#it worked much better in context with the other seasons!

[lilianade-comics]

What's D-stabilized like in your season 3 rewrite au? Does Vlad go to Danny for help fixing Dani himself, or maybe she knows he doesn't like him and goes behind his back to get his help? I imagine the whole thing would turn into race against time rather than a race against Vlad.

Truthfully, I don't have many concrete thoughts about it yet! It's no secret I'm not the biggest fan of the canon version, so I haven't been too keen on making any meaningful decisions regarding the AU version yet. (The beginning of season 3 is just more fun to play with. When I think about the later episodes, namely Frightmare, D-Stabilized, and Phantom Planet, suddenly I have to make "late stage plot decisions" and "try to salvage the 3 worst episodes of the season".)

I do agree it's likely to feature a "race against time" element. I like the thought of keeping the dark tone and letting Vlad get murderous and desperate, this time on Dani's behalf. All I can really say for certain is that this particular AU rewrite will deviate the most from its canon counterpart, relative to the other AU versions.

Additional thoughts to take with a grain of salt:

One possible D-S outcome I've considered is that Danielle dies at the end of it, sparking Vlad's complete mental breakdown and shutting himself away in a desperate attempt to recreate her/bring her back. This would continue into Phantom Planet, which would go much differently as the asteroid crisis becomes secondary to Vlad's maniacal need to resurrect Danielle at all costs.

Another outcome is that through one context or another, a desperate Vlad ends up stabilizing Danielle via his own hybrid DNA, altering her physically and possibly mentally, for better or worse.

Still another, less dark outcome is to replicate the canon fake-out destabilization, but Danielle's melting ability is retained as a power unique to her (which is the most likely route I'd go.)

I like the thought of Danny and Vlad working together to save Danielle, but I also enjoy the angst possibilities around Vlad going off the deep end and throwing Danny under the proverbial AND literal DNA-extractor to save his daughter.

[mikimeiko]

The Expanse | Season 5 (2020-21), Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby

[fictionadventurer]

I guess it took seeing an entire season for me to really get The Chosen, because now that I've seen all of season 1, I'm impressed. I've got issues with the (slow) pacing of individual episodes or about certain character or plot choices, but on a structural level, it's so well-done.

The season starts and ends with episodes focused on a woman who has suffered for years in a life of sin, is rejected by all good society, and is saved when Jesus sees her and calls her to a new life. With Mary Magdalene, He keeps his work secret, and doesn't even tell her His name. With the woman at the well, He tells her straight-out that He's the Messiah, and He wants her to spread the message.

The main season-long character arcs center on two people who are living comfortable lives in authority positions, who are baffled when they see Jesus' miracles, obsessively search for the truth, and are eventually called by Jesus to follow Him. Matthew's story shows how Jesus conflicts with Roman authority, while Nicodemus' shows how He conflicts with Jewish authority. In the end, Matthew instantly leaves His life and follows Jesus without hesitation, while Nicodemus is the one who rejects the call and stays in his comfortable life.

It's there, it's good storytelling, I love it.

[seefasters]

people making all those body-switching drink spiking memory altering theories when its so much easier to admit you felt like the writing wasn't that good this season. knowing a thing is mid and still enjoying it is so freeing try it sometime

[dashiellqvverty]

my opinion on season 11 is that ian and mickey were all over the place from episode to episode and i ultimately wasn’t very happy with where it ended for them

[doom-dreaming]

i engage with halo in the same way i engage with any story/universe that has expanded beyond what's good for it - gather all the details and then decide piecemeal what i want to keep and what i want to Make Better

[ooooo-mcyt]

Another thing I noticed in my rewatch of both Scott and Pearl's Double Life pov's is that nobody really liked either of them. Like I see people take for granted the idea that Scott was somehow "popular" during Double Life but he really wasn't much more popular than Pearl was.

Like, to go down the list of their actual relationships.

The Ranchers hated Scott and were lukewarm with Pearl. From the first episode, Jimmy singled out Scott and Cleo as "fake soulmates" and basically insulted them to their faces in their home about it, and Scott in specific quickly took to antagonizing Jimmy in specific, leading to the two teams being at each others throats very quickly. On the other hand, Pearl makes multiple deals with Jimmy specifically and The Ranchers are pretty civil- even friendly- with her, though they always seem to keep her at arms length and she never feels really welcomed as a true friend with them.

Box Boys had complicated relationships with both Scott and Pearl. Ren and BigB are initially kind to Pearl until she takes their horse as a joke, leading to their death as Ren looked at an enderman while chasing her. After that point, Ren calls Pearl a curse and casts her away, which very much contributes to Pearl's declining mental state. Later on in the series, though, Ren and Pearl mend things a bit, with Ren coming to Pearl after his soulmate "cheats" on him out of a sense of solidarity with being alone. On the other end, Scott initially doesn't have much of a relationship with either Ren or BigB, but BigB ends up holding Scott responsible for their relationship falling apart, which is..not really fair. Don't get me wrong, Scott's relationship ranch was formed to break up soulmate pairs, but Scott didn't actually do anything to break Ren and BigB up, all he did was truthfully report to Ren that BigB expressed relief when Ren was gone, which makes the blame on Scott here very much unfair.

Boat Boys have a neutral to hostile relationship with both Scott and Pearl too. Obviously Joel generally has something against Scott, and targets him regardless of the context, and early on in the series Joel is actually pretty happy with Pearl, praising her for antagonizing Scott and asking her to keep it up, though his opinion of Pearl does also change for the worse when Pearl takes their stuff as a joke after they turn red. In the finale Joel and Etho are willing to work with Pearl temporarily and say their main target is Scott over her, but they're quick to turn on Pearl too when given the chance, so she clearly doesn't have a much higher standing with them.

And then there's Desert Duo. Who have a complicated relationship with Pearl and not much of a relationship with Scott. Scar is the one who gives Pearl the idea to use powdered snow to hurt her soulmate and is happy to help her torture Scott (though he also gives the exact same offer to scott later on, bringing him powdered snow too). Scar is also the one who coins the name "Scarlet Pearl" for Pearl and is one of the biggest pushers of the narrative that Pearl is dangerous. This isn't malicious, in fact Scar hypes Pearl up a lot, but the narrative he pushes is still in many ways harmful to Pearl's reputation and mental state. Late in the season Scar and Grian are also happy to come to Pearl for protection, treating her almost like a weapon.

I think it's pretty clear that neither Scott nor Pearl had friends. Scott actually had fairly negative relationships with most of the server, and I'd honestly argue people generally 'liked' Pearl more. I mean, this is something Pearl herself took note of and commented on to Scott in her finale, the way people were actively targeting Scott but were willing to work with her. Though of course, this doesn't mean people actually treated Pearl better. They may have 'liked' her more, but she was kept at arms length, and I think people moreso saw her as a weapon they could use in their favor than a friend in any case, which was very much damaging and isolating for her.

Of course, Pearl's pov still absolutely feels more isolated than Scott's. But I think people misidentify the primary reason for that as Scott being more 'popular' amongst the server than Pearl. He wasn't.

The reason Scott doesn't feel as isolated is because he had Cleo. In many cases it didn't matter who else was against Scott, because he had Cleo, who loved and supported him unconditionally and was there with him every day. Pearl on the other hand, didn't. She was kept at an arms length, people were often civil enough to her, and she was even in some ways more popular than Scott, but that didn't matter when she was always on the outside looking in without a soulmate and, crucially, without any other support system.

And that, to me, is the big thing with Double Life's social climate. The soulmate pairs often stuck to themselves, they kept everyone at an arms length, if they didn't outright dislike them. Having support systems wasn't a thing, you didn't have anyone to fall back on outside of your soulmate, and you couldn't form that kind of bond because you'd always be treated like an outsider looking in by the established pairs. This was the main cause of Pearl's isolation. It's not because Scott specifically rejected her, and it's not because everyone especially hated Pearl or were out to get her (they literally weren't. every group hated each other. a lot of groups were hated more than pearl.), it's because of the strictly defined in-groups formed by soulmate pairs and the way they discouraged support systems and close non-soulmate bonds.

[kinardsevan]

who am i (to know)?

had this drabble in my head for a hot second. enjoy. post-s8 shenanigans.

-

"I owe you an apology."

Tommy looks up from his coffee with wide eyes. Maddie is standing across the kitchen from him, her own fresh cup in her hands. She'd come out from getting baby Bobby down, having fallen asleep in the rocking chair in the nursery while he'd been left in the house with Jee-Yun when the girl had wrangled him into a very convoluted pretend play of princesses and dragons. Evan was outside with Howie, working on a landscaping project that Tommy was supposed to join him on before his attention had been taken over by Jee.

"You really don't," he tells her, glancing out into the other room. Jee had fallen asleep on him—literally—about ten minutes before Maddie had come out, and he'd been so heartened by the fact that he hadn't wanted to move her. Maddie had shifted her over once she came out and offered him coffee.

"I do, though, "she states, stirring a spoon inside her coffee cup to mix the flavored creamer in. Her indulgences with the drink aren't very different from Tommy's, always seeking the sweetness instead of the caffeine.

She takes a deep breath, sips rom her drink before setting it on the counter.

"I wasn't very nice to you during round one of your and Evan's relationship, much less during the…off season," she comments.

Tommy lets out the slightest chuckle, the corner of his mouth pulling up as he acquiesces a nod before taking a sip of his own coffee.

"I'll give you that one," he responds. "But he's your brother. And as I understand it, maybe even more than that, given the situation with your parents," he comments as he sets his own coffee on the counter and leans back against it, wrapping his fingers over the ledge.

Maddie nods. "I recognize that he's an adult, and that end of the day, we're siblings-.."

"But for all intents and purposes, he's still your baby in some contexts," Tommy finishes for her. Maddie nods at the statement.

He's never said much on the subject, but he's always seen the way that Maddie has looked at Evan when they were in group situations. He still remembers the way she had kept watch over him at her own wedding reception—both the impromptu one thrown at the hospital, and the one that Bobby and Athen had held for them weeks later when schedules finally lined up and they were able to do something small at their condo. Maddie had been cordial, at the very least, but she had always kept a watchful eye on him, always waiting for…something. She never commented on whatever it was that she was waiting to see take place, but it seemed obvious once the breakup took place—she was waiting on him to end things.

"The thing is, for as complex as Evan's trauma is, he doesn't know it the same way we do," Maddie states. Tommy inhales sharply, staring down into his coffee mug.

It's not that he's ever expected Evan to not tell other people about the things he's shared about his own life—he knows that keeping secrets isn't healthy, and it directly affected the downfall of their relationship in the first go around. It wasn't at all that Tommy didn't want Evan to know him, either, or that he didn't want to know Evan in deeper ways. But when they had finally taken the time to sit down and really talk about the dark stuff that they'd avoided during the first year, it was more than clear that the trauma they both held wasn't light or easy. He fully understood Evan's urge to cling with a life filled with abandonment, including an entire quarter of his life in which he didn't speak to a single member of his family—and none of them had bothered to reach out to him. Adding to that he fact that he was 29 before he knew about his dead brother, and the fact that his entire life existed because he'd been intended as a savior sibling—so much about the younger man had come into focus for Tommy. He had no problem assuming that the same could also be said for Evan in relation to him.

"I think he's got a bit of a better grasp on it now," Tommy answers, still staring down into his coffee cup. He can't actually be entirely sure that the younger man really does understand the urge to bolt, but in the face of Bobby's death, while he urged to cling and stay close, Tommy needed time alone to process. It wasn't even that he didn't appreciate the comfort of being with Evan—he very much so did—but in the same breadth, he had only ever known a life where processing loss came hand-in-hand with loneliness. He needed the silence to figure out his own thoughts. But it was also that need for separation—short as it may have been—that ultimately led to the fighting that brought them back together.

"I imagine he does," Maddie states softly. She stares at Tommy for a time, and when he looks back up at her, the expression on her face is one he's only ever seen in his direction as a young child. It's the way that his mom used to look at him before she died. A layer of emotions, usually some mixed level of both pride and annoyance, but always covered in love. It makes a wave of something unfamiliar rush through his chest.

Well, maybe not unfamiliar so much as so distantly memorable that it doesn't feel right at first.

"Anyway, my point was…" Maddie trails off after a moment, and Tommy glances over at her again. There's something familiar in their shared gaze, but whether her statement is too loaded to put into words, or she doesn't fully have a grasp on it, she's not sure. He lets out another soft breath of a chuckle and nods.

"You didn't think I was going to change my mind," he states, not questioning. "Come back."

"I wasn't entirely sure," she admits. "I just knew that I recognized something in you, and I didn't like it. It took me a while, when you came back around to really grasp what it was that I was ambivalent about, but when you showed up and helped with saving Howie, a-and stuck around for Evan…" She glances back down at her coffee, touching the cup anxiously while also trying to keep her emotions together. "Well, anyway, I've seen Evan's life be a revolving door, in the kind of way where people come and go. They don't really come back. And I knew he loved you, but I wasn't sure if you loved him. Before then, I mean."

"Figured I was just along for the good times with the hot sibling," Tommy comments, just a hint of his bitchy tone and a smile on his face. Maddie scoffs.

"He is not the hot sibling."

"He kind of is," Tommy answers with a slight tilt of his head, and then they're both laughing, and it feels good. It feels warm and safe, and he has just the slightest pang of anxiety about letting himself really sink into it. No matter how much Evan tells him that there isn't anyone else and he doesn't want someone else, the fear of letting himself believe in another future that he won't actually get is still terrifying.

"The important thing is that you believe that," Maddie states, still laughing a little. As she finishes talking, though, just a smile remains on her face, and Tommy knows she means it.

Tommy glances out toward the back patio as Evan and Howie work on moving a bag of mulch into large pots, and his expression softens.

"He still scares me, if I'm honest," he tells her. "I've put faith into relationships in the past that didn't work out, and that hurt. But falling in love with him, and then telling myself that I couldn't have him…" His eyes get that overly dry feeling as he feels the edge of them brim with moisture. He glances back over at Maddie briefly, and she has that look on her face again, and it makes his heart twist. His gaze falls to her hands wrapped around her coffee mug as he drags his teeth against themselves, bites the side of his cheek. "He feels like a home I haven't known since…and I couldn't let go of him the way I should have. S-so even though he tells me otherwise, I still wake up every day convinced just a little bit that he will actually destroy me."

Maddie sets her cup down and Tommy looks away, suddenly feeling as though he needs to pull himself together in the right way. He forces a breath out and pushes a smile across his face as she walks over to him, wraps her small hands around his bicep, leaning into his side a little. The height difference is a little ridiculous, but he finds he doesn't mind it.

"I think you've figured this out, but Evan loves big, and in grand gestures. He has a penchant for missteps and overcorrection, but he means only the best with all of it. And in the midst of all of that, I have never seen him love the way he loves you, even if it took him a while to piece all of that together."

Tommy glances down at Maddie, his gaze narrowed just slightly.

"You don't think he's going to change his mind one day?" He tries to make it sound like a joke, but the trembling in his voice gives him away, and Maddie squeezes his bicep.

"Believe me when I tell you, Evan doesn't see anyone else," Maddie tells him. "Also, if you tell him that I've told you this, I'll deny it because of how disgusted I was when he said it to begin with. But I have heard him make the statement that if it was humanly possible, he'd have your children." Maddie narrows her eyes at Tommy. "Truth be told, I wouldn't be surprised if he did a deep dive to see if it is possible."

Tommy blushes at her statement, lets out a laugh, and it makes Maddie laugh too. For a solid two minutes, they lean against each other and the counter, laughing until it hurts to keep doing so, at which point the patio doors open and Evan and Howie come walking in, pink and each covered in a sheen of sweat. The center of Evan's tank clings to his chest, and it makes Tommy feral just looking at him.

"Might have to do a google search of my own," he mutters toward Maddie. She slaps his arm and steps away as Evan and Howie both mutter some version of 'what?' Maddie walks over to her husband and wraps an arm around him, pulling him away as Evan approaches Tommy. The pilot watches his boyfriend as Evan drapes an arm over his shoulder, fingers grazing at his hairline as he smirks at him.

"You are so dirty right now," Tommy tells him. "And sweaty."

Evan nods. "We were going to shower. The master bedroom has its own. And besides, you like me all sweaty and worked up." He trails a finger down the center of Tommy's chest, slipping it in past the button the fastened button in the center of Tommy's chest. The pilot glances down at what he's doing, can't fight the smirk pulling on his face. Evan leans into him, tilts up toward his ear. "Shower with me."

"There are children here," Tommy murmurs back to him, glancing toward the hall. He hears the bedroom door shut down the hall, and Evan presses his heated, sweaty cheek into Tommy's. "And I didn't plan for this."

"I did," Evan whispers, turning his head more and biting down into the space below Tommy's ear as he leans closer to him. Tommy gulps. Evan's free hand slides down his torso before his fingers curl into the waist of the pilot's jeans. "I have clothes for you. Shower with me."

Tommy opens his mouth to respond, but Evan's fingers dip lower, and the pilot gasps as the tips of Evan's fingers brush against him.

"Quickie in the shower," he whispers, his throat tight with need. "Quiet like a mouse."

Evan grins against his neck, and he can feel it.

"Sure," he answers gruffly. When he pulls away, the grin is still plastered on his face as he tugs Tommy forward by the hand still in his jeans. "Bag's already in the bathroom."

Yeah. Tommy definitely needs to get on that Google search.

[ironteeth-fury]

👋 👋👋

Do u give ghoap fic recommendations? If so can u give us please 🙏 (iys alr if u don’t want to ^~^)

*rubs hands together* finally my time has come, the 436 cod bookmarks i have will be useful!

right so you didn't specify anything beyond ghoap so i'm gonna throw a bunch in here with different themes and lengths and settings and stuff.

Gonna try to keep it to one work per author as well, but generally check out the other works of these authors!

I'm gonna cover WIP's that i'm following and loving, canon ghoap, still military but au in ways that might be timeline or in the sense of magic or abo or supernatural or something. Also completely AU ghoap, and I also have a couple crack fics that i just think are really good and funny.

Buckle up there's a lot

WIPS

Acceptable Loss by MildLimerence. Limerence is one of my favorite authors, definitely check out all the other works as well. Acceptable Loss is post MWIII wherein Soap gets turned into an agent for Makarov. This has made me cry and scream.

But not to yield by monsterlice and toomanybats. Definitely also check both authors out, more good shit to be found!! post military service for ghost and soap both. Demi!Simon in an abusive relationship, absolute perfect specimen who will treat you right! Soap. Pretty sure this updates weekly on wednesdays or thursdays, i forgot sorry :/

There will be no tenderness by Simcoehole. Simcoehole is where I break the rules, there will be 4 of their fics in this list and I will not apologise (really you should applaud my restraint because i could've put a lot more in here). This is canon Ghoap with Soap on medical leave, stalker!ghost, a lot of angst and pining, and Simcoehole's specialty: idiots to lovers. has only one chapter so it's the best time to get into it! Updates on mondays, I think.

Crack fics

right so a couple shorter fics that are just generally funny

miannach by simcoehole. Right. Simcoehole fic #2. This is very much Crack Premise, executed super well and quite seriously as well. Premise: Soap cuts a hole in a bar of soap (lol) and it becomes a magical portal hole to his ass. So after fucking himself with it, he decides to leave it in teh communal showers. Which is fun but overwhelming. Then Ghost gets a hold of it. (this is just a lot of porn, but it's awesome)

Save a pony, ride a ghost - Jazzybot4 and naughtypixie. Soap has Stripper Skills and it is the perfect opportunity to show them off. the rest of the 141 is stunned <3

the divine and the blessed by ghost_throat. Soap finds himself being sacrificed to a god (believe me this will be 1000x better iwthout context. Don't forget to read the sequel)

Talk Too Much by achievement_huntresss. '22 ghoap who are in denial about their feelings run into '09 ghoap who, while not fucking (anymore) immediatly clock that the idiots are head over heels for each other, and decide to do something about it.

Russian Roulette by Red_Clegane. Just. Soap being a badass completely casual, as you-please. Love the attitude

Canon Ghoap

Up In Arms by eclecticscribbles. Ghost introduces Soap to BDSM so they can infiltrate a fancy exclusive bdsm club to find their target.

Any Time You Need Me by thirteenbullets. right so this is technically an entire series that i've linked, but, they all fall under what im gonna tell you: non-sexual intimacy, physical touch, a bit of angst and a lot of comfort. This entire series feels like curling up with a blanket on the couch in front of the fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa. it's comfy. (also has one of my favorite sentences ever that will live rent-free in my brain forever. He drew the ducks <3)

Seasons by StinglessWasp. the writing is breathtaking, it's a beautiful look at soap, ghost and their relationship and how they change over the course of four seasons.

What Has One Good Leg and Bleeds? by YmeMadarame. Soap gets his leg injured and betrayed and falsly confirmed KIA in the depths of hostile territory. He tries to make it back home. A classic case of it gets worse before it gets better.

Mission Briefs by BleedingTypewriter. What if ghost and soap hooked up before they met for the mission in al mazrah? Written as missing scenes between game cutscenes and missions. Beautiful, funny and sexy!

sometimes words have two meanings by Bluejay141519. beautiful take on the "the team accidentally massively hurts soaps feelings and trigger his inferiority complex" featuring a lot of hurt!soap.

its just a shot away by Bluejay141519. so another breaking of the rules by adding a second fic from bluejay, but both these fics are special to me. This is soap on a mission that went beyond FUBAR, trying to survive long enough for the 141 to come get him, and has been going on stims for almost 4 days. Soap reacts real bad to stims once he comes off of it. This is beautifully written and grabs me every time, and somehow manages to be one of the funniest things i've ever read while the tone of the fic overall is very serious and angsty.

Take a Breath by TAFKAmayle. Longg before the 141 started, we get Sergeant Simon Lamont (who will later be Lieutenant Simon "ghost" Riley) in charge of training the platoon of Corporal John "soap" MacTavish. There is tension. (turns out, it's sexual tension. who'da thunk it?) Includes them meeting again in game canon. (love this, its hilarious and i love it as a peek into Simon's mind)

can't keep johnny down by Wheezing_Joe. Soap loses comms on a mission. The 141 have to leave him behind. Soap makes his own way back to base. Turns out they missed him.

Bad Habits by NebulaGazer. I think this is the first real long fic that I'm linking, at 140k words. It's a mission fic of ghoap getting together. Soap gets thrown out of a couple of windows. It's great!

I Woke Up Underground by WispScribbles. this is a fun one!! we get wump, angst, buried alive trope, more wump, dad!price, and a lot of Feelings. (also definitely comfort at the end no worries)

Bait and Switch by Starlight_VLD. Another Soap gets turned into Makarov's assassin fic, this time with body doubles!! it's beautiful, it's sad, it's comforting, it's 141 as a family.

Oh, Brother by MeowMeowRiley. Ghost's family lives, and through some work civililan connections, both get roped into helping Soap's sibling move, unbeknownst to each other.

This is Ghost and Soap as Simon and John, seen through the eyes of their siblings, who do wonder 'why the hell are they not fucking yet?'

Military Ghoap AU's

faege by Simcoehole. #3 Simcoehole fic!! Soulmate AU following the MWIII storyline. Ghost and Soap wake up tied together by a red string of fate, declaring them soulmates. Both of them decide that, no, fate must have made a mistake, just because I'm hopelessly in love with him. He doesn't feel the same. I don't want to ruin our friendship. Let's see how we can get rid of this because he deserves better than being stuck with me for the rest of his life. (yep.) A lot of pining, angst, Idiots to Lovers (altho the idiots never really goes away with how fucking bad it is lmao). This is beautiful and it will make you yell at your screen and want to throw things but the worst part is that even though they're being big stupid idiots, when you're in their head you GET IT, you might not agree but you understand why they're comign to the conclusions they are (mostly). It's infuriating in the best way.

The devil has my throat by Simcoehole. Hi, last but certainly not least (with over 400k words) we have the devil has my throat. THIS FIC is what got me into the author, and what got me into the community. This fic is the start of my tumblr account. So, yeah.

Vampire!Ghost and Previously-Traumatised-By-Vampires!Soap. Who has, obviously, not processed said trauma at all, but is also immediatly horny as fuck for ghost. Features: being idiots, a lot of kinky vampire sex (so blood and biting and also some fun surprises you'll love later) a supernatural plot, price who doesn't get told even 10% of what's going on, and my Favorite OC Of All Time Ever.

Thrown for a Loop by enter_fand0m_reference00. Time Loop Alone Mission!!!! need I say more?? no, no i don't. (check out the rest of the series for more time loop shenanigans)

Results May Vary by HigherMagic. HigherMagic is one of my favorite authors so definitely check out all the other works as well, but this is the one I picked out to go on this list. It's wolf shifter soap deciding to woo the shit out of dragon ghost. (with a lot of lore!!! we love lore!!!)

Wont you lay your hands on me by Kensington. ABO but make it make sense! Alpha Ghost, Omega Soap, courting, world-building, trauma processing. absolutely one of my favorite abo fics ever (it's #2)

Yes to Heaven by Apollos_Last_Prophet. Okay but what if Soap was "killed" and taken and been made into Makarov's assassin before the 141 is even a thing?? You get this. The Ghoap is absolutely gorgeous in here.

My heart in your hands keeps going on by FetteEule. Former Military Soap! Neighbours Soap and Ghost! Ghost being forced on leave and fucking hating it, and soap changing his mind on it <3 (also of course price knows soap too)

Collecting Strays by WhisperedWords12. Check out the author again, there are more!! Werewolf soap gets rescued from a werewolf fighting ring and, being military, gets kept by Price and the 141. Ghost does not trust Soap at all.

No Rest for the Wicked by WispScribbles. Retired Ghoap are called back in when Price goes MIA. Mission fic. Feelings. Established Ghoap (theyre marrieddd)

hell hath no fury by sunshowers_and_dandelion_wine. Dragon shifter Soap!! Who accumalates the 141 as his hoard and is super protective and possessive, while trying to keep his being a dragon a secret!

Varium Lupus Division by North927. Sort-of military, sort of not? Post 141, Simon sets up his own division where they rescue and rehabilitate shifters/hybrids. Soap is the latest rescue.

Take Me On by Monsterlice. this is the #1 abo fic. It's got traumatised omega!Ghost who does Not Trust Anyone who goes into heat, has put it off long enough that it might kill him if he doesn't get handled by an alpha. Surprise, Gaz and Price, the only alphas (people, really) he trusts in the world are not here!! and won't be back in time. So, Laswell calls in Alpha!Soap (who will start at the 141 in like, a couple weeks) Features Consent!King!Soap who is absolutely enamoured by this huge feral omega who will fucking kill him if he steps a toe out of line. I fucking love soap in this soooo much.

a patron saint for butchers, fools and living fire by ForgottenFrog. I dunno, don't really want to spoil it by telling too much about it. This is one of the fics that settled into my bones and refused to leave.

(are you tired yet, cuz we've got some more to go)

AU's!

Dark Eyes Meet Under The Sky by Aessedia. (gonna have another one of Aessedia because i could NOT for the life of me choose) University professor Ghost. Grad student Soap. Soap needs a reccomendation for ghost who is known for being grumpy and hating his students. Also, Soap begins talking to a Dom on a kink-related dating website. Wonder who that is.

The Aerialist by Aessedia. LIsten okay Aessedia is just fucking amazing and go check /all of it/ out, because these two are my favorites but all the others are super good as well. Also, happy birthday to The Aerialist!! Aerialistic Acrobats Soap and Ghost who starts as rivals but then suddenly have to work together. Beyond overcoming their rivalry, there is also seemingly someone out to kill or at least ruin the 141 acrobats.

Why Did The Cowboy Take Hay To Bed? by LawfulSlab. Definitely check out all the other works as well they're beautiful. Historical au. Omega Soap and Alpha Ghost are the only two survivors of a convoy ambush. They seek shelter and have to pretend to be married to save Soap's virtue (unmarried omega out all alone, gasp!!) and then they fall in love. It's domestic as shit, and beautiful and the convoy was definitely a plot device to get them here and not something that will come back later as more plot, nahh.

Head of Department by Goblin_Pudding. Professors AU! Rival professors who hate each other, Price forces them to work together and /shit fuck we're in love now/. Including the past coming back to haunt you and Feelings <3. Romcom!!

Yellow Card by eddie_dxaz and skerryB. Football players AU! of course our boys start out having a massive rivalry and then Soap comes on the team and they have to play nice. Featuring homophobia of the world of sports, shitty exes coming back to create chaos, alive Riley family (except Simon's dad).

a pirate's life, aye? by victorianankles. firstly, pirate AU is one of my favorites. WE need more pirate au. Just gonna quote my bookmark of this one:

Soap's voice is the perfect mix of melodramatic, sad, hilarious and that somehow humble cockiness that's all Soap. I laughed so fucking much reading this and everyone should read this too, it's beautiful and I love it and I'm gonna cherish this fic forever

for those who need more convincing; one of the epilogues has soap in lingerie that's made of fancy chains and shiny gems. (i might or might not absolutely need art for this fucking hell)

Spoils of War by WhisperedWords12. RIGHT losers of a war get kept as war prisoners until the losing party signs officially that they've lost or something. They get used as sex slaves by the winning party. This is considered normal by everyone involved, as long as you treat your (temporary) slaves well. Soap gets captured and falls under Ghost's care. They are both not prepared for how much they like the other. (a tag from the fic: Enemies to Something They'd Rather Not Talk About. Which I think is quite fitting.) I love the dynamic in this, it's gorgeous.

RIGHT so that's it. For now. I mean i'd assume it's enough for the forseeable future.

Again, like i said i have more than 400 bookmarks so if you want more reccs, reach out, tell me what you like and I'll dig through my bookmarks and brain to see what i can find <3

Also people dont forget to leave kudos and a comment on the fics. If you dont know what to comment, give 'em this one from me:

✨️✨️💕🫧❤️💀💕✨️✨️

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

As a follow up to you post about mentors, just to make things fair, what are examples of Tikki being a bad mentor to Marinette?

Post in question for context.

Tikki often acts as the voice of the author. She's there to explain why Marinette is in the wrong. Since Miraculous has some wacky morals, that means we get a mix of good advice and wacky nonsense advice.

Two examples of bad advice that come to mind are Gamer and Strikeback. Gamer is the episode where Marinette stumbles upon an Ultimate Mecha Strike tournament, realizes that Adrien is taking part, and decides to compete so they can be on a team together. Marinette wins a spot through her own hard won skills and then this happens:

Tikki: All you wanted to do is spend time with Adrien, there are other ways to do that! Marinette: What are you getting at? Tikki: You know how much Max wanted to be in that tournament. Kim said he'd been training for it all year. Marinette: You're right. All I could think about was Adrien. 

This is how tournaments work, right? They're not tests of skill, but tests of who put in the most work or who wants to compete the most! That's why we had that scene with Marinette writing out her training schedule and motivations for evaluation, but she lied and that was wrong and...

Okay, I was the one lying here. There was no written evaluation because that's not how tournaments work. All anyone cares about is your skills. They don't care if you're doing this for personal glory or to get closer to a boy or whatever Adrien's motivation was because - notably - his motivation didn't matter in this episode about needing pure motives to be allowed to do things.

What if he didn't care about the competition and only did it to get closer to his classmates? That's not even a random guess. It's a valid read because Adrien ultimately gives his spot to Max while claiming that Max is the better player even though Adrien very clearly beat Max at the start of the episode. Ignoring that weird nonsense dialogue, why was it fine for Adrien to compete when he didn't care but wrong for Marinette to do the same? And Max wanting to compete to show off his skills is also a totally selfish motivation, so why does it matter that he wanted it more? Everything about this episode was nonsense and uncomfortably sexist. If Max wants to compete, then he needs to get better at the game. That's how competitions work.

Strikeback is the second part of the season four final and it starts with Marinette mourning the fact that "Adrien" has left Paris, leading to this:

Marinette: (crestfallen) It's all over, Tikki. Tikki: He'll be back, Marinette. He's just going on a voyage!

Which would be lovely advice if Adrien was a normal boy, but he's Chat Noir and Tikki knows that. She should be freaking out and trying to find a way to get him back to Paris, but then Tikki would have to support Marinette's actions and we can't have that, so instead Tikki gives this nonsense advice because she has to be against whatever "wrong" thing Marinette is doing today.

I could come up with a few more examples, but I think those two paint a pretty good picture of issue one re Tikki. However, when it comes to Tikki, my main issue with her is less a wealth of bad advice - unlike Plagg*, I think she's right more often than not - and more a lack of support. It feels like she's just here to judge Marinette and point out when she's doing something wrong, but a good mentor should be so much more than that.

Kuro Neko is a great example of this. When Chat Noir quits, Tikki just sits back and does nothing while her young charge is freaking out. She doesn't even try to defend Marinette when Plagg is going off about Chat Noir's "ill treatment". For all Plagg's faults in that episode, at least he's doing something about the situation. Meanwhile Tikki literally has two lines in the entire episode! A similar thing happens in Kwami's Choice where Plagg is the one driving them to act while Tikki just wrings her hands in despair.

Tikki: (sighs heavily) What can we do? Plagg: We must free them of that impossible choice. We must… free them of us.

These are not the actions of a mentor. Mentors aren't supposed to just offer judgement about things that their mentee has already done or is considering doing. They're supposed to be a source of support and guidance in hard times, but we never really see Tikki stepping in to give Marinette that kind of advice. If memory serves, she never offers solutions or acts as a sounding board. That role is mainly filled by Alya and I love Alya! It's good for Marinette to have support from a friend, but Alya is also a teenager while Tikki is an ancient being who has seen many Ladybugs go through the kind of struggles that Marinette is going through. I expect her to use that knowledge to help her charge, but she never does. This exchange from Passion perfectly highlights this problem:

Tikki: Don't worry, Plagg... my holder has decided to run away from her real feelings to pursue an impossible love with Cat Noir instead. Plagg: Uh, just to be sure, sugarcube, you do know that Cat Noir and my holder are one and the same person, right? Tikki: I do, but my holder doesn't. Plagg: If she declares her love to Cat Noir, something tells me she'll find out soon enough. Tikki: You have nothing to fear. When my holder is in love, she never gets anywhere. She'll just knit hats and make very complicated plans that will never come to fruition. Plagg: Hmm... ah, then everything's fine.

Tikki, I love you, but by the gods! With a mentor like you, Marinette doesn't need enemies to be miserable! Do you care about her at all??? What kind of mentor delights at their mentee's suffering? Not a good one, that's for sure.

*Quick note: I think that Plagg and Tikki are probably neck and neck for who has given the most bad advice, Plagg just feels like the bigger problem because we don't see him as much as we see Tikki. Since she's tied to the main character, Tikki gives advice in almost every episode and most episodes have decent morals.

Adrien's need for good advice can also feel more glaring because he's so isolated and passive. That makes Plagg's lack of good advice feel more harmful, but Marinette is just as isolated from real advice. Her mentor figures - Su Han, Fu, and Tikki - mostly give orders and judgement instead of support and guidance. It's just harder to spot that fact because Marinette is actively trying to do the right thing, meaning that she's more likely to make mistakes, and it's easy to see why she comes across as a lot less pathetic and a lot easier to judge.

[thebroccolination]

KRISTSINGTO GAVE A COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE QL INDUSTRY, THEIR PARTNERSHIP, AND THEIR PROMISE TO FANS

EDITED 19/3/25: @ysphcpb helped me make sense of some of the wonky subtitles. I added two clarifications below using this same text and color to make them easier to find.

A few hours ago, FEED uploaded an interview in which KristSingto almost made me cry. The full interview is subbed in English and available here on YouTube. It's thirty minutes long, and KristSingto cover a broad range of topics that show how invaluable their seasoned perspectives on the industry are.

If you're new to KristSingto or curious what they've been up to since you last checked in on them, this could be either a very good introduction to them or a refresher. :)

Note: As far as I can tell, the subtitles are mostly fine, but judging by some of the phrasing, I think they might have been auto-translated or else completely done by AI. Like, the subs call KristSingto "Christmas" twice, which I think a human would have caught. (Quick: who gets the angel topper and who gets the star?) Also, there are several times when Krist or Singto is referring to himself in the third person (as you do in Thai), so the subtitles say "he" rather than "I" so you have to pay attention to the context of what they're talking about to avoid confusion. Another day, another reason to study Thai.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Singto said he's gotten in trouble for giving short answers, so he said his main concern is Krist's health. He's said the same thing in other interviews, so Krist already knew. <3 I think he means in general, since Krist has been physically sick more often in recent years, but mental health is also quite important to both of them.

EDIT - Singto: Actually, there's not much I need to tell him, but lately, (what I'd like to say) can be condensed into a short word. And I think he's aware of it. "Health", okay? Short but enough, to the point. And I'm sure he's aware of it.

Krist said he's had to take on more responsibility within his family as he's gotten older. He's been very open in the past about his family's early struggles with money following the market crash in the 90s and how he cleared his family's debts through his work after SOTUS. More recently, he lost his grandmother in 2023 just before his solo concerts in Bangkok and now more recently his grandfather just before "The Ex-Morning" begins airing. He's always been extremely devoted to his family.

Meanwhile, Singto is an only child who lost his mother to cancer in university, so he said his priority has become taking care of himself more. Over the past year he's been very forthcoming about his mental health issues in the past and how he addressed them to get to a much healthier and happier place today.

After everything Krist has been through over the past five years especially, hearing him say he's not sad or stressed just healed something in my heart. I'm really so very proud of him. <3

Singto said that because they've both grown up over the past few years, Krist feels more like an equal to him now. They're only a year apart, but I think since they met in school and Krist has always been a little more excitable and trusting, that gap probably felt wider to Singto. He said they're able to communicate better now and that even though their working dynamic was already smooth, even that has improved.

They also talked about changes in the industry from their joint debut in SOTUS in 2016! I've seen Singto speak in the past about how he wanted to see the "BL" or "Y" removed because he thought it was othering, and in this interview he said he's happy that BL isn't considered strange anymore. As the first in the line of fire, KristSingto went through some fairly harrowing things, and he said that he and Krist weren't sure how people would respond to SOTUS.

Krist talked about the international spread of Thai QL and especially the rise of GL! I don't think the subtitles did what he said justice, so I'll toss the ball to resident GL protector @hallowpen in case there's a better way to phrase what he said in English. I think he essentially said that in the era KristSingto released SOTUS in, Thailand was still in a transitional period where queer media was neither accepted or rejected, and he's happy to see it become a normalized part of society.

EDIT - Krist: Moreover, in this era, we now have sapphic shows too, as in girl-girl pairings, something like that. So it's like, it's great, that we no longer have any of these separate lines (@ysphcpb's translation note: in relation to what he said before this, I think he means lines that separate "BL/Y series" from other types of series, in terms of content and target audience). If the work is good and worth watching, we'll love and appreciate it.

They discussed the importance of partnerships, and Krist emphasized communication above all to avoid fighting. Singto said that in the past they didn't fight, but they did overlook issues by not talking more. He said they're making a more concerted effort to pay close attention to each other's moods and to raise concerns as they develop so they can clear things up immediately.

Krist said he's much more at ease with Singto back. He's spoken in-depth multiple times before this about what it was like for him when he was on his own for the two years Singto was gone, and it wasn't great for his mental health. From the moment Singto left (amicably) to pursue his own path, Krist missed him and was actively trying to persuade him to come back. While GMMTV had been placing Krist in heterosexual lakorn series for years after SOTUS ended, his heart never really seemed to be in it, and I think he always wanted to continue and stay in the BL world. He always wanted the stability of a partner he knew and trusted, and with Singto home (so to speak) he said it's easier for him to plan for the future, which is less frightening for him now. (In 2023 before Singto returned, I really hoped Krist would pair up with Gawin based on the loveliness of their friendship and chemistry onstage and in "Be My Favorite," but it became clear to me over time that even though Gawin is Krist's most beloved nong and a good friend to him, Krist most likely never would have rebranded himself in another khuujin out of respect to Singto and what they established and built together. For Krist, Singto is and always will be his only partner, I think.)

Singto reiterated how much more smoothly everything is running between him and Krist now that he's come back. (Personally, I think they both really matured and grew enormously as people during those two years on their own.) Essentially, they're both back in their safe zone now that they've reunited, and while they're at a place in their careers where they don't have to fight to be seen or heard, they don't want to rest on their laurels either.

This was by far the most emotional point for me, and it actually got me quite teary-eyed. Krist talked about their fanbase, Peraya, who got so invested in KristSingto based on one series and a sequel in their first two years in the industry together, and then nothing else for years afterward. I've been here for almost five years and like Krist said, all I've ever seen in real time are concert streams and sponsored events. I remember when I became a fan in 2020 the fandom was still super committed to creating SOTUS fanworks and edits even though it was four years old by then. KristSingto obviously knew their fans wanted more series from them, but even back in 2017 they said they had to do what GMMTV gave them, and unfortunately GMMTV didn't yet see BL as a cash cow. KristSingto had the success of normalizing BL, but their fandom has had to wait this long to be rewarded for it with another KristSingto series.

And Krist promised not to disappoint. Which, of course, I trust. <3

See the full interview below:

(I'm calling them the Christmas Couple from now on and no one can stop me.)

[headcanonsandmore]

A non-exhaustive collection of my Doctor Who hot takes:

Thirteen has now taken Nine's position of "most underrated modern Doctor". I bet you people are already recommending "skip thirteen" as part of their advice to new fans. I hate this.

Nine's dynamic with Rose is more interesting (to me, at least) than Ten's dynamic with Rose. Nine and Rose come across like cool besties who may be getting into QPR territory and are trying to figure it out. Ten and Rose, by contrast, are every sixteen year old straight couple.

I think Six and Mel have a better dynamic than Six with Peri; partially because the writers started having Six be a lot kinder and gentler, and partially because Mel's personality meshes with Six's better than Peri's did.

Eleven is considered the least favourite modern Doctor by most of the fandom not because of anything wrong with Matt Smith's peformance but because a) some people hated that Tennant wasn't playing the part anymore and b) M*ffat hamstrung Eleven's characterisation.

The brigadier definitely improves over time; I found him especially difficult to like during the Third Doctors era but by the Seventh Doctors era he was a lot easier to enjoy watching (and the writers were less okay with him being misogynistic by then; never quite forgave him for being such a jerk to Tegan and Nyssa).

Twelve was the most hated modern Doctor for ages primarily because people had gotten used to attractive young men playing the character and reacted badly when the Doctor didn't look like the fresh-out-of-uni teacher they fancied at school.

Jenna Coleman is really good at Clara but I think she works better as a Twelve companion than an Eleven companion; their dynamic feels a lot more interesting.

The writing of the Chibnall era is fine. Like, a lot of it is really good. For a lot of people, it was never about the writing (as they insisted); it was because they didn't like that Thirteen was being played by a woman.

The extended fam (Yaz, Graham, Ryan and Dan) are severely underrated by the fandom. They all have so much interesting characterisation but you wouldn't know it from the way so many associate them as being "boring".

Some of the first RTD era had really not aged well, especially when it comes to how Martha was treated.

RTD deliberately avoided mentioning as much as he could about Thirteen's era in the sixtieth anniversary specials because he wanted people to forget that era happened. Thirteen's outfit? Burned away. Mentioning every companion? Thirteen's companions are left out. Every love interest mentioned? No mention of Yaz, despite her being the love interest barely three episodes before.

M*ffat seems to actively dislike writing for RTD's companions; in so many of his episodes for RTD's two eras, the companions are either shunted over to the side or the Doctor is randomly rude to them for no reason.

The Timeless Child is less of a canon-breaker than bi-generation.

David Tennant is a lovely man but I don't want him to play the Doctor for at least another ten years. He has so far played three separate versions of the Doctor; that's more than enough.

Going back to my earlier point, M*ffat's writing for Clara got significantly better after Twelve turned up and he had to write a more complicated relationship than "Clara thinks Eleven is cute".

Thasmin is not queerbaiting. Two queer characters falling in love but not kissing or becoming a couple is not queerbaiting. Please actually research what that word means.

I actually really like the season 19 TARDIS team of Five, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa; I know a lot of people think it's overstuffed but I like seeing the characters bounce off each other.

"Kerblam!" isn't an amazing episode but most people who criticise it online have never actually watched it; they just saw an out-of-context photo set and decided they knew what it was about.

The best writing Nyssa got in the classic show was "Legopolis" and "Arc of Infinity"; especially in the later, Sarah Sutton did a great job when she was given more to do than "being the sweet one".

Also, she was (and is) in love with Tegan and vice-versa (but that's not a hot take since they're a canon couple now XD).

I personally don't get the appeal of Four. I know they're considered the "iconic" incarnation for the classic era but I don't get it.

The way Yaz is treated by the fandom now is rather similar to how Martha was treated back in the 2000s (although Yaz doesn't have to deal with people hating her for not being Rose).

[judesmoonbeauty]

𝕁𝕦𝕕𝕖 𝕁𝕒𝕫𝕫𝕒'𝕤 𝕄𝕒𝕕 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝔼𝕟𝕕 𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕦𝕖 + 𝕃𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣

Fan translation only. Accuracy not 100%. Please expect grammatical errors. Creative liberties are taken. Cybird owns everything. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not post my translation elsewhere, claim them as your own, or use them without my permission. Thank you for your support! ☾..

You might want a tissue for a certain part.

Several seasons have passed since then, and now my lover, Jude, dotes on me everyday.

—As if it could be that simple.

Kate: Jude, I’ve got the contracts signed! All three of them!

Kate: These are from a department store we've done business with in the past. And here's-

As I was laying the contracts out on the desk, Jude brushed my bangs back with his fingertips.

Jude: Pff, yer hairs so messy ‘n all over the place. How cute. Good work.

Now, I am a Fairytale Keeper, an employee of Raven Ltd, and Jude’s lover.

I get to live with Jude day in and day out, so it feels like a treat.

(Though I do think he could treat me a little more like a lover.)

Still, I've learned how to handle this cruel and ruthless scoundrel of a boyfriend, and I've got my own way of venting my frustrations.

(I just ate the sweets Jude received as a gift not too long ago.)

(They were delicious.)

Jude: Kate.

Kate: Eep…!

Jude: What’s with that dumb reaction, it’s like a kid’s who’s been caught red-handed.

Kate: I-It’s nothing.

Kate: Anyway, do you another task take for me?

Jude: Nah, I got somewhere to take ya. We’re takin’ the afternoon off, s’come with me.

(Oh?)

Kate: Then, is this a date maybe?

Jude: Dunno, but if that’s what ya wanna think, then it is.

Jude: But if ya love yer job so much, I can leave ya behin—

Kate: I’ll follow you anywhere!

Jude: Then let’s go. Ya got three minutes t’get ready.

I followed after Jude as he said, and eventually arrived somewhere unexpected……

(This is…..)

Several graves were lined up on a small hill bathed in soft sunlight.

Jude: My lil’ sister's grave’s here.

Jude stopped where his sister’s name was engraved.

It looks new compared to the other graves…..

Kate: Was it made recently?

Jude’s stare alone affirmed that it was.

Jude: When a person dies, that’s the end.

Jude: I thought makin’ a grave was just a self-satisfaction fer the livin’. ‘Sides, I didn’t have no remains.

Jude: That’s what I thought, but….

Jude sits down in front of the grave and speaks.

Jude: I couldn’t give her anythin’ she wanted.

Jude: Couldn’t give her a full belly, couldn’t give her a safe place t’sleep — or take her to the moon.

Jude: So, I thought it’d be at least nice to have a place to rest after death.

Jude: I’m a bit late though.

While Jude speaks - the past that will never return flickers in his narrowed eyes.

Jude is a deeply emotional man.

Could also be translated as “compassionate man,” but I opted for the other meaning of “emotional” since I felt it fit the context better.

Even the act of preparing a grave for his sister — must’ve been a struggle for him.

(…..I don’t want to sound like I what I’m talking about.)

(But still…)

Kate: It’s never too late to consider people’s feelings. I’m sure she’s happy.

Jude: Ya really like spewin’ niceties, huh?

Jude: Well, it ain’t sucha bad way to think.

Jude touches my hand with an exasperated smile.

Jude: There’s another reason why I built it, ya bird brain.

Jude: Kate, sit down.

Kate: ….? Sure.

As I sat down next to Jude, he placed his big hand on my head...

Jude: Oy, ya listenin’? This here’s my girl, Kate.

Kate: What are you…..

Jude didn’t bother to look at my surprised expression, rather he looked ahead and kept speaking.

Jude: This one here said the same thin’ as you did - Take me to the moon.

Jude: Ain’t she quite the cruel woman?

Jude: It’s pain, but a promise’s a promise. I’m takin’ everyone to the moon.

Kate: ………

Jude: So, look forward to it ‘n rest well.

For Jude, love is a curse.

We’re heartbroken when it’s lost, hateful when it’s stolen, and resentful when we are betrayed by it.

Even so, once it's been poured out, you can't resist it - it's the root of all evil.

Precisely because he knew what love was, Jude lived his life distancing himself from love itself.

(Love will always be a curse for Jude.)

But now the curse is no longer a thorn that hurts his heart.

Rather, he realizes that the curse may be an anchor for him to live.

I was incredibly happy about that fact, because that's what I've always hoped for.

Jude: Felt I had to tell the only family I had.

Jude: And what are ya cryin’ fer?

Kate: I-I’m not! It’s just your imagination, isn’t it?

Jude: Huuuh, s’yer red eyes are just my imagination?

Jude: Then my eyes must be goin’ to rot. Gotta have that quack check ‘em out.

Kate: Keep making fun of people like that and your sister’s going to scold you!

Jude: Yeah right, she’s on my side. Lookit ya comin’ outta nowhere ‘n actin’ important.

Kate: Hehe….what’s with that. Your so high-handed.

I straightened up and gazed at the grave where his sister rested.

We don’t have any remains or know where she truly rests, but I feel certain this will reach her.

(...I will definitely make Jude happy, no matter what.)

(So, please watch us.)

(And rest in peace.)

A gentle breeze blew, ruffling Jude's and my hair.

Kate: Let’s buy some flowers and come back here again.

Jude simply lowered his gaze and smiled once.

[Transitions to the Harbor]

Afterwards, I dragged Jude all around and had a big meal on the way home.

Jude: What’s the matter with yer belly. It’s real terrifyin’.

Kate: That’s a awful thing to say. Just who was the one who ate the leftover fatty pieces on your plate, Jude?

Jude: Nobody asked ya t’do that.

Jude: Someone got greedy ‘n gobbled it up on their own.

Kate: He’s got a comeback for everything I say.

As our banter went on…..

(Oh….)

I notice a full moon shining above us.

Jude noticed the same thing and suddenly stopped to look up.

Kate: Oh, right! Jude, I read something interesting in a book the other day.

Jude: What’s that?

Kate: It’s said that if you step on the surface of the moon, your footprints will remain for about 100 million years.

Jude snorted as I told him that with pride and confidence.

Jude: I know that.

Jude: There’s lots o’ theories, but it’s ’cause the moon has no atmosphere or water, yeah?

Jude: And it was first discovered by Galileo Galilei.

This line was very tricky to translate due to the usage of “それ” or (that/it). I have a detailed explanation at the bottom.

Kate: You’re….You’re right.

Jude: Thanks fer the lesson…..Professor.

I looked up at the moon again, keenly aware I’m no match to Jude’s wealth of knowledge.

Kate: Hey, Jude.

Kate: If we ever reach the moon, let's leave our footprints on it together.

Jude: Won’t even be able to tell who the footprints belong to.

Kate: Yeah, true…..

Kate: Oh, then how about writing your name on the moon? Like 'Jude Jazza landed on the moon.'

Jude: That’s as tacky as a pack o’ thugs graffitiin’ walls.

Kate: Huuhh…..Mmm, then—

While pondering various things to get Jude to agree, I was suddenly struck with an idea.

(That’s it!)

Kate: On second thought, maybe we don’t need to leave something behind.

Jude: That’s a complete turn-about from what’cha said earlier.

Kate: I changed my mind.

Kate: Because what’s important isn’t what we leave behind, it’s what we live and feel, right?

Jude didn’t want to leave a physical grave for his sister.

He just wanted to convey his feelings and connect with her.

Kate: So, to celebrate when we finally make it to the moon together….

Kate: Let’s kiss each other on the moon.

Jude: S’after tellin’ me to take ya to the moon, ya want me kissin’ ya on the moon? Yer an awfully demandin’ princess.

Kate: The more curses there are the more fun it is, isn’t?

Because these numerous curses will also firmly tether you to the world again.

Jude: Then, I’ll just curse ya right back.

Kate: What..….?

Jude’s fingers scoop up my hair and he places a kiss upon it……

Jude: Let’s kiss in bed when we get back from the moon.

Kate: Wh- Oh….WHAT?!

Jude: Whatta bird-brained reaction.

Kate: W-Well, that’s because you’re being way too honest and sweet, Jude…..

Jude: Oh, so that's why yer face’s all red? What naughty things were ya thinkin’?

Kate: It wasn’t naughty…..

Jude: Really?

Kate: …..I just thought….a kiss wouldn’t be enough…..

Jude: Fuaha! Ya really are a foolish ‘n naughty woman.

Kate: Hey, I’m sure you’ll want to do more than kiss too, Jude!

Jude: Yeah, yeah. Yer gettin’ riled up’s soooo cute. Do yer best at turnin’ me on, yeah?

Since then, our feelings for each other have deepened and I am doted on by my lover, Jude, every day.

—As if it could be that simple.

Kate: This is the contract, this is the quote, and this-

Kate: It feels like I have even more work to do……

Jude: Could just be yer imagination?

Kate: No, it’s definitely not my imagination. The volume is way more than before.

Jude looks at me with his arms crossed in front of the documents and smiles cruelly.

Jude: Ya ate my sweets like a sneak the other day, innit?

My heart skipped a beat when Jude called me out.

Jude: Was s’obvious. Yer sucha careless princess.

Kate: Don't tell me that's the reason for this workload?

Jude: If that’s what’cha wanna think, then sure. Can’t say fer sure though.

Kate: How rotten…! Harassing someone like that after the fact!

Jude: It ain’t harassment, it’s a treat.

Kate: How so?

Jude rests his chin on his hand at the desk, with a wicked expression.

Jude: Yer dyin’ fer my attention, aint’cha? Good, we can be together all the time now.

(This-This guy….!)

Even today, my lover isn’t easy to handle and is incredibly vindictive.

(But…..)

He’s incredibly vindictive, and will remember every single curse he’s made with me until the very end.

And in the depths of this darkness, I find myself loving him with all my heart.

Kate: …..I’ll get all the work done.

Kate: So, please be with me all the time.

(Jude.)

(Let’s curse each other, to the depths of hell.)

Fin.

It’s All Such a Hassle I’ve always remembered what I read in that borin’ arse book. “The total amount of happiness of people is equal.” When I saw that, I thought to myself- Idiot. If that’s the case, then why’s my life so damn miserable. You…….Ya thought I’d say, “Now that I met ya, I can believe these words,” yeah? I wouldn’t say such sweet rubbish, idiot. In fact, I've become even more skeptical since I met ya. Crown fusses over carin’ fer ya so much day in ‘n day out, it’s annoyin’. On top of that, I gotta take ya to the moon. Geez, it’s nothin’ but a hassle. It’s all yer fault, Kate. But, I finally accepted it. Guess this’s just my life. Even if that’s true, I don’t think it’s fair I carry the responsibility alone, do you? —I’ll carry it Kate, ‘n you’ll carry it with me. You’ll probably just smile happily ‘n say, “Got it.” Yer carefree face makes me wanna tease ya. When ya finished readin’ this….ya get what I’m sayin’ dont’cha? 𝒥𝓊𝒹ℯ 𝒥𝒶𝓏𝓏𝒶

[Main Story Master List]

T/N (TLDR): I chose to translate the line using "it" rather than "that" because if Jude used the word "that," then he would've been crediting Galileo with the theory of there being no water or atmosphere present on the moon. Which according to my research, is incorrect because Galileo did believe there was a lunar atmosphere. Apparently, he later abandoned this theory, but he did not believe this at first. Therefore, I chose to use "it" because it could then imply Jude was crediting him to discovering the moon as a separate fact. "It" being the moon itself as the subject of the sentence (though the kanji for the moon isn't specifically used). There was one site stating that Galileo noted a lack of clouds and atmosphere on the moon, but when I reviewed a translated version of "Starry Messenger", his recorded observations, I didn't see that anywhere. Maybe I missed it? Who knows, but this is what I went with. I don't know, maybe it's too much of a creative liberty, but oh well.

Tags: @sh0jun @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 @velisle @nateko @greatwitchsongsinger @injudescoat @aeyumicore @complexivelovely @yuoi-the-magnificent @husbandosandladders @nawlink @justgiulia @vickietickie @greedyqueensfavourite @sharigax @belphiesleftpinkytoe @reimy1164 @barellorkilaam @goustmilk @aceuuuuu @yamaguchisaori @hiphiphooray4val @cosmowgyral @lunaaka @rosalyne08 @8the-perfect-lie8 @voydsoul @kraiyne @midnightsrunaway @czechmatee7

[roll-for-gaslight]

While I think Sklonda is right to be critical of the Bad Kids and specifically Kristen, I think that a lot of the reason she did so is that she was missing a lot of context the other parents were given. We see in Freshman Year that she’s often given the information about their quests from Riz, several hours after the fact, and he shares clues with her rather than personal things. He doesn’t think the personal bits are what she cares about because, for him, that’s not the problem being solved. He’s happy with his friends and she only really would hear if one of them caused a problem. Her apartment isn’t a hangout like Seacaster Manor, Mordred Manor, the Thistlespring Tree, or even Gilear’s season one apartment were. By the nature of her being a single working mother in a difficult financial situation, she often was left out of extracurricular activities.

For example, Mordred is obviously a place filled with a lot of activity, and plenty of kids to give updates on said activity if something slips through the cracks of someone’s retelling. If Adaine leaves out a personal moment because she’s focused on the case, Fig or Kristen or even Ragh could fill in that blank, plus the fact that the other BKs spend a lot of time there means that Sandralynn, Jawbone, and Lydia are usually getting every side of every story. The Thistlespring Tree is where the Bad Kids go not just because it’s a nice place to spend time, but because it’s often directly tied into a plot or subplot! The power source in season one, the satellite in season two, and Gorgug’s artificer journey + the whole Frosty Faire thing going on now! Besides that, the Thistlesprings have raised Gorgug in a way that encourages open channels of communication about his emotions above all else, so he tells them what’s going on! Fabian’s parents over at Seacaster Manor haven’t been involved so much this season, but Bill Seacaster saw their bond from the start and taught them how to take care of each other and fight as a group, and Gilear has always been heavily involved in their adventures because all of the BKs have been emotionally invested in him as well!

Aside from that, she’s missing the context of actually being able to attend their quests like some other parents/guardians were able to in Sophomore Year! Gilear and Cathilda and Sandralynn all know things like the fact that everyone was worried about Riz and called him their little angel when he was gone and that Kristen saved him almost at the expense of her own life in the Nightmare King’s forest. She never sees them together, the way they’ll risk everything for each other when the chips are down, the way they all show they care in little ways all the time ( like Fig giving him the card or Fabian’s gifts in Freshman Year). She doesn’t understand that while “the Ball” may have come from a bully on the first day of school, it turned into a term of endearment! She doesn’t see how hard they’ve been trying this year to pass their classes and such, not because it matters to them, but because they know it’s important to Riz. He never even explained the whole needing scholarships thing to them! He showed up with folders on the first day, stressed out of his mind about all of them passing together, and basically decided to get their shit together! Sure, it took Kristen and Fig a little while to do it, but that’s because they were struggling to build better habits!

I also understand how she could think Riz does all of the heavy lifting: when he presents the clues to her and he’s their lead investigator, do you think she assumed other people did the finding? Absolutely not! She doesn’t see the way they put things together by focusing on their individual strengths; she only sees Riz trying to put it all together and find the connections. Why would she know that a lot of the investigative work was done by Adaine and Kristen in sophomore year because so much of it had to do with religion? She wouldn’t!

All this to say: Sklonda is a good mom for checking in with Riz, but she also has a narrow view of things that no one else has. If she were to be exposed to the BKs more often and actually pay attention to how things work between them, I think she would be much more understanding.

[deramin2]

I keep seeing people make the unspoken assumption with The Legend of Vox Machina that large changes made, especially to their most beloved parts, were rewritten that way from the beginning. I don't see a lot of space held for the idea that they might have tried writing things the way they happened in the AP and it didn't work. The things that hit hard in the breadth of an actually play may not emotionally work at all when condensed.

Percy's death and resurrection is a great example. Immediately killing off Ripley and then rushing Percy back home to attempt a resurrection worked really well in the actual play with player/audience knowledge of the gamble inerrant to resurrection and an agonizing week before any resolution was possible. But condensed into an animated show with almost no passage of time, it would take away the weight of that death completely. It would remove the stakes not just for his death, but all others after him.

Multiple resurrection rituals are another thing that worked really well in the AP, but would end up being tedious and repetitive in animation. Especially when they all miraculously work. You don't have a DM telling the audience what the stakes are and then see the gamble pulled off successfully.

In adaptation writers often have to choose between 1:1 events without the context that made them impactful, or changing events so the emotional beats translate. I'd much rather have the heart and the vibe be what's kept.

It's also very silly to say "XYZ didn't happen" when the season hasn't ended and we might not have gotten to it yet. I've seen people be salty about this numerous times only for it to come up in the next set of episodes. You have to be a little chill when you know things got moved around to fit better.

I just feel like if you dwell too much on the desire to see your favorite bits adapted exactly as they happen, it's easy to end up disappointed. And easy to miss why things might have had to change to make a stronger story in a different medium. You have no idea how many times things were reworked to fit before a different direction was taken. You have no idea how much they actually cared and wanted to keep things. Or even what was most important out of a scene to the creators themselves.

The AP was a first draft and sometimes as a writer you have to kill your darlings to better support the entire story instead of specific cool scenes that emotionally miss in the broader context of the story. I'd much rather lose scenes I wanted to see in order to see a whole arc that ultimately hits home on the same emotional level.

[a-queenoffairys]

Code Lyoko Chronicles 2.0

The Code Lyoko Chronicles are a series of 4 sequel books originally released in Italian in around 2010. Set a short while after the season 4 finale, parts of book 1 recap a story similar to the TV series but with a number of small changes (there's no RTTP for example) while the gang uncover some new secrets in the Hermitage that set them on the path to finding Aelita's mother, Anthea. But XANA survived and is coming back for revenge, and the gang's investigation into the secret history of Franz Hopper, Project Carthage and the Supercomputer puts the men in black on their trail as well, not to mention the shady Green Phoenix organisation who funded Hopper's work.

The books were published in a number of languages, but not in English - so that's where the fans come in. As one of the first translation projects we did for CodeLyoko.fr, finishing in 2014, the original completed English release was pretty rough. 10 years later, armed with more translation sources, better resources and many years of translation experience, I decided to take another crack at it. And after many months of hard work and procrastination, I've produced a version 2.0 that I'm pretty happy with.

Links and notes on the various changes under the cut!

New translations!

My co-translator Kelsey and I didn't have a lot of serious translation experience when we picked up where Rhys Davies left off in his English translation project, and we were definitely prone to making mistakes. And it didn't help that for books 3 and 4, a few things got lost somewhere in the process of the text being translated from Italian > Spanish > French > English. I revised our original translation and this time I referenced multiple sources to try and make sure I got the interpretation right. It won't be perfect, but it's definitely better than our original attempt!

The second half of book 2 was based on the official French version, which I discovered was slightly condensed and abridged to lower the page count. The new English translation expands the text to restore the parts that were omitted. I also changed the title from The Nameless City to The City with No Name - there was never an official English translation, but I did find a marketing document with the titles listed in English, and that was the only one that differed.

Here's a page comparison with a few changes, mostly minor, but one big change to the context of Odd and Ulrich's conversation. With my apologies to Kiwi for the original mistranslation.

New formatting!

I got better at formatting Word docs and realised I should have the text alignment set to justify. The books look a lot neater now!

Accessibility!

I added alt text descriptions to all the images, and the PDFs all have a proper table of contents now so you don't have to scroll to the end of the book to find the navigation.

(Note I don't have a lot of experience with detailed image descriptions and I haven't done much testing with a screen reader - feedback is welcome from people who know more about it!)

New scans!

The centre of each book has several colour pages with images and text to supplement the story, and some of the original scans were quite small or had part of the image disappearing into the spine of the book. And the only way to fix it seemed to be to obtain physical copies of the books (probably in Spanish), pull the pages out and scan them flat. So I did. And I think they look great. (Black lines added to hide spoilers.)

My original intention was to upload these to CodeLyoko.fr, but I haven't been able to do that yet, so for now they'll just be available on Google Drive. This translation wouldn't have been possible if not for the other people on the fanslation team - not just my fellow translators, but also all the people who worked on scanning, formatting and editing. Special thanks also to Rhys Davies for kicking off the English translation. You can read more about the Chronicles and the fanslation project here on the website. (Yes I still need to revise the translation of those pages too. Someday.)

So yeah, it's taken a while, but I'm glad I can finally put out a better version of these books for people to discover. Enjoy!

Version 2.0 PDFs here! (Google Drive) ePub versions coming soon.