#yeah spaceships are a special interest

[jack-in-the-dark]

Jack Builds Spaceboats: The Rally Vincent, Part 2: Akira-class, My Beloved

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert at this game and the information I present may be erroneous.

I love the Akira-class. I cannot overstate that. Ever since I first saw the beautiful USS Thunderchild and her sisters at the Battle of Sector 001 in Star Trek: First Contact, I have been in love with this ship.

I love that way she looks. The way her design makes her swoop. I love her lore. I love that she's basically what you get when Starfleet decides to throw subtlety out the window. I love how she's sleek and aggressive while still maintaining that Starfleet feel.

So here comes an autism rant.

The development of the Akira-class starship started after the Battle of Wolf 359, where an entire fleet of starships was annihilated by a single Borg cube in a matter of hours, if not minutes. It was a massacre, and a wake-up call. It was a reminder to Starfleet that having fighting ships, while frowned upon by Federation ideals, is an absolute necessity for the peace and safety of the Federation.

So the engineers got to work, and designed four new classes of ship designed primarily with kicking Borg ass in mind: the Defiant, the Sabre, the Norway, and the Akira. While the Defiant, Sabre, and Norway were more compact and smaller designs, the Akira-class was a full-fledged cruiser at over two-thirds the length of the massive Galaxy-class explorers.

She also had a truly massive hangar bay that ran the full length of the saucer section, allowing her to carry an unheard-of amount of support craft.

What truly set the Akira-class apart, though, was the fact that she is absolutely fucking covered in torpedo launchers. Most Starfleet ships have, at most, four torpedo launchers - two fore, two aft, with phaser arrays covering the ship (the Galaxy-class, for example, is considered a battleship with two torpedo launchers and over a dozen phaser arrays). The Akira-class has three phaser arrays. She has fifteen photon torpedo launchers. Four facing forward in the weapons pod, three on each side covering the aft port and starboard quarters in the mission pod, one in the saucer section just above the deflector dish and, most unusually, two photon torpedo launchers on each side of the saucer section facing directly port and starboard.

A big part of why I started playing Star Trek Online was because I wanted to fly an Akira-class. I longed for it. So naturally, I pounced on the opportunity the moment it presented itself.

You can imagine that it came as a bit of a shock when I learned that the torpedo-heavy cruiser-carrier I loved was, in game terms, an agile glass cannon designed to use dual cannons.

I exploded. A lot. So much so, in fact, that I straight-up swore off flying escorts almost altogether and started flying cruisers instead because they could take a goddamn hit.

I was angry, I was disappointed, and even a little heartbroken.

But as my knowledge of the game grew, I kept going back to the USS Rally Vincent, re-evaluating and tweaking, and eventually even making a ship that I felt actually worked with what an Akira-class should be.

Then, in 2022, I started seeing rumors around the STO subreddit: Cryptic was working on a Legendary Akira-class. Now, "Legendary" variants are typically only for "Hero" ships, those that served as the focus of a series (like the various Enterprises, the Defiant, and Voyager). The idea of a Legendary Akira-class was... curious, but also very very exciting.

So I immediately started saving up, and holy shit am I glad I did. When Cryptic announced the Legendary First Strike Bundle and the stats of the ships it would come with (the Legendary Multi-Mission Command Carrier and the not-talking-about-it-in-this-post Legendary Temporal Ops Strike Wing Escort Warbird), it was like Cryptic had read my Christmas list and decided I'd been such a good boy this year that I was gonna get everything I wanted.

This was finally a frame that could be an honest-to-goodness Akira-class. Still nimble, but not a dogfighter, able to take a few on the chin, packing enough firepower to make a Klingon blush, and full Command specialization seating primary and Miracle Worker secondary, giving her access to some fantastic Bridge Officer abilities and arguably the best torpedo-buffing BOFF ability in the game, Concentrate Firepower III.

It was truly an evolution of the Rally Vincent's build, going well beyond mere improvement. The advent of the Advanced Hangar consoles elevated the build even further, making her one of only a handful of ships I have capable of dealing with Elite content despite her decidedly off-meta build.

I genuinely wish I could give this ship a hug. She really is a dream come true for me.

[sparrowlucero]

Hello sorry I am being shy and anon but do you have any advice for someone who wants to get into Doctor Who again after briefly dabbling (and enjoying it very much) in like the early, early 2010s? I know this is mostly your art blog but you were the only person I could think of to ask you're like the Doctor Who authority of blogs I follow

Oh yeah of course! People can be really confusing about this so I'll try not to be.

So first, the majority of doctor who episodes are self contained stories that you could just watch and understand perfectly without any further context. even when there is some overarching context it's usually written in a way that's either pretty easy to glean and/or just doesn't impact your understanding of the story. 99% of the episodes don't even care if you know the premise and are just like "what if some people were on a spaceship and the devil was there? wouldn't that be fucked up or what??". Don't feel like you have to binge a 60 years long show to watch it. Some standalone episodes I think are fun if you (or anyone else) just want to check out one or two:

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (A supposed-to-be-dead boy in a gas mask haunts a young woman in world war 2)

Blink (A woman gets wrapped up in a mystery involving statues that make people disappear. This one is especially good if you flat out know nothing about the show. Has some really great time travel stuff.)

A Christmas Carol (A christmas carol pastiche (of course) where the doctor tries to rewrite the past of a cruel man who's going to let a lot of people die. very sad and sweet. I love the "wintery planet with sky fish" setting of this one)

Vincent and the Doctor (The famous Vincent Van Gogh Episode™)

The Rings of Akhatan (A pretty lowkey little adventure story about an alien festival. has supreme autumn vibes)

Flatline (A species from a 2 dimensional world tries to break into our 3 dimensional one. really fun special effects)

Midnight (A tour bus breaks down on a diamond planet where nothing can survive. Something knocks at the door.)

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (The Doctor and friend go to a library that covers an entire planet and finds that everyone has disappeared. Has a lot of really great, interesting concepts baked into it that I won't spoil)

It Takes You Away (A girl is left alone in a cabin in the woods when her dad disappears through the mirror. Has a famously goofy ending that I really love)

73 Yards (A character is steps on a fairy circle and is followed by an old woman who always stands exactly 73 yards away)

The Devil's Chord (This doesn't really have, you know, a plot, but it does have jinkx monsoon as an evil music god)

Boom (The doctor steps on a landmine on an alien planet and cannot move)

Wild Blue Yonder (A two hander where the Doctor and co are trapped on a dilapidated spaceship at the edge of the universe. really atmospheric with some fun/strange visuals.)

That being said, it does add a lot to watch it in order; there's a lot of plot twists, character dynamics, and general payoff you get if you marathon it. I would personally recommend starting with either the first episode of the 2005 show ("Rose") or the first episode of the 2010 season ("The Eleventh Hour") and just watching in order from there. I think you could also start with "The Snowmen", "The Pilot", or "The Woman Who Fell To Earth" if you wanted, but the first two (especially rose) are the better jumping on points.

some other little notes of advice I don't often see people mention:

it's stupid sometimes just roll with it

once in a while the show sort of "reboots" with different writers, actors, directors, and a new tone. it's much more like watching several small shows than one long show, so don't be too put off by the length!

IMPORTANT: pretty much all streaming services will separate holiday/anniversary specials from the show proper and you have to deliberately search them up on the same service to find them. It's really necessary to be aware of this because many of these specials are the first or last episodes for characters/whole eras of the show and are genuinely unskippable. I strongly recommend looking up a list of the episodes and checking it after finales just to make sure you don't skip anything on accident.

there's two spin offs (Torchwood, a more adult (read: gay sex) show about a mysterious agency that solves sci fi crimes, and the Sarah Jane Adventures, a pretty good monster of the week kids show) that ran concurrently with season 1-4. You don't have to watch them to understand anything happening in doctor who, but sometimes they cross over with the show in fun ways, Ex. the first season finale of Torchwood continues directly into season 3 of Doctor Who. My friend and I got a kick out of watching them at the same time so maybe you will too. (either way I recommend watching "Children of Earth", the torchwood miniseries, if you want to see a weird dark sci fi show about the government making contact with aliens. It's a bit like arrival (2016) if it was way nastier.)

alternatively, you can inject fast acting brain poison into yourself with this

anyways I hope this all reads as, you know, more approachable than the way dudes on quora recommend this show:

[dookiecurly]

this is gonna be specific just hear me out okay this came to me in a vision +good for writing motivation or practice or whatever

imagine reader is some famous celebrity singer actor whatever and they go on the ship for whatever reason..maybe they really like space or something idk

how would they all act towards them?? would the way theyre treated get changed from their popularity?? 😳😳😳…?i cant imagine jimmy or curly acting too different towards them but daisuke maybe?? hes a fan idk im just thinking…

I'd imagine reader got on the ship because they wanted to experience space.... And because they paid lots for it.

Both before and after crash hc >∆<

Reader death not specified

Yes there's Jimmy, he's the tw

Curly

Before-Crash:

- Confused why Pony Express gave this.. celebrity.. permission to get on a cargo spaceship.

- Tries to be nice. He doesn't act like those ppl that are super excited to meet a popular person. To him, you're just another human.

- But of course, if you make a mistake on the ship he'll go a little easy on you. He assumes you probably didn't get much.. training.

- You're his responsibility as well now! But he also is probably too busy to give you a tour of the ship, he'll ask one of the others. ( Definitely not Jimmy or Swansea. )

- If he's interested in you..... I guess, small flirts when he's off the clock. He takes responsibility!

- Compliments your work if he's a fan.

After-Crash:

- Curly feels embarrassed, and even more embarrassed if he's interested in you.

- At some point, thinks you'll come back to earth and tell everyone what happened and how bad he is at being a captain. Plus, destroying Pony Express's name that MIGHT land a lawsuit.

- During all the........ Deaths, he felt bad that a person that shouldn't even be connected to all this is paying the untold price of going on the ship with them

- Probably wanted to kill himself when he was brought to the table and saw all those corpses!!

Swansea

Before-Crash:

- Doesn't give a shit

- Probably treats you JUST like Daisuke but is a little less aggressive..

- Actually, I think he thinks you're a liability and dislikes you because you're just a rich piece of shit that thinks they can do wtv they want

- Might MIGHT complain and say that you're a liability when something bad happens

- If he's interested in you, you probably remind him of his wife by appearance LMFAO, I'm just kidding I'm not funny.

- If he's interested in you, he'll treat you a little nicer.

- I don't think he'll be a fan..... Unless you're like, Shelly Duval or Frank Sinatra or something. (RIP SHELLY DUVAL AND FRANK SINTRA I LOVE YALL)

- Won't say he's a fan though.

After-Crash:

- I have a gut feeling that he'll act like those drunk adults that go like, ��Isn't this how you teenagers do it? WOO!" But like in a "Aint this how you people do it in Hollywood?”

- Says you should get less food because you dont do work around the ship. Won't say this if... He's interested, or only if he's drunk and mad or mad.

- If you die before him, he'll feel a little guilty like he does with Daisuke. I don't know if it's a lot of guilt, but enough guilt.

Daisuke

Before-Crash:

- FUCKING ECSTATIC.

- Wants a picture, and a signature. Treats you special because you're a celebrity.

- Uses his free time to be your friend. If he's interested in you, hes gonna try to impress you with his intern task (Swansea fucking hates it).

- Brings you to fuck around in the ship because I'll assume that you're about the same age, or you at least have the same age mentality.

- If he's a fan, he's way worse/better. Your decision.

After-Crash:

- Once again, if hes interested in you, he tries to be your big prince charming. When they start rationing the food, he gives you more

- I don't know if he'll prioritise you because you're a celebrity, but he tries.

- Tries to cheer you up when things get bad

- If you die before him, he kinda just............ Guilt. Yeah, thats all. Kinda feels like he didn't help enough.

Jimmy

Before-Crash:

- Thinks you're a liability 2.0

- Doesn't respect you

- Thinks you're a bitch because your life is better than his on Earth

- Probably.... JUST PROBABLY, daydreams about doing things to you so he can 'humble' you. Likes the thought of such a loved and respected person gets humiliated.

- If he's interested in you.... He'll have worse thoughts.

- Probably complains about you, in front of you.

- Not a fan, doesn't like the internet.

After-Crash:

- Now thinks youre... Still the biggest liability of the ship. In fact, you're the worst of the worst.

- Says you should get less food because you don't do any work 2.0

- If you die before him... Awesome! Doesn't care. Won't spare you even if hes interested, but cares.

- Gets married to your corpse, AGAIN I'M KIDDING. Doesn't strike me as a person who'd get married unless it benefits him, actually nevermind, go read Jambalaya Enthusiast's fic about Reader in the film industry in Jambalaya Enthusiast's Masterlist.

Anya

Before-Crash:

- Might be curious?

- She'll be nice >u<

- Yeah, she's probably the one giving you a tour!

- Anya will be a little concerned that a person like you is on the ship. In a way that she's concerned that a person who doesn't have any training is on the ship.

- She'll be glad to help you with anything, like motion sickness.

- If she's interested, she'll try to do little gestures for you. I think her love language is acts of something something, I forgot.

After-Crash:

- Anya doesn't really want you to come into the medbay and look at Curly.

- She gets super nauseous, so she doesn't want you to get super nauseous in an unfamiliar and stressing environment.

- Perhaps will give you a little of her food with you. I feel like Jimmy has engraved into her brain that she's not a good enough nurse, so she thinks she doesn't deserve the food she eats ( because Swansea and Jimmy say you don't deserve the food. )

- Comfort her, she's dying in her thoughts and wants to go to the medicine supply.......

- If you die before her, she will actually start spiralling.

[number-one-shadisper-shipper]

I really love the Sonic movies and their whole found family dynamic❤️❤️❤️❤️ I've seen some great headcanons about them, and I wanted to make some of my own!

Wachowski Family Headcanons: ✨Movie Night✨

Movie night has always been a tradition at the Wachowski house. Tom and Maddie did it, and once they got Sonic it became an even more special time. Now Sonic is super excited to share all his favorite movies with his two new bros.

They have to buy a new TV since Knuckles punched Sonic through their old one when they first met. The whole family goes to the nearest bigger city since Green Hills is too small to have a good electronics store.

Knuckles has no knowledge or interest in technology so Maddie takes him window shopping at the nearby stores

Tails is so excited when they step into Best Buy. He's never seen this much tech in one place! Tom has to remind him not to take anything apart before they buy it.

Sonic immediately runs off to look at all the new video games

The salesman keeps trying to sell Tom the more expensive and "fancier" TVs. Tails is able to see through all the fancy talk, points out the actual specs, and calculates what will give them the best bang for their buck. Tom has no idea what he's talking about but buys the one Tails points to.

They finally get it home and set up. Knuckles is still confused as to what exactly a "TV" even is. It shows things that aren't really there? Is it like a some sort of window? A portal? Tails's in-depth technological explanation does not help. Sonic finally explains it as a "magic wall mural" and he's relatively satisfied.

Time to pick a movie! Sonic wants to watch "Speed" or one of the "Fast and Furious" movies for the millionth time. Knuckles wants to watch an action movie once he hears there's fighting in them. Tom and Maddie are a little worried those might be too much for Tails. Everyone agrees to watch one of the Disney movies Maddie picked up.

They pick Lilo and Stitch (partly because of the ironic parallels of adopting a funny little blue alien with a fear of water, and just getting back from Hawaii after Rachel's wedding)

Everyone curls up on the couch or on blankets on the floor. Even Ozzie comes to join in the fun. Tails and Sonic use him as a pillow.

Maddie brings in some fresh-popped popcorn (and grapes for Knuckles). Tails is a little skeptical of the new snack, but one bite of the buttery goodness and he's obsessed. He and Sonic keep stuffing handfuls in their mouths and throwing kernels at each other. Soon both the couch and the floor is covered. Knuckles tries a few bites. He says it's okay, but swears it's better with grapes.

All the boys love the movie and think it's hilarious, although some of it goes over Tails's and Knuckles's heads due to their limited understanding of Earth culture.

Sonic finds the scene where Stitch almost drowns a little triggering, although he doesn't say anything.

Knuckles's favorite character is Cobra Bubbles. Sonic's is of course Stitch. Tails relates a worrying amount to Jumba the mad scientist.

Tom and Maddie were prepared for Tails to get scared or emotional over the movie, after all, he's still really young. He ends up being fine and really enjoys it, although he points out all the inaccuracies with the spaceships and technology.

But none of them were expecting Knuckles to start choking up at Stitch's "This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good." speech. He denies crying and claims he was only sniffing because he got popcorn butter on his nose.

After the movie, everyone stays cozied up in their blankets for a while talking and eating more popcorn. Tails falls asleep and Tom and Maddie decide it's time for bed. They carry Tails up to the boys' shared room in the attic, but Sonic and Knuckles insist on climbing up themselves even though they're both so sleepy they can barely walk.

Sonic falls asleep the moment he hits the bed. Tom puts Tails in bed, and he and Maddie tuck all the boys in. Knuckles actually allows himself to be tucked in for the first time since they got there. Maddie even gives him a little kiss on the forehead. She swears she hears him mumble something about "Ohana means family" before they go downstairs and no she's not crying why would you ask

Thus marks the end of another wonderful Wachowski Family Movie Night!

Alrighty there you go! Thanks for reading!

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

something i'm thinking about that's making me a little hesitant of the specials is that i very obviously see that they're trying to have Fourteen (still gritting my teeth when I say that) parallel Ten and fix some of Ten's mistakes. and yeah that's cool! the Tenth Doctor has the fascinating character arc that is really interesting to dissect and parallel. we've already seen The End of Time parallels with Donna & Rose saying that you need to let it go (vs Ten's "I don't want to go."). the glass wall in Meep's spaceship paralleling the radiation chamber with Wilf. Fourteen saying "Why does it have to be this?!" instead of "Why does it have to be me?!" and logically the best way to justify David Tennant coming back as the Doctor is to say this new mini-era is to fix the Tenth Doctor's mistakes and respond to that era of the show.

but my issue is that we already did that. the Twelfth Doctor's era is such a perfect response to Ten's. Ten often hid behind their whimsical charisma until it bubbled over (most notably in the Time Lord Victorious arc) but Twelve always had that brutal honesty and darkness and instead learned to embrace whimsy and kindness over time. Twelve was put in a similar position as Ten & Donna where they believed the only way for Clara to live is to erase her memory and Clara calls him out on that bullshit because she won't have her memories and her life stolen from her and instead the Doctor's memories are wiped. both Ten and Twelve's era have an immortal character (Jack & Ashildr/Me) and Jack is in love with the Doctor and pretty blatantly hero worships them whereas Ashildr does. not. like. the. Doctor. and challenges their views. Twelve and Missy managed to have the healthiest relationship that the Doctor and the Master ever had when uh. Ten & Simm!Master very much did not. Twelve managed to stay in one place on Darillium for 24 years and at St Luke's for at least 70 years while Ten constantly needed to move forward. Ten was the first Doctor to meet and remember River while Twelve was the last (onscreen at least). Ten agonized about sacrificing themself for Wilf, for one innocent because they believed they could have been so much more, and Twelve doesn't hesitate for one moment over laying down their life for a doomed village in The Doctor Falls. Ten's last words are "I don't want to go." and Twelve's last words are "Doctor, I let you go."

i'm not against Fourteen mending their past mistakes and i expect these parallels to continue but i really hope there's something more to Fourteen having their old face back because frankly i don't think we can parallel and dissect Ten's era any better than Twelve's era did.

[mysticstarlightduck]

OC Headcanon Tag!

Thanks for the tag, @thepeculiarbird (here)!

Rules: use this headcanon generator to generate some headcanons for your OCs! How accurate are they?

I'll go with the cast of Supernova Initiative and The Forgotten Ones for this one!

SUPERNOVA INITIATIVE

Jack believes in ghosts and insists on trying to summon one at every sleepover.

You know what? This is canon now. I think Jack doesn't actually believe in ghosts but insists on trying to summon one just to spook out Deimos.

Deimos sings in the shower.

Omg, no lol. Deimos is so anxious about what people think of him and seeming perfect all the time, he would feel too awkward to do that and risk the others in the spaceship hearing him.

Cassiopeia has an incredible long-term memory but an awful short-term memory.

Eh... I mean, if she has been pulling all-nighters and drinking too much coffee I can definitely see her forgetting short-term stuff really clumsily, but she normally has pretty good long-term and short-term memory.

Vesper is very good at walking in platform heels.

I mean... she's a cyborg so she probably has uncannily good walking balance, so likely yes. But since she's all about practicality, she ain't trading her special combat boots (that have built-in wheels she can activate) for anything in the known universe lol

Aleks knocks people over by hugging them.

I can actually see that happening fr. Aleks is really clumsy, and is also really friendly and loves a good prank, so he's the perfect mix for this to happen lmao.

Noctus is oblivious to any and all romantic interest someone may show him.

THIS IS ACTUALLY CANON. Noctus is as oblivious as a doorknob to any kind of affection directed to his person and is genuinely confused/weirded out when someone is "too nice" to him.

Gabi has an intense fear of spiders.

Yeah, no. That would be a headcanon more suited to Jack, who has insectophobia, but Gabi? She don't care lol. She will smack a spider with her bare hands and carry on like nothing happened.

Pax almost drank the lethal dosage of caffeine once.

I don't think he likes coffee nearly that much on regular days, but if he had to pull all-nighters to pass an important test or something? I can definitely see him accidentally doing something like this and being hella confused when he wakes up in the hospital.

Ethean has a Roblox account.

Roblox doesn't exist in their universe, most likely, but he probably has an account of the in-universe equivalent of Roblox lmao. He pretends he doesn't but he probably does.

Lyorna is not good with social cues.

Actually canon!!!!

Meridian's favorite subject in school was Math.

Uh. No. They're a theater kid/art kid at heart and don't have nearly enough patience necessary to like math.

Pyerce cries while watching disney movies.

Pyerce is a legendary ex-assassin/mercenary and father of two in his late forties/early fifties. That is to say the answer to this: Yes, he does cry while watching Disney movies but no one shall ever find out.

THE FORGOTTEN ONES

If Arzhel likes someone, they will give them a pretty rock.

... Yes. Just yes.

Elodie tackles and wrestles people to show affection.

Probably! She has three siblings and is a pretty hyperactive street urchin, so I think this is actually really accurate!

Sorin always has a maid dress on her.

LOL NO. HELL NAH. Sorin was raised to be a warrior and is on a journey to get revenge on the man who killed her father, I think she hasn't worn a dress in a while now - mainly because she is pretty attached to her armor, though she does really like dresses - and probably hasn't worn a maid dress ever.

Vivaldah has a pet squirrel.

Not canon, but she would love one!

Finnian desperately needs a hug but doesn't know it and refuses to ask for one.

ACCURATE. This is actually canon!!!!!

Aisling is an introvert.

I mean... this is canon!

Gael could easily survive The Hunger Games.

... With his power on full blast? Oh yeah, but that has bad consequences for him every time he overexerts his powers. With his "regular self"? Yeah, no he dead.

Daragh has one, very simple word that they cannot figure out how to pronounce.

Hm. You know what, this fits his vibe very well for odd reasons.

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

[xaveria]

some things you may not guess about me is that i am a planes trains and automobiles special interest girlie i love transportation

im even super into cars and american highway infrastructure even tho it sucks its still fascinating to me (it would suck less if we had better train infrastructure but thats a whole other story. highways still exist and i would always want to have the OPTION to pilot my own vehicle to travel. it rules)

but yeah. i genuinely love driving, i love airports and planes and boats and spaceships and its very funny as an autistic person on tumblr cause i feel like so many in the fandom subculture community are very “not driving” autistics (whomst i love. i will give you all a ride and help you with your flight or navigating a subway system. take my hand)

[leonardoeatscarrots]

So i don't really know much about your fandoms or interests so... idk, would you mind giving me the rundown maybe? Like a little description about the games you like, or some info about your different comics? I want to chat more with you but I'm not sure where to start since I'm not familiar with your fandoms

Haha, that makes sense, my Fandoms can be considered a little niche.

First off, I'm super glad to finally meet you, lol. I've sorta been watching you and Pringles from afar, and you two seem like good friends.

But yeah, I'll happily give you a rundown, thanks for asking ^^

Pathologic/Мор: Утопия is a Russian videogame developed by Icepick Lodge. You play as one of three healers in a bo-hum steppe town, and your goal is to try and save the population from the outbreaking plague. The game has a lot of heavy theatrical influences and is well known for being extremely difficult and cruel. Which means the writing is perfectly catered to my tragedy-loving gay-theater-kid ass.

Karamora/Карамора is a show I got into a while ago. Basically, it's a fictional retelling of the Russian revolution (one of my special interests, lmao), except all the nobles are vampires. It's dumb but it's unironically so well made. Plus it has that twinky ginger guy, Evgeny Schwartz, in it. This show is also what got me on the Russian media pipeline to begin with XD

Lost Splendor was a memoir written by Felix Yusupov (aka the guy who killed rasputin, aka an important figure in the Russian revolution), and it's just incredibly funny for no reason. Man killed Rasputin, but all he could think to write about was how gay and ADHD he was.

Comics. I'm just very normal about them. I have a collection of around 80 different comics, single issues and graphic novels included. My favorites are queer and indie graphic novels, but im also a huge sucker for some of the classics like V for Vendetta. I have yet to purchase The Sandman comics, but they're on my list.

As for webcomics, I'm addicted to those too. I'm probably the biggest fan 5-ever of The Peculiar Compendium of Victor Van Wolfe on webtoons, and I've written a few fanfics and made fanart aplenty, as well as made custom stuffies of the characters. But I have a wide list of recommendations across a lot if genres XD

As for comics that IVE written, I currently have two open to the public on webtoons and tapas.

The first is Spaceships and Vodka, which is my primary comic. It's an anachronistic sci-fi surrounding a band of space pirates. It's a monster of the week style story with a lot of extra narrative told through backstories. It's currently still in the exposition stage and on hiatus.

The other is Gentle Hands, which is technically an AU of S&V. It's a gay romance following a disabled WWI soldier in a shellshock home and one of the nurses he has a crush on. This one is, alas, also still in the exposition stage, but is currently updating one page every other week.

As for like individual OCs, I mostly obsess over my comic characters. I don't typically make Fandom OCs.

My absolute pride and joy is Craig. He's also the fan favorite thus far.

I don't even know where to begin with him.

I have a bio for him and some other OCs I think, but I have yet to actually fill out any more >>_>> executive dysfunction my beloathed.

The full main cast list includes

Craig

Mirium

Derick

Terric

Carl

As well as Erasmus, Rusty, Cipher, Jadyn, and Jesper as some other extras.

So long as I'm here I may as well finish all the bios and make a master post lol...

[mkfshard]

Love Thy Neighbor, or: Things I Want To Say But Speaking Is Messy And Writing Is Precise

For people who believe in souls, you reaaaaally put a lot of stock in bodies, don't you? For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

That's in your book, did you forget?

But of course the spirit is the mind is the spirit, and the mind is an emergent property of the brain which is made of flesh, so when we say 'soul' we're making a distinction for the sake of personal comfort. The wishful thinking that some part of you exists apart from you, that the you you know is just a puppet that your true puppetmaster self controls, as though the strings that tug you around aren't coming from inside.

And damn, that really does sound nice, doesn't it? Who wouldn't want that to set down the strings once in a while, just exist as the puppetmaster, free of the body's tyranny at last?

This isn't to say that the mind isn't special, especially because without it, we would have any idea what 'special' meant, or what any of these other strings of symbols meant, or the concept of 'meant'. The mind is what made all this up. And the mind can remake it, if it wishes.

Dad, when did you first know that you were a man? I don't actually care about the answer, but I'm sure you think you did. I'm sure you think you have no choice.

Would you like to know when I first knew I was a man?

I never did, I do not, and I don't expect to.

Every time someone cut my hair for me when I really didn't want it cut, every time I got stuffed into a suit and my aunts called me 'such a handsome little boy', every time someone said 'you're a guy, you should be able to do this, you shouldn't be such a wimp', every single goddamn follicle on my face has rung absolutely hollow.

And let me make this entirely unambiguous: this isn't low self-esteem. I actually think I'm pretty great, now that I've accomplished some things and understand myself a bit better.

Whenever I was held to some unreasonable masculine standard and fell short, I got frustrated, yeah. Not because of the falling short, but because of the standard. Not once did I feel like they should apply to me at all, or to anyone, for that matter. Not once did they ever feel fair, or aspirational. I had no interest in them. I knew they never applied to me, before I even had the words or the concepts to articulate why.

People know who they are, full stop. There is no greater authority regarding the content of an individual's mind than that individual. From the moment I could conceive of myself as a self, I knew I would never be a man, even though for years I never had a valid alternative. I know that trans people are who they say they are because I know at least half of what they feel, and that is enough.

You want to declare to me my own thoughts? You want to tell me that gender and sex are synonymous, when you refuse to look at what people way smarter than you have to say on the matter? You want to tell me that my true self is an ethereal puppetmaster piloting my body, but essential aspects of that puppetmaster are inextricably and irrevocably tied to the fact that I have a thing between my legs?

Fuck off. Your imaginations are blinkered and withered. You can watch Star Trek all day and think that the message of the post-scarcity spaceship that speaks of capitalism with all the disgust of hindsight and frequently meets aliens that defy our rigid social conventions or exaggerate them to show their flaws... is that the militaristic authority of a wise captain and the organization to which He belongs is paramount, and all the rest is just quirky window dressing.

Mom, you said two funny things to me, and they've stuck in my head for the longest time. To paraphrase, the first was an ~idealistic dream~: 'I wish people didn't feel like they were restricted in what they could do because of their [gender/sex]. People should just live how they like instead of transitioning.'

The more I think about this, the more insane it gets. The first part, yeah! Hell yeah! Arbitrary things like that shouldn't have any bearing on what you're allowed to do!

And then the next part. The true sentiment. Because, no, you don't actually want people doing whatever they want, regardless of their [gender/sex]. If you did, you wouldn't have any problem with the drag queens that make no overtures of being trans at all.

You present this as a utopian dream precisely because you don't believe it'll ever happen, and don't really want it to. You want to give them the whole beach to walk on, then draw a line in the sand an inch from their toes.

The second thing you said, I think I'll save for the end.

For now, it's back to Dad, and something he said. We were talking about masculinity, and a possible project I had in mind; I was considering trying to post videos online, in places frequented by guys who are like who I used to be. Surrounded by ridiculous ideas of masculinity, not having the words or the understanding to work through their feelings, easy prey for the scum of the earth manosphere types who I'm sure I would've been introduced to, had they existed back when I was like that. I wanted to show them that they could embrace the good parts of masculinity, if they wanted to, and discard and disdain the bad. I wanted to show them that masculinity itself can be optional. 'A man' is not something I am, it's something I do; something as easily worn and removed as a ratty old hat, and exactly as valuable in my life.

For the most part, Dad, you were pretty supportive. You said that it would be good for young guys to have a patient, positive role model. Like Jordan Peterson, you said, have you heard of him? Have you heard of Charlie Fucking Kirk?

Yes, yes I have, but that's beside the point. The point is when I was talking at length about masculinity being optional, and you said something, paraphrased, 'For men who don't want to take charge/be a provider/other random masculine things... I don't know what to do with that.'

You... don't know what to do with that? Okay! Sure, that's a good starting point, you've identified something you don't know. Let's figure it out!

Except that the thought ended there. A few seconds after that moment, it dawned on me that your 'I don't know' wasn't a boundless plain of possibility, to you-- it was a yawning cliff, beyond which there was no hope of return. Because you're clinging to a narrow precipice that tells you that the world has certain rules, and you know that some of them are wrong! The one that says 'guys who don't act As Guys Should are failures and should be mocked and ostracized' is one you clearly reject, because you don't think that people should be treated that way.

It's just that you don't have any other rules that talk about them. You don't have the words. They're down the cliff, and the climb down is scary. But please, god, don't be afraid. Once you're on solid ground there's no fear of falling.

Nothing about it can really hurt you, in the end. Nothing about it does, because it exists all around you anyway, in ways you can't perceive. News sites run by the hateful convince you that people who aren't like you are going to ruin the world, and they're doing it NOW, and they present you with all the Logic:tm: and Reason:tm: flavored phrases they need to assure you that fear is the proper response, and to give you stock things to say when you're confronted on that fear, to prevent you from thinking the uncomfortable thought of what if I'm wrong?

But sometimes, something honest slips through. Sometimes, I push hard enough to finally get at the core of all the arguments and moving goalposts you put in my way. Mom, we watched the movie Nimona together, a delightful and touching movie that you wholeheartedly enjoyed until I tried to talk with you afterwards about what it all meant. I think you were angry, because, through my associating that movie with Things You Are Not Meant To Think About, you had to retroactively ruin your own enjoyment of it. I'm not sorry, because I'm not the one at fault for that.

But because you were angry, you said something about trans people that I will never forget. Even inevitably paraphrased, since my memory is not flawless, the honesty shines through. I don't remember what I said, something about you not wanting trans people to exist, but I remember your response.

'I don't care whether or not they exist. I just don't want them to exist where I can see them.'

Here it is. The shining nugget of evil inside you. The heart of bigotry.

On some level, you know that their existence isn't harmful. You know that they're not corrupting children with their sinful existence, you know they're not predators in bathrooms and are in fact more likely to be victimized, you know that they mean you no harm and that all the arguments against them are spurious. You know that they're not just lying to upset their parents.

None of that matters. What matters, underneath everything, peeling back all context and specificity, is that they make you, personally, uncomfortable. And so when someone tells you they can take you back to a time when you didn't have to think about their existence, whatever that means, you follow them without question. Whatever it takes to get them to stop.

Your arguments are not real. They're a smokescreen. You decided on your stance first, based on your own sense of disgust, whether that came from your religion or just your own terror at the world's true complexity, and then looked for whatever faulty evidence that wouldn't stand up to peer review to justify it.

Comfort itself isn't wrong. If I could start working towards a body that truly corresponded to who I am, one that I could feel comfortable in, I would do so in a heartbeat. It just so happens that, at least for now, that's literally impossible because my preferred body is just an undefined value.

But when your comfort is dependent on someone not being allowed to do something that affects only them, and hurts no one except that it makes you uncomfortable to see it, I honestly couldn't care less.

May every pair of girls you see on TV kiss. May trans flags haunt your every waking moment. May you be left with no 'safe' media to retreat to, may you be forced to grow the fuck up, my 50+ year old parents.

My trans friends mean you no harm, and in fact would probably love to meet you, if you didn't think that they don't really exist, or think that they shouldn't exist, or think that they need to be silent, miserable, or dead. Conversion therapy doesn't work, by the way, just wanted to throw that out there.

I miss you. I want to be friends again. I want you to be people I'm proud of being friends with.

But as it stands, you've already seen the last of me. I'll still be there, of course, but only me, and even that fading. You won't know about any relationships or friends I have. If I ever have children of my own, you won't ever know if I can help it. You're just not safe people to expose my loved ones to.

I wish it wasn't the case. But it is. And you're the only people with the power to fix it.

If for no other reason than that you want me in your life, I hope you do.

[ahigherdestiny]

My two cents on Dragonball Daima

Since my blog is heavily linked to the Supreme Kai and everything around him I was more than intrigued to watch the new show. Next to the fact that I am curious about any new Dragonball content, I was also scared to watch it because of expected changes around our beloved Kaioshin.

Canon?

Well… kinda. I see it as an AU rather than a straight story with a flawless timeline. GT, Super and Daima are the three AUs of the show as well as all the games and manga are parallel universes.

New stuff:

I really adore the artstyle and designs of most of the characters. The new characters with King Gohma and Degesu and so are really interesting so far. They gave them nice depths and flaws. Especially the reason WHY they wanted to shrink Goku and his friends back down to kids.

Retcons:

Well… some of them will take a while to get comfy with. There are things i like, like Shenron just giving out three wishes for his bros rather then granting one to a stranger. Also Mr Popos horns where so cute and i liked it really much. Other things are … really not my type. I dont like Shins and Kibitos new colors. Yes, i know that Shin looked like that in the original manga, but Kibito didnt. Even with even more trans colors, i dont really like them. Idk why, but I just think that all this pastell looks incredibly ugly on them. Also, why did they give Kibito the exact same colors?

Long story short: i dont think ill ever use these new colors on them. Same goes with their way of defusing. I didnt buy Shins smile when he talked of casually going to the pink big blob with the face that haunted him for millenia, just to ask to be swallowed to see if his thesis is right. Nah, I dont buy it. Dont like it any bit.

Shins lore:

Siblings, Demon Realm, Spaceship, a new race name… Yeah, thats a lot to handle in the first three episodes. Simply because I already had a good idea about him and his people in my head, which now has to be restructured. Though, I think its manageable like this. Well, until now. I dont know what will come and if ill like it.

What i really like was the fact that he cant teleport. It seems to be a rare skill even for Kais and makes Kibito special. Also they kept Shins personality more serious and suspicious instead of the scared-cat-idea of Super, which i really liked.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 087

Yeah, Goku and 17 are fighting space poachers in this episode, but I want you to check out this cool kittycat that Marron is drawing. 

This episode has some really spectacular backgrounds.  Episode 86 did as well.  Just wanted to appreciate it a little before we get going.

All right, so Goku is at the nature preserve where 17 works as a ranger, and he’s trying to convince him to join the team for the Tournament of Power.   But 17′s not interested.  Goku’s made-up prize money, the threat of universal annihilation, nothing sways the guy.  Goku tells him about the Super Dragon Balls, but before he can get too far into that, a spaceship appears over the island and does an alien abduction on all the animals.

Goku teleports 17 aboard, where they find a bunch of alien creatures all stuck in cages.  17 guesses that these are space poachers, who go from planet to planet, capturing rare animals to sell.

Their leader seems to have a particular interest in the Earth’s minotaur, whose horns are said to be the ingredient in an immortality elixir.  Not that anyone knows if it would work, but he’d still make a fortune selling it to someone who believes. 

I like his top goons.  The standard issue goons aren’t anything special, but I like the pink laser swords and red armor.  It looks Ancient Roman without looking too Ancient Roman, you know?

While 17 confronts the leader, Goku has to handle the small fry.  I mean, they’re okay, I guess. 

Anyway, the head space poacher has a bomb in his body, and he threatens to set it off and kill everyone on board unless Goku and 17 walk away.  If they leave, at least some of the animals will survive, even if they aren’t returned.

After the commercial bumper, the dude presses the button and destroys the ship, but the colors are off, like it’s a flashback to some other episode.

Then Beerus wakes up, and it turns out that he had a nightmare about Goku dying in an exploding spaceship.  All righty.

Back in the real world, 17 tells Goku to give his regards to his family, then tackles the space poacher through the window and out of the ship.  His plan is to sacrifice himself to save the animals, but before it can come to that....

... Goku uses Instant Transmission to save them both, and takes them to King Kai’s planet.  He explains that this was where he dropped off Cell when he was threatening to self-destruct, so it seemed like the best move.  “It’s like poetry,” Goku says.  “It rhymes.”

Then Dende contacts Goku telepathically and informs him that the space poacher was bluffing about that bomb.  How would Dende know that?  17 forces him to press the button on the remote, and this causes fireworks and streamers to come out of his nose.  Okay...

He says something about his brother’s birthday party, but whatever.

So they call in Jaco, who impounds the poacher ship, and all the Earth animals are returned to the island. 

Jaco plans to take all the credit for this bust, as he’s been looking for these space poachers for years.  Goku complains that Jaco didn’t even do that much, but who cares?  He’ll probably stop for ramen again and all the space poachers will escape.

With that wrapped up, 17 tells Goku that he will be entering the Tournament of Power after all, since he always wanted to tour the world on a cruise liner with his family, and he could use the Super Dragon Balls to wish for his own ship.  I’m not sure anything in this space poacher adventure really changed 17′s mind, but we’ll just go with it.

17 finds it ironic that he’ll be teaming up with Goku, since he was originally designed to kill him, but Goku is used to this, since Tien, Piccolo, and Vegeta all started out as his enemies too.  So it all works out.

[starscreativity101]

Hello, I know I haven't been here in a hot minute, which translates to like a full year give or take. Burn out, depression, anxiety, and the loss of technically two spleens will do that to a person.

But beyond that I am back to squeal about the episode thats been in all our minds, episode 8 of murder drones! So spoilers ahead.

Omg omg omg space! I mean I was hyped from episode 7 because of Uzi ending up in space. And space is a special interest and hyperfixation of mine. But the fact that Glitch went all out with the details, makes me so incredibly happy!

Like aaaaaaaaa there's no sound when they're in it, or the spaceship is broken making the space come in! That detail made me kick my feet so hard.

The whole spaceship causing so much force

And don't forget about that burning falling scene!

The fact that the entire cast is robots hit me so hard, cause none of them had to worry about breathing, in fact them interacting with space, gravity acting wonky, etc. I love it, I have a new favorite thing I want to see more of.

Also new favorite thing

Cyn piloting Tessa like a flesh puppet. Like her ankle legits twists and it gets repaired in a split second, holy hell it's horrifying but I love it! She even fucking bleeds and tries to lick her own blood.

Also J! She knew! She knew Tessa was Cyn! She went along cause she thought it was inevitable, she thought you couldn't win against that force!

That whole fight where they're having to fight not only Cyn but the illusions she conjures? Amazing. The nightcore being explained in universe by being on an mp3, hilarious.

Also Uzi is now the new host for the absolute solver, and that eye palette makes her look so frigging cool, I have a new design piece I wanna add to my characters now.

They also get to go back to a kind of normal life, and that's sweet. Yes their world is very fucked because of Cyn, but it's not unlivable for them. They are able to survive and go on. They get to watch shows together

While I didn't predict Uzi and N ending up dating each other. I legit don't mind, they're cute together and balance each other out in the immense amount of horror happening to them.

Also Uzi giving her tail a voice, only for Cyn later to be that voice? Foreshadowing I wasn't expecting? Yeah alright that's pretty cool ngl

All in all, I'm glad I got to watch this show. Even if I never finished my breaking down of the episodes, I still got to theorize and watch this amazing show to its conclusion. Plus now that's its ended, I can finally make ocs for it, because I tend to stray away from series that are ongoing for a couple reasons. I think a slice of life for the aftermath would be entertaining to make lol

[someonelookingpraediti]

A Year of Sanderson End-of-Year Wrap-Up

When Brandon Sanderson announced his kickstarter for a year-long subscription box, I was so excited! But it's been the biggest let down ever. It was really expensive, and we really didn't get much for our money. I feel so ripped off. And more than that, it doesn't feel like there was a lot of thought put into the items. It was just a way of making a lot of money fast.

At the beginning of the year, I made this post: Guesses, Wishes, Hopes, Dreams..., in which I detailed the kinds of things I was hoping for from this subscription.

Firstly, the books. I said that I wanted the books to work as a set, so that they looked good lined up together. They half managed this. The books were clearly designed together, they're similar in style. But they don't work as a set. For a start, there are two blue books right next to each other. The spine layout is different on the third book as well, which is annoying.

The other thing I wanted was premium book features. Artwork endpapers, ribbon bookmarks, fancy foiling, gilded edges, slipcases. I got almost none of these. The covers were foiled, and there were decorative endpapers, although only the last book had full artwork papers. The only book with sprayed edges was the last, which had plain black edges. The were no ribbon bookmarks, no slipcases, and nothing to set these apart from any other special edition you could buy in a bookstore.

As for the goodies, or as he termed it, "swag"? A total waste of money. This subscription was so, so expensive. Even before shipping, these were more expensive than any of the other boxes I subscribed to.

In other boxes, you get an exclusive book, plus four to five items. In this subscription, you got a book or the items each month, not both. So honestly? I was expecting at least seven or eight items in the "swag" boxes. We got three. And the quality was lacking.

Box 1: Hoid For this box, I had no specific wishes. The only request I had was that it be "imaginative". On that, they failed. We got a t-shirt, some post-it notes, and some stickers. Essentially, promotional business supplies.

Box 2: Cytoverse This was the only non-Cosmere box, so this was the box I was looking forward to most. I asked for a slug plushie, a special edition of Defending Elysium, and some DDF attire. What we actually got was a pack of playing cards, an ice cube tray, and a little model spaceship. The model was good quality, so was probably good for memorabilia collectors, but didn't interest me.

Box 3: Mistborn I wanted a Mistcloak, and a Soonie Pup (I specified "like the ones in the newspaper clippings" because they were so cute!). I got a Soonie Pup, it's true... but instead of a cute plush toy, it was like, an arcade grabber prize? Gross! We also got bookends and stickers. The bookends are really nice, and one of the few items I'll be keeping. The stickers were a bit rubbish.

Box 4: Sel I didn't have any particular wishes for this one, which is good, because I'd definitely have been let down - I couldn't have predicted these ones. There was a wax seal and rubber stamp kit, but they were super low quality, so I didn't keep them. And some... magnets...? For some reason? And some plasters, or "band-aids", as the Americans say.

Box 5: Cosmere I have no idea why they did a "Cosmere" box, when most of the other boxes were also based around the Cosmere. I thought this might include a map, and I said that I'd be disappointed with a poster. This was probably the best box. We got a wash bag, a luggage tag, and some postcards. I like all these items, but it still doesn't seem value for money.

Box 6: Warbreaker I wanted a Nightblood letter opener, and that is what I got! It's sadly boring in appearance, but it's very practical, and kind of elegant, I guess. There were also some glass coasters, which were hideous, and didn't seem to have anything to do with the theme. And some... breath mints. Yeah.

Box 7: Stormlight I love Stormlight, so I was looking forward to this box. I was hoping for a set of pens shaped like various Shardblades, and a set of glass gemstone Spheres with LEDs inside so they glowed when charged, like in the books, and an axehound plushie. We got a Shardblade keyring, but it is way too big to be practical. And a mini figurine, which I very specifically didn't want to get. The last item is an over-the-shoulder bag. It's a really quality item, and I want to love it, but it's just so... nerdy. I know, I know, it's fantasy... of course it's nerdy. But this is too much.

Box 8: Sanderson Fan After this subscription, I am no longer a Sanderson Fan. I was hoping for something "Reckoners" and something "Firstborn", and I was expecting a 2024 calendar. We didn't get any of those. We got a notebook and a pair of socks. I also was hoping for another book. We did kind of get another book - we got a short story. However, it's left a bitter taste in my mouth, as this book has already gone on general sale, for only $12, or free as an eBook! So why did I pay all that money for these boxes?? What a rip off!

There has, since the kickstarter, been loads of amazing merchandise released on Brandon Sanderson's shop, loads of which looks really good, and which I would love. Instead, we mostly just got cheap tat.

And to make it even worse. We were offered, as a "thank you" gift, a set of pins. This was like, their version of a stretch goal. But when the boxes started arriving, they tried to pass it off as part of the "cost" of the box, like it was one of the actual items. This was especially aggravating, as the pins were the ugliest things ever.

Overall, the only things I'm actually keeping from the "swag" boxes are the bookends, the wash bag, the postcards, and the book. I cannot emphasise how much of a waste of money this kickstarter was.

[roseposts-stuff]

hello hello!!! time to rate series 6 of doctor who :D once again remember that my opinions are mostly based on Vibes and also i change my mind like daily sldhks yay! also like. making these mostly for my own benefit because it's a lot of fun

1. The Doctor's Wife (6x4) - SO SO SO SO GOOD i LOVED that we got the TARDIS like actually be an important character she is so precious to me, like it's unbelievably unfair towards me specifically that she's not a real character most of the time like HELLO the missed potential??? we have A BIGGER ON THE INSIDE, SENTIENT TIME-SPACESHIP?! y'all best believe that if i ever write an episode for doctor who i'm gonna make the TARDIS important (i'm not even british they will NOT hire me) but yeah just a brilliant episode neil gaiman DELIVERED thanks king, i love everything about this episode very much one of my favourites for sure

2. The God Complex (6x11) - SO fascinating, i loved Rita especially i was so sad that she died :( she would've been such a great companion i feel. the episode is unsettling in the best way and obviously i LOVE the doctor and the ponds, such a great episode

3. The Girl Who Waited (6x10) - i loved loved loved rory in this actually, the ending is so beautiful and so devastating like😭 an interesting concept and i LOVE timey-wimeyness

4. Night Terrors (6x9) - this episode is like. genuinely kinda scary the dolls are terrifying 😭 yeah a really good episode, also adam's dad from good omens what are you doing here!?!?

5. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (6x1/6x2) - LOVE the silence and the plot is so good imo, i love the whole concept of creatures you always forget and the design is so good i think, love river and amy and rory as always, and yeah, really great i think

6. A Christmas Carol (6x0) - really really like the story in this one and the fish are so so cool i actually love that there's sort of fish swimming in the air it was beautiful, one of my favourite christmas specials for sure!!

7. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People (6x5/6x6) - what i do like about this episode is that this kinda shows that you know we should be kind to everyone and understand them and like you know. not value others less because they're different or scary, i feel like that's important, yeah i like this story, also the half-human-half-föesh looks are lowkey scary 😭

8. The Wedding of River Song (6x13) - i LOVE some timey-wimey bullshit, it was so cool that everything was happening at the same time, it was brilliant i think and also slay doctor for not dying after all‼️ amy was so cool i love her. i do kinda wish we had more reaction than just amy killing madame kovarian from amy and rory bcs they lost their BABY but i'm not complaining abt kovarian's fate haha

9. A Good Man Goes to War (6x7) - has some really cool moments and i loved seeing like this sort of crew the doctor assembled, i love vastra and jenny and strax so much. i do feel like this episode is a tiny bit all over the place but i like it

10. Let's Kill Hitler (6x8) - i do like the plot and love river and the doctor in this their plotline was so good in this but tbh i didn't warm up to mels i just didn't like her and i feel like she either should've been in more so people would actually care about her or just should've been left out completely, tho the twist that she was river was pretty good i think

11. Closing Time (6x12) - i still like craig and i liked the ending, and i liked seeing 11 being kinda domestic and looking after alfie (stormageddon) and frankly this was pretty funny, had a good time

12. The Curse of the Black Spot (6x3) - i like this, i had a good time watching it, but i don't have much to say tbh

damn this was NOT easy to rank lol

[parsleysagerosemarytimemachine]

Fun TTRPG campaign idea that I'm not going to use any time soon: (but that intrigues me enough to want to write it down anyway)

Setting is SF, a galaxy colonized by near-light-speed seeder ships from Earth X000 years ago; thousands of human-inhabited planets, mostly isolated by the vast gulf of space and time. Instantaneous teleportation has just been invented and some planet has decided to spread the technology around, and see who all is interested in becoming part of a more connected galactic polity. This is where the players come in - a group of diplomats and scientists, sociologists and politicians, sent out to visit new planets, discover what their situation is, and see if the locals are interested in signing on to this grand project. (The players' group has a special, expensive one-way teleportation drive on their spaceship; what they're offering is relatively cheap teleportation booth/portal technology that requires construction on both ends - these connects back to another planet that can help build/design/import more, until the new planet is as connected as it wants to be.)

The structure of the game, then, is:

Arrive at new planet.

Scope out the situation - who do we talk to, what's dangerous or a problem, do we want to bring these people in?, do these people want to be brought in?, etc etc

Adventure of the week! - this is the fun bit that determines the genre of the game; do you have to do some diplomacy? Is there a murder mystery that the players are wrapped up in? Are you just exploring an strange society and figuring out what's cool and new? How has a (probably human) society changed while it's been out of contact? Can everyone get along? How can we make sure everyone will get along in the future? Is this a combat scenario? (giant monsters or a planet at war or civil conflict) Can the players make things worse by introducing new and upsetting technology and ideas? Yes! Maybe it's better for everyone if they sneak away and pretend they didn't come in the first place. :)

Afterwards - I think it's mechanically important that there's some sort of game-playable 'break' between planets, because it offers an important choice and tension. If they players did connect the planet to the teleport network, they can have a downtime where they go back home and see friends and family, and enjoy all the comforts of whichever civilization they're working for -- and if they didn't, they have to relax and regroup using whatever resources might be available locally, which are probably perfectly fine, but it's not going to be like home. Is there a mechanical incentive for players to connect the network anyway, if they've only just got some minor misgivings? Yes! That's the point! :) You should probably revisit past planets occasionally, just to make sure it's not an easy one-and-done process, and show what new problems have come up. (Could they just point their expensive spaceship back home instead? Yeah, but they'll get pointedly talked-too because fuel is expensive, and they're supposed to be using it to build a bigger polity, not make sure the roommate is feeding the cats the right sort of treats.)

Anyway, that's the idea - there's a lot of ways you could play with it, from Star Trek utopianism to grim colonialist critique, depending on what sort of game systems you used and who your players are. My personal wish would be to find something fairly light in tone (possibly comic) by keeping the costs of non-intervention low, and problems mostly mitigatible by making the central powers benevolent, if not always competent; there's plenty of room for a critique where everyone can see a very bad outcome being avoided, so it doesn't have to come up 'in play' as it were. (Also helped by making sure the people I play with have similar views of civilizational intervention to begin with. :) But also it's just cool to imagine a game that gives a range of cool space societies to meet.

[dballzposting]

Pan thinks that she and Trunks have something special becasue they went to space together but his POV is very different. She thinks that they're inexorably bonded now and they know the secrets of the universe that You Dont and she thinks that you could never understand what they share... she thinks that she knows him so well and she thinks that it gives her special VIP privileges akin to being friends with the resident prince (she doesnt think highly of him it's just rhat hes older). She thinks that shes special and that they have something special that Normies Like You could Never Understamd ... . . . And shes too cool to tell you

And every time she learns something about him that she didnt know before shes SO indignant. Shes like "Why didnt you tell me?!" and hes just like "Why would I-?" It's not like they were up there in space telling each other secrets. They were going on adventures and sitting around the same campfire on foreign worlds but they werent, like, talking about Trunks's favorite video game or anythinf. Actually they were talking about Pan's favorite video game if they were talking about video games

And shes so indignant every time she learns anything about him and usually he blows it off but since it keeps happening there is a time where he puts her on the spot a bit. Shes like "How come *I* didn't know that you will only tolerate conditioner of a certain scent and nothing else??!?" and hes like "You know what Pan. At any time you could have glanced around the spaceship shower. That was always an option for you."

She thinks that they have something special but from his POV he had to babysit and the whole thing was really stressful becasue hes not good at that and he just wanted to make sure that no one died. So he kind of let her do her own thing becasue hes not interested in bossing her around but also it almost ended in disaster so many times becasue of that. Technically they're more bonded than they were before but he doesnt think that they have anyrhing special for it

But she thinks that theyee ride or die and it finally comes crashing down the day that she needs to get into a PG-13 movie. To her friends shes like "dont worry about it .. I got connections. I know a guy. He owes me one." And shes soooo sure that Trunks is gonna get her into this movie

And without fanfare or hesitation hes like "yeah no. No. Absolutely not. That movie sounds terrible."

...... And he wont change his mind. And that's just it. And she is SO. So so so. Hurt and Mad about this