#ic (singularity)

[eliashirsch]

God Tier Top Gun Fanfictions. A Masterlist. (1/3)

As of 15th May 2024, these are some of the BEST stories I have read in the fandom. Of course, this is completely subjective and there are many personal factors as to why I crowned them God Tier. 

Mainly:

Reading it for the first time: ‘Oh, this is really good, I’m going to be thinking about this for the rest of my life’

When compiling the list: ‘Oh my god, this fic, man, this fic!!’

There are many other fics that match the first criteria, but for it to be on this list, I needed to have these two reactions.

REMINDER! READ THE AUTHORS' TAGS AND WARNINGS!!! They’re there for a reason. PLEASE make sure you understand where the story is going to be before reading!!

Without further ado, I present to you, my roman empires:)

Winner Categories:

1. Best of the Best Authors (1/3)

2. Best of the Best Series (2/3)

3. Best of the Best Fics (3/3)

4. Honorary Mentions (4/3)

Best of the Best Authors

Authors that I trust with my life, whose work are ALL incredibly well written. 

COMPACFLT @compacflt

They’re the first person to pop in my head when I was thinking about making this list. No amount of time and words will be enough for me to describe how good their work is. Seriously. It’s on a level I’ve never seen before for fanfiction. The world building, the characterization, the prose, everything. COMPACFLT has a way of understanding these characters, it makes so much sense and fits so well with canon. I’m just at a loss for words. Genuinely the reason I converted to Icemav supremacy.

When We Get Around to Talking About It 

Goose has been dead for a week and a half when Iceman loses his first wingman in a dogfight with six Soviet MiGs over the Sea of Okhotsk. Goose has been dead for thirty years when Iceman loses his second wingman to a surface-to-air missile on the tail-end of a mission he's responsible for: he's sent his family on a suicide mission to destroy a uranium enrichment facility in Russia's Far East. This is the story of those thirty years in the middle. (Or: Tom Kazansky rises through the ranks while trying to stay a good man. If he ever was one to begin with.)

This was the first story I’ve read from them. And it’s so… I don’t have words.  It’s told from Ice’s perspective, filling the gaps between TG and TG:M with added Icemav and Hangster. In my mind this is canon:D

Debriefing (& Other Stories)

"We can start here, I guess. If we're talking about us," Pete says. "Nineteen-eighty-six. The first thing I thought, when I saw you in that O-club, was: Iceman is off-limits. Capital O, capital L." Despite himself, despite the fear, Tom laughs a little. "Oh, yeah? Why's that?" "Well, first off, we were competition. And yeah, you were attractive, but then you opened your mouth and I swear. You were just an asshole. Goose is trying to introduce you to me and here I am thinking about how much of an asshole you are. Shut up about Cougar, asshole." "It was supposed to be a friendly competition!" "Yeah, right. So that's what I was thinking: he's attractive, clearly doesn't know how to talk to other men, might be into the proposition if I framed it the right way. But he's an asshole, so this competition is just gonna be friendly." Pete pauses. Then he says, "Ice, you wanna get married?" And that's how they start talking about it. (Or: they finally get around to talking about it. Plus a couple extra stories for good luck.)

Sigh and send COMPACFLT a loving look. This Maverick's POV adds so much to the story without being repetitive. COMPACFLT deliberately tells their story like puzzle pieces, and they complete each other—just like Icemav, if you will. 

The Slider oneshot is truly something else. I was so eager for the upload and kept an eye on their account for updates religiously. To flesh out a character that barely has any source material is an incredible skill to have. And the Bradley oneshot… Omg… My favorite characterization of Bradley, period. 

Tremors & Aftershocks

They both come back to their senses and stop openly crying again eventually. The stitches fall out of the thirty-year-old wounds and the scars fade back to skin-color. Life stops being so painfully raw after a couple weeks back home. You get used to miracles the way you get used to anything else. One day at a time. [Or: 40 years of extras, from 1982-2022. Some true love, some heartbreak, some miracles.]

To me, this one has a different feeling from the other two. More focused on Ice and Mav’s relationship as opposed to the whole plotline. It’s tender and bittersweet and feels like being hugged for the first time and then told that you wouldn’t get another hug in thirty years time.  

What impresses me most is that, if you go to COMPACFLT’s Tumblr account, you’ll see the thought they’ve put for these stories are INSANE. They’re so educated on the military and its history and it adds so much to these characters. I’m not American and all my writing for Top Gun will always stem from google searches and other fics. If you’re a nerd like me and like to read about other’s analysis about topics they know nothing about, I suggest you go to their account and have fun.

COMPACFLT, you have captured my soul with your writing. Thank you for your service and I wish you well in life.

AortaArgent @aortaargent

If you’re looking for an author who can write smut like nothing else, go to their profile. Better yet, click here, and scroll down to the threads they made about girl!Mav and get horny real quick. It’s a shortcut to heaven really. (And yes, I’m still upset that they seem to have left the fandom, but I still hold the stories they’ve left behind close to my heart:)) My favorites:

like a shotgun (needs an outcome)

“Ice gave me a handjob when we did this,” he argues. “Oh, that’s what gets you moving? Seeing who comes first?” With that, Slider takes hold of him, wrapping his hand around and keeping his fist steady. “Go on, baby girl. Fuck it like a good little -” He squeezes Slider’s balls a little harder than he’d imagine is necessarily pleasant. For Slider. It's definitely nice for him. “Fuck,” Kerner chokes out, weakly. Ice sounds like he’s trying not to laugh. “I told you he bites.” In which there are multiple realisations, improbable numbers of pilots hanging out in a shared shower, volleyball games and verbal tennis. Yes, it's compulsory to wear your dogtags in the shower - never know when you could need identification. (Only kidding, it's for added fuckability.)

It’s so hot... but believable at the same time. BDSM is just one of those things where you read about it and can tell if the author has experience or is just extremely well-informed. 

Eye to Eye 

“Maybe it’s not just us looking to get a piece of you,” Wolf says. He’s right by Maverick’s head, and a shiver rolls down his shoulders in a sweeping tide at the soft click of each word against his ear. “Maybe we offered. You’re so pretty, Mav. It’s not a hard sell.” His hands twitch with the effort of not reaching up to tear off the blindfold and find out if they’re telling the truth or just winding him up. It’s possible. Occupied, blindfolded, he might not have noticed the door opening. More guys could have been in the showers. Two hands circle his ankles, firm over his boots, and hold him steady. Someone else has his left hand, kneading the tendons down the back of it. Anyone and anything is plausible. A continuation. Finally.

HOT DAMN. That’s all.

AortaArgent portrayed Ice and Mav’s relationship as absolute and secure while having fun with Mav’s dynamic with the other guys. All of their works are mind-boggling and simply amazing!

thecarlysutra @icemankazansky

Need I say more? Carly’s one of the most prominent members of the Top Gun fandom. Actually, I trust any member of the Top Gun Old Guard. With Carly, there’s something about their writing that makes me think of discovering an old box of CDs you used to watch relentlessly, dusty and worn, but the nostalgia rushes back and it’s achingly familiar. You can tell they’ve been writing for Top Gun for so long the characters kind of became their own. And when you click on any fic they wrote, you can fall and trust they’ll catch you. My favorites:

and i promise, you're the locksmith

“Is something going on in your neighborhood?” Maverick asked. “Like … a pest problem or something?” “You could say that,�� Ice said. “Like … a coyote or something?” “Suitors,” Ice said. Maverick's attempts to woo Iceman are somewhat complicated by the promise Ice has made: Anyone who wants to marry him must catch his cat, which wears the key to his house around its neck on a silver chain. Inspired by the Tumblr legend.

This one’s so cute!!! Ugh, I’m never going to get tired of reading Icemav fall in love over and over again. 

Dreams of Impact

Maverick's trip in Darkstar takes him further than he ever imagined possible.

Sigh for the second time and send hearts Carly’s way. Basically, Mav gets transported to another universe and weird things happen. I love fics that dabble with the universe, the what-ifs, the what could’ve been. Do you ever have that moment when you make a decision, look back and wonder how life would be if you chose differently? Click on the link and read 🫵

aelibia @topgunreacts

God. aelibia’s just too good. It’s like banger after banger after banger. If you’re looking for an author whose work is a guaranteed good read, click the link and it’ll show you magic. They have Icemav ranging from tender and soft to angsty, portraying all different sorts of love and a way of writing explicit sex that I’ve never found anywhere else. 

I can’t even pick which one’s my favorite because they’re all my favorite. Especially the series they wrote, oh my god. I love them all. However, one that I reread religiously and being giddy over is this:

Wine Dark Sea

Raised by a selkie mother bound to a human man, Ice returns to the human world as a teenager with a singular purpose: to find the source of human strength, and claim it for himself. But after a careless mistake binds him to another human man, Ice is forced to reconsider his most fundamental beliefs: What is the meaning of strength? And what is the cost of freedom?

It’s so silly at times and heartbreaking most of the time. I especially love the later chapters where the evil is defeated and Ice is just being a silly seal while Mav’s being the supportive partner that he is. This fic is the SOLE REASON that my favorite animal is a seal. Thank you for opening my eyes to something that has been so obvious from the start, your majesty aelibia.

I also humbly present these seal drawings because the image of Ice galumphing around a Navy base, complete with wet smacks and people shrieking in horror makes me laugh everyday. That, and the scene where Mav is surrounded by four fat harbor seal pups and reading a story to them. Eleven out of ten. 

This one’s my favorite:}

[aroaceleovaldez]

doodle page from a couple months ago of Nico having way too many immortal friends

also yes i did just use Nyx’s Hades design. it’s a good design.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: T’Pol

By Ames

We’re continuing through our Enterprise character spotlights with a much more likeable character than last time: the ship’s resident Vulcan, T’Pol! And though she starts out mostly as eye candy for the 10-year-old boys watching (kinda like Seven of Nine), the sub commander really grows into something more than just a cat-suited female (also kinda like Seven of Nine!). Over the four seasons of the show, Jolene Blalock really nails the “Vulcan nuance,” as we’ve dubbed it, and becomes a character greater than the sum of her voluptuous parts.

She may spend most of the series making suggestions that go unheeded, bearing the brunt of Archer’s xenophobia against Vulcans, and being exploited for the sake of the viewers to ogle her in the decon room or performing Vulcan neuropressure, but the hosts of A Star to Steer Her By really grew to appreciate T’Pol’s presence. The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined you should read on below and listen to this week’s podcast episode (tractor beam to 59:08) for more on our logical first officer!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

I’m the sanest one here! After T’Pol warns everyone not to go down to the planet until they’ve scanned it (amateurs!) in “Strange New World,” everyone on the away mission inevitably goes crazy on pollen. But she keeps her wits about her and manages to not get shot by a batshit hallucinating Trip. Instead, she concocts a clever plan with Hoshi to survive the storm and save everyone.

Tractor beam > grapplers While Archer is racial profiling the Vulcan crew of the Ti’Mur all over the place in “Breaking the Ice” and assuming they’re there to spy on the Enterprise, T’Pol is busy keeping rational and logical, as is her wont. She eventually convinces Archer to swallow his pride and ask them for help when they need the use of Vulcan tractor beams over their miniscule grapplers, which suuuuck.

You have the power to control the waves We really don’t get enough scenes between Hoshi and T’Pol, but when we do, they’re always lovely together. When Hoshi is stressing out while on the Klingon ship in “Sleeping Dogs,” our Vulcan friend doesn’t hesitate to share some meditation techniques with her. And in “Vox Sola,” we see more of T’Pol’s awkward way of showing affection for the ship’s cunning linguist.

My mind is my mind, my thoughts are my thoughts There’s a lot of negative things we can say about “Fusion” (and we will in just a moment, so don’t despair), but none of those things can be laid at the feet of T’Pol, who’s the only person acting on her behalf for most of the episode. I shouldn’t have to say it is good for women to stand up for themselves because “no means no,” but this is the world we live in.

The Science Vulcan Directorate has determined that time travel is not fair T’Pol’s in a rough spot again in “Shockwave” when the Suliban have taken over the ship in Archer’s absence. They interrogate the poor woman for a while, and she holds her own somehow, and clings to her logic that time travel should absolutely be impossible. And after torture, she’s able to jump into the crew’s plans to re-commandeer the ship!

As usual, Vulcans are immune to the anomaly of the week In typical Vulcan fashion, T’Pol does not suffer the obsessiveness that plagues all the other crew members when they study a trinary black hole system in “Singularity.” So it’s up to her to rescue the rest of the characters from themselves (or from Phlox, in the case of Mayweather) by knocking everyone except Archer out cold and saving the day!

An AIDS allegory a few decades too late While a lot of “Stigma” doesn’t hold up today because its AIDS allegory feels like too little too late, everything T’Pol stands for in this episode rings true. Even while every man on the show is telling her what’s best for her, she firmly states that anyone with Pa’nar syndrome should be treated as justly as she is as someone who was forced into a nonconsensual mindmeld.

We can stop the film if it’s disturbing your conversation I do find it annoying every time Archer forces T’Pol to do things outside her comfort zone just because she’s Vulcan, but this little moment is cute. It might just be because of how damn obnoxious we find Phlox sometimes, but watching her tell that Denobulan sycophant to shut up during a movie in “Horizon” was all of us in that moment. Phlox, Shut Up.

Every day is exactly the same Even though it’s kind of an alternate timeline, the T’Pol that we see in “Twilight” does some very commendable stuff. Sure, there’s taking command of the ship when Archer is incapacitated, but there’s also resigning that commission to take the most thankless job there is: taking care of memory-less Archer for years on end and explaining life to him over and over.

There’s a human expression: You gotta give ‘em that hawk tuah We get another alternate T’Pol in “E²” and she’s just as compelling as “Twilight” T’Pol. The older, wiser T’Pol is astute enough to see the flaws in her son Lorian’s crazy plan and provide her younger self a better, just as crazy plan. Add that to the literal self-reflection she shares about getting over her trellium addiction and learning to love Trip and it’s all great stuff!

Blood is thicker than plomeek soup This is one of those complicated episodes, so you’re going to see “Home” on both lists, but let’s start with the good. We’ve got to respect T’Pol a bit for sucking it up and marrying Koss even though they’d called the engagement off (not to mention that she has a thing for Trip). But it was to save her mother’s reputation and get her reinstated at the Academy, so that’s nice of her.

Her name is Elizabeth We don’t get a lot of T’Pol with baby Elizabeth in “Demons” and “Terra Prime” but what we do get is heartbreaking. We’ve really got to give credit to Blalock and Trinneer for some beautiful acting when a doomed Human-Vulcan infant is thrown in the mix, especially in their final scene of “Terra Prime,” which is utterly devastating.

—

Worst moments

You were only there for three days and you couldn’t restrain yourself While Vulcans throughout Enterprise are typically bitchy and blunt, it seems a bit illogical how T’Pol jumps to the conclusion that Trip must have acted ungentlemanly during the course of “Unexpected,” resulting in his getting pregnant. This before he’s been able to tell a word of his own story. That’s just rude, T’Pol. Get all the facts first, then make your judgement.

Don’t blame the victim We’re not victim blaming T’Pol for what happened to her in “Fusion.” No, we’re blaming the writers, who did a bad bad thing in this episode that we largely loathed. For some reason in Trek, the writers treat it like a requirement for the sexy lady character to get mind-assaulted, and to treat it as sexually as possible, and we’ve been fed up with that since Troi and Seven.

Oo-mox always makes the list! I will always put oo-mox on the bad list, because too often it feels like sexual degradation. Lwaxana does it. Crusher does it. Jadzia does it. And in this parade of women performing mild sexually-implicit acts on Ferengi, we see T’Pol perform oo-mox on Krem in “Acquisition.” It’s just disgusting how the writers keep falling back on making this gross joke over and over.

The spy who neck-pinched me We learn in “The Seventh” that T’Pol was an operative for the Ministry of Security, which is idiotic enough on its own. She also sides with Archer on what to do with Menos, which is never a good idea, after the resurfacing of some wiped memories of all the messed up shit she did. Worst of all, the writers forget about her spy training and foist it off on Reed being in Section Thirty-fucking-one, but we’ll cover that later!

Pon farr also always makes the list Almost as much as I dislike oo-mox, I dislike pon farr. We already covered this in “Blood Fever”! It’s yet another device to sneak sexiness into episodes, but it is in no way consensual. Blame pon farr all you want, but for all of “Bounty,” we’re subjugated to watching T’Pol run around in her underwear trying to rape Phlox just to titillate the teenaged boys, and that’s disgusting.

I don’t believe it, now my pants are chafing me Like our last Enterprise spotlight, most of the bad moments are coming from season 3. This is when we’re subjected to countless instances of T’Pol engaging in Vulcan neuropressure with Trip, which is NOT her job. Relenting to Phlox and doing this was bad enough, but did she really have to trick Trip into it in “The Xindi”? And why did she HAVE to be topless for it?

Green-blooded with envy We promised you last time lots more moments from “Harbinger,” so here we go. Vulcans wouldn’t typically find it illogical to be jealous of other people, but that doesn’t stop T’Pol from getting all jealous when Trip starts hanging out with Amanda Cole. It makes her look like a petty, whiny teenager all episode long. Green is apparently not a good color on you, T’Pol.

I just don’t like being compared to a lab rat Oh look, more examples from “Harbinger.” The Tri’Pol shippers get their moment when the two of them hook up, and who can blame them? But having T’Pol pull the rug out from under Trip the morning after is just cruel and tactless. She claims (if you can believe her) that she was just curious what intercourse with a human was like, as if she were just checking it off a list. Next!

I’m sorry, Captain, I can’t obey that order Another episode that ranks among some of the worst of Enterprise is “Hatchery.” Everyone except Archer is perfectly content to let the Insectoid babies die, and T’Pol disobeys when captain orders the crew to help save them. She doesn’t even know the captain is compromised yet! She just doesn’t think he’s committing enough war crimes, evidently, and mutinies about it!

Big green monkey, everyone’s a junkie Again, no victim blaming here; addiction is a serious condition, and kudos to T’Pol for eventually getting help from Phlox. But. The writers fail T’Pol’s logical character in making her a trellium-D junkie, as is revealed in “Damage.” You want to explore an addiction plot? Fine, then make it make sense for her character. Have her seek to build her immunity. Have it be to relieve pain from turning zombie in “Impulse.” Chasing the dragon doesn’t work for a Vulcan.

You brought me sixteen light years just to watch you get married to someone you barely know A second ago, we were giving T’Pol credit for marrying Koss to help her mother unsully her reputation (which was neither of their faults to begin with, mind you) in “Home,” but it’s also just plain sad to watch her have to acquiesce to being blackmailed into a marriage she does not wish to be in. And to have to treat Trip like he’s dog meat is also painful to watch! Tri’Pol shippers, unite!

You’re wondering if I’ve been having any daydreams about you? Speaking of the Tri’Pollers, they get a smorgasbord of Trip-T’Pol material in “Bound,” most of it juvenile as hell. Ever since they got together in “Harbinger,” T’Pol has been dancing around this “do you like me” bullshit like a teenager (or worse, like Shakaar in “Crossfire”) and it gets so frustrating. Why can’t the Vulcan just be upfront about this stuff? Why is she in high school?

—

It is only logical to end the blogpost here. Make sure you’re following along as we keep the Tri’Pol ship chugging along next week, when our spotlight swings to everyone’s favorite Floridian! Also keep watching along with our watchalong of Discovery over on the SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, do some Vulcan neuropressure with us over on Facebook, and remember to wear a hat whenever gallivanting around in the past!

[idol-group-supernova]

hi, fellow chumblr users!

before anyone asks: this isn't an official pr blog, nor is it a weird fan impersonating us online. we're really just here to vibe and connect with others ^^

I'm singularity (they/them)

that's not my real name. but we took inspiration from human idol groups in ancient history. and gave ourselves individual stage names. as well as a collective name for the whole band

I'm also the band's oldest member. which might come as a surprise. especially with how small I am compared to the other two

I'm antares (she/her)! fun fact: I'm a giant pacific octoling. shopping for clothes and weapons sucks when you're super tall like I am 😔✌🏽

and I'm nebula (she/her)!! I'm the youngest member of supernova and I'm really excited to meet people on here!!

WOE SPACE-THEMED SPLATOON IDOLS BE UPON YE

also, singularity is a wolfi octoling (aka the world's smallest octopus species) bc in astronomy, a singularity is an infinitely small point in the universe

[undercoverangell]

been playin thru pokemon platinum and wanted to share my team which wound up w an "oops all greek myths!" naming scheme

[panterasnarl]

"Which one of you idiots voted marry??"

[naitfall]

@vonbirden asked:

🎁 - for zeke c:<

spotify wrapped has arrived. send me a number from 1-100 for a starter based on that song, or a lyric from it, or send a 🎁 for me to shuffle.

49 - Where's My Love || SYML

Levi and Zeke are in the paths. Both are almost dead, but after Ymir fixes Zeke's body, Zeke gets close to an almost dead Levi

Where’s my love? LOVE. Humanity’s nastiest disease. A curse, to bind them both to life and death— absurd how for love they’d live, and for love they’d die. For love, they’d lose their sanity, a sickness to rot the brain. There was no antidote, no medicine to cure its symptoms. How many had lost their minds? How many had succumbed to it, and died, for love? More than Levi could count— never he could imagine, he’d find the same ending. Falsely he believed he had immunity against it, for he was still alive when everyone else had died, unbeknownst to him, he had lost to it the moment he made that vow to Erwin. Out of love. An arrogant fool he had been, as much sick and demented as they all were. To search for meaning in someone else, in this meaningless world. To chase for hope and comfort, in a cruel world where there was none. 

Love. He had never voiced such words, hadn’t he? He had led his whole life without any regrets, but in his last moments, regrets had come to haunt him, too weak to resist. I love you mother. How much he wished he had the chance to tell her. I love you guys. If only they had known, Farlan and Isabel. Everyone. . . You’re important to me. His squad. I love you Er– No. That didn’t seem right. Erwin, I– Were these truly the words he would have said to him? He still had a chance, for the line to separate life and death had grown thinner, and Levi was right at the border. Would he cross the line?

Zeke’s desperate scream was the last he had heard. A high-pitched sound followed, and then complete silence. For how long was he unconscious, lingering in that endless night, with only darkness in sight? And yet, he could still feel, still burning with life, a small flickering fire, all his senses on alert. A man in his last moments was meant to see the ones most dear to him. For Erwin, it had been his father, and the moment replayed in that comforting delirious state of mind he was lost in, was the day that had decided his course of life. For Levi was . . . 

Erwin. A blurry blond figure stood on top of him. He couldn’t listen, couldn’t process anything he said, for sound wouldn’t reach him. He couldn’t see, not through his own blood, he couldn’t focus his eyes on the man close to him, and yet the starry sky above their heads was crystal clear, as if Levi wouldn’t need to see its beauty with his eyes, a sight of the mind and heart. Where were they, if not by the side of the river? When did it stop raining? In sand, he’d lay. The paths. It was warm, a place that held a certain peace, calming his raging mind. It would be a peaceful death. And yet, a tragic one.

A ghost. Erwin. Did you know that we bleed the same? Erwin. He tried calling out his name. You poor thing. . . It wasn’t Erwin’s voice. Did he still remember his voice? It’s been years, since he last heard it.

‘ You won’t have eyes tonight. You won’t have ears or a tongue. You will wander the underworld blind, deaf and dumb, and all the dead will know: this is [...] the fool who thought he killed [...]. ’

Levi had read this, in one of Erwin’s books. A tragic story about revenge, and how one could lose oneself, when succumbing to grief and anger. Was this truly his ending? Would he die, having accomplished nothing at all? What about all their sacrifices? The vow he had made to him? Erwin. Had he come to escort him to the other life? To ask him what happened of all their dedicated hearts? Or to speak the words they never admitted to one another?

Did you run away? Come back. . . 

Erwin. Erwin. Erwin. He kept calling out his name, but he couldn’t tell if his voice could be heard. His hand reached for him, for the figure on top of him, a slight raise in his right hand. He could barely move, or speak, choking in his own blood. Such a pathetic sight he had become, and when his greatest enemy watched with pity. Coughing even more blood, his body stiffened, every muscle contracting at once violently, his breathing shallow and ragged, fingers of his left hand curling in the sand, while still desperately reaching for him. For Erwin. He was dying. But before he did. . . 

How dangerous, to care for someone. Was it LOVE though, the reason he’d self-destruct? Maybe, if he had never made that vow, he wouldn’t have been this close to death. Was it love, that yearning? Or not? Truth is, there was something much more intense than love. OBSESSION.

Any other man would be seeing those most dear, in his final moments. Memories of peace, and comfort. But for Levi, revenge was rooted deep inside his heart, deeper than any love ever could. There wasn’t love in those clouded eyes of his, but an opportunity to kill. To avenge the one most dear to him. The one who had changed his course of life.

In the sand his hand was buried, as if in between spasms he’d search for something. He got hold of it. A piece of wood that was stuck in his hand. Erwin. He called his name again, more coughing, his voice breaking. Erwin. I’ll keep my promise. Are you watching me? The man on top of him gets closer. Zeke gets closer. He had one single chance, one moment to collect all his strength and to lift his body just a tiny bit. A chance to stab that piece of wood in his neck.

As if death could have him before he finished him. He’d hold onto this life with everything he had, he wouldn’t bite the dust before he found death by his hand. 

[images-of-ice-finn]

[emails-i-cant-send]

paris - sabrina carpenter // how high? - ice spice

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // she'd heard it from marcellus before the news could break. a murder in downtown arcanus. multiple witnesses. accounts of strangulation. the details were still hazy , but from what her partner had managed to tell her , the victim lived next door.

at first , byleth couldn't quite make sense of that. in some ways , it almost felt TOO FAR-FETCHED. ( a shiver crawled down her spine at thought thought . remembering — . . . remembering . ) but she had no reason to doubt marcellus' word. the only thing left to do was investigate herself. her visitation to no . 102 was met with relative silence compared to the effervescent presence of her neighbor. from there , it didn't take very long to wonder where lilith might have gone.

"tae." she greeted. a quick once-over revealed the girl's tension. aggression mounted in her , coiling in her shoulders and flashing in her eyes before recognition had settled in its place. "... i hope i'm not intruding," she said , pausing briefly before continuing. there was no need to mince words.

"— my partner , marcellus , told me the broad strokes about what happened. if it's alright with the both of you , i would like to ask her personally for more information. on behalf of the AIPD ... .... and as a friend."

@dancingxflames ---> @cagcdlxve

[destruxxon]

Different Kisses @eclipsemuses asked " [ almost ] sender and receiver are centimeters apart, about to kiss, but something interrupts them / ATUARTO GALGA "

His hands feel oddly familiar, the way they graze against Galga's cheek as if they've trekked the same path countless times before, the texture of the pads of his fingers are new but nostalgic. Can feel the calluses on his pointer and thumb, likely from all the spells he's drawn over the years. Galga can feel his own when he brushes a hand over Atuarto's shoulder. He feels a quiet urge to cup the back of the other's neck and soothe the digits through locks of ink, but it would be fairly strange for him to do so, wouldn't it?

This man knows him, but Galga had nothing. No recollection, no fond memories, no inklings of what his past was or what Atuarto had played in it. He has enjoyed the time they've spent together so far, how kind he was, the little mannerisms he's caught onto.

Maybe it had been a mindless thing, like how the other would instinctively right his hand when he drew. How when he poured them tea, he would add honey to Galga's cup without a hitch. When he prepared in the morning, Atuarto would help secure the band at the end of his braid because when he did it himself it would come out sloppy and uneven, which he hadn't known until he attempted to do it himself to save the witch the burden of a menial task.

So when Atuarto had leaned in, Galga followed suit. Naturally, muscle memory at work.

He startles, jumping and reaching for— something that wasn't on him. He eyes a healer as she comes in to check in on him, questioning his health and state, testing him for a fever or sign of worsening. He moves away from the shorter man and there's a bit of back and forth with the kindly woman as he insists that he is just fine, truly he's feeling fine, no pain, not feeling ill, yes, thank you.

When the door shuts behind her, Galga takes in a steady breath, and turns back. He's not too sure if he's meant to address their previous actions or not, so he stands awkwardly for a moment before landing on not unless need be. "They are quite dedicated workers, aren't they? I respect their...passion but they should concern themselves more with injured patients, if you ask me."

[quantumlogician]

What are you the patron saint of?

patron saint of bones

patron saint of frameworks. of structures. of solidity. patron saint of things that break. patron saint of things that are left behind. the bones survive long after the body, the building: what is there left for them, when the rest has gone? what do bones do, with nothing to hold around them? who holds the bones?

[acevity]

[eats nothing but garbage] bro why my belly hurt :(

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Charles “Trip” Tucker

By Ames

Screw Jonathan Archer. Trip Tucker is the real hero of Star Trek: Enterprise. He’s more likeable. He grows more as a character. Unlike John, he actually overcomes some of his racism. He commits way fewer atrocities than John too! We testify all the time on the podcast that he has the character journey that Archer should have had. So this week, your A Star to Steer Her By hosts are here to analyze the best Florida Man out there.

Don’t let the accent fool you: Trip knows his engineering shit. This Southern charmer is not only personable to everyone he meets, he’s more emotionally self-aware than most characters across the franchise. We need more Trip Tuckers in the world. So read on below and listen to this week’s podcast episode (tightrope walk over to 45:57) as we highlight our catfish-loving friend. And pass the pecan pie.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Challenge your preconceptions or they’ll challenge you One of the early moments of growth we see from Trip comes in “Strange New World.” He spouts some absolutely horrid racist jargon at T’Pol while under the influence of space pollen, but when he snaps out of it, he not only apologizes, but he recognizes that he’s still learning to overcome the systemic racism he grew up surrounded by, which is hella introspective.

I feel like I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar Speaking of Trip apologizing to T’Pol, he knows to come clean to her after he read her very personal letter in “Breaking the Ice.” It’s Trip’s suggestion to Archer to have Hoshi decrypt the message instead of to (ya know) ask T’Pol about it, which is shitty, but then he’s honest enough afterwards that T’Pol sees in him someone she can trust to ask for advice about her arranged marriage.

I am just going outside and may be some time Who other than Trip could get Malcolm Reed, ship introvert, to come out of his shell? Their friendship becomes a show highlight after their misadventure during “Shuttlepod One.” Trip is even willing to Captain Oates himself to give Reed a fighting chance, but then ends up saving their asses when he prolongs their life support and then detonates their engine to get the Enterprise’s attention.

We all scream for ice cream Earlier in “Breaking the Ice,” Trip advised T’Pol to do what’s best for her (and eat pecan pie). Now in “Oasis,” we see him continue the trend when he advocates for Liana to make her own decisions, and it won’t be the last we see him champion others’ decisions. He also introduces Liana to ice cream, which makes him a goddamn hero. Someone, get this girl a bowl of rocky road.

It’s the CAPTAIN’S chair This is one of the cute moments we couldn’t help but include. It’s also a fun little acting showcase for Connor Trinneer when Trip gets absolutely fixated on tuning up Archer’s chair in “Singularity.” And when he’s clear-headed enough again not to redesign the whole thing, he figures out all he needs to do is lower it one centimeter. Work smarter, not harder, friends.

I’m not leaving him here We get even more benevolence from Tucker in “Dawn” when he’s stranded on a moon with Zho’Kaan, an Arkonian with whom he has no way of communicating. Though they’re distrustful and combative at first, the two men learn to help each other survive as the oppressively hot sunrise approaches. It’s just Geordi in “The Enemy” again, but that’s hardly a bad thing.

They would never let me learn those things There was a bit of a debate about which list to put “Cogenitor” on. You can’t deny that Trip is NOT the person to be making the legal and psychoanalytical decisions on Charles’s behalf. Problem is, there IS no such person on the Enterprise and the one person who could have granted them asylum resolutely refused. So that’s on Archer. Trip, on the other hand, is the only person treating Charles like a person, being the most compassionate crew member yet again.

You owe me one Turns out Sim, Trip’s symbiote in “Similitude,” is just as honorable a man as the original. First off, his engineering ingenuity saves the ship from the polaric field it was stuck in. And what a phenomenal job from Trinneer, distinguishing this subtly different character from Trip, and fighting for his right to exist. It’s a gut punch watching Sim accept his fate after his short life. Ow, my gut!

I’ve been putting off writing this for a while Trip’s emotional journey in season three is probably the most profound. We get to witness various stages of the grief he goes through after his sister’s death to the Xindi probe. Most of the season is anger, which is to be expected. But by the end of “The Forgotten,” we see how far he’s come when he writes the condolence letter to the Taylors, reflecting heavily on his own loss.

If I had suffered your loss, I’d feel the same way All the season three growth really does go to Trip! While Archer is torturing people and trying to kamikaze the Xindi, and T’Pol is a junkie for no logical reason, Tucker is here developing as a person. It’s just before Degra’s death in “The Council” that Trip and the Xindi weapons designer come to a sort of understanding with each other. There’s hope in this universe after all!

I think it was called: “The Ship that Couldn’t Slow Down” It may be pure spectacle, but it’s also impressive as hell when Trip shimmies through space between the Columbia and the Enterprise on a skinny little wire in “Divergence.” As usual, Trip is the only person who can save the day when the Enterprise has taken a cue from Speed and can’t slow down. Who else can say they tightrope-walked between ships at warp?

You’re sweet-talking the wrong guy While I would have much preferred if any of the lady crewmembers of the Enterprise did literally anything when the Orion slave girls take over the ship in “Bound,” I guess I’ll take the next best thing and see Trip do it. Because the typical Vulcan immunity is apparently transferable to their boytoys, Commander Tucker gets to save the day because pheromones don’t work on him.

—

Worst moments

Three hours of decompression in each direction Having to undergo decompression to visit an alien ship is a pretty cool concept we don’t see enough of in Trek, and maybe it’s for good reason. When Trip is decompressing during “Unexpected,” he’s absolutely insufferable. He spends the whole three hours whining and whining and whining, and flips the hell out even while Ah’len is assuring him everything’s fine.

Roll a stealth check Though we get some fun guest stars out of “Acquisition,” it feels like it’s missing something all episode long. I posit that what we’re missing is literally any clever engineering tactics from Trip, the only crew member free on the ship after it’s been taken over by Ferengi. Not only does he not do anything “Starship Mine”-y, but he gets himself nabbed by those doofuses!

A Night at the Risa-bury You wanna get your kicks on Risa, you go for it, Trip, but don’t be so disgusting about it. Watching him and Reed ogling all the aliens in the club in “Two Days and Two Nights” gets real gross real fast. But having the two of them get so thoroughly tricked by shapeshifting con artists until they were left tied up in their underwear shows how out of their depths they are.

I’d hate to be responsible for giving the crew the runs Considering how often you see other crewmen sitting in the chair whenever the captain is off gallivanting, it seems peculiar how utterly clueless Tucker is when he’s left in command during “The Seventh.” It’s like he’s forgotten how to make decisions. Or communicate with Vulcans. Or let Phlox and Reed do their damn jobs. Why is he suddenly inept?

Gives a whole new meaning to doing “The Stranger” Like we talked about a lot in our Kes post, some bad moments are actually things that don’t happen when they should. In this case, there is absolutely no pay off when Trip’s arm turns invisible in “The Communicator.” Nothing comes of this! In an episode where it would behoove everyone to be able to retrieve something undetected, wouldn’t an invisible hand work nicely?

Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder! Aside from just plain being a bad episode, “Precious Cargo” also contains a lot of terrible work from Commander Tucker. There is absolutely no chemistry between him and First Monarch Kaitaama, and yet they go to bone town just because the plot needs them to. You’d think someone who’s gotten pregnant before from engaging in less would show a little more restraint.

I was brought up believing you don’t play around with another man’s wife Let’s be clear: Trip does nothing wrong in how he associates with Feezal in “Stigma.” This is one of those moments that’s all on the writers. Someone continuously and gratuitously coming on to another person who displays no interest is sexual harassment. And yet the jokey, cutesy tone suggests it’s Trip’s error in not banging someone he shows no desire to bang. That’s gross.

You can’t do that on the balcony, buddy? This show is pretty much four seasons of white men not listening to a woman, and it’s enraging. T’Pol, as logically as usual, suggests that Tucker not test the Xindi rifle in the middle of the armory (of all places!) in “The Shipment,” but Trip refuses to listen and nearly blows the thing up in the most explosive area of the ship. Go outside and blow things up like a normal person!

This mission is to save Earth, not an alien hatchery I’m not done shitting on “Hatchery,” which I started doing last week. And in our season three wrap. And in our series wrap. I just find it so detestable that the show tries to glorify Tucker organizing a full mutiny because the captain is trying to save the baby Insectoids. Exactly no one on the ship seems to understand that that is the ethical thing to do, even during war time. Especially during war time.

Bugs Bunny sawed off Florida too, you know We just spent a couple points above praising Tucker for overcoming his hatred of the Xindi, but to get there, he first had to be overwhelmed with wrath. It’s understandable after the lancing of Florida, but when Trip just starts riling Degra in “The Forgotten,” it is not the right time, dude. At this point, Degra is working with Starfleet. Save the guilt trip for when you’re less busy.

Taking my ball and going home The will-they-won’t-they shenanigans between Trip and T’Pol have gotten very tired by the time we get to “The Aenar.” The both of them are acting so juvenile because they can’t work through their emotions nor act professionally around each other. So it’s frankly pathetic that Trip runs away from his feelings by asking for a transfer to the Columbia. And the Tri’Pol shippers lament. 

Have a nice Trip. See you next fall. No Worst Moments list would be complete without the awful, awful way that they kill off a beloved character. “These Are the Voyages…” does Trip even dirtier than Nemesis does Data in how pointless a death it is. It feels like a slap in the face to fans, ya know, like that whole finale does. The explosion scene is rushed. The acting is subpar. A piss-poor way to go.

—

We, however, still have a long road to go ourselves, with several more character spotlights on the way. So make sure you’re following along here, keeping up with our watchthrough of Discovery over on SoundCloud (among all the other podcast places), get some neuropressure with us over on Facebook, and save us some popcorn at movie night!

[seashaper]

and then there was the sun.

[moved--naitfall]

continued ask | Porco @jxwz & Levi

Immediately, Porco clips his mouth shut and drops into the nearest chair available. Even if he is already healing—steam spilling out from between his fingers, his bloody bicep clutched tight to his side—there's no way he's going to argue with the Captain. An order is still an order and Porco didn't get this far by disobeying them and defying his superiors. He's not an idiot.

"Sir." It is the only thing he says; his respect shown, authority acknowledged. An effort he hopes that will steer him out from the center of the Captain's ire. And at least the blood on the floor won't stay there for long. . .

They were humans. Alongside them, alongside the soldiers of the Survey Corps, fought those with the power of titans— to transform, to heal, to survive when all hope was lost. The thin line between humans and human-eating monsters shall never be crossed, the warriors' nature, their birth and rights as human beings, shall never be questioned, else their own humanity would be the one to doubt, and Levi had seen with his own eyes countless monsters wearing human skin. They weren’t tools to use until they’d break, to endure such pain and suffering. To be seen as someone inhuman, both a monster and a tool— ‘humanity’s strongest soldier’ wasn’t unfamiliar to that.

He shouldn’t have been worried, and yet he couldn’t divert his eyes when looking at a young soldier, HIS soldier, suffering in pain as if it were natural, whose injuries could have put his life in danger. In disgust he’d stare, for how absurd was the sight before him, yet incredible, to witness wounds close. It was disgust, at the proof of a world that wouldn’t make any sense, and their efforts to give up on reason for the sake of survival.

His intended grouchy mood was cut off by complete obedience. ❝ Make sure you don't die. ❞ He had enough suicidal brats to watch over.