#the lobster wars are real

[yourtipsygrandma]

It always gives me a chuckle to see all these posts about how Americans always respond to the question “where are you from” with their state or town.

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel Europe a few times and to have a couple road trips across the US when I was younger, and my least favorite question has always been “where are you from.”

I traveled in Europe before being able to sleep in my car across the USA. But even in Europe if people asked me that question, I always said the US. and they’d get annoyed with me! Roll their eyes and say “obviously, yeah, but where?”

Maine. I’m from Maine. Oh, you haven’t heard of it? I’m not surprised. Most Americans can’t name the 50 states, I don’t expect you to know them. But it would always spiral into a rather awkward conversation. The few times I got tired of the derision and straight up said Maine, I would get “I thought you were American” or “what?”.

AND THEN I ROAD TRIPPED ACROSS THE USA TWICE. and wow. Just wow. In California, I had someone say “oh, is Maine in the Middle East?”. In Texas, I had someone ask if Maine had paved roads & indoor plumbing, and they were completely serious. In Arizona, Nevada, Utah, & Idaho, people asked me “what’s Maine.”

Anyways, Canada you’re exempt. Always been pleasant, despite the lobster wars. You’re a real one.

Quebec’s on thin ice though.

[doghart]

i’m catching up on tsv, i think something that eskew prod does extremely well is using horror absurdism to capture the absurd horror of capitalism. it’s clear in eskew too, but i think it’s especially fantastic in the silt verses. the casualness with which sacrifice is discussed. how red lobster has a god that has and continues to take human sacrifice, and so do cereal companies, cops, and the grueling start up that has a “fun room”. it captures EXTREMELY well how it feels to live under capitalism, that you’re constantly bombarded with horrible things, discussed cheerily in a nice tone. the way it’s simultaneously numbing, hysterical, and horrifying. i think i was especially fond of how in ep 39, protest against sacrifice was taken as radical, a propostorus, idealistic thing that’s just so SILLY it’s not even worth considering, something that feels very real to revolutionary organizing/protest irl. i also liked how despite the face, when everything gets down to it, when everything is about profit, all people come down to are bodies. all capitalism is a gaping maw, and it eats the poor and marginalized first, but doesn’t STOP eating just there. the very literalized version of this, where the profit wheel (and all that includes— war mongering, the prison industrial complex, wage labor, etc) is given a very real literal set of teeth, but the body count is the same. so the electric company has a god, and so it takes humans sacrifice. do real electric companies not have a very real human cost? overworked and underpaid labors looking to make rent, or well off comfortable employees no less likely to get the axe under profit margins, or the blood shed when colonizing in the first place, in clearing the space for the electric company to move in. is that not also a very real human sacrifice? the commercial aimed at elderly people talking about “back in my day, we would just talk about all this human sacrifice and find a compromise :)” is so bleakly hysterical, but is that not very accurate? that you can put a good face on it, but in the end what it comes down to is that you’re being sold the chance to be human fodder? that there is no glory or honor on a battlefield or in working yourself to death, just mud and shit and bodies to throw at problems. idk! i’m rambling but it’s a deeply engaging podcast.

[tropicalcryptid]

My Favorite Detail in Farscape is [Spoilers!]

Ok for real spoilers for the entire show including Peacekeeper Wars, so I'll put a gif here and you all agree to scroll on past if you don't want spoilers for a show that ended in 2004.

Ok, so for everyone still here, my all-time favorite detail in Farscape is one that I didn't catch until my second watch-through, and I don't think it's common knowledge in the fandom. (Edit: apparently it's more commonly known about then I realized! Obviously this is because Farscape fans are keen-eyed and insightful and starved for content lol). It's certainly never mentioned or pointed out in the show itself. But it's just so perfect that I get giddy everytime I think about it.

So after Crichton gets twinned, in "Thanks for Sharing," Crichton A gets injured in the bar explosion on that planet that puts lobsters on your head. He is left with a cut above his left eyebrow, and the resulting scar can be used to tell the two Crichtons apart for the rest of season 3 (Crichton A is the one on Talyn with Aeryn).

Wound in "Thanks for Sharing"

Scar visible on Crichton A

No scar on Crichton B aboard Moya.

(Also frell me it's hard getting clear pics / gifs for this show somebody get on that)

Anyway, the scar/injury is never really addressed after that first episode, it's just a super-subtle costuming detail that shows the two Crichtons are now living separate lives. Crichton A then dies after finally achieving everything he ever wanted, Aeryn is heartbroken, drama ensues. The question is raised and discussed often, with much angst: which Crichton was the real one? Did Aeryn fall in love with the original or the copy?

Of course, Crichton B eventually accepts that they were both "him" and yet both individuals too, and Aeryn eventually says "There is no longer any difference in my mind." So it's resolved, mostly.

BUT.

2.5 seasons later, at the end of "The Peacekeeper Wars" Crichton B finally activates the wormhole weapon. After Einstein unlocks the knowledge for him, he returns to Moya bloody and hurt. And for the rest of the movie, he has a wound, and then a scar--a small cut above his left eyebrow.

It's never mentioned. It happens right near the end, when obviously a lot of other things are going on. It's really, super easy to miss. But I think it's amazing. They both really were the real Crichton. And even when they split and began leading separate lives--their destiny was still the same. The timelines reunited, kinda, or two separate possible outcomes synced up. It's such a beautiful, perfect bow to wrap up one of the most emotionally powerful arcs in the show. I just love it. Farscape really is in a league of its own.

[goosedoes-fics]

Madness Headcanons

Madcom x Reader

Content Warnings: I talk about tits a lot sorry. Also mentions of organ failure and transfem Tricky

Notes: Trying to get back into the writing groove. Sorry if this is shit

HANK J WIMBLETON

If you didn't know ASL before meeting them, they would communicate primarily with hand and head movements. He's too cool to use a notepad

Not a big fan of PDA, but in private he's quite affectionate and cuddly. theyre just a big ass guard dog cmon

Hank Motherfucker Wimbleton what are you doing here????? waiting for them to play gangnam styl.

DEIMOS

Transgenda

I like to imagine Dedmos's rock face works similarly to Hank's metal jaw. It's just a rock jaw. Rock lobster.

He is an ASSHOLE (affectionate)

The kind of person to like. Punch your shoulder when they laugh

Their ideal first date is stealing the declaration of independence

If you don't make him, he will go days without showering he is SO smelly anfd SO stinky. He has GREASY ASS HAIR i just know it

SANFORD

If Hank is a guard dog he's one of those goofy dogs that look like bear cubs

VERY big fan of PDA he will smooch you anywhere. everywhere. any time any place any day

He takes missions more seriously than Deimos but outside of missions he is just a big fat goofball

I'm going to place my hands directly on his man tits. anyways where was I

He lost his nipples in The War

I'm kidding. He lost them during top surgery.

At this point i'm aiming the transgenderification beam at all of them. nobody is safe. BE TRANSGENDER

DOC

Sometimes he wears his hair down and it's like a mullet w/ shaved sides

Out of all of them he's the most adverse to PDA but! In private he is very sweet. very silly

Hey are you okay with being tested on? Yeah? Cool will you drink this organ failure potion I brewed

Plays the piano sometimes! He might serenade you if you ask nicely

TRICKY

BE TRANSGENDER. (shoots her with my transfem beam)

Yeah so he/she bigender Tricky is real. Krinkels told me himself

He is like a big weird dog as well. He might lick your face (don't let him zed spit is slightly acidic)

Probably likes PDA the most. She will make out with you very grossly and sloppily in the middle of McDonalds

Very soft very fluffy. Which is surprising considering how many times he's died

His tail is somewhat prehensile, he could dangle from a tree branch if he tried hard enough

CHURCH AND JORGE

They are very good at sharing!

Sorry not sorry yandere enjoyers but they would NOT kill someone for looking at you they would be like haha yeah everyone should look at our awesome fucking partner theyre so cool and hot

Sometimes they forget how big they are compared to you so they might try to like flop over on you. Pigpile on the small one

Very prone to roughhousing and play fighting but they'll be gentle if you ask

BEEFY BOYS 😍

[oliveroctavius]

I got this ask on main but thought I'd pick it up here, my comics history/fashion ramble blog. I'd been wondering this exact same thing recently, and Google initially wasn't much help—Rocketeer replica jackets describe themselves only as "Rocketeer jackets" and the one Lobster Johnson cosplay thread just suggested ordering one of those.

The most curious part is the double seam and horizonal row of buttons that mark out the entire front as possibly being an unbuttonable "bib", like a plastron front. (Please don't ask how late in the game I worked out that "plastron" is the right word for that.)

The closest genuine Golden Age example of a plastron jacket I found was the military tunic style uniform of Blackhawk, created in 1941.

(Pics from the '52 movie serial (right) really show how awkward it is to combine open lapels + plastron. On a double breasted coat, that chest panel IS the bottom lapel, folded shut.)

Here's the thing: This outfit mirrors that of the Nazi ace pilot he fights in the origin issue, von Tepp (middle). And compare further to the far right: real life WWI flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, AKA the Red Baron, in imperial German Uhlan (lance cavalry) uniform.

"The Germans had designed such great costumes, we decided to use them ourselves," co-creator Cuidera is quoted as saying in Steranko's History of Comics, which (more dubiously, in my opinion) compares the look to the Gestapo or SS. Breeches or jodhpurs weren't strictly a Nazi thing at the time, but they do add to the overall effect.

Compare two other military tunic themed costumes from 1940, on Captain Marvel and Bucky Barnes. These are asymmetrically buttoned, and switch to a more classic circus strongman look below the waist.

But somewhere around 1975, with the Invaders book, Bucky gets a buttoned bib! There's something infectious about it—the symmetry, maybe. (Even re: the characters we started with; Mignola didn't draw Lobster Johnson with buttons down the right side, but every artist after does. And Spider-Noir wore a sweater under his coat until Shattered Dimensions introduced the double-breasted vest.)

If it didn't reach his belt, Barnes' button-on front + shirt collar combo would resemble a bib-front western shirt, like the one that became the Rawhide Kid's signature look in '56. (Or Texas Twister's in '76.)

This shirt entered the old-West-obsessed public imagination in the 1940s/50s largely because John Wayne wore it in several cowboy movies. In reality it was rare among cowboys, more common with firefighters and civil war era militia.

Military tunics, Western shirts, alright, but does anything match the style and material and era, or are these jackets a total anachronism? I tried looking into 1930s leather flight jackets and was surprised when the closest-looking results were marked as Luftwaffe.

It took me a bit to work out why: USAF and RAF issued standard flight jackets with a center closure. The Luftwaffe instead let their pilots buy non-standardized ones. The 'weird' double-breasted black German flight jackets were in fact fairly normal (but repurposed) motorcycle racing jackets.

Far left is an English biker's jacket that dates back to the 1920s. Even without the bib, this may be as close as you'll get to an authentic Rocketeer. The jodhpurs were pretty common to complete the look. (What was an early motorcycle anyways, if not a weird metal horse?) The first biker jacket with the now iconic off-center diagonal zip was designed in America in 1928 and yet as far as I can tell, not a single actual pre-war pulp hero wore one.

The greatest weakness of this post is that I haven't been able to find any of these artists' notes on how, exactly, they arrived at similar versions of this iconic Pulp Front Panel Jacket. I'm sure I've missed some things. But as far as I can tell, this jacket is an odd bit of convergent stylistic evolution from the above influences that's picked up enough momentum to now be self-perpetuating.

The problem with pulp heroes is that for the most part, they just wore clothes. The appeal of this jacket is actually very similar to what the 1940s thought the appeal of the bib-front shirt in westerns was: It's alien enough to feel "old". It looks like something invented before zippers or synthetic fabrics. It looks formal and militant but also renegade, rebellious. It also looks a little mad-sciencey*. It's a costume, but you can nearly fool yourself into thinking the past was weird enough that you could find something this cool on the rack.

If I wanted to end on some grand point, I could try to argue that there's a thematic throughline between fascist fashion, John Wayne movies, and throwback pulp. A manufactured aesthetic valorizing the violence of a fictional golden age... but I think the noir stylings of the post-Rocketeer comics in this lineup mean that, at least on some level, they know the "good guys" didn't dress like this.

*If I had another couple weeks of time to burn, I'd try to trace the visual history of the Howie coat in popular culture and investigate its possible connections to this. Alas, I do actually have a life.

[the-province-of-nova-scotia-real]

CRAB WAR.

CRABS ARE BETTER.

@marscrab-real @marscrab @i-am-the-crab @hi-just-existing

LOBSTER.

[impulsivefanwriter]

Lava Fall (Remastered)

A ninjago fic snippet based on SPBNR by @kittydemon9000 rewritten in honour of the 2-year anniversary of the discord server! This one is to all the wonderful memories and friends made in that amazing group. Here's to many more years of great times and creative ideas!

————

————

Being kidnapped isn’t an everyday occurrence, but in Shogun’s line of occupation, it may as well be with how often it seems to happen.

Heck, his little brother has the worst luck out of all of them— though his sister seems to come a close second.

So it’s to no real surprise (at least, to him) that Shogun currently finds himself in a rather… precarious position. 

As in a “tied to a chain, dangling over lava just like Nya back in the Fire Temple” kind of precarious position.

Yeah. Just an average Friday evening.

Below him stands the gloating four-armed warlord himself, a positively pompously smug grin stretched across his features. Two hands rest on his hips, and two stay crossed before him.

“I asked you to join me, yet you refuse. You’re as stubborn as my buttface of a brother.”

Despite the childish insults, Shogun knows better than to underestimate this world’s Garmadon. Instead, he levels the villain with a burning glare. “Let me go, or face the consequences.”

Garmadon smiles— a cruel, wretched thing, honestly— and places two hands on a lever. “Let you go? That can be arranged.”

Lava gurgles under him, seeming to draw closer lava surrounding Lloyd’s cage, lapping at the metal floor and splashing against the bars. The Fangblade plummets as Kai lunges forward, not for the weapon, but for his little brother, too late, he’s too late, too unworthy, too much of a failure—

Shogun’s face is the definition of a furious snarl, but before he can spit out a barrage of insults so stinging it would melt Garmadon’s helmet, one of the doors to the cavern bursts open with an explosion. Shapes burst through the  smoke, and Ninja Force come raining in.

“Smith!” Lloyd not his Lloyd but still neither should be near a volcano not after— shouts, green hood pulled over his face and missile launcher— WHO GAVE THIS KID A MISSILE LAUNCHER— propped over his shoulder. “Hold on!”

Garmadon’s army pours into the room, narwhal spears and pufferfish flails at the ready. Cyan leaps forward with her trident raised above her head. She brings it down in an arc with a furious war cry, melted tip scrapping against a lobster-themed shield with an unpleasant screech. Behind her, Black follows with a swing of his hammer, slamming the shield away and sending it spinning into the lava pit below. The metal hisses as it dissolves into a glob of orange spittle and vanishes. 

Red charges in after his sister, twin katanas reflecting the glow of the lava so bright they almost appear alight with flames. He disarms one unprepared General with a move that makes Shogun proud— looks like he was paying attention in weapon training after all— and spins to hit a second, sparks flying as metal contacts metal. Shogun squints. For a split second, he thought he saw the base embers of Spinjitzu, but if there were any, they quickly fade into the chaos of the fight.

A flash catches his attention, and Shogun turns his head in time to catch a whiff of ozone and charred fish. A General runs wailing from the room, smoke trailing after them like a scarf. A (fearfully) screaming Blue snaps his wrist again, and his flail strikes out like lightning. Next to him, White makes perfect precision strikes with his bow, quips of “Nice Shot!” and “Good Aim!” in an impression of that announcer in that sports video game Smith played with the others falling from his lips. 

“We’re coming!” Green yells, scrambling down the path his team clears toward his father. Whenever a General crosses his line of sight, the missile launcher clicks in warning. The more foolish Generals find themselves knocked aside in explosions that rattle the volcano, sending Smith spinning on his chain like an angry disco ball.

His vision blurs for a minute from the motion, and he tries not to hurl into the lava below. Instead, he focuses on the sounds of metal clashing, the shouts of combat, and the pounding slam of explosions and hammers-that-really-shouldn’t-be-rattling-the-volcano-this-much.

A feeling surfaces in his gut, clawing steadily upwards and wrapping icy fingers around his heart. It’s a feeling that ties lead to his feet, that grips his hair and yanks his head back, that throws him forward onto his knees like a spiked heel to his back.

It’s a feeling of helplessness.

Stupid, consuming helplessness.

He hates it.

His friends, his family, are fighting below, and he can’t do anything. 

When Shogun stops spinning, the feeling only worsens, climbing up the inside of his throat with a thick glob of sticky horror.

Cyan’s disarmed, her trident slowly sinking as it melts away in the lava. Her fists, blood staining her knuckles, collide with any General near her. 

CRACK, a General’s jellyfish helmet shattering into glass shards. 

CRACK, the jaw of a crab General breaking. 

CRACK, Cyan’s hand against metal-plated armour. 

She drops back with a wounded howl that’s his SISTER who just got hurt, and he can’t help her. Her brothers are there in an instance, one slamming the General with the butt-end of a katana and the other lighting them up like a firework with a missile. The General flies out of the room as if fired by their boss. 

A screech drags Shogun’s horrified gaze away from the three siblings and to a squirming Blue held by the back of the gi like a kitten. The orca-themed General sneers, spinning the lightning ninja around. Before they can toss him into a wall, a bright flash fills the chamber. Some kind of force smashes the General into the wall instead. Blue goes sailing out of their grip—

And over the railing of the pathway.

Shogun’s heart stops.

Before the half-formed wail of his brother’s name can burst from his mouth, however, a streak dives under the railing and over the cliff edge. Black snatches Blue’s wrist and digs his other hand into the craggy rock wall, praying for a handhold. 

... ... ...

Through some miracle, he finds one. He clings there, holding Blue against the wall as the pair dangles over lava. 

A General reaches over the railing with a spear aimed at Black’s hand below them, but an arrow knocks the spear from their hand. White bodyslams them out of the way and helps Black and Blue up in a lull of combat.

More Generals pour into the cavern as alarms wail, nearly spilling others into the lava pit below. The Ninjaforce tense, adjusting grips on whatever weapons they have remaining.

But before the fight can break out anew, Garmadon gives a pointed cough that seems to echo louder along the rock walls.

Shogun jerks as he’s lowered on the chain a smidge.

Silence falls.

“So—” Garmadon stretches the word out, savouring the attention as his fingers tap the lever with casual slowness. “You surrender, or he drops.”

Six faces pale beneath hooded masks.

Green swallows. “You wouldn’t. You spent all this energy to catch him. You won’t drop him.”

There’s an edge of pleading to his voice, a desperate hope that some tiny part of Garmadon wouldn’t do it. That his father isn’t that despicable. That Green by association isn’t that despicable.

Garmadon rolls his eyes. “Ugh, you goody-two-shoes are all the same. You sound like my whiny butt-faced brother. “Don’t do this, Garmadon!” “You’re better than this, Garmadon!” I am better. I’m stronger. I’m gonna rule Ninjago City! I thought I could use Shogun on my side to do it, but if he’s just gonna stand in my way—“

The chain drops another few centimetres. 

“—then I’m more than ready to drop him.”

Shogun has enough.

Smith has enough.

Kai has enough.

Burning fury, hotter than a thousand suns, roars through his gut. It melts the  frozen helplessness clamped around his heart, burns away the sticky glob of horror in his throat, and spits out of his mouth in a jet of orange flames. “Do it, coward.”

A thicker silence follows the last syllable. The Ninja Force and generals alike look on with horror, the former with fear for their friend, the latter recognizing a phrase that would immediately get any of them fired if they dared utter it.

Even Garmadon blinks, stunned. 

Then his cruel smirk returns. “So be it. If you’re not for me, you’re against me. Our dance was fun, Shogun. Too bad you won’t be sticking around for an encore.”

He yanks the lever back with two hands.

Someone screams.

The tether keeping Shogun chained goes slack as he plummets, the string holding him helpless severed in a single move. As he falls, lava fast approaching, his expression betrays no fear.

He keeps his burning gaze drilled into Garmadon’s the whole way down.

—————————

Lloyd doesn’t know what to do.

Smith had casually dropped into their lives one seemingly uneventful day, and he’d stuck to them ever since. He’d been the best addition to their friend group they could’ve ever hoped for.

And now he’s been dropped, literally, back out of their lives.

“SMITH!”

The scream comes from six people at once, six ninjas scrambling to the railing and stare at the lava’s centre where the melting chain vanishes below the bubbling orange surface. 

Logically, Smith’s buoyancy should mean he’d float. Yet the chain plating drags him down below the spitting lava in a heartbeat, gone from view.

A mercy on their eyes, to avoid seeing the flesh melt from his bones.

Kai drops to his knees, katanas clattering to the ground. “He… he can’t be gone.” His voice is hollow, a snuffed candle. It reminds Lloyd of how lost Shogun sounded earlier. “He can’t be.”

“…Sensors indicate 0% chance of survival…” Comes Zane’s voice, grief-struck cold and crackling with static. “I— I wish it was /j instead of /srs.”

An expression steeped in horror and guilt washes across Nya’s face. “The last thing I ever said to him—“

Cole stands silent, his watering eyes speaking volumes to the turmoil rumbling inside. Jay crashes into his side, shaking as he hiccups and gasps for air.

And Lloyd… Lloyd can’t think. Can’t see. Can’t feel.

Smith is gone.

And it’s his father’s fault.

Lloyd growls, slowly turning to face Garmadon with eyes blazing green. He flexes his hands unconsciously, nails sharpening into claws as green and gold scales march over his skin. 

He throws himself forward with a wild roar, claws aiming for Garmadon’s throat. The move catches even the warlord off-guard, his Generals too surprised to react.

But before Lloyd can attack his father, before he can hurtle the anguished insult burning on his tongue, the lava pit behind him explodes.

Everyone, ninja and Generals alike, scramble back as the geyser of lava swallows the remains of the dangling metal chain whole. The spray spits and sizzles as it hits the surrounding rock. A wave of heat radiates out. 

No one, not even Kai himself, notices that a couple drops land on his skin without burning him.

The air punches from Lloyd’s lungs.

Striding out of the lava, completely fine as if he’d merely taken a plunge in the pond in the park, is Smith.

What. The. Duck.

Lava dripping from his fingers, Smith climbs up the rocky cliffs and pulls himself over the railing. He shakes himself off, flicking a glob of drying lava from his shoulder with utmost casualness. Droplets of lava hit the grated floor.

There isn’t a scratch on him. No burns, no cuts, not even his clothes look singed. The only change, honestly, is that his stormy expression somehow manages to look even more murderous. 

He raised his hand toward Garmadon.

His fist erupts into flames.

WHAT. THE. DUCK.

“So—“ Smith draws out the word as if it’s an inside joke between him and the warlord. “You asked me to join you. I refused. I asked you to let me go. I’d count that as refusing.”

The flame grows brighter, flaring higher. His eyes glow like a hearth.

“So I say it’s time for that encore.”

[vampiric-succulent]

OUAW EP 30:

There’s a really interesting vibe to this episode…

Masquerade session!!!!

How does Twig always end up committing war crimes or like with a gun or something

COALECROUX COUPLES COSTUME OH MY GOD THE DICE COMING IN CLUTCH RN

Ugh yes masquerade fitsssss

“If I die like for real will you tel everyone I love them?” WOAH that got sad so fast

Torbichael Jackson and the single white glove

CandleGricko just adds to the French Revolution farce I love it

SACRE GOO!!!!!

A scientist (Nikkie) will really see a mouse (Derek/Frost) and be like put that beast in a situation (a horrible outfit)

TWIG GOING UP TO KREMY AND GIDEON WITH TWO LOBSTER COSTUMES AND SAYING “did you know lobsters mate for life??” INCREDIBLE Twig is our biggest Coalecroux advocate (aside from Kremy)

The list of things I want to draw is so unbearably long at this point

Stopping early bc I’m going to get my wisdom teeth taken out and will most likely be incomprehensible afterwards wahoo

[purpleyoonn]

The Line Between Love and War 2

C H A P T E R  2:  Announcements and Hand Holding

“It is said that the night sky is made up of tiny wishes that humans were never able to fulfill. That the stars only became bright by the fulfillment of those wishes. In your eyes, the stars that shine never seemed real, your childhood wishes dark and dim as you grow. But now, now you understand the twinkle in their eyes as they look down at you.”

Summary: Your experiences told you that soulmates were something you would never have the pleasure of having; something not given to you because of who you are, despite the soulmark that resides on your inner left wrist. During your solo trip to Los Angeles, you find out that you are more than capable, that your soulmates had been waiting for you for a long time, and would not be letting you go anytime soon.

Genre: soulmate au, bts au, idol bts, polyamory relationship, eventual smut

Paring: Idol!BTS x autistic!mc

Status: Ongoing (randomly updated)

Warnings: mental illness, talk of disability, lots of angst, miscommunication, feelings of depression, feelings of isolation, polyamory bts, stalking, dangerous behavior, eventual smut, 

Chapter Warnings: some anxious feelings, thoughts of being perceived, giggling mc, protective bangtan, sejin causing some unforeseen trouble, independent mc, mc forgetting to eat, jin being a savior for awkward mc,  

Beta Reader: @crushedblackroses  

Taglist: @azazel-nyx​​  @yuzon3​​ @hannahdinse8​​ @quirkybtsarmy​​ @mageprincess7​​  @fluffy-canada-pancakes​​ @suckerforv​​ @chaoticthingpizza​​ @drissteele​​ @carolinexkpop​​ @avadakadabra93​​ @lachimolala22019​​  @justaweird0​​ @singukieee​​  @welcometomyworld13​​ @toughbook​​ @kimana122​​ @kpopmultistantrashsstuff​​ 

Masterlist // Chapter 1 // Chapter 3

————————————————–

Previously on The Line Between Love and War:

“Don’t say that. We will always worry about you. You may not have experienced the soulbond we did, but that doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. If anything, our bonds made us fall in love with our sweet and caring baby soulmate. You are ours, and we take care of what is ours.” Namjoon spoke in English again, making his sentence hit you even harder, your cheeks as red as a lobster at this point as he moves closer, placing his hand on your knee.

Never would you think you would be in this situation, in the same room as the boys you had grown to love through their videos and lyrics, and they were basically professing their love for you, their soulmate. It was like being in the middle of a bad fanfiction. You were almost waiting for the other shoe to drop, your experience states that something bad always follows something good.

After their very obvious and blatant words of love and possession, Jin refused to let go of you, his hands maneuvered you so he was sitting behind you, your body anchored to him as he wrapped his arms around you. You were extremely tense at first, uncomfortable with the thought of even being touched by someone else, but your body quickly relaxed into his touch, just like it did with Yoongi.

You didn’t understand where your almost craving need of their touch came from. You had always held an aversion for touch, needing your personal bubble to be untouched by anyone near you. Your family had always had problems with this, being very affectionate people.

“I know you don’t like hugs but come here!” Were words you had heard way too many times before being brought into someone’s hold. Your family acknowledged your touch aversion, but didn’t care, even when it made you uncomfortable or caused a shutdown afterwards.

To become completely relaxed and at peace at the boy’s touch was weird to you. Normally you would be pushing yourself away by now, but here you were, resting your head against Jin’s chest as he relaxed into the back of the couch. A sigh of relief even left your lips as Jin held you closer to his chest.

The others watched on with small smiles on their faces, seeing you relax completely into their eldest mate’s hold. This was probably the first time they had seen you truly relaxed since Yoongi found you. Namjoon almost wanted to just call it a day right then and there, wanted to tuck you into his bed and make sure you were warm against him before you fell asleep. But before that, their manager, Sejin, walked in.

You jumped at the door opening, the unexpected noise startling you out of your relaxed state, the unknown man scaring you a little. Jin’s arms tightened around you, bringing you back into his hold as Jimin and Taehyung settled on either side of you and Jin, their hands settling on your thighs, protective in hope.

“Hello boys. I heard you have found your last soulmate!” The man spoke before congratulating the boys, moving around to shake their hands or pat them on the back before moving to stand in front of you.

“Hello there. You must be Y/N. My name is Sejin, and I am the main manager for the boys.” He holds his hand out for you to shake, and you reluctantly bring your hand up to meet his. His touch made you want to pull back, the feeling of his skin uncomfortable against your own. When he pulled away, you were secretly relieved, bringing your hand to your chest.

“I came by to let you know that we have the announcement ready. Bang Pd-nim just wanted you to look it over before we post it.” Sejin stated, looking towards Namjoon, who grabbed the tablet out of his manager’s hand to look at said statement.

However, the manager’s words had you tensing up again, panic filling your bones at the thought of being announced to the world, of people knowing about you. Jin noticed your shaking first, could feel your heartbeat become faster. You have always disliked the thought of being perceived, of people thinking about you. It felt weird to you and always had you double thinking everything you do, your mask being almost perfected over the years.

“Baby, are you okay? What’s wrong?” He whispered in your ear, rubbing his hand up and down your arm in an attempt to help calm you down.

“Do we have to make an announcement?” Your voice cracked, worry lacing your tone and catching the attention of the rest of your mates. Sejin stepped back, knowing if he got to close, he would have more than just upset Bangtan at his throat.

“Honey, we need to make an announcement before the fans find out themselves. We need to stay in control of the situation. The NSS is updated regularly when soulmates find each other, and we know that there are fans who check every day.” Namjoon says, moving closer until he was kneeling in front of you, holding your hands in his own. 

“We want to keep you safe.” He finishes, looking in your eyes and hoping you understand where they were coming from. There was nothing more that he wanted than to assure your safety. Their line of work was not easy, and he knew other idol’s soulmates have been caught in the crossfire in the past, and they couldn’t let that happen to you. 

“Do you have to tell them it’s me? I uh, would like to remain private if I can?” You look hopeful to Namjoon, he can see the emotion clear in your eyes and he hates that he must tell you otherwise.

“Baby, I so wish we could keep you private, keep you to ourselves. But soulmate bonds at the NSS reveal the people within the bonds. Your name will be linked with our own as quickly as tomorrow.” You look down at your lap, tears almost forming in your eyes as take in his words. The soul mark on your inner arm now completely black, complete with your bond. 

Change was evident in life, you knew this. It happened every day, heck, every second. But this was too much change for any single person to handle. You never thought you would meet your soulmate, and now you have to be announced to the world, letting everyone know you exist and you are the last soulmate to the biggest band in the world.

You tried to reign in your tears, tried not to breakdown in front of them, but just the sound of you sniffling had the boys moving to you. But you were already forcing yourself to hold everything in, something that was as easy as breathing for you by now. Your mask back on your face before you could look up, one of the boys’ hand coming up and cupping your cheek, tilting your head upwards.

“Nothing will happen to you if that’s what you are worried about. We would never let anything happen to you now that we’ve finally found you.” Hoseok spoke softly but firmly as you cupped your cheek, making sure you were looking him in the eyes as he spoke.

“I know that you feel uncomfortable with attention, having seen glimpses,” He winks at you, causing a small smile to grow on your lips, “but we will do our best to keep you out of the spotlight. You don’t have to be on camera if you don’t want to. We will never force you to do anything you don’t want to.” His words help to reassure you, keep you from panicking even more.

This time, Jungkook speaks up from his spot on the right of Hoseok, having moved to kneel in front of you when he heard you sniffle.

“While people will want to know more about you, will ask questions and demand answers, we will only ever talk about what you allow us. If you don’t want us to talk about you at all, then we won’t.” You shake your head at his words, knowing that it wasn’t fair to army to keep you completely secret.

Yes, the boys share so much already, and deserve their own privacy. But you knew it would cause more problems than solutions to keep you completely hidden, especially when they will know your name soon enough.

As an army yourself, you felt as though you knew that army would want to know about you, if only to be able to hold love for you as well. True army love the boys and their relationship for what it is. Yes, jealousy does exist, envy is hard to hold in, but you know that real army would be just as happy for you as they would be for the boys finally completing their soul cluster.

The entire world knew that the boys were missing a soulmate, that their gray soul mark was a tough talking point for them. But now, it was complete.

“No, that’s not fair to you or army. You guys are very open about each other, about your soul cluster.” You start, your voice shaking at the thought that you were now a part of their cluster. “I want you to be able to be open about me as well. I don’t really care what you say, I guess.” You finish, looking at Namjoon as you feel safe under his gaze.

“The statement looks fine, Sejin.” Namjoon says finally after reading it aloud and getting your express permission to post the announcement.

“Okay, so this will be posted in about two hours.” Sejin states before turning to you, “Do you happen to have any social media, miss Y/n?” Your head tilts subconsciously at your confusion, trying to understand his words as he spoke to fast for you to easily translate in your head.

“oh cute” Jungkook and Jimin both mutter in Korean under their breath, heart eyes sent your way.

When you finally translate his words in your head, you nod. “Am I not supposed to?” You ask the manager, a slightly higher pitch to your words. He just sighs.

“Well, we want to be able to monitor your posts…” Sejin trails off after receiving a look from Namjoon and Yoongi, the latter shaking his head.

“She is not a part of the company. She doesn’t need her freedom restricted in any way.” Yoongi states, firm in his opinion with some of the others nodding their heads in agreement while the others voice theirs.

While this starts a slight argument, Sejin trying to voice the companies concerns while the boys defend your freedom, you raise your hand, hoping they would notice so you could say your own thoughts. Taehyung is the first to notice your hand, a big smile breaking out on his face as he puts his hand to his mouth, trying to quiet his words as he repeats Jimin and Jungkook’s earlier sentiments.

Trying to be quiet and actually being quiet are two different things though, and everyone’s attention is slowly moved to face Taehyung, his gaze still on you. When you notice this, your eyes widen, everyone’s eyes now on you.

“Yes, baby?” You blush at Jin’s words of endearment, not used to it at all.

“I uh, don’t really post on social media anyways. I only have it so I can look at the stuff other people post.” Your voice is a little quiet, the tension between the boys and their unfortunate manager still visible in their shoulders. “I don’t mind not posting.” You finish, but this only has Yoongi tilting his head.

“You can post whatever you want. The company just wants to make sure you don’t post anything about the band and what we are doing before it is released. Like spoilers.” He reasons with you, and pointedly looks towards Sejin.

Jungkook, who has been quiet the entire time, stands up, his hands on his hips as he voices his own suggestion.

“Think about it though. We are always trying to give behind the scenes photos and videos to help drive up interaction and views. So, what if we have Y/n use her social media to do just that. We can give army’s an exclusive view they wouldn’t otherwise have. Photos for army from an army who knows exactly what they would want.” Jungkook then looks at you, eyes wide as he tries to fix his words.

“Only if you are okay with that, baby? That way you don’t have to be monitored by the company, but you can still have the freedom to post us on your social. We want you to be able to show us off just like we want to show you off.” You think about his words, not seeing a problem with them.

You didn’t really think this far anyways, so you were pretty much ‘going with the flow’. You can’t really tell if you’ve shut down or not, your mind kind of numb, so you nod in agreement with your older soulmate. You don’t really see anything wrong with his proposal.

“I think I could get the okay for that.” Sejin muses, typing out something on his tablet. “Is it okay if I have your socials? That way we can monitor your accounts for safety reasons?” You don’t think too much, not seeing anything wrong with giving him your socials, so you do, typing them into his tablet.

After a couple of more questions aimed at the boys, and more discussions about cancelling their interviews tomorrow, which you make it known you are against, and the boys agreeing that you would just accompany them to their interviews, Sejin leaves with Namjoon and Jin walking him out.

It had to have been past one o’clock by now, time moving quickly since you bumped into Yoongi’s chest. Said soulmate had now moved back to sit next to you, his thigh touching yours as he takes your hand in his again. You blush a little, remembering the compilation you had watched of him trying to hold his mates’ hands, but unable to as they were oblivious to his intentions.

You would never say no to holding his hand, you think.

You let him hold onto you, his fingers moving to entangle with your own. It felt nice, like warmth was moving from your fingertips to your heart, your face flush for an entirely new reason.

Your favorite music group were your soulmates.

The revelation was just now starting to sink in. The universe had paired you into a soul cluster with the same men who helped you to live when you thought all else was lost. The same men who brought you immeasurable joy and happiness are now sitting in front of you, holding your hands and giving you a new hope that your soulmates do want you.

However, your brain soon took a new direction. You now had unfiltered access to your favorite music group, and as such, could ask them the questions you’ve always wanted to know.

While you were with the others, Namjoon and Jin were discussing your safety with Sejin, making sure it is known that you were the most important person to them now. They told him of your diagnosis, and what changes needed to be enacted to try and make you feel as comfortable as possible.

The boys had known about your diagnosis as long as you had. Hoseok had vision shifted during your final evaluation where you had received your autism diagnosis. With that, they did as much research as they could on the subject, looking at different symptoms that could present along the spectrum. But there wasn’t much they could do without knowing your sensory needs or masking ability. From their guess, you were high masking, meaning you were able to mask your symptoms and appear neurotypical with little to no questions.

They wanted to be able to be there for you.

They wanted you to feel comfortable enough to not have to wear your mask around them.

When the boys had gone back inside after saying goodbye to their manager, they came into you zoning in between Yoongi and Jungkook, the two holding your hands as they all talked. You had a small smile on your lips as you stared at the coffee table in front of you. He almost wished he had soul thought as his bond with you, then maybe he could catch a glimpse of what has you so lost in thought.

“Y/n, we were just about to eat lunch when the two got their vision of you, have you eaten yet?” Jin broke through your thoughts and had you thinking back to if you had eaten.

Food was always a weird topic for you. It’s not like you didn’t eat, your body just never really told you that you were hungry. You could go days forgetting that you needed to eat to survive. The same thing with drinking. Your doctors had called it bad interoception, meaning that your body basically failed to signal you as to what’s going on within your body. Feelings like hunger or thirst weren’t detected by your mind.

Your hesitation to answer was a little jarring for your soulmate, who took it as a bad sign.

“So, you haven’t eaten today? When was the last time you ate?” Jin asked you, his hand on his hip as you look away from him, embarrassment moving through your spine as you tried to come up with a reasonable answer.

At your blatant lack of an answer, Jin’s mouth opened wide, while the rest of your soulmates scrambled from their seats, helping you up off the couch and into the kitchen so they could feed you something.

“Might as well order something in, hyung.” Taehyung spoke up, followed by Jimin.

“We don’t have enough here, and we don’t know what she likes.” Jimin moved toward their fridge, filled with a lot of small leftovers that wouldn’t be enough for everyone.

“Why don’t we have Y/n pick, and then we can have someone pick it up for us.” At Jungkook’s words, you think to what you are going to do.

You realize they expect you to stay with them, probably in their hotel room with them, and leaving back to Korea when the concerts are over. Your mind moving quickly as you tried to figure out your nest steps. You guess you don’t really mind it, have nothing really to go back home to, but you need your things from your hotel. You brought all of your important things with you, and you wouldn’t be leaving without them.

Plus, if you didn’t check out of your room, your card would continue to be charged. You didn’t have the money for that. You started to move for the small hallway that led to the front door, moving to grab your things.

“Baby! Where are you going?” Taehyung and Hobi made a run for you once they noticed you trying to leave. Hoseok had been watching you, trying to see how you would handle their chaotic, but natural conversation. He knew you had troubles with sounds, so he wanted to gauge your comfortability levels with them at first. But instead, he caught you zoning out and then trying to leave the hotel room.

Hoseok had been afraid that they had been too much, and had gotten worried when you left the kitchen area. He really hoped you weren’t trying to get away from them. That they hadn’t caused you any issues so quickly in their bonding with you.

When you heard Hoseok’s voice, he caught you by surprise and you bumped your head into the doorknob, causing a loud “ow” to be heard from the kitchen as Namjoon felt your pain. This then caused them to realize you weren’t in the room and find you at the door holding a hand to your head.

“Oh my, are you okay?” Namjoon asks, tripping over his own feet as he tries to get to you.

“Yeah…I’m okay.” The ones who didn’t witness you trying to leave see one of your hands on the doorknob, your bags in front of you from when you dropped them.

“Y/n, why are you trying to leave? Have we done something to upset you?” Jimin looks at you with his eyes wide and a small pout beginning to form on his lips.

“Oh, I was going to go back to my hotel and get my things. Unless you guys don’t want me to stay here? I don’t mind. I can continue staying at my hotel. I just thought that since you guys weren’t going to reject me, that you wanted me as your soulmate, so you guys would want me here, with you all. With the way you were talking about security and all…” You trail off, realizing that you were beginning to over-explain yourself again.

“Why would you think that?” Taehyung asks, probably referring to when you said they might not want you there. “I thought Joon hyung told you that you were ours. We take care of what or who is ours. Of course you are staying with us.” He looked at you as if he was trying to make you believe his words. Like he was staring into your soul and trying to convince it of the bond they shared.

“Oh, huh” You begin to get nervous, not wanting to tell them you weren’t used to being cared for or about. It never really bothered you before, but you didn’t want to hurt their feelings like you knew your words would.

“It’s nothing.” You end up responding, shrugging your shoulders.

You look at each of the boys, some of their faces turning to an obvious look of confusion while Namjoon and Yoongi just raise an eyebrow at you. You slowly start to shrink into yourself, your hand on the doorknob tightening at their glances.

“Why didn’t you say so? Some of us could go get lunch and the others can go to your hotel and help you grab your things?” Jin spoke first, breaking the silence and referring to the beginning of your nervous rant as he moved around the entry way, phone now in hand as he starts to call Sejin and some of their security to let them know the change in plans.

Jimin was the first to move after Jin, coming up and taking one of your hands in his own, Hoseok was next, who picked up your bags from on the floor and moved down a hallway and disappeared. He left your backpack, thankfully, as it has your wallet and your hotel key. You moved to pick it up when Yoongi did, putting it on his back before holding onto your other hand, taking it off the doorknob.

“Wait, I wanna go to Y/n’s hotel with her!” Jungkook spoke up, realizing Jimin and Yoongi has already silently declared they were going to go with you. You just couldn’t help but to stare down at their own hands in yours, the dream-like feeling coming back.

“Yoongi-hyung, Jin-hyung and Taehyung should go get food! They already got to go find her.” Jimin protested, wrapping his empty arm around your arm, holding himself to you and laying his head on your shoulder, even though you were shorter than him.

“Whaaaaa, that’s not fair?” Taehyung protested, while Yoongi shook his head, Jin not paying attention as he was talking to security trying to get two separate cars.  Everyone turned to you, seeing you were in your own little world, then turned to their leader who had been silent as he watched you.

Namjoon couldn’t help but admire you, how even though they all knew how much this was for you, a drastic change to your life, you were so calm. He almost wondered if you were holding back, for them. But, he also caught the small smile on your lips as you looked down at Jimin’s hand in yours, moving your arm a little bit to swing your hands. He would ask Jimin or Tae later if you had dreamed about them, about this. He never thought to ask before, but now, it was the first thing he would ask once he’s got the chance.  

You, on the other hand, were trying not to move to much as you liked the feeling of Jimin’s hand in yours. Something about the hand placement made you want to stim, starting to swing your hands back and forth as you smiled. His hand was so soft and fit perfectly in your own.

“How about this: Earlier was a time crunch situation. So why don’t we do rock-paper-scissors and the three left will go with Y/n to get her things and sign out of the hotel.” Jimin doesn’t let go of your hand as he puts his other hand up, ready to play. It takes some convincing from the others, but eventually, even while Jin is on the phone, the boys all stand in a circle until three men are left.

Jimin can’t help but let out a cry of defeat as Jungkook, Jin, and Hoseok grow triumphant grins and move to your side. You feel bad for the man, still holding onto your hand as you squeeze it in your grasp.

“You can sit next to me when we eat, if you want.” You offer to the upset singer, only for him to grin and begin to brag to the others that you were his buddy for lunch.

Yoongi, despite being a little upset he couldn’t go with you, let Jungkook take his spot next to you, loving the excitement on the maknae’s face as he goes to hold your hand, jumping on the balls of his feet as he waits for Jin and Hoseok to get ready to go.

Next Chapter

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hello! I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for Animal-themed TTRPGs? Specifically wild animals if possible (jungle, arctic, desert, etc). I have a lot of recommendations for domestic animals and pets! ☺️

Theme: Wild Animals

Hello friend! You are right, there are quite a lot of recommendations out there for cute pet-like animals, but I think I managed to find a nice variety of wild animals. I also have a few longer games to balance out the 1-page rpgs I found.

One Less Lobster in Maine, by Minte.

You’ve made it! You escaped! Freed from your wooden trap you find yourself on the picturesque coasts of Maine. One lobster alone facing the world, on a journey to make your way back to the sea. 

This game played with a deck of cards, lets you build your own adventure. Play on your own or with friends this is meant to be a fun lighthearted story building game that is easy to pick up and play. All you need are some cards, maybe some friends, your imagination for your very own crustacean crusade.

This game can be played solo or with a group; it’s basically an oracle that presents you with events and obstacles as your lobster makes their way to the sea.

Emu Uprising, by ashleecraft.

You play an emu trying to defeat the government with the help of your friends in this 1-page TTRPG based on The Great Emu War created for the Historically Accurate Game Jam 2023!

This is hilarious re-enactment of a real-life historical event. You roll a series of times using 2d6 to determine what happens in each round of battle. Your goal is to get more Emu points than Human points. Feel free to add your own embellishments to each moment of battle!

Rise of the Apes, by WuDeRPG.

Rise of the Apes takes the premise of the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes and lets you play as a group of Apes escaping a laboratory on their quest to reach freedom in the woods.

This is the first game using the RISE system, which divides play into 3-act struggles over which your characters will experience evolutionary moments. I think this game has an interesting opportunity as a teaching tool because players have a chance to get familiar with one part of their character sheet before adding on new pieces. I’m interested to see whether each act could be its own game session; breaking out of the lab as the first act could certainly take up to 2 or 3 hours.

Crabpocalypse, by Z Gosck.

Great news, the apocalypse is here!

but not at the hands of zombies, aliens, or unrelenting capitalism, but rather the meaty claws of giant enemy crabs. And even better news, you’re the fucking crabs!

Become crab, as nature intended, in Crabpocalypse! A game that finally puts you in the carapace of a giant enemy crab, bringing unimaginable death and destruction upon a world that sorely deserves it!

An absolutely ridiculous game, Crabpocalypse requires that players play the entire game with their hands shaped like crab claws, lest they lose a point from their highest crabtribute. The whole game is this silly and over-the-top, right to the end - where you will fight a giant, human-allied crab!

Mortal Wombat, by JoshyLongLegs.

Captured in your infancy by some Australian scientists (unburdened by morals or ethics) you have been turned into a sapient cyborg synapsid, hell-bent on escaping the laboratory you've been kept captive in all these years! 

Joined by your own marsupial mob you've got to use your head and your butt to prove yourself the finest Wombatant and make your way to freedom! 

Another simple one-page game, Mortal Wombat embraces the cartoonish style of children’s tv shows and gives your wombats some serious chrome upgrades. There appears to be some callbacks to Honey Heist here, so if you’re familiar with that one-pager, this game will probably be pretty easy to pick up and play.

Moose Trip, by Kira Magrann.

You’re a moose living in the human occupied wilds of Montana. You’ve just eaten some of your favorite psychedelic mushrooms with your friends. The streams are cooling, the willows ripe with delicious leaves, and soft orange moss dots granite rocks amid grassy fields. You’re settling into your favorite lush sanctuary here in the wilds for a mind altering and inspiring psychedelic trip.

This game is more of a conversational experience than something with a definable goal. You take turns rolling mushroom feelings, and then ask the group around you the related question. I think this game could also be used as a mini-game inside a larger campaign, regardless of who your characters are - you don’t even really need to be a moose to play.

The Warren, by Bully Pulpit Games.

The Warren is a tabletop role-playing game about intelligent rabbits trying to make the best of a world filled with hazards, predators and, worst of all, other rabbits. It is a game about survival and community.

There are many creatures, humans included, that are bigger, stronger, meaner, or more numerous than rabbits. The seasons and the elements do not care that rabbits are only little things. Rabbits cannot hope to meet these threats head on. Only through speed, wits, and keeping a cool head can rabbits bypass the dangers of the outside world.

The Warren hails from the PbtA family of games, and pulls greatly on rabbit stories such as Watership Down and Peter Rabbit. It comes highly lauded and is known for its ability to combine the idyllic comfort of being a small creature with the tragic horror of being everyone’s favourite prey. If you want a deep game that isn’t afraid to send you to some dark places, I recommend The Warren.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Capybara Capers, by momatoes.

Jellyfish Felonies, by Penguin King Games.

My Fish Games Post.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Random movie ideas:

1) A comedy-historical movie about the Great Emu War, starring Chris Hemsworth, Jai Courtney, and Ben Mendelsohn as the soldiers ordered to kill the emus.

2) A legal drama based on the real-life lawsuit between Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman over the character rights of Spawn (think “The Social Network”). For casting, I was thinking John Krasinski as McFarlane and Andrew Garfield as Gaiman.

3) A horror movie about a submarine crew that goes down to Challenger Deep to study the area and end up discovering the remnants of an underwater city. The researchers managed to gain entry into the city, not knowing they’re walking into a nightmarish situation. For a potential cast, I was thinking Idris Elba, Kate Siegel, and Steven Yeun as the 3 leads.

4) A coming-of-age movie about a teenager (played by Amybeth McNulty) who runs away from home and makes her way to California since her favorite band is looking for a drummer. She fails the audition, but is taken in by the band’s manager (played by Keanu Reeves) when she says that she doesn’t want to go back to her family.

5) A comedy-historical movie about the Lobster War, with the main focus being on the Brazilian and French governments debating whether lobsters are fish or not. Aubrey Plaza plays the protagonist who is a journalist who can’t believe this conflict is an actual thing. By the way, here’s a meme to summarize this potential movie:

[queerquaintrelle]

"As I suffer in the defence of my Country, I must consider this hour as the most glorious of my life -Remember that I die as becomes a British Officer, while the manner of my death must reflect disgrace on your Commander." (The commander being George Washington). - John André, according to primary sources.

Also, John André according to the objectively 🥵hot 🥵 JJ Field.

I ask dearest jury, if he is indeed such a snake and scoundrel why does Caleb Brewster enact more violence than he ever does? Also, Caleb Brewster is not as innocent as you think he is. He is more guilty of 'coercion' than André is if we account for actual-real-life history...

Meanwhile... had John André not been martyred he would have become anti-slavery purely because he is Swiss-French and has nothing to gain from said violent and oppressive institution. But no, those 'evil lobsters' 🦞, am I right? Also, in show universe... Caleb fully admits to 'using' women (and paying them for it nothing wrong with sex work by the by, but come on... we as a fandom can do better), Caleb also talks down to Anna Strong and Mary Woodhull at least twice in the show.

Vote John André the most upstanding redcoat, gentleman and diversity win, the hot martyr is a Swiss-French (and English man by posthumous naturalization)!

[wickedcriminal]

Some HTTYD Book headcanons! (A few full-series spoilers ahead)

Hiccup is ambidextrous (because he learned he was left-handed when he was 10, he can now write with both hands! He favors his left of course but it's good to have a fall back)

The Deadly Shadow is hypoallergenic. I don't really know how it works but it definitely it makes Fishlegs's life a little easier

Hiccup says "oh dear" and "oh my goodness" a lot, so I like to think he also says other old lady phrases like "good gracious" "dearie me" and "as I live and breathe". He also calls his friends "my dear", ala "my dear Fishlegs, my dear Camicazi" and "my dear little Toothless" (I'm especially fond of 'my dear little Toothless')

Since Excellinor is a witch and has the ability to prophesy, Alvin and even Fishlegs also have inherited a mild ability to see into the future, maybe via dreams or a sense of deja vu. Fishlegs doesn't figure it out until he's older, in which he picks up soothsaying as a side hobby and gets really good at it.

Fishlegs and Hiccup make songs together and sing them at parties. Fishlegs is a wonderful singer and can hold a tune very well.

Bog-Burglars are some of the best dancers in the archipelago, having some crazy and impressive moves due to being escape artists with impeccable balance and flexibility.

Camicazi never gets taller than 5"4

The trio get more tattoos as they get older. Camicazi gets colorful designs all over her skin that are inked with special oils from Stormfly that allow the tattoos to change depending on her mood. Fishlegs gets a neat, stylized lobster in honor of his mother, as well as a stylized three-headed dragon. And Hiccup gets three seadragon designs; the Wodensfang tattooed on one arm, Furious on the other, and Toothless over his heart.

An idea from @orangeblob79 is that Fishlegs uses a cane for his limp! I love this headcanon and have since adopted it

Likewise, @mrsnaildood brought up that dragonmark/slavemark ink is a super-permanent ink made by mixing dragon and human blood, and therefore dragons and humans fighting in the war and getting blood on each other would create permanent tattoo-like marks, which is SO fascinating and something I definitely subscribe to.

Hiccup does eventually get married, but it's for strictly political reasons. He has one biological kid and then adopts two more! I just feel like he'd really like kids. I also feel like he'd make a pretty good dad, seeing how well he managed to parent Toothless

Mermaids are in fact real. This one's random but Hiccup canonically wrote a book about mermaids so I vehemently believe they do exist in the httyd universe and that Hiccup met and studied them. I also like to think they're distantly related to dragons!

Toothless cat gecko. He purrs like a motorcycle and gives Hiccup head butts and rubs up against his legs or against his face if he's on Hiccup's shoulder. He also gets the zoomies and does biscuits which is REALLY ANNOYING because his claws are really sharp and shreds everything to ribbons. He also responds to pspsps but would NEVER admit it.

[soopersara]

Solstice

Zutara Week 2023: Day 2

Read it on AO3 | @zutaraweek

After her mother dies, the Southern Tribe's celebrations lose some of their appeal for Katara. But the spirits still have something to show her.

On the longest night of the year, it’s said, the spirits paint messages in the sky.

Katara can’t believe that. In all her years watching ribbons of color dancing through the air, she’s seen nothing of the kind. The aurora casts rainbows over the snow, and the lights, the music, the dancing that carry through the interminable night seem magic enough for her.

Katara, after all, is nearly ten years old. Surely now she is too old to believe a story just because Gran-Gran tells it well.

Surely in a world where mothers can die, there can be no magic.

⁂

She isn’t supposed to take the canoe out tonight. The solstice festival begins early tomorrow, and if she ventures too far now, Gran-Gran says, the spirits might take her away.

Katara knows that isn’t true. Even if the stories were real, the spirits would have no quarrel with her.  No, at midwinter, it’s the winds and the ice that Gran-Gran fears.

But Katara is a waterbender, and with Dad at war and Sokka not yet returned from hunting, someone needs to collect the lobster-clams from their traps.

Under the light of a growing aurora, Katara pushes the canoe from shore.

⁂

The village is behind her. Katara knows the ice fields well enough that she can’t be lost so close to home.

Still, faint firelight flickers ahead, and she steers the canoe into the bank.

“Hello? Is somebody lost?”

No answer comes at first, but when she climbs from her canoe and rounds an icy spire, she finds a boy huddled close by a small, sputtering flame. His clothes are thin and dark, not remotely suited to the cold, and yet he seems okay.

His eyes meet hers, and her feet refuse to move.

“Oh. I guess I did hear someone.”

⁂

“My name is Katara.”

“I’m Zuko.”

Wrapped in the spare furs from the bottom of her canoe, he looks smaller than he did at first. Or maybe she just thinks that because now, the red of his clothes is hidden.

“How did you get here without freezing?”

Zuko shrugs. “I don’t think I did. I went to bed, and when I opened my eyes again—there was snow everywhere.”

The spirits, she thinks, but still, she can’t believe it. They’re supposed to write messages in the sky, not kidnap firebending boys.

“Well, then—maybe you should come home with me.”

⁂

“Why are you out here alone?”

It’s hard not to stare at him as they sit face to face. And under the intensity of his eyes, it’s even harder to lie.

“Someone had to empty the lobster-clam traps.”

“Liar.”

She scowls at him, but this time, her tongue betrays her. “I don’t want to go to the solstice festival.”

“How come?”

“Because it’s no fun without my mom.”

By the way that Zuko looks at her, she thinks he understands. His hands are cold when they find hers, but he doesn’t seem to care. “Maybe you don’t have to go.”

⁂

Side by side, they lie at the bottom of the canoe, drifting as ribbons of pink and green skate across the sky.

“Do you have any idea how I got here?” Zuko asks her.

She finds that she can’t lie to him. “Probably the spirits. They’re supposed to send us messages on the solstice. Just—usually not people.”

“Oh. So—do you think I’ll go back home when the sun rises?”

Katara looks his way. “The sun won’t rise for a few more weeks.”

To her surprise, Zuko smiles. “Good. I don’t think I’m ready to go back home yet.”

[barmadumet]

In honor of Mermay!

Before I had all the Star Wars merch and fashions, it was all about mermaids 🧜‍♀️

My dad primarily called me Mermads during these years, and still does at times. I had the honor of meeting Jodi Benson early last year and she addressed an autograph to me as such!

Also of relevance... I have one of these:

Do with that what you will, but I have also been known to put salt in my bath water like Madison does in the movie, Splash, and I enjoy eating soft-shell crab mostly bc it feels like the scene when she eats a whole lobster, shell and all 😆

I LOVE THIS MONTH! Big thanks to all the artists & writers (and merchants) who creatively combine my two faves 😍

BONUS!

A shot with Robert 🐈‍⬛ in the trike bucket, and a look at my state when another kid at preschool was dressed as a mermaid 😂

Real fish girl problems 😆

[simon-roy]

A BRIEF REMINDER:

The final order cutoff for the Image Comics edition of GRIZ GROBUS is TODAY! So if you're a comic book store owner, a independent bookstore manager, or anyone who reads comics, consider ordering the book!

What is Griz Grobus? Here, from the solicitation text:

On a distant planet, a prying scribe, a sentimental constable, and a mayor resurrect a sleepy town’s long-defunct priest-bot. But "Father Stanley" is not what he seems. Meanwhile, in another universe, a hungry wizard accidentally conjures a war-god into the body of a goose. These two intertwined tales make up GRIZ GROBUS, the hit Kickstarter graphic novel sensation now at Image Comics!

Perfect for fans of Hayao Miyazaki, Asterix, and Arthur C. Clarke, and readers 12 and up!

Arriving: June 5, 2024 Lunar Code: 0424IM239 ISBN: 9781534397866

Nice things other comics professionals have been saying about the book:

 "Griz Grobus' dual dovetailing narratives let us discover an alien world and a human heart, full of Ghibli style and the finest Tor-novella poise. The team creates a universe, and is generous enough to let us live there." —Kieron Gillen, The Wicked + The Divine, Die, Phonogram

"Rich, beautiful and very funny—one of my favorite comics. Get every book Simon makes." —Tonči Zonjić, Lobster Johnson, Who is Jake Ellis?

"Simon's worldbuilding skills are yet to be matched, but on top of that his stories are both crazy and profound!" —Carlos P. Valderrama, Giants

“It’s amazing. You won’t get a better world builder than Simon Roy. He’s taking us places and I am here for it. Do not miss this.” —Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers, Do A Powerbomb, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

"When Simon Roy announces a new book it's an event - and a must buy for me and anyone who loves the medium of words and pictures!!!” —Geoff Darrow, Shaolin Cowboy, Hard Boiled

“Simon Roy’s science-fiction embraces heady ideas of futurism while never forgetting for an instant the foibles and frailties of the humans that exist in it. Griz Grobus is no different—an alien world made lived-in and real by the very human characters who exist within it, where at the end of the day, a full belly is what is worth aspiring to. Another extraordinary piece of work, an addition to a growing body of modern classic science-fiction, Griz Grobus continues the trajectory that began with Habitat.” —Jed McKay, Avengers, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange

“Simon Roy has a way of making strange & alien worlds utterly charming. His world building is unique & filled with quirky characters I strangely want to eat with. AND—I really want an Elaphure.” —Ben Templesmith, 30 Days of Night

"Griz Grobus combines beautiful art and mystical storytelling with an intriguing look at humanity on a world half-alien, half-familiar. A sly and often funny take on the creation of new myths and the rediscovery of the past." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugo and Nebula award winning author of the Children of Time series

"Seriously, it's the perfect kind of Ursula Le Ghibli world and I adore it. The right measure of everything from the writing to the art." —Goran Gligovic, Dagger Dagger, Company of the Eagle

PS - If any of this piques your interest, I'm also running a kickstarter campaign for the hardcover edition of REFUGIUM, - the sequel to this very book! If you or your customers enjoy Wayne Barlowe's strange creatures, or the work of Dougal Dixon, it might scratch a particular itch for you...