#like when theyre still adversaries

[junebugsarchive]

hellooo🥺🥺🥺 first off, ive been continuing manager kim and really surprised when i see their writings from ur page, oh my god theyre such a hidden gem since its rare AND so good😭♡ we surely needs more of those man fict💖💖 oh and and andd, may i req for fluuf goo x reader? The one where their first date becomes bad/ruined but then they still make the best of it~~ hehe. Thank u sm have a nice dayy💛💛💛

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 . goo kim

𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐍, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐎? / 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 . . . ♡

summary: all it took was one glance at the bleach-blonde man you passed by in the mall to know he was the one. but will the two of you push past any adversary, the hardest one being namely the first-date-gone-wrong?

pairing: goo kim / kim joon goo x reader

details: no trigger warnings (first time in forever) . all dividers used are from @cafekitsune, pictures from pinterest !

a/n: hey hos did yall miss me >.< i missed yall so much pls shower this with love haha... sorry for the long wait, had a lot going on in my life and zero motivation to write </3 thank you for requesting, i love my mans handsome sprinkled with a shit ton of crazy ♡ enjoy!

the first time you saw goo, you immediately thought, wow this charmingly goofy-looking idiot needs to be mine.

and it worked. you were a bold woman after all; it was 2024, men were disappointments when it came to making the first move. you had went up to him, smiling prettily as you held ur mobile phone up, asking him for his number, surprised at how widely the blonde man had beamed and immediately pushed his coffee towards his disgruntled looking partner wearing sunglasses (it was a mall, who wears sunglasses indoors?), quickly typing his number into your contacts and saving it as 'goo (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡'. you were almost amused at how there seemed to be a virtual puppy tail wagging vigorously behind the blonde as he hands you back your phone with a radiant smile on his face.

and when the two of you hit off through numerous texts, goo finally popped the question – "go on a date w me?" you said yes of course, but anxious to show off your good points, you insisted on planning the entire thing, even going as far to arrange the date tomorrow.

and goo, being the absolute gentleman he was, immediately said okay and stepped back to allow you to take the lead. perhaps you should have asked for his help, though, because the entirety of last night you were frazzled, practically fighting with the staff on the other line to get a table for lunch with the blonde, and planning out your itinerary for the whole day.

and now, you could barely keep your eyes open, placing heavy foundation underneath your eyes to hide your dark eyebags, and after you had sluggishly gotten ready, you were horribly, embarrassingly late. to the own date you arranged.

when you reached the agreed venue, you were mortified to find goo already waiting patiently, in a jacket that looked suspiciously expensive, and looking as fresh as paint.

"hi," you say breathlessly, smiling at him as you walk up to the man. "sorry i'm late."

goo's previously passive face lights up into a smile, and you are instantly reminded of how he looks like a puppy once more. "don't worry about it," he reassures you, holding his arm out like a gentleman. "shall we?"

you smile and loop your arm around his, making your way to the restaurant you had told him the two of you would be going to, attempting to squash your nerves. he was a nice guy, clearly. what could go wrong?

"i'm sorry, your reservation isn't showing up in our system." your face turns pale and your eyes widen in embarrassment as you stare at the waitress, who looked a little irritated by you. granted, the restaurant was bustling with people.

"that's impossible," you splutter, acutely aware of goo quietly observing you by your side. god, this was so embarrassing! "i called the restaurant last night and got a reservation for two at 1pm." you scroll through your chat logs and show her the number you had called.

the waitress nearly rolls her eyes at you as she impatiently explains, "we have multiple locations throughout seoul. you called the one in the far west, and this is the east. now if you would excuse me, i have customers to attend to." with that, she walks away, leaving you frazzled by your own mistake.

a loud growl from goo's stomach makes your eyes flicker to him as he grins at you, unabashed. "sorry." he says, eyes softening as he adds in a lower voice, "hey, it's an honest mistake. don't worry about it, okay? how about we just go to amother restaurant before doing whatever you had planned?"

"are you sure?" you ask uncertaintly. "i feel really bad for making such a stupid mistake though."

"yeah," he grins at you lightly, and the sincerity on his face makes you smile back. "i'm craving tteokbokki anyways."

your smile grows wider and you confidently take the lead. "i know just the place."

you were kind of regretting your decision now. not that it was goo's fault; you probably should have thought the place you were bringing him through before taking him here. the man was still an absolute gentleman and didn't complain, but you saw his nose wrinkle slightly when you stepped into the cheap-looking place, cringing a little when his prada shoes accidentally kicked against a trashbag in the corner.

you felt ashamed of yourself for bringing a first date to such a poorly kept place as this. but you honestly thought the tteok was good, and the aunty who served them was a kind soul you were familiar with.

the two of you sat in silence at the counter after you ordered two plates of tteokbokki, the air awkward around you.

"i'm sorry, is this too poor for you?" you finally break the silence, not beating around the bush as you stared down at the interesting wooden table, not daring to meet the blonde's gaze.

you could feel his stare boring into your hunched form, and you glanced up, unable to decipher his gaze.

"hm? whaddya mean?" goo asks, smiling warmly at you. staring at his attractive face, you feel your cheeks grow hotteras you tuck your hair behind your ear.

"it's just that you look rich," you explain, the smell of fresh tteok wafting up your nose. "so this kind of place probably doesn't suit your tastes. ah, i should've brought you to a more expensive restaurant, right? i apologize." you smile bitterly. you briefly recall all your previous first dates that have gone wrong, and you quietly wonder if you just had a curse with men.

a large, warm hand lands on yours and you blink up at the suddenly solemn blonde man. "don't say that," goo says in an uncharacteristically serious tone. "i mean, we all make mistakes, right? it's the restaurant's fault. yeah, it's definitely the restaurant's fault." he nods to himself, posing in a thinking position with his thumb and index finger forming a 'v' below his chin, other arm propped against his hip.

you crack a smile, slightly startled as he whips around with a mischievous smile on his face as he gives you a wink and delivers the cheesiest line known to mankind.

"besides, i'm willing to go anywhere as long as i'm with you." your eyes widen as you stare at him in silence, and for the first time in his life goo falters, before you throw your head back, letting out a pure, breathless laugh. and goo smiles in relief, watching you with warmth in his gaze.

"alright, mr. romantic," you chuckle, wiping a tear. "that was so corny." goo'd face falls into one of mock offense and he pokes your side, his tone lightly accusing. "you take that back!"

you burst into peals of laughter as you struggle to fight the larger man off as his hands continuously assault your ribs. "wait— i'm sorry!" you wheeze out your laughter, but the man is relentless in his attacks, and his smile only grows wicked as his attacks increase tenfold and you nearly shriek.

behind, in the kitchen, the old lady smiles fondly as she listens to your laughter, recalling the number of times you've come into her shop. of all the times you've came to her, drunk, angry, happy or sad, this has been the brightest she's seen you with a man.

EXTRA: "jagi~" a creepy voice sings from the door, and the blood drains from goo's face as he slowly drops gun to the floor, a chill creeping down his spine as he neevously looks to the doorway. you smile, eyes drifting towards the broken vase you'd bought a month ago, now lying on the floor in broken pieces, then to the newly refurbished sofa, which soft, cotton insides have spilled out from scratches, and to the coffee table, a crack split down the middle.

"hello, darling." goo says meekly, and nearly shrieking as you suddenly drop your bag, pouncing on him as you tugged his ear harshly.

"dammit goo, i just bought a new coffee table. NEW!" you yell in his face. "do you have ANY idea how much it cost me and how much i had to convince the landlord a gangster wasn't living in my house???" goo opened his mouth ready to say that hypothetically, he was sort of a gangster, but another dirty look from you made him wither down.

"hello, gun." you smile sweetly, mood a complete 360 as you turned to the japanese man, who, likewise, greeted you respectfully with a bow of his head. "do you want some tea? i just got a batch of tea leaves imported from japan." he nods, and you smile wider.

"clean this up." you practically throw your boyfriend onto the ground as you turn to the kitchen. "when i come back with the tea, this place better be spotless."

gun watches in amusement as his friendly rival gets up from the ground, whining about his swollen ear. "aren't you going to help?" he pouts, and gun smirks gleefully. "no."

"dick." goo grumbles, but freezes when your voice echoes from the kitchen, "i heard that!" gun snickers, and goo shoots him a scowl, mouthing 'fuck you' as he bends down to pick up the broken vase pieces.

"you missed one." gun points out unhelpfully, inwardly cackling in glee as he watches the poor blonde glare at him, unable to do anything but shuffle forward to scoop the piece up, shuffling to the dustbin to place the shards inside.

thank you for giving goo this woman. gun silently thanks the heavens as he secretly takes his phone out to film the bleach blonde, all domesticated and demure, sweeping the floor and wiping off bloodstains.

[wintergrofyuri]

a lot of the times when ppl talk about the princess its like. ok yeah but you Do realize every princess is part of a greater whole yeah. the damsel is the stranger is the spectre is the prisoner is the tower is the beast is the nightmare is the witch is the razor is the adversary is the damsel. you can pick and choose all you want but theres no separating them.

this is why i dont like princess tier lists. theyre all equal. theyre the same. theyre the same entity. its like asking "which piece of the pie did you like best". ya they were all in individual little containers and different things may have happened to them to change them, but theyre still the same pie.

idk. it just feels wrong.

[paingoes]

cute delta things i didn’t get to focus on as much as i wanted

ie my underrated facts and as of yet unused whump ideas :)

-he literally faints all the time when using his powers and needs to be carried back out. mostly by simon. sometimes by paris :)

-martino has med students!!! they pop in sometimes i never really acknowledged them directly tho. theyre older than delta but not by that much. he is basically a case study to them but some of them do try ti get close and immediately get demoted/reassigned because of “inappropriate attachment”

-i had this idea for martino taking delta to a medical conference. delta having to be on display/used for tests w really green and overexcited students. extremely awkward stay at the conference hotel. delta is probably high for a lot of it tbh.

-also. delta is on a ton of medications to keep his powers elevated. he is only vaguely aware of this. its actually kinda considered doping in universe so most people are NOT aware of this!!!!

-simon and martino fighting more. i like the idea of simon being gentle w delta and martino going out of his way to try and counteract it and dehumanize him again to preserve his conditioning

-simon and paris talks. simon is way too much of a pussy to confront paris head on and i think they generally get along fine? becuz simon is a bystander. also paris pretends not to remember either of the handlers names even though he definitely knows them.

-delta is totally starved for affection but he would not accept it from just anyone i think hes actually kinda picky about it bizarrely enough. hes v distrusting and when his internet friends tried to be nice to him his response was invariably “just fuck off”…. and he actually likes them he just gets mad anyway cause he cant handle it 😭

-delta and paris kinda just hang out sometimes LOL…. paris always (correctly!) feels like hes in an adversarial environment whenever he has to go anywhere for work and delta is usually the only person there he trusts so if theyre not doing anything else its just gossip time.

-incidentally ^ delta was really deliberately not taught anything about history or politics or ethics at the institute because they didnt want him getting ideas but paris is heavy into that stuff and complains about it so much that delta just picks up on it. he absorbs info like a sponge its why he was such a good whistleblower.

-to me this is obvious but paris’s chillness-over-time graph is a bellcurve. like he is AWFUL at the beginning and awful at the end but in the middle he got very close to actually chilling the fuck out. he barely knew delta in the beginning and i think he did v much warm to him overtime and loosen the parameters of their relationship a lot. this is peak chill time. the assassination ruined everything but paris still… liked delta afterwards he was just insane and dangerous and delta was at ground zero of that. 

         (sidenote: some of the early paris chapters are so bad in terms of what he did and how he was written i actually feel the need to retcon some of it? it took a while for me to hit my stride w him, take the early stuff w a grain of salt)

-anyway. people LIKE delta. even though he doesnt talk hes v cute and unflappable in a way that’s very endearing to people even in empire. people do definitely go out of their way to fuck w him and its dehumanizing and they shouldnt do it but its not necessarily mean-spirited a lot of the time they just think hes interesting.

-sometimes it is meanspirited though. wanted to write something w misc soldiers trying to bully him. cause delta is obviously v submissive and incapable of defending himself but he’s also not trained to obey just anyone. in fact he would have some v large objections to that! (also an excuse to write protective paris at the end lol u know theyre dead)

-more simon carewhumper status. i wrote destroyer before i knew almost anything about whump like i didnt even know what a ��carewhumper” was when i wrote it so i was surprised to see someone tag it w that. i guess it’s technically true! anyway i feel bad i let simon fall so much to the wayside. i think delta deserved more comfort over the events of destroyer and his relationship w simon really was very important to him so its on my list.

-thorn era sickfic. maybe the same psychic fever that makes him loopy? might be good for a non-canon bonus i cant tell if it would be more hurt or comfort yet

-this is a lot to get into but if i had to explain the way delta’s powers “worked” i would say that his only true ability is being a conduit. he is not really producing anything he is just tapping into something that is already there. it is not a meaningful difference to an outside party but in terms of what it feels like to use them….. its very psychedelic and psychospiritual and trippy. wouldnt recommend. also i really liked the tag that called delta a mage. its cute bcuz he actually loves pulp fantasy. he would like that :)

[catboygirljoker]

What do Lamia and Xigbar see in each other, personably speaking? Adding this second bit as a clarifier since I'm concerned that just the question alone may come off as snarky no-fun-allowed-ness when I'm genuinely interested. Love learning abt them btw it's like expanded universe lore to me

:3 !!!!!!!!!

"it's like expanded universe lore to me" is such high praise—thats really how i imagine lamias story! like the eventual fic is gonna be as canon-compliant as possible, at least until the end of the story in 3/ReMind—"this is what was happening just off camera left during the Kingdom Hearts™ series" sorta vibes. also similar in that the fic is definitely darker and more mature than the main KH games, but—hopefully—still feels like it could plausibly take place in the KH universe. anyway!

for Lamia, Xigbar is one of the few people he can safely unmask around. Lamia is autistic and has to put a concerted effort into not coming across as rude or mean to most people, but if he fucks up around Xigbar, Xigbar's just like "lmao tell me how you really feel" and doesnt take it personally. Xigbar is a confrontational asshole who breaks social rules on purpose, and Lamia finds him refreshing and easier to deal with than most people, even in the early stages of them knowing each other when their dynamic is still pretty adversarial.

as they get closer, Lamia finds that Xigbar is one of the few people who don't treat him with either revulsion or pity. like, Lamia's kind of off-putting to most people—partly because of the autism rudeness and general awkwardness, and partly because many people can sense the darkness in his heart and are unsettled by it, whether or not they know it's because of a curse and outside his control. even his own friends kinda treat him like a sick stray cat that they need to take care of or a project person they need to Fix. but Xigbar treats Lamia like a whole person, and doesn't coddle or belittle him. Lamia can trust Xigbar to not to try to override his agency or boundaries to help him—not something he can say about everyone!

and Xigbar sees Lamia as...a vision of goodness he can actually respect and understand. Xigbar recognizes that he and Lamia are very similar—they're both pragmatic, cynical, even at times ruthless; theyre not bright-eyed idealists, theyre not bleeding heart altruists. they're also both very traumatized lmao. Xigbar has been so worn down by his grand role that his personhood is down to emergency power, life support systems only—he cannot imagine living long after his mission is done, and fuck everything else besides. he kind of expects Lamia to be the same way, after all the shit they've been through. but somehow, Lamia still clings to some hope for the future in a shaking, white-knuckled fist. they have an understandable misanthropic streak, but they still try their best to treat people well, and still feel a basic moral imperative to care for and protect people.

Xigbar knows he cant write it off as just a cope or naivete. he has to recognize it as strength. it's a kind of strength he had, once—or at least a kind of strength he once tried to attain.

also like they each think the other is a smokeshow lmao. theyre really attracted to each other on a physical and personal level. the life affirming power of He Get My Penits Hord cannot be denied

[fogbreo]

you aren't insane enough, now tell me your favorite chapter in slay the princess and your favorite princess and your favorite ship 💥🔫 /silly

YOURE DISTRACTING ME FROM MY STUDIES /J

okay so. oohh its so hard to choose!!! fav chapter is definitely princess and the dragon with wild and adversary!fury as close second/third. i remember feeling tired of playing the game while trying to 100% it when i stumbled upon princess and the dragon and i perked up like a cat who saw a mouse pass by. its just so AUGH i love how the princess's pov is inverse to tlq's and i love the tlq body reveal and i love how i kept guessing who the voices were (i am. unfortunately a bit face blind but for voices even though i was 30 hours into the game by then) and i love how much potential this chapter has for anguish. what once was one became two then one again. OUGH 😭😭😭😭 theres SO MUCH yearning 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 you can never be whole again 😂😂😂 no matter how hard you try 😂😂😂 some wounds can never be mended 😂😂😂 (im so normal)

(this is getting long oops sorry!!)

as for favorite princess hehe

ngl its hard to choose. i have three princesses in my top 1 🥹 hea, wild, and thorn 🥹🥹🥹 hea was soo heartwrenching. i had a visceral reaction to her. she reminded me so much of myself ngl. i still wish i could be free without fear of disappointment or abandonment by those i care about.

i also saw myself in wild though i saw herAA so as as being similar to smitten in hea. i saw myself in her want for harmony and peace even at the cost of burying negative feelings. her outbursts when that peace was threatened was so. Me. admitting this feels so damning but i Get it. i almost cried when i had to stab her for the 100% ngl

thorn. god im starting to sound like a broken record but i saw myself in her too. tbh relatability seems to be the largest factor for my attachment to a character 😔 her trust issues, her potential for spite, her "if im going down, youre going down with me" attitude, her Sadness 🥹🥹🥹🥹 god i love her. she was my definite top 1 fave princess and chapter before pristine cut (tbf i didnt play beyond one playthrough before pristine cut bc i didnt wanna repeat everything for the expansion)

as for favorite ship. um 🥹👉👈 i like burned bridges 😋😋😋 (massive understatement. i love them im so insane haha HAHA) sometimes i wish i got into the fandom earlier bc idk. it feels like most of the stuff ive seen of them are from early-mid year ago and i was into stp even then!! so idk it feels like i missed a train i wouldve loved goinf on 😔

or Not.. i didnt really like cold until the new fury and cage (broken says "buried pain is still pain" here so i was like Huh. That Reminds Me Of Cold /projecting) so i probably wouldnt have cared. in fact, i didnt even realize the enemies to lovers potential they had in burned grey UNTIL i got attached to cold (i was already attached to smitten) 😭 which is crazy tbh i love enemies to lovers

OH AND OF COURSE SHIFTING QUIET. I LOVE THEM THEYRE SO HEHE I LOVE SHIFTY I LOVE TLQ MWAH MWAH!!!! THEYRE SO PEAK 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

ok yeah thats it 😊😊😊 i hope my word vomit made sense!!

[lesharl-eclair]

recent chinese vettonso webweave explainer

so anyway.. here's the song lyrics translated

還要我等多久 -> how long more will i have to wait 見到你的笑容 -> to see your smile 你在哪裡追求 -> where do you chase after 是否已經擁有 -> what you already have?

你離開的出口 -> the exit by which you departed 變成我的缺口 -> has breached my defenses 只有你的遷就 -> only your giving in 能解我的憂愁 -> can resolve my worries

(start of webweave text here:)

總有人要遠走 -> there's always someone leaving for far away 總來不及挽留 -> and always, it's too late to persuade them to stay 在分岔的路口 -> at every crossroads 在下雨的時候 -> in every rainy season

總有人要廝守 -> and there's always someone waiting there for them 還剪不斷離愁 -> sorrows of parting unsevered, even when cut 別和往事戰鬥 -> don't fight the past 我們不是對手 -> we're not enemies (more on that later)

like hello... tell me its not them. their career parallels for one (caties post :")) . fernando n seb being gremlins but also being so tender but also knowing that they are always 1 brush away from each other. alw closely following but never together. this wwv. sm crossroads sm decisions for them in their long and storied careers and yet theyre somehow still following each other. and rain..... rain in suzuka 2022 especially. my god were they close. isn't suzuka something special!!!! seb and rain. nano and rain (lol). and fernando carrying sebs legacy at aston?!?! in some sense. building off the other's work. there's always someone waiting for seb (in this case that person is fernando alonso in the aston martin garage at suzuka 2023.) fun fact: that particularly poetic line (sorrows of parting...) lends itself so well to lyric even though it's from a tang dynasty (i think) poet bcs it has such a crazy beautiful form. short sentences and a very musical lilt. and that line is taken from a work titled 相见欢 (happiness in meeting again). that's literally this. more on the form here, and the work here (with english translation) and of course the last 2 lines. don't fight the past. dont fight what you cant change. that doesn't mean don't change. 对手/對手 has a bunch of nuances and is not only opponent, enemy, well-matched adversary, rival, but can sometimes mean partner. grudgingly. so perfect. anyway. end of ramble :)

[hmshermitcraft]

Pirates are swag but what about space pirates!!

The hermit's ship is massive, larger than most pirating ships. The hermits don't need the stealth of speed that other crews have, even though they still have both thanks to doc and tango being absolutely insane with upgrades.

The name changes depending on who you ask. to xisuma, the captain and navigator, the ship is called hermitcraft. To grian, the resident pesky bird and main thief, it's called the barge and doc insists on calling it the hermatrix. One thing everyone on crew can call the ship is Home.

Etho is a mechanic who generally minds his business and seemingly lives in the vents and his partner Cleo is in charge of distraction tactics whenever they go in for a pillage. She has the ability to string up people like mannequins, which is as terrifying as it sounds. Their partner Bdubs is a gardener and makes sure that food and o2 levels are doing good.

Jevin is a stowaway that they didn't notice arriving but can't remember not having, and being made of goop allows for incredible stealth at high speeds. Wels comes and goes, on and off the ship usually whenever he feels like it but when he is around, jevin will goop on over to "annoy" him. Wels secretly loves it.

Etho found doc when he was a kid and they stuck together until beef and Bdubs found them both and rounded them up to join the crew. Nobody knows what doc is exactly, just that he's physically unstable and keeps changing from in times of stress or excitement. The only thing that stays consistent is the prosthetics and the Crocs.

Xisuma couldn't be more proud of his crew. Theyre a big hodgepodge of love, some romantic, some platonic, some familial, but that's why they're so strong against adversaries. They aren't coworkers or business partners, they're family.

Even as he takes a step back from being the captain to play music through the intercoms, he knows he'll never leave them behind.

Technology exists on their ship that doesn't anywhere else. A side effect of Doc and Tango's tinkering, Impulse and Mumbo's focus on efficiency and Zed and Etho's completely bizarre ideas that somehow work. They're undefeated in a fight (well, besides that one time they lost on purpose as a trap but that doesn't count.)

They also work hard to make sure nobody is left behind. Hermits come and go, but they never lose the protection of the family.

Jevin occasionally joins Wels on his jobs. And despite how he lives to annoy Wels, Wels never complains. When it comes down to it, Jev knows how to get a job done fast. And it's no way related to how that gets Wels home faster.

Etho often uses the vents as a way to reach Bdubs' gardens. It's the quickest way there, plus Etho is probably already in one! Then it's just a quick tuck and roll and the sound of Bdubs screaming. No matter how many times, Bdubs still jumps. And Cleo still laughs at him for it.

Nowadays, they don't feel the need to pillage as much. They're pretty much self-sufficient. But, they are known to take down the occasional corrupt corporation or government - just to keep things exciting.

[thegeminisage]

STAR TREK UPDATE TIME. last night we finished off the third season of ds9 with "facets" and "the adversary."

facets:

FINALLY some good fucking food re dax. oh finally finally finally. i absolutely loved this episode start to finish. 10/10 no notes. well no i have two notes 1. it's hilarious that they included leeta bc they didn't have enough characters for all of dax's lives 2. i wish we didn't on-purpose forget that crazy mf who kidnapped her in that one episode...where was he. anyway, aside from those two things, literally perfect

gonna start with the b-plot - nog finally passing his starfleet exams was such a huge fucking deal and it was an even BIGGER deal to me that rom - rom, who initially almost stopped his own kid from going to school because of his brother's influence/ferengi culture in general - got so mad on his kid's behalf he yelled at quark NOSE TO NOSE. not only that, he had a uniform commissioned from garak at a high expense...his son is more important than even MONEY and GOOD FOR HIM!!! my new friend rom.

i'm trying haaard with quark - i liked his scenes in the a-plot - but him fucking with the test is just so horrible. i am begging for even a scrap of character development or even just likability. why can't his schemes and shenanigans be something that doesn't cause emotional harm to other people?? he did a lot of that in the first two seasons, what happened??

anyway, it's cosmic justice that dax assigned him hairbrushing and pregnancy talk in her little ritual. at first i was like i can't believe theyre not gonna make him curzon because he's an asshole and so was curzon but this episode was so enlightened

actually, i had a little spoiler going into this episode. one day i was gooling pics of curzon bc i couldn't remember what he looked like and was so shocked to see ODO! i was like damn is odo mimicking curzon, i thought it was dr mora, what manner of backstory...but then i happened to see the summary for the episode later (i try not to read them, but it happens) and was like ohhh. and it turned out to be perfect

like, the picks for everyone were great - maybe o'brien as tobin was a little mean, that could have also been quark lol - kira was such a perfect feminist trill even with her little voice and sisko made an AMAZING joran (his fakeout was SO fun and i love when sisko calls jadzia old man) but you can't get more perfect than curzon and odo

like, theyre both assholes who go too far sometimes, though obviously they're different KINDS of assholes - odo's grumpiness in generally more benevolent, though not always, and curzon's is much more hidden under charm. they're also both PINING! what a plot twist. it actually explains so much (why he asked for her despite expelling her) and it's like...yeah, jadzia was an adult, but the age difference still made it kind of inappropriate, and he knew enough to know that. and rene auberjonis can play that kind of tortured wish-i-didn't-love-you angst PERFECTLY

and even though he's an asshole, you didn't feel like jadzia's sympathy for him was misplaced, because he obviously did his best to make amends (important!!) and suffered over it a great deal - that his own inappropriate behavior almost cost jadzia something she'd worked her whole life for, and it was nearly a mistake that couldn't be undone. you felt like he actually HAD a wake-up call, unlike a lot of the characters in tng or in a recent case voy who were only sad and made excuses so THEY could feel better without actually attempting to correct course for someone ELSE'S sake. i liked curzon a lot, he had a lot of nuance

also, i gotta talk about odo. since curzon and odo's personalities are so different, it actually makes total sense why they'd want to stay joined...odo gets to be free and easy around others, and curzon gets the joys of being a changeling. odo's rigid personality doesn't complement his abilities as a changeling very well, but curzon's personality kind of does??

curzon sisko reunion was so good too. sisko pointing vaguely at him to an amazed and speechless jake going oh you remember curzon ha ha and getting sort of dragged out of the room. they're SO funny and i love sisko scenes so much

and of course sisko's scenes with JADZIA! i feel like i understand her so much better now...firstly, she's had this sort of sassy personality for a few episodes, so i'm wondering if we are finally sticking with that one? but then she also has this deep-seated insecurity underneath there which could kind of explain away some of her reserved rigidity in earlier seasons - her whole deal enrolling kind of traumatized her, and her "real" personality is starting to shine now that she's healing? all conjecture/headcanon, but i could get used to sassy jadzia! it feels great that she has actual conflict and stuff to say and like, a pretty fun sense of comedic timing also

and now that her character has started to appeal to me i can see how lovely it is that curzon was once sisko's mentor and now sisko is mentoring jadzia on how to confront curzon...also they fucked twins once. and fucked in the mirrorverse. there's so much to unpack. it's a complex fun relationship that i've always LIKED but am only just now starting to APPRECIATE

anyway, wonderful stuff, 10/10

the adversary:

MY BEST FRIEND ODO. "no changeling has ever harmed another" are such fun arc words and i was hoping he'd be the first and he WAS. i think that other changeling technically attacked him first but whatever. it was what i wanted and i GOT IT and he was so fucked up after <3

sisko's promotion!! i always wondered when they'd get around to making him captain, it was always bonkers to me that he started as a commander. he is still ROCKING that beard also but i do pre-emptively miss his hair. also, sisko taking jake's drink at the toast when he tried to steal too much. priceless. he has such dad energy

dax teasing sisko about his baseball gf..........i love this so much for them. i love that he gets a baseball gf and i love that everyone gossips about it behind his back. i also love how much glee everyone took in calling him captain for the rest of the episode. his besties love him so much.........................

changeling plot was so fun because i THOUGHT it was weird for julian to be crawling around in that little hole but the close-up on obrien had me CONVINCED he was the one and ofc also that one traitor guy was there too and he's super squirrelly. so it kept me GUESSING

i do think it's really funny that they used this nice civilized hypo to draw blood though - firstly, it's less secure, because the changeling was able to swap samples, but secondly, on s*pernatural they would have been cutting each other up INSTANTLY. straight across the palm like idiots. they're so fucking civilized in the 2300s.

the return of the self-destruct codes!!!!!!!!!!! GOD THAT WAS SO METAL. everyone went very calmly to their almost certain deaths too.

the fact that kira was the first to ask after odo after he went, sorry, NONVERBAL, and showed up in the meeting room.......that's romance. r, well, it's not but i'll take it and happily.

"you're too late we're everywhere" THEY'D BETTER GET USED TO THE CUTTING!

TONIGHT: kicking off voy s2 with "the 37s" and "initiations." though i do happen to know the former was originally just supposed to be part of s1 lol

[castlebyersafterdark]

i've been writing more of my cabin fic where mike and will are finally coming together. and it made me realise just how difficult they are to write! theyre so harmonious that its really hard to find the adversarial conflict in their dynamic unless theyre specifically fighting, and you always need a bit of adversarial stuff to make a scene move along. not fighting but just... each character on their own 'script', their own train of thought and motivation.

i can vaguely see why some writers resort to making will super sassy or poking fun at mike - somehow mike is easier to do this to, because for mike to do this to will feels too cruel. but will does have his little edge, so i think some writers find themselves pushing that too far. it can be fun, but it's not will - to me anyway.

but writing will is hard! you always say he's easier, but finding who he really is beneath it all, outside of the supernatural stuff, is hard! because while all that informs him, it doesnt inform who he is on regular days, or who he was before it happened. i remember being really surprised to see s3 will when i first watched it - seeing him in summer clothes and just hanging out with his friends was so alien. but of course, will is more than his trauma.

and so i think that to find the balance where he and mike aren't fighting but arent finishing each other's sentences either (they cant do those things ALL the time) is tricky. theirs is such a tender friendship. i'm having such a new appreciation for the writers and how much effort they've put into the complexity of byler's storyline.

Firstly, so excited for your stories 😁😁

And oh yeah, they can be quite troublesome, certainly certainly. Because you don't want them to sound the same - a problem found in a lot of modern fiction I find, and certainly fanfiction. The need to make sure that each character has their own voice and thought processes and personality through the written word and it's trying to connect trains of thought and mental synapses and word choice and expression and how they react to lines of dialogue in conversation.

Some say that writing fanfiction is easier because these characters already exist and you are drawing from an established place - I disagree. In some regards. Because in original writing, that's all you! It's at least something of which you can create and make up personality traits and mental processes and emotions as you please, as long as your writing supports it and you can justify things to make sense in your narrative. The puzzle already exists for fanfic and "borrowed" characters, but some of the pieces are missing and the picture on the box might not be the correct image.

So... resorting to cliche comes in, sounding like a copy of a copy of a copy because you read a lot of other fic (why I have to only read fic in sporadic breaks now as to separate my creativity and existing fic. I don't want to absorb writing style too much which I find I can do when I'm beta reading or binging too much fic). Stereotypes (and not the true, realistic depictions) but fandom stereotypes.

I think it is a pretty easy crutch in conversation to make them hmmm bicker too much or resort to sarcasm. These can be easier to write because yeah, it adds some tension or conflict, however small. But it doesn't always apply. I've read some stories and I just feel... well, why do Mike and Will even like each other in this fic 'verse? What is this? And not for lack of writing skill. It's tough!! You gotta depict BOTH these guys who are long time childhood best friends and also romantically involved, or almost romantically involved, or thinking they cannot be romantically involved.

I still find Mike much more difficult to write and different characters click for different writers!! Hard to parse why. Understand all you mentioned about him, and I don't know. He just takes over so as much as I adore Mike, and as much as he's the leader - Mike rarely leads my way. The capital letter Writers get it, we're let spinning and pacing in the sandbox a whooooole lot.

[thedeafprophet]

🌹for jamie and the princess, and 💜 for maymie?

🌹- An in-game item that you imagine as a gift from the canon character(s) to the oc.

okay I usuallly struggle to answer this question because I can never think of an item.... but I have an easy out with this one:

The Captivating Princess' Third-Best Tiara

A mark of favour? A paltry cast-off? Perhaps both, depending on the Princess' whims. Whatever her reason, it is yours and no one can say that it doesn't sparkle prettily upon your head nor that it doesn't set off the hue of your eye.

Imagine with me, if you will, The Princess behind Jamie in front of a vanity.... where? Perhaps in a changing room, perhaps in their own home... perhaps in The Princess' own bedroom... her hand stroking through their hair before placing the one hand on their shoulder. Leaning close and whispering in their ear that she has a gift for them~

Isn't it so nice of her? So kind and generous, so lovely of her to share with such a favoured individual. Leaning back to grab a box, pulling the tiara from a glass box and placing is delicately upon their head, before placing both hands on their shoulders. My, now doesnt that just look lovely on them.

Like its meant to be.

💜- What’s their favorite memory of the other?

For Jamie, i think the memory is two fold when it comes to the Manager. On one hand, I think when they defeated him at the marvellous is a pretty fond memory despite the otherwise angsty aspects to the situation. I mean, after everything thats gone down prior (see: the bloody wallpaper), having that moment of proving their own capability, of standing up against him, and beating him still holds strongly in their mind. He's so much older, so much stronger, so much more powerful then they are - and still, they won. Is that not enough, to prove themself as worthy? Not equal, theyre not foolish enough to think that, but as an adversary? As a person? They like to think so.

On the other... I think, on a fonder level, its much more quieter memory. Perhaps, the first time he ever sleeps in their prescence. A much rarer thing. Seeing him vulnerable, as human, and the fact the he is so when in a place where they are around.... well, its only fair that they stood and watched for awhile, right?

For May.... i don't think theres any one specific memory. Rather, I think if he ever stopped and thought about it, it would be a collection of little moments. The moments where they've both ended up laughing at one of Jamie's jokes, the times he's carried them to bed after one too many late nights, how infuriantingly and endearingly disobedient they can be.... in all swirls together, into an overall collage of memory. (I do have to wonder how memory goes, for one so old. How easy is it to even pintpoint specific moments?)

Ask Game From Here

[transgenderer]

apocalpyse of herschel schoen reread notes part 2, "Of Raven"

so, @xenostalgic pointed out the formless shapes in this chapter, which COULD suggest that they are running the simulation at low res. but that would be weird, right? how much would you have to modify herschel's architecture for that to work? how human could he possibly be? but it IS distinctive that the teacher is clear, while everything else is fuzzy. would they do that? maybe..

When I do not have to contend with something, it recedes from me, and makes itself formless, and hides in the murk

^this IS very explicit.... maybe they are removing form from things that are unimportant? but later on he describes a specific stranger's conversation on the train. why would that be simulated in detail? maybe only the minds are being simulated, and not the bodies unless necessary? but he also describes his appearance in detail

i guess the references to eating are referring to...learning? from someting? like training on it? or processing data? the eating is important, but idk what it means. i think the eating metaphor may be important going forward

so, previously i had been assuming that herschel had lived a whole life while in the shell, for some reason. but under the simulation hypothesis, maybe the simulation started when he left the shell? and before that are just like, fake memories maybe? im not sure. there's clearly something going on with the holy shell but im not sure what. maybe just authorial convenience....?

i dont think i really "get" herschels objection to the raven test. or, i don't get how it relates to original creation. is it just that the question is too easy...? or like, that the abstraction is too simple, and a sufficiently elabroate abstraction would be good? but that the only complex thing about the material world is the material in it, and not the abstraction thereof? like, the ACTUAL paper is this richly detailed object. but you pretend you dont see the detail, just the simple pattern...? i think this is what he means by the "body"

ok, here's my reading: the structure of the sensory stimuli (especially the people) in the simulation bears a resemblance to "true" life in original creation (which is hosting it). so by observing it, you still experience a shadow of original creation, but the patterns, they have nothing of this sensory structure, theyre simplified abstraction laid on top of the structure. and so pattern recognition is "forgetting" by causing you to focus on the abstraction, and not the stimuli

do we think the "full voice" is some sort of datastream? its nonphysical, right? if herschel is a simulation-incarnation, he could still be able to "broadcast" in "radio signals", without speaking, without agitatng the physical world. and he's rememembering he can output data directly, so he does this. which is why santa can speak in his full voice! because he has an input port too, its jsut been silent

i guess santa is lying, when he says theres no adversary. but there will be no adversary soon, once the simulation is wound down, and night sweeps over it all. if the adversary is the simulation.

[jophiares]

So I found this around, can I ask for Suzaku/ Lelouch?

♥ Send a ship and I'll give you who:

- Gives nose/forehead kisses

- Gets jealous the most

- Picks the other up from the bar when they’re too drunk to drive

- Takes care of on sick days

- Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

- Gives unprompted massages

- Drives/rides shotgun

- Brings the other lunch at work

- Has the better parental relationship

- Tries to start role-playing in bed

- Embarrassingly drunk dancer

- Still cries watching Titanic

- Firmly believes in couples costumes

- Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas

- Makes the other eat breakfast

- Remembers anniversaries

- Brings up having kids

you know i initially read this and was like 'im not doing that.' but then i looked over the prompts and ill give it a short go. speedrun.

*to everyone reading this. do Not expect to be able to get me to write smth just by sending an ask

- Gives nose/forehead kisses

definitely suzaku. however, lelouch especially loves goodbye and goodnight kisses.

- Gets jealous the most

lelouch LMAO my evidence is: code geass episodes 1-50

- Picks the other up from the bar when they’re too drunk to drive

i dont see lelouch being much of a bar person, but he def has a lower tolerance than suzaku. he'll see suzaku and start crying or smth. suzaku does the same thing to lelouch when he's drunk tho haha.

- Takes care of on sick days

lelouch is the caretaker ever. he's incredibly doting. suzaku is good too but no one is lelouch's level.

- Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

suzaku would want lelouch to get some exercise in and get some sun. lelouch ends up just short of drowning (horrible stamina to swim) and with a sunburn. suzaku apologizes by rubbing aloe vera on him

- Gives unprompted massages

suzaku strikes me as the more physically affectionate of the two, esp when it comes to his hands. lelouch is usually sitting at a desk doing fuck all anyway, so suzaku's strongest adversaries are the knots in lelouch's shoulders.

- Drives/rides shotgun

they can both drive, but suzaku likes it more than lelouch does so he tends to drive more. suzaku sometimes jokes abt being his chauffeur

- Brings the other lunch at work

lelouch would not let suzaku leave the house w/o his lunch. sometimes suzaku takes his lunch break to get smth lelouch asked him to get for dinner later.

- Has the better parental relationship

girl lmfao

- Tries to start role-playing in bed

i think they're both pretty good at it/into it. not an every night thing. lelouch is the better actor by far, but suzaku is nothing if not determined.

- Embarrassingly drunk dancer

suzaku would do the robot except hed call it the lancelot or something. might even try to get lelouch to join him to do a move he calls the shinkiro. (lelouch only joins when theyre at home alone. otherwise he just watches him w the most gooey romantic look anyone has ever seen.)

- Still cries watching Titanic

lelouch, easy. he's full on sobbing while suzaku laughs at him a bit. suzaku tears up a little too tho.

- Firmly believes in couples costumes

suzaku. he pesters lelouch into making an updated version of the cat outfits they had. lelouch grumbles and complains but he has a lot of fun regardless.

- Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas

lelouch doesnt believe that this rule should apply to himself because he loves shelling out for those he loves, but hes always incredulous when suzaku shells out. long story short, they both break the rule.

- Makes the other eat breakfast

lelouch will force suzaku to be late to make sure he has his most important meal of the day

- Remembers anniversaries

they both do! anniversaries are very important to the two of them

- Brings up having kids

suzaku would. lelouch had been thinking abt it for the same amount of time as suzaku has, but hes kind of shy abt it lol. theyd def have to talk a lot about breaking cycles!

[coderiderr]

Who is your fave and least fave transformer and why?

YES YES TY AIDEN

Okay so obvious to literally everyone that Thundercracker is my favorite character and BCCC i just love his story. parts of it are really sweet in a way. i love his like hesitance about the senseless violence his cause will commit but like, the really realistic way hes afraid to defect. and also like. hes definetly the sort of noble demon trope but i like his early speicfic view on it "These creatures were never worthy adversaries. The Decepticons are forged through combat, not slaughter." the fact it comes from pity and not respect at first. ALSO his fucking ughh i love this quote "The deadliest weapon is fear". hes still there bc hes afraid. and one day he decides he cant abide any longer but what the decepticons are about to do and he then thye leave him for dead and like. him connecting with earth and watching our TV and gettign GENUIENLY!!! invested in our little stories and adopting a dog and befriending marissa and wanting to becoming a screenwriter, for humans!!! he wants to wrote for humans specicifcally which is why he struggles with writing lol we have different standards and forms. hes so good

Well of popular characters at least its probably well. Megatron most of the time (and mostly really other fans fault). some iterations i do like but most of the time speicific ways hes written or the way ppl interpret what he does leaves a bad tatse in my mouth and kinda emphasizes how much theyre missing when interpreting him or even fucking. other charcters. gonna make me lose my marbles one day.

or unpopular uhhhhhhhhhh motormaster. bro just kinda sucks :/ and is basically abusive towards the other stunticons most iterations and.they never really do anything funw ith him. at least megs has like. good interpretations and fun moments in most stuff going for him

[wrathfuldecider]

ok time to post some of this. cracks dick. part one of crackship analyiss. under the cut becasue it is GODDAMN LONG. made these a few days ago but never posted them

(jic this is in a “theyre all in separate bodies, probably but not neccesarily outside of the construct, and theyre just like chillin)

(from @lady12maiden)

This one is actually rather feasible to me, i guess it helps that the thorn is rather close to the beast/den by nature, even if you can’t get hunted in Thorn. That aside, I think it would be a very quiet and slow romance. Thorn would likely be the first to initiate something resembling a friendship with Hunt through a shared situation, whether it be an actual dangerous predicament or like. They’re both gardening at the same time. 

Alternatively, I think Hunted seeing her with. Ya know. Several Open Wounds all over her might cause him to initiate first with the intention of making sure she doesn’t bleed out before they can heal. Either way, for a long time, they probably describe their relationship as something close to allies. I imagine they’d either be the first to realise they feel that way for eachother, and then just not tell Anyone Ever. It’s not even like they’re keeping it a secret, it just doesn’t occur to them. Between the two of them, though? I think Hunted would catch feelings first, but Thorn would actually realise her feelings first.

When they’re actually together, though? I feel like they’d go to eachother first for anything. Need help making the bed/nest? Thorn gets called first. A scar reopened? Hunted’s the first one she goes to. Opportunist’s up to shit again? They’re discussing it in their little den. (Pun not intended.) Thorn would probably appreciate that hunted’s up-front when it matters, and hunted would appreciate The fact that she’s more calm, less loud and high-energy than some of the others (like, say, adversary or stubborn,) and her likely sharing some of his creature-ish instincts makes it easier for them to relate in general.

Ooh, this is a fun one, it didn’t take long for me to think of a fun arc for them.. Stubborn probably wanted to throw himself at den endlessly, but outside of the construct, she’s probably not interested in combat that doesn't have the end goal of sustenance, and not only is stubborn sapient and also just a Guy She Knows, he’s also too muscly to really taste good. So any attempts to fight her don’t really end in much. But this isn’t about Den and stubborn, so the end goal is that he ends up fighting beast instead. Slightly smaller big monster princess is still a big monster princess!

Beast doesn’t appreciate Stubborn’s attempts as much, either, due to how easy it is to begin with.) though she’ll still take the opportunity to tear into him. Eventually, though, she starts finding more and more enjoyment in her cat-and-angryass-mouse game as he starts becoming a more and more rewarding hunt; getting stronger, more adapted to her, and taking longer and longer to kill.

As soon as Beast starts taking him more seriously, Stubborn gets a rush of adrenaline. And as soon as he manages to properly take her down, a feat that proves harder than even the Adversary, that rush is even bigger. Eventually, they garner a sort of mutual respect for eachother… Which, for these two, means (b)eating the shit out eachother senseless every tuesday. Adversary joins in often i imagine.

But yeah uhh. To summarize beast x stubborn is lion x pumpkin full of meat that willingly threw itself into her enclosure have a good day <3 also yes this is romance to them

actually wait im bored

stp fans give me a niche/made up on the spot slay the princess ship (preferably in asks/replies) and in the morning I'll try and figure out how it would work. voice x voice, voice x vessel, vessel x vessel (hell even narry x voice) r all fair game along with polyships but i might not do more than an ot4,

[samporterbbridges]

consider: the "go fuck yourself" "fuck me yourself coward" meme but it's with sam and higgs

This is basically pre-romance GoldenBridges in a nutshell.

[allseeingdirt]

me :

me : bloodline magic as an allegory for inherited privilege send post