#it's bc you're a terrible judge of character

[hijinxinprogress]

Young Justice spends all of their time violating the Geneva conventions or mocking their mentors bc they’re traumatized theater kids without any capacity for a verbal filter which is also why they’re not allowed to watch movies at the tower

YJ is watching some hero movie and a character with a gruff voice sternly says “we don’t kill…we’re better than that” so Tim gives the most dramatic sigh and goes “this is giving me back the migraine from our last lecture from the league” which leads to YJ doing their best to dramatically reenact disappointed justice league lectures

Cissie, offhandedly: Most superheroes having that dumbass code that’s some variation of “we don’t kill, we’re better than that…” make me fucking nauseous because who’s we? I’ll have you know my mother assures me that I’m a piece of shit everyday so no I’m not better than this.

Greta, in a mocking disappointed tone: Cissie! I’m very surprised at your behavior, we’ve taught you better than that! We’re here to protect people not to hurt them

Kon, in his best angry Cissie impression: Well, who’s gonna protect my sleep schedule? You woke me up at 3am to stop some idiot that wanted to steal kryptonite? Are you serious?They’re not going to jail they’re going to the nearest cemetery that I can promise you

Anita, in a dramatic hero pose: I’m not like you…you made me realize something, I have friends and people that love me so I’m not going to-

Bart, doing an excellent mimicry of Anita’s unimpressed face: He killed your family wdym you’re better than that, that’s dumb as hell you even look at anyone I know with the tiniest hint of malice you’re leaving in a bodybag

Kon, turning to Bart and making his voice echo the way Greta’s does when she’s annoyed: what is this nonsense I wouldn’t let anyone get away with doing that to you guys I promise they’d suffer immensely

Cassie, hovering in the air doing a terrible impression of disappointed superman: We can’t kill because then we’re no better than they are

Anita, glaring at Cassie with her best Kon impression: I’m okay with that…let’s not pretend you don’t expect this from me, am I supposed to care? They deserve to suffer, why should I be the only one that has to suffer?

Anita, pretending to storm off dramatically while Cassie tries to look disapproving:

Cissie, doing her angry Bart impression: You’re not gonna waste people I actually like then get to chill in jail and breakout in a couple days

Tim, in a dramatic ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed’ tone: I’m not sure how you did things in the future but you can’t do things like this, do you understand?

Cissie, snorting and crossing her arms in the agitated way Bart does: I understand that our first fight will be our last because we’re not doing this shit again I’m not superman

Greta, in a gruff Batman voice: People can change if you give them a chance

Cassie, in a sarcastic Tim impression: I’ll start a timer I’ll even give him five minutes why are you playing with me rn Batman

Bart, sighing disappointedly: You're so angry and I wish you’d find an appropriate outlet for all this aggression. You don’t know what taking a life will do to you, what it’ll take from you….

Tim, in an irritated Kon impression: why not? we can find out let’s do an experiment and find out I like science I’m game hbu??

Cassie, who does the second best Batman voice: Neither of you can even begin to understand-! How do you know you won’t end up ending low tier criminals like pickpocketers? We can’t play judge, jury, and executioner… what happens when you’re wrong? What’s going to stop you?

Greta, fiddling with a phone and shrugging before giving Cassie Tim’s patented ‘I can ruin your life and you’ve just given me a reason’ look while doing her impression of the way Tim stands when he’s pissed and rolling her eyes: Self control? Common sense? When have my hunches ever been wrong? Don’t play with my intelligence, it will not work out for you

Bart, doing his best to copy the way Cassie stands and messes with their hair when they’re pissed: I’m just saying, if you blow up a city block you lose air privileges I have debris in my shoes rn for what?

[JL was meeting with a bunch of reporters in the tower and later had to do a lot of damage control after the press released a statement about the JL failing to rehabilitate young villains]

[possessedopossum]

Why do people love to project their family issues into fictional women so much? [I need to bitch about the way fandom treats Caterina]

I've seen so happen to Leandra. You yell one (1) time at your child on screen and you're the worst mother in Thedas. Obviously women need to learn how to turn their emotions off when they have children and you can't express your negative feelings even if your other child had died a terrible violent death on your eyes 5 minutes ago. Btw you can't explain such feelings in a calmer "healthier" way either bc that would mean therapy speech and that the game has bad writing. No feelings for mothers, okay? They're robots.

Leandra haters walked so Caterina Dellamorte haters could run. While I get it that Caterina isn't beating child abuse allegations, Caterina's image in fan fiction is truly something else.

Since WHEN she is homophobic??? Since when she is racist??? Is there a transphobic line from her I somehow missed? Did she misgender Rook somewhere?

Caterina is a character of questionable morality and yet fandom insists on her being way worse than she already is. Please I beg you pay attention to the source material. She isn't 100% evil. Not only Teia makes it out alive after calling Caterina "nonna", we also learn that Caterina is secretly very fond of Teia. I wonder why.

Caterina doesn't beat the shit out of Lucanis and Illario just because she is an evil abusive control freak. She does so because that's what crow training is. She does so to ensure her last surviving family members continue to stay alive. She isn't throwing her fucking flip flops at Lucanis for bringing home a bad grade on his math assignment. Or just because she had a bad day at work.

If I had to judge her parenting skills, I would be more concerned with Caterina's favoritism and her treatment of Illario. The harshness of crow training has nothing to do with Caterina's personality. She isn't even the worst crow trainer. Whoever trained Zevran, Taliesin and Rinna didn't even care if they live or die. Caterina cared. Mistreatment of Illario is however 100% Caterina's fault.

I would also be concerned with the reasons of her favoritism. Is Lucanis actually better than Illario or is he somebody Caterina can project her grief for her dead daughter into? Her favorite daughter being Lucanis' mother seems too much to be a coincidence. And it paints Caterina in somewhat sympathetic light anyway. You can't grieve for somebody if you have never loved them in the first place.

I don't understand writing Caterina as a terrible (grand)mother-in-law for Rook who romanced Lucanis. There are zero cases of her being rude to Rook. She looked reasonable but stern enough to be the first talon in eight little talons. Ofc she's still hard to deal with and there may be conflicts but there are literally no reasons to believe she is a bigot. Boiling it all down to petty fights between her and Rook for who gets Lucanis looks pathetic. He is ~35, for fuck's sake. And she is what, at least 70? Caterina wouldn't have 8 grandchildren if she was so possessive. Rook is also a god-killer which is a great PR move for house Dellamorte, having not one but two god-killers.

The desire of some rookanis shippers to strip Lucanis of almost everything he is looks so off to me. Death IS his calling. He IS aware that his family isn't exactly perfect, he doesn't need Rook to tell him that. Why is it so hard to understand that people may love something and understand all its flaws at the same time?

The petty envy from some Rooks screams "pls somebody help me I'm very insecure when it comes to relationships and splitting affection" without characters' authors recognizing the envy for that it is. Why do you want Rook to be the center of Lucanis' life so bad? Why do you want to strip him of his love for his family, profession, his friendship with Neve? What will be left of him if you do so?

I'll wait some months before opening ao3 again. It did give me a thousand yard stare. Would like to hope that at least the mischaracterization will go away eventually...

[aqours]

i've shared my thoughts on this in dms with like 3 people so i wanted to put it on paper so i can always get it

so i think one of the biggest questions that goes around tcoaatl is regarding it's incest, asked in both good faith and by annoying antis: "so is the incest... actually like portrayed as bad? or is it just hot and fetishized and romanticized?" and y'know, i think the most genuinely HONEST answer regarding that is this: "it's both." (the later mostly romanticized)

the Graves siblings have a horrifically co-dependent relationship which even the steam page is very happy to make you remember, multiple characters acknowledge it, it's a fucking awful terrible thing and you can make decisions that acknowledge it and its obvious to anyone with two eyes and a brain capable of basic critical thought that realistically while you can do w/e you want in a fanfic in a canon sense there's no way gravecest cannot result in what will ultimately be a lifetime of suffering even if both parties don't want to admit it. you're condemning them both to a chance of ever finding real genuine happiness that can exist without the other

that being said? they're both conventionally attractive and the game doesn't really shy from making its physical intimacy look hot and it's clear that nemlei doesn't want that physical intimacy to be disgusting or something that will make you feel ashamed if you intentionally pursued

i feel like this is the aspect of tcoaal that is debated the most on all sides of the fandom and i just wanted to post my own two cents in that i think the answer is "its both." the extent of how co-dependent these two are is very clear that it's not good and that most likely in the final release the best outcome for these two will probably involve acknowledging it

but also if you were to approach nemlei and just told her "listen i just think it's hot i don't give a shit about any of that other stuff i just wanna ship them." i think nemlei herself would nod and respect your decision completely. probably feed you even more if anything

you're free to disagree with me, i just wanna state my own thoughts somewhere, so i think the answer is a very solid "it's both" when it comes to this. tcoaal portrays the incest as horribly psychologically damaging for these two but also at the same time it's obviously not gonna judge you for liking it and if you find it hot nemlei would never judge you for it i think

but i just cannot in any capacity really take the argument it's a hard one or another seriously. i think if tcoaal wanted gravecest to only be seen as bad and horrifying that nemlei would've made different decisions in writing it bc it's obvious she COULD have if she wanted to, but also it's not fair to say it just makes incest look hot and sexy when it does show how fucked up it's characters are because of it

so... just wanted to say yeah- i think it's both

[66sharkteeth]

Time for weekly thoughts!

Well BOY THAT SURE WAS AN EPISODE, HUH? That...I think most people really liked or hated it so much that they unsubscribed and downvoted the series haha (yes, that happened and yes, I expected it because it happens literally anything remotely gay happens lol).

hm... What is there to really say about this ep? I feel like moooost people got what happened between them after their conversation, but for the naïve, yes they got. uh. intimate (And you can see the rest of their night on my 18+ patreon! ;D).

In all seriousness tho, this is an ep I was equal parts nervous and excited for. Nervous bc it's always a little scary to depict... 1. openly gay relationships in media when you have more than 10 followers lol (and sure enough, had to deal w/ a few nasty comments) and 2. scary to depict unhealthy relationships because we know how the internet can be lol. Thankfully, I think the former turned out to be the only real problem and the opinions of biggots effect me far less because personally I just don't let the opinions of actual garbage get to me.

That said, I WAS excited to get to this episode because it was kind of a huge moment for Jericho's character. And I'm glad...mooost people got what was going on? Judging from the comments? There were definitely a few confused why the scion hates Claude, but most of them seem cleared up by others who 100% got it. TLDR of the entire episode is Jericho does care (a lot) about Claude deep down, but his Scion thinks its lame and weak to have human emotions like love. It's also our first time seeing Jericho not completely in sync w/ his own scion and kind of in the time out that Rex's put him in so often because they don't get along.

Anyway, good for you Claude, even if it was technically really unhealthy that you got rewarded for those actions. And good for Jericho for letting his human side indulge for a change, even if you're now in time out and took advantage of someone in a really vulnerable and desperate state. You two are terrible for each other but glad you had one good night.

Also, I want to print and hang every "Scion is homophobic" comment on my wall. They are literally the funniest fucking thing in the world to me

[blood-choke]

Oh my God wait I have more to say on that. If you need the full scene I'm quoting: https://youtu.be/63708PykTcg?si=Bws3wyRs_TkyxPaH prepare for a lot of yapping

Hear me out. It's the "I don't like to share." Val has made it v clear she doesn't like the thought of sharing mc with Hana and clear bc of her own fears and anxiety surrounding her relationship with mc who remembers nothing about their life together.

and the "what about antionette?" "It's different I don't have feelings for her." Hana feels like the antionette to val bc, and these are just my thoughts from reading, we can see that val does care for Hana to some degree but never to the degree that she does with mc. Or maybe she does and just hides it to keep from getting attached like she was with mc and keeping Hana safe from being another one of the councils victims 🤔

And lastly the "that's bc you TOOK my life" is really getting my brain going. Especially since we see mc begin to question whether or not she wanted this life. Like, the potential behind it is putting me through the wall rn

Anyways you don't have to respond to any of this I just wanted to yap and share these thoughts bc BOY does blood choke get me thinking

hehehe yes i do think Valentina can be quite similar to Lestat in some aspects, particularly with her relationship with mc.

and you're right, she does care about Hana... in her own fucked up way. she keeps her more at a distance than she ever did mc because of that loss, which she is still mourning (even now with the mc back. she's not the mc she remembers) and she just was never able to open herself up completely to Hana. Valentina has treated both Hana and the mc terribly in the past (and the mc, at least, treated her just as bad, too, while Hana more or less just took it silently). she does care about Hana, but with the mc-shaped hole in her chest, she isn't sure how to express it, and now that the mc is back, she feels conflicted about her feelings & wants to show her devotion solely to the mc. and obviously she will get jealous of Hana (or Clear) because unless the mc brings it up, she won't share. exactly because of her anxieties (the loss of memories and how that may lead to mc choosing someone else completely) and she's actually fearful that the mc may judge her or be angry herself about Valentina's relationship with Hana (the mc was a jealous person in her past life). obviously their relationship was never Perfect, but Valentina is definitely being crueler to Hana than she ever has been before, almost like she's "showing off" for the mc, and even trying to drive Hana away. (you can potentially call her out on this in the next chapter)

and because of this Hana is realizing that even though she took the abuse and was always there for Valentina, it doesn't matter; mc is back and that's all Valentina cares about. (even if it's not necessarily 100% true-- to Hana, all she feels is that she's being discarded). that's what prompts her confrontation/conversation with the mc in ch3.

going forward there's a chance for this to change, depending on how the mc approaches the two. even if you're not romancing Hana in the poly there are still opportunities to include her (or exclude her, if you want. you can explore that route, too) and with the mc back, Valentina can potentially open herself up more to Hana than she was able to before, platonically or romantically, with mc's urging.

honestly i feel that Hana was more directly inspired by aspects of Claudia's character than Valentina with Lestat (they just happen to be similarly obsessed with mc/Louis respectively). and while i don't necessarily like to say one choice is "bad" i will say being cruel to Hana does have consequences. but i'm still writing it because i want that to be an option to explore specifically with Hana's character, and i don't necessarily want it to feel like a punishment to the player, but this game isn't exactly a feel-good game, and i do plan to make it hurt. lol

and as for your last point... yes it IS interesting. we'll probably never know if the mc was really consenting at that time (can any human really consent when eternal life is beyond their scope of understanding?) and it just adds another fuzzy layer to the messy onion that is her relationship with Valentina.

[rikiws]

GANG!

I have one of those silly little moot thingies!

(No pressure you don't have to do it if you don't wanna!)

But! What music you automatically assume your moots listen to😼😼

To me, I imagine you fw brent faiyaz or the arctic monkeys, maybe some Daniel Caesar

Dude how did you know that... I fw Daniel Caesar and Brent Faiyaz HEAVY dawg are you psychic 😨 (Kendrick and Don Toliver TOO THE ENTIRE DAMN. ALBUM SIGH... ALSO KESHI I like too many artists this yap won't end so let me just stop myself) I never really got into the Arctic Monkeys but I still think they're awesome musicians, even if the music doesn't hit for me that much personally

I love this game though thank you for this, forgive me if I get any of you guys horribly wrong I'm a terrible judge of character...also I really like to talk about music so best believe I'll be listing a few songs out and explaining them too, very sorry if its a lot to look at 😭

@sugariricookies : you first ofc. I'd say you'd be into something fresh, I don't want to say cutesy bc its not exactly that but close yk. Beabadoobee FOR SURE and New Jeans too. Glue Song - Beabadoobee : its very quiet coffeeshop meetcute with a ton of flowers involved ykyk Melting - Kali Uchis : honestly any song by her bc CMON. I think it matches what you're like really well, if you don't listen to her much How Sweet - New Jeans : can we bfr this song is so heart emoji and you're also very heart emoji are we making sense

@sungbyhoon : Idk bit I feel like you'd be into something a little darker...? Not maybe something like Alt or Grunge, actually maybe yes if its something like Cade Clair or something, but more like Cigarettes After Sex and Chase Atlantic. Also very chill but less upbeat and more mature sounding I'm so sorry if this makes no sense, Another thing I feel like you'd also judge songs not just on the melody but also the lyrics so: Sunsetz - Cigarettes After Sex : Any song by them man bc they're lyrics are basically always so 🙏🙏🙏 Heavenly - Cigarettes After Sex : "Tell me it's love, tell me it's real" MAN 😢😢 LET ME SEE YA MOVE! - Lumi Athena & Cade Clair : HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT IT'S JUST REALLY GOOD OKAY I'M NOT PROJECTING (I might be)

@copyhanni : hey...😼😼 okay but you're giving me Chase Atlantic, The Weeknd, and Tory Lanez full stop. You'd be more chill but also upbeat?? but like less cute and more roadtrip-with-your-headphones-in-esque: Out of My Mood - brian mantra & gate 문 : I think indie would be up your alley too, esp brian mantra I love him sm Bloody Hands - brian mantra : another one, his songs don't have too much going on I think instrumentally and his tone is AWESOME it's just 🔥🔥 Swim - Chase Atlantic : need I say more the synth and drums are EVERYTHING.

@suneng : okay just because you said you like Sunflower I want to think that you really like Metro and Swae Lee (bc SAME.) Also these songs imo seem really nice to study to, and to me you come off as an academic in a way so I think this fits (STEM girlies 🙏): Too Many Nights - Metro Boomin, Future & Don Toliver : the bass the BASS god I love the bass SO MUCH. I remember being a trap hater when I was like 11 chat I was WRONG. I think you'd fw this honestly I'd say its pretty easy to like and super catchy and just very chill Love me Harder - WOODZ : this is a very bassy music selection I'm gonna be so embarrassed if you don't like bass 😭😭 but the guitar here was life changing I think you'd love this Link up - Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, wow there's a lot of people involved in this one hold up: Afrobeats/Raeggaeton I'm not very sure but its really good sigh...honestly I think any spider-verse soundtracks you'd probably love.

@stariikis : not sure what it is but imo you'd be into maybe something softer ykwim? Def have wave to earth on your playlist somewhere there has to be 👊👊 Kind of similar to riri I'd say something a little calmer ykyk: daisy. - wave to earth : such a good song wave to earth man GOODNESS. I think this is such a perfect song for the vibes you give off The Long Drive - tv room : okay tv room is a little eccentric with the hyperpop and everything but I think this is one of the tamer songs from him, much slower tempo than his usual ones but still super upbeat in a way An Art Gallery Could Never Be As Unique As You - mrld : long name alert 🚨🚨 jokes aside I think you'd be into songs with less synthetic instruments in it instead and this song is perfect for that

@nishiriki : okay I really had to squeeze out the brain juice for this one and its gonna be such a huge stretch but hear me out you sound like you like rap,,, maybe nothing too dark lyrics wise like JID but something sort of playful-ish... okay let me just get the songs out I think i'll make more sense then: Two Tens - Cordae & Anderson .Paak : see like something a little silly but still nice to listen to, like the kind of songs you'd play in the car with your friends, otw to some random place to hang out LOVE. - Kendrick Lamar : again, the entire damn album still has me in a chokehold to this day there's no way. This is def my favourite from them all though (and a huge obsession of mine rn) and I think it matches you really well PICK IT UP - Famous Dex & A$ap Rocky : I was obsessed with this like a few years ago and then that dance challenge came and I got obsessed again. I don't think I've ever seen so many interludes in just one song before and it's so well done like its so goofy oml, no but I'd think you'd be into rap that's a little more upbeat, less serious ykyk ++Blueberry Faygo honorable mention here

chat I may have yapped just a tiny bit...okay but I fs missed a few moots since I haven't interacted with them enough to justify the music they'd be into I think 😭 nah but if you want me to write you in too please let me know bc I'd be more than happy to :)

[nocturnal-phantoms-fandoms]

🌀🌈☔🌪️ pleaseeee 🫶🏼

there you go Cat!! 🫶🏼

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing…

ok so I do have a fic summary but its very short and not telling much. also I thought I would avoid talking about this fic in this wip ask round 😩😂 since they’re so short I'll share both of them. 

The Lunar Mystery

1.09.1975 - 30.06.1978 Hogwarts years. Nadia is a Ravenclaw friend of the marauding gang.  Chaos ensues.

It's my OC-focused canon-ish long fic that I am writing. just very slowly. and not in English. 

The New Moon’s Eve

20.10.1979 In another life they were given a chance that they didn't think they deserved

It's a sequel to The Lunar Mystery and also an AU where somebody doesn't die and the consequences of that (its a fix-it, that’s what it is)

you can all learn a bit about it here (its my sideblog that I recommend checking out on desktop bc its prettier and actually usable 😂 )

🌪️Sum up a WIP with a few fic tropes/Ao3 tags.

Erasmus AU!! bc surely you still haven't heard enough about it!!

Alternate Universe: Modern Setting - Alternate Universe: College/University - Polish Remus Lupin - British Sirius Black - Italian James Potter - Polish Lily Evans - German Peter Pettigrew - sirius black is the only british character - author regrets everything - meet ugly - getting together - long distance relationship - cat owner remus lupin - implied/referenced child abuse - teenage runaway sirius black - meeting the parents - fear of coming out - coming out - family angst - remus lupin needs a hug - christmas fluff - first christmas together - sirius’s first polish christmas

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it? 

I have a doc with half assed outline and 0.6 full sentences of dialogue inspired by this pic: 

(This is, this time, full crack) (also, spoilers below)

Remus sometimes goes to house parties where he doesn't know anybody just to get drunk with somebody else’s money. He makes polite conversations, bc he likes to be liked, and it boosts his self esteem. Plus, its easier to talk to random people he doesnt know - no strings attached and all that. 

At the entrance he sees a table with different colored cups. He doesnt know which to pick - he doesn't want people to judge him based on his sexual preferences and to be perceived a certain way - especially since he didn't come here to get laid. A man (he later learns his name is Sirius) appears at his side and they strike a conversation - Remus tells him about his house party thing and that he doesn't even know the host. After they finish talking Remus picks the most neutral option and off he goes. 

Throughout the night Remus sees Sirius going around the party and striking conversations here and there. At some point Sirius finds Remus in the kitchen. Remus suggests ditching a party but Sirius looks back at the guests and says he isn't keen on the idea - Remus assumes he is involved with the guy (James) he saw him talking to earlier. 

In the early morning people start clearing out - Remus walks in on Sirius politely kicking out Fabian and Gideon and starts to realise that Sirius might be the host, so he panics bc of all the things he told him earlier. (He needn’t to, Sirius ask him out on a date ⬇️)

🌈 Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP.

(spoilers for the unnamed house party fic)

“You said you didn't know the host,” said Sirius, “so I thought-” “Yes, and you are the host,” said Remus, going pale with the realisation. “I'm so terribly sorry, I really didn't-” “Can you let me finish a sentence?” he cut him off. “I thought, since we both had a great time – at least, I’m assuming you had a good time – why dont we get to know each other better?” “What?” Remus asked weakly. “I’m trying to ask you out on a date here, Lupin, cooperate.” “I know, I just don’t know why.” “Because we had fun? And because you intrigue me, you little mischievous thing, and I would love to see more of you, hidden under the polite smile and kind words.”

[convenientalias]

Good Books I Read In 2023, Placed In Specific Categories

Inspired by this post by @barbwritesstuff.

Gay and kind of depressing literary fiction.

This is always a genre I'm reading, honestly. These two also have kind of an ensemble cast feel, and multiple queer couples involved.

An artificial intelligence controlled by a terrible government/corporate entity, who has committed much violence in the past but now would basically prefer to avoid casualties, has gained independence and is now working for its own goals.

The similarity here was actually kind of a problem for me bc, reading Ancillary Justice too soon after reading some Murderbot books, I was expecting more humor and badassery from the AI main character, less introspection and tragic backstory. I had to take a break from it and go back to reading it with a fresher mind. Both are very good, though I have yet to read the rest of the Ancillary Justice series.

Self published queer fantasy involving kidnapping/captivity.

These books are not actually that similar but kidnapping is a favorite trope of mine and they all have it in their own way. The Siren's Familiar and Shards of Ice have kind of a rescuing-your-boyfriend-from-kidnappers type plot. Our Bloody Pearl has a pirate-captor/rescuer-enemies-to-lovers type plot.

And Bonds of Hate, which is my favorite of the four, is also the darkest and the most fucked up, with a central couple that not only features kidnapping but also rape, incest, and general abuse. It's a dark book in general--the series has been compared to Game of Thrones, and while I have never read/watched Game of Thrones and have a hard time judging, it definitely has that edgy, grimdark political intrigue feel to it. Definitely a unique read for me.

Melancholy Asian literary fiction.

Please Look After Mom is the standout here for me. I love Shin Kyung-sook's writing in general, and Please Look After Mom is the kind of book that sends you on a soul searching journey about whether you appreciate the people in your life and whether you understand them. Also the saddest of the four so watch out.

Speculative fiction where main character handles fragile diplomatic relations between two peoples, with a lot of loyalty and culture clash.

The Foreigner series has been one of my obsessions this year. I'm reading book 7 currently, and the political intrigue is so consistent and high quality, it's really something. But the Tuyo series was also a highlight for me! It has better slashiness and whump if that's what you're looking for in your fantasy novels about complicated diplomatic relations.

I have yet to finish either series but I'm working on it!

This woman is obsessed with birds.

Okay Untethered Sky and Migrations don't have much in common but I loved them both and. Birds.

I'd recommend any of these books! If you've read any of them or if they look interesting to you, or if you know more good books in any of these categories, pls tell me about it!

[sweettsubaki]

MHA 404 / BnHA 404 spoilers

No but why are ppl mad that Horikoshi actually respects his themes and character building ?

- "Katsuki should have stayed dead for his character arc". No Katsuki needs to save people and be comfortable with both losing and not winning fights directly and learn to live with it both literally and metaphorically.

Metaphorically speaking the part of society this represents needs to die and start anew on better basics as many time as needed to learn from the past.

- "All Might needed to die for Izuku's character arc [bc he's not needed anymore]". No actually Izuku needs to learn to deal with the fact that bad things happen and to move on by choice rather than being forced to bc the ppl are dead. It's also not like ppl helping ppl is a major theme of most super hero stories and BnHA has been pretty adamant about it. How helping someone can actually help others indirectly. The Butterfly effect that's literally talked about in the chapter: how Katsuki saving All Might also saved Izuku from his own heart he still doesn't know how to control.... Like c'mon it's not that hard to understand. And for his own sake bc he got to assuage a bit of his guilt. That's great !

- "ooh bad writing 'cause ppl wishes blablabla" yeah it's not as if Katsuki and Izuku have been used as symbolic representation of their society throughout the manga or that we're in a place where the narration literally told us "How WE became heroes". It's terrible how Horikoshi hasn't lost sight of what he wanted to say and is staying consistent. Seriously how dare he.

Like you're free to dislike the themes ofc, I'm not judging that but ... Why did you keep reading for 400+ chapters if you don't like the themes and the literal POINT of the story.

Heroes' Rising came out 3 years ago, how and why are you still expecting a Games of Thrones season 8 to happen ? Like literally why ? It didn't work there, it would most definitely not work here.

(note that not being satisfied with the execution of these themes is a different story and not what I'm criticizing here)

[transsexualgriffith]

3 about berk and also if youve seen any bad Dostoevsky takes, 7 +17 for bsd, 22 berk ❤️

lord I forgot to do this. luckily you haven't answered the ask I sent you either, so I think we're even.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

oh god on tumblr?? it's not that tumblr isn't still brimming with bad berserk takes, but I am fairly good at evading those, and besides if I wanted some truly terrible berserk analysis, I could simply go on reddit. I think "the ideal culmination of their arcs would be for guts and casca to become king and queen of midland" is, well, I've certainly never heard that one before, but I find it more funny than offensive, and truly bad takes are the ones that feel like the story is purposely being misread to fuel downright dehumanising ways of thinking; so you know what I'm giving this to the racist fyodor x reader blog that talked abt how fyodor would never lower himself to selling his body and then basically went "(like that whore griffith from berserk)" which I still think is one of the most maddening things I've witnessed. perhaps not a berserk specific take, but a tumblr moment if I've ever seen one. ofc if we were talking outside of tumblr I'd have much worse things to show for. you truly got anything from misogyny posting to to blaming people for their csa out there (its a beautiful world), but tbh one of my favourites is the "guts left bcs he was trying to escape griffiths clutches". dostoevsky I'm not sure I can think of anything particularly outrageous, you must understand the true opponent of dostoevskyblr isn't the bad takes its the people trying to disguise tiktok poetry as quotes

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?

okay to start off with I don't think there's a single character in bsd that I truly hate: asagiri is too good of a character writer for this and I think the few that I do feel some disdain towards or find myself unintrested in could still be brought closer to me if asagiri could please get back to writing shoujo-esque character driven party conflicts and novels, instead of playing powerscaling with the 5th dimension. unfortunately i think the worst fanon treatment is that of my favourite characters. would be alot easier if I hated them.

i guess chuuya could almost be counted here, because although I very much like chuuya, he used to. basically be my favourite character (??) which honestly baffles me and I cannot quite understand why, but then again, that was many years ago when bsd was in a very different state, both story and fandom wise. I really don't want to look at much of fanon chuuya content and don't find him outstandingly interesting, but I will acknowledge that it is quite fruitless to complain chuuya should get so much attention even though he's "a side character" when we have asagiri to thank for two chuuya centric light novels with the approximate page count of les miserables.

i also do not really like kōyō and find the girlboss mafioso thing very weird and off putting, but it sucks to say this because there are also alot of people who clearly judge her through the misogynistic lense.

and I think everyone should shut the fuck up about mori and talk about something else. I like mori, but I actually find it quite exhausting how even when you're amongst mori likers they can never ever turn down the morality discourse, enough! I don't care what he is he's not real can we like actually talk abt his role in the story in a meaningful way. please.

this question should've been abt ships tbh fanon sskk is going to make me blast myself into the sun.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

shibusawa content..............my woman!? I swear to god the bsd fandom is four times the size of what it was when I got here (and mind you bsd was never that underground) and yet the fic count has gone up by like ten. and I have likely seen dead apple more than any other living person so I know how bad of a movie it is (though i think you are truly missing out on the sheer amount of homoeroticism if you do not invest in it even a little bit) but no one can deny how visually appealing shibusawa's character design is, so it is crazy to me that people aren't more eager to draw her. I've also never forgiven tiktok for what they did to dazatsu. we used to have it all in like 2017. we were pioneers. but overall I don't feel unsatisfied with fan content for bsd, it's always been expansive.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

i don't know if I have a good answer for this, just because berserk is so extremely appraised that it never feels like there’s a part of canon left untalked about, but I do know that my love for the black swordsman arc far surpasses that of the average berserk fan, and though I see it discussed often enough there really isn't any fanfic or something of the sort focusing on that period in time, which is rather sad for me bcs I think guts cringfail pursuit of femto is very funny. I also just have always liked millennium falcon, and don't feel like others particularly care for the inner workings of the kushan regime, or mule, or the ganishka conflict as a whole which I think is pretty lit. the cosmology lore in those chapters is much more compelling than whatever guts has going on in mage world.

[ouroboros-hideout]

WIP WEDNESDAY WHENEVER

I got tagged by @theviridianbunny thank youuu!

ART

The Kurt drawing I started a month ago is almost finished so I won't show that as a WIP again lol. But I settled on what I want to draw next already and I am way to hyped by the idea (Cyberpunk/Witcher crossover)

WRITING

I write quite a lot lately (or try to). Manly oc stuff because I managed to get obsessed with Alyona. Welp.

Her character introduction for my AU is halfway finished, but I am overthinking if it got a little to shippy (I didn't intendet that in the beginning but it just happened and I like it hehe). Maybe I make my shippy stuff into something extra and name it after the ship to keep the actual AU "cleaner" bc it's not that important for the plot. I don't know! I can't organzie my stuff!

Here's a preview of the introduction tho. For context: It's a backflash and around 2073, the business in Dtown starts to bloom and she comes for a visit to see what the Colonel came up with (try not to cringe by posting your writing but cringe anyway):

————————————————————

A woman got out of the helicopter after them. Relatively tall, slim, athletically muscular, her short black hair was tousled by the wind, the sides of her skull were shaved short. She wore simple, military-style clothing. Cargo pants, lace-up heavy boots, a tactical leather jacket. Everything was kept in black and dark olive tones. If you didn't know any better, you'd say she was from here and it would be easy for her to blend in with the masses in Dogtown. One detail that made her stand out, was a multitude of thin scars that ran from the lower left side of her face across her nose and up to her forehead. Judging by the degree of healing, it was a very old wound. At least on the outside.

She walked confidently past her people, holding a bottle of clear liquid with an elaborately designed label in her right hand. Probably high-proof alcohol from her home.

After a few steps, however, she stopped abruptly and pushed the aviator glasses she was wearing down a little to look over the rim in disbelief and with a raised eyebrow.

"You look old, Kurt," she said blatantly, examined the man in front of her from top to bottom and continued to walk slowly towards the him, then took her glasses off completely and put them in the inside pocket of her jacket.

"It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other, has it?"

Her English was remarkably good when compared to other representatives from this part of the world who were usually up for business in Dogtown. However, she was unable to mask the slight accents common to the Russian language.

Kurt ignored her little teasing and tried to be professional.

"I'm glad you're here too." He couldn't help but welcome her with a thin smile." And it should be about half a year. The last time was in Laos during the negotiations."

Both slowly came to a halt in front of each other. Jago had followed the Colonel discreetly and kept to the background.

"That was six months ago already. Seems like I did good on suppressing the memories about that terrible place“, she answered shaking her head in disbelief.

"How was the flight?" he added tersely.

"Ah," she made a dismissive hand gesture. "Alright. I am getting used to traveling.“ She showed him the bottle she brought with her. „Here's your favorite. Don't worry, I've got more in the helicopter."

Without further ado, she pressed it into Hansen's hand.

For all the people standing by who were not yet familiar with Alyona and her way of dealing with Kurt, this whole encounter must have seemed incredibly strange. They all only knew him as the undisputed authority figure and nobody, except at most his old brothers in arms, would dare to talk to him like that. And even there were limits.

Alyona finally looked with interest at the man standing behind the Colonel.

„And who is the cute little cat? I don't think we've met yet.“

Jago's features froze completely and he didn't think he had heard correctly.

"The cute little... EXCUSE ME?" he replied with audible outrage in his voice.

————————————————————

And I still NEED to write her fucking lore down. I think I got it togehter by now.

VP (new to the list)

Just started to activly making pics on my console and would like to come up with a little series in the future maybe.

Atm I try to make pics for a fun Discord Challenge where I have to show a single day in the live of my V. Since I am still obsessed with a certain disctrict I thought I make it a "Dogtown Days"- Edition. I struggle with the limited set of poses but I'll figure something out.

Yea think that's it for now. I still have so many ideas for a lot of different things but I have to restrain myself and finish some things first before I get lost in my WIP-Limbo.

[mysticfemme]

This is a totally new anon, but I read the ask where you said you think you’re a terrible judge of character and it hit home for me. When I was your age, I’m nearly 30 now, I thought I was really bad at knowing if someone was good person or nice to me or if they were being honest. And this may come off as harsh and you probably won’t heed my advice (bc I didn’t when I was in this space) but the reason I felt like that was because I didn’t have any self-respect and so it felt like those people who were treating me badly were treating me the way I deserved. The only thing that brought it into perspective for me was taking time by myself, going to therapy, and building up my self esteem. I had a sense of self for the first time, and suddenly it was very easy to be a good judge of character, bc you have standards for how you know you should be treated and it’s so easy to see when someone doesn’t meet them when you know your worth.

You should do what you feel is good for you, whatever that is is the right decision, but I thought I might share my own experience to show that what you’re experiencing and the negative things you believe about yourself right now aren’t the truth, and given time and space you might come to realize that

No you're honestly right anon! It sucks but self esteem is so low I'm just convinced I deserve every bad thing that happens to me. I've tried to go to therapy for it but I just can't get my therapist to talk about it. I really want to fix it and have a better view of myself but it just feels like a dead end cycle.

Thank you for sending this anon, i really appreciate it 💞

[rinisbowen]

glad we can agree that ricky bowen isn’t toxic like some like to make him out to be. i feel like he’s judged way too harshly in this fandom and gets the blame for things he doesn’t really do

hi! thanks for this tbh anon <3 it's always nice to see someone agrees with me here. i'm usually just talking and then maybe someone will resonate with it or maybe not.

but honestly it drives me up a wall anon, because you're absolutely right. he's judged incredibly harshly in a way that even characters set up as antagonists initially aren't and haven't been. sometimes it's a josh thing, sometimes it's a nini thing or a gina thing, sometimes it’s a ship thing... but the result is the same. he's a teenage boy who's going through quite a lot of stuff- and he's a good person at the end of the day.

i think people need to remember that as per tim's own statements, the show is about good people being generally good to each other. these are all good kids. and they mess up sometimes too, but they're a theatre family, for better and for worse.

it's potentially main character syndrome in some senses, arguably, where the fact we focus on a main character more (in this case ricky and nini, who do get more focus than the others) means that chances are if they're interacting with a less primary character they're going to be dealing with something related to the primary character... that is what contributes to the ricky's a terrible friend thing. like 'ricky's a horrible friend to big red' no he isn't- he's just the main character. also he does repeatedly support big red so idk what that's about truly.

all these narratives- ricky's a terrible friend to the wildcats, ej should punch ricky for what he did to gina (i see it in fic mostly, but i also have seen it in this fandom more broadly too. maybe someday i'll write about my dislike for the romanticization of violence in fandom), ricky's a toxic person, ricky should've helped this person with their problems even though they're not close and they didn't tell him about those problems so he had no way of knowing, ricky should've done this that and the other thing, etc... it just doesn't accurately portray the story that's being told on this show.

--

also bc it's somewhat adjacent to this topic- if people could stop doing the 'i only ship ricky with therapy' thing i'd love that please and thanks. i can rant for so long about this but it needs to end- it should've never started to begin with. if someone wants me to talk about it i will but- idk if i need to start anything rn haha

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hey not sure if when you answer this I'll write the fic or not but on Antonia scenario...you think Harry would try to hurt her? Bc I'm on the fence here. On the other hand, if he tries to attack it would be ackowldge she is a threat to him. On the other hand...he almost killed Draco...so.

Would he do it? Try to take down a literal demigod is one of the stupidest things he could ever do.

OP is referring to this post.

Well, given the timeliness, I suppose I better answer sooner rather than later.

That said, if you want story advice (this goes to anyone) it's probably best to DM me rather than make posts. But since this is writing advice disguised as a meta I'll oblige.

The Writing Advice Part of the Talk

Write what you want.

It's not about what, I, The Carnivorous Muffin, wants or does not want in a story. It should be about what you want to write and what you want to get out of a story. I have my opinions, I like to think I write well, but that doesn't mean I should be used as a validation thermometer.

If you want to write coffee shop AU where Hermione's an underpaid barista and Tom Riddle's a mafioso who likes his Frappuccino's, then go for it. I won't lie, I will judge your story, but you're not there to please the likes of me. You're there to have fun.

So, again, not what I would do.

But What Would You Do, Muffin?

Depends on the story you're trying to tell here. Like you, I could see it going either way. If it happens though, I think the catalyst would likely be that Harry sees Voldemort and Dumbledore obsessing over Antonia. Like the Department of Mysteries, Harry thinks something nefarious is going on.

This is amplified as, once again, no one is listening to him or telling him any information.

Hermione likely theorizes (as Harry's not... smart enough for this) that Dumbledore may have been compromised. Obviously, Harry's the boy who lived and always has been. So, perhaps Voldemort has set up this Antonia as a red herring while Voldemort plans some terrible threat to Britain.

There's likely a very long period where Harry desperately tries to tell Dumbledore this/convince him of this but Dumbledore's not taking his phone calls. In desperation, a growing sense of impotence, and his own hero complex Harry may travel to Italy to track down Atonia himself. This could very easily escalate into a fight which... does not go well.

I do think it'd require both a) build up and b) massive character development on Harry's end. Harry, in a way, has gotten everything he ever wanted. He's not the boy who lived anymore, but a regular person, just like he's always dreamed. Only... turns out being a regular person isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[tavina-writes]

Tags from @woobifiedvillain

See, I know that this is true of the characters in MDZS, bc it's really funny to me that people argue about which Mr./Ms. War Crimes is really the Worst War Crime Doer of Them All, but it REALLY makes me feel that we would, as a fandom, REALLY not survive any of my old Wuxia faves.

Because like, on a scale of "Xue Yang" to "in his first introductory scene tosses a guy's head severed on the table in a stranger's house (also apparently dug out the guy's lungs and liver somewhere so yeah whoops)" Xue Yang is morally a terrible person in his universe of origin while say, Qiu Chuji is really just a righteous honorable asshole his shixiong keeps trying to child leash. Ma Yu spends most of his time on the page smiling politely and hoping that Poor Hotheaded Shidi's not causing more problems somewhere.

And this isn't even getting into all the background murder people do like it's normal in this universe! There's a woman I ADORE in this universe who's killed 99 people to PRACTICE MARTIAL ARTS. So she can go kill more people better to be clear. Like, she is very much an evil serial killer but I love her!!! She's amazing and she loves her special evil boy very much. The most honorable character in LOCH has murdered 231 people and he's counting but he made sure to check that they were shitty before they got the axe so it's okay! NO REGRETS!

If LQR marched around keeping his kill count list in the triple digits and also have an absolutely iconic scene where he tells a Crimes Person "I have killed 231 people. You're next. :)" the fandom would melt down I feel. Like the "Lan Qiren is not only homophobic but also EVIL" posts would circulate.

Like if we talked about the characters in LOCH the way we do with MDZS it's like, where does the outrage end. Where does it begin? How do you judge? What are we saying about the "brought a 13-14 year old to a killing people party where we kill over a hundred people in total" ?????

"Your og blorbo is a shitty person!!! HE DID CRIMES!!!" and it's like yeah....but Huang Yaoshi is also the sexiest man alive and an absolute tortured dilf so we're stuffing the "ripped out the leg tendons of his disciples," "imprisoned and tortured a man with torture flute music every night for 15 years for the crime of *checks notes* oh yes saying "congrats on your wife being dead!!!! :DDD"" "put his son-in-law and best friend and the aforementioned 15 year prisoner on a suicide boat in a fit of temper," "attempted murder of lots of people who the narrator even SAYS is unreasonable murder lots of times," "lives on a killer maze island avoided by all the neighbors," "killed a servant as an example of "I am very angry!!!"" and "tortures more people with torture flute music" in the closet. His crimes are sexy! I want him to sob in regret in front of his dead wife's coffin in the elaborate tomb he built for her for MORE HOURS. He can't do that if he isn't also instantly regretting his crimes! (Also he loves his daughter. That is very important to me. He's like Wuxia Fantasy Maes Hughes if Maes Hughes was also evil and unstable emotionally.)

But yeah this is kind of why I find the moral outrage of "your fictional little man did CRIMES!!! CRIMES! CRIMES I TELL YOU!" of the meta posts sometimes....really rather funny. "Yeah he did crimes. Do them more! do them harder! do it again! I love crimes!"

it is actually routinely hilarious to me that fandom talks about the number of war crimes everyone has committed and how terrible they are, and "can [X Character] EVER recover from their heinous crimes?????"

And then there's me, who comes from classic wuxia where everyone does approximately 300% more crimes going ????? and then you get. you get this line about REALLY quite minor characters in LOCH Chapter Three "Winds of the Steppes" (emphasis mine):

"Although the Seven Freaks were all very righteous and moral individuals, they were also all very proud and acted very strange, making them well deserving the title of "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan". Each was a master of kungfu and they always worked together, so they have never come out on the short end of the struggle when going up against others in the martial world. Several years ago they got into a fight with the Huaiyang Clan, the seven of them killed over a hundred or so of the Huaiyang Clan members on the shores of the Yangtze. Back then Han Xiaoying was still a kid, but she still managed to kill two foes and the name of the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" were famous throughout the martial world."

Just a causal party brunch to be known throughout the jianghu for! Killed a hundred or so people between the seven of you! This is ALSO the event where the Seven Freaks became sworn siblings though they'd all known and loved each other before this.

I'd also like to mention that uhhh Han Xiaoying, the youngest of the Seven Freaks, is introduced the chapter before (chronologically a few days before this information is given to us by the narrator) as "a fisher girl with a copper oar, about seventeen or eighteen years of age."

The Seven Freaks are well known but hardly major jianghu characters in LOCH. They've killed at least a hundred people together in a fight with a minor clan of thugs sometime ago. That is the level of casual violence that would never happen in MDZS. 😌 Hope this helps explain where I'm coming from.

[gra-sonas]

So just wanted to tell you how cute I found your answer to an ask where you asked are you a terrible Alex fan if you wanna see him hurt. To me that is usually a reason why I watch a TV show cause I just love the hurt/comfort storylines 😅 To this day I think one of my most favourite Teen Wolf episodes is Motel California cause that scene where Stiles is possessed and is trying to hurt himself is just pure perfection. This is one of those emotional whumps that I love. I kinda think those scenes really show how good of an actor someone is. So yeah to me you're not terrible for wanting some hurt and comfort with his OTP after that 🥰 But maybe I am weird so I'm not a representative person to judge 😅

Haha, thank you, nonnie! 🥰 [Sorry that it took so long to answer, but this turned out longer than intended and... uhm... see for yourself? 😳]

I'm usually a huge fan of the hurt/comfort trope (my favorite Sterek fic is the most perfect h/c fic ever), but it pains me (ha!) to think about Alex or Michael getting hurt in any way. 🥺 I want them to have nice things, wrap them in fluffy blankets in front of a cozy fire and feed them hot chocolate.

I think I handle h/c better in fic, bc it all only happens in my head, but seeing Alex or Michael hurt on screen? 😱

Like... [h/c ficlet, blood cw, implied temporary almost!character death, NO ONE DIES]

Michael is sobbing in agony because Alex is bleeding from a chest wound he just can't stop from spilling fresh blood. Alex goes limp in Michael's arms, and he can barely hear Alex breathe any longer.

Michael frantically presses his hand on Alex's wet chest in a poor attempt to apply pressure, but the blood continues to seep into the fabric of Alex's jacket and turns it an ugly shade of dark copper.

Michael is so desperate, he's whispering Alex's name over and over, calling him every endearment under the sun just to get a reaction from him but Alex can't hear him because he's already unconscious. Or worse.

Michael kisses Alex's clammy lips and whispers "I love you, please, Alex, don't leave me. I don't want to live without you. I can't!"

Michael tries to think of something. Anything to save Alex, tears are spilling from his eyes and he can barely see when—

Suddenly, he knows with absolute clarity what to do. He fumbles with his free hand to open the buttons of Alex's bloody jacket before he hits the next barrier. He tears the shirt Alex is wearing to shreds with a single thought and looks at Alex's bloody chest in an attempt to locate the wound. To no avail.

Without further thinking he places his left hand - the one Jesse Manes mangled, the one that Max healed, the one Michael's kept hidden from the world (and his own eyes) for more than two years under greasy bandanas, the one Alex kissed so tenderly when he took the bandana off for good just last night - on Alex's chest, ignores how slippery the blood makes everything, closes his eyes, and then—

His hand starts getting warm. And warmer. It's getting hot, he blinks his eyes open, and his hand is glowing a deep and pulsing red.

Not a second to waste, Michael pushes with everything he has, every ounce of love he feels for Alex, begging for all the stars to align, and the universe to aid him in his quest to save the person he loves more than life itself. He's screaming now, desperate to push Alex away from the brink of death.

He has no idea how long it takes, but suddenly he feels Alex stir in his arms, he's taking a deep gasping breath, he opens his eyes and stares at Michael. "What?"

Michael collapses and falls on his back, pulling Alex with him into the safety of his embrace. He feels like he's about to vomit, but after a few deep breaths, the nausea caused by the overuse of his powers is manageable. Alex struggles against his tight grip.

"Michael? Michael, what's going on? Are you okay? And why is my chest wet?"

"Gimme a second," Michael mumbles. Alex turns in his arms until he faces Michael.

"Michael, have I been shot?"

Michael nods, which isn't a good idea because another wave of nausea hits him.

"And you healed me? Or was it a resurrection?"

"Not sure, you stopped breathing," Michael mumbles. He squeezes his eyes shut before he tries talking again. "Nail polish remover. Backpack," he gets out before he has to stop. The back of his throat tastes like bile.

Alex scrambles to get up on his knees. He looks around and sees the backpack Michael dropped on a nearby chair. He stretches to reach one of the backpack straps and pulls. The backpack topples over and falls down on the floor. Alex drags it across the floor until he can reach inside. He pulls a bottle of nail polish remover out, uncaps it, and turns around to Michael.

He holds the bottle softly pressed against Michael's lips until he's able to take a couple of carefully measured sips. About five minutes later, he's feeling a little less peckish, and he's able to tell Alex what's happened. They are lying on the floor again, facing each other and holding hands.

When Michael's finished, Alex looks down at his chest. "This is incredible, Michael. I don't feel any different than before. Only that my shirt is kind of glued to my chest hair in places. But other than that, there's no pain, nothing," he says, in awe of Michael's new ability.

He leans forward to press his lips against Michael's in a tender kiss. "I also feel you," he whispers. "It's like you're a part of me. It's this golden presence, I don't know how better to describe it."

Michael smiles at him. "I love that. According to Max, I should also be able to share memories with you. I'm just not sure if that uses up more power, and I'm still feeling pretty weak."

Alex captures Michaels stubbly cheek in his hand. "There's no rush, baby. Let's go home when you can walk again. And then we have a lifetime together to explore everything we can do with this new ability and you leaving handprints on me."

"Home and a lifetime together with you? That's all I've ever wanted, Alex."

Alex winks at him. "I know."

"A lifetime of Star Wars references sounds like heaven to me," Michael chuckles. "Let's go home, Chewie."