#the crew need to force me into some character development

[watermelonrindsstuff]

Sometimes I forget that TV series are a form of art created by countless artists coming together to materialize their vision. Binge-watching a Netflix show with coffee and chips in the evening, only to forget about it entirely after a few days, has been my usual experience. But some shows stick around; they make me think, speculate, and reflect. They make it harder to move on, forcing me to question something dormant within me. They slap you in the face, give a middle finger to the status quo, and take you on a ride that’s unpredictable, uncomfortable, fun, and gut-wrenchingly painful.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of those rare shows. It demands you fall out of everything else and be present wholeheartedly. You have to let the beauty and terror of the show consume you. And maybe, if you’re lucky and introspective enough, you might come out of it a whole new person.

Even though it’s a show about mystical creatures like demons, vampires, and witches, it’s fascinating how it remains so grounded, unearthing real-life issues and addressing them with remarkable humanity. The characters aren’t flawless heroes or unrelatable paragons of virtue; they’re messy, flawed, and, at times, unapologetically jerks. Not the passive, harmless kind, but the kind of jerks we encounter in real life; the ones whose actions mirror the complexity of human relationships.

Out of the sprawling cast, you can barely count two or three who haven’t made a complete 180 at some point. And isn’t that true of life itself?

People you once trusted might turn their backs on you when you need them most.

Siblings, feeling unseen or isolated, act out in ways you don’t expect.

Parents misunderstand your calling, your passion.

Friends, the ones you’d have done anything for, out of jealousy and incompetence isolated you.

Then there’s loss; the death of someone you love, followed by the suffocating silence and disconnection it leaves in its wake.

People try their best to support you in all the wrong ways.

Unexpected moments of compassion and support from the unlikeliest sources.

The numbness of depression.

The yearning to do better for the ones you love.

The inappropriate silliness in the face of mortal danger,

The punning as if a joke could stop the world from ending.

I’ve felt all of this. I’ve lived it. And I know everyone, in their own way, has too. What makes this show the greatest of all time isn’t just the supernatural battles or the apocalyptic stakes. It’s the way it takes the raw, messy beauty of life and weaves it into something profound. It’s the creativity, the honesty, and the soul poured into presenting these truths that make it unforgettable.

Despite all its brilliance, the show isn’t without its flaws, many of which stem from its creator: a bona fide egotist. There’s the whitewashing of problematic actions, some of which were disturbingly endorsed. The underlying tone of misogyny often contradicts the show’s branding as a pro-feminist narrative. Add to that the mishandling of perfectly developed characters out of personal grudges and the abrupt departures of main leads, and it’s clear that the creator’s ego left its mark in ways that tarnish what could have been a near-perfect legacy.

However, given the immense contributions of the other writers, directors, cast, and crew who poured their hearts and souls into bringing this show to life. The producers and writers and their audacity to try out extremely crazy ideas and visions and sewing it as flawlessly as possible. The stellar performance of the casts. I can’t help but proclaim it as one of the best show ever! Their dedication and talent shine through every moment, elevating it beyond the flaws of its creator.

[lesbianseaweed]

I am really neurodivergent or i am just being written poorly

[alwayssassydreamer]

Charmed And Disarmed

A/N: thanks Ann for asking for a fluffy story with Shanks who is getting on the readers nerve until she agrees to go on a date with him, hope you like it.

Plot: you're trying to avoid your incredibly charming captain but he wouldn't let up until he gets what he wants

Warnings: none, just a fluff-ish story

Characters: Shanks x F!Reader cameo by Beckmann, Hongo, Yasopp

You were busy working on the deck of the Red Force, focused on your task as the sun shined down, the wind was gentle, the crew was bustling around you, and the day should have been peaceful. But, of course, nothing was ever peaceful when Shanks was around.

"Need a hand?" Shanks’ voice suddenly drawled from over your shoulder. You felt him lean in, his breath brushing against your ear. His tone was smooth, that familiar teasing edge made your heart skip a beat.

"I’m fine," you said, trying to keep your voice steady as you felt a flush creeping up your neck.

Shanks didn’t budge. "Are you sure? It looks like you’re having a hard time... concentrating." There was amusement in his voice, and you could feel his grin without even looking at him. He leaned even closer, practically invading your personal space.

From the other side of the deck, you heared Yasopp snicker. "C’mon, captain, don’t be shy now. You know she can’t resist your charm."

The rest of the crew burst out laughing, clearly enjoying the show.

You shot Yasopp a glare, but Shanks seized the opportunity, lowering his voice so only you could hear it

“They know you like the attention.”

Your face turned even redder, and you opened your mouth to protest, but he was already standing up straight, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"How long until she cracks? I give it two minutes," Yasopp said loudly.

"Two minutes? I say less!" Hongo shouted, and soon, the entire crew was placing bets on how long it’ll take for Shanks to get under your skin.

Shanks winked at you, stepping a little closer again.

“We’ve got an audience now. Care to make this interesting?” His voice was playful, but there was a challenge in his eyes.

The whole crew was watching, waiting for you to crack, while Shanks stood there, all charming smiles and relentless teasing.

The longer you tried to keep your composure, the more impossible it became. Every little word, every glance, just added to your growing fluster, and Shanks knew it. He was enjoying every second of it.

Finally, when you couldn't take it anymore, you shoved the papers into his chest.

"You want to be helpful, Captain? You finish the paper work then!"

The crew erupted in laughter as Shanks held up his hands in surrender, but his eyes sparkled with victory.

After days of enduring Shanks’ relentless teasing, you decided to take matters into your own hands.

Every time you stepped onto the deck, it seemed like Shanks was there—ready with a smirk, a flirty comment, or some harmless touch that sent your heart racing.

You needed an escape, so you started spending more time in the infirmary, assisting Hongo with medical supplies, or helping Beckman sort through the endless stacks of paperwork.

"If you keep hiding in here, the crew's going to think you’ve suddenly developed an interest in medicine," Hongo said with a raised brow.

"I'm just avoiding.....distractions." you said with a sheepish grin.

"Sure. But you know he's going to find you in here right" Hongo replied with a small chuckle.

And he was right. It didn't take long until Shanks entered the infirmary.

"There you are. Already feared you would have gone overboard" Shanks joked.

"I’ll leave you two to it.” Hongo said glancing between you and Shanks, smirking as he left.

"What’s this? Playing nurse now?” Shanks teased, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Just offering a helping hand" you muttered not meeting his gaze.

"Seems you've been developing some sort of helper syndrome lately. Or is this part of your strategy to avoid me"

"No.....I'm just being helpful" you said as you felt that familiar warmth in your cheeks as he stepped closer again, clearly not buying your excuse.

"Sure you are" he said his tone full of amusement. "But you can’t avoid me forever, you know."

Unfortunately for you he was right. Everytime you were hiding in Beckman's quarters helping him with the paperwork Shanks would enter the room. Dropping a playful comment, teasingly poke your side or stand too close to you all while Beckman chuckled under his breath.

It seemed like there was just no way to escape your captain's teases.

After he left you flustered again Beckmann smirked.

"You know he’s not going to stop, right? Might as well face him head-on.” he said amusement in his voice.

You sighed feeling the need to find a better tactic.

Next day you told yourself that you would just blend your captain's advances on you out. Which worked at the beginning pretty well but not for long cause Shanks isn’t easily deterred.

“What are you working on so hard that you can’t even look at your charming captain?” he called out, his voice loud enough for the whole crew to hear.

You ignored him, focusing intently on the chart in front of you, pretending it’s the most fascinating thing in the world. The laughter of the crew filled the air, and you could feel their eyes darting between you and Shanks, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

“Is she playing hard to get?” Shanks teased looking at his crew. “I like a challenge.”

You refused to glance up, but you couldn’t suppress the smile threatening to break through. You heard the crew chuckling, and you wished they would have just let this go.

"C’mon, sweetheart! Just a smile for your charming captain?” Shanks persisted, leaning over your shoulder, his presence made it increasingly difficult to concentrate

"I’m busy, Shanks!” you exclaimed, shooting him an irritated look.

The crew bursted into laughter, clearly relishing the interaction.

Shanks raised his hands in mock surrender, but the playful glint in his eyes remained. “Busy? Or trying to ignore me?”

“I’m trying to get work done!” you replied, trying not to chuckle.

"You know you can’t ignore me forever, right? I’ll always be right here, waiting for you to crack.” His teasing tone sent butterflies fluttering in your stomach, and you turned back to your work, determined not to let him get to you.

But you could feel the tension in the air, the crew’s eyes watching the unfolding drama with glee and you knew you couldn't resist him much longer.

------

You were sitting at the table playing cards with Beckmann, Yasopp and Hongo enjoying the peace without the captain. You were determined to finally win, not realizing Shanks approaching.

The other men at the table already grinning as they saw their captain carefully sneaking up to you.

You jumped in your seat as you felt him poke your side. "Fuck" you cursed, breath hitching.

"You should definitely work on your observation haki" Yasopp teased you with a smile.

"I hate you all" you said not able to supress the smile on your face.

"Maybe the captain can help you win before I'm starting to feel sorry for how bad you are at this game" Hongo stated making the others chuckle.

"Sounds fair" Shanks replied as he pulled you off the chair, sitting down on it and pulling you onto his lap. You could feel your cheeks flush almost immediately, your body was on fire.

"Show me those cards" he motioned for your hand to hold the cards up. He rested his chin on your shoulder oberserving the cards while you had a hard time to hold your hand still and keep it from shaking.

You could feel the other three staring at you knwing that they were amused by your 'misery'. Shanks clearly enjoying your discomfort and the way your body tensed.

"Maybe this was a bad idea it seems you're about to lose again" Yasopp teased smirking at you.

And he was right of course you lost. Shanks seemed too observed with you sitting on his lap and you were busy to keep your body from shaking.

Shanks sighed.

"Sorry for that I was sure we'd win. But I'll make it up to you, we will dock tomorrow. I know this quiet little place on this island that serves the best drinks. You’ll love it. Good food, good atmosphere..you and me" he said smoothly, voice dropping to that low, almost-too-charming tone he used when he was up to something.

"Wait what?" You asked getting off his lap.

"Just some......relaxation after I've been annoying you" he continued.

Yasopp, Hongo, and Beckman were watching with amused expressions, clearly catching on to Shanks' real intent, but they didn’t say a word. They just sat back, watching as the realization slowly dawned on you.

"Fine but you have to promise to leave me alone until then" you said. You could really use some time off and a good drink.

"Deal" Shanks winked, then stood up, heading off with that casual, confident stride of his.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Yasopp let out a low whistle while Hongo chuckled lightly. You looked at them confused.

"You do know he just asked you out right" Beckman said a small smirk playing on his lips

"What!?!" You almost yelled. You froze, blinking as it hit you.

You glanced at the others, who were all smirking knowingly.

Hongo glanced at you a mocking grin on his face. "Looks like his strategy worked. In the end he got what he wanted"

[dragonmuse]

Keep It In The Box : An Essay on OFMD Season 2 and the Failure to Heal

(here in is my season two reaction. It contains many many spoilers. It's also about 3k words long so you know what you're getting into.)

“See, I have a system for dealing with all the terrible things I've seen. There's a box in my mind, and I put the things in the box..” -Frenchie, Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death

…..and then he never opens it. Chekov’s locked box has no key in season two.

On first watch, it seemed clear to me that Frenchie’s declaration was a narrative plant. Clearly the whole season would be about that box of pain and trauma being opened, sorted through and at least the beginning of healing. The show had developed a reputation after season one of being kind and focused on queer narratives of healing from childhood. Ed and Stede’s parallels in their childhood traumas were frequently on display through season one and were repeated in flashback throughout season two. Jim’s season one arc about becoming someone who doesn’t think just of revenge and can now forge meaningful connections was profound, beautiful and often funny. Izzy is an antagonist because he doesn’t want Ed to move on or stop acting like the trauma-response version of himself. The antagonist wants to stop healing. The point is to grow, to change, to learn how to love. It’s one of the things that made season one work for me at the time, despite reservations about pacing and tone.

So naturally season two should follow suit. It’s a kind show! About healing and falling in love!

For the first several episodes, the remaining crew on the Revenge go through a gauntlet of trauma, forced to do and receive violence at Ed’s whims as he careens from self-destructive behavior to self-destructive behavior. This is the wounding setup. It was dark, but it seemed like it would have a payoff and at first it did.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful moments of the season comes in one of the small respites in those early episodes as Jim recounts Pinnochio to Fang to soothe him through his grief. That was the show that I expected. The kindness of that moment struck me very deeply. It gave me some understanding of Archie too, who seems to fall for Jim right at that moment.

That scene is the show season one promised. Season two led with packing Frenchie’s box full to bursting. Here is the fight to the death between lovers, there is a first mate who is mutilated and rotting in the very walls (the rot of the Revenge itself), and there is the storm of Ed’s rage and pain that threatens to consume all of them.

So surely these remaining episodes would concentrate on finding the humor in healing from those moments. That is the setup. Frenchie has a box. The box must eventually open.

Except time and again, all the characters who suffered are told that the only way to deal with what they’ve been through is to stick it in the box and never open it again.

Pete tells Lucius that he’s unable to move on and needs to let it go. Izzy has a story about a shark. Ed’s apology to the crew which doesn’t even contain the words ‘I’m sorry’ is just…accepted. I kept waiting and waiting for a meaningful apology to the people Ed had hurt the worst with his actions, but it seems all we get is Fang saying ‘eh, no problem, I got to hit you back so I feel better’.

The playful theme of ‘pirates are just violent sometimes’ from season one becomes a grinding horror machine in season two when every atrocity visited on someone is forgiven because the narrative needs it to be. Ed and Stede spend more time making amends with each other over the bloodless night on the beach than either of them spend trying to repent for their actions towards anyone else.

And let’s talk about Ed. Arguably this season pivots on his narrative, on his path to healing and growth. A path that starts at a very low point. His moment in the gravy basket, deciding he wants to live because there are still things to live for is so great! So one might assume that what would follow would be him pursuing those things, making amends, making connections. He and Stede have a wonderful moment, talking about being whim prone and how they’ll work to avoid that, build a relationship by going slower.

Yet, at no point do either of them stop following whims. They never heal or learn from what’s happened to them. They both keep running from thing to thing, particularly Ed. It’s a whim to sleep with Stede, it’s a whim to run off to fish, and the finale gives us just more of their whims. Ed drops fishing as fast as he picked it up. He finds those leathers in the ocean, murdering the symbolism of leaving them behind. Even the inn is a whim, one of those things Ed decided he’d be good at without evidence. And Stede joins him in that without a single on screen conversation about it ahead of the moment.

Ed needs to heal himself and to do that he needs to confront what he’s done and do the work to heal the wound. Instead, he doesn’t meaningfully apologize to anyone, besides Stede and Fang. Despite Izzy’s dying words (we’ll get to that), not only do we never see the crew caring about Ed, working to make him family in the same way they do with Fang and even Izzy, he also doesn’t choose to stay with them. So what is the point? Where is the healing? Or does even Ed, beloved main character, have to live with it all stuffed in a box?

He ends the season in the leathers he threw away, in a relationship that’s barely stabilized, going to live in a house which we are told by the narrative (in that they are very very clearly paralleling Anne and Mary with Ed and Stede or why do we even get that whole Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? episode) will only end in them setting fire to each other to stay warm.

But Vee, I hear you cry, it’s a ROM-COM. This is all meant to be ha-ha funny and you are taking it so seriously!

Cool beans. Then why the hell isn’t it funny? Healing is often filled with comedy because people deal with pain with humor. You can heal and laugh at the same time. The finale especially is almost entirely devoid of laughs, almost entirely devoid of joy until the last minute for that matter. The episode that should show off with a flourish how far everyone’s come, mostly serves to show that no one has grown.

Okay that’s Ed. I want to talk about Lucius next. Our former audience surrogate (that’s taken away in season two when he doesn’t get enough screen time to perform that role and no one takes his place) really goes through the wringer. He experiences many many terrible things, including sexual assault (which is made into a grimace-laugh line that doesn’t take away from it’s seriousness because oh hey, that can be done as it turns out). He’s nervous, he’s smoking, it’s clear he’s suffering.

There’s a beautiful moment where Pete tells him ‘hey, I was also in pain. I grieved’ and that’s great. It’s good that Pete sets a boundary about Lucius not obsessing over the past to the point of occluding their future.

We even get our comedic moment where Lucius pushes Ed off the boat (still not apology, but I’d lost hope for that by then) and that doesn’t help enough. So Izzy comes in with a shark and the advice that you just have to move on.

Just…you know. Play pretend. Forget.

Shove it in a box. Ed didn’t take my leg, a shark did. Ed didn’t kill you, a shark did. Live with the person that tried to murder you because it’s your fault you dangled your leg over the side of a boat. That is the show’s message. I thought on first watch, that surely this would also come back up and be explained that you can’t live that way, that that is no way to heal. That it would become clear that this was no way through. You cannot make everything into sharks.

Lucius can move forward and still carry pain. He can still want a meaningful apology and still want to talk to his lover about what he’s dealing with while moving forward toward a brighter future.

And what of the flirtatious promise of relationships and connections being the way to heal? Look to Oluwande and Jim, whose heartfelt romance from season one was relegated to the bins of history in favor of a narrative that made him a brother Jim once had sex with. They could have had Archie AND Oluwande, who in turn could also have Zheng, but that never seems to be an option. With a single short conversation, they are broken up with, despite a brief tease at the birthday that they still ‘dance’ together, it never actually manifests. Jim and Archie never talk about what they went through. It’s swept under the rug as fast as knives are lowered.

Lucius also no longer flirts with other people, the solution to his pain is to propose and get married (but not too married, lest we forget that they’re two men, they don’t even get to be husbands or even the more respectful mates, no. They’re mateys.) This season proposes that the only happy endings are monogamous ones, where no one talks about anything painful that went before.

To ensure that message, beyond assuring the success of Oluwande and Zheng’s relationship, Jim and Archie almost entirely disappear from the narrative. Sorry you guys were given layers of trauma and no growth and not even much to do this season, we need to make sure that everyone remembers Oluwande is the break in Zheng’s day so when he says that to her five minutes later we know exactly what he’s referencing. No time for Archie to learn what an apology is or for Jim to get one line in with Oluwande that isn’t affirming their newfound broship. Must do more flashbacks to things we just did two episodes ago!

The show even dangles the conversation of the Revenge being a safe space. Why would any of them ever feel safe when the man who tortured them is allowed to walk among them and they are expected to forgive and forget? What’s safe about that? The ship is never made safe for any of them, but that’s never addressed.

And Zheng! Amazing, hysterically funny Zheng! She loses her ships, her entire way of life, the kingdom she built for herself and then…she doesn’t even get to captain the Revenge. We don’t know what becomes of her fleet, of her plans, her ambitions. Don’t worry about it, she has a romantic partner and isn’t that what every lady wants in the end?

(But Vee, I hear you cry again, there will be a season three! Maybe it will be All About Zheng! To which I say: then why did they present us with the most series finale feeling episode ever? If there’s more, I have no idea where it’s going. BUT VEE: BUTTONS AS SEAGULL ON THE GR- Fine. It’s time.)

Let’s talk about Izzy Hands.

Izzy manages more healing than anyone else this season. He reaches his lowest point, suicidal in the bowels of a ship that’s become a prison (very much in contrast to Ed’s suicidal low). The person he loves most in the world has shredded him physically and emotionally (and if you’re in the camp that thinks Izzy deserves the abuse that Ed gave to him, I would really like you to sit quietly with yourself and ask why you think there is ever anything anyone can do to deserve that treatment). He’s low, he shoots Ed to protect everyone, and then seems to plan to drink himself to death, mourning his losses.

And then another beautiful moment! The crew move past their own pain to help him. They work together for the first time and it’s to give Izzy mobility back. He treasures it. He cries over it. He uses that kindness extended to him to reach a new understanding of Stede and help him succeed, doing the work to make real amends. He sings in drag, he’s vulnerable and beautiful, celebrating the side of himself that he must’ve loathed in the first season. He’s an elder queer man, coming into himself.

He never gets an apology though. (‘Sorry about your leg’ without eye contact is not an apology. There is no responsibility taking, no acknowledgement of the weeks of torture that came with it.) Izzy also never really has an honest conversation with anyone about what it means that the man he loves punished him so severely for the crime of trying to protect the crew (yes, lest we forget, Izzy lost his leg because he was trying to keep Ed from re-traumatizing the crew and himself).

Izzy does all this work, but even he’s not allowed to take it out of the box. It’s a shark, not Ed. Ed is just ‘complicated’ (the language of abuse here is so upsetting and I think not even intentional).

And then he dies. His last act? To apologize to the man who tortured him and shot at him. To have done all this work, to take on all the blame. And then die.

In a rom com.

This show ends in a profoundly unfunny moment of telling the audience: this is the one character that did the work, that made amends, that tried his hardest to accept the parts of himself that he had a hard time embracing and formerly embittered him. He’s fully accepted his queerness and turned it into beautiful music. He’s disabled, and he worked hard to accept that. The man he loves will never love him back, so he worked hard to make Stede able to meet Ed on an even playing field. The Giving Tree gave up its limbs and its trunk, and it’s not even allowed to be a stump to sit on.

Kill the queer elder, who has managed to figure out how to live and in his own way how to heal. Kill him before he manages to teach anyone else how to meaningfully move forward (he almost gets it with Lucius, almost, but it’s meant to be rule of three, you know. Cigarette..shark…and then…and then fuck it, Lucius doesn’t even get to say a word at his funeral).

The message of this season again and again is that there is no healing, just moving forward. Like a shark. Like a bird that never lands.

That is not a kind show.

Season two is not a kind season.

It splinters people up and jams them back together without purpose or reason. It tells everyone who experiences pain that they should shove it in a box and not deal with it. No one who really needs one gets an apology of any sincerity. No one puts in the work to gain forgiveness. (Ed wearing a onesie is not The Work. Ed fixing a door is not The Work. Ed broke people that the show wants us to care about. Ed never does the work of making those amends. He fires off a Notes app apology at best. After all, it’s what he told himself via Hornigold in the gravy basket: you move on or you blow your brains out! Good thing he took his own advice and therefore had to change nothing to get his just rewards.

I would’ve taken just fifteen minutes of Ed trying to actually make amends. It could’ve been hilarious! Imagine awkward Ed trying to dance around what he’s doing with Jim and the two of them having a knife throwing competition about it. Or him and Frenchie attempting to make music together, writing a song about the raids they went on! It’s not just the crew robbed of their healing because of this, it’s Ed himself. He never meaningfully changes or makes amends. How is he any different at the end of the finale then he is standing on the edge of that cliff with Hornigold? He hasn’t moved on, he hasn’t healed. He tried one thing (fishing) that doesn’t fucking work and then he runs right back.

No one leaves this season better than they went into it. They’ve lost an elder queer, they’ve lost their joyous and queer polyamory, they’ve lost a chance for meaningful reconciliation with Ed and Ed lost any chance of looking like he gave shit if they did. Stede grows enough to accept the crew’s beliefs as important and then leaves them behind without a care.

Izzy gets a beautiful speech about piracy being larger than yourself. Ed and Stede, within twenty minutes of that speech, leave piracy. They are incapable of giving themselves to something bigger, apparently. They haven’t learned to be a part of a community. They haven’t healed from their childhood trauma or their fresher wounds. They are still just following their own whims.

Zheng’s life work is in tatters, but it’s fine, she has love. Oluwande and Jim aren’t together, but it's fine because they both have dedicated monogamous partners. Lucius was deeply scarred by what happened, never recovers much of his first season personality, but hey he got-well it’s not married exactly- but you know good enough!

Frenchie, who has a box forever locked in his head, is captain. Because the key to success is to lock it all in a box and never open it. What a message. What a show. Conceal, don’t feel. Smile because it’s a happy ending. Don’t mourn the dead, don’t try to tell people what happened to you (they will literally run away or cry too hard to listen and really you’re just bumming them out), and any meaningful change you make is only rewarded with death.

Frenchie is now a pirate captain with a box in his head full of trauma that’s never been opened, leading a crew with more wounds than scars. Wonder how that could turn out? Wonder how many years before he might want to retire and then happen to run across a gentleman pirate. As if no one learned anything at all.

[jpitha]

Do What it Takes

Everyone goes on and on about the humans, how strong they are, how dangerous their world is, their risk management (or lack thereof) and even their ability to process the rather worrying things they call “food.”

One thing I haven’t seen though is people discussing their… aspect that I find fascinating. They even have a word for it - grit. It’s this ability to take on unimaginable stress, and maintain that strength of resolve. That realization that the only thing they can do is endure. They even have a saying. “When you find yourself going through Hell, keep going.” Hell here is a substution for any kind of hard times they’re currently experiencing. It’s an idiom, don’t worry about the specific meaning of the word. The saying implies that if you’re “going through hell” then you need to keep going, because otherwise you won’t ever get out of the hard situation you find yourself in.

When it was first explained to me, a lot of what I saw about the humans snapped to place, like magnets on a table.

Once, back during the war I saw a single human shoulder a crew operated slug thrower and - by themselves - hold off an entire Zenni boarding party long enough for the rest of the ship to mount a defense. Not only did they shoulder and fire the weapon themselves, but they survived!

Others weren’t so lucky. I’ve heard tales of humans walking into active reactors to stop an overload, blinding themselves from ultraviolet radiation to repair a hull, and sustain withering gee forces to crush attackers. When asked why they’d do that, most of them replied that they just “did what they needed to” or that “they do what it takes.”

I’m not here to say that we can’t do that either. Having grit or strength of character isn’t solely a human development. But maybe as a result of the world they evolved on they tend to have grit in greater supply than other sapient species. They “do what it takes” because they’ve always had to do what it takes to survive.

A human friend has recently offered to take me to Earth, their homeworld to ��see the sights.” His only warning about his own planet was that we should probably avoid some months. I asked why.

He waved his hand dismissively as if it was just a minor trifle, an inconvenience. “Oh, it’s hurricane season in the fall. I don’t know if you want to experience one of them.”

“What’s a hurricane?” I asked, cautiously.

“It’s a large storm that spins up over the ocean as the planets way to help remove some heat from the water. They can get pretty wild sometimes.”

When a human tells you that something can get “pretty wild” one’s fur tends to poof out.

I said I’d think about it, and went back to my cabin to research these Hurricanes. About an hour later I was shaking in my seat, glued to my pad watching video after video of houses just… disappearing in the wind and water.

The next day, I confronted him about the hurricanes. Once again, he was dismissive. “You get plenty of warning, and time to evacuate, they’re not that big of a deal.”

I bristled, and my ears twitched. “Not that big of a deal? But your homes get destroyed!”

He nodded. “True, that does happen. But, it’s not a surprise and we come prepared. You do what it takes if you want to live there.”

I think I’ll take him up on his offer.

[bodegadulac]

So, people liked my review of phase 1 of the WCU, so let's review phase 2:

This movie is baffling to me. You bring the CUI, set up Shen yu as the main fucking villain...

AND THEN THE MAIN VILLAIN IS FUCKING VICTOR?!?!?!?!?

What the fuck man.

But at the same one you have Colin becoming Defiant, showing character developement.

But also fuck you, Gwinneth Paltrow was a vague interpretation of fucking Ash Phoenix.

The dragon's teeth are fucking awesome.

But most of the movie is Dragon who crashed bonding with a little girl.

??????

I like that Dragon finally gets a gynoid body, it shows that she is now sure that she is human, even if she is a machine.

But thats the thing with this fucking movie. There are a lot of great fucking ideas weighted down by horrible studio decisions.

Also the new dragon suit is fuckinv over-designed lol.

6/10

I fucking love this movie.

I love Hannah's arc trying to find Mel, and how she discovers she has become murder rat.

I love the plot of Gesselchaft infiltrating the PRT.

This really sold me on Scarlet Johanson as Piggot tbh. Even if i'm iffy on her ship-bait with Hannah.

I liked how Miss Millitia recruits Vista from the Brockton Wards. I think they are great foils of each other.

Just, overall a great movie with great coreography.

But really? Nobody suspected Juntin Nazheer was just a nazi?

9/10

Underrated and Overhated in my opinion.

Yeah, it's kind of a mess with too many plotpoints. Like Jack is there and that goes nowhere, Theo has to balance his new membership to the chicago wards, dealing with his dad and the folk.

Topsy was a forgetable villain but i have high hopes for mockshow.

I liked raymancer, tecton and annex. Hope we see more of them.

Natalie portman as cuff was... a choice.

6/10

Give it a chance man.

Just give James Gunn a group of unknowns and he will give you gold.

What a good fun fucking movie, man.

The crew has such a good dynamic.

I like the implications of a larger thing with the C tattoos.

The whole asylum breakout sequence was very entretaining.

This movie was really really fun. But with a heart. And thats the best a movie can be.

I heard most people tought that Gavel was a forgetable villain (or anti hero) and that him joining forces with Burnscar made no sense. It doesn't make sense but it gives us some great sequences.

I loved the silly cameos of some of the weirder Wildbow characters like the Snail, Chubster and Trainwreck.

ALSO THE MUSIC! I boight the soundtrack as soon as it came out.

Please watch it. It's very fun.

10/10

It starts strong with the raid to the heartbroken, also helps set up Regent and Cherish. Damn those twins are creepy.

I really liked the earlier slice of life esque scenes in the rig.

The whole scene of the three blasphemies emerging and taking over the dragon's teeth to make a machine army was very very well animated.

Why is Colin Armsmaster again? I feel like we get robbed of his character developement... but the Lungbuster armor fucks so much.

Also, Flechette has a secret girlfriend she told nobody about. Lol. But i really like her new purple costume :}

I wonder what all the visions of the future mean. Will the slaughterhouse 9 kill everybody? I mean they have been teasing the shit out of them for years now.

Also we need to talk about how the studio bounces Piggot as a love interest for any other team member, like it feels so out of place man.

The final battle was neat, the fact that they finally reveal Scion as he kills the blasphemy's "BEHEMOTH" was surprising, cool, but it kind of killed al the tension lol.

How can i take anything seriously if thid golden man can appear and end the threat?

Also Regent dies i guess. We hardly knew ya.

Let's see what they will do with Cherish tho.

It's an okay movie.

6/10

And to round this phase up we have a funny heist movie, Assault.

Velocity as an older mentor figure works.

I hope his daughter becomes Battery in the sequel lol.

Assault's crew is funny.

Madcap is a boring villain but the "let's free everyone in the birdcage" was an interesting premise.

Go see it if you have the time.

7/10

[casscainmainly]

Duke Thomas and the Robin Mantle

There's been some minor discussion about whether Duke counts as an 'official' Robin or not. While that discussion is interesting, I actually don't think it's the crux of the Duke and Robin issue. To me, the question is whether or not he should be Robin. And, to me, the answer is definitively yes.

This is purely my opinion, and I haven't read every single Duke comic so it's possible I've misread/missed things. Any Duke fans, absolutely feel free to add or disprove anything here!

The Changing Robin

The first thing to understand is that Robin, as a mantle, has shifted with each person it's been passed to. Tim's Robin doesn't mean the same thing as Jason's Robin, which doesn't mean the same thing as Damian's. A mark of a true Robin is the ability to shift the meaning of Robin by wearing the colours.

Duke absolutely fulfils this criteria. In fact, him and his We Are Robin crew are the biggest shift in the meaning of Robin since its creation.

Cover from We Are Robin #1. The phrase "We're not sidekicks. We're an army!" signals the shift from Robin as individual to Robin as collective; from Robin as tied to the singular Batman to Robin as a wider movement, a socio-political force. The last question, "are you ready?", is vitally important as well. Duke as Robin is meant to be different. He's meant to be non-normative, a groundbreaking turn in what Robin looks and feels like.

At the end of the first issue, a disguised Alfred (who started We Are Robin) thinks the following:

Alfred infuses the phrase "of color" with two meanings: the Robin colours, and People of Colour. By explicitly linking Robin to POC, the comic is suggesting that not only can kids of colour be Robin, but that they should be Robin. Robins of Colour are the "future of this city," and Duke is the vanguard of this future. It's no coincidence that the Robin before (Damian) and the one after (Maps) are both POC. Duke, however, is the Robin that gives the mantle an explicit direction towards diversity: him and WAR use Robin as a social movement, and in doing so transform the colours of Robin into a symbol for the diversity in Gotham and the world.

Robin as Collective

Duke doesn't change Robin alone. The point of We Are Robin is that Robin is a collective, and it's important that Duke doesn't start WAR (as much as people like to say he did). By joining late, the comic demonstrates that Duke is part of a bigger movement.

The Robin community represents POC solidarity, the necessity and ability of the oppressed to band together. Lee Bermejo ends We Are Robin's final issue with "stress on the word "we"" - Duke's arc, in one sense, is learning to rely and work with others (he initially mistrusts basically everyone). The WAR community is essential to both Duke's character development and his tenure as Robin.

So to have this page, affirming his loyalty and love for them, to be followed immediately by them being written out is... something.

Duke appears next in Batman: Rebirth, where Bruce gives him the yellow suit and tells him he's not looking for a Robin. As soon as he stops being Robin, the community around him quite literally falls apart. Izzy sticks around for a bit but fades into obscurity, Riko and Dax turn evil, Dre ends up in Arkham - all of these fates are antithetical to these characters and genuinely tragic.

Batman: The Secret Files: The Signal is possibly the worst Duke story in existence, but it's important to understanding why Robin!Duke mattered. Riko calls Signal 'Bat-Signal', highlighting his sudden reduction to a Batman acolyte. His friends turning on him shows how, by losing Robin, he also lost the community formed by WAR. In every way, his transition into the Signal was saturated by loss.

Robin Doesn't Need A Batman

Bruce giving Duke the Signal suit is borderline insulting. He already had an identity predicated on the fact that he didn't need Batman.

From Batman (2011) #45, Batman: Rebirth, and Night of the Monster Men. "Robin doesn't need a Batman" is an inversion of Tim's 'Batman needs a Robin' - in many ways, Duke is the opposite of Tim, who's rich, White, and whose Robin is the most focused on helping Batman. If Tim is the ideal Robin-as-partner, Duke is the ideal Robin-as-individual. His idea of Robin is not, and has never been, associated with Batman.

People who say Duke isn't an official Robin since he was never Batman's partner miss the point. He is Robin because he was never Batman's partner. That's what Robin means to him - a mantle free from Bruce and all authority.

"Batman is on the gargoyle. Robin... Robin is on the street." Robin is the person on the ground, who lives and belongs to the people. When Duke becomes Signal, this ground aspect - as well as his separation from Batman - is gone.

In this cover from Batman & The Signal, they gave him a Bat symbol and put him on a gargoyle. They erased every single part of his Robin philosophy.

The Original Robin

Post-We Are Robin, Bruce becomes the Batfam member Duke interacts with the most. Besides the insult of Bruce withholding Robin, this fact also strips away one of my favourite aspects about early Duke - he was tied to the Batfamily through the Robins (especially Damian and Dick), not by Batman.

It's Dick, the original Robin, who chooses him.

Dick recognises that him and Duke have a lot in common. He tells Duke in Robin War that he's "got it," and that he's a natural leader - Dick knows Duke has what it takes to be Robin, and explicitly endorses him.

Not only that, but when Dick sends Duke to jail (along with the other Robins, official and unofficial), he tells Duke that he "take[s] care of [his] family". He basically inducts Duke into the family then and there!

Dick's endorsement of Duke makes it more interesting that Bruce doesn't make him Robin. Despite Duke's disillusionment at the end of Robin War (dispelled soon after in WAR), the events in RW confirm that Duke can and should be Robin. Bruce not making Duke Robin is defying both Duke's potential and Dick's right to choose Robins.

Robin as Family

On the rooftop in Robin War, Dick tells Duke that Robin is about family. This is the fundamental connection between them both: Robin acts as the link to the families they've lost and gained.

For Dick, Robin keeps John and Mary Grayson alive, while also symbolising his connection to Bruce. For Duke, Robin is the intersection of three families: the heroic legacy of his parents, the tight-knit community of We Are Robin, and the newfound friendship of the Batfamily.

In Batman (2011) #45, Duke tries to give his friend Daryl a Robin badge. He says, "you and me, we came up together. We're fam[ily]." Even before Dick, Duke associated Robin with family, and Daryl implies in the next issue that Duke became Robin because of his parents' inclination to help. Signal, of course, also comes from his mom; but unlike Robin, Signal isn't a legacy mantle. As Robin, he constantly inducted people like Daryl, Riko, Damian, etc. into his family. As Signal, his circle shrinks immeasurably, until it's really only the Batfamily and the Outsiders if we're being generous. (Daryl also turns evil - a really unfortunate pattern for Duke side characters).

Lark and Conclusion

I'm going to end with this panel from Batman & The Signal #1, which is emblematic of the way DC has treated Duke and Robin as a whole. Bruce tells Duke that Lark is "too soft" a name. DC was probably debating between Lark and Signal, but it's telling what they went with. How is Lark too soft, exactly? How is it any softer than Robin?

By overtly dismissing the bird-like name, Bruce - and DC editorial, or whoever decided this - is definitively moving Duke away from Robin. And it's a shame. In Duke's transition from Robin to Signal, he has next to no agency. Bruce tells him he's not Robin, Bruce gives him the suit, Bruce tells him not to be Lark, Bruce gives him another suit. It's a stark contrast from his induction into Robin - though Alfred arranged it, he gave Duke a choice. Duke chooses Robin.

Duke being disallowed the Robin mantle is, to me, on par with DC stripping Cass of the Bat symbol during the New 52. The racism behind both these decisions cannot be overstated - both Cass and Duke redefined their mantles, and their mantles defined them. At least Cass' mistake has been corrected, and lots of writers and fans acknowledge how horrible that period was. For Duke, he was never given a real chance. And it's unlikely he ever will be.

This is not a knock against the Signal identity or any writers. However, it genuinely saddens me to think that all of this story potential - Duke's redefinition of Robin, his relationship to Dick, his connection to We Are Robin, and above all his ability to choose who he wants to be - has been neglected and cast aside. Even if they never acknowledge his role as Robin, I hope future stories centre him once again, because it's what he deserves.

[goingsunnythousandmerry]

Hey! Can you write shanks with a mysterious reader who opens up one minute then becomes reserved the next? Their relationship is sort of like a friends either benefits one, it’s like they pin for each other, but shanks will be on the sea within less than a week so there’s some pressure to put a label on the relationship. Please include some smut if you’re able to! Make the ending angsty 😉

Shanks x Mysterious Reader - Relationship or Fling?

Authors Note: Hey! So sorry it took me so long. Life ya know? Hope you like the read. If not let me know. Request, Comment, Critique below! Let me know if we need the rest of the beach acts, just didn't want to make it too long or keep you waiting any longer. Thanks again for your patience!

Summary: Shanks and his crew stop by your island in need of a bit of a vacation. He meets you at your work, the local bar. You have had relationships with pirates before, always liking the more rugged type. Knowing full well it never works out, you try to keep your distance. You and Shanks end up friends with benefits during his stay and the two of you begin to develop feelings. One night trying to discuss his feelings with you and your plans for the future the two of you get carried away.

Warnings: MDNI, fingering, use of terms such a slut, pet names-princess and daddy, public sex-beach/bar, praise kink, i don't own these characters, ANGST, mentions of "love", mutual pining

The red-haired captain sat nestled in the glittering white sand, sipping on a bottle of sake. The ocean waves gently lapped at the tips of his sandals, their rhythmic ebb and flow echoing in the stillness of the moonlit night. The salty air mingled with the faint scent of smoke, a lingering reminder of a distant bonfire Shanks's crew was partying at. Shanks took a deep breath, savoring the peaceful moment, before taking another swig straight from the bottle.

Each sip was an attempt to drown out the restlessness within his soul. The warmth in his chest did little to ease the weight pressing down on his heart. Shanks’s gaze was fixed on the dark sea, trying to figure out where the water had ended and the sky had begun. A boundless expanse that mirrored the uncertainty of his thoughts. His fingers tightened around the sake bottle, eyes squinting against the moonlight as if searching for answers in the waters before him. He took another sip.

"Shanks!" A sweet voice called from behind him.

You dragged your feet through the warm specks of sand, watching as he turned to face you and choked on his sip of what you could only assume was sake—his favorite. You had chosen your outfit with a purpose. You knew how you looked in the flowing floral dress would take his breath away, and you were right. Glancing up at the stars hanging brightly above you, a smile spread across your rose-colored cheeks. Even when caught off guard, Shanks was undeniably handsome you thought, your eyes falling back on his face. He set the bottle beside him and wiped his chin with the sleeve of his white, flowing shirt.

"Hey, Y/N! Where’ve you been? The boys were looking for you." Shanks grinned, his eyes twinkling with desire as they roamed over your dress-clad figure.

"I’ve been around." You shrugged, your tone distant as if you were barely present. "Hope I’m not bothering you, Beckman told me where you were.” You said, wandering over to his side.

He forced a grin, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You could never bother me.” He looked you up and down again, his forced grin fading to a warm genuine one before he turned to examine the water again. A troubled frown creased his brow.

"What's on your mind?" you asked, sitting beside him and reaching for the bottle nestled in the sand. "You thinking of leaving?" You took a sip, the coolness of the sake contrasting sharply with the warmth of your emotions.

"I don't know." His brow furrowed and he grabbed the bottle from your hand. "Our vacation has been long enough. I probably can't stay longer than the end of the week." He took a long drink, avoiding eye contact, his voice tinged with regret.

"I see." Your voice was flat, emotionless.

You tried not to look over your shoulder at him. Instead, you nodded your head, accepting the fact he was leaving. You bit your lip focusing on the sound of his breath. Your thoughts raced thinking of how warm it would feel against your neck. 

You lifted your chin looking at the scars on his left eye, tracing the lines of his face, sending your heart aflutter. You raised a hand to touch his shoulder. You just wanted to touch him, but it trembled as you lifted it from your lap. The sensation of the slight tremor in your fingers caused your breath to catch in your throat.

The feeling was familiar, too familiar. You stopped yourself, lifting your hand to adjust your hair then resting it back in your lap. You Withdrew back into the comfort of your guarded silence.

***

Two weeks ago, Shanks and his crew arrived on your island, their laughter and boisterous energy announcing their much-needed break after a successful treasure score. It was in the dimly lit bar where you first encountered them. Shanks immediately stood out amidst the chaos. Despite the raucous behavior of his crew, he exuded a calm authority. His respect for others was evident in how he apologized to the other patrons for the noise and generously covered their tabs. The sincerity in his gestures set him apart from the usual pirates who came and went without a second thought.

That first night, the bar was emptied of its usual stock, yet Shanks lingered after hours, helping you tidy up. His genuine interest in you was palpable, an anomaly in a world of transient pirates. You were used to them arriving, making a mess, and leaving without a trace, but Shanks seemed different. His charm was magnetic, his intense gaze drawing you in despite your reservations.

As you mopped the floor, too absorbed in his story about a boy named Luffy you lost your footing. Shanks was there immediately, his arm encircling your waist with surprising tenderness. His onyx eyes locked onto yours, and you felt a warmth spread across your cheeks and down your body. You looked away momentarily trying to hide it, your fingers grazing a stray strand of hair, and tucking it behind your ear. But the pull of his gaze was irresistible. When you looked back, your hand found its way to his chest, the muscles bulging beneath his shirt grounding you.

A shiver ran through you as his breath hit your cheek. His eyes darted between your lips and face, making your pulse quicken. His touch lingered a moment longer than necessary, and you could feel the heat radiating from his body. You bit your lip and before you could blink. his mouth captured yours in a kiss that was both fierce and tender. 

The night stretched on, the mundane task of cleaning forgotten as you and Shanks lost yourselves in each other. Tables were knocked over, the bar counter bore witness to your passion, and time seemed to stand still in the haze of your heated embrace.

***

"Y/N." Shanks’ voice pulled you out of the memories swirling in your head.

You shook your head, blinking a few times to clear the haze of nostalgia. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you close, but you instinctively pushed away.

He let out a sigh, his intense stare meeting your tightening jaw. "I don’t want to go without talking about us," he said, his voice tinged with the sweet and genuine authority you loved to see him use on his crew.

"Shanks, you’re a pirate. What is there to talk about? You’re leaving at the end of the week," you replied, your voice cold enough to make you shiver.

"Y/N..." His calloused hand found yours, his grip firm yet tender.

You sighed, the weight of the words in your heart, pressing down on you, making your chest feel heavy. "Then say what you want to say," you murmured, turning to meet his gaze, your heart pounding.

The thought of your days ending without the comfort of his gaze was suffocating. You squeezed his hand, desperately clinging to the moment.

“I don’t know what to say." His voice trembled, faltering as if the words were caught in his throat. He paused, running a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. "I need to go, but...".

His gaze dropped to the ground for a moment, his shoulders slumping. When he looked up again, the longing in his eyes was palpable, a mixture of desperation and yearning that seemed to pull at the very core of his being. He leaned in slightly, his proximity a silent plea, but his body remained rigid, as if afraid to close the gap between you. "I need you."

You had been here before, and you swore you’d never fall for a pirate again. That first night with Shanks, you were a fool. You let your guard down and fell for the charming stranger with a high bounty. The next morning, you scolded yourself, hoping you’d never see him again. But when he showed up that night, your chest ached, and your stomach turned because you knew it was already too late. 

You hoped he’d ignore you, but his eyes found yours across the room. His presence was like a drug, and you couldn’t help but crave him. You kept your guard up, pretending it was only a fling by flirting with his crewmates and other guests to cover your true feelings. Your lone moments behind the bar were spent regaining your composure, battling the panic of potential loss. The only solace was that your jealousy drove Shanks wild, and he made his desire clear through passionate encounters.

You kept up the façade, until now, when you felt your walls crumbling faster than you could repair them. Your body pressed against his, one hand caressing his cheek, the other clutching his shirt. Tears welled as you focused on his nose brushing against yours, his lips hovering so close.

"Shanks..." You tried to speak, but his lips descended onto yours.

His body rolled on top of you and pinned you to the ground. The taste of alcohol and salt on his lips had you fervently exploring his body with your hands. Lust filled your mind as you reached for the waistband of his pants, your heart racing as the need to be with him, to feel him, overwhelmed every rational thought you had.

***

Shanks sat up slightly and shifted to straddle you. The moonlight casting shadows across his face as he gently took your hand from his waistband and brought it to his shoulder. His touch was tender, yet there was a fire behind his eyes—something unspoken simmering beneath the surface. His fingers brushed along your wrist before traveling up, slowly, before thumbing at the strap of your dress. His hand slipped down to the fabric of your dress at its bodice. You could feel the heat radiating off his fingers as they brushed against your chest. He took a deep breath, nuzzling his nose against your cheek, his breath intermingling with yours. His hand sank lower down the dresses material, tracing soft patterns over the fabric as if memorizing every line of your body.

Your breath hitched as he captured your lower lip between his teeth, drawing a quiet gasp from your throat. At the sound, his lips left yours, trailing kisses down your chin and neck, lingering just below your right ear where he nibbled softly. The sensation sent a shiver through you, and your fingers tangled in his hair, holding him close as though you feared the moment would slip away. 

His lips peppered kisses down your neck, while his leg nudged between yours, and gently pressed, urging you wider as his hand wandered lower. Your nipples became sensitive and erect as his lips and hand wandered across your body. The satin of your dress was cool against you, a stark contrast to the warmth of his touch as it reached your chest. His fingertips explored your plump breasts through the satiny fabric admiring. Shanks lips returned to yours as he began twisting and pulling at your nipples. The cool fabric mixed with the motion of his hand made you writhe beneath him. Your heart pounded in time with the waves crashing against the shore, your body responding to his closeness with an intensity you hadn’t expected.

His lips pulled away again moving to your collarbone where he bit down, leaving a fleeting mark as his kisses continued their path downward. When he reached the low dip of your dress covering your cleavage, he paused, his breath warm against your skin. With a flick of his fingers, he tugged the fabric aside, revealing the soft curve of your breasts and perky buds. His eyes flicked up to meet yours, searching for something—an invitation, a question—before he allowed a small, teasing smile to play across his lips.

“So naughty of you, princess,” he whispered, his voice a low murmur that carried the weight of his desire, “to let me see you like this, show you off like this, here.”

Your heart raced at the edge of his words, caught somewhere between anticipation and longing. His lips found yours again, softer this time, almost reverent. His lips dove into yours as his hand squeezed at your breasts. Your tongue danced with his before he pulled away, a trail of saliva connecting you. As he pulled away, his hand slid down, fingers brushing the edge of your dress hem, his touch feather-light against your thigh. His tongue lapped at your nipple causing you to out another moan. His pointer and middle finger began to raise the hem higher and higher, until your core was fully exposed to Shanks and the beach. 

“My, my, a bit underdressed for the beach, wouldn’t you say princess?” Shanks asked a slight smirk growing on his lips as they released your nipple.

“Shanks.” You cooed, his teeth sinking into the plush skin of your breast.

He growled. “You going to let daddy take you right here on the beach?”

You nodded, biting hard into your lip as his thumb began to roll along your clit. 

“I knew you were a slut, always flirting with my crew to make me jealous.” His middle and fourth finger slipped between your folds. “Then not wearing underwear or a bra to meet me.” His fingers traced the shape of your lips throbbing between your legs. “Now you’re so wet at the idea of me taking you on this beach.” His head lifted from between your breasts and his gaze met your.

His eyebrows raised and a pleased grin spread across his cheeks. Your hands explored his chest, head falling to his shoulder. Your hips bucked at the friction of his fingers spreading your slick between your folds. You closed your eyes, letting the sound of the ocean and the gentle rhythm of his touch consume you.

His lips fell to your ear. Your breath was shallow with desire against his neck. His middle and fourth finger dipped into your core, his thumb drawing circles along your clit. You bucked at the fullness within you, causing you to clench down. You loved how his thick fingers felt within you, but you always wanted more. You gripped his shoulders tighter, adjusting as his fingers began to dip in and out of you. Your hips shifted against him, seeking more, each movement in tune with the rhythm he set. 

The soft friction of his clothes against your bare skin made you feel alive, as though the world beyond the two of you had disappeared. All that mattered was the steady rhythm of his fingers, the way your body responded to every subtle motion, and the quiet intensity that hung between you—unspoken, but deeply felt.

“That’s a good girl. Be loud for daddy.” He softly whispered into your ear, lips pressing against it as he did.

The motion of his thumb sped up. His fingers within you found your g-spot causing you to release a moan. Your hands clawed deep into his clothed back, deep enough you felt they would leave a mark. His finger rolled against your g-spot pounding faster and faster. Your breath caught in your chest. The fire is brewing within your abdomen. Your eyes crossed.

“That’s it, let's go for daddy.”

“SHANKS!” You yelled as within you an explosion erupted causing the lower half of your body to shake against his fingers.

He softly chuckled and laid you back down in the sand. He stared at the rise and fall of your chest admiring how beautiful you looked, naked body accentuated by the moonlight. His fingers left their place inside you making you clench against your new found emptiness. 

Your half-lidded eyes drifted upwards, the stars a blur against the night sky as you lay there, feeling the warmth still coursing through you. Shanks had a way of making you feel like the world melted away, leaving only this moment. A soft blush crept across your cheeks as you became aware of your body— how vulnerable yet cherished you felt on that quiet stretch of beach.

You blinked, and your gaze found him watching you, his expression soft but intent.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, the sincerity in his voice sending a flutter through your chest.

A small smile tugged at your lips. “Yeah? I thought you…” You paused, your breath still uneven as you came down from the high of pleasure he’d just given you. “I thought you were going to take me here? Can’t let me have all the fun.”

His lips curved into a teasing grin, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Now who said I was done with you?”

As the two of you continued in your beach activities, all thoughts and worries of your prior conversation dissolved. All that mattered that night was the moment, not the uncertainty of what might happen next, not the unspoken tension between you—only the warmth of his body against yours and the quiet, shared intimacy of the two of you on the beach under the moonlight.

***

After a bit more fun, you and Shanks dressed and wandered back to his crew. You stayed for a couple of drinks, but the excitement of the night quickly faded as reality set back in. Eventually, you left alone, too worn out from the earlier events to stay late and party, though something deeper gnawed at you. That night, you went to bed with a smile on your face, but it didn’t last. As you lay there in the quiet, the smile faded into a sigh. The moment on the beach had been perfect, but the knot in your chest only tightened, knowing how unresolved things still were between you and Shanks.

Your thoughts kept circling back to the feeling of his touch, the warmth of his presence. You always wanted to be with him, but he was a pirate. He wouldn’t stay grounded for long and you couldn’t possibly go with him. What did it mean? Was this just another night to him? Would he leave at the end of the week and come back? Were you just another girl to him or were you something different? No matter how hard you tried, sleep eluded you, leaving only the hollow ache of uncertainty.

The next afternoon, you dragged yourself into your shift at the local bar, exhaustion and questions weighing heavily on you. As you walked in, your boss handed you a letter with your name on it. "Some guest dropped it off before opening," they said, shrugging it off as if it were nothing.

Your heart raced. The envelope was sealed neatly, and the handwriting was unfamiliar, yet there was something about it that made your pulse quicken. You hesitated for a moment before carefully pulling at the edge of the envelope. Inside was a small, folded letter, the faint scent of sake rising from it. You didn’t need to see the signature to know who it was from. 

With trembling hands, you unfolded the note.

Y/N, we had to head out earlier than planned. 

Just know I love you. 

-Shanks

The words seemed to blur on the page as you stared at them. Love. Did he mean it? Would he come back? He didn’t say? If he did love you, why didn’t he say goodbye or at least invite you to go with him? You clutched the letter tightly, your chest heavy with the weight of his absence, a thousand questions flooding your mind. Was that the last you’d see of him? Was "love" enough to keep him coming back? The ache inside you deepened, a reminder of how fragile everything between you was.

As the sounds of the bar came to life around you, you felt impossibly small, lost in the uncertain space between the past and whatever future lay ahead.

[lurkingshan]

Every time I see a Wedding Impossible GIFs on my dash I keep thinking that when it's over I'd love to read your take on what went wrong with this show. In a form of a very spiteful rant preferably.

(the show probably doesn't deserve too much of your time but I am just very VERY curious and had to share)

WELL! I was considering just letting this show go quietly into the night, but I will take this excuse to do a good rant instead.

*cracks knuckles*

You asked what went wrong with this show, but truly, nothing went right with it. From top to bottom, it's an utter waste of a good premise and a total destruction of the rare opportunity to get some positive queer rep into a het kdrama for a broader audience than will ever be reached by a ql. Let me list the most glaring problems:

They made Do Han a supporting character in his own narrative. Do Han, his sexuality, his desire and need to hide who he is to protect himself, and his desperate plan to avoid a life he doesn't want is the core of the story. Despite that, the story treats him like a minor supporting character with limited screen time and virtually no interiority or character development that made any sense.

The relationships were poorly written and the bonds were not believable. Ah Jeong was meant to be Do Han's ride or die bestie, but nothing in their scenes together or her behavior towards him suggested this was actually true. They seemed more like acquaintances who were friendly enough but had no real loyalty to each other, or even like she was a random actress he hired to play his wife. And Ji Han and Do Han had no brotherly bond or affection to speak of; their relationship consisted entirely of Ji Han throwing tantrums and demanding things for no reason other than he wants them, and Do Han trying to avoid being forced into them.

The leads were terrible people and the show did not realize that. Do Han's brother and best friend entered into a romance while she was engaged to Do Han. Ji Han thought it was a real relationship and did not seem to feel any guilt about pursuing his brother's lover. Ah Jeong was under a contract she agreed to as both his best friend and as a job to protect him and did not seem to care that she was breaking her commitment and threatening his safety. They gallivanted around flaunting their relationship in public with no regard for Do Han or his reputation whatsoever. And the show tried to convince me that Do Han was the selfish one in this scenario for the great sin of being gay and not just fucking off and getting out of the way of their relationship. Ji Han and Ah Jeong were never held accountable for what they did to him; instead we got to watch many scenes of Do Han being shamed and berated. Anyone who contributed to the writing and depiction of this can get fucked.

Every element of the story was poorly written and the resolutions were either unearned or so badly set up that they fell flat anyway. Do Han was being harassed and stalked and the story only barely cared about this. The family drama was boring and the grandpa character was a mess of contradictions who changed on a dime depending on the demands of the plot. There was no chemistry to speak of between the leads. The romance was utterly unbelievable and developed so poorly that it was impossible to care about whether these two assholes got together. The show used romcom tropes randomly to fill time even if they didn't fit. The final episode was stuffed with cameos by actors with personal connections to the cast and crew in the hopes it would distract us from what an unsatisfying conclusion it was, and the whole thing ended on a bizarre wedding gag that didn't work at all. The only good part was Do Han coming out on his own terms and leaving to go live his own life in New York, but the way they framed that was so gross I couldn't even enjoy it.

Most importantly, the messages of this show were deeply, unforgivably homophobic. This story went out of its way to tell us over and over again that Do Han is a selfish coward for being closeted, that his sexuality is a burden for his loved ones, that his family and friends are the real victims for having to deal with him, and that he was the one in the wrong for trying to protect himself. At no point was he allowed to get truly angry at the way his family and friends were treating him; he remained benevolent and shouldered the guilt and blame for everything, despite doing absolutely nothing except try to live an authentic life. At every turn the show depicted his siblings and grandfather and friend being hateful and/or careless with him, but then told us it was Do Han's fault for being who he is. They wanted us to blame the gay character and sympathize with a brother who resented him for not being the straight business leader he wanted him to be, and a friend who betrayed him without a second thought. The show argued passionately that the lies Do Han told to protect himself were the real problem, not the homophobia and hatred and rejection he faced every day of his life. It was an abysmal and offensive message and exactly the opposite of what a responsible piece of media would be trying to communicate.

I don't know if the people who made this show are actively malicious or just deeply incompetent, but they had no business telling a story involving a queer character if they were going to do it like this.

[nobie]

I need to talk about Morgan Elsbeth and the connection to Thrawn. Along with some other questionable narrative choices Filoni has made with Thrawn.

I want to preface, this is not going to be a hating Morgan Elsbeth post nor hating on the actress or any bts production of her character. There is enough hate towards characters like this in this fandom and I will not be perpetuating that (take that negativity somewhere else). I only want this to be an open discussion on this part of Thrawn's story.

Morgan is a character that has been placed into Thrawn's canon timeline. She was not written in (everything is written obvs but let me explain). The distinction I want to make between those narrative ideas is, placing a character into a story means they are important in supporting the main character, but no one cares if they are replaced or removed from the story. Writing a character into the story means they are so important to the direct development of the mc, if they are replaced or removed it feels like a piece of that character is missing. Some examples for Thrawn would be Eli Vanto or Ar'alani. Morgan was removed from the story in the Ahsoka series and it didn't even effect Thrawn himself.

So why create this character and push a narrative that makes her seem like the most important part of the story? Like without her Thrawn wouldn't be able to get back to the galaxy? Thrawn is a genius, a warrior, and a survivor. He could've figure that out himself, or with the help of Ezra (an established character that the audience loves). Instead he's had to rely on Morgan.

This is where my qualm with Dave Filoni comes into play. I love Filoni's work he has created some of my favorite stories in the Star Wars franchise. But he does one thing that I despise. Ignores the work of amazing authors. In this case Timothy Zahn. I can't say for sure that he hasn't read the Ascendancy Trilogy or the Thrawn (2017) trilogy, but it feels like it when analyzing Filoni's characterization of Thrawn. If he did read those books or least consulted Zahn on them he would know Thrawn's true motives for what he does. He is a protector for the greater good. He goes against many higher powers to make the right choice, not the good or bad choices. He shows the characters around him time and time again that he will always do what is right even if it means his downfall. He is not a villain in his own story just himself, not good or bad, the one in the middle. He evolves, learns, observes, and understands things on a completely different level. And we only see a sliver of this characterization in Filoni's story. I understand the narrative built around Thrawn being the ultimate villain for the ghost crew because a good story like this should have an interesting dynamic between protagonist and antagonist. But the fact that you'd have to read his books to know who he is, is a clear indication to me that his novel characterization wasn't researched enough.

It also shows me that Filoni favors the legends version of Thrawn more. Especially with the inclusion of Pellaeon in Tales of the Empire and not Eli Vanto. Who could have easily been placed into that role. Although, he his Thrawn's aide he can and has done things like that for Thrawn.

Now in Tales of the Empire we see that he isn't the original creator of the TIE Defender. Trying to place Morgan into a characters story that is so beloved [Thrawn] feels so forced through this idea that she created the TIE Defender. Why would someone who is trying to get revenge for her people go to the Empire with an idea like this. If she is so angry why she is relying on someone else's power to get her revenge? And even when she got in the good graces of the Empire with Thrawn what came of it? The Defender project was ruined, shouldn't her allegiance to Thrawn be in ruin too. The deal they made implied she would get what she wanted, but she never did and was still loyal to him. Thrawn does have this quality about him though, you'd follow him off a cliff, the gravity in which he attracts people to his cause is so alluring. But that still doesn't explain where Morgans revenge story went. And in the end she really does feel like a character that can be replaced.

Trying to make a character that was placed into the story important to the audience does a disservice to the story as a whole. Thrawn has an established world of characters in the novels that are readily available to use in the narrative. So why aren't they in it? Eli especially in one I cannot ignore the absence of. From the moment Thrawn is found in exile Eli does not leave his side. Eli follows him into battle again and again. Even after realzing his initial career choice will amount to nothing now that Thrawn has taken over his duty in the Imperial Navy. Thrawn himself says "you hold my words in your hand, and their meanings," and although that was in relation to his survival with the Empire it still held true throughout the story. Eli is an extension of Thrawn, whatever is said to Eli is said to Thrawn and vise versa. So where is he?

(Ok that's all my ramblings for now. Hopefully this made sense. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the tags or replies. Thrawn was the first sw novel I read, I'm fiercely protective of him. So when his characterization is kinda ruined like this it upsets me. But I'm always excited to see him in any media and hear that silky voice of his, thank you lars.)

[classicanalyzer]

Skeleton Crew - Very Interesting, As An Astrogation Problem

"The truth! The truth is, I'm just like you! Okay? I'm lost. I'm alone." Jod Na Nawood

Episode 3 continues to keep the momentum and peak quality of the premiere up!

We finally got to see KB's parents (I love that they're her moms), and it will be interesting to see why her moms put cybernetics (one of the functions is a life monitor, and apparently, she needs medical needs) in KB. I wonder if the cybernetics might be due to an accident or a birth defect. I love how KB stands in for people with disabilities. I hope we get to see more of Wendle's story and maybe even some backstory for him.

I love that KB got the most focus after the first two episodes didn't really go into her. I love the subtle insult about the chances Job isn't a Jedi given her knowledge of the Jedi is from the OR Era when the Jedi were much more numerous.

Similar to the Acolyte, I really appreciate the show for not trying to delay the obvious mysteries like making it clear Jod is Captain Silvo and how he's intending right now in the story at least to try to find the treasure on At Attin. Also that Battle Droid asking if they won totally gave me Jedi Survivor vibes with another Droid asking that same question haha.

I really love the visual effects, especially the owl alien Kh'ymm later on. The budget for Kh'kymm visual effects is on-par with the movies, and honestly this show has a lot more movie quality than Ahsoka.

Jod needs to respect droids and soon. SM-33 is always a gem and he has a good keen on Jod's untrusty nature. I'm glad we got to see how Jod is a genuine Force-user (Jude Law has already confirmed he is genuine about his Force-sensitive status). However, Jod might be old enough to have been around during the Clone Wars, which would make his prejudice against droids make sense.

I really love that Kh'ymm is an actual good being, and she thinks Jod kidnaps the kids when we know it's the opposite case. However, she is right that Jod does have ulterior motives. It's nice to see some genuinely nice beings in this galaxy. Also, her Observatory looks so amazing.

At Attin, one of the Jewels of the Old Republic is definitely from the actual Old Republic which makes me pretty excited. I thought we would need to wait until the MMO dies to see Old Republic content but I'm glad we're also starting to dip into the Era. I like the concept of hiding away certain worlds akin to time capsules unaffected by the outside galaxy. I'm going to guess those Jewels were destroyed by the Sith, the Nihil, the Clone Wars, and definitely the Empire. The more I think about it, At Attin and the Jewel world are the equivalent of a Fallout Vault. It makes me wonder if there's smth more malevolent to the world: What is At Attin's experiment lmao.

It's so weird in a good way to see the kids not know about what's going on since their isolation such as not knowing about how rough Coruscant got it post-war and Alderaan's destruction...God that's going to be awkward when the kids know what happened to Alderaan and the wars since their isolation. Can't wait for Wim to learn about Order 66.

My theory is whoever the Supervisor and the govt is that they have some access to the outside galaxy and they might've taken some things from what's going on to spin it into their own ideas (like Soh's Great Works to describe part of the Great Work of keeping the Barrier up).

I love and find it hilarious how KB and Fern end up turning Jod's idea of being partners and whether he works for them. Such a power move by those kids and I love to see it haha. While Jod didn't tell the kids the complete truth, I think he is telling the truth about him feeling lost and I hope we get to see his character development over the series (I'm a sucker for the heart of gold character growth, especially during this time where we need those feel good stories). I wonder if he really is a Jedi dropout or a former Padawan. I can't wait for Episode 7 to give us more on his character like Jude Law promised.

I hope Neel gets to be more independent over time, and this is hopefully the first step. God, I love how the Onyx Cinder looks after looking at the brick abomination of a "ship" that is the Trailblazer, haha. It also feels weird to see the kids firing on NR ships, but I like how the X-Wings pilots were worried about the kids. I also like how they were using ion shots since they weren't trying to destroy the ship but disable it. I hope we see more of Kh'ymm haha. I also think the ruined world in the trailers could be one of those destroyed Jewels of the Old Republic.

"He got us this far. But I don't trust him. Not really." KB

"What did he tell you? 'Trust your gut'? Use your head. Get the truth. And if you ever need help, you can call me anytime." Kh'ymm

[odo-apologist]

Red Dwarf 30 Day Challenge: Favorite Dynamic (Non-Romantic)

This was difficult, as I think the dynamics between all of the main crew are really interesting and fun to watch. However, I decided to go with Kryten and Rimmer. I've written a post before touching on their relationship (specifically how I interptet it shifting during Terrorform and Quarantine), which I think is pretty complex. As with every dynamic including Rimmer, it is one that is ambivalent- a love-hate deal with the "hate" part of the equation clearer, even though there is some unacknowledged love, developed over years of prolonged exposure and codependency (the forced family effect, if you will). However, whereas The Cat and Rimmer developed a mutual hostility almost immediately into their relationship, Kryten and Rimmer's dynamic goes through a more gradual change

The very first episode with post-repair Kryten is Backwards, which implies that while together in the backwards universe away from Red Dwarf, the pair get along quite well. They're successful, they're enjoying their time working together, they are, in fact, working together as a duo. It's possible that the apparent lack of hostility is due to the circumstances, but even then, I think that says something about both characters and their interactions: outside of the hierarchy provided by JMC, with no need to enforce any rules or directives, Kryten and Rimmer have a better relationship

That hierarchy of authority is what lies at the crux of their relationship (well, at least in the early series when Kryten was still working on breaking his programming and Rimmer was more rigid and uncompromising- it always feels to me that the crew during the Dave era have mellowed a bit, fondness and familiarity taking the bite out of insults). Before Kryten joined the crew, Rimmer's hologrammatic status didn't mean anything when it came to his level of authority, as Lister and The Cat would treat Rimmer the same as either human or hologram- dead or alive, he's still a smeghead. Kryten, though, does draw attention to the fact he is a hologram and, thus, lesser in the eyes of the Space Corps, lacking more rights than humans. Kryren initially gives Rimmer someone to order around and come to his aid (something which Kryten pushes back against as he breaks further from his programming), but he also in turn serves as a reminder of how little power Rimmer actually has

High Kryten and High Rimmer refer to each other as soul siblings; ideally, the two can find common ground and solidarity in their mechanical status. Alas, the two characters are not, in fact, their ideal selves, but the denial/refusal to accept that solidarity is still interesting

[maliciousalice]

@thresholdbb omg tumblr ate your ask but thankyou for asking!!!!

👕Character whose fashion you like.

Phoar! Startrek really isn't a show I associate with being fashionable. It's very camp isn't it? In theory a lot of the wardrobe is really cool and they wanted to gain that retro-future aesthetic. Did it work? I'm not sure. However it does make a statement. The Startrek aesthetic is really recognizable and that's important! I think that's where modern trek kind of looses the plot. It's not as careful about the unique visual design as a whole anymore and as a result it doesn't settle in our minds. Is it bad artistry? No but it's not as stringent. What I mean by that is older trek cared about nuance. For example every haircut was done the same way on men, or suits were tailored in a way to look sleek but practical (they weren't). Gaudy patterns were important to denote things like status. It looks ugly on the outside but when you're watching the show it envelops you and makes you feel welcomed into the universe.

I digress.

To answer this, the most fashionable character, hands down, is Quark! That mfer always looks good, and has the finest drip in the galaxy. Love that.

🥲 ST moment that makes you cry.

There are two moments that make me particularly sad. Kate's acting in the climax of Resistance is incredible. I read somewhere she had a special-wink-wink- relationship with the Director in the early seasons and she was being tested by this episode in some regard. I think it paid off. I treasure any time her captain-hood is removed, and the extreme vulnerability of Janeway is on display-MWAH MWAH poignant. This episode is beautifully intimate, particularly this scene. It's overall gorgeous and unique in how she whispers to him, as if there is nothing more important than to secure his peace of mind as he dies, and it's heart rending when it ends with her just crouching there, emotionally alone. I love how Janeway is forced into the father-daughter dynamic between her and Caylem, one that she would ordinarily resist (heh themes) because I think it inherently weakens her status. The back and forth throughout the episode of them taking care of each other's welfare is so it's terribly sad when it's torn down and we discover the truth behind Caylem's family. If you've dug around her character you know that her Admiral-Father has had impact on her life. She's haunted by him in both a figurative way by being a Captain, and literal sense later on in Coda. Much like Caylem, she looses her father in a violent manner that she has to carry around while she forges ahead. It also reflects well on Kate's relationship with her actual father, she recently revealed that she was never able to get him on her page, but in spite that she adore him with all her might. So a scene like this is really revealing-I believe she was able to draw upon those feelings and that's kinda neat to be so raw as an actor. SIGH.

This one just straight up made me cry fr because Prodigy s1 is a really mature, well done piece of (Startrek) media. Holo Janeway has an irony about it where in the end she is program designed to be a teacher, and she didn't expect to develop a strong bond with the crew. Her final moments are of displaying a huge amount of selflessness and courage to help the kids get out of trouble, similarly to how Janeway would approach dire circumstances. The music swelling and the ship activating is just OOOOF!!! I love how it parallels Dal's initiation of the first Protojump in a Moral Star. By that means It suggests how proud she is to get to do this for them. As a character she is really interesting to think about, in a way I can't entirely articulate. A lot of her moments are quite sad in general, she has to keep an active role so she isn't ignored, and help where help is needed, but at the same time she has constraints, one being that she manipulated by the antagonists. And In contrast to that, the kids do their best to help her feel like she is important and more than a command program to be used insincerely. She grew to love the Protostar crew, that's evident in her body language in this scene. She has a lot of depth overall. Equal to the real Janeway she deeply feels love, guilt and pain, but importantly she is transformed by the her time on the Protostar and while active, learns and grows with Dal, Rok-tak, Zero, Jankom and Gwyn. It's REALLY sweet that they care all care about each other.

I love her and I love JANEWAY!!!!

🥹 Favourite behind the scenes picture.

Ooooh I love all behind the scenes stuff. My brother in Christ It's super difficult to just name one thing and I'm very greedy!! I wish we had more BTS content for Voyager but sadly, it's a matter of grab what you can, however you can. Anyway, I have an inherent interest in seeing the cogs behind the wheel. I chose these samples because I think they're charming.

The continuity polaroid's are so fun and a lost technique, I like to think about assistants having to pull the actors aside and asking them to take those. How daunting! Kate's grin in the one where she is offset is SO cute. So she must have been in a good mood, super Cheeky!

Following that is a screenshot from a video of her having her makeup done. A rare catch. I like this because she often sooks about how much time hair and makeup was spent on her to become Captain Janeway. I get it's a huge time-sink, but love or hate it, the full irony is that her early season appearance is really iconic and in it's own right adds to Captain Janeway's sensibility. Silly goose Kate! Besides that, she looks hot checking herself out, haha.

Moreover, I love on-set editorial photos of actors in costume. While we did have heaps of them in the Starfleet uniform, I wish we had a larger collection with clearer releases, it would have given an opportunity to see in things of interest better detail. Particularly the lower half of unique costumes. For whatever reason special outfits weren't often established or framed for us to see the legs in the show, so a nice big photograph would have solved that. Also I love that these style of pictures capture an impression of an episode without giving it away.

Similarly, fly on the wall on-set photos are cool. They're way more intimate and candid than anything else and it makes me feel as though I am spying on the actors, but they're also a good way to document how things might have been on set.

The Timeless one is interesting too because it's of a deleted scene, we never see Chakotay look at a dead Janeway (how deliciously macabre!), but at some point in time it was in the script and they filmed it.

Hmm this bts picture of Janeway in the Cardigan is adorable! I believe it was worn by Kate for a Charity but look how cute she looks? Makes me wish we saw her mess around with things like that more because 7 Years is a long ass time to be in uniform everyday ( coming from someone who went to school in a Uniform and enjoyed it for the most part). Casual Fridays anyone?

I love this gif. It's from the first shoots of Caretaker and Kate looks so radiant! Her smile is is breathtaking! Whenever I see this gif I get a sense of delight. Poor thing had no idea what she was getting herself into, haha. Really though, check out the original Caretaker photos, they're super-cool. The history behind it is fascinating; I'd love to see more footage from that version of the pilot episode. Unfortunately, it's probably not preserved well, much like lots of Paramount's historical material.

On a similar trend, it's fun to see this set of pictures too. It's for the First Contact film / maybe the Universal studios ride, when she reprised her role as Vice AdmiralJaneway. Kate was genuinely delighted to do this cameo and it shows. As per her operandum she put her whole self into this small segment and that's so darling. It makes me wish we had more of this Janeway at that point in time. I love post Endgame chubby-Janeway. In a fictional sense it denotes that she is comfortable or stressed to be an Admiral (sadly it's the latter in real life) or whatever and I love that for her.

These kind of pictures are fun because it's been said that at times it was the most playful set to be on. There are tales that the cast were not that serious all the time. You get that impression here, and it's probably why the majority of them are still good friends to this day. They're like a family bros!!! Having worked in media I know that wrapping up after working on something for a long time is really rewarding and I bet they had a good time at parties.

Apropos previous, the opposite can be said. While they had fun, the hours were long and the scripts intensive. Kate was around for all of the episodes of Voyager in one way or another, and still managed to bring her A-game each time. She is truly admirable! Seeing her so exhausted is charming. She had a lot of weight to carry for the franchise and did an exemplary job performing her way through 7 years of weird and wonderful material. I wonder how often they fell asleep on set? I know I would. Get some rest queen!

Finally, I've been following Prodigy bts as best I can, and because of my career in animation I get pretty interested in Production art. I love seeing the fast metamorphosis of a visual style. It's really impressive how much attention they applied to the designs, maintaining the older stuff, while adapting a new frontier. One of the lead artists made some pretty neat observations to get Kate's appearance right. It's so cool that they documented that journey, because from my dabbling I know she has a very beautiful, distinct face that isn't easy to capture.

ANYWAY Thankyou for reading my fat thesis fellas. tl;dr i love this stinky Startrek Voyager and by extension the franchise.

[anonymouzee]

AMARANTHINE - Dr. STONE

sum☆: "ᵉˡᵉᵍᵃⁿᵗ! "𝙰𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴 (adj.) undying, immortal, eternally beautifulIn which Stanley Snyder, Xeno Houston Wingfield, and (Y/N) Ambrose were trapped in an unexpected stone world that had been petrified 3,700 years before. However, they were 'infiltrated' by some foreign brats all of a sudden.Of course, they don't give up without a fight, do they?

warnings:. all characters are 18+!!! violence. language. FICTION!! don't like it? scroll away!! first ever post on this app. english is not my first language, so ugh.(Dr. Stone x Reader)(Dr. STONE : New America City Arc) MANGA SPOILER

(CHAPTER 4) Z=152: Doctor vs. Doctor

As Chrome and Kohaku arrived at their designated vantage point, they were immediately struck by the sheer scale of the enemy factory. Its towering smokestacks and sprawling buildings dwarfed everything around it. Chrome, ever the strategist, was already on the line with the Perseus, relaying the latest intel.

"Perseus, come in! We have a new development," Chrome announced, her voice urgent.

On the Perseus, Senku and the others listened intently. "Got it. No more words," Senku replied, his tone equally serious.

"Right, since we're using radio waves, the enemy scientist could be intercepting our signal," Yuzuriha pointed out, her eyes filled with concern. Tsukasa nodded in agreement.

Just then, the Perseus received another incoming call. Magma, assuming it was Chrome, answered without hesitation. However, the voice on the other end was not Chrome's but that of Dr. Xeno, the mastermind behind the enemy forces.

"Greetings," Xeno said, his voice cold and calculating. "I presume this is your preferred frequency for communication?"

A wave of shock swept through the Perseus crew. The enemy had located their communication channel.

"MWAH HA HA! So you're the big bad guy, huh? You got guts!" Magma exclaimed, his bravado momentarily masking his fear.

"I apologize for my limited Japanese language skills," Xeno replied, his voice laced with disdain. "However, this conversation is not suitable for such primitive minds. I demand to speak with your science team leader."

The crew exchanged nervous glances. They knew who Xeno wanted to talk to.

"Put Dr. Taiju on the line," Xeno commanded.

Taiju, still dressed in his Gen costume, pointed at himself in confusion. "Me?"

Minami explained the situation to Senku, who realized immediately what was happening. "Ah, I see. This is Gen's doing," Senku said, picking his ear with his pinky finger. 

"Guess I'm tagging in for Senku," Taiju announced, his voice filled with determination.

"Taiju here! That's Dr. Taiju to you! So you're Dr. Xeno, huh? Pay attention, because I've got something to say to you," Taiju shouted into the phone. "Shooting people with machine guns without warning... isn't nice!"

Senku, Ukyo, and Yuzuriha couldn't help but chuckle at Taiju's naivete. 'Well, duh,' they thought in unison.

"My apologies," Xeno replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "My soldiers, Stanley and (Y/N), merely wanted to demonstrate the chasm between our respective levels of science."

"Now, Dr. Taiju," Xeno continued, "as a fellow science-pro yourself, you must surely realize... we already possess a Haber Bosch plant."

Taiju's eyes widened in confusion. "A Haber... thingy? That's awesome, Dr. Xeno!" he exclaimed, clearly out of his depth.

Senku quickly intervened. "Don't talk more than you need to, you big oaf, or the cracks will start showing," he warned Taiju.

Minami asked Senku what Xeno was talking about. "What is he talking about?"

Senku explained. "A Haber Bosch plant is a factory that makes ammonia. In short, with just water and air, they can produce unlimited gunpowder and ammunition."

"So that's how they can fire those machine guns all day long!" Taiju shouted into the phone.

"You get the gist, Dr. Taiju," Xeno replied.

The Perseus crew was impressed by Taiju's performance. "Who knew Taiju was such a performer?" Ukyo said.

Yuzuriha couldn't help but laugh. "More like up front and direct," she replied.

"We are a collective of professional adults," Xeno said, his voice filled with contempt. "Unlike your ragtag band of merry youths playing with science. Now, I hope you'll surrender at once and serve me. Nothing more, nothing less. You see, our population is lacking." 

Xeno explained that he didn't have enough manpower to de-petrify the statues and was therefore unable to expand his forces. He offered the Perseus crew a chance to surrender and serve him.

Ryusui realized why the enemy lacked revival fluid. Magma, however, was confused. "What's he mean? They don't have enough people? Why not just wake up the stone statues lying around everywhere?" he asked.

"HA HA! This tells us... they don't know about the revival fluid! Am I right?" Ryusui said confidently.

Xeno, realizing his mistake, asked how the Perseus crew had revived the statues. He was unintentionally revealing his ignorance of the revival fluid.

"Well, we..." Taiju began to explain, but Senku and Ryusui interrupted him. "We'll simply crush your group once we have the manpower to do so," Senku said, his voice cold and calculating.

Senku then revealed that they could have Corn City running with the formula. With that, Taiju rejected Xeno's offer, and Xeno promptly ended the call.

"You're never getting the revival fluid! Request denied, mister!" Taiju shouted into the phone.

"Very well. Negotiations have broken down then. What a shame," Xeno replied, his voice filled with disappointment.

Just then, the Perseus crew heard a noise and looked up to see another enemy plane flying overhead. The enemy had reinforcements.

"<Ooh, that's one whopper of a flagship,>" Stanley remarked, his eyes wide with amazement.

(Y/N), ever the daredevil, climbed onto the roof of the plane and sat in a makeshift seat, her machine gun ready. "<How cute~,>" she cooed, gripping the gun tightly.

Meanwhile, on the Perseus, the crew turned to Senku for guidance. "How can we fight back? We don't have an airstrip," Ukyo asked.

Senku's response was both unexpected and ingenious. "Then we just gotta make one," he replied.

"Where?" Ukyo asked, confused.

Senku pointed at the Perseus. "Here," he said. "We're going to build an aircraft carrier on the Perseus."

The crew was stunned. An aircraft carrier on a ship? It was a crazy idea, but it was also the only way to fight back against the overwhelming enemy forces. Senku announced that he and Kaseki would start building a runway.

"It's aircraft carrier time!" Senku shouted excitedly. "The Perseus is getting a total makeover!"

[linkemon]

Fatui headcanons 1

Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here.

Warning!

Some Fatui have yet to appear in the game, so the characters may deviate from their later canon versions.

La Signora

✧ It's not like she was your mother. The best part of her character died with her lover. But it was hard not to feel anything for the woman who had been your mentor for several years. She personally chose you as her protégé. She gave advice and trained. Always saying that she doesn't know what it's all for because she can never be stopped so that someone like you could take her place.

✧ I let you go with me only because Tsaritsa told us to train recruits. She repeated these words and the like very often. But when anyone dared to question you, she always stood up to them. If any of Fatui's lower ranks dared to talk back to those above them, she would eliminate them without batting an eyelid. But she let you talk back, telling you to know your worth. Her student can't let herself be pushed around. That would be bad for her.

✧ When you heard he was dead, you didn't want to believe it. Perhaps many would have rejoiced at your position but you just felt empty. You knew you could do everything you were supposed to do and you would be honored to serve her majesty but joy was somewhere on the side. The first thing you wanted to know was how and where she died. You promised yourself that one day you would slay Raiden Shogun. It was your duty to avenge La Signora.

Pantalone

✧ You met him before he climbed to the top. He was a poor man with no vision. Over time, he developed an unhealthy obsession with the gods. Why did so many people have visions and the two of you didn't It was unfair.

✧ Together you tried to survive on the street. It was a strange time. Sometimes you starved to death. However, your relationship was not based on trust. Some shared food when it was scarce. You shared the spoils according to the amount of work you put in, with no reduced tariffs. Sometimes you went so far as to steal from each other, bringing less than you needed.

✧ Pantalone was usually better at planning jumps and actions. He taught you some nice tricks, including how to manipulate people. He usually chose easier targets. You were a proponent of force solutions.

✧ When given a chance to climb to the top, he abandoned you without hesitation. You always knew he was capable of this. But it wasn't until it really happened that you realized how hurt you were anyway. So when the Fatui asked you to join their ranks a year later, you agreed. Also to face Pantalone one day when you've achieved a lot.

✧ You first saw him again at your mentor's funeral. He was rarely in your area, so you only heard about him. Everything you wanted to tell him slipped out of your head. You only responded to his polite smile and handshake, then walked away.

Tartaglia

✧ As the youngest member of the crew, he often talked to you. He was very popular with recruits. There have been many occasions when Fatui's seniors have charged him with taking care of you during your training. You were always ranked number one, so naturally he wanted to challenge you. It was an honor, so you didn't even think of refusing.

✧ Over time, private training in the form of sparring entered your blood. When you came under La Signora's wing, you stopped. You already had a new teacher and Tartaglia didn't like your mentor very much. Still, he used to pick on you when he came back to Snezhnaya. He loved teasing you. Especially if you've been sitting on paperwork.

✧ At La Signora's funeral, he sided with you and Arlecchino. He himself knew what it was like to be away from his homeland and the vision of death outside of it was terrible. When he supported you, he looked at you the whole time. After the ceremony, he came over to ask how you feel in your new role and if you want to face him. You knew he wouldn't ask about your mentor but you knew his approach to family. It was kind of his attempt to comfort you, so you went to the training ground.

Il Dottore

✧ You never expected that one of your first assignments would involve working with this man. But Tsaritsa's will is sacred and you were the new Harbinger. You had to adapt. You didn't miss him. It would even be safe to say that he scared you. All the rumors you heard about him were nasty. And, as it turned out later, true.

✧ You were tasked with overseeing the security of his lab in Liyue. He produced machines there but not only. He was fascinated by Abyss. What's worse, he's taken it upon himself to keep you informed of all his steps. For some reason, the Dottore thought he'd do what he could to interest you in the subject. Like it or not, you had to listen. Over time, you noticed that you saw meaning in his words and it scared you.

✧ One unlucky day you had to leave the factory with the entire crew. There wasn't much time. You saved his life when several Ruin Guards rioted at once against him. He just laughed the whole way, running away. He said it would be too weak of an end for a genius like him. You've said a few things that would make more than one of the higher-ups try to kill you. But he just laughed again. You're stuck with him now.

[skellymom]

"HUNT AND PECK"

Hunter x Reader Supporting Character Smutty One Shot

(With comedy mixed in)

(Credit for Pinterest photo: mishusheadache)

FIRST IN THE SERIES: "TALES FROM THE EDIBLE"

(Divider credit: @cafekitsune and @4gelic-wh1spers)

BACKGROUND: Hunter converses with his anatomy. We get to be in BOTH heads at once!

WORD COUNT: 1.3K

WARNING: Swearing, references to sexual organs, sexual sounds, reference to the sexual act, mentions of body fluids, angst, sexual pining, dirty humor, wing men, unspoken consent to the sexual act.

Inspired by a post about Hunter typing "Hunt and Peck" style by" @im-no-jedi

Link:

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/743260093984997376/this-also-speaks-to-how-none-of-the-batch-have

AND

This silly movie scene from the 1980's flick "Real Genius"

The Batch finished up their latest mission, picking up a new passenger along the way. Y/N was a Force sensitive hitching a ride to a planet they would be passing on the way to Kamino. She would only be with them a few standard days on the Marauder, and the crew made sure she had a comfortable stay. 

Within two days Hunter was smitten. He usually kept himself from developing any attachments to nat borns. But...well, this one was different...and difficult to ignore. Of course, he still engaged with her politely. Being a Sergeant and host on this transport, he kept some distance. 

Y/N was attractive. Not conventionally, as he wouldn’t consider himself attracted to just ANY pretty face. But she had that...thing. An essence? Something that just took him out at the knees. It was elusive... 

...and she smelled SO GOOD. Hell, even when she was sweaty, dirty, just woke up in the morning...heady scent of her body odor with the slightest tang of her sex... 

Hunter shifted in the pilot’s seat. His armor codpiece felt tight. Dammit, he NEEDED to stop getting distracted. He was supposed to be sitting watch on the ship. 

Technically Echo was to stand this shift. However, he was under the weather and now lying down like the rest of his brothers. 

Hunter could hear Crosshair breathing, Echo’s ticking mechanical heart, and smell Tech’s drool...as he slept face down with mouth open. Wreckers' snores were like a power tool, until his sleep apnea kicked in. Hunter would count the seconds unconsciously holding his own breath too...until Wrecker finally inhaled. 

Hunter inhaled deeply just thinking about it... 

...until Y/N sighed in her sleep. The sound brought his attention back to the heat and tightness in his groin. 

Cut it out Peck! Hunter internally warned his cock. 

Yes, Hunter nicknamed his pecker. And he admitted it to NO ONE! Although, he came close one time when Echo confidentially revealed to Hunter that he named his scomp. 

Oh Broody...you’re such a tight ass PRUDE! 

Hunter shot up from the chair looking around the cockpit. He SWORE he heard a whisper so close...unsure if it was outside or INSIDE HIS HEAD!!!  

KRIFF, I’m hearing things. Although, it was his THIRD consecutive day of chronic insomnia. Was he hallucinating? 

Listening again, Hunter could perceive everyone was asleep and accounted for. He sat back down. 

Broody...it’s me! Peck!!! In a strangely soft but high-pitched voice. 

Then the voice started clucking. 

Hunter spun around in the chair. He felt for CERTAIN there were NO CHICKENS on the Marauder. Shit...he REALLY needed to start taking that nasty tasting sleep medication Tech concocted.  

Finally lost my mind...was bound to eventually happen. Lack of sleep, having to look after his bonehead brothers, save Echo, and... sitting here alone in the starlit darkness. Running his hand down his face and resigned himself to having an internal discussion with his own cock. What would it hurt? Besides everyone was asleep. Let’s just go with it and see... 

Peck? Hunter called out with his mind. 

Yeah Broody? 

I’m NOT a prude. Just polite. 

Y/N is a grown ass woman, Hunter. You CAN talk to her. 

What would I say? 

She needs MORE than those furtive glances and puppy dog eyes. Show her the WOLF you are, Hunter. 

She’s our guest NOT a sex object! 

Oh...so she’s NEVER had an impure thought about YOU? 

A very feminine moan and a sigh wafted from the pallet Y/N was sleeping on the bunk room floor. She must have been having a hell of a dream...as Hunter could smell her wet arousal. 

Hunter’s cock was now becoming painful with an intense pressure against his codpiece. 

Clucking...C’mon ole boy. Would you deny yourself the opportunity of a grown woman’s consent? 

You DON’T KNOW if she even thinks about me THAT WAY! 

Oh YES I DO! 

Hunter ripped the codpiece off and threw it behind him. His girthy engorged cock staining through his blacks...and leaving a wet spot. 

Ohh...THANK FORCE you let me out! Suffocating in there!!! Clucking... 

SHUT UP! Hunter pushed his pecker down between his legs, then crossed them tightly. 

Mmhmm, hmm, mhm mmm... Muffled speech. Clucking intensified. 

DANK FERRICK! She did look at him a lot and smiled. He could sense her body reacting to him MUCH differently than his brothers. The thrumming of her presence on his senses. Something he guessed was her Force sensitivity. It would tickle his nerve endings and make him shiver...in a VERY good way. Was Y/N flirting with the Force? Hunter wasn’t exactly sure. 

But he didn’t want to take advantage and come off as a creep. 

Hunter was so caught up in his head he barely registered a rustling... 

...and swung the chair around to face... 

...Y/N standing there, blanket wrapped around her shoulders, eyes hooded in desire. 

Hunter sprang up out of the chair and his cock sprang up from between his legs. His expression was of dumb embarrassment due to all the blood rushing away from his brain. 

Her gaze lingered on his cock. Then she stared him straight in the eyes... 

...and dropped her blanket. She was buck naked. 

Hunter’s jaw dropped. Y/N giggled seductively, strolled over to Hunter and pressed everything she had up against him. 

He almost died of heart failure but managed to gently slide both hands up her back in a tender caress. 

“Are you sure???” 

“Yes, Hunter...PLEASE EAT me and FUCK me!” With that she grabbed two handfuls of his luxurious hair and devoured his mouth. 

Hunter, ever the gentleman who could follow directions to the letter, obliged her. 

“Permission to FINALLY stop drooling upon the sheets? Feel like I’m still on Kamino...” Tech whispered. 

Quiet moaning from the cockpit area. 

Echo whispered back on the comm channel “Everyone, the coast is clear. Target engaged.” 

Everyone received the order via earpiece. They could now relax and drop the ruse of being asleep. 

Tech sighed, “Now I can FINALLY get in the refresher. He was spending an abnormal amount of time in there lately...”   

“Look who's talking, Mr Clean. Wrecker piped up. “Shiniest dick in the galaxy.” 

“At least Hunter cleans the cum off the shower walls.” Tech shot Wrecker a baleful stare 

“Ey, can’t help I got a big dick.” Wrecker smiled like a shithead, nodding at Tech’s crotch. “Can’t help making a BIG splash...and miss some at times.” 

“ARE YOU IMPLYING MY REPRODUCTIVE ORGAN IS LESS THAN SUFFICIENT SIZE???” 

Echo interrupted on comm, “Will the two of you QUIET THE FUCK DOWN! Our target will disengage...and Y/N will not acquire the asset!” 

Wrecker giggled, “Oh, she’s definitely acquiring that ASS-ET!” Getting louder again. 

Echo and Tech shushed him again. 

Clucking continued over the coms... 

Echo slid to the edge of his bunk and looked up. Crosshair lay on the top bunk, pillow pressed savagely over his face. He was shaking and clucking like a deranged farm fowl. 

“If I had known you’d carry on so much, would have been the voice myself. Plus, you SERIOUSLY veered off script!” Echo sneered. Wondering if he was the only one on this ship, save their guest, to have at least one brain cell. 

His musing was interrupted by much louder moans, sexual swears, and the wet slapping of flesh. 

“Engage ear protection. Sound cancelling level 10. NO eavesdropping, men. We may be feral and efficient commandos, but we STILL have some semblance of morals!” 

The clucking turned to coughing. “That’s what YOU think!” Crosshair finally got a hold of himself. 

Echo rolled his eyes and threw the covers over his head. Thankfully N/A being Force sensitive was able to help them by dampening their ambient noise to Hunter's senses and... 

...OH!  

Echo’s eyes popped open realizing...she ALSO had to give CROSSHAIR access to the mental conversation in Hunter’s head to be as effective a voice as possible! 

And... Crosshair laughed all through it like a fucking MANIAC! 

Echo sighed. That boy ain’t right.... 

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*Bone-us content: This vintage tune from my young adulthood (1990's) popped into my head...and thought I'd share. Hunter diggin' that bad girl and how she smelled.