#said what i said if anyone wants elaboration i'd be happy to

[lazy--lillies]

Y'know TOA was a very good stand-alone series but it really shouldn't have been a part of the pjo universe. It bothers the hell out of me too, bc I like TOA!!! It has a lot to say about morality and friendships and siblings and just platonic and familial love in general, something that Rick doesn't really write a ton, and when he does he actually manages to do rlly well (most of the time). But it coming directly of the heels of HOO and trying to wrap up those arcs and including those characters at all was just a huge mistake. Honestly I'd probably be ok if the HOO characters got their own separate follow up series or conclusion novel or SOMETHING to conclude or even continue their arcs (bc let's be honest, a ton of them were left unfinished) but no, no, instead their endings are shoe horned into a series that's part of a narrative that doesn't fit this world. Apollo learning to love humanity is in line with the og PJO series, sure, but it also does so much damage to so much.

Worst offense is what it does to the gods' portrayal. Like, pre-TOA I think most people just generally thought the gods were kinda shitty, but mostly neglectful and still ultimately trying their best. By the end of TOA? I had almost no empathy at all for the gods, WHICH IS BAD!!!! These were the beings Percy fought a war for in the og series, and yet Zeus is likened to an abusive father???

Anyway just had this thought while reading a TOA crit post. Rick could probably do a lot more if he kept exploring different mythologies and allowed them to exist in different universes, instead of Marvel-ing them into one big story. It doesn't work, especially when the cultures those gods come from have very different values, which bleeds into the stories. It just makes the world building look bad.

[xamag-draws]

BBR thoughts 2024

Since I mentioned that I finally dusted off an old project of mine and was ruminating on how I'd remake it, I thought I'd elaborate a little, now that I've solidified some concepts. For funsies

This is gonna be a bit of a long and unfocused one, but I don't share my personal thoughts here often, especially the stuff about my projects I always marinate in. And for once it's something that people have existing context for, so hey why not

So for anyone who hasn't been following me for a gajillion years, The Black Brick Road of OZ was a webcomic that I posted around 2013-2015, back when I was in highschool going on college (which is kinda crazy to think about). It was sort of a darker twist on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, although I definitely leaned a lot more into dark humor more than anything in those first few chapters

I don't think it's available to read anywhere anymore, and I know people have been asking me about it. So here's the full proper archive of BBR, as full as it can be with deceased Flash

I totally used it as an excuse to shamelessly and self-indulgently experiment. It had interactive pages and GIFs and was wayyy too overproduced for what I could handle or what was necessary, but I did have great fun making it while it lasted

Unfortunately, that excess and the fact that I've changed too much as a person by the time I was in college is what ultimately killed it. The direction I wanted to go in was practically unrecognizable from the original idea started back in 2011, so there were many old hold-ups that I felt ruined it

At the time I kinda wished I could start/rewrite it all over, but considering that I pretty much had the entire script done at that point, it felt like a pointless sisyphean task. So I just put it on a shelf and didn't look back for about 8 years, because I didn't know what else to do

Now to be fair, the nature of my art has always been iterative and cyclical; when I feel like my creative juices have run dry I prefer to leave a project to marinate and move on to something else; cycle through other old things and bring in new skills and perspectives into the mix when I'm ready again. Not very productive, but it is what makes me happy to work on my OCs; I'm doomed to hit a wall with them eventually and I need some time to be able to find a new direction

So that said, I'm glad that BBR was left to marinate for that long. I don't think I was prepared, emotionally or intellectually, to tackle it again until now. The Wizard of Oz book (and the entire series of them, really) has always been near and dear to my heart, but there's a lot of context around it that I'm only unpacking now that I'm older

I think I always inherently feel negatively about the stuff I've made in the past, like its faults always jump out to me more than the positives, especially the more time passes. I've never liked that, and I do really appreciate the kind things people have to say about BBR to this day. The fact that it still can be recognized and remembered is very sweet

When I left it, I already found it "kinda cringe", and that feeling only deepened with years. When I took my first look back at it, asking the question "how would I rewrite it now?", at first I took a very cynical approach, as in "everything would have to be torn down"

But the more I sat on it, the more I found that I still see some merit and charm in the ideas I was putting out; I just didn't know how to execute them at the time (not to pretend that I know what I'm doing now, but I certainly know more at least). Turns out a lot of my old concepts could be changed substantially with just a few small tweaks. So I'd say that's a nicer way to think about my previous work

If you haven't seen yet, I posted a first draft of my new designs for some of the characters (the main group, the Goods and the Wickeds). Definitely subject to change, but more or less how I see them now

I'm just playing with these concepts; by no means would I attempt to remake BBR right this moment. Call it a pipe dream among my other ones. But just for fun, this is the direction I'd like to take:

Nowadays I'd probably make it a visual novel, with more emphasis on the visual part than the novel because I'm no English prose writer by any means. It'd still let me play a little with the interactivity while helping cut some corners on the drawing part (only some, I imagine I'd go hog wild anyway)

I've always intended for some events inspired by the sequel books to take place in BBR's past. Stuff like Jinjur's revolt or Ozma's rule preceeds the main events here. So I think it would be fun to follow the past of a few key characters alongside the main story. One chapter focusing on the present quest to see the Wizard, then one focusing on the past events (that are maybe reflective thematically); rinse and repeat

I'm also sticking a little closer to the original text in some regards. Not everything that I enjoy from the books would be translated here, it's still just a very loose fantasy on the material; but I'd like to be closer in spirit at least

I like mature, wise and powerful Glinda, I like kind and vulnerable Tin Man, I like the Wizard being a pathetic yet loveable liar, so I'm sprinkling in more of that for example

I'd like to keep some whimsy, but make it more grounded and a bit more serious to be coherent in tone. I think the original TWWOOZ book was a more realistic fantasy in some ways, even for the standards of the time; I like its simple but vivid tactile descriptions and details like bringing attention that Dorothy needed to eat and sleep

I find it funny that Baum specifically was averse to making his books scary or unpleasant, finding that unnecessary for telling a compelling kids story, but they still can get pretty dark and disturbing, at least for our modern sensibilities. Let's just say that I intend to use the Evoldo and Chopfyt storylines for my purposes. In that way, I feel like a "darker" Wizard of Oz retelling can still mostly be tonally in line with the original and balance it with enough heart and occasional humor

I slowly grew to appreciate the quaint old-timey quality of the original series, as well. The first book is both timeless and very much a product of the 1900s. Originally I tried to give it a little modern or at least anachronistic spin, but it was moreso because it's what I knew best, so these days I'd rather intentionally lean into the time period. Still not fully historically accurate by any means, but at least directly acknowledging the influence

The events of the story span across 40 years of these characters' lives, so I'm drawing inspiration from the entire so-called La Belle Epoque: the time period around 1880s-1920s. Basically I'm cooking, and my soup is old Victorian fashion morphing into Edwardian fashion and slowly inching towards flappers

Some new Dolly outfits

Lots of crazy things, political changes and innovations were happening at the turn of the century, which I think is noted and reflected by Baum in the books as well; the character of Tik-Tok might not blow any minds now, but he was one of the first robot characters in literature at that point; and don't even get me started on Jinjur, etc. Plenty of really interesting stuff one could lightly ponder in an Oz adaptation these days

Aesthetically, art nouveau has always been a big artistic influence for me, and it'd definitely be its time to shine here. John R. Neill's illustrations of the Oz books often keep me company as well. Nouveau architecture in particular fits that fairytale whimsy extremely well imo

I'd allow myself a little bit of art deco here and there, but ultimately its intimidating geometrical splendor is an antithetical to the flowery nature of nouveau and I associate it with a completely different era. Definitely fitting some characters like my Wicked Witch of the West, but shouldn't be overused

One of my main problems with the original BBR was that eventually I lost track of what it was even about; and the original ending felt too mean and unfulfilling to be worth it. Now I'd like to stick to the theme of home and family as my main theme, but in a different, more bittersweet way than in the book

An interesting connection I made is that a lot of my aforementioned older key characters (the Witches, Jinjur, the Nome King, etc) all came from the same reformatory as kids, that's how they know each other. In my recent research I learned that in those reformatories it was usually frowned upon to release the children back to the families, which were seen as the original corrupting influence regardless of the circumstance. The reformatory did everything in its power to cut that connection and make itself the only family those wayward kids were supposed to know and love. That's an unexpected tie into the theme of home that I'd like to explore as well

So yeah that's the current state of it. I have a bunch of outfit concepts I'm slowly cooking, although I'm now sure whether I'd post them... But I do miss these funny guys, and I'm glad some people still do as well :)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for disapproving of my best friend's relationship? (CW for grooming)

Context: about a year ago I (17, transmasc) joined a local group for queer teenagers to hang out and do stuff together (we meet once a week at the library). The group consists of roughly 10 people and I usually get along with all of them, but my closest friend in the group is W (20, transfem). I would say she's my best friend in general, and I think she'd say the same for me. I'm still in high school and W goes to the community college here.

A few weeks ago, myself, W, and another friend from the group, J (18, cis guy) were over at my place. After a while W said she had some news for us - she'd gotten into a relationship! W used to be (and still is) very socially isolated. She didn't have any friends to speak of before joining the group, not even online, so for her to find a romantic partner was super exciting and I was honestly really proud of her. I obviously wanted to hear more about it, so I asked her to elaborate and this is where things go off the rails.

She said that her new girlfriend (let's call her L) was also trans, and that she was 27. She said they'd met in college and started spending more and more time together. She told us she'd honestly just expected to be friends, but over the winter break L officially asked her out, she was elated, and since then they'd been spending basically all their free time together. immediately alarm bells started ringing in my head - I asked her if I'd heard it right, that L is 27, and W responded yeah, and she knows it's a little strange, but she doesn't mind, so whatever.

I tried to calmly tell her that a 7 year age gap is way too much and that it's not a safe relationship to be in. She immediately got defensive, saying she's an adult and she can do what she wants, etc etc. I said I don't care if she's technically an adult, that's still fucking creepy! I asked J, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, to back me up, but all he did was give me that "I don't know, it's not my place to say anything" bullshit. I was genuinely shocked, I thought he would have supported me but he just… waffled. We had all gotten pretty heated, and at this point W had stood up and started shuffling over to the door. She started in saying I was overreacting over nothing, that they'd been together for not even two weeks, and she didn't need my permission to have this relationship. She said she thought she could trust me, she only told me because she thought I'd be happy for her, on and on, and then she walked out.

It's been a few weeks since then, and she hasn't shown up to the group at the library. I've been too scared to text her because she's clearly pissed off at me. I recognize that I wasn't very good at keeping my composure, and I definitely could have been kinder about it, but I was just scared for my friend. It would be worrying if anyone had gotten into a relationship with that much of an age gap - but she has essentially 0 social skills, and hasn't been in a relationship before, so I'm terrified that she's being taken advantage of because of her inexperience.

What are these acronyms?

[sillyhahasilly]

Can we plz have some headcanons for Cal/Andre comforting the other one after a bad day? :) 💗

caldre hurt/comfort hcs!!

such a good idea bro.

when andre has had a bad day it's usually bc smth (bullying) happened at school or he got overwhelmed with emotional anger from whatever. he becomes more snappy and erratic. he has quiet panic attacks where he doesn't cry or shake or anything and all of it happens in his head. others don't notice, but cal isn't others. andre isn't happy that cal can read him like a book bc he doesn't like being emotionally vulnerable, but there is not much he can do abt that.

to comfort andre cal:

let's him angerly rant abt wtv is bothering him. he watches andre get embrassingly mad abt it, but doesn't say anything, letting andre express his emotions w out even jokingly making fun of him because andre rarely opens up anyway.

brings up the upcoming zd and how they are going to show everyone, saying how none of the shit people do to andre means anything bc andre is sm better than them. cal knows how andre views zd as sort of childlike justice and destruction, and letting him fall back on that belief makes andre feel better.

joking around w andre abt unrelated shit to wtv is bothering him. making him smile and laugh and momentarily forget abt life is smth cal is very good at.

planning smth for them to do that he knows andre would go along w without question. he will tell him, pick me up at this time, and when he's picked up he says, let's go here. he leads them to places or things that andre will enjoy.

grounding touch when andre let's him. a hand on his shoulder or back, rubbing circles into his arm or wrist, a hug that's a little awkward.

grounding touch when they cross the line into becoming more of a romantic/sexual unlabeled relationship is different tho. cal will spoon andre and put his arms around him. play with the hair on the back of his neck. kiss his neck non sexually. (nsfw warning) distract him w consensual sexual favors, like blowing him.

when cal is upset it's usually bc of his derealization and dissociation and/or desire to die, sometimes happening for no decernable reason while other times bc smth at school triggered it. he zones out and his conversations and actions are disjointed from reality. think the last scene in the car before the shooting where cal took a while to respond to anything andre said as an example.

to comfort cal, andre:

invites him to do some mindless tasks w him, like play video games. he sometimes w drive them somewhere but tell cal he needs his help w directions from a map or smth bc that keeps cal's mind in the forefront.

I think andre would be very aware of cal's emotional state all the time, even tho it's not obv. cal doesn't think andre can tell at all. andre js doesn't know what to do to help and he gets in his head about it, not wanting to make things worse bc he silently cares sm.

he learned quick that talking abt zd can make things worse for cal when he is in those states, so he avoids it.

he invites cal to stay the night at his house so he can be away from his busy family of whom he would need to mask around.

he js let's cal talk slow and dissociate, whether it's good for him of not. cal appreciates it tho bc he feels like someone is always trying to get him to be normal, so it's nice to js be.

cal likes hugs, so andre hugs him even tho he is weird abt physical affection at times.

when things have been really bad w cal for a while, andre will buy a new video game or cd for them to share together to try and cheer him up. it sometimes works.

there ya go!! if anyone wants to to elaborate on any of this lmk I'd be happy to :]

[hauntingofhouses]

i know I've mentioned my interpretation of mizu's gender a million times on here but i don't think i ever fully elaborated on it.

so on that note i just wanna ramble about that for a bit. basically, it's my reading of the show that mizu is nonbinary, so let me dig into that.

putting the rest under the cut because it ended up being pretty long lol. also here have a cute mizu pic of her being happy and most at ease with herself, symbolised by her letting her hair down. <3 ok let's proceed.

thus, when i refer to mizu as nonbinary, i am interpreting mizu as a woman, but not ONLY a woman. not strictly a woman. she is also a man. she is also neither of these things, she is something in between, while at the same time she is none of these at all. i've said as much many times, but i just don't want people to think that when i say nonbinary, it inherently means a "third androgynous gender" that essentially turns the gender binary into a gender trinary. not only is that going against what the term nonbinary was crafted for (to go against rigid boxes and categorisation of gender identities), but also, not all nonbinary people fall under that category or definition, and that's definitely not the way i interpret mizu.

okay before i go deeper i'd just like to address some important things. first of all, this post is an analysis of canon, and thus everything i am arguing for is about my own interpretation of the show, and not some baseless projected headcanon i am projecting onto the character. please remember there is a difference between an interpretation (subjective; interpretations will differ from viewer to viewer, but ultimately it is firmly rooted in evidence taken from the source material) VS a headcanon (unrelated and often even contrary to what is presented in canon; opinions wildly differ and they cannot be argued for because there is no canonical evidence to back it up).

ALSO please note that nonbinary is an umbrella term. this means that it applies to a vast range of gender identities. other identities that fall under the nonbinary umbrella include agender, bigender, genderfluid, and so on. however, it's my personal preference to use the term nonbinary as it is, simply because i'm not a fan of microlabels (more power to you if you do like them and find they suit you more though!).

also, before anyone fights me on this, let me clarify further that gender means something different to everyone. it's not your biological sex or physical characteristics. but at the same time, gender is not mere presentation. you can be a trans woman and still present masculine—either because you're closeted and forced to, or because you just want to—and either way, that doesn't take away from your identity as a woman. same goes for trans men. if you're a trans man but you wear skirts and don't bind or don't get top surgery, that doesn't make you any less of a man. because gender non-conformity exists, and does not only apply to cis people! some lesbians are nonbinary and prefer using he/him pronouns while dressing masculinely, but that doesn't mean they're a man, or that they're any less of a lesbian. neither does this mean that they're a cis woman.

the thing about queer identities in general is that, like i said, they mean something different to everyone, because how you identify—regardless of your biological attributes and fashion or pronouns—is an extremely personal experience. so a nonbinary person and a gnc cis woman's experiences might have plenty of overlap, but what distinguishes between the two is up to the individual. there's no set requirements to distinguish you as one or the other, but it's up to you to decide what you identify as, based on what you feel. either way, by simply identifying yourself as anything under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, you are already communicating to the world that you are not what a conservative, cisheteronormative society wants you to be.

which is why i find all this queer infighting on labels to be so ridiculous. because we're all fighting the same fight; the common enemy is a societal structure that divides us into set roles and expectations purely based on our biological parts. that's why biological essentialism in the queer community is a fucking disease. because by arguing that women are inherently weak and fragile and soft and gentle and must be protected from evil ugly men, while men are inherently strong and angry and violent and exploitative of women, these people are advocating for the same fucked up system that marginalises and abuses women as well as effeminate and/or gay men.

anyway. i'm going on a tangent. this was meant to be a blue eye samurai post. so yeah back to that— the point i'm trying to make is that there's no singular way to identify as anything, as everyone's views on gender, especially their own, is specific and personal to the individual.

so with that being said, yes you can definitely interpret mizu as a gnc cis woman and that's a totally valid reading of the text. however, interpreting her as nonbinary or transmasc also doesn't take away from her experiences with misogyny and female oppression, because nonbinary and transmasc folks also experience these things.

me, personally, i view her as nonbinary but not necessarily or not always transmasc because i still believe femininity and womanhood is a very inherent part of who mizu is. for example, from what we've seen, she does not like binding. it does not give her gender euphoria, but is instead very uncomfortable for her both physically and mentally, and represents her suppressing her true self. which is why when she "invites the whole" of herself, she stands completely bare in front of the fire, breasts unbound and hair untied. when she is on the ship heading to a new land in the ending scene, she is no longer hiding her neck and the lack of an adam's apple. we can thus infer that mizu does not have body dysmorphia. she is, in fact, comfortable in her body, and relies on it extremely, because her body is a weapon. instead, what mizu hates about herself is her face—her blue eyes. she hates herself for her hybridised racial identity, hates herself for being a racial Other. hates that she has no home in her homeland. thus it is important to note that these are not queer or feminist themes, but postcolonial ones.*

* and as a tiny aside on this subject, i really do wish more of the fandom discussion would talk about this more. it's just such an essential part to reading her character. like someone who's read homi k bhabha's location of culture and has watched this show, PLEASE talk to me so we can ramble all about how the show is all about home and alienation from community. please. okay anyway—

nevertheless, queer and feminist themes (which are not mutually exclusive by the way!) are still prevalent in her story, though they are not the main issue that she is struggling with. but she does struggle with it to some extent, and we see this especially during her marriage with mikio, where we see her struggle in women's domestic spaces.

on the other hand, though, she finds no trouble or discomfort in being a man or being around other men—even naked ones—and does not seem stifled by living as one, does not seem all that bothered or uncomfortable navigating through men's spaces. contrast this to something like disney's mulan (1998), where we do see mulan struggle in navigating through men's spaces, as she feels uncomfortable being around so many men, always feeling like she doesn't belong and that she's inherently different from them. mizu has no such experiences like this, as her very personality and approach to life is what can be categorised as typically "masculine". she is straightforward and blunt. her first meeting with mikio, she tells him straight to his face that he's old while frowning and raising a brow at him. she approaches problems with her muscles and fists (or swords), rather than with her words or mind. compare this with mulan, who, while well-trained by the end of the movie, still uses her sharp wits rather than brute strength. this is a typically "feminine" approach. it's also the approach akemi relies on throughout the show—through her intelligence and persuasive tongue, she navigates the brothel with ease. mizu, in contrast to someone like mulan and akemi, struggles with womanhood and femininity, and feels detached from it.

thus, in my opinion, mizu is not simply a man, nor is she simply a woman. she is both. man and woman. masculine and feminine. she has to accept both, rather than suppress one or the other. her name means water. fluid.

as a side note, while i do believe mizu is nonbinary, i also primarily use she/her pronouns for her, but this is a personal preference. i find it's easier to use in fanfic (singular they is confusing to write stories with, but again, that's just my feelings on it, and this is coming from someone who uses they/they pronouns). i also lean towards she/her because it's what the creators and all the official promotional copywriting of the show uses. and even though i am a "death to the author" enjoyer, i feel that when interpreting things that are left open-ended, it does help to look at the creators' take on things. also because, in general, being nonbinary simply doesn't necessitate the use of they/them pronouns. nonbinary is not just a third gender. it's about breaking the binary, in any which way, and that's exactly what mizu does, constantly.

also, i'd also like to mention that one of show's head of story even referred to her with the term "nonbinary", rather than simply "androgynous" (see pic below). and it's possible this could be a slip up on his part, in which he believes the terms are interchangeable (they're not btw), but regardless i find it a very interesting word choice, and one that supports my argument.

so anyway yeah that's my incredibly long rambling post.

TL;DR nonbinary mizu rights 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 congrats if you reached the end of this btw. also ily. unless you're a TERF in which case fuck off. ok i'm done.

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 42

First / Previous / Next

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a blinding flash of white light. The Dreadnought appeared directly in front of them, impeding their progress. Stormy fired the thrusters and tried to duck underneath.

"Get back into your seats! I'm going to link away again." Northern and Zhe dove towards their seats and bucked back up, but before Stormy could link, there was a clatter and a shudder throughout the ship. New alarms sounded throughout the ship, a kind of wailing trilling noise. It was incredibly loud.

"What's that Stormy?" Zhe clapped her hands over her large ears. "Can you turn it down any?"

"It's... It's a grapple. We've been grappled!" Stormy's rage permeated her voice. "Those were banned centuries ago! I can't believe they used a grapple on us."

"Can we do anything?" Fen asked. She looked down at her screen. There were new spots of orange on the readout where the grapple was damaging the hull.

"Our options at this point are to allow us to be taken aboard, or blow the reactor." Northern shook her head. "They've got us."

"Stormy, might as well disconnect and come up here. I don't want them doing anything to you." Fen closed her pad with a snap. She looked at Zhe and Northern. "Sorry."

Zhe shook her head. "Nothing to be sorry about, Fen. We're in this together."

Northern nodded. "Despite myself, I do find that I like you two. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. It's not your fault Fen."

Fen sighed. "Yeah, but if I wasn't a clone of the first Empress..."

"There's no way these people know that Fen. They're just after their current Empress and probably think we know something about it. I'd say just answer their questions mostly honestly." Northern ticked off points on her long fingers. "We saw her on Picaresque, we went out drinking, we partied with her and her honor guard, and in the morning we left. None off that is a lie."

Stormy walked into the Command Deck and looked around. Finding a seat, she sat down and buckled in. "The four of us is enough to operate a frigate of this size without raising too much suspicion. They shouldn't ask about whether we have an AI pilot."

Zhe's ears flicked in surprise. "Really? Only four people?"

She nodded. "It's just about the bare minimum, but it's possible. It could be explained away that we're a new merc group and haven't taken on more crew yet. These kind of ships are meant to be run lean and mean anyway."

Fen wasn't so sure, but she couldn't do anything else.

They waited.

About 30 minutes later, there was a pounding on the airlock. Fen unbuckled and went to the lock. Peering through the window she saw three armored spacesuits. She toggled the intercom. "Yes?"

"Human Imperial Navy. Open up please. We have some questions for you."

Please? That was interesting. "Why did you grapple me? You could have used your radio."

"The Admiral wishes to speak to you in person."

They did not elaborate further.

The voice of the suited person sighed. "Look. If you just open the doors, it'll go better for you. We won't even restrain you. You just open up, we bring you to the Admiral and then we let you go once she's happy with the answers."

"And if I don't open the lock?"

"Then we force it open, capture you, restrain you-" They hold up some metal zip cuffs. "-and still bring you to the Admiral. Only now, your ship is damaged and you can't leave once she's finished speaking. Your choice."

Fen cut the intercom. "Fuck." she said to nobody, and pressed the purge button. Both airlock door snapped open and there was a puff of air as the pressures equalized. Fen's ears were pained for a moment, but she swallowed and her ears popped.

The guard lifted their helmet. It was two men and a woman who looked so similar they could have been related. The woman smiled. "Thank you, really. My name is Lieutenant Shelly Cooper. What's yours?"

"I'm Captain Fenchurch Whitehorse, but please call me Fen."

"Very well, Fen. Who else is aboard?"

"The rest of my crew. They're on the Command Deck. There are four of us."

That caused Lieutenant Cooper to raise an eyebrow, "Four? That's it?"

Fen smiled awkwardly. "I wasn't able to hire anymore crew than that. Believe me when I say I've been trying." It wasn't a lie, not really. Fen found that there weren't many people who were willing to sign on to an unproven merc company, even if they were a couple years old.

The Lieutenant turned to one of the men behind her. "What did the bioscan say?"

He looked down at a pad strapped to the arm of his suit and tapped at it with a gloved hand. "She's not lying. Ship is empty except for the command deck."

"Curious." Cooper stared hard at Fen. "Have we met? Are you from Sol? You seem familiar to me."

"I don't see how. I grew up in a Gren station, far outside of Colonial space." Again, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. Of course people in the military would know what the first Empress looked like.

"Hmm. Okay. If your crew agrees to keep the reactor powered down and be powered by an umbilical, they can stay confined to the ship and you accompany us. Deal?"

"Yes, I agree to those terms. Let me go tell my crew."

Lieutenant Cooper nods. "You have three minutes."

Fen hurries back to the command deck. "The Admiral wants to talk to me. They said you can stay here so long as you agree to be powered only by their umbilical."

Zhe stood up and crossed her arms, her tail swishing irritatedly. "It won't matter, because we're coming too."

Northern looked to Zhe and sighed, but only a little. "We can't leave you out to dry, Fen. We'll come along too. How bad can it be? Plus, if we come with you we can't suffer "an unfortunate accident" in the hangar."

Fen exhaled. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath in. "Thanks Northern, Zhe." She turned to Stormy. "You're welcome to come along, but I also know this isn't your thing. We had just hired you after all."

Stormy looked at Northern who shrugged with her eyes. "Up to you."

She runs her hands over her face. "Fuck, me. I swear Northern, you know how to pick them." Stormy stands up and smiles. "I'll come along, what the hell. Sitting on the ship was going to be boring by myself anyway."

The four of them went to the airlock, and Fen went up to Lieutenant Cooper "I spoke to my crew, and they want to accompany me."

Lieutenant Cooper throws up her hands. "Fine, I guess we'll just give you the VIP tour on the way." She gestures out towards the hangar. "Here is the hangar, where we store our smaller ships and boats, as well as the frigate of a merc captain we captured that the admiral wants to speak to and offered to let her crew stay onboard but they want to follow their captain to the ends of the galaxy."

Fen crossed her arms, but said nothing.

"Come on then. We'll find you some more chairs or something." Lieutenant Cooper turned on her heel and walked out of the hangar, without waiting for them to follow. The two guards with her looked at each other and one of them gestured for them to follow.

Not too far from the hangar, Lieutenant Cooper came upon a small conference room. She opened the door and led them inside. As they sat, a steward came by with a small cart of drinks. Fen was offered and accepted a coffee, and they went around offering beverages. Lieutenant Cooper also took a coffee, but everyone else abstained.

Cooper took a sip and looked down at the comm on her wrist. "The Admiral will be here shortly. Please be respectful. She's... lived a long life and doesn't suffer fools. If you want to make it back to your ship, answer her questions quickly and honestly."

Fen wasn't halfway through her coffee with the door chimed. Lieutenant Cooper stood. "This is where I leave you. The guards will wait outside the door and - should you be able - will escort you back to your ship." Her face was odd. She looked worried, and also like she felt bad for them. Just what kind of person was this Admiral?"

The door whooshed open and the Admiral strode in. She was about the same height as Cooper, maybe a few centimeters taller than Fen. Her hair was blond streaked with grey and she wore it clipped very short on the back and sides and a little longer in the front. She wore her hat at an angle that probably was against regulations. Her uniform was immaculate and her chest bulged with medals. She had a hard, but not unattractive face, lined with time. As she entered, she looked down at everyone sitting, and as she passed over them she stopped at Fen, and her breath caught.

"You are dismissed, Lieutenant."

Cooper saluted sharply. "Yes, Admiral."

"Dismiss the guards as well. I will not need them."

"Admiral? With all due respect-"

The Admiral turned to face Cooper and stared at her. Without saying anything at all, Fen could feel her shouting at the Lieutenant. Her gaze was withering. Cooper swallowed and saluted again. "Yes, Admiral."

The door closed behind her and the Admiral's demeanor immediately changed. She shrank down a little, looked older, less hard. She strode around the room and glanced down at the carafe of coffee. She poured herself a cup and sat at the head of the table. While everyone watched, rapt. She took a sip and placed it down on the table without a clink. She looked at Fen.

"You look like her, you know? I can see that you're different. A product of your upbringing. It's your eyes, and the way you carry yourself. I can see so much of her though. It's a little spooky."

Fen blinked. Whatever she expected, it wasn't this. "You know I'm a clone of the first Empress?"

The admiral laughed. Her voice was surprisingly musical. "Fen, I knew Melody. I was friends with her. I... I was on a different ship when she was killed. I became Empress after her."

Stormy gasped. "No. No way. She retired to Venus, and let her daughter reign. She would be over five hundred years old. You're not her."

The admiral smirked. "If you know all that, then you know that the Nanites can extend life. I can't do the Voice anymore, and it's been more than two centuries since I carried a crown and wings, but I am still me.

Northern turned and stared at Stormy. "Who is it, Stormy?"

The admiral spread her hands wide. "I am Empress Helen Raaden, First of Her Name, Ruler of Sol - Retired."

[midnightsun-if]

Seeing the last ask and Scarlett's reaction, I'm curious how a therapist who is more or less the only Sane One would deal with each ro, and vise versa. Like that edge of complete sanity and rationality against the moods and opinions of each ro.

Like clearing their throat, and very calmly explaining to Scarlett that feeling "a bubble of happiness" at her beloved presenting a heart of an assassin of her to her that she killed in "cruel and unusual" ways is not a healthy reaction, no.

Therapy would be a good solution for a couple of them, you're right. Though, it's very likely that, by the end of the various sessions, the therapist would need to get their own in return.

Koda: He'd be dream patient, let's be real. Would answer all of the therapist's questions as honestly as possible, wouldn't put up a fuss about revealing things, he'd just be overall earnest about trying to cooperate with the person that's trying to help him get better. Even if he doesn't exactly understand why he's seeing a therapist to begin with: "I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I was wondering if you know why I'm here? I've been trying to figure it out." That'd probably put the therapist into a bit of a tailspin, but Koda's genuine curiosity would help exceptionally.

Scarlett: Would either be completely dismissive of the therapist: "I'm curious as to why you think I'd value your insight. Me being here isn't based upon anything you may have, or may have not, accomplished. Frankly, I don't care who you are, nor do I think I'll remember you the moment this session is over. You may prattle on with your inane opinions, of course, but do not expect me to give them any credence." Or she'd be her classic cunning self and be ready to send barbs the therapists way: "It's quite baffling that you believe I'd feel anything but exuberance towards the death of the very person that wished to have me killed. Do you not wish for the same thing when you're watching thrillers or horror movies? Or do you find the humanity within those that wish to kill what has not harmed them? If anything, that says more about you than it does I.'

Cyrus/Cyra: They'd be completely flustered about being there in the first place, but they'd also try to be as accommodating as they possibly could -- good manners aren't something they shirk, even if they're not exactly happy with their current situation. The room probably heating up a bit due to said agitation: "I'm aware that things have been less than stellar for me as of late, but I don't believe it's warranted anything like this. I do apologize if you think I'm calling into question your capabilities, I just don't believe they're needed here."

Quinn: This scenario would definitely be a time where they'd be totally tense, simply watching the therapist watch them in return, causing their wolf to prickle in response to a potential opponent. They're not the happiest camper in the world, but they'd try to remain calm and collected, even if their hand keeps clenching and their teeth are slightly sharper than usual: "What would you like to know? I'm pretty much an open book." However, the moment the therapist tried to move onto the familial territory, Quinn would snarl back in response: "I suggest moving on from this topic immediately. It's a direction that I don't think you'd enjoy reaching the end of."

Caden: The poor therapist wouldn't even know where to begin with Caden.... Caden doesn't know what to do with Caden at times. Compounded by the fact that Caden would, more than likely, be invisible. So, if anyone walked in, they'd think the therapist is crazy because they're seemingly holding a session with no one in the room. If, and I do mean if, Caden would be able to get ahold of themself, and relax enough to become visible again, I could see them sharing bits and pieces from their past, but it'd be completely obvious that they're leaving things out, refusing to elaborate further: "I have a long history, I've seen a lot things, and have done quite a bit too. I-I don't understand why you want to know all of this. I'm nothing special."

Sloane: Wouldn't say a damn thing. They'd simply slouch back, probably flicking their lighter open and close, and glare stare at the therapist without letting a single thing show; the ticking of the clock being the only sound in the room. Probably would even stay a little bit longer after the session ended to truly send the point home that the therapist would not want them to return. But, as they'd stand up to leave, they'd finally say something: "It's been fun, doc. We should try this again sometime."

Blake: Is definitely the kind of person to give absolutely absurd/horrifying answers to Rorschach Test and wouldn't have any qualms about doing so; would find it quite funny, in fact: "Will you stop showing me pictures of that? It's quite sickening." (Would not elaborate on what's so sickening about said image.) Or they'd just make up random stories/answers to appease the therapist and hopefully move on with their life: "You see, doc, I grew up on a little farm just outside of a little down. Ma and Pa did the best they could, but there were too many mouths to feed, I was the oldest of eight after all, so I don't blame them for putting me to work as soon as I reached knee height."

Reginald/Regina: Would flop down onto the couch and go on a complete tangent about various things, probably spiraling into subjects that have nothing to do with why they're there in the first place: "I'm not saying I support kidnapping, of course I don't, I'm just aware that if someone decided to do that to Grogu, I'd understand." Might have their therapist checking their watch actually -- while being completely oblivious -- as they try to reign the human gremlin back in as they'd probably start going on a tangent about Star Trek next.

[hbnjhgv]

My Aot Ships !SPOILERS!

EreMika (Eren x Mikasa) omg do I even need to elaborate? First of all THE FACT THAT MIKASA LOOKS PRETTIER WHEN ITS IN ERENS POV? And not to mention the fact that in episode 12 Ian even says to Mikasa 'defend your boyfriend' in sub and in dub he said 'go save the man you love' also when Eren asked Mikasa what he is to her it was obious he wasnt wanting the answer "your my family" AND THE FACT THAT THEY KISSED IN THE FINAL EPISODE

NicoSasha (Niccolo x Sasha) LITTERALLY CANNON BUT ISAYAMA HATES LOVE APARENTLY. Niccolo looked mesmerised and looked so inlove while blushing when he saw Sasha CRYING over how good his food was. Omg and the way he reacted when his conrad called Sasha a 'filth blooded potato grubbing devil' MY MAN WAS GOING TO KILL SOMEONE and when he said "What is this brat someone specil to you? Is that why he tried to protect you earlier? You care about him huh? Well I used to care about someone too! A DIRT BLOODED ELDIAN! A DECENDENT OF DEVILS! THE WOMAN WHO ENJOYED THE FOOD I COOKED MORE THAN ANYONE ID EVER MET BEFORE! She saved me from this shitty ass pointless war... she showed me that the person I ment to be as a man who brings people happiness through his cooking... that was Sasha Braus... she was amzing. AND YOU STOLE HER FROM ME!" OMG LIKE HOW CAN YOU HEAR HIM SAY THAT AND NOT THINK ITS CANNON?!

AurEtra (Ouro x Petra) OMG ISAYAMA LITTERALLY SAID THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO GET MARRIED! Also I noticed that they argue very much like a couple. sorry i dont have much to say about this ship. I just really like it.

MikeNana (Miche x Nannaba) Ok listen. This isn't a mega huge ship I have I just think its really cute. Also everytime Miche and Nannaba interact omg its adorable. Thats about it.

KenUri (Kenny x Uri) THE WAY THEY INTERACTED WITH EACHOTHER OMGGG now I dont this its super inlove. I just think they were atleast a little inlove with eachoter. THEY ARE SOULMATES AND NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE! Also in the OFFICIAL AOT GUIDE BOOK THIS IS A CONVERSATION ISAYAMA HAD WITH AN INTERVEIWER Interviewer: "So he (Kenny) thought id he eliminated Uri, the world would become right again. But he lost the fight." Isayama: "Kenny's way of judging value is: 'The strong are in the right', and so for that reason he was attracted to Uri." LIKE OMG HE LITTERALLY SAID KENNY WAS ATTRACTED TO URI! (and no one say "oh well he wouldn't make Kenny be intrested in men" when Yumir and Historia are LITTERALLY CONFERMINED LESBIANS.

YumiHisu (Yumir x Historia) This is gonna be short because it's obious this ship is cannon. Yumir always telling Historia "You are so gonna have to marry me after all this shit is over!" When Historia was with Yumir after the tower fell. The way they looked at eachother. The fact that Historia was more worried about Yumir than anything when Reiner and Bertolt reveled their titans and took Eren and Yumir. WHEN YUMIR SAID TO REINER AND BERTOLT "You guys have no idea what it's like. She knows what a shitty person I am, but she still smiles at me. I can't..." THE FACT THAT HISTORIA TOLD YUMIR "I will always be your ally" EVEN AFTER YUMIR BASICALLY ATE HER. HISTORIA PROTECTING YUMIR WHEN MIKASA ALMOST KILLED HER TO SAVE EREN! WHEN HISTORIA SAID "But with Yumir gone I've lost my purpose. I don't even know what I'm fighting for anymore." OMG NOT TO MENTION THE LETTER?! 'To my dear Historia, as I write this Reiner's standing at my side. He knows this is a love letter, but he's still sneaking peaks. Honestly, it's no wonder the creep's still single. That said.. he did give me his word that he'd deliver this letter to you. He says he owes me for the time I doubled back to save him. I'm sorry about then... I never would've imagined myself choosing those two.. over you... I'm going to die soon. But... I'll die without regrets. Or that's what I'd like to say. Truth is... I do have one. It's that I never got to marry you. With Love, Yumir' I MEAN HOW CAN YOU READ THAT AND NOT SHIP THEM?!

MobuHan (Moblit x Hange) OMG MOBLITS PRTECTIVENESS AND THE WAY HES SO PACIENT WITH THEM! He's always trying to protect them. AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH EACHOTHER! M: "I don't think thats the way you want to talk to the leader of our whole regiment" H: "SHUT UP >:( AS I WAS SAYING" ALSO THIS MOMENT. M: "PLEASE DONT GO ALONE! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" AND MOBLITS LITTLE "STOPPPP!" WHEN HANGE RODE AWAY! H: "dont try to call me bluff" M: "Please dont!"

[m1ssunderstanding]

Hello! This is your Secret Santa. Not sure what I'm going to do yet but I was wondering a few things!

You said you like when the smut is kinky and dark, could you elaborate a bit? Do you have some favorite kinks? Favorite dark-ish tropes?

When you say Dickens AU, do you have a particular novel in mind? Or is it about Victorian life hardships in general?

Thanks! 🎅

lolol this is what I get for being embarrassing on the form! Now I have to be embarrassing on main. (I mean about kink and Dickens equally btw) Welp, here goes! I'll just put it all under a cut so no one has to read it that doesn't want to. Genuinely though even though it's embarrassing I'm so glad you're asking! Thank you for taking the time to get to know what I am hoping for :) <3

As far as kink goes, I love the typical bdsm stuff.

Objectification

Dumbification

Expositionism

General demeaning language

Praise kink

Restraints, gags, whips, flogs

Orgasm denial

Overstimulation

Choking

Marking

I will say while I love all of that stuff, I also love just normal sex too lol especially if the story isn't focused on the sex you know it can be very vanilla and sweet and I will love it. But if the whole story is focused around sex, especially if you're putting Paul with someone other than John or Linda, I'd rather it be kinky. So like dealing with class stuff between Paul and Jane or Paul and Robert Fraser or with age stuff between Paul and George Martin or John and Brian or size stuff between anyone and Mal. And it might be surprising, but I don't care who dominates. If you're writing a sweet story where Paul ends up happy with John or Linda, the choice is yours as to whether the sex is kinky or not.

As far as Dickens goes, you could stick them in any book really. And obviously just write a scene from it. Or you could reimagine an event from their lives if Dickens had written it.

Specific book au ideas:

Oliver Twist with John and Paul as older versions of Oliver and Dodger respectively or you could do Paul as Nancy and John as Rose

David Copperfield with Paul as David. John could be Steerforth or Agnes.

Little Dorrit with John as Arthur and Paul as Amy.

Great Expectations with John as Pip and Paul as Estella.

Bleak House with John as Ada and Paul as Richard.

The Old Curiosity Shop with John as Kit and Paul as Nell.

Hard Times with Paul as Sissy and John as Louisa.

I would love it if you genderbent one of the characters if Dickens accidentally wrote jp into a straight pairing.

Event adaptation ideas:

Alan Klein is the PERFECT Dickens Villain. John and Paul have pooled all their savings together to start a business. John was the primary investor as Paul had very little money, but Paul still has the most at stake because consequences are higher for him losing all his money. John finds Klein as the perfect person to manage all their affairs and Paul feels like he has to go along with it because he feels indebted to John forever because of how much he invested in up front into their business. Chaos ensues. People go bankrupt. Law suits drag on. Linda and her little daughter Heather who are destitute still manage to help Paul out of it all and in the end after they're married we find out Linda is inheriting a bunch of money.

John and Paul met at an abusive boarding school. Paul is there because his father's grocer shop supplies the school with food. John is there because his family can afford it. John hates it, bullies the teachers, tries to slack off and cause as much trouble as possible. Paul secretly hates it too but is really grateful for this opportunity and kisses up. They both become quite popular in their own ways and wage war on each other until they are forced to come together during mutual punishment -- Paul is treated far worse because of his class but John has forward thinking principles and insists they go it together and they realize they have a lot in common and they run away to the circus together.

John is a notorious robber who makes friends with Paul's dad at a gambling club. Paul is the whore with the heart of gold who supports his father's habit (I know I kind of already wrote this one but not in a dickensian au) Paul falls in love with John in spite of himself and even though he always dreamed of joining polite society, he joins John's crime sindicate and their combined smarts allow them to amass huge amounts of money but they have to live this whole double life to avoid being caught and at the end there's a huge house fire in which everything they built together is lost and they blame each other and fall apart.

You know. Etc. Things like that. But obviously you could think of your own thing or not do Dickens at all.

[summertimemusician]

Linktober Day 7

Sky(loft)

*throws rose* For the First lovers.

Soft and sweet drabble with just the barest hints of tragedy, and more set on Skyloft than anything but I'd say it counts.

This chapter was brought to you by me getting emotional about the First Hero and his fate again due to the rain, the fact I believe all Links deserve to have love and appreciation but specially him. And the fact I think it's an absolute CRIME that we don't get anything more on him and that he and Sky don't get to have what Time and Twilight have, no I'm not bitter Nintendo I just want to talk, y'all can't just keep giving us like four Links before the actual heroes and then expect us NOT to want to elaborate with the crumbs we are given. If you ask me First and Sky deserve to interact and for First to have closure.

Anyway, as always can be read as romantic or platonic, up to y'all, and can be read in or outside and LU context, I just use Sky and First for simplicities sake but if you don't gel with LU then feel free to interpret this as something else, this is all highly self indulgent before I pass the heck out lol

If there was any place in Sky’s Hyrule that you could confidently say you adored with all of your heart and soul, Skyloft would be the most likely pick.

Even so high above it all in a way that would have you catastrophizing had you think too hard about what could happen if anyone ever accidentally fell from the isle even with all of the knights trained to not allow that to happen, you’d be lying if you said that it’s a wondrous mix of empyreal beauty and the comfort of safety and the wonder of touching the sky, a true breath taking haven that could soften even the hardest of hearts with time. Fitting of the warmth of the reincarnated goddess in Sun and the vast nature of Sky’s kindness, for all you knew he could be as frigid as the title of Godslayer demanded.

Looking at the way First let himself be tugged along the isle as soon as they’ve arrived in Sky’s land in a tour just reinforced that notion, you couldn’t help but chuckle a little. First was one of the harder Links to read, even more so than Time or Warriors, but looking at the way the stars of his azure eyes brightened with the fire of life hearing Sky talk about life in his home and about the many people made you feel so, so warm, like finding a nice sunny spot for a afternoon nap.

What could you say? First was such a wondrous person, calm and charming and perfectly polite and oh so kind in the way you knew all of your boys were. If there ever was someone who embodied chivalry and the ideal side of knighthood, he’d probably be the one to come to the forefront of your mind, and you’ve been insatiable for his happiness ever since.

When he first arrived to the Chain, he was as cold as the howling blizzard winds, heart a cold fort left in ruin and remade as best as a single man could for the sake of remaining kind, to do the right thing no matter what, it was a sentiment you knew far too well in your other boys, but specially so in First, who tried so, so hard to distance himself from getting attached. But who you knew loved the sight of the sky, as cold and numb it was in it’s distance, whom cared so so much he would driven himself into an early grave just to make the Surface a safer for the people who’d shunned him, whom after a long, long period of adjustment and effort from the Chain, allowed you to hold him close as he shaked from nightmares at night, allowing you to chase away memories of being held up by cold chains until the impression of them became one with his skin and subconscious, of being entombed and imprisoned in uncaring stone and iron to starve alone, being bitten at by hungry, crawling rats all because he wished to keep his people safe, made sure he could tell that your presence was tangible and real through telling stories from your world and singing him into dreams even through the fortress’s that was his stubborness. Trying your best to make lilies bloom on what looked like a most hopeless winter.

The day he actually chuckled and smiled, safe and healthy and alive in the presence of the Chain felt like the biggest victory you’d ever had.

He deserved to know love and to be loved as much as any of your boys, something real and tangible and that was actually properly reciprocated rather than used to justify an end. So seeing him being able to visit Skyloft with his descendant with a whispering, hidden smile was more than enough for you. And you can’t blame Sky for being equally animated about it, bless his heart, always wanting his people to be happy, always so, so kind, wanting to bring some solace to the older hero but being carefully attentive so his mood was still good

After all they went through they deserved it.

“Oh! There you are, I was just about to show First to the waterfall, want to come with?”, Sky snaps you out from your thoughts, touching your shoulder with a gentle smile.

“Unless something is ailing you, you did look quite deeply in though.”, added First, soft as the warm breeze on the isle in the sky.

You shake your head, smiling as you take First’s offered arm, an instinctive motion when he wished to be close but wasn’t quite ready for any other touch yet, and Sky’s hand in yours, which he swings with a hum, ears twitching, how precious. “Not at all, lead the way.”

As Sky leads you along, and you catch the ghost of a smile in First’s otherwise stern countenance and you take in the warmth of the late afternoon sun in Skyloft and the soft, eternal spring breeze. You think there’s quite a bit you’d give to keep witnessing these moments indeed.

The road to recovery was long and arduous, but you’d be there, and you knew the Chain would do their best to be there too.

[grimwalkings]

I was given a writing prompt on my strawpage for "tanjiro calling giyuu onii-san unintentionally but giyuu liking it anyway" so here it is! I'm always taking writing prompts over there, it's a good exercise for me 🥰🌊🔥

Once Tanjirou was fully recovered from the battle with Kibutsuji Muzan, he went home with Nezuko. It was expected, and Giyuu knew how happy they were to finally be able to go back, but he couldn't say that he didn't miss seeing them around the water estate.

There were promises made by Giyuu and Kyojurou that they would visit them in the mountains one day. He just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon.

“I'd like to go and see them!” Kyojurou exclaimed, one morning over breakfast. “And besides, you have been moping ever since they left.”

“I'm not moping,” Giyuu pouted back.

They decided to head off before the maple leaves stopped falling. The mountains were covered in a heavy blanket of snow for half the year, making it far too difficult for them to hike. Kyojurou’s lung capacity had never recovered from his fight with Akaza and Giyuu was still very much on the mend from the battle with Muzan.

Halfway up the mountain, the smell of an open fire somewhere in the distance filled the air. It carried them the rest of the way until they finally found the cosy and welcoming sight of the Kamado cabin.

When Tanjirou and Nezuko saw them, they immediately ran into their arms. “We didn’t know you were going to visit us so soon! Why didn’t you write to us?”

Kyojurou beamed as he embraced Nezuko. “We wanted to surprise you!”

And Tanjirou’s friends were equally surprised to see them. While Inosuke tried to challenge Kyojurou to a fight, Zenitsu followed close behind and scolded the boar-headed boy every chance he got.

But Nezuko was content to watch them from the engawa while Giyuu helped prepare dinner. He followed Tanjirou’s instructions and washed the vegetables from the garden before adding them to the pot, falling into a familiar rhythm from their days at the water estate before the siblings left.

They had both lost the use of an arm in the battle, but insisted on finding ways to work around it together. Although it was never said out loud, they both enjoyed cooking for their loved ones too much to give up on it.

“If we cover that and let it simmer for a bit, it should be ready soon!” Tanjirou explained. “Onii-chan, could you pass the -”

He froze and clapped a hand over his own mouth, his eyes widening at his mistake. But Giyuu reached for the spice rack he was gesturing to and tilted his head. “What do you need? The shichimi?”

Without a word and while avoiding his gaze, Tanjirou nodded and accepted the jar of chilli spices. They went on with their preparations in silence, although Giyuu kept stealing glances towards him.

He hadn’t called him that before. Maybe being back in his childhood home had caused the slip of the tongue? But Tanjirou was the eldest child of the family. He never had anyone to call an older brother.

But Giyuu found that he didn’t mind being called that. He let the term settle in his chest as they made dinner to the sounds of Kyojurou and the others laughing in the garden and discovered how much he wanted to hear it again. He never thought he would have a family. None of them did.

“You can call me that, if you want to,” Giyuu eventually told him.

Tanjirou blinked up at him. “Oh! That… That was my mistake, Giyuu-san, I’m sorry -”

“No, I mean… I don’t mind if you call me that,” he elaborated. “If you want to.”

Tanjirou looked up at him for a long moment. Long enough that Giyuu began to wonder if he should change the subject or take back his statement, before he suddenly broke into a warm smile and replied, “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’d really like that!”

Giyuu smiled back, just as Kyojurou stepped inside and hummed with appreciation at the sight of dinner on the stove. “Something smells good in here! Is there anything I can do to help?”

“That’s alright, Kyojurou-san, we’re almost done!” Tanjirou replied. “Onii-chan has been a big help.”

Kyojurou looked at him with surprise, before he glanced over at Giyuu. But he merely shrugged and wrapped his arm around his waist. “Go sit down. We’ll let you know when it’s ready.”

Kyojurou gave him a tender smile and leaned in for a kiss. “Alright. I’ll see you soon.”

[motherstone]

Post Rewrite-

What happens when they bring Trellis back?

Is Luger still around? I know you said you were reworking his character, so has he become the docile old man we saw in canon or is something else going on?

Answer:

Trellis agreed to go back on his own will eventually - at the start he only went with Alma was because his presence endangered the small village that took him in, but as he travels all over Gulfen, getting to know its people and the country's issues, the more he feels like he's made a mistake and that he left the kingdom's subjects to fend for themselves instead of actually taking care of them. Trellis has some part of him believing he's not the best guy for the throne, but he wants to enact some good changes, and someone has to take responsibility for his father's terrible actions and make up for it, even if Trellis himself isn't personally responsible for it - he feels like it's what he owes to the people, in Gulfen or otherwise.

Thankfully, people were happy he took the throne because at that point Trellis has built up a good reputation (it also helps he's the one who brought back the River), therefore while the first years were a struggle bringing a country back to proper working after the war, there isn't considerable opposition.

Luger is a villain from start to end, if having a bit more depth but still y'know, a villain - I moved him turning into a giant from book 2 to around book 8 or 9 on the timeline. I don't like him becoming docile after his transformation just quickly absolves him of any personality and impact. If he's gonna be a bad guy, really ramp it up y'know? And Luger was a very effective and a very good bad guy in Amulet, and I really wanted to tap on that potential to antagonize and force the protagonists to grow. He makes a great Foil to Emily, a great archnemesis to Trellis, and a rival for Max.

He's the guy that kicks off Trellis's character arc in the Rewrite (in an extremely brutal way), so when he comes back around, wandering around no memories, stone intact, it doesn't go well. Navin found him and took pity (he got captured by Luger alongside Aly when they got separated from the Cielan Army in Rewrite book 6/7, and at that point Luger was strained thin under the EK's increasing dissatisfaction at Luger, hence Navin was able to see a side to Luger most don't get to see), so he took him in. Emily isn't happy but doesn't feel right retaliating since that isn't technically "Luger". When they asked Trellis for help, he refused to do so, and left them to their own devices, but is forced back to help them because there's a group of people after Luger's head and anyone who helps him.

Luger's storyline occurs a bit over half of the Post Rewrite, and it's all about what "justice" is. Eventually, some events happen (I'd say more but this is getting long but I'd be happy to elaborate if you want), and Luger regains his memories, but the trio let's him go anyway while they resolve things with the people after his head. He shows up again days later in Trellis's court in remorse, as he retains memories during the time they took care of him, and despite knowing full well the punishment to be incredibly severe, turns himself in to take accountability of what he did serving the Elf King. Thankfully, Trellis has also gained understanding that retaliating against Luger by hurting him the same way he hurt Trellis and many others, even when he has all the power and understandable reasons in doing so, isn't justice, and thus ultimately imprisons him for life, but makes it clear he has no intention to treat Luger inhumanely, so no, he won't be tortured or mistreated - he simply would no longer be free until he dies.

Later, we get to see Navin admitting to Trellis he's actually been sending letters to Luger in prison and believes Trellis would disapprove. On the contrary, while Trellis isn't enthusiastic, he doesn't disparage Navin for it and encourages him to write Luger as much as he can as Luger would genuinely appreciate it.

[the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf]

Hiii!

I love your Wilson x peds story! I love how he's so in love with her... Would you be able to write how they met? I'd love to see his reaction to her ehehe

Sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my first language.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Let's establish first of all that James fell for peds first. Her first day on the job of Head of Paediatrics and it was lunch time and she was desperate for a sandwich. However, Cuddy hadn't gotten that far into the tour because of a 'House' emergency. So she plucked up the courage and tapped a doctor on the shoulder. He turned around and managed to lower his gaze to meet her bright eyes.

He was so overcome by her smile that he'd barely registered what she'd said.

"Pardon?" "Where's the cafeteria? I'm new see, Dr y/l/n head of peds." "James Wilson, head of oncology." They shook hands and he didn't want to ever let her go. But he eventually did when she'd registered the awkward length of the handshake.

This is when they met but they didn't actually have the joy of working together until 2 weeks into her stay.

Unfortunately, it was anything but joyful.

She had a patient, 6 year old girl, who was in for persistent headaches.

She'd done a CT scan and there had been something weird on the scan that she didn't understand, but as it was a mass she felt it safer to take it to Wilson.

He'd been so happy when she'd entered his office and suddenly became as nervous as a teenage boy. Going as far to try but fail to tidy up his desk for her. But this was all ruined when he saw the scan.

"Y/n, it's a brain tumour. It's malignant. I know that is the answer you feared. But that is what this is."

Y/n began to giggle uncomfortably as tears streamed down her cheeks. James is used to this sight now, knowing it is her way of coping. But the first time he saw it, his heart broke a little. Someone so strong and positive reduced to fragility.

In that moment he wanted nothing more than to gather her up in his arms but professionalism refrained him.

She went to leave his office, having to give the new diagnosis. But she faltered and turned back to him and her meek voice just managed to offer...

"Coul--could you c-come with me." "Of course."

And James stood right next to y/n as she delivered the news to the child's parents. Only offering a gentle touch on the shoulder when he saw her professionalism begin to crack upon hearing the wails of the mother.

After the worst was over and when she came off her shift after going through all the possible options with the girl and her parents, she once more ran into James who had sat waiting outside her office for 30 minutes.

He jumped up when he saw her. Seeing the glassy look in her eyes, he chose not to bother burdening her with the "Are you okay?" question.

Instead he chose to merely randomly shout "Pizza?".

She turned around laughing and waited for him to elaborate.

"Would you like to come round my flat for pizza and beer? Only if you want to of course, it's just that's what I like after days like today."

"I'd love that." She giggled. She grabbed her stuff from her office and joined him to walk out of the hospital.

"So does your wife take care of you with pizza and beer after rough days?"

"No, no wife. I don't usually have anyone on those nights."

"ah i see. Maybe I can return the favour next time." She winked up at him.

"I'd like that." They both found their fingers dancing towards the other and they felt the electricity bubbling in between their palms.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

a/n - sorry it's a little sad but unfortunately a peds doctor and an oncology doctor working together only means one type of case

Masterlist

Requests open - here

[orangepeelshortbreadcookies]

Hello!!! sorry i jum in here but i saw many post of your as a polin pen hater. You can hate what you want of course but its necessary to lie just to hate a character because of her body??? it wasnt that bad, she was not mean.

yes, what she did telling the ton marinas secret was not the best choise but it was what she thought it was the only way. Do you all wish for colin a marriage with not love?? and in a more practical way this is fiction and we all now he was going t end with pen , they are end game and thi is romance, its suppouse to be romantic that theu found each other, and for me it is. She didnt told marina secret because she wants colin for herself , she never thought she cold have him. maybe yo dont understand this but we, fat girls who are foung unattractive NEVER expect love or having a man, even less somone like colin. I think you, as many sadly, jugdge Pen actions too strong and deep down its all becuase of how she looks. Depp down i know you judge her action strongly becuase you can't accept that a woman who looks like that get something. I know you will keep hating, just want to say my opinion

(2) I saw you ask once why we ( pen fans) are mad when people hate her like you do if we got everything, saying like she happy and get married and LW. i will answer that from my perspective. Im fat, people is mean and that herats and yes, maybe it not a good things but it nice to have a revenge for all that suffering , but beside that i feel represented FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME in a romance show, ALL THE ROMANCE FEMALE LEADS AND THIN WOMAN and for the first times she looks like me but everyone is hating her becuase of how she looks and the worst is anyone accept its becuase of that, you all write long essays jugdging her actions but as i said, Were her actions that bad???? think about it fr......

Others please also refer to this post for more context.

I did not intend to answer this ask, because honestly, I'm really very lazy. Since there are only so many ways I can make my argument against the same accusation over and over again, especially to someone who clearly doesn't want to listen, I figured ignoring was the right decision. I'd rather spend my creative energy and efforts on my own writings, instead of figuring out another elaborate wording on how being critical of a character's actions does not equate fatphobia, and that personal adversity does not equal a 'get out of jail' free card for repeatedly inflicting pain on other people on a mass scale. I've talked about it in depth in my own blog, as well as reblogging other eloquent, well thought-out posts from others, Polin fans and anti-Polin fans alike. You can just scroll through my blog to see that. But I don't think you have come after me, time and again, to be convinced.

Even now, I still think ignoring you would have been the smarter, or at least, easier course of action for me. But I digress. Maybe it's one of those days where I feel more confrontational, maybe my ADHD is acting up and my meds are not hitting as well today, maybe after weeks of stress-filled personal achievements I'm feeling talkative seeing someone trying to disturb my peace. Nontheless, since you've made diligent efforts in seeking out my response, today's your lucky day, once and for all.

Something my mutuals and followers might have learned about me, is that I, being pretty fucking lazy, don't post/write a lot. To remedy this, when I do post, oftentimes I try to be as thorough as I possibly can. So, in the spirit of being thorough, here's a little log of the things I have received in the past weeks, on this site as well as on AO3, some of which, @cherryblossom970sblog, I have reasons to believe came from you

So you feel represented by character. Awesome. Good for you. You should celebrate it with like-minded people. You think nobody likes Penelope the way you do? Find the ones who do. I can assure you, they exist. I saw them daily on my dash. Read fics that bring you joy. Don't read the ones that don't. I have seen way too many Penelope/Anthony, Penelope/Benedict or even Penelope/Gregory fics, or fics where Penelope just straight up abused Colin that are celebrated in the comments. I don't like those and you know what I do? Scroll past those fics or click out of those and not read them. You know what I don't do? Go after the writers, try to police their writing, and accuse them of bigotry for not catering to my preferences.

Accept the fact that it's not going to be a 100% percent approval rating. And that's fine. That's part of life. I'm a primary Benophie fan, I've seen people wanting Benedict to end up with different people. It's their prerogative, I leave them alone. I have mutuals who have different takes on actions of Kate, Edwina, and Anthony, with varying degrees of feelings regarding how season 2 ends, and I have my own opinions. Personally, I find all three parties were wrong in that triangle, especially Anthony, and the sisterhood between Kate and Edwina in that season ought to have been handled with more respect and care. And my mutuals and I have civil, nuanced discussions about such things and ending those with still different opinions. That's okay. They're fictional characters and their actions are up to character analysis. It's fine.

What ISN'T fine is obssessively stalking inboxes of strangers, REAL people, unleashing insane level of hate and prejudices in defence of a FICTIONAL character, and accusing them of crimes they OBJECTIVELY did not commit, all because they don't share your opinions. I know you don't think this kind of behaviour is okay, you said so yourself that it's not a good thing. You've experienced fatphobia, you have my sympathies for that, but it doesn't give you the right to be shitty to other people. Your own bad experiences do not entitle you to disrespect, dismiss, invalidate and insult the people you harassed, including me, many of which are WoCs who have valid concerns regarding how their own experiences are represented and treated on the show. My struggles of being a bisexual, Asian, immigrant woman does not excuse me from being toxic to people who have done me no harm. I will not be vindicated in demeaning someone who have criticisms against the actions of fictional character who share my traits, criticisms that I just happen to disagree with.

And frankly, I find reducing the nuances of a character or person to only their bodies, to contribute (as either condemn or excuse) their actions to be only the result of their bodies, fucking insulting. It's infantalising and dehumanising.

Have a nice day and happy shipping. Leave us alone.

[wxntedman]

i saw that you said writing about incest was insensitive to victims, so i thought i’d sort of give my piece. my name’s em, i write incest (on occasion), and i’m a victim of repeated sa via a family member.

to start off, i get it. incest is objectively a revolting topic. when i was 18, i probably would’ve felt the same way. i understand how you’re feeling, and i understand why you’re confused, too.

i can’t afford therapy. i work two jobs and live with a chronic illness whilst studying psychology. but i’ve been: and genuinely, while i was there, it didn’t really change anything. they suggest to go on walks, to listen to music… that doesn’t undo what happened, for me. maybe i’ll try it out again when i can fork over $100 every two weeks. but for now, i can’t.

i don’t have an incest kink. i think back to any of my actual experience and my hands start shaking. i don’t really get off to writing it; it’s more of a detachment thing. i don’t associate incest and sa with my abuser when i interact with it via fanfiction; it’s in my hands, not his. i have control in a situation related to another where i had none. that’s the best way i can describe it. i post because i’ve had a lot of readers dm me or send me asks regarding being a victim of the same thing, and thanking me for helping them.

you’re totally fine to disagree with people writing it, and i really mean no offense to you: i just request that you don’t really come for us. a lot of us are just writers trying to cope. i know it’s jarring, i know it’s odd: but we’re generally harmless. people just don’t respond too well when called disgusting. when these waves of hate come about, i get these big waves of personal hate, too — stuff encouraging me to hurt or starve myself (for context, i have anorexia), stuff telling me that getting sa’d was my fault or that they hope it happens again, the whole nine yards. callouts don’t actually get anyone to stop posting — it’s usually just harassment to the same victims people say they’re supporting.

i hope this sort of clarified stuff. i’m bad with words on occasion. i just wanted to explain & maybe come to some sort of middle ground, lol. if you have any questions i’d be more than happy to elaborate on anything: i just ask that we keep stuff civil & respectful.

hi em!

thank you for sharing what you went through, one I just want to say you're incredibly brave and strong for going through that.

I am also a victim of it, which is why it's so sensitive for me. for ab 12 years by a family member, daily.

I hear your points, I just also think maybe there's some things that don't need to be on the internet, and I think the way people post this content really does come off as glamorizing it or fantasizing about it. I don't agree with you getting death threats or harmful threats of any sort, if that's what you use to cope then fair. I write stuff for myself all the time to cope, but I keep it to myself.

The whole topic just makes me very uncomfortable with how people approach it. I guess I genuinely don't understand how people could get comfort over writing their favorite character s/a them or doing incest with them. Maybe that's a me thing, but I felt I was sering this topic so much, I'd hate to see a topic like this be normalized because incest is NOT normal at all.

[innytoes]

"You know, because of colour theory" totally sounds like something Willie would say

Throwing a housewarming party for the house they bought was something that Alex had always felt would feel very Adult. Like, they had a dining room table now. This was less 'paying your friends in pizza and beer for helping you move' (though they'd done that too) and more 'inviting your friends over a few weeks later to look at how adult you were with your unpacked house and freshly painted walls'.

The dining room table was set. There were even fresh flowers on the table, because they owned a vase now. Sure, the dinnerware was still all mismatched but it was on purpose, because Alex couldn't make up his mind on what he liked and Reggie liked thrifting and Willie enjoyed the chaos of it all. It was an aesthetic choice.

They'd gotten a grill, and Ray was on the patio showing Willie and Reggie how to use it. Alex was happy to let them, since Willie loved playing with fire and Reggie loved spending time with Ray. He preferred to be in the kitchen, checking on the garlic bread, making people drinks before getting overwhelmed and Julie reassuring him 'we know where the fridge is, don't worry about it'.

He didn't feel like a real adult. Not even with the cute little house and his two handsome boyfriends - partners, all of them on the title, which was a huge step, almost as big as marriage - and his dining room table and their beautiful homemade mailbox with all their names on it.

He wondered if he ever would, looking out from the kitchen to watch their friends mingling, Carrie and her Candis taking in the gallery wall, Luke impressed with the charcuterie board Alex had made in an attempt to make it feel like a real adult party, Julie and Flynn impressed by the bookshelves they'd put up.

Two arms snaked around his waist, and Reggie pressed a kiss to his neck. "You okay, babe?" Alex relaxed into him.

"Yeah," he said. "Just thinking about how I still don't feel like a real adult."

Reggie laughed. "That's why we have Ray. Or if we really fuck up, Julie's aunt. You know, adultier adults."

And yeah, all three of the had been pretty much adopted into the Molina family, given their own families of origin were either gone or awful. They were their own family now. Maybe that was the real meaning of adulthood.

"Stop worrying and go enjoy the party, I'll finish setting the table and stuff," Reggie said, ushering him out of the kitchen.

"Don't forget the garlic bread," Alex warned him, and went to move to join people in the living room.

Except as soon as he turned around, he heard a squelch, and a gasp, and Reggie saying 'oh no'.

He whirled around to see their kitchen, their freshly painted, freshly cleaned, perfect kitchen, covered floor to ceiling in ketchup.

"What..." he managed, as Reggie stared at him with wide eyes. The glass bottle of ketchup - because glass looked more adult than the squeezy bottles, Alex remembers thinking in the supermarket - was still in his hand. "How?"

"I was gonna give it a good shake before putting it on the table!" Reggie said helplessly.

Oh no.

"I'd already loosened all the lids," Alex said. This was all his fault. He hadn't warned Reggie. And now their kitchen was ruined.

"I'm so sorry, Alex, don't be mad," Reggie started, and Alex wasn't mad at anyone but himself. Thankfully Reggie was mostly ketchup free, so Alex grabbed some paper towels to wipe his hands and pull him into a hug. Reggie freaking out would only make him freak out. Reggie buried his face in Alex' shoulder for a moment, before collecting himself.

"Oh man, it looks like a children's hospital in here," Willie said, coming in with a plate of burgers. At Alex' confused stare, he elaborated: "You know, because of colour theory?"

That did not clear anything up, but Reggie giggled.

"I don't want to know," Alex decided. "Go serve people while I clean up this mess."

In the end, they did not need an 'adultier adult', because one of the Candis knew how to get ketchup stains off of freshly painted walls. She helped him get the worst off, and saved the garlic bread from the oven, and they joined the dinner.

And finally Alex felt a little more like an adult than he had. They'd had their first minor disaster in the house and none of them had freaked out or needed to call in a Real Adult. He was taking it as a win.