep through Enterprise with us as we cover the whole thing over on SoundCloud or your podcast platform of choice. Wave your medical tricorders over our Facebook and Twitter pages, and get the pronunciation right: It’s Data, not Data!

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 1 MATCH 52

Chrom propaganda:

“Chrobin (Chrom x player character) is so many tropes in one oml. You have friends-to-lovers (Chrom and Robin are canonically best friends according to Nintendo), enemies-to-lovers (Robin is heir to the Grimleal cult, the enemy of the Halidom of Ylisse which Chrom is the prince, and later king, of), there's amnesia, time travel, official next-gen AUs, changed dialogue to lore important events in the game if you marry Chrom, and Nintendo keeps teasing us with the ship. Cheery prince who knows when to be serious, very strategically smart but very bad at communicating, a guy that can comfort you when you're down, make a fool of himself when you're not around, and he's just generally a very sweet guy. Also please consider the fact that you get to watch a cutscene of him dying in the prologue and despite the horrors he's just so supportive of the protagonist. Chrom doesn't care about where you came from or who you're related to, he cares for YOU. He gets KILLED by the protag and he reassures them that they did nothing wrong and pleads with them to get out, to a safe place. I lost my soul to Chrom, I physically can't play this game without romancing him.”

Fritz propaganda:

“While Lucette (The MC) at the start of her game is cold and unwilling to bond with others - Fritz is considered one of the 'only company [she] can tolerate nowadays', so he's the closest thing Lucette had to a friend. This also shows that even when Lucette can be at her 'worst', Fritz is still willing to see the best in someone (In a genuine way). He also never doubted her ability to beat her curse.

He's kind, loyal, sweet, and capable in a fight. A good ol' knight! He's also shown to be very attentive to those he cares about, being able to easily list the favourites of his charge from his experiences rather than being directly told. He's also got a massive sweet tooth.

He's compared to a dog a few times with his loyalty plus his overall 'good boy' vibes. He also almost never makes a romantic move/gesture w̶i̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶l̶y̶ first before getting together (general not-feeling-like-they're-good-enough-for-their-beloved type stuff), which is a nice change of pace from a lot of male romance options out there I feel.

In the sequel fan-disc, he can propose, and he says 'Would you do me the honour of allowing me to become your husband' instead of the 'usual' 'honour of becoming my wife' 🥺

There's also the whole Varg situation...if you want more oomph.

Sorry for then rant, here's another line from his proposal: 

"I love you too much to not want to improve myself" (He's already perfect)”

[cazzyf1]

Quotes about Helmut Koinigg from the book 'Unsere Champions - Alles über Österreichs Jahrhundert- Rennfahrer 1900-2003'

"I helped him a few times in his somewhat chaotic career," remembers Helmut Marko. A nice guy, but a bit of a slob who had no organization - until he came to me with his contracts."

"He had a short, promising career, almost sky-storming: unfortunately an unfinished symphony. Helmut Koinigg was good," says Niki Lauda today. "But he died far too early to even know what would happen next."

Father Koinigg, a very well-off industrialist, was always against his only child racing - and never supported him.

Even from Lauda: “A consistent, intelligent guy who tried with all the difficulties you could possibly have to fight his way into Formula I - namely without any money. When he drove Formula Vee, he couldn't even pay the hotel bill at the Nürburgring...

What always impressed me about Koinigg was how unswervingly he pursued his path. In his premiere race in Aspern near Vienna, he continued to fight bravely with the ex-Lauda Mini even after the windshield had tipped out.

Helmut studied journalism and mechanical engineering at the Vienna University of Technology, where he was met by the two geniuses Dr. Get to know Fritz Indra and Ing. Heinz Lippitsch - and pass them on directly to Kurt Bergmann.

“Perhaps the nicest person I have ever met - but also the most difficult. Because he was so ambitious."

In 1974 he married his girlfriend, a stewardess: "Gaby has to earn the money that I spent on racing..." The 25-year-old is only half a year away from getting his doctorate. And all that's left to achieve perfect racing luck is Formula I.

I want to start over with Koinigg and rebuild everything from scratch. I'm taking Helmut because of his talent, his ability and his team spirit. If he didn't have these qualities, I wouldn't have signed him even with a lot of sponsorship money," Surtees tells me. Koinigg happily packs his two jersey bags for Canada and the USA

Koinigg is partying in Toronto, browsing for antiques, but most of us are flying to the Bahamas

Lauda has “the stupid feeling all day that something is happening,” and he pays particular attention. The track: even bumpier than last, with even worse vibrations. “They hit me like electric shocks,” admits Koinigg.

“It's a terrible feeling when the guard rails are staring you in the face, just 3 cm from the road,” Koinigg tells me quietly.

Five pilots are coming to the GPDA safety conference: Lauda. Koinigg, Hill, Hulme and Beltoise

On Saturday Helmut tried for two hours to call Gaby in Vienna but doesn't get through. The phone call doesn't work until Sunday morning. Helmut has breakfast with Huppert and Stommelen

The reconstruction shows: The two safety fences gave way during the impact. as if they were curtains. The bottom two of the three guide rails immediately collapsed because the pencil-thin bolts fell out. The car went under the third rail. Koinigg didn't have the slightest chance in a 2nd gear corner - whatever defect caused the Surtees to leave the road

Niki Lauda, ​​shaken, takes off his helmet after two pit stops and says to Montezemolo: Luca, it has become pointless for me to continue driving. His race director understands immediately

No part of the car that was broken wasn't also bent. But the inner carcass of the left rear tire was completely damaged and this defect was certainly not caused by contact with the guard rails. Sudden explosion? Or the infamous "slow puncture", a slow slip like the one that cost Jim Clark his life at Hockenheim in 1968? I don't think so," says Surtees today, "Helmut was a sensitive racing driver. He would certainly have felt that."

The most touching moment was years later when a particularly kind Ms. Magister spoke to me quietly in a pharmacy in Hietzing: “I am the mother of Helmut Koinigg. Gaby, Helmut's wife, was already married again: to an attaché at the French embassy in Vienna. And Surtees again had an Austrian pilot - Hans Binder. Only at Ferrari in Maranello does Helmut Koinigg's last photo hang unchanged.

The last photograph ever taken of Helmut Koinigg

[historia-jaeger]

~*~

Part 1 5# Erens End I will summarize the next three points of the article. Ultimately, it's about how Mikasa says goodbye to Eren. Honest. I liked this scene. The explanation that only Mikasa could break the cycle by killing Eren was half-assed. Especially since Ymir's unhealthy love for King Fritz and Mikasa's love for Eren could somehow be equated and that had a bit of a strange aftertaste. But this scene was good for Mikasa's character development. Mikasa, who was always attached to Eren and was afraid of his loss, was finally able to break away and take the step that was necessary. And you notice how Mikasa then finds her way back to her old self from her childhood. She has long hair again and looks more lively. That she marries Jean and has children with him. So she is living the life what she actually wanted to live... She never wanted to go to the Survey Corp. She never wanted to fight. She did it so she could be with Eren. But it wasn't her life's dream. But in this scene I don't see any romantic aspect coming from Eren's side. It was all about Mikasa's love for Eren. And yes. He looks at Mikasa before she kills him. If it had been Armin, he would have opened his eyes the same way. And it's illogical, because Eren didn't show any romantic feelings for Mikasa until the end. Apart from the fact that he cares and protects her, like his other friends.

6# The confession and Mikasas farewell No. I don´t want that! Mikasa finding another man...?! I want her to think about me and no one else for the rest of my life! Even after I die... I want to be at the front of her mind for a while! Ten years, at least!! - Citation Manga No... I don´t want that! Mikasa finding another man?! I want her to just think about me for the rest of her life! Even after I die.. I want her to be hung up on me like ten years, at least! - Citation Anime

As we see, Eren's confession was taken one-to-one. Just shortened the amount of speech a little. So I don't know what is supposed to be so different or better about Eren and Armin's conversation in the anime than in the manga? It's the same junk. And it's illogical, because you doesn´t see any romantic action from Erens side. I don't have to say much about the scene at the grave. Mikasa's feelings are clear. And the attacking bird seems more like it wants to steal her scarf than wrap it around her.

~*~ I've already dissected a blog article that was about EreMika vs EreHisu. There, too, the arguments for the couple were rather weak. I have more arguments against the couple than there are arguments for the couple. So I don't think it's wrong to say that Isayama made EreMika canon, because of the money.

[joandfriedrich]

Hope you don’t mind me ranting a little, I was looking for fanfics of Amy and Laurie and I’m kinda sad that a lot of them have him cheating physically or emotionally cheating on Amy with Jo. It’s like people just can’t accept that Laurie grew up (with a little help from Amy) and fell in love with someone else. Jo herself says she isn’t in love with him. And she found a beautiful love with Friedrich, I wish people could let it go. And maybe I’m wrong but with how Laurie was written in the book, I don’t ever see him cheating on Amy whatsoever with anyone. And Jo wouldn’t cheat on Friedrich with Laurie because she was never in love with Laurie!!! It feels so incredibly out of character for the both of them.

There is a way in Archive of Our Own to look for main ship tags. That is what I always do when looking out for Little Women fics. It filters out all the unwanted ones.

For your question, it is what I have been saying in the LW podcast since the beginning, I think the biggest problem is the lack of Laurie's characterization in Little Women adaptations and romanticizing his and Laurie's relationship.

Long loving looks

1949

1994 the non-required kiss

2019 Jo wanting Laurie back out of nowhere, and people even saying that "Gerwig" fixed Jo, for wanting Laurie back. Also Timothee Chalamet and Gerwig both saying the promotional tour that Jo and Laurie should be together.

Those are of course just a few examples, but then there is the actual story in the book. No I don't think Laurie would ever cheat on Amy and Jo would certainly not cheat on Fritz.

I personally believe that LMA planned both marriages years before she wrote the novel. There is a book from Goethe called "Wilhelm Meister's apprenticeship" one of Alcott's favorite books. Wilhelm is very much a Laurie type of character. During the novel he grows as a person. We see, this in the terms of character. He moves on from unhealthy relationship to Marianne to one with Natalia. In LMA's notes, she calls the relationship with Natalia "beautiful". This is both mental and spiritual transformation, it also happens when Jo moves on from Laurie to Fritz.

I think that is one of those things that people miss on Louisa May Alcott's writings. Person "transcends" in this next relationship, and becomes a better person.

In general I think, most of Laurie's characterization is missing from the adaptations. i know I sometimes critizise him, the way he behaves as a young man, but I think that is the point because he grows out of that behavior when he is with Amy. Had she stayed with Jo he would have remained as a man-child, and they would have both been unhappy.

-Niina/Little Women Podcast

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

I totally understand your pain, because a few years ago I read a fanfic where Jo gave birth to her son Teddy, and pretty much everyone knows that Jo and Laurie had affair that resulted Teddy, and Friedrich was just fine with it even if a little sad. It is one of the worst fanfictions I have ever read, and I wish I never seen it.

I just have a hard time believing that either Jo or Laurie would cheat on their respective partners, or be the lover to someone married, it is just not in their personalities. Laurie had a crisis when he realized that he wasn't in love with Jo anymore, do people really think he'd just be ok with having affair with someone? The guy would be so racked with guilt that he'd confess to it immediately, he'd even tell Amy about how another woman hit on him and he'd apologize.

Jo clearly had no interest in any man until Friedrich (Jo, and even Friedrich, can be read heavily as being demisexuals), and she has made it incredibly clear that she has no romantic or even sexual feelings for Laurie, constantly calling him her "brother", even trying to set him up with her sisters at different points.

It's crazy how desperate the Jo and Laurie shippers are to try and make them work when Alcott is rolling in her grave to think that people didn't get the obvious that Jo and Laurie do not belong together! Thankfully, there is more than enough good fanfics out there to wash the awful taste in your mouth.

-Christina

[kate04us]

Character asks for Sharon Raydor please! (I’m pretty sure I know the answer to the last one…)

Thank you for giving me my favorite badass!

How I feel about this character There are no words to adequately express my love for this badass! She's compassionate and loving and generous and strong and sassy (sadly not as much on MC as she was on TC) and funny and awkward and competent and smart and... I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. 😂

All the people I ship romantically with this character Definitely Andy Flynn! I could also see her with Fritz (because he deserves better than what he got). On TC, I got some "possibly queer" vibes from her, and going with those, I could see her with Hobbs. I know there is a large Sharon/Brenda fandom, but I honestly cannot see that (apart maybe from some ill-advised anger sex) because Sharon would 1000% kill Brenda if they were in a relationship.

my non-romantic OTP for this character I get a kick out of the dynamic between Sharon and Provenza. They have such old married couple vibes, and they have come such a long way over the years. It's very very definitely a non-romantic thing, because while Provenza might appreciate her legs or her tendency to lean on tables while wearing very nice blouses, neither one of them would ever go near that.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon If you think that I wish the season that doesn't exist had ended differently for her, you are 100% right! I wish she had gotten to nail Stroh her way, that she could have known her son was safe (and not shooting seemingly unarmed assholes and getting away with it) and that she could have enjoyed the hell out of her new husband without a bogus heart issue that served no purpose except as a white dude's temper tantrum. I'll stop here before I write myself into a rage. 😂😂😂

[pollyna]

Random prompt I would like to write this summer but I know I won't:

- slider and ice are first gen jaeger pilots and when the drift technology gets developed nobody allow them to drift together. (a lot of cuddling, shared bed and their friendship being the most awsome of them all);

- halo introduces Ice to queermap and the soon be four starts Admiral narrates all his&mav's stories a place at time (everybody suspects they are married but they aren't out yet);

- halo and omaha and a conversation over the com about a dude who tried to flirt with him and the way he gently let him know he wasn't interested in sex and the way the other dude laughed at his face because "with that body? Though luck bro" (ace!omaha, aro!halo, qpr!halomaha);

- Warlock, his cat, Cyclone's allergy to the whole species and how Solomon can have a quiet day in the office (can be romantic or platonic, Warlock wants a peaceful day okay)

- Halo introduces Phee to his honorary dad (aka Iceman) over dinner and, at the same time, Phee introduces Halo (and Ice) to her grandma (lesbian!Phee, the family gets larger)

- Yale and Harvard introduce their baby girl to the squa (establish relationship, post mission, Fritz was the only one who already new her);

- Slider and Rooster finally having a conversation about Slider and his parents (baby pic included);

- Javy and Bob having a conversation about feelings and shared interests over a hot chocolate in the middle of July (possible coyote/bob);

- Penny and Charlie giving each other another chance after twenty years (charlie/penny);

- Ice and Sarah's wedding (aroace!sarah and gay!ice, aka the marriage of convince of the century);

- Mav and Ice cooparenting, dating, and sleeping in the same bed without realising.

- the sloose tap thing.

[beirarowling]

No, JK Rowling is not a Holocaust denier

The LGBT lobby has found yet another sickening way to attack JK Rowling. Trans-activist bullies, who so often delight in sending death and rape threats to the Harry Potter author, are now suggesting she is a Holocaust denier. It should go without saying that this is an absurd and defamatory slur. It is also one that’s being increasingly employed against anyone who dares to question the trans lobby’s latest attempt to rewrite history.

Rowling was accused of Holocaust denial last week, after she wrote a post on X that doubted claims that the Nazis made trans people a specific target for genocide. This argument is part of a wider attempt by activists to place trans people at the centre of the Holocaust. But the truth is that they weren’t. At least, not in any meaningful sense.

Digging into these claims, I soon discovered that activist historians have been sewing together a patchwork story of an alleged trans ‘genocide’ that is breathtakingly misleading. In fact, their entire narrative is built on only a handful of trans victims. Crucially, most of these victims were also Jewish or homosexual.

In response to Rowling’s comments, Pink News published an article claiming that ‘the persecution of trans people by the Nazis was devastating’. The proof for this? The names of five trans victims. What Pink News fails to disclose is that three of these people actually survived the war and fortunately lived to a ripe old age. One victim – Liddy Bacroff, who was arrested as a male prostitute – did sadly die in a concentration camp. Another, Gerd R, took his own life.

Take the case of Gerd R, one of the victims mentioned by Pink News. Gerd was a married, heterosexual man who had a history of crossdressing. He was arrested multiple times for public indecency after his neighbours grew tired of finding him hiding naked in their communal bins. He was later rescued from a concentration camp by the intervention of his doctor, who pointed out that he was heterosexual. This action saved his life and he was moved to a mental institution. There, Gerd took his own life.

Gerd’s fate was tragic. But it is almost certain that he would have ended up in an asylum for this behaviour anywhere across Europe at that time. The idea that a non-Jewish, heterosexual man like Eddie Izzard would without question have been murdered when Gerd R was not is fanciful, self-serving nonsense.

Another victim, Gerd Kubbe, a woman who identified as a man, had a very close brush with the authorities. In 1938, she was arrested for wearing men’s clothes and sent to a concentration camp. But a few months later, she was released and permitted to dress as she liked and to adopt the gender-neutral name of Gerd. One ‘queer’ historian admits that ‘police at first reacted harshly but later showed surprising leniency’. Even gay transvestite Fritz Kitzing, who was repeatedly arrested for soliciting, was sent to join the army rather than killed in a concentration camp. Kitzing survived the war and ran an antique shop until the 1990s.

So far, the mixed fortunes of the handful of named trans victims suggest that it was entirely possible to be ‘trans’ and elude persecution. If you were heterosexual, considered ‘Aryan’, followed the rules on public crossdressing and avoided prostitution or public indecency, you at least had a chance of surviving the brutal regime. No such leniency was afforded to the Nazis’ key targets, like Jews or disabled people, who were ruthlessly sought out for elimination.

When trans activists describe this truth-telling as ‘Holocaust denial’, they do a disservice to all Holocaust victims – including the few trans victims who really did suffer at the hands of an evil regime for their other characteristics. We must resist this blatant rewriting of history and the trans appropriation of the Holocaust.