#so shippy sunday i guess

[lilacmox]

Sunday morning, rain is falling Steal some covers, share some skin

[chevvy-yates]

[NC_RES]_00001331 mercs_de_wit_scharfenberg_007_TG_HW.file ///core:_black_camo.file\\\

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

snuggle poses by @humberg. uwu also: upcoming underwear collection (on Thyjs) by @wanderingaldecaldo.* ty so much for letting me test these mods as well. <3

—

Resume on this:

In LOVE with the first shot! uwu

— Sad you do not see much of Thyjs, tho — Couldn't lift the cussion (for Ry's head to lay on it, besides it would have blocked the view onto Thyjs even more) -> Keep telling myself: yo focus is on Ry here, it's alright.

Second is such a CUTE pose! <3

— So hard to pose (bc I'm a noob yet) and get a perfect angle (the amount of time I rotated around over these two gave me a headache) — had to adjust colors in post processing (bc time moved on changing the light falling in) -> Keep telling myself: it's alright. It's good enough. Over all it was fun to do and learn new thing and I just wanan say, @humberg your poses are all so overly cute and well made! Such a sweet addition for mlm poses! <3 I cannot wait to play around more and learn with them to be better skilled making even better shippy pics!

—

I like to imagine they woke up and rolled around so Thyjs ends up half on Ryder in this weird position, too sleepy to care it's kinda uncomfy because his head is placed perfectly in the crook of Ry's neck.

*it's the white silver one but it turned out grey now because I refused to spawn a light since I like the ingame light falling into the Glen apartment a lot. :,D

Also this one goes here under the cut: It's the first I did, but I couldn't find a nice angle to be satisfied, so I let it be and went one with the upper ones. I'll come back to it some other time! They soft.

[forabeatofadrum]

Hello and happy Sunday to you all. Thank you @confused-bi-queer, @cutestkilla, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe for the tags, and a tag back to @aroace-genderfluid-sheep.

My Klaine fic is still being written. Toffee the hamster has been found, but it's taking a while to finish it. An anon did give me a title idea, namely The Class Menagerie, and anon, I love you for it,

In other fic related news, I started posting Dancin' on that bamboo ceiling, the fic series that explores Asian identity and racism through Glee, while also trying to find a way to place glee's own racism towards its Asian characters. I was quite nervous to post it and a bit stressed. So stressed that I straight up confused Mike and Wes in one of my summaries and in the series' summary I accidentally wrote that Mike moved to China, not from China. Oops. It's been fixed. Five fics are posted and I am not at all surprised that the Klaine-centric one has the most hits, since people still prefer shippy fics over gen fics. I just hope these Klainers (hi!!) are encouraged to also read the others.

I am also nervous because I don't want to come off as if I am speaking for everyone yada yada. I did add the disclaimer that I am one sole person writing this and I am also alway open for more feedback, but it feels so nerve wracking. I usually write for me and me alone, but not this time, I guess. And even so, I am one Chinese person and damnit China is big. Catch me frantically googling whether people in Hubei speak Mandarin or something else etc. (Which I knew the answer to, cause my sister is from Hubei, but I'm just so nervous!!!) (This is also why I remember that Mike's family is from Hubei.)

Also some things in Glee are so fucking stupid. I am already thinking about changing something in Blaine's chapter so it lines up with canon, but I am still trying to explain why Tina's last name is Cohen-Chang.

Writing this fic is uhhhh A Lot, since I am delving deep into the racism that I have experienced and also the stories of other Asian people who I have spoken to about this. (JY, Todd, I haven't seen y'all in literal years, but you're in this fic.) (I do still talk to Cilla regularly.) (And a shout-out to my sister who constantly has to deal with people saying "she is too pretty to be Chinese"!). I am excited to explore this and I keep thinking about things I can add, but it is heavy, as you might expect. I do try to keep some humour and joy in it, because unlike Glee, I also want to show that being Asian can be fun and can lead to connection. I am looking forward to Mike, Tina, Wes, Blaine and Yu-Jin being friends! Here's a more upbeat part of the sad shit that I shared recently:

"Yes, yes, yes!" Yu-Jin cheers when Mike and Wes step inside the bedroom, both wearing a tangzhuang. "God, if only my grandparents could see me now," Wes says as he studies himself in the mirror. "Tina's making photo's," Blaine says. Tina's new phone has the best camera of them all and she'll send the photos to the others later. She definitely wants to save the mirror selfies that she made with Yu-Jin. Tina's hanbok has become to small and it's straining her in places, but she loves the way she looks and that's what matters.

And now, the weather: @quizasvivamos @blurglesmurfklaine @coffeegleek @esperantoauthor @otherworldsivelivedin @caramelcoffeeaddict @sillyunicorn @bazzybelle @dragoneggos @raenestee @tectonicduck @nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @thnxforknowingme @captain-aralias @justgleekout @cerriddwenluna @tea-brigade @ivelovedhimthroughworse @moodandmist @whogaveyoupermission @bookish-bogwitch @ionlydrinkhotwater @1908jmd @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral @chen-chen-chen-again-chen ​ @artsyunderstudy ​ @martsonmars ​ @facewithoutheart ​ @shrekgogurt @boyinjeans @rockitmans @bitbybitwrites @blackberrysummerblog @whatevertheweather

[coolsomejet]

Some notes on Space Camp

Welp, now the movie is out. I have so much I wanna say, but I’ll wait until it comes out on YouTube to rewatch the movie (because the UI on the PBS Kids app sucks) and also I have a college thing to do tomorrow and Saturday, so yeah. More in-depth posts will come later. For now, I’ll just do bullet points (Spoilers abound, obviously)

The writers finally remembered that Face 9000 exists, and he plays a critical role in relaying information about the Deshrinkulum.

The writers, however, forgot that Commander Cressida exists. She’s not brought up once, not even in relation to the Great Galacto. Well, I guess that’s the law of equivalent exchange.

Speaking of the Great Galacto, he seems to be a commentary on YouTubers/social media influencers that do stupid things and have an impressionable young audience. He’s a good guy, though. He’s also Scottish for some reason. Well, Uncle Zucchini is Brooklyn/Joisey, so I’m not complaining.

As I suspected, Jet’s insistence on working alone ends up making things worse for him. Of course, he just wanted to protect Sean, Sydney, and Mindy, but still.

I predicted that Jet would have a “break the cutie” moment in this movie, and I was right. He even cries at one point. Poor thing. It’s even sadder that it happened to such an optimistic character like him.

According to the song “Brother From Another Sunspot Mother,” Jet adopted Sunspot from a litter. Here’s the thing though: in the flashback, Jet looks like the same age he currently does. This goes against what was established in “Sunday Drive.” That Sunspot lived with the Propulsions since Jet was a baby.

The songs in this movie are really great. They go into all sorts of genres too. Ska (Dear Great Galacto), a Disney-style award bait song™️ (Brother From Another Sunspot Mother”), blues (“Super Hyperdrive”), a marching song (“It Takes a Team”), etc

The scenery shows massive improvement. The trees especially look more realistic, instead of looking like stage props like in the TV show.

Stella was handled better than I thought. Contrary to what her actress said, she wasn’t a “villain.” She was just a jerk, much like Mitchell was. She didn’t do anything to physically hurt Jet and the others or anything. And she becomes nicer by the end of the movie.

As for Mitchell himself, well, they didn’t handle them the best. He spends 99% of the movie trying to expose Stella and Jet, and acts like he hates them. He even vilifies them by saying that they’re plotting to take over the world or whatever. What the hell happened here? They just undid all of his character development?

A minor complaint I had about the main show is that there was a small amount of background characters, and when there were, most of them were white. It made it look like Washington had the diversity of a cornfield, when that’s far from the truth. However, in this movie, there are plenty of people of color. For example, Houston is Black, Aurora is Asian-American, and Dr. Chandra is Southeast Asian. Heck, there are even some plus-size characters in the crowd shots. That’s also a good thing, since most of the earthie background characters seemed to have the same skinny body type. Heck, even Stella is a bit brown, and her voice actress is Asian-Canadian iirc.

Dr. Bergs is back, as is Dr. Skelley. Dr. Rafferty doesn’t appear at all. Maybe it’s because her voice actress was too busy or unavailable. Who knows?

Lillian doesn’t appear either. 😔

For those who wanted Mitchlendez or Propulsean shipping moments, you’re out of luck. Mindy sneaks up on Mitchell just for old times sake, and he does lend her his phone at one point, but that’s it. As for Propulsean, Jet and Sean just have standard friendship moments in the movie. Nothing too shippy, and he doesn’t call him “Seanzo” once. It could be for one of two reasons: the crew decided that they hate the ships and tried to remove any “puppy love” subtext between any characters. The other reason (for Propulsean) is that LGBTQ+ characters in kids shows causes major controversies nowadays, more so than usual, with Ron DeSantis and his fascist friends accusing any kids show that includes LGBTQ+ characters of “grooming.” They even tried to take Work It Out Wombats off the air just for having lesbian mothers. Even so, I’m happy if Jet and Sean are just friends. 

Aside from the basic plot of accidentally going to space, it doesn’t actually have much in common with the 80s movie SpaceCamp.

That’s all, folks!

[bothfeetinthegrave]

name — Rabbit is a nickname I've had for around a thousand years. My real name is Rory, or Ro if you prefer that over nicknames. I'm not choosy.

pronouns — he / him

preferred comms — discord works for me around %80 of the time, which is much more reliable than IMs here. My info's in my pinned if you'd like to add me - just let me know who you are!

name of muse — This is Eden Muir's blog, he's an OC / my favourite dead guy. My other writing blog @belovedcorvid, where I will probably reblog this, is for Donquixote Rocinante.

experience in RP — I've been writing on this site for around 11-12 years, across a few different URLs.

best experiences — I don't really have a specific best experience, it's hard to compare interactions because they're so different. I do want to mention though that I have never been included in as friendly and immediately accepting of a writing community as I have with OP, both here and on Cora's blog.

pet peeves / dealbreakers — I don't have a lot - I'm a pretty chill guy and the people I interact with are really considerate. I guess if I had to pick something, it's when another person continues an ask without moving it to a new thread? And even that feels really silly to sit down and write out like this.

muse preference ( fluff, angst, smut ) — No smut here, at least not so far - not really my thing. Between the other two, no real preference. Why not both? We can have hurt/comfort as a treat. I'd actually like to write some more shippy things, but I'm slow and not good at recognising when that's possible.

plot or memes — I find plotting to be easier with people I've interacted with a bit already, so I guess I would say memes.

long or short replies — Too long replies I get wordy. OTL I always want to do dialogue only or short replies because I wish I was faster, but they never stay that way. You never have to match me, and if you ever want me to focus in / make something easier to reply to, let me know!

best time to write — My schedule's wild, so right now the stars have to align in the following way: evenings on days where I haven't been on triage team all day, and don't have tabletop. This usually means mid-week and sundays.

are you like your muse — There's a fair bit of me in Eden, just because I think that's the nature of character creation for many people.

I am like Cora because I too am barely keeping my shit together and would like a cigarette.

tagged by: @isutoburu ♡ tagging: @byanyan @intothewildsea @vanishinq @rubctosis @cmdrace @taiixuan and @ anyone else that would like to fill this out, just say I tagged you! I have no idea anymore who's done this one and who hasn't so if I've tagged you and You've already done it I'm sorry. OTL

[livmadart]

DCEN Presents: Gosho Goes to the Movies!

Happy November, everyone! Ready for another round of election panic, family reunions, and NaNo-cramming?

Yeah, me neither. So, as we soldier into that long cold darkness—how 'bout a little game to warm us on the way?

Once upon a time, in a long-mothballed issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday, a fellow named Gosho Aoyama trotted off his favorite films of the '90s-and-before. I got my hands on it a few weeks back, and let me tell you: a couple are predictable, most are anything but. Hell, only two of 'em are Japanese!

You'll find the other eight below—mixed in with a whole school of red herrings. From now through the fifteenth, anyone interested is invited to take their best guesses and vote, vote, vote!

Official Rules as Follows:

Vote by Emoji'ing whichever titles you want!

One point for every right guess, one off for every wrong. Go over eight at your own peril.

Final tallies—unless Extreme Circumstances hit—will be taken on November 15, 'round 10:00pm EDT, after which I'll post the article for everyone to see. Till then, feel free to change your vote however many times you like! Google whatever you want, talk it over with friends, hit up a Japanese contact if you have one!

In case of draws, a super-secret Bonus Round will be instated.

Ahh, but what's a game without something to play for? Get the highest score—and you can take home one free art request from the fandom's very own Kaiser of Cones, Livmadart! Almost no strings attached.

(Note the First: Not in the mood to join a huge-ass server for one little game? Not a problem! The full list of titles has been posted here, just for those who want to do Mail-In! Send your answers to the inbox at goshogoestothemovies.tumblr.com, and you're good!)

(Note the Second: There are articles and interviews floating around online where Gosho names his favorite movies circa the 2010s and '20s. Look 'em up if you like—but only the eight titles from this specific Sunday article count.)

(Note the Third: Do keep Livmadart's boundaries in mind. Up to three characters—in color—may be requested, but please try to keep it PG, and shippy vibes to a minimum.)

[headoverjojo]

Hello! Can you write a scenario/headcanons (whichever you prefer!) about Melone, Formaggio and a gn la squadra member/reader enjoying an evening together gossiping and stuff? Might be shippy or totally platonic! (I love your blog! 🥺🥺)(Also these two separately ofc!)

Hi there, darling!! Awww thank you for you kind words :,) And sure thing!! Here we go :3 I hope you’ll like it!!

Mini-scenarios: Formaggio and Melone enjoy an evening with their friend

(Under the cut for length!)

Melone

You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck, and plopped on the couch, near Melone. The man turned his head to watch you, with an amused smile that widened when you showed him a couple of face masks and a glamorous purple nail polish. Oh, how you knew him well…

“It’s Sunday, Mel. Time for our beauty time!” you cheerfully said, while your friend was already studying the nails of your right hand. He sighed, picking up a nail file and starting to adjust your nails, relaxing at the sound of your quiet hums. How much he loved those moments… little oasis of peace in the chaos that was an assassin’s life.

“So? How was Florence?” you smiled, relaxing on the couch and letting Melone do his magic on your nails. He was extremely methodic, as almost as Prosciutto, and he always managed to fix your nails like no one else, after a mission. And well, you were good with hair. If he always had a glamorous haircut it was thanks to you.

“Wonderful. Don’t tell Risotto, but I managed to accomplish the mission in like, two days, and I’ve spent the rest of the week going around as tourist. It was sooooo nice to spend the Boss’ money there… well, he already has too much money, don’t you think? Better take from him what we can and enjoy them.” Melone snorted, giggling, and took your left hand, to carefully fix your nails. Oh, stealing money from the bastard that enjoyed to underpay all of his various squads would always be his favourite hobby ever…

“I won’t say a word, don’t worry, dear. And so… what did you visit in Florence?” you smirked, amused by his casual tone. He was almost like a child, when he knew you were gone somewhere…

He always loved when you brought him a little souvenir. His only eye always shone in delight when he could finally unwrap your present and, no matter what it was, he was always enthusiast about it. His fridge’s door was, by now, full of colorful magnets and you always joked saying that it seems more like the a housewife’s fridge than an assassin’s. There wasn’t a better compliment for him.

He liked when people, and you in particular, told him he seemed a normal person.

“I’ve ruined my shoes walking around… and trying to find the perfect souvenir.” fast as a snake, you pulled from your pocket a small package that made Melone squeak in joy and delight. He took it, quickly unwrapping it, and you smiled, happy, when you saw his eyes shining in joy when he took the colorful -and, yes, a bit kitsch, but he liked them like this- magnet in his hands. You giggled, when he hugged you, and you patted his back, amused and content. He really didn’t need a lot to be the happiest guy around… and you loved to see your friend smile like that. He didn’t do it enough.

“Guess I should buy you a new pair of shoes, to repay you of the efforts, don’t you think?” you huffed a laugh, while picking up a circlet and freeing his face from his lavender bangs. He stayed still, humming contently, while you were gently spreading the face mask on his face, careful to cover every good centimeter of it.

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t say no to a gift, Mel.” his lips twitched, but he managed not to grin, not to ruin the face mask just put on. When you finished, he took again your hands, to put the nail polish on.

“And here? How has it been?” you asked, watching with marvel how Melone was putting the nail polish on. Perfect to the last millimeter. No surprise that even Gelato and Sorbetto, who always showed an enviable manicure, were almost jealous of your perfectly painted nails!

“Oh, as usual. But I missed you!” he pouted, and you huffed a laugh, resisting the temptation to pinch his cheek. How could he, the sweetest and kitschest person you have ever know, be a top-tier assassin? He really had two faces… as everyone else, in your squad. No one, watching Risotto’s intimidating figure, would have ever imagined he was the most tender gardner in the world. No one would have ever imagined, not after seeing them at work, at least, that Sorbetto and Gelato were the sappiest and cheesiest couple around. For the rest of Passione, they were just their cold blooded assassins.

Well, for you they were your family, especially Melone. Your sweet, fashionista and curious friend…

“And I’ve missed you too!” he smiled, content, finishing to put the nail polish on your right hand and switching to your left one. You sighed, relaxed, resting your back on the couch arm, closing your eyes. Yes…

It was nice to be home again.

*******

Formaggio

“Ohi, Y/N! Do you have plans for tonight?” you huffed, when Formaggio rested his arm on your head, and lifted your eyes from the magazine you were reading, to fix them on your partner-in-crime’s smug face.

“Maybe.” you giggled, when he loudly complained, and, right when he was about to beg, you finally gave in. It was always funny to tease him like this!

“So, what are your plans for tonight, Formaggio? CSI and beer at your place?” he grinned, raising a positive thumb up at your words. It was almost a ritual of yours: every Friday night was your CSI night. You both loved to watch it, sometimes just to laugh at the absurd murders, sometimes to even take inspiration from them. Formaggio liked to be theatrical, as much as Risotto allowed him to be. And you could understand him: with a stand so versatile as Little Feet, you too would have gone creative!

“Bring the snacks, this time the beer is on me. At eight and half, hm?” you nodded, smiling, amused, and then he finally freed your head, going to the entrance door. After shouting a bye to everyone -aside Ghiaccio, as they had fought again. Sometimes you thought of them more as children than as grown ass murderers-, he was out.

“Uh-uh, at Formaggio’s again, Y/N? Do you have something to tell us?” you scoffed at Melone’s teasings, and closed the magazine, after putting in it a piece of paper, not to lose the point where you’d stopped.

“Yes, that you’re a bunch of assholes. See ya tomorrow, guys.” you waved a little your hand, exiting the hideout and taking the magazine with you. So, snacks… on your way to Formaggio’s place, you stopped at a little discount to buy some snacks, a mix of yours and his favourite ones, and then you finally went straight to his flat. You knocked a couple of times, and, when Formaggio came to open, one of his cats jumped from his shoulders to yours, meowing and purring and rubbing his little muzzle on your hair. You giggled, amused, coming in, while Formaggio was apologizing and trying to get the cat back, only to be hissed at, to his enormous dismay.

“You little ungrateful flea-bag!” you pouted, picking the cat from your shoulders and holding it on your chest, gently scratching it behind his ears, earning more purrs and soft meowls that turned into hisses every time Formaggio came near.

“Don’t be so mean to Signor Spock!” you scolded him, giving him the bag with the snacks and keeping cuddling the cat, while going to the couch. You plopped down, playing with Signor Spock, giggling when you heard Formaggio grumbling and huffing, while he was preparing a couple of bowls full of snacks, and a couple of deliciously cold beers, of course. You turned on the TV, zapping from channel to channel until you finally found the right one. Now it was just a matter of waiting…

“So? Do you want to tell me why you and Ghiaccio fought?” his grumbles became louder as he approached the couch, putting a couple of bowls on the small coffee table and handing you a beer. You hummed, enjoying the cold surface of the glass bottle and, when he too finally sat down, you clicked your bottle with his, in a simple toast, and took a sip. So refreshing…

“Cat got your tongue, ‘Maggio?” you turned around, only to find him pouting and… slightly red on his cheeks. What the hell? What did Ghiaccio say to him?!

“Bullshits, like always. Nothing to worry about.” he grumbled, almost shoving on you lap a bowl. Signor Spock hissed again, before hopping down and trotting on his favourite spot: on the wardrobe, from where he could perfectly ambush his owner. You tilted your head, looking at your friend and his grumpy face, before sighing. He was as stubborn as a horse, when he wanted to…

“Alright, alright, keep your secrets, then. But you know I’m always here for you, right?” you said, after putting your beer on the coffee table. You took his face in your hands, looking at him right in the eye, serious. He was surprised and again slightly red on the cheeks; you were so near…

However, he started to frown and pout when he noticed how your hands were slowly pressing more and more his cheeks, and he openly grumbled when you mouthed cioppi-cioppi, laughing.

“Oh, c’mon!” he complained, but it was impossible to miss the grin that was forcing its way on his lips. Your smile widened, when you saw it. Ah, it was a win!

“Oh, it’s starting! But don’t you think we’re done, hm?” he rolled his eyes, but hummed a yes, immensely enjoying your head on his shoulder. Maybe Ghiaccio’s teasings were so annoying because they were true…

However, it was something for another time. Now it was time to watch CSI with a beer, some good snack, and especially you, his best friend…

Or maybe something more?

[smilingperformer]

Alright, time to have a say on what I think about the new series, based on the new footage we got!

And all I really have to say is:

I love it all! More under the cut, this became a long post!

Satoshi is still the same, lovable personality from Sun & Moon VERY clearly, the humour and awesome faces are back from Sun & Moon, and just oh my GOD

Pikachu is adorable throughout the preview footage, giving electric spark hello to Gou (spooking him a bit clearly) and ohmygod

WANPACHI/YAMPER IS THE CUTEST AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!

ALSO SCORBUNNY Ohmygod I’m so happy I decided to choose Scorbunny right away my heart is just filled with so much joy <333 Can’t wait for its debut episode, which happens to be episode 4!

But like, the animation is so gorgeus as well, and Pikachu’s new Thunderbolt animation has got to be my fav thunderbolt animation of all time now, just freaking LOOK AT IT!

That is so freaking beautiful, I love how Pikachu touches his cheeks and then just ohmygod this is... I’m mesmerized.

I am totally adoring Gouharu shipping atm, just, I really like seeing Koharu isn’t afraid of being angry at Gou, and Gou seems to get a bit nervous when Koharu gets angry at him? Idk I just find this so cute! SPEAKING OF GOU!

I love him so much already? He’s shown so much personality in this preview alone, and as interviews said about having made Gou and Satoshi opposites of each other, I can see the mentioned dynamic and GOSH I’m hyped to see more of these two! I’ve seen people say they act like brothers and, that’s quite true! Satoshi has two siblings now!

Koharu hasn’t given off any too interesting vibes yet, but I guess that’ll change next week once we see Gou and Koharu’s Pokecamp trip. But I do love her and Gou’s dynamic from the little footage we saw! (Also Gou being excited to see Okido-hakase, ashfsjhfs) Also sounds like both Gou and Koharu go to school, but I could be wrong!

NOW!

Let’s get to the lovely, charming villains!

Who look absolutely gorgeus in their new motto animation, which IS back to their original motto line once again!

Also shippy as heck, this could end up becoming my fav version of their motto, man oh man does it all look GOOD!

Can’t wait to see them debut in new series! Wonder which ep they’ll fit in, could they fit into NS002 I wonder? Btw, lovely new logo!

Best part is Gou going “NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH“ on Nyarth speaking! Also, he saying ‘first time I’ve seen Rocket Gang‘ is such a good detail since he IS from Kuchiba/Vermillion City! Oh Gou, now you’ll have to suffer from them trailing you down because of becoming friends with Satoshi. :-D

What else? It looks like there’ll be elements from GO (raid battles were showcased), mainline games (SwSh obviously) and what-not. The music was absolutely gorgeus, so even if Miyazaki-san has stepped down as composer for the series, the new composer (forgot their name, I need time to remember these new names lol) is doing a great job!

Now, first episode will dwell into Pikachu’s backstory, as some may know by now! And from the looks of it, Pikachu had a family in this Kangaskhan/Garura and its baby when it was still a mere Pichu, and something happens that causes Pichu to say farewell to them. Could be either Hunters involved, or this specific Kangaskhan was caught by a trainer, or something more dark like what happened with Mooland. But it kinda looks like, that the farewell happens suddenly. And I have a feeling I’ll be crying next sunday. I think the preview dialogue mentions how Pichu used to be alone all the time, but then met this Kangaskhan mom and child duo? Guess we’ll have to see next week what happens!

But that’s it for first impressions? I’m totally hyped for this, it has the same kind of vibe and energy Sun & Moon had, and that makes me so incredibly happy! And it’ll finally start next week, awesome! I’ll make sure to write my thoughts on this legendary episode next week!

[starsmuserainbow]

And I’ll be offline! Still mobile, but slow.

I got to things, and owe things.

I am kinda hoping that maybe I can get out some valentines-related opens tomorrow (since sunday is when I do my opens anyway, and it just matches), but I’m not sure yet if I’ll be able to do that, since so far I’ve been kinda pulling a blank on ideas for such an open, regardless of if I go in a shippy way or platonic PALentines day (a term which I only learned recently by the way, and a pretty cool one at that!) or something. I guess the starters will only come if inspiration strikes, or maybe I’ll skim through the opens I already have and pick the ones that most work for an occasion like this. Or I’ll just do the usual randomly-picking of which opens I reblog. I honestly don’t know yet which will be the case.

Anyway!

I’m too lazy for the list today, I will do it again tomorrow or so. I have so far only prepared one reply for tomorrow, but I’m hopeful to get at least my default of 2 replies done and ready for posting by then.

Good night or day!

[ilosttrackofthings]

you are about to be spammed with sunday six posts and I won't apologize because you have BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF. ha! ilosttrackofthings. tumblr. com /post /111132151964 /sunday-six and ilosttrackofthings. tumblr. com /post /123892691057 /sunday-six (the jemlincoln one) and ilosttrackofthings. tumblr. com /post /126830291441 /sunday-six (the clairvoyant one)

ask me anything (fic edition)

turn turn turn AU

This was a pretty simple AU where Grant and Jemma are married and she assumes Hydra wants her to use her as an incentive against Grant but in reality there’s the horrible turn (heh) where they want her because they have orders to keep her safe or Grant will murder them all.

clairvoyant

Oh, man, I loved this idea so much I tried to write it twice but it never went anywhere. (You actually managed to write a fic with a pretty similar premise that somehow always makes me feel better about never getting it done while also making me wish I had.) During a standoff with Centipede, one of the enemy gets a phone call that they claim is for Grant. After taking the call, he betrays SHIELD and kidnaps Jemma to work on the serum. And I could never figure out how to get from there to the shippiness.

jemlincoln

I actually managed to write a lot of this one (5k) but a lot of it isn’t too good and even my notes don’t know how it gets to an ending so here is a ridiculously detailed play-by-play of what happens with snippets of bits I liked mixed in:

Lincoln and Skye are hanging out at Afterlife before she found out Jiaying was her mom. He has some fun with cluing her in to the fact that while everyone else gets their soulmate’s name on their skin before they reach adulthood, Inhumans don’t get them until they become “truly themselves” via transition. Skye’s shocked/confused/excited because she was always really sad she didn’t have a soulmate. Turns out it’s Fitz and he just never knew because his mark is her real name. [I think I might’ve actually made that into a fic at some point…] Skye starts teasing Lincoln about his own, as yet unmet soulmate, claiming it’s not fair he knows her name but she doesn’t know his.

“Youknow mine,” Skye says carelessly. “And don’t think I’veforgotten that that’s because you people strippedme while I was unconscious.”

Lincolnrolls his eyes and lets the gesture carry him back down the path.

“Iwill find out!” she yells after him.

Heknows she means it, she’s just the sort who won’t ever stop. (Hecan already picture her tackling him to the ground and pulling at hisclothes to find the name.) His hip, where the elegant scrawl isburned into his skin, itches just thinking about the exposure. So,without turning, he calls back to her, “Jemma Simmons,” and hopesthat’ll be the end of it.

Itis, surprisingly. Skye never says another word about his soulmate.

Heshould probably have been worried about that.

When Lincoln wakes up at the Playground after being rescued by SHIELD, he is NOT HAPPY.  She tries to get him to see that SHIELD are the good guys, they rescued him from Hydra, but he’s got this weird feeling in the back of his head - like he’s forgetting something or there’s somewhere else he needs to be - that’s making him extra snappy. When Lincoln’s doctor comes in, he gets mad at himself for thinking she’s pretty (she’s SHIELD, she’s the enemy). They get in a mini-argument about how Skye’s powers were treated. Skye breaks it up and quickly introduces Jemma to Lincoln before slipping out.

There are some attempts at warming up to each other and some backslides. Lincoln realizes the strange feeling he has is the bond settling into place, which can only happen if Jemma physically touched him. He understands she was providing medical care when there were no other doctors available but it’s still a major consent issue. He’s also spent a lot of the last few years looking forward to sharing his powers with his soulmate, so he’s hurt when Jemma quickly side-steps his offer to show them off and even passes on the task of indexing him to Weaver.

Lincoln has a really bad reaction to jumping to the other side of the planet all of a sudden after only just meeting his soulmate. Jiaying is super concerned about him. Here and throughout the fic there were lots of details about his history with Jiaying, how she helped him come to terms with his powers, and how the arrival of his soulmark in the midst of that helped. [Honestly my favorite thing about this fic was Jiaying mothering Lincoln lots and all the details I had about their history, not the shippy stuff.] She helps Lincoln deal with his distrust of Jemma as a SHIELD agent, reminding him about the SHIELD vs SHIELD dynamic that was going on and that likely the same people who hunted Skye weren’t willing to allow Jemma to index her own soulmate. 

“She’safraid of my powers,” he says softly.

“Oh,Lincoln.” She runs a hand through his hair and pulls him to hershoulder, holding him like she thinks he’ll cry. He might. “She’llcome to understand. Even we fear ourselves when we first transition.”She pushes him away far enough that she can cup his face in herhands. “If Jemma is as kind as you say - as kind as she mustbe, to be yours - then I’m sure she’ll learn to trust you.”

Hetwists away to hide his embarrassed smile - and his fear that she’swrong.

She also tells him that she’s using the meeting with SHIELD to bring Jemma to safety. Either she’ll come with them or Gordon can whisk her away from the Playground while everyone’s eyes are on Afterlife. Lincoln accepts this plan without question, considering it a rescue/protection rather than a kidnapping.

Everyone in Afterlife finds out about Jemma approximately two seconds after Lincoln arrives thanks in part to Raina mass texting everyone that photo from when Jemma was undercover. When Lincoln finds out about those circumstances, his natural inclination to consider Inhumans different people than they were pre-transition means he overlooks Raina’s role in matters and focuses solely on SHIELD sending Jemma undercover and then letting her be exposed.

Jiaying’s meeting with Gonzales goes the same as canon save for Jemma winding up at Afterlife when it’s over. Jiaying uses a shape-shifting Inhuman to make it appear that the guards with Jemma attacked her when things went sideways. That way Jemma will hopefully be turned against SHIELD and Jiaying will be able to keep Lincoln by her side and having her friend will hopefully keep Skye with them as well and all Jiaying’s little family can be united against SHIELD.

And then I literally have no idea where it goes from there. My final note on the fic is simply this:

SomehowJemma and Lincoln both end up on SHIELD’s side and happy and safe.

So that happens, I guess.

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Hi! I'm a jonerys shipper but I find your theories very interesting. I wonder though, how will you feel about the show/Asoiaf if Political!Jon is debunked with season 8? Do you think it will change your opinion on Jon? And will you still ship Jonsa if he truly bent the knee because he is in love with Dany? I suppose I'm wondering how a post S8 Jonsa faction will look.

Hello! I really appreciate the question because it’s not a bad one: what if political!Jon isn’t a thing? First, I guess I’ll explain what I think has to be true for political!Jon to not be true.

Jon has to have total faith in Dany’s ruling ability; not just her capacity as a conqueror. Jon has to have thought it was acceptable to give away the Stark ancestral home without consulting anyone about it. Jon has to have actually been unable to lie to Cersei at the Dragonpit. Jon has to actually believe that the stuff he warned Dany about earlier in the season (about northerners not wanting to follow a southern ruler) is either not true anymore - or - at least not as important as the urgency to give away his crown before he could even talk to them about it.

All of these have terrible, terrible implications on Jon’s character.

Because it will mean a number of things…

1) It would mean that Jon really didn’t learn anything from Robb and Ned and their respective downfalls. That’s tragic in itself. When it comes to Robb, sure he made mistakes that cost him his life - but he was also way too young and thrust into a position he should never have been forced to undertake. The same is somewhat true for Jon, except he’s now been in leadership and he knows his family’s mistakes. 

I don’t want “aww shucks” stupid heroes. I don’t enjoy that type of storytelling. I don’t think it’s something I can suspend my disbelief while I’m watching if I actively think “he is a complete and total idiot” and he’s supposed to be un-ironically a hero of the story. Beyond that, I think that’s the opposite of the point of Jon’s arc, most especially in the books but also on the show. 

Robb and Ned are there to be cautionary tales for good people who are struggling with the intricacies of dangerous political games. Jon being as dopey as not learning anything from their decisions cheapens Robb’s story, it cheapens Ned’s story, and it makes Jon simply a lucky idiot if he somehow survives.

Jon is also taking a gigantic risk throwing all his eggs in Dany’s basket even if he thinks she’s the most wonderful person. He has no idea what she’s like as a ruler. He didn’t know anything about her other than she’s come to Westeros and has three dragons. He doesn’t know anything about her tenure in Essos - or that it concluded with her very responsibly have Daario Naharis overlooking the biggest political transition in thousands of years over there. No big deal.

In the best case scenario, Jon would have been detained on the island, been “asked” to bend the knee to Dany on multiple occasions, and agreed to go on a mission that he otherwise wouldn’t have gone on (since he asked Dany multiple times to come North without regard to Cersei’s intentions) and almost died on that mission only to have seen Dany take another big risk by flying her dragons up North to try to save him.

That’s not even close to enough information for Jon to know whether Dany is in any way a good ruler. Flying dragons and ruling are two different things. He took a huge gamble whether it’s political!Jon or not; but at least with political!Jon it was because he felt he HAD to do it to ensure her commitment. The alternative is Jon handing that over without any clue as to whether she can do the mundane things like administer land dispute decisions or responsibly manage the treasuries of Westeros. 

2)  It would mean that Jon governs and makes decisions based solely on his own emotional impulses which would really suck. It’s practically inexcusable for Jon to behave this way. It’s irresponsible as a ruler for him to just hand Dany power like he did at face value without talking to anyone from the North about it first. You could have made an argument to me that Jon could legitimately think Dany should rule the North and it might be a plausible explanation without making Jon a terrible rule IF Jon had actually waited until he returned North to tell the lords in person that he planned to give away the crown for her.

By not doing so, it tells me that either Jon is inconsiderate and impulsive enough to give away something as sacred as an entire country (on the macro) and his childhood home (on the micro level) - OR - there’s something else in play for why he felt it absolutely necessary to “bend the knee” with the timing as it occurred. If there’s some 3rd explanation that I haven’t thought of - I’d actually be willing to read it first before I decided whether it’s an idea willing to entertain.

I don’t talk politics thaaaat much on here, but the analogy really would be that, after being elected, Donald Trump literally believed he had the authority and moral high ground to hand his presidency over to Putin. Not only would everyone hate him, but he literally does not have the authority to act like that and would be removed from his position before it happened.

[to be clear Jon =/= Trump and Dany =/= Putin. It’s an analogy on political leaders behaving in another context. If you want, you can imagine the PM of Canada and the the King of Wakanda as substitutes behaving the same way.]

By going solo in that process - Jon almost guaranteed at the very least a gigantic amount of political turmoil in the North…but it’s something I think he’s aware of and has anticipated. If he hasn’t - he has no business ruling anything ever. 

There is no reasonable explanation for the timing of Jon bending the knee (before consulting with anyone in the North let alone his very own travel companion Davos) other than political!Jon and realizing the exact moment was right because Dany had just promised to help fight the Night King and Jon wanted to cement her commitment as much as he could.

3) It would mean that Jon genuinely valued everyone knowing openly that he planned to fight Cersei in the war after the Night King over actually getting the truce to allow them to fight the NK. If Jon did what he did at the Dragonpit - then he proved himself a liar when he said just before that “there is only one war that matters” because he immediately (again, in the absence of political!Jon) affirmed his position in the war for the Iron Throne at the expense of the war to save the Realm. 

Beyond the silliness of the idea that Jon Snow is incapable of lying to Cersei - it really is highlighted perfectly in Jon’s scene with Theon:

“You risked everything just to tell an enemy the truth.”

I mean…is telling the truth generally good? Yes.

Is telling the truth still good if….

SCENARIO: Bad Guy has their finger on the button to launch a nuclear weapon on a Sunday and they say, “oh wait, these nuclear codes were only good until Sunday and now it’s after midnight so it’s Monday!” 

Bad Guy is momentarily confused. “Or is it still Sunday? Say! You, Honest Fellow! If it’s really after 12:00 AM, I’ll have to leave here and try to grab more launch codes, is it really after midnight? I don’t have my watch.”

Honest Fellow: “I’d like to tell you it’s 12:04….but alas, I cannot. It is 11:58-…”

*KABOOM*

Well…you’d rightfully be displeased with Honest Fellow. But, then again, I think Jon Snow would hate this honest fellow as well. How stupid is that if it’s the same story we heard at face value? 

“I just can’t lie!” 

That’s irredeemably stupid. It KNOWINGLY put everyone at risk and actually is LUCKY that Cersei planned all along to accept a truce so she could have time to replenish her forces with the Golden Company. 

I’d recommend that the Honest Fellow version of Jon Snow climb up that 700 foot Wall he’s supposedly been working so hard to protect and fling himself off. They could call it Lord Commander’s Landing.

4) It would completely upend the part of Jon’s story where he has yearned to truly be a part of House Stark, his residual guilt about not being there to help Robb when the fighting began, and his close relationship with Sansa after their reunion. 

I could say plenty of shippy things about how the absence of political!Jon would completely ruin the relationship with Sansa that Jon’s built since they reunited but I don’t even have to go there. Simply as a close companion and trusted adviser and family member, Jon would have spat right in her face.

People seem to misinterpret Jon feeling like an outsider with the rest of the Starks with Jon never feeling welcome and never wanting to be a member of House Stark. The exact opposite is true. Jon’s detachment was due specifically to his wanting very much to be Jon Stark but feeling like it was an impossibility because of his birth. Jon loved the Starks. He wanted to be known as Ned’s son. He craved acceptance from Catelyn but never received it. It’s caused him to feel unworthy of that. 

When they found the direwolf pups, Jon wanted each Stark to have a wolf first. It was essentially a gift of the gods that Jon “heard” Ghost (who is famously silent) after his noble self-denial in favor of the trueborn Starks. 

Immediately after winning the BotB, Jon makes sure Sansa takes up residence in the Lord’s chambers. He didn’t do that because he doesn’t care. He cares very deeply. He wanted Sansa to know that she is House Stark’s true representative. He doesn’t feel like he deserves that, hence the sadness in his voice as he says “I’m not a Stark.” He reiterates that Sansa is the Lady of Winterfell. Being the Lord or Lady (as opposed to “acting” Lord or Lady) means that Sansa has hereditary rights over Winterfell - something they both fought like hell to re-take.

Now I’m supposed to believe that the guy who didn’t even want a simple puppy before the other Starks, who fought like hell to re-take Winterfell, who tried to desert the Night’s Watch once and arguably did a second time to fight for the Starks, who very intentionally placed Sansa as the head of House Stark rather than himself, who then passed to her specifically ruling authority over the North while he was away - THAT GUY - is now supposed to think it’s fine and necessary and RIGHT to give ruling authority and his crown over to a woman before she ever even stepped foot in the North.  (The Gift, which is the territory along the Wall is owned by the Night’s Watch independent of the North. Even if you count the top of Eastwatch as Dany stepping foot up there, she’s still not in the political North)

All of this, too, without ever talking to a single person about the decision beforehand. 

That’s a Jon Snow I cannot root for or reconcile with the rest of his story. In my mind, it’s character assassination.

It would make me wonder what the point was of Jon Snow even coming back from the dead.

Thank you for the ask. Hope this answers your question sufficiently. You’re welcome to ask more anytime. 

[sapphicdalliances]

Hi, Yuletide writer! First of all, my sincere apologies in my delay of getting this letter written up at all, and my enthused thanks for being here!

I’m a simple bitch with simple tastes; here is a general summary of my preferences, and fandom-specific notes and prompts can be found further down!

I very much enjoy:

Romance -- anything up to and including plotless shippy drivel

Short fics, or even collections of tiny fics

Long fics too, so I guess what I mean is, don’t feel pressured either way

Comedic tones, slice-of-life, lighthearted fun, any amount of improbable romcom tropes

Am also hella on board with misunderstandings, drama or angst as long as there is a happy ending!

I’m deeply okay with AUs, and most likely would be down for any modern, romcom, fantasy/fairytale, gender swap, or remix/crossover AUs you feel inspired to explore! My favourite settings include mundane/urban fantasy (witches! werewolves!), anachronism-stew-with-magic western fantasy jumbles, and disney’s Tangled.

Specific tropes I love:

Proposal fic

Wedding fic where the couple getting married is not the main couple

Outsider/third character POV of the main couple

Exes who are still in love/getting back together

Friends-with-benefits-with-feelings/did a bad job keeping it casual

Shipfic where two or more couples are contrasted

Oblique declarations of love/saying i love you without saying i love you

Provision and caretaking (acts of service!)

Aggressive matchmaking/wingmanning by an enthused friend

Hanahaki, or any other improbably dramatic instances of Cannot Spit It Out

Arranged marriage/fake marriage/fake dating

Epistolary fic

Regrettably I also love a/b/o, especially the kind that emphasises on scent safety and contains little to no actual sex

I’m not as into:

Political or social intrigue, mysteries, complex magical plots — by no means a dealbreaker, but not high on my list of priorities

Kidfic

First person narration

Soulmate AUs specifically

In general, please avoid:

Character death or serious/permanent injury

Animal abuse or death

Infidelity

Hopeless or downer endings

Fandom specific info starts here!

Princess Tutu - Ahiru, Fakir

I’ve loved Ahiru/Fakir for years and years — they are both very strong, willful but compassionate characters, and the way they intersect is just so sweet to me. While I would be ravenous for any tutu content, gen included, I really would be particularly delighted with some overtly shippy fic for this one, I hope that’s okay!

Suggestions:

Modern AUs: vet science major Ahiru + English major Fakir meet in theatre club?

Step Up-style remix where they become somewhat-unwilling dance partners because their regular partners are somehow indisposed and work better than expected

That one ending fix-it AU where Fakir writes her back into a girl and they retire into the village, the one we all have in our treacherous hearts, i will never get enough of these

Fakir and Ahiru’s relationship progression as observed by the other members of the school/town

Or mix it up with any of the tropes in my general list! For this ship, I would like a maximum rating of T, please!

Wotakoi

I love every ship in this manga equally but perhaps I love Kou/Naoya more equally than the other two? They are just so kind and so silly, and so sweet to each other in exactly the way both of them didn’t realise they were missing! Honestly, anything with these characters that’s along the lines of canon would be delightful; the particular energy of misfits realising that they don’t have to be alone is something very dear to me.

Suggestions:

Accidentally dating ft. Kou and Naoya, or, “and you’ve made out how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.”

5 times Hirotaka and Narumi almost, almost kissed, and 1 time they did; the unresolved romantic tension may kill me and it would be worth it

What Hirotaka and Narumi taught each other (apart from the more mundane gaming and life skills, i believe that she taught him how to smile and be loved by others, and he taught her how to be loved by herself!)

Smutty domesticity ft. Koyanagi and Kabakura — a lazy Sunday, laundry in the sun, fucking on the couch, everything easy with familiarity

The fantasy/MMORPG AU, where Hirotaka is the lazy but brilliant crown prince, Naoya the hapless but beloved second prince, Koyanagi his spymaster and Kabakura the captain of the prince’s guard; Narumi his childhood friend-cum-betrothed, and Kou a mysterious archer who saves a distressed Naoya from bandits in the village?

The gang tries to play DND. We finally find a game that Naoya is good at.

Or mix it up with any of the tropes in my general list!

Nezha - Oubing

I feel 100 different ways about this movie and 88 of the ways are SO CHINESE. The filial piety, the familial sacrifice, the friendship! I do believe that Nezha and Aobing are in love, I hope this is a reading of the text that we share, but if not, gen about their friendship/rivalry would also be well-recieved.

Suggestions:

Aobing has been practicing bigu (a cultivation style that is meant to remove one’s need for food or water) since he was born; Nezha introduces him to food, and other creature comforts — do they have BEDS in the dragon palace for example?? Buddhist-style cultivation is very ascetic and difficult, but Nezha is so wild and full of feelings and love!!

Modern AU: delinquent Nezha and prim, proper exchange student Aobing

Modern AU addendum: nobody believes Nezha when he says he’s got a hot boyfriend in Taiwan and thinks that he has made Aobing up

Arranged marriage/political fantasy AU where the prince of dragons is given to the most controversial heavenly general in an effort to improve both families’ social standing

For a gen prompt, if you want to do something about Nezha and/or Aobing’s relationships to their fathers, debts and affections and resentments, that too would be lovely!

On the other end of the spectrum, i’m down for PWP with xeno tropes re: aobing’s dragon anatomy! So long as the top/bottom roles are not too strictly defined, i just like it when they’re equitable or switch!

And of course, feel free to mix it up with any of the tropes in my general list!

Kazetsuyo/Run with the Wind

I didn’t tag any characters because my favourites were not in the list, and of course because I do love everyone, but my personal priorities are in order: Shindo, Musa, Haiji, Kakeru, Nico-chan, Yuki, the bombastic twins, and then everyone else. The spaces between those positions are very small so if you happen to have a passion for a character/ship lower on the list, worry not, there is limitless affection within me for everyone!

Suggestions:

Shindo should get to take Musa to see the snow… he deserves that

He also deserves to run the ekiden again in his fourth year and not be sick and actually win section 5!

I do think Kakeru and Haiji are most definitely soulmates — if you choose to focus on one or both of them, I really do believe they are in the romantic kind of love, is the thing!

Perhaps their relationship, an inevitable drifting together, as perceived by everyone else in aotake?

Or Haiji comes to Kakeru’s graduation, all their tenderest affections still unspoken, and somehow, without any premeditation, by the end of the day they’ve kissed

You know what I think? I think Hana-chan likes and is capable of dating both of the twins, and I love that for her

Or gen canonverse with everyone (or just everyone you care about) taking turns caring for Nira and reflecting on the race!

As above, please feel free to mix it up with the tropes in my general list!

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun

I only selected Seo and Waka because they are simply my top priority, but if you want to serve a side of Chiyo/Nozaki and/or Hori/Kashima and/or Seo and Kashima being beautiful best friends and/or Mikorin being a beautiful himbo who we are delighted to have here, i would not complain at all!

Absolutely anything about them being goobery oblivious idiots in love would be perfect, such as:

5 times they went on a date without realising, and the time they realised

Everyone else literally just thinks they’re dating and they are completely clueless

Or on the other end of the spectrum, everyone tries desperately to set them up/matchmake for them, not realising that they’ve been going steady for four months

A hanahaki AU would be particularly hilarious with these two, I feel

Urban fantasy AU where Waka is a hapless monster hunter and Seo is an annoying but deeply harmless werewolf who’s been terrorizing his town??

Regency or faux-regency AU where Waka is literally like “drive by your rival’s estate slowly so that she may seethe with jealousy at the loveliness of your new hat” and Seo is like “oh goodness, he is courting me. What a fool. What an absolute buffoon.” and challenges him to a swordfight

Fairytale AU where Seo believes she must rescue the prince from the tower and deliver him back to the kingdom capital, and the prince, who had not realised he’d been kidnapped, thinks Seo is a usurper from a rival kingdom who must be supervised all the way back to the kingdom capital to be served her justice

Or anything else equally romcom-y, and of course, as always, throw in as many tropes as you like!

Thank you for reading this whole mess of a letter, and I sincerely hope I haven’t bored you too much. The most important thing to me is that whatever you end up writing, you are able to enjoy the process at least somewhat, and deliver a fic that you like! I can also be found on twitter at @hawberries_ (for art) and @popplioikawa (for general ramblings), and if you have any desire to send an anon ask to this tumblr with questions, i’m actually not sure if that’s allowed but i’d be happy to get some! Thank you again, and happy holidays!

[popliar]

BTS: Love Yourself in Hong Kong

23 and 24 March 2019 - I loved it and had many thoughts about it below the cut.

For the Saturday 23 March show, our seats were basically looking onto the podium at the end of the catwalk so they were great. But the venue is honestly so small that any seat would've been good - this was the 3rd of 4 shows in Hong Kong, and probably the smallest shows they played on the Love Yourself tour and the smallest they'll play in years (except for Muster, lol).

For the Sunday 24 March show, our seats were one section further away from the stage, but it was still a great view with a broader angle that gave me a better view of the staging and VCRs. Both nights, I had a better view than I did at the Sydney Wings show in 2016 - this was just a smaller, closer arena.

And I enjoyed both shows so much! The shows were almost 3 hours long each but they felt like they went by in a flash. And they played so many songs, but also there were SO many more I wish they could've played - their discography is really wild at this point, it's just PACKED with hits.

In many ways the live show is the ultimate piece of fan memorabilia - but it holds a kind of tension within itself too. On the one hand, it's a unique, irreplaceable experience that can't be duplicated or repeated. On the other, especially in kpop where we have so much access to fancams and concert footage, there's pressure for the experience to meet the expectations that we have, to live up to the hype of the previous shows.

(Those two things play off each other too. How else would we - or some of us, anyway - know to watch out for those micro deviations, those little moments when Jimin runs away from Namjoon in Anpanman, when Taehyung and Jin look like they're gonna make out in So What?)

But this idea of the experience as unique and non-replicable is not quite true or not quite as simple as that. We live in an age of digital media and - this is especially true in kpop - incredibly high quality fancams and photos. Sitting at a remove of many metres, and viewing only one side of the stage, there were definitely moments that I 'missed' and had to discover later through social media. And also there's a concert DVD and a concert movie which captures maybe not your show in particular, but the essentials of this tour.

One thing that can't truly be replicated - the atmosphere. It made me laugh, in a delighted way, when the crowd just screamed and sang along to every MV and BT21 CF shown before the show. I just love the comraderie of fandom, the build of excitement. Or how pretty it looked when all the Army bombs were lit up, or when we all took out our phones. It was a good feeling. (Though as @proteinscollide said some Korean-speakers in the row behind us pointed out - it was noticeable that the crowd was much quieter when it was the Korean rather than English! LOL.)

Some of the very brief ments early in the show were repeated the following night, but their ending ments were unique to each evening. A Cantonese translator from behind the scenes translated after each of them spoke, except when they spoke in English - this helped me a little, but my Cantonese is so poor and the crowd was so LOUD that again I had to check on twitter afterwards for full translations! A few of them tried to also say some phrases in Cantonese which was very endearing; out of them all, Hoseok had the best pronounciation (which I guess fits in well with his history of having pretty good Japanese and English pronounciation too).

ETA: oh and I loved Jin with the disco ball sunnies and the pirate mask for each of the end ments!!! He's so ridiculous....I love him....

Notably on the 23rd, it was the first time Namjoon referenced their upcoming Map of the Soul: Persona comeback. On the 24th, he mentioned again that comeback was coming and it felt like it was really soon - you're telling me LOL.

Okay brief notes on the setlist:

Idol - what a way to start the show with a bang. As far as live staging goes, it's so dynamite.

Save Me/I'm Fine - I always feel like Save Me is such a tease because it stops right before my favourite verse from Hoseok and Yoongi lol but I DO love I'm Fine!

Magic Shop - lots of walking around on stage rather than choreo, this is such a lovely song!

Junghope VCR - this VCR omg. I had seen blurry fancams of it before but can we just pause and reflect for a moment on how immensely shippy it is? THEY ARE IN LOVE! SO DOMESTIC! THE RED STRING OF FATE don't look at me.

Just Dance - wow, Hoseok just makes such amazing use of the stage. Even after having seen the LY concert movie and NUMEROUS fancams, it really is true that the full impact of this stage is best experienced live (this is a great thread). The way he uses the entire space, on the raised platform and then on the catwalk, how he interacts with the crowd - he's just DYNAMITE.

Euphoria - the aesthetic of this song is so Jungkook to me, the optimism and the brightness. Also I don't know how but on the first night I somehow did not notice the gold glitter in the air AT ALL? I guess I was too caught up in JK and the dancers!

I Need U/Run - I JUST LOVE THESE SO MUCH THANK U. I was rewatching the MVs today and I just… what a time, what an era. HYYH gave us so much.

Minjoon VCR - this just screams Lake House AU, doesn't it? Separated by time but not space… Speaking of AUs, it's fascinating to think about how this was originally Yoongi and Jimin (shown in the concert DVD behinds). So they originally paired up Serendipity and Seesaw? I think it makes more sense the way it is now. Would be super interesting to see the unshown VCRs though.

Serendipity - I looked for Jimin’s tattoo both nights! And did not see it, argh! Yet the fansite photos clearly show, it was there. Sometimes, you don't see it at all at the time. This is a great stage, Jimin is such a magnetic performer and it's a super impressive dance. Also, bubbles!

Love - the boldness of Namjoon to perform this completely solo, no dancers, no stage effects aside from lighting - I admire that so much. He has the charisma for it. (Also it is very great when Namjoon slips off his robe and Hobi helps him put on his jacket, in a neat reversal of what they did for Boy Meets Evil/BST at an awards show a couple of years ago, p.s. Namseok.)

DNA - The screams for this! Both during the show and before the show when the MV was showing - it really speaks to how many people became fans in the LY era, I think. I think I've come really full circle on DNA. I grew almost tired of it when it was at its peak, but now with a bit of time and distance, I can really enjoy it again. That choreo is still wonderful. (And it's hilarious seeing that Vhope moment in the beginning get more and more casual over the course of this tour. At both shows, they just held hands or just hugged.)

Medley - the first night was I think Boyz with Fun, Attack on Bangtan, Fire, Baepsae, Dope. Second night was Dope, Go Go, Blood Sweat and Tears, Boy in Luv, Fire. I enjoyed both immensely! Hobi did the splits for the Baepsae dance break! I will never be over BST! I LOVE!

Airplane Pt 2 - this is just such a superior song and superior choreo, it's SO GOOD, thank you.

Taehyung VCR - this is so stunning, I can't even. When it pulls back and he puts his hand on the glass… and it frosts over... At the end my friend leaned over and said 'house of psychics' and was she wrong? NO SHE WAS NOT.

Singularity - this stage was immensely beautiful and breathtaking and Taehyung is purely charisma. I found out after the show that he was kind of sick on the 23rd? I honestly could not tell.

Fake Love - I've seen this so many times but you know what, this choreo is still GREAT. And Bangtan in all black, all emo is such a look.

Yoonjin VCR - this was the most straight forward of the VCRs. Again, fascinating to think it was originally Namjoon and Seokjin, Love and Epiphany.

Seesaw - the staging for this is so fun, Yoongi doing his dances and sliding off the bench and running back up again - he's so good at this!

Epiphany - oh good crying time. I did actually get a tear in my eye when this played the first night. It's just a song that means a lot to me… MUSIC, EMOTIONS! A POTENT COMBINATION! And Jin is very handsome.

The Truth Untold - vocal line all in a row like four flowers, they're just so good! The way this stage used the raised platform and the four screens was also really effective. It's such a lovely song.

Tear - I've seen so many fancams for this and the concert movie but I was still? blown?? away????? Rapline are just absolutely monsters of charisma and stage presence, and the way they deliver this with complete commitment - I was slain right there. Hoseok's ending verse, FUCK.

Mic Drop - NO ONE DOES IT LIKE BTS thank u

This was the 'end' of the show but of course we all knew there would be more. Strangely, or perhaps this is cultural, this led to a subdued interlude. There were definitely attempts to get fanchants going - sometimes successful, sometimes not, I laughed a little at some of the awkward pauses - and especially on the 23rd, there was a touching crowd singalong to Spring Day. But overall it was more subdued than I expected given how loudly the crowd did scream when BTS were on stage.

So What - SUCH A CLUB ANTHEM, it was so delightful seeing them all having so much fun! I had fun too! Fun for everyone!

Anpanman - the cutest fucking choreo, and the cutest fucking group, that is all.

Answer: Love Myself - all the ending feels… emotionally wrung out… a little exhausted… but just seeing how happy they looked and how happy I felt - I love concert.

[mylittleredgirl]

What are your favourite science fiction shows? (Besides Star Trek because I've already watched those!)

Okay I’ve thought about it and:

Space shows:

Babylon 5: WATCH THIS BEAUTIFUL POETIC SHIT i love it and sometimes it’s a bit terrible but if you just let go into it and decide that people do talk exactly like this in the future it’s so fucking good. Like upsettingly good. Somewhere along the way clunky dialogue gives way to in-universe shakespearean perfection that gives you the feeling that you’ve discovered a religion but you’re not 100% sure what it entails. At the end of season 4 pause and consider if you’d like to enjoy the feeling of completion and “yeah team good guys!!” you’re experiencing for a while before going on, because Season 5 reshuffles the cast of characters and muddies the waters in a way that never quite gets paid off. I never really got into Crusade but there was less of it to get into and because frankly I was still young and innocent in the ways of television and spent a few years heartbroken that I watched all the goddamn way to the end of Babylon 5 without the Talia Winters resolution i was waiting for. In the final accounting, I will always choose Deep Space Nine over Babylon 5 when asked to choose a favorite space-station-based epic war arc with religious symbolism, because B5 is right on the edge of how dystopic a future universe can be before I start to feel uncomfortable. most people call that edge “realistic”. 

Stargate SG-1: UGHHH Stargate SG-1 is a fuckin GIFT because it’s a little “what if a sarcastic highly capable military dude from the late 1990s travels to outer space with his brilliant weirdo friends to do battle with villains that would have fit in really well in classic Star Trek” AND “what if almost every planet was kind of a stereotype of earth at a specific time and place like classic Star Trek” AND that delicious 1990s staple of regularly subtexted white people het and slash and femslash combinations where nobody ever just fucking FUCKS. Seasons 3 and 4 contain some of the best episodes for het unresolved sexual tension seen outside of The X-Files. Everyone should watch it but be prepared that if you go online and start talking about SG-1 or Stargate: Atlantis a generation of your fandom foremothers are gonna show up on your posts wailing about the Before Times like we lived through some kind of fandom ‘nam and can never trust again. 9/10 everyone should watch this even though “Stargate SG-1” is not a very good title for a TV show.

and Stargate: Atlantis: if Star Trek is my religion i worship on Sunday morning then Stargate: Atlantis is the one I dress in leather and take to bed on Saturday night because I have never I mean ever shipped anything as long or as hard as I have shipped motherfucking John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir in this goddamn show. out of every crumb the TV show gave us the fanfic writers cooked up a goddamn feast. not only have I never watched more than a handful of episodes in seasons 4 and 5 but I basically stopped watching new television entirely for almost a decade so, uh, proceed with caution after the midpoint of season 3 and I have like 285 favorite fanfics to show you.

Futurama …….. tbh i’ve never watched past the original seasons because i’d come to a place of internal closure and i fear change and it was inside the Stargate Atlantis hangover period discussed above, but that’s more psychology than anyone wanted to get into on this post. basically my ideal expression of humor can be found in “the farnsworth parabox” and whatever the episode is called with the neutral planet because that is some a+ loving sci fi trope mockery and i love every line of it.

That specific brand of earthbound sci-fi show where there are almost certainly aliens involved but our heroes never get to seek out new life and new civilizations: 

The X-Files: what can i say about the x-files??? this is INDUSTRY STANDARD fucking shipping territory fucking NO ONE does unresolved sexual tension better and honestly the day i will know i have met The One it is because they will present me with a non-fat dairy-free toffuti cutie rice dreamsicle and say “i have done my research and understand your romantic needs and expectations.” this shit is so formative that i literally watched the episode “jose chung from outer space” so many times that i wrote it out and then memorized it as the most perfect work of fiction i had ever encountered.the television without pity recaps of seasons 8 and 9 (which tbh i unironically love and consider an internal spinoff come fight me) literally kept me alive in a very dark period of time. “very dark” is also how to describe 98% of the scenes in this series so while on the one hand there’s some horror-style gore there’s only like a 50/50 chance you’ll be able to see any of it. i reblogged all the shippy gifsets about the seasons 10 and 11 reboot and did not watch any of it and honestly i feel pretty ok about my life and my choices. if you are willing to read fic written in the first person and don’t mind that 1990s-esque think-of-the-children notion that scully’s a virgin you will literally never run out of fanfic. 

Twin Peaks: this is my newest fandom love and I am loving the entire nonsensical ~aesthetic~ of it all so much that I can barely breathe. i don’t know what the fuck is going on. no one knows what the fuck is going on. i want to cross-stitch every frame on a pillow. twin peaks avoids being grimdark because it’s so stylized. the characters are all these perfectly odd creations and a handful of them are genuinely good people trying their best, but like it opens with the murder of an abused teenager and no one gets an unambiguously happy ending. watch this if you want to go along for a ride that will soak into your cells like pacific northwest mist dampening a flannel shirt and will leave you just a little bit stranger than you were before. in the back half of season two you’re safe to go make a sandwich whenever james, nadine, or dick tremayne show up on-screen.

Earthbound sci-fi shows that don’t involve aliens at all:

Jake 2.0: i’m literally never over the one season of this turn of the millennium sci fi geek fever dream where experimental government nanites give an IT helpdesk tech with a heart of gold the ability to control technology with his brain and the NSA kind of goes “… i guess?” and lets him live out the secret agent fantasy he is really not prepared for. you probably can’t find it anywhere. it’s a light-hearted found-family gem with more characters of color in positions of power than its network contemporaries, and the late-breaking discovery of four never-aired episodes include my favorite TV episode that was actually a fanfic (tied with the X-Files episode “Arcadia”). the most benevolent single act i have ever experienced in fandom was when someone burned the Lost Episodes to a cd-rom and sent them to me and now i can’t even remember who it was. i’m not saying that jake foley deserves a tumblr renaissance but 📢JAKE FOLEY DESERVES A TUMBLR RENAISSANCE. 

[gaycey-sketchit]

(Gary anon) Speaking of VA's, I heard one of the dub unfortunately passed yesterday due to health issues. May he rest in peace. (The big question now is if it's Alain's personal Chesnaught or he borrowed Chespie, I think the latter option would be a cooler reference) As much as most liked Gary's return and his current usage, I have seen growing concern that after that episode, it feels like him and Ash are kinda ignoring each other. Not helped the PWC and how other rivals are responding to it;

.

(Part 2) and the two not even congratulating each other for their progress so far. (I'm somewhat in that camp too. Gary's story is definitely not finished, so I'm reserving judgement cause it could get addressed. {Like Ash's Alola Champion recognition} But I do find it strange that after 4 episodes, he still hasn't been in one of those after-stories they post on Sunday, yet Gladion, and now Paul have. With Alain lying in wait. I hope my theory on them hiding something big with him post-Project)

(Part 3) (Mew isn't Goh-related. This isn't to say I don't want Gary and Goh to have a good end together when that story concludes) This is the most casual and friendly Ash and Paul has ever been with each other; can you imagine DP Paul sitting in the grass talking to Ash? Telling Electivire to go play? Even Goh had a better experience with him than Dawn did starting out. I don't blame the shippers for sucking it all up. (Heck, most of the "shippy" stuff I saw way before this episode is just)

(Part 4) (folks talking about the battles the two had and their ideals. You had a better chance of finding Coma romance fanon on the Japanese side, even then it was uncommon compared to other Ash M/M ships. Wouldn't be surprised if today marked a turning point) Heh, one has to wonder what it's like becoming a prophet from fanon stuff you made years ago. (I've seen a few trying to find some silver linings in them. Like, Ash is set up to fight the top 3 in rank in order)

(Part 5) (And most everyone understands why Cynthia vs Iris came to be. Alain vs Leon too, for different reasons. {This battle might not be the only thing Alain has to offer after losing} Lance vs Diantha is the hardest to tell what the outcome will be, which in a way is exciting. I'm pulling for Diantha since I find it more interesting than a Leon vs Lance rematch. That, and her being one of the least popular Champions. She deserves something)

Yeah :( He was so young too. Fuck cancer.

Oh, that is a question. I guess we'll see.

Yeah, fair... they had their moments in previous episodes but I don't think they acknowledged each other at all in JN113. What happened to them being closer than ever? There's still a little time so I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic, but... I'm a little nervous. Hopefully he gets a good ending, and good stuff for his relationships with Ash and Goh both.

Oh I meant no shade whatsoever, I totally get it. I've never really been into the ship myself but I'm glad they're having a good time.

Yeah, that must be wild. It's wild enough just seeing something happen in canon and being like "that happened in a fanfic I read!" but having, say, written that fanfic? I can't imagine. (Canon just ends up contradicting the stuff I put in fanfic, haha.)

Yeah, makes sense! I'm not too hung up on anything, I think it'll be fun to see how it all plays out. And yeah, we can probably guess the outcomes of most of these battles, but Lance vs Diantha? We'll just have to see. Diantha would probably be the more interesting outcome, yeah.

[angevon]

Souyo Nov Writing Challenge (prompt list)

Day 13: Junes

Links

AO3

ffnet

DW

Little kid Souji doesn't like the elephant slide at Junes, but maybe if Yosuke's there, it's okay.

[Author’s notes: This one isn't meant to be shippy, just cute. It takes place in the Nanako Explains It All universe, where Nanako and Souji are role-swapped. So Nanako is the Investigation Team leader and Souji is a 6 year old. And Yosuke is just Yosuke.

There was a scene in it where little Souji didn't want to go down the elephant slide, so this is a continuation of that idea hehe.]

It was a lazy Sunday. To pass the time, Nanako had brought her little cousin Souji to Junes to have some ice cream. She didn't plan it, but Yosuke was there too. Honestly she didn't need to have planned it; sometimes it felt like Yosuke lived at Junes. Like he was just waiting for someone to come hang out with him. Nanako shook her head. That thought was silly.

Anyway, he'd joined them at the food court, and now they were sitting at one of the round plastic tables, chatting while Souji ate the ice cream she'd bought for him.

"So how long does it take for you to get the Junes song out of your head after you've worked a shift here?" Nanako asked conversationally. It was playing on an infinite loop out here, apparently for maximum ear-worm potential.

"Not long, really," Yosuke said. "You just gotta drown it out with another tune." He tapped the ever-present headphones around his neck with a knowing look.

"Sou-chan," Nanako said, "do you like the Junes song? You know, I don't think I've shown you the full video."

So focused on his ice cream, the little boy didn't answer.

Watching Souji now, Yosuke noticed the flavor he was eating. "Neo Featherman ice cream again?" he teased.

"It's... nea...p-politan," Souji stuttered out with a cute little frown. He didn't turn his attention away from the ice cream and ate another spoonful.

"Right," Yosuke said, "and you're eating the chocolate first, just like you told me last time. Good idea!"

"I like the strawberry..."

"Next time we can just get strawberry," Nanako suggested.

"I like the chocolate too..."

"You can't please some people," Yosuke said. "Or at least, some six year olds."

Souji began to work on the strawberry next, systematically separating it from the remaining vanilla. It wasn't easy to do what with how melted it was by now, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"Hey, Nanako," Yosuke said. "You ever let Souji play on the playground up here?"

Nanako shrugged. "It's not really about 'let.' He's never shown an interest. Remember the elephant slide?"

"Yeah, but there are tons of other toys! Though we're thinking about getting rid of the sandbox because it's too messy. Imagine that, I can finally stop sweeping it up every shift!"

"Remember, he doesn't like to dirty his clothes," Nanako said. "It's a lost cause."

"His clothes are always nice," Yosuke mused. "Huh?"

Souji was tugging at Yosuke's shirt. "P-partner, can we...?"

Yosuke blinked down at him. "What's up, kiddo? Done with your ice cream?"

Souji made a face at being called 'kiddo' rather than 'partner.' Then he turned his head towards the playground. Yosuke followed his gaze to the elephant slide.

"I thought you hated that," Yosuke said.

Souji made another face and tugged harder at his shirt.

"Fine, fine!" Yosuke said. "Don't tear a hole in my shirt."

Souji grinned at him, took his hand and pulled him towards the slide, though he slowed as they neared it, his enthusiasm dampening as he remembered, apparently, how big and scary it was.

"You really wanna do this?" Yosuke asked.

Souji held his hand in both of his own tiny hands as if clinging to it. After a moment, though, he nodded.

Despite that, he made no move towards the ladder. As the moment dragged on, Yosuke asked, "Do you want me to carry you or something?"

Souji looked up at him in surprise. "You can carry me?"

"Hey, I may not look as strong as Kanji, but I'm no pushover."

"He's totally a pushover," Nanako called from the table.

Yosuke ignored her. He picked Souji up and set him on his shoulders in one quick motion.

"T-tall..." Souji said from his new position.

"Okay, I'm not taller than Kanji," Yosuke admitted. "How do you like it up there? See any airplanes?"

"No," Souji said. "But there are b-birds..."

"Birds? Where?"

Souji pointed. A couple of pigeons were munching on some long-gone customer's leftover fries. Yosuke sighed. "I'll have to clean that up later. Anyway, it's slide time—H-hey, what are you?"

Souji had begun to play with his hair, crinkling the stiff strands that he'd so carefully gelled into shape this morning.

"Souji," Yosuke whined.

"I guess he's not a fan of the floppy hair look," Nanako said.

"He should be one to talk!" Yosuke sighed, then lifted his head to look up at Souji. "Do you want to go down the slide or not?"

Souji let go of his hair. There was a long pause, then a quiet, "Y-yeah..."

"All right," Yosuke said. "We're going up!"

He climbed the ladder easily—it only had four rungs—and before he knew it he was already at the top of the slide. It didn't seem right to go down the slide with Souji on his shoulders, though. Yosuke sat at the top, stretching his legs before him, preparing himself to go down. Then he took Souji down and settled him on his lap.

"Good?" he asked.

Souji sat back, nestling comfortably into his chest. Yosuke's chin ended up resting right on his head.

"L-let's go," Souji said when he was ready.

No more ceremony was needed. Yosuke pushed off and down they went.

"Wheeee," he said.

The journey lasted all of half a second, but both Souji and Yosuke were giggling by the end.

"All right," Yosuke said. He gently nudged Souji's back, trying to get him out of his lap. "Let's go back to your big sis."

"N-no!" Souji said, not moving an inch.

"Huh? No?"

"Let's go... again!"

"Again...?" Yosuke stared for a second, and then broke into a wide grin. Nanako would totally bother him later for this, but... You were only a kid once. "You got it, partner," he said.