#I should see if there is a Paks fandom at all

[paksenarrion-dorthansdotter]

thinking about changing my username and pfp. we'll see if I get around to it

[beautifulpersonpeach]

What I've been up to:

Got promoted at work for the second time in as many months

Shuttled between Paris -> Tokyo -> Hanoi... *twice* within 10 days on account of said promotion

Had to travel back to Korea for a funeral

Took some time to reflect and eat a ridiculous amount of kimchi (one more thing I have in common with Jimin), then went back to work

Been writing about music with some friends on another platform

Re-discovering Jin. I'm not sure what it is but some time ago it dawned on me that until now I never really paid Jin much attention. And so I've been deep diving into his music lately and it's fun.

Listening to a shit ton of music. I'm especially jamming out to Paramore, NewJeans, BTS, NCT, and Nirvana lately.

And about that, can I just take a sec to rant about NewJeans and gush about how good NCT's latest comeback is?

ARMYs are going to have to get used to seeing NewJeans do well. I saw some of the anxiety over 59 radio spins, PAKs, Min Heejin's interview, and whatever else, and just had to laugh. This might be harsh for some to hear, but I think ARMYs should be happy that the first taste of a challenge to what they think BTS's status is, has come from friendly quarters. Because over the next two years there will be many opportunities for several 'records' to be surpassed. Those possibilities are real and while I don't necessarily care, I understand a huge chunk of the fandom ties their idea of BTS and their worth/impact to the records they hold. This sort of challenge to the beliefs of that many people will cause a sort of implosion. And that's just sad when you remember that throughout all that time, NewJeans will just keep releasing good music and keep doing even better.

(One of the best k-pop songs of 2022)

*

Now NCT. For the first time in three years I am not completely disappointed. (Too bad SM Entertainment is sort of self-destructing right now.) Ay Yo is giving me everything the boys are capable of. And by 'the boys' I'm referring to Haechan, Mark, and Taeyong - that trio + Ten are the only people I care for (in a very neutral sense), in NCT. Chenle and Jaemin occasionally stand out. But the real star this comeback is the song. 2 Baddies was an atrocity that didn't need to exist, but Ay Yo sits just at the sweet spot between disorienting experimentation and anthem hit. When you see the boys perform it it only gets better. I'm impressed in how their confidence has grown and here I'm speaking about all the guys. Taeil has always been confident but he and Johnny are really leaning into it this comeback. The whole group feels so much more cohesive this time around. By this I mean, NCT127 as it is now rivals SuperM for their 'avengers of k-pop' title, for whatever that is worth. I really like the song though that bridge and Jaehyun's part was a bit unfortunate - my taste.

The choreo is the sickest thing I've seen in a bit. This song alone has saved their comeback.

*

For the people who sent in asks wondering if I was okay, thanks and I'm fine. I had a lot happen quickly for me, and figured since this is k-pop, nothing ever really changes anyway so I wouldn't miss much. Plus anyone who has been following me for some time would know this blog sort of happened by accident, and so now that I've reposted the asks in my Masterlist, any posting that I keep doing here is solely as the spirit leads.

For those still sticking around, hi again. :)

[myrskytuuli]

(Okay, so this is an incredibly self-indulgent crossover post, but as someone who has had the sandman brainrot for a really long time, I cannot help but think "how would the Endless manifest" for every other fandom I end up in. So I made art about "how would the Endless manifest" for irkens. For IZ fans who have no idea what I'm talking about: The Endless are akin to Gods, but not. They are personifications of universal concepts that appear differently to every species. For Sandman fans: The irkens are aliens, don't worry about it.)

Dream of irkens: Dream Takes the form of a Tallest, as he is the sovereign ruler of his own realm. He has no pak, which is the least off-putting and strange thing about him. Dressed always in all black, the shadows are part of him and his eyes hold entire galaxies. In truth, he could appear less nightmarish to irkens, but he is still offended that once irkens augamented their species with paks, they started to see sleep, and therefore also dreams, as something to be culled away from their biological needs. The rare times that irkens do enter the dreaming, it tends to be for nightmares. Afterall, there is only so much one can supress from one's unconsciousness, even with the help of a supercomputer wired into your brain.

Destiny: Irkens may not believe in destiny, but that does not matter to Destiny. His book still tells the story of every irken, as it does for every other being in the universe. If an irken were to stumble into Destiny's garden, they would find him monumentally tall, robed figure, whose antennae twitch to listen at noises you cannot hear. It is impossible to say if he has pak or not, under those robes.

Death of irkens: Death takes after the appearance of your average service-drone. This is because, as Death herself would say, she is here to serve the irkens. Short, kind, and approachable, she is not what irkens might expect, but maybe what they all secretly wish for. She has no pak, and by the time she takes your hand to lead you to the next place, you won't have either.

Desire of irkens: Desire appears always taller than you. It is hard to remember much of their appearance, besides the golden eyes and that they are everything you have ever wanted. They smell of sugar, gunpowder and victory in battle. They are young, virile, dangerous; everything you ever wanted to be, or once were, or hope to be. It is said that Desire has pak legs so sharp that once they stab you with one, you won't even feel the pain. Not until later, when you realise that there is a hole in your spooch that yearns and yearns and yearns, and will never be fulfilled.

Despair of irkens: Despair appears always despairingly short. She is always significantly shorter than you and her dull eyes will dampen any ambitions you might have ever had, if you are unfortunate enough to catch them in your own reflection. Her pak is broken, with loose wires hanging freely from it.

Delirium of irkens: Delirium's mismatched eyes are complimented by her mismatched antennae, which end in delirious spirals. One should never look at her antennae too long, or one might end up going mad staring into the spiral. Delirium has a pak that is cracked in half, the crack forming the symbol of a defective on her pak. Delirium is the endless the irkens hate the most. (Maybe because they understand her too well, she who was once Delight, but is no more, as irkens themselves lost delight from their life generations ago.)

And Destruction: Schmillion of years ago, irkens worshiped and built shrines for Destruction, but Destruction abandoned them, as he abandoned all, his family included. Some whisper that Destruction of irkens dissapeared when irkens stopped respecting his other aspect, the aspect of creation. Irkens still worship destruction, but they have not created anything in centuries, and Destrcution seems no more willing to show himself to his irken worshippers than he is willing to make contact with the rest of his Endless family.

[brw]

28, 40, 41

28 - What got you into comics?

Hercules. For some reason, I guess bc I saw a beefy man in a skirt & blacked out, I bought the Greg Pak Incredible Hercules run one day on a whim and I loved it. I was obsessed with this large muscular man & his super smart friend Amadeus & their little adventures it was good. I went online once I finished, found there was a new solo called Still Going Strong, went back to Forbidden Planet & read that & I loved it too! I wasn't like majorly online, not in marvel fandom spaces at that time, so I didn't know unfortunately of Dan Abnett biphobia, although sir you did have Herc & Gilgamesh live together in a one bedroom apartment later with a genderfluid immortal seer & a woman from prehistoric times so task failed that was pretty bi & polyamorous of you? Anyway, then discovered Civil War 2: Gods of War, and went back to Forbidden Planet & bought & read that.

This was when I made a fatal mistake. See, Gods of War, which I loved, is a tie-in to Civil War 2. I, a fool not knowing anything about comics, rationalised to myself "hey. if this is a tie-in, I bet Hercules shows up in the main comic too bc they make a big deal out of it in the tie-in!". So I returned to the comic shop & purchased the collection of Civil War 2, which by the way was fucking expensive! & I read & hated it! the art was nice & that's all I'll say! The writing was sloppy & ridiculous, I barely understood who the Inhumans were, & I've never fully liked Carol since.

Anyway, I didn't touch comics again after that, not until I was watching MCU films with a friend whowas heavily into the MCU & Stucky. I had watched some of these but was mostly casual. This changed when I got out of Endgame & was suddenly angry about the fact that Vision hadn't shown up. Like, in a way I hadn't felt about them before. Anyway, I went online & discovered No Road Home was a thing. Hercules was there, Vision was there, Wanda was there, as was a bunch of characters I recognised, so I bought & read that and immediately became insane & I am now the incredibly annoying individual you see today.

Shout out to @solipsism-lemonade though for rping with me on my wattpad days who fuelled a lot of my obsession <3

40 - What's a comic that's so bad you ended up finding it funny?

I've talked abt it before but what the fuck was going on in Vision (1994). Why were they a detective. Why was their evil alternate universe self there. Why was Ultron an alcoholic. Why was Jocasta golden. They explain it all but do they really. What was Vision's roadtrip with alcoholic Ultron & Jocasta about what happened. There's just so much going on & it's so viscerally 90s but it's good??? 90s alcoholic Ultron come back the kids miss you.

41 - What's a comic that keeps on giving (you enjoy rereading)?

Age of Ultron #10 for sure, I've reread it many times & I love it so much. There's so much genuine hope & inspiration there, it's a comic I think everyone should read before they talk abt how horrible Hank is. Like it's the comic I come back to the most to explain why he resonates with me so much; because he so clearly struggles with himself, with others, with being a superhero, but there's positive sides to that too & I really appreciate after years of being given such a short stick or usually focusing on the worst of him, that Waid gave a real focus to the best. Mr Waid stop touching Dr Doom n get on Hank instead!!!

comics that i love ask game

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

12.what headcanon will you keep implementing in your fics, even if canon ends up contradicting it?

Oh there are plenty that I keep on the back burner.

Membrane’s Grandparents were poor and/or farmers. 

I know in the latest issue it showed scientist parents... But I like to think the smartest man in the world had a more humble upbringing and his Dad had a very strong work ethic. 

The only thing I don’t really like about the Scientist parent idea that the comics showed really DOES mean that they KNEW what Uranium 238 was, knew that their son asked for it, and gave him a never-ending avalanche of socks for Christmas anyways and said it was from “Santa”

Like.... I assume so, Membrane...

Even then, When my parents personally did the Santa thing, Santa would give me the cool gifts, and then the lame gifts like socks were from the parents... 

I can’t help but view the gift of a sock-avalanche from SCIENTIST PARENTS as nothing but an act of mal-intent, even if the issue doesn’t frame it that way.

There’s also the issue of Membrane inheriting Membrane Labs from his parents when their faces are nowhere to be seen if Membrane just took the reigns of an already established company... Sure, maybe his parents made their son the face of their company like some sort of Wendys situation... but Membrane’s ADULT face is what the face of Membrane labs is...  Wouldn’t his parents use his cute child face for a brand? Even if the company had no branding or merch until Membrane took over the company it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I MUCH PREFER the idea that Membrane built Membrane labs as a company from the ground up based entirely on tenacity, spite and his intelligence. 

The idea that the smartest man in the world just was BORN INTO this lifestyle of science puts a VERY sour taste in my mouth..

ESPECIALLY with the other characters in Invader Zim and in Johnen Vasquez work in general. Characters like Zim and Dib always work hard to get to where they want to be... and I like the idea that Membrane is the RESULT of putting in that hard work, but he completely neglected himself on a social and interpersonal relationship level. 

I’m sure the Scientist parents were meant as a joke to further compare to how Membrane and Dib are alike... and the generational cycle of abuse... and the mean-spirited joke of his parents gifting him socks does fit the IZ world... but I don’t like it.

If his parents were POOR or Farmers, or just didn’t have access to or couldn’t afford Uranium 238, THAT MAKES WAY MORE SENSE to me. 

Then it would seem like his parents did it more as a 

“He won’t ask for anything else.”  or “Naughty children only get socks” thing 

rather than a:

“Yeah, we know exactly what that is and have access to it... but our kid could blow his face off, so have a bunch of socks instead ya gremlin” 

I just like to think Membrane’s childhood was fairly humble, and he was a feral scientist child and really bright and his parents didn’t know how to handle him, and He was an extreme Mama’s boy. Also the Poor upbringing would explain his workaholic tendencies without having the Scientist parents. 

Sorry Eric Trueheart, you can pry “Poor upbringing” Membrane from my cold dead hands.

I will take those character designs and that Grandpa Membrane smoked a pipe though. Those are amazing. 

Zim’s Computer (and all other irken Computers) AI Brains used to be living Irkens before getting culled. 

I made an analysis about it on my old account, but I can’t find it cause Tumblr really screwed up the search engine on that account. But anyways... in two more chapters in Tech Support, we’ll get to find out Computer’s “tragic backstory” (tm) Like that chapter is coming after the current one I’m writing. 

Irken blood is Pink

I don’t care if Dark Green blood makes sense from a biological standpoint... I just need Vaperwave and Cyberpunk auestetics. It’s more of a visual thing.

I think Dib has the potential to grow into a real caring young man if he’s properly nurtured and learns how to grow and I possess a strong dislike “loser” Adult Dib.

I’m sure you know what I mean... Crackhead Adult Dib, Feral Adult Dib, Miserable adult Dib...

Nothing against those Dibs... It’s been shown on the record that Dib having a miserable adult future is probably what Johnen wants for his character. (The doodles and streams I’ve seen Johnen draw of his characters as adults as drug addicts or just working dead-end jobs wasn’t enough) 

I even like asshole kid Dib, and asshole teen Dib, but I really want to believe Dib will mellow out a lot when he gets older and learn how to be considerate. 

Maybe I’m being too unrealistic, and I know there is a MAJOR market for Rat-man Miserable Dib in this fandom... I’ve seen like so many versions of him. But it’s not for me.

I think it’s partially because Dib is exactly how I was as a kid, and I grew up to be a pretty mellow and caring person. (for the most part) 

I just want to see Dib to grow up to be chill and mostly happy. 

Zim is the most defective Irken in the history of the Irken Empire. HOWEVER: By human standards, Zim is fairly average, just neurodivergent. 

I know that I’ve seen some analysis on how Zim, “Almost works” and while I do agree, I still think that Zim is the most defective of his species. 

He’s the only one who caused the Control Brains on Judgementia to go insane and he tends to be a pariah and a liability to everyone around him. Caused the death of two Almighty Tallest and a majority of other things that take place throughout the show, comics and deleted episodes alike. The Comics even mentioned that Zim is completely delusional and has some core memory issues.

(I’ve never even explained how Zim perceives the Judgementia arc in my au yet simply cause he doesn’t want to talk about or mention it yet... ) 

But a lot of Zim’s issues or “insane”-ness as the Irken empire sees it are fairly Normal issues for humans. Zim is just marked as the “most” defective simply because a lot of his “symptoms” are actually just very normal autistic or borderline/bipolar things. And that’s probably what he’d get diagnosed with by human standards.

Zim just feels things too strongly and has a terrible delusional memory and obsessively lies to himself to try to fit the mold of what a perfect irken soilder should be (in his mind) 

I have a feeling some of Zim’s PAK errors can be things as simple as: “can’t sit still.” “first words: I love you” , “short attention span” “overly emotional” and that’s marked as major concern to the empire.

But there are more serious ones like “Corrupted Memory drive.” “destructive” “delusional” etc...

But a majority of the list of what makes Zim, Zim are VERY common autism traits...

so if you give him that human diagnosis and then just examine Zim under HUMAN standards....

He’s not that bad at all.... 

Irkens can purr, chitter, and make a variety of sounds very similar to ants chittering combined with a cat. But typically, only defective Irkens seem to make these noises, and my Zim makes more of these noises and reverts to more primitive irken behaviors when he feels he doesn’t need to keep up appearances to be “NORMAL” anymore. In Irken Standards or Human standards. 

Zim is a weird Irken and sometimes things he does is not indicative to how other irkens act or behave, even though Dib uses it as a framework for a lot of his research, but a majority of it is just wrong because it’s Zim. 

THE COMPUTER IS A CHARACTER TOO! LET HIM DO THINGS! EVEN IN THE BACKGROUND OR A SUPPORTING CAST MEMBER... PLEASE... (I will die on this hill) 

GIR is smart and extremely perceptive. Also a hill I die on. I got into this fandom writing a thousand word essay on GIR and I still stand by all those points. GIR is smart... he’s just feral. And GIR can tend to notice things other characters don’t just cause his world-view is so simple. Zim and Dib think like one of those Pipe Windows screen savers... While GIR thinks in a straight line. 

Zim would rather create a maze to go through to get the cheese, rather than GIR who would just not bother with the maze and eat the cheese. 

GIR has great moments of clarity throughout the show, such as in Plauge of Babies and Walk of Doom

“Dib’s seen us before and he knows where we live”

“But if the big splody goes fast, won’t it get all bad?” 

Anyways... I think that’s it... I probably have a whole lot more. But those are my main ones. 

[tobebbanburg]

I was tagged by @bewires (who I can never fucking seem to tag idk why Lia, Lia are you there, can you see me, is this just tumblr being a bitch, I will never know) 

I’m tagging @boutiquetraveltravelboutique so you have something to look at after your hiatus (should you wish), and @hesnotmy because it’s got to the point where thinking of Sarah makes me think of you.

How many works do you have on AO3?

68

What's your total AO3 word count?

440,334

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

9 (on AO3 at least...). In descending order of frequency we have The Old Guard, Pak van mijn Hart, The Last Kingdom, Jeeg Robot, Wolf, Trust, Aladdin, L’ultimo Terrestre, and Shadowhunters

Are there any new fandoms you want to write for?

This doesn’t quite count as I’ve already started writing it, but I’m tentatively attempting to write some Bridgerton fanfic. And I have an idea for a Downton Abbey fic but that really shouldn’t count as I wrote Downton fic way back in my teens but we don’t speak of that

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ink & Ivy

Take a Breath and Softly Say Goodbye

Pas de Deux

A Pirate’s Life is a Short but Merry One (Unless You’re Immortal)

The Blood and Sand Beneath Our Feet

Which of your fics do you want more attention for?

Ok I’m going to go in a different direction and say which fics I don’t want more attention for, which would be any of my weirder Richard fics or the Netflix/Old Guard Fandom BDSM fic. Because I’ve had a couple of people go from reading Ink & Ivy straight to those and getting whiplash (and potentially trauma) so... I am beyond overjoyed you want to read more of my work but it’s 100% safer if you sort by kudos and avoid anything that includes the Netlfix Geeked Week sex dungeon.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Absolutely! I mean I always feel inadequate because I can never reply to comments as well as I can write fic, but that’s life I guess.

What sorts of things do you normally write?

Fluff, smut, crack, and the occasional longer AU.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Last time I got asked this I forgot I did actually have an angsty-ish fic, because normally I avoid angst like the plague. But Lowlands Away ends with Andy thinking about losing Quynh which is as angsty as I’ll ever likely get!

What's a fic that pushed you out of your comfort zone?

Take a Breath and Softly Say Goodbye, purely because it was by far the longest fic I’ve written. Also the Richard/Valerio sounding fic because... it’s a Richard/Valerio sounding fic.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you've written?

I do! They range from the relatively serious TOG but make it ancient Greek/Roman ones I’ve done to the weird-ass TOG Shadowhunters crossover I wrote for Julia’s birthday. It was written entirely with her in mind and as such is probably the nichest and weirdest thing I’ve written.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, and likely never will. I feel like it’d be similar to playing doubles tennis, where I’d just worry about letting the other person down the whole time.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

My Knight’s Tale AU for the Old Guard. It’s barely 1k atm, and there’s just so much to write and work out that I don’t think I’ll go back to it any time soon.

What are you currently working on?

So much, I need WIP restraint, really. Besides my Bridgerton and Downton Abbey fics I have a sequel to The Blood and Sand Beneath Our Feet that’s racking up words quickly, a Nile-centric fic, and ofc the iceman!Nicky AU that’s going... slow. And then, because I love pain, I’m slowly picking up my original novel again and trying to get back into that.

What are your writing strengths?

I’ve been told it’s the authors notes I leave at the end of fics, but also Sarah reliably informs me it’s blowjobs.

What are your writing weaknesses?

That part when I’ve written all the interesting dialogue and action and have to work out how to fill in the rest. Agony.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Most recent?

Midsomer Murders Officially, on AO3, it’s the Last Kingdom, with The Old Guard being my most current fandom.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

This changes every day tbh. Right now it’s More than Mercia, my Aethelflaed/Aldhelm fic, and my first “serious” fic.

What fic are you most proud of?

Again, this changes constantly, and atm it’s To Die a Hundred Times. I just think it’s neat.

[intheticklecloset]

Satisfied (Invader Zim)

Ironic that I really want to write for other fandoms but this is what my brain decided to come up with yesterday. Ah, well! After a long writing hiatus, I hope you enjoy this new Invader Zim fic!

Fandom: Invader Zim

Shipping: Mostly ZADF, some ZADR

~

“Zim?” Dib relaxed his hold on his pencil as he looked at the alien. “You okay?”

Zim shifted his position for what must have been the tenth time in the last few minutes, paused, then looked back at the human. He cleared his throat. “I am suddenly struck with a very strong desire to be tickled.”

Dib grinned. “Oh, really, now?” He set his homework aside entirely and began to crawl the short distance to where Zim sat with his own stack of math papers. “I can help with that.”

Zim barely had time to set aside his things before Dib was on him, digging fingers into his sides and forcing squeals of laughter from him as he fell back onto the floor. Dib quickly straddled him, still grinning, letting his fingers poke and prod and produce laugh after laugh from his not-quite-boyfriend. “Let’s see if we can’t cure this mood you’re in, Zim,” he teased. “Tickle, tickle, tickle~”

To his surprise, instead of protesting, Zim merely let the teasing work its magic on him, making him laugh even harder and squirm a little more, his blush a light blue and his smile radiant.

“Oh, what’s that?” Dib asked, moving up to the Irken’s ribs without any trouble. “No begging this time? You must reeeeally want to be tickle, tickle, tickled to hysterics, Zim!”

Zim said nothing in reply. He merely laughed and lifted his arms up slightly to make access easier for the human. Dib’s grin became a smile. Zim wanted to be tickled this much? Well, he’d make sure to make the experience a good one.

“All right, then,” Dib said, moving up to his underarms. “Here we go! Tickle, tickle, tickle!”

Zim’s laughter went up in pitch slightly and he kicked a leg, but never protested in the slightest. His blush was darkening by the second, but he never brought his arms down to stop Dib. He simply lay there and let himself be tickled and teased.

Dib was suddenly struck with an idea. He climbed off of Zim. “Roll over onto your stomach. I want to try a couple things.”

Zim did as he was asked, still smiling wide. Once settled, Dib straddled him again and began lightly tracing around the Irken’s Pak, which glowed as pink as his uniform had once been. Zim’s laughter became crazed, unstoppable giggles, and his squirming intensified. He clenched and unclenched his fists but never said a word.

“Ooh, ticklish here?” Dib teased, keeping up the gentle tracing. “Look how much you squirm! This must be really sensitive, huh?”

Zim whimpered, giggled, but never asked Dib to stop even though it was clear to the human that this was truly a “bad spot,” as Zim liked to call them. Finally the boy let up, instead skittering his fingers along the Irken’s lower back, observing with interest how his squirming stopped almost immediately, but his giggling never changed.

“Hmm,” Dib mused aloud. “I wonder what happens if I tickle your hips while you’re like this?” Then immediately he shot down to do just that, enjoying the sudden shriek of laughter it pulled from Zim, followed quickly by desperate attempts to bring his arms down. “Aha! Can’t push me off when you’re like this, now can you, Zim? How does it feel? Does it tickle?”

Zim whined and erupted into a new wave of laughter that somehow felt at once more genuine and more desperate than Dib usually heard from him on this spot. “Aw, what’s the matter? Is it too much? Does it just tickle sooooo much?”

The alien made a sound like he was starting to protest, but then cut himself off.

“What was that, Zim? I don’t think I quite caught that.” Dib reached under Zim to the front of his hips and dug in relentlessly, grinning wide when Zim’s laughter reached new heights. “Anything you’d like to say, Zim? Or should I just keep tickling you here mercilessly?”

Zim let out a desperate scream of laughter, then quickly fell back into hysterics, pounding the ground with a fist from the intensity of it. Or in an effort to keep from pleading; Dib wasn’t quite sure which. He laughed. “Wow! This is really, really ticklish for you, isn’t it? What are you gonna do, Zim? You can’t get away from me. I could keep tickling you like this alllll day!”

The Irken let out another strangled sound that sounded like he was trying not to speak, and Dib felt a rush of excitement. This was it. He had him. Zim was completely helpless; there was no way for him to get out of this situation. Dib couldn’t help but grin wickedly. “Aw, look how ticklish you are, Zim! You can’t get away from me at all!” He dug in even more, using his thumbs to knead into his lower back at the same time, and the Irken shrieked and flailed his arms desperately. “You know what, Zim? I think we’ve reached a golden opportunity here. I can make you do anything I want right now, and you’re in no position to refuse me.”

Hearing these words only seemed to make Zim more desperate. He squealed, tried to push himself up to roll over, but quickly lost the strength and went back to pounding the floor. Still – amazingly, Dib thought – he hadn’t begged for it to stop yet.

But he would.

“Let’s get this out of the way.” Dib lifted Zim’s shirt up with one hand while still tickling with the other, exposing the Irken’s green back and sides. It was all he needed to put his plan into action. “Only one thing will get me to stop tickling you senseless, Zim.” He readjusted himself so he could easily lean down while still maintaining the upper hand. “Let’s see if you can figure it out.”

With that, Dib resumed his relentless tickling of Zim’s hips while at the same time leaning down to blow raspberries along the alien’s sides.

Zim.

Lost.

His.

Mind.

In the past, the side raspberries alone had been enough to send him into hysterical laughter; they were one of the most ticklish things Zim had ever experienced. But those coupled with unstoppable tickling on his worst spot?

The Irken lasted about five seconds.

“Stop! Stop, stop, please!” Zim shrieked desperately, hysterically, trying everything he could to roll over and get the human off him. It was no use. He was pinned firmly, and Dib – as promised – was being relentless. “Please! Dib! I c-can’t--!” For a moment all he could do was laugh and laugh and laugh, the unceasing raspberries absolute ticklish torture on top of the hip tickling. In that moment, he knew exactly what Dib was trying to do. What it was that would make him stop. But despite his desperation, defiance flared up in him.

He’d made the human say it over and over, easily.

He would not be so easily dominated. If Dib wanted him to say it, he’d have to work for it first.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t beg with other words in the meantime.

“Dib!” He squealed as another raspberry landed on his side. “Dib, please, it tickles too much!”

“Oh, you think this tickles?” Dib teased in a low, menacing voice that sent a shudder down Zim’s spine. He gasped, knowing exactly what was coming next and wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. Dib chuckled. “Tickle, tickle, tickle.” Raspberry. “Tiiiickle, tickle, tickle!” A slight shift of hands so he was now digging into the most sensitive spot on his hips.

Zim very nearly screamed with laughter.

“NOHOHOHOHO!!” He cried, his squirming becoming struggling as his hot spot was targeted. He wanted so badly to roll over and push Dib away but he was far too weak to do anything of the sort.

“Oh! What’s this?”

“SHUHUHUHUT UP!!”

“Is this a bad tickle spot?” Dib laughed at Zim’s desperate flailing, knowing with absolute certainty that this was it. He had him. It was just a matter of time now. “Ooh! Tickle, tickle, tickle!”

Zim felt like he was going to explode, he was in so much ticklish agony. He hadn’t even known it was possible to be tickled this intensely. But Dib’s fingers digging precisely into the most sensitive part of his body coupled with the unrelenting teasing and raspberries was pushing him very quickly to the brink of his endurance. He was reeling from how easy it had been for Dib to get him to this point, despite having been tickled by him several times in the past.

All it took was one tiny, secret spot.

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE!!” Zim screamed, mirthful tears coming to his eyes as he begged for mercy. “Dib, stop, please, it TIHIHIHIHIHICKLES!!”

“Oh, I don’t think so, Zim. Now that I’ve got you right where I—”

“AVOCADO!!”

Dib stopped suddenly, shocked into silence, frozen to the spot. He’d done it! Finally! He’d forced Zim to say their safe word, after all these months!

After a moment he regained his bearings and realized he was still straddling Zim, so he climbed off and sat next to the panting, gasping, giggling form beside him. Dib grinned, waiting for his now more-than-a-friend to recover.

A couple of minutes later, Zim’s gasping faded away, replaced instead with a slight shaking of his body as he finally rolled over onto his back and faced the human.

“Zim,” Dib asked for the second time that afternoon, “are you okay?”

“I will recover,” Zim said softly, still catching his breath. “Congratulations, Dib. You found my death spot and made me say our safe word.”

“Death spot?” Dib tilted his head. “Why did it take me so long to find it?”

Zim waved his hand tiredly. “I’ll tell you later.”

The human watched Zim with slight worry. “Was it too much? Did I go too far?”

Zim considered the question, then shuddered. “It was too much for me to handle. That is why I said ‘avocado.’ But you pushed no personal boundaries. I am not upset with you for making me give in.”

Dib relaxed a little. He leaned down so he was hovering over Zim, making the alien flinch. “No more,” Dib promised, smiling. “I just want to do this.” He kissed Zim gently and pulled away after only a moment, aware that the poor Irken was still trying to regain his bearings. That death spot must really be something, he thought to himself.

“So, is your ‘very strong desire to be tickled’ satisfied now?” he asked, smirking.

Zim laughed. “Yes, it is very satisfied, Dib.”

[kurtwagners]

you critize atla all that much which fine whatever you can do that but, your blog is plastered in marvel stuff which also has tons of problems in regards to representation and which mostly is run by white guys, one of which is actually a trump supporter so like, what's valid and what's not? Why do you get to pick and choose what is and isn't problematic to like?

Another thing is why are you so adamant on shitting on communists and anarchists and leftists in general? What do you even believe it that you think makes you so much better and wise that anyone with that sort of ideology? All you do is blog about fandom related things and consume comics by the two biggest media companies on the planet and you think that somehow makes you an authority on anything?

I’m so glad this ask gave me a gateway to rant about comics I criticize marvel and DC literally all the time, this is like the 5th time but I love to say it: Post-9/11 iterations of iconic superheroes of American culture, especially ones like Batman and Iron-man, are literally the manifestation of contemporary myth-making of American capitalism, as well as American-exceptionalism neoliberal copganda. My last super viral post was completely shitting on how Tibet is represented in Doctor Strange, you should check it out (it’s old though so not my best). It’s kind of an academic hobby of mine to rip apart comics because I love media studies a lot. My entire final project for my Tibetan Studies course in uni was on orientalist misrepresentations of Tibet in Western superhero comics such as Doctor Strange and Iron Fist and the “Shangri-La” phenomenon (I can link if you want I’d have to revise some sections though, haha)! Also if you follow my social media you probably see me preaching the book Capitalist Superheroes: Caped Crusaders in the Neoliberal Age by Dan Hassler Forest, it’s one of my favorite pieces of academic media studies writing, it completely breaks down the concept of the American “superhero" using a Marxist lens and I am obsessed with it. Warning though it’s REALLY dense but I think it’s extremely well-researched and really puts into perspective how important media studies can be when analyzing the political characteristics of nations, and how media shapes the minds of youth in their image.

I said multiple times I don’t mind that people enjoy and consume Avatar, I just wanted to point out it’s flaws in representing the Tibetan people, which is rooted in the writers being white. Comics also does this too, and I have written about this problem both on Tumblr and in an academic setting! So many fictional works created in the Western World has political implications that are problematic in nature, which is why I as a fan enjoy it and also enjoy criticizing and dissecting it! It helps me better understand how politics are ingrained in almost every aspect of our lives! You can enjoy things you are critical of, so please don’t worry! 

I agree with you, enjoying superhero comic companies is definitely a double edged sword, because of their problematic existence as corporate entities while they are now hiring more diverse writers and artists for specific projects that give positive representation for marginalized groups, like Ms. Marvel and Ironheart. I personally try my best as a fan of superhero comics to minimize my impact in contributing to the corporate side and white creators pockets by torrenting popular, large comic titles written by white men. I only actively purchase small series that give writers of color and women a salary and a platform, such as my absolute favorite writers Saladin Ahmed, Greg Pak, G Willow Wilson, Eve Ewing, and Ta Nehisi Coates! They’re all excellent writers so check out their comics and outside works! I also don’t watch superhero movies anymore, I just generally don’t like them that much outside of Black Panther, aka the best superhero film.

Time for a promo: My favorite superhero team of all time, the Champions, focusses on characters of color like Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, Sam Alexander, Amadeus Cho and Riri Williams, and is currently being written by esteemed black academic Eve Ewing. The next issue of her Champions reboot is coming out in October 2020. It’s going to focus on how teen superheroes and vigilantes challenge the government and status quo, I’m so excited about it so PLEASE check out your local comic store and buy an issue if you’re interested in supporting comic creators of color writing heroes of color! It really needs financial support after Covid delayed the release. Champions in the past also gave a platform for Indigenous Canadian voices by pulling in Inuit creative Nyla Innuksuk and collaborated with her to create the new Champions member, Inuit superhero Snowguard (my baby), so if you are interested in modern and inspiring indigenous narratives please check out those past issues as well ❤️

And to address your other criticism: not all is how it appears sometimes! I have a more serious political twitter and a fan twitter both, so if you want to see me talk more about politics then fan things please be sure to follow me @chaiiyou on twitter instead! Kind of unrelated but also this is actually a side blog, I have a main blog that’s mostly just pretty photos and aesthetically pleasing stuff @butterchalatte so follow that too if you wish. 

I am a leftist of color (anti-imperialist anarcho-communist would be my best bet but I don’t like labels) myself, who is critical about how Western leftists often romanticize geopolitical situations they are unfamiliar with and nation-states that they have never been to or have been a part of. I hope you understand that leftism, like many things, isn’t a monolith and there are many disagreements and critical discussions happening within the left all the time, groups such as anarcho-communists and marxist-leninist-maoists really aren’t the same. If you happen to fall into the more tankie/authoritarian side of the spectrum, uh I guess sorry if I offended you by criticizing my colonizers lmao but these discourses are fairly common and happen all the time, I’m surprised you’re not familiar with it? Having open, critical discussions within the leftist sphere is what helps us better understand one another and build more substantial praxis together, it’s unhealthy to stick yourself in an echo chamber!

I don’t really get why you’re so spiteful and upset though, I think people who mostly come online to decompress and engage in things like fandom still have a right to have open discussions about politics if they want to. I’m not claiming to be an authority on anything, just sharing my own experiences like everyone else. I wish you well and hope you can find more compassion in your future om mani pedme hum.

Tl;dr: There is no ethical consumption under capitalism

[slug-the-slimegirl]

Hewwo! Im a random anon answering ur question on someone elses post! So apparently JV had a stream or something that essentially said PAKs aren’t all mechanical and are partially biological (think a more stream of consciousness way) and — i dunno the full clip is floating here somewhere. Andddd yeah it’s just some weird thingy dont worry abt it, sometimes ppl just take any weird thing he says and wanna drop their interpretations like he controls it

anyway hope that helps!! 💕

ah thank you! sorry, I didn't see this straight away :)

yeah, Jhonen can do what he wants with his own creation. But I dont think fans should be holding each other at gunpoint for not staying true to what is and isn't "canon". That goes for any fandom, but especially one like IZ where the creator seems to change and retcon things years later. Not everyone is gonna see that and tbh, even if they do, they don't have to use it

[novastarlyght]

That Time I Named an Invader Zim Background Character and Everyone Thought it was Canon: The Story of Ixane

Like a lot of others it seems, the premiere of Enter the Florpus has recently made me think back to my first stay in the Invader Zim fandom many years ago. For me it was between 2006 and 2007, and I was 14-15 at the time. IZ was and still is a very special cartoon to me, not only for how it influenced me creatively but also the fact being a part of its fandom was my first really positive experience in a fan community. And I wanna talk about that experience because it... lead to something very interesting. Something that only could’ve happened in the now bygone days of the early internet where reliable sources were harder to find and misinformation was much more common, but somehow, has lasted until today. 

This is how Ixane, a silent extra that appears only in the episode “Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars,” got her name.

So first off, you might be wondering “Who the heck is Ixane?” As I mentioned, she only appears as a background character in the 21st episode of the original series, titled “Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars” which I’ll abbreviate for the rest of this post as just Backseat Drivers. She’s a member of The Resisty, a resistance group against the Irken Empire who also only appear in that episode, although they were planned to become more significant recurring characters later down the line before the show was cancelled.

In 2006 I LOVED the Resisty. They were my favorite group of characters in the entire show, probably because I was fascinated by all their potential which sadly didn’t get the chance to be explored before IZ was canceled. What planets did each of them come from? What are each of their individual species like? How did they form into a single resistance group? What were their names, their personalities? Their hopes, dreams and fears?! THEIR FAVORITE DRINKS?!?! I attempted to provide my own answers to some of these not-so-burning-to-anyone-but-myself (or so I thought at the time...) questions by writing a fanfic called “Resisting Authority,” which I published on Fanfiction.net and later DeviantArt. It’s since been taken down on FFN while the DA version is currently in private storage on my old account, so here’s a screenshot just to prove it existed:

(click here for larger image)

Despite being more adult in tone than the show it was based on and rather melodramatic (then again, I was 14, and probably so was everyone else reading it), “Resisting Authority” became really, REALLY popular... at least for a fic that didn’t feature any of the show’s main characters, given it was entirely about the Resisty and told mostly from the perspective of its leader, Captain Lard Nar. Regardless it got a large amount of positive feedback and significant fan art on DeviantArt, most of which is no longer online although there’s still a little bit hanging around - mainly featuring Lyn, an Irken OC from the story who chooses to rebel against the empire and falls in love with Lard Nar, leading to a star crossed lovers conflict.

Because the purpose of the fic was to further explore the Resisty along with the idea of “What if an Irken betrayed their own?” several characters that appeared onscreen for only a couple of seconds in Backseat Drivers were fleshed out considerably in “Resisting Authority,” where they were given names, species names, home planet names, backstories, motivations and personalities. And of these the one who received by far the most development was a feminine, blue-eyed alien in a hooded purple cloak who I decided to name “Ixane.”

Ixane would become one of the most important characters in “Resisting Authority” right behind Lard Nar and Lyn. She is a Xanan from the planet Xana, a race of spiritual mystics. She is initially distrustful of Lyn, despite her actions and claims to be as much of a rebel as the rest of them, due to her hatred for the Irken Empire and how they destroyed her home. She believes Irkens are more like machines than living creatures, their bodies merely being empty shells to carry their PAKs around, making them incapable of genuine emotion. When she discovers Lyn and Lard Nar have been in a secret romantic relationship, she becomes even more hateful towards Lyn both due to jealousy, since she’d been harboring feelings for Lard Nar herself, and her genuine belief that Lyn’s feelings aren’t real, something that will only hurt Lard Nar in the end.

However throughout the course of the story her views are challenged and eventually Lyn manages to prove her wrong by displaying what she can’t deny is anything but legitimate love for Lard Nar and compassion for her allies in the Resisty. Unfortunately Lyn is fatally injured during a battle with a number of Irken soldiers sent to hunt down the rebellion. Now wanting nothing more than happiness for the person she loves, Ixane uses her mystical powers to save Lyn’s life while sacrificing her own in the process.

This character development (both in the meta sense and in the context of the fic itself) plus her selfless heroic sacrifice is what I think made Ixane one of the fic’s breakout characters and caused her to stick in the minds of those who read “Resisting Authority.” They were no longer thinking of her as just some extra, but as this fully developed character complete with an arc that I’d made her into - as the character of Ixane. But it didn’t occur to me just how big of an impact this may have truly had until about 9 years later.

In 2015, the official Invader Zim comic series by Oni Press began publication and I found myself extremely hyped about IZ again for the first time in almost a decade. It was during this time I came across a particular IZ wiki article and section of its TV Tropes page...

(Sources are here and here)

And I thought to myself “Wait... I thought I named her Ixane...?”

Because at this point I seriously couldn’t remember. I hadn’t thought about “Resisting Authority” in years, and with TV Tropes in particular noting that Ixane’s name was given “in the [episode] script” I wondered if I didn’t actually come up with the name. Maybe it was in the script for Backseat Drivers after all so I used it in the fic. Being unable to find said script (the original script as made by the episode’s writers, not a transcript) I couldn’t confirm it, so I mainly shrugged it off and thought more than likely I just had a bad memory. It wouldn’t be on a (still regularly maintained) wiki if it didn’t at least have a high possibility of being canon, right?

Cut to last night, August 2019. Me and all my other friends and fellow nerds who also grew up loving IZ are still buzzing over Enter the Florpus and our childhood/teenage fan content comes up in conversation. I dig up “Resisting Authority” from my old DA storage for perhaps a good laugh and a bit of nostalgia when more of when I first wrote it starts to come back to me. “I know the wikis all say her name was in the script, but I swear I came up with the name Ixane myself,” I thought, wondering if there was any way I could prove it.

Turns out I could. All the proof I needed was in a drawing of the character I posted to DA in January of 2007, which like the fic was still in storage:

(click here for larger image)

“Um...I bet a lot of people who read Resisting Authority got the impression she was an OC. She technically isn't. She is a Resisty character we saw VERY BRIEFLY once or twice in Backseat Drivers and I just elaborated on her for the story. The cloaked girl, yasee. Just look here: [link] “

That link no longer works normally, however putting it into Wayback Machine provides a snapshot taken in September of 2006, which would be around the time “Resisting Authority” was first published on FFN. Scrolling down on that page gives us...

(click here for larger image)

Additionally, opening the image itself reveals the filename “resistycloak.jpg” rather than something like “ixane.jpg” or “resistyixane.jpg”

For those who weren’t in the fandom back then, The Scary Monkey Show was a very well known IZ fansite and its Encyclopedias section was basically a resource for the show’s lore, one considered highly reliable, before things like fan wikis became commonplace. I actually used this site as a reference for the different types of Irken ships and other planets in the IZ universe brought up in the fanfic and so did many other fic writers at the time. If any site on the internet would know a minor or even background IZ character’s name, if it really was in the official episode script, it’d be The Scary Monkey Show. Yet her name is listed as unknown.

So why am I telling you this?

Because as wild as this whole situation is, I’m not a person who likes misinformation. I feel like IZ fans, both young and old, should know Ixane is not actually this character’s canon name as given to her by the writers of the show. That being said...

I see no reason to stop calling her Ixane. That’s just her name now.

Heck, it’d probably be difficult to go back to thinking of her as having no name given how long the name has been used on all these wiki pages and whatnot. And I’m completely fine with receiving absolutely zero credit for actually being the one who came up with the name in the first place, because here’s the thing...

I may have made the name, but it was the fandom that spread it. The IZ community, primarily in my absence too, were the ones who codified, legitimized it. Who added it to those wikis and accepted it as canon all these years. Who believed in it enough to assume it came from the official episode script, from the IZ crew themselves!

Ixane isn’t my name for her. It’s our name for her, as the fans who made Invader Zim the cult classic it is today.

And I want that to be something we all can have and be proud of ❤︎

[kasey9395]

KOREAN AWARD SHOWS: EXPECT NOTHING

Ahhh...it’s that time of the year again. And no I don’t mean Christmas.

I’m talking about the ‘waking up at 3 AM and suffering through a 3-hour broadcast (not in our language) to see our boys perform at the end’ season that is Korean Music Award Season.

If you came into this K-Pop world as an ARMY then you have witnessed what I’m about to go into first hand.

I have been fortunate enough to have gotten into the fandom when BTS hadn’t yet blown up into the stratosphere so I know the feeling well of BTS walking away with less than what they deserve and learning to not expect anything where these award shows are concerned.

Let me break down the gist of how these shows work if you didn’t already know.

1.   If an artist is attending it’s guaranteed, no, GUARANTEED, that they are going home with an award, whether they have earned it or not.

2.   Make no mistake, they will literally MAKE UP AN award to give an artist to ensure this.

3.   Fans have a say in just about every single award…even the BIG ones! Yep. You read that right. We have a large input, just about the same percentage as judges do, into who gets a Daesang. So, as far as voting goes, the bigger the fandom, the bigger the votes (which really isn’t fair).

4.   These award show head honchos, for whatever reason, feel the need to satisfy the Big 3 Companies so it is guaranteed that the Daesangs will be split up to make sure artists from the Bermuda Triangle of Doom always get at least one …meaning, no one artist has EVER won all the Daesangs in a single award show, no matter how much they’ve earned it. Go ahead. Check it. Hell, some of these shows even created a 4th Daesang last year to ensure these groups got one but could still point out that BTS got more than them.

So, essentially, this is where it leaves BTS this year:

The Daesangs are ALBUM, SONG and ARTIST of the Year (barring the 4th).

ALBUM:

- MoTS:Persona is the both the Best Selling Album in Gaon History and more importantly, the world in 2019.

SONG: (Sticking with SK Stats)

- Boy With Luv is the longest charting Top 30 song released in 2019 on Melon, the top streaming site in South Korea. Not just by an ‘Idol Group’ but overall.

- It’s digital index is High.

- It is 1 of only 5 songs released this year with a PAK. The other 4 are solo artist Juggernauts!

- It has 21 Music Show wins under its belt, the most by a mile by any song this year and a record for songs released after 2000.

ARTIST:

Ummmmm……yeah. Not even going to dignify this with a rationalisation.

Having reviewed BTS’ qualifications, here is what SHOULD happen:

They should, at EVERY SINGLE Award Show this year, be sweeping ALL Daesangs because, as the above has shown, they DESERVE and have EARNED those Daesangs.

But What WILL Happen?

- They will not get all simply because Twice exists. As the token group of JYP (one point in the Bermuda Triangle), as long as Twice is attending, one of those Daesangs will go to them. Not hating on Twice here but…that’s how these shows work.

Case in point: No song was bigger than Ikon’s Love Scenario last year, yet Twice won Song of the Year at MAMA simply because YG Artists do not attend MAMA so Ikon wasn’t there.

- Artist and Album should, however, be a lock in for the boys because, really, it’s laughable and outrightly egregious to not give them those 2, especially Artist. But, depending on who those Honchos have to satisfy, I can see BTS losing the Album Daesang too.

And don’t expect them to be a shoe-in to walk away with smaller awards like Best Male Group of the Year or anything with Global in it either. I mean, how can you expect a MALE group who wins the DAESANG for ARTIST OF THE YEAR to win best MALE group award too? Why should the Artist who is dominating the MOST, GLOBALLY (and I have included every artist, not just Korean ones) win an award that judges GLOBAL IMPACT? No. Those awards may just be given to other groups who fit no other criteria for a win. Not that those groups aren’t great boy groups or global either. It’s just that, well, you’re in a category where your competition is BTS. Some things in life should be inevitable.

So to sum it up, those who ae going the positive route and are expecting a Daesang sweep this year…please come back down to reality. Yes, BTS will no doubt win Daesangs but they will not win all. It’s South Korea we’re dealing with after all.

Nor will they win every category in which they are nominated, no matter how far in the lead they are with votes (which are only 1 aspect of judging criteria).

When their name is called, we will know they have won. Simple as that.

And if they aren’t attending, well, expect even less wins.

It’s not that BTS isn’t deserving, it’s just that that’s how those Award Shows work.

[docholligay]

paksenarrion-reader replied to your post “Don’t rb but”

I think that, in the end, is what caused me to get into Overfic so fully and with such abandon -- that the characters are so open to any interpretation we overlay on them, that we can do what we want and very little of it will be wrong. Widow is just a very vivid example of what I do with them all.

I’ve read this from a few people and I agree--it’s such a strength of the universe where there’s just enough to hook you, and then you can create it all. 

Pak wrote an essay and I responded with an essay so it’s behind a cut ahaha

paksenarrion-reader

replied to your post

“Don’t rb but”

resident "I'm Always A Slut For Sniping" main here, I have many faves for many different reasons and I am about to talk about some of them but divided in two main groups for the reason why I got so attached to them, why I ended up so invested in them. 

 first group started out as: Blizz tells me who they are. I play them a little -- get a feel for them, listen to their voice, learn how to move them. I sit up over my fic notebooks, legs crossed, hands laced, I look Blizz in the face, and politely say, "No."  this half involves Widowmaker obviously, since my approach to her is literally *throws canon over shoulder* "I'm going to let you make sense", but most notably also Symmetra.  maybe it's because I'm a writer myself, but these two (and many others I care less about) even as the sketch! are wasted potential! bad writing! they could be so much better! and by fuck I am going to let them no matter what canon says!

Oh my god, Yes, Blizz’ approach to Windowmaker’s backstory is one entire “ahahahaha NO.” for me. Cannot. Sexy brainwashed is not a thing I can handle, and it removes all of the interest and complexity that I think she could have. i’d rather have her be a person with motivations that suck, or are hypocritical, or that she herself sometimes doesn’t understand, and REFUSES to understand. 

I think that many/most characters aren’t really done a ton of favors by the canon by virtue of its sketchiness and also some HMM INTERESTING choices. I never got into Symm, but I know so many people that have, and something about her speaks to them, so I don’t doubt that I’m just missing some peice that allows a person to fundamentally connect with a character. Which I think is another strength of Overwatch: There are so many characters that represent so many facets of humanity that there’s a lot of room to see yourself. 

paksenarrion-reader

replied to your post

“Don’t rb but”

what got me to the point of caring about them enough to pluck them out of canon's hands is a mixture of the sketch space they occupy, of the feel they give through small and delicious details like what they speak, how they speak, how they move, of their gameplay since I enjoy characters with mid-to-high skill floor and high skill ceiling (see: I'm always a slut for sniping), and of the prism of my thoughts and experiences that I view them through

It’s always so interesting to me when a character’s gameplay inspires love for the character themselves, because, not being a gamer, I really can’t relate. It’s something I hadn’t considered when posing this question because it’s so far out of my wheelhouse, but of course a character you enjoy playing is likely going to find ways to be appealing to you otherwise. 

paksenarrion-reader

replied to your post

“Don’t rb but”

the second half are characters that other fans got me invested in. I didn't connect to some characters At All, in the beginning, but as I exist in fandom spaces I see people who did talk about the hows and whys of how they did, and I set my prism down to borrow someone else's lens, so to speak.  that can of course go two ways, it can be either "that is a terrible take and I'm going to do better" like what dragged me to caring about Reaper or to loving to hate Moira. Or it can be "that's amazing, I'll take fifteen, three of them gift-wrapped" like when trans players/fans talked about trans Hana, or you talked about Jewish Mercy, or fans of colour talked about dweeby, loving, soft Fareeha

I think this is where fandom can be such an interesting and fun thing--my great goal in life is of course to make everyone realize Tracer is compelling and not a naive idiot, and I TRY VERY HARD TO ACHIEVE THAT--but sometimes what makes me take a second look at a character is reading other people’s ideas and thoughts, seeing what they could be if you decided to turn your head just slightly to the left. It’s often interesting to me even if I can’t “get there” myself. 

paksenarrion-reader

replied to your post

“Don’t rb but”

Widow in particular ended up as my main girl for a wide mixture of small reasons -- I still remember, when I played her for the first time in a few consecutive matches almost two years ago, that her calmly vicious manner and how she very quietly singsongs "come oooooout~" at her targets and how she makes EVERYTHING personal, left me sitting there a little distraught and thinking "somebody hold her hand"  she has a very strong feel, even as the roughly-drawn sketch of a character canon left her as, a feel that she despises everything and everyone and she will make everyone suffer and it will never be enough to make her feel better.   

I also, it will come as no surprise to you, enjoy thinking about Widowmaker as a person who does bad things and makes bad choices and can be petty and mean and she’s not even sure she wants to be, but here she is, DOING THAT. Inertia is a hell of a thing. And the more you make the same choice, the easier it is to keep making that choice. 

that feel was enough for me to latch onto and throw "brainwashed and crazy" over my shoulder and replace it with "traumatized and too proud to admit she needs help and too used to despair to be able to afford any sort of hope anymore" and start building.  I made her into a horrible person by virtue of horrible circumstances and choices to be made between bad and worse, into someone who lies and is steadfast and remorseless and honourable and tool and taskmaster, and I enjoy letting myself explore who she could have been before and what must have happened to have her back away into the safety of becoming this, and I enjoy writing scenes where I let her heal and it doesn't mean erasing anything of what I had put her through

You’re much kinder to Amelie’s general nature than I am--I think she probably had some bad things happen to her, but I also think a lot of her choices were her own fault--but yes, it’s really important to me that she’s choosing Talon, that this is the way she sees herself as interacting with the world and she’s not really compelled toward change. I see her as not unlike Ana in this sense. She makes shitty choices and sometimes is like “wow that was shitty” but either can’t or won’t or likely both do anything to change that. But what I think is interesting about Widow, in what’s I’ve read, is no two people seem to read her the same way, and I think that’s what interests me most about her. 

paksenarrion-reader

replied to your post

“Don’t rb but”

I made the character of Widowmaker into something that appeals to me personally, instead of leaving the empty husk of a character that Blizz handed us, in my hands she's wrong and complicated and INTERESTING, and some of her is myself exorcising my demons through creative work and some of her is myself exercising empathy and imagination

I think this is what so many of us who get into Overwatch really do and feel with our faves--Mercy (and Yael) is the written experience of hours of Jewish handwringing every time I think about something for too long, or when I reflect on the reasons we’re still here despite the fact that we should have been wiped out several times over. Tracer is my experience of being an impulsive and quick little ADHD shit, and what would it feel like to know that the way I was and my brain worked was pretty roundly considered to be a part of my personality and loved versus constantly being seen as a problem to be solved? Pharah is the experience of seeing something that’s been tinted, and going, “no, they can’t have that. i’m going to make it into what it always should have been.” And so on. I know a lot of us who write, write about things and ideas and experiences that we need to give voice to but can’t when it’s US, and I think that’s pretty clear in a lot of OW stuff. 

[ahgapride98]

REFLECTION ABOUT GOT7 THIS COMEBACK

Hello baby birds! I just wanted to write a post to express my feelings about Got7’s recent achievements.

1) Music Core win and PAK. In case you didn’t know, this is the very first time that Got7 wins a trophy in Music Core since their debut back in 2014, so this is a big thing for them and for us ahgases. Also, this is the first time they get a Perfect All Kill with any of their comebacks. Seeing them receive these trophies on the music shows makes me really happy, specially because we were the ones who got them for our boys. Our time and dedication with the votings and streaming really paid off. We are indeed one of the best fandoms out there. So congrats to all of us for getting a PAK!!!

🏆🏆🏆🏆

2) Got7 being the best seller under JYP. This is something that makes me really proud as an ahgase, but I wasn’t really surprised by this fact. Back when JYP Entertainment was having financial issues, the ones who raised the company’s stockings to an acceptable level (and giving it the opportunity to be part of the Big 3) were Suzy and Got7. Since Got7’s debut, their fandom has increased year after year, and even now it keeps growing (something that’s not very common, since they already are a stablished group with 5 years of experience), so it’s no surprise that their sells keep growing more and more as well. Our boys have been working really hard since they debuted, so it upsets me sometimes that they don’t get the recognition they truly deserve.

3) Hard Carry 2. The fact that they have a show where they can have fun together makes me extremely happy. Not only are they giving us quality content, but they’re also having fun filming it (something I feel they haven’t done in a long time). Seeing them do all these activities together as a group, and smile and joke around like they have no cares in the world, really warms my heart. I hope we can see them smile like that forever.

4) The comeback itself. Can we all agree that this is THE comeback of our lives? I mean, Look (Eyes On You) will always remain superior (we got a world tour because of it), but this whole comeback (the title track, the side tracks, the individual tracks, the concept, the promotions, everything) is purely amazing. We get to see the boys individual colors, as well as the color the project as a group. This comeback is truly a present for us ahgases, and we should be eternally thankful for that. Personally, as a Spanish ahgase, I’m very happy that they even thought about us international fans. This shows just how caring they are towards all of us.

5) New personal record with Lullaby views. We broke our own record with Look, and now we have broken it again with Lullaby, making it be on the list of videos with the most views on the first 24h. This is an awesome achievement for us, as we keep giving ourselves goals and meeting them. I’m sure that as time goes by, we will keep breaking our own record many more times, and making Got7 proud of us.

6) Melon issue. I think this is something most of us already know, but I still want to mention it because it still upsets me. We were number one on Naver, Bugs, Mnet, etc. charts, but we debuted in a really low place on Melon, and even though the listeners kept increasing, our position kept dropping. Why? That’s what I’d like to know too. I truly believe there was something going on with Melon, because it’s not normal that the listeners increased as well as the streaming reproductions, but our position didn’t. Anyway, I hope that Melon doesn’t fuck our scores up for the next comeback.

7) Ahgases hard work. I cannot express with words how glad I am to be part of this beautiful fandom. Seeing all of us working so hard, voting endlessly for them and streaming day/night to increase the views, makes me really emotional. Our work is enough to prove what a strong fandom we are, and how caring we are towards each other. Not only the boys are peacemakers, we are too. The way we handle dramas and rumors it’s truly remarkable, always polite. I can only say that I love you all baby birds! 🐥💚

With all of that said, I can only add that I’m really proud of being part of this fandom, calling myself an ahgase and stanning these boys as a group/individually. They deserve all the love in the world, and I’m glad they have us by their sides. Let’s keep fighting together for them ahgases!!! I love you all!!! 사랑해 아가새!!! 💚🐥💚

[personaldemimonde]

So. I should be sleeping, but I have a story I want to read, but I don't want to write it. Sometimes I'm pleased enough with just writing the plots, but because its fandom related I wanted to share in case of inspiration.

Below the line is a dark subject, continue reading at your own risk. (I'm on mobile currently and I do not see an option for "Keep reading" link)

-------------

Dib (16?) was kidnapped by a human trafficking ring. They were stalking the high school for potential pickups, when Dib walked by - slowly walking, lost in thought and inattentive. They grabbed and went. Shit happens to him.

Gaz forces Zim to help search for her brother. They travel via voot cruisers, find the cartel, and free all the missing people and kill all the traffickers. They find Dib traumatized. The sight of him puts Zim in such an overwhelming rage his pak takes over and demolishes everyone and everything (not the Membranes). The underground ring is then blown up via Irken missile.

Recovery takes time. He has really bad mental health issues stemming from the trauma: he develops insomnia, paranoia, agoraphobia, amongst others (like PTSD panic attacks). Dib doesn't go to school, too petrified to leave the house. Even Zim doesn't look like the real enemy to him any longer. There are worse monsters out there more dangerous than Zim. He picks up underage smoking.

Professor Membrane allows him to be at home in exchange for taking online classes, and they find out Dib is mentally eligible for college courses, so they do that. It helps Dib keep focused on something rather than overthinking what he survived, but he's at a loss of what he wants to pursue with college, so he takes his time going through his General studies to begin with. His dad recommends therapy, but it goes mostly ignored. Gaz becomes super protective of her older brother, hangs out with him (which is mostly just being in the same room together, doing their own thing) whenever he asks without hesitation.

Zim goes on a killing spree to eradicate all human traffickers in their tristate area. This happens to include dirty cops, social workers specialized with children, and desperate people looking for a buck. He is completely ruthless.

Sometimes at night, Dib will contact Zim to come visit because he's feeling lonely and his family is sleeping. The Irken never says if it bothers him, but it really doesn't. One night Zim offers Dib a ride in the voot cruiser, just for a change of scenery. He leaves a note for Gaz, then they go to space, then to Zim's. Zim shares with him Gaz trying to find him the first day, coming to his base, and how now Zim wished he had been there, and how he wishes Dib will always be there. Dib learns that Zim has killed people, now. It doesn't bother him. He offers the Irken a cigarette, which doesn't agree with the alien biology, and turns him blue for a while (after one puff; Zim really doesn't like it).

Dib finally chooses a what he wants to do with his college education; he wants to go into the FBI, to help find people that are missing. But upon inquiry and applying, they inform Dib he must go through therapy. It's been a year or two, by this point, and he still has panic attacks and insomnia. The agoraphobia has resided, and the paranoia is only above-average rather than Extremely High. He goes into therapy, and surprise surprise, it helps. The therapist is amazing and encourages Dib to continue his FBI goals.

With some physical training, Dib joins the initiate program and passes with flying colors.

-------------

I really hope someone can write this one out, because I want to read it in it's full, dark bloody detail. It came to me because I've recently moved; small town, middle of nowhere NV, to bustling small city, outside larger cities CA. I've heard more warnings and dangers of human trafficking in these past few months than I ever had in my life.

This story is supposed to be a callout for how to spot the dangers and being aware of your surroundings. Then, I really wanted a sweet, violent revenge via an angry, capable source. Last, a stress on how therapy is good for you.

For some reason I see this miniature plot as a 'part one', followed by Older FBI Agent Membrane being helped by a particular outsource informant. The image of an FBI agent working with an invading alien really rocks me~

Who knows, I may write little snippets, myself. *shrugs*

Sleep.

[flo-nelja]

Femslash: how alone I am

A meme taken from @convenientalias and @fucktheg0ds. Basically, ranking all my femslash ships by percentage I’ve written. Only based on AO3. I tried to count the gen fics with femslash pairings too, since they appear in the tags.

Most ships I have written only one time, even if there are exceptions.

First, all the non-rare femslash pairings I have dabbled in!

Emma/Regina (Once upon a Time) : 0,01% (1/10368)

Korra/Asami (Legend of Korra) : 0,03% (1/3747)

Luna/Ginny (Harry Potter) : 0,1% (1/1047)

Willow/Tara (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) : 0,1% (1/1027)

Pearl/Rose (Steven Universe) : 0,1% (1/908)

Cosette/Eponine (Les Misérables) : 0,2% (1/594)

Belle/Ruby (Once upon a Time) : 0,2% (1/492)

Homura/Madoka (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) : 0,2% (1/463)

Jasper/Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe) : 0,2% (1/417)

Aurora/Mulan (Once upon a Time) : 0,3% (1/306)

Hermione/Luna (Harry Potter) : 0,3% (1/296)

Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar the Last Airbender) : 0,4% (1/263)

The comfortable ones by femslash standards, I don’t count the writers. Most of them are actually bigger, but they are old, and most of the fics aren’t on ffnet. I can usually find people to squee with me.

Kaylee/River (Firefly) : 1% (1/114)

Mystique/Destiny (Marvel comics) : 1% (1/112)

Raven/Angel Salvadore (X-men movies) : 1% (1/88)

Yoruichi/Soifon (Bleach) : 1% (1/74)

Utena/Anthy (Utena) : 1% (4/259)

Sakura/Tomoyo (Card Captor Sakura) : 1% (1/65)

Dorothy/Relena (Gundam Wing) : 2% (1/56)

Karolina/Xavin (Marvel Comics) : 2% (1/56)

Wendy/Mabel (Gravity Falls) : 2% (1/48)

Marietta/Cho (Harry Potter) : 3% (1/36)

Juri/Shiori (Utena) : 3% (2/71)

Mina/Vanessa (Penny Dreadful) : 3% (1/35)

Winry/Sciezska (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003) : 3% (1/31)

OK, getting into the rarer ones!

Mireille/Kirika (Noir) : 5% (1/21). This one was bigger, it’s an old one.

Phèdre/Mélisande (Kushiel’s Legacy) : 5% (1/21). Canon kinky foeyay ship! Quite big relative to the size of the fandom.

Reiko/Hinoe (Natsume Yuujinchou) : 5% (1/21). It is an old fic and it has gotten so much bigger now! I should read the new fics!

Pearl/Connie (Steven Universe) : 5% (1/21). An unwholesome ship that antis hate. ^^

Kitty/Illyana (Marvel) : 6% (6/107). Quite a big one, but also one of my favorites, so I’ve written quite a bit of it! I’m glad it got big, really (by femslash standards), it was not that much when I’ve started.

Brunnhilde/OFC (Thor movies) : 6% (1/16). I wish Brunnhilde’s dead girlfriend had a name. I’m sure it would make the ship bigger.

Artemis/Iphigenia (Greek myth) : 7% (1/15). Another creepy ship, that I love.

Retsu/Isane (Bleach) : 8% (1/13). I was deep in Bleach fandom once. I wrote a lot of combinations. Most of them were jossed.

Spinsters (Once upon a Time) : 9% (1/11). They were in only an episode, at the time I hoped we’d see more of them. I know in the fairy tale they’re sisters, but they’re also three, and I will stay persuaded that Rumplestiltskin, after him mother left, was raised by two lesbian spinsters fairies.

Mabel/Candy (Gravity Falls) : 10% (1/10). I’m honestly suprised it’s not bigger. There’s one femslash ship in Gravity Falls and it’s eating all the other possibilities.

Gamma/Zimmy (Gunnerkrigg Court) : 10% (1/10). Lots of people ship them but the fandom and the ship are not easy to write.

Gerda/Little Robber Girl (The Snow Queen) : 11% (1/9). Most people love it, but most fairy tales rewriting are published as original stories.

Te Fiti/Moana (Moana) : 12% (1/8). I’m glad it exists, even if it’s small.

Artemis/Callisto (Greek myth) : 12% (1/8). Canon sens unique, horrible ending canon aussi.

Dawn/Amanda (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) : 12% (1/8). I actually love this one a lot!

Dani/Rahne (Marvel comics) : 12% (1/8). I hope there will be potential in the movie.

Lain/Alice (Serial Ewperiments Lain) : 12% (1/8). It used to be bigger on ffnet, really.

Orihime/Tatsuki (Bleach) : 13% (7/53). Another ship where I didn’t just pass and actually stayed a lot

Leah/Illyana (Marvel Comics) : 14% (1/7). Canon in an AU!

Cassandra/Helen (Greek myth) : 14% (1/7). It was honestly for a challenge but greek myth is so easy for crack ships

Storm/Mystique (X-men movies) : 17% (1/6). The dynamics I like is AoA!Ororo crushing on Raven, and it’s very hard to find, most of these fics are FoeYay for the first timeline.

Natasha (Avengers movies)/Mystique (X-men movies) : 17% (1/6). Quite common for a crossover actually!

Cecile/Merteuil (Les liaisons dangereuses) : 17% (1/6). It’s a friend’s ship, it was nice to write!

Nancy/Yomiko (Read or Die) : 20% (1/5). Another old one.

Dante/Rose (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003) : 20% (1/5). Very visible but so creepy!

Lust/Martel (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003) : 20% (1/5). This one was a random generator.

Maria/Saki (Shin Sekai Yori) : 20% (1/5). Canon but not endgame.

Yuzu/Ururu (Bleach) : 20% (1/5). Bleach phase again. I loved this one for absolutely no reason.

Cinderella/Cinderella’s stepmother (Fairy tales) : 20% (1/5). For an exchange!

Basira Hussain/Daisy Tonner (The Magnus Archives) : 20% (1/5). The fandom is growing and this ship too!

Souma/Kendappa (Rg Veda) : 22% (2/9). Another of the very old ships! It was my first femslash fic, but I found only recently the courage to write it!

Suzie/Gwen (Torchwood) : 22% (2/9). Used to be a bit bigger, bu never as much as I wished. I have only one fic, but in French and English.

Gyokumen/Hwang (Saiyuki) : 25% (1/4).  For a kink meme!

Kushana/Nausicaä (Ghibli) : 25% (1/4). I actually really love this one and have another in progress

Chizuru/Rika (Yami no matsuei) : 25% (1/4). Characters of the tome; I’m almost surprised not to be the only one.

Kumi/Yuri (Alien 9) : 25% (1/4). Another ship I really love. I wish they ended together.

Sarah/Lavinia (A Little Princess) : 25% (1/4). For an exchange, a very good prompt asking for power games.

Rei/Nanako (Oniisama e) : 25% (2/8). Yeah, love this one too!

Storm/Yukio (X-men comics) : 25% (2/8). I will ship them forever. But they haven’t been that shippy recently. Greg Pak disappointed me.

Kotoko/Sumomo (Chobits) : 25% (2/8). It’s so cute. ^^

Acolyte/Radiant Goddess (Lady of the Shard) : 33% (1/3). The main ship! They’re so cute, but cute is not what I write easily

Chloe/Kirika (Noir) : 33% (1/3). Used to be bigger, even if it was not the main ship.

Dante/Sloth (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003) : 33% (1/3). I’m just kinky. ^^

Emma/Firestar (Marvel Comics) : 33% (1/3). Same.

Emma/Selene (Marvel Comics) : 33% (1/3). Same.

Claudine/Luce (Colette) : 33% (2/6). Oh yes, another of my favorite ones! And formative too, I was a teenager!

Gwen/Carys (Torchwood) : 40% (2/5). Whoniverse1000! Only one fic, but an English version and a French one.

Atsuko/Michiko (Michiko e Hatchin) : 50% (1/2). Should be far bigger. It’s Foeyay, and so obvious! (small fadoms curse)

Acolyte/Old God (Lady of the Shard) : 50% (1/2). The creepy mind control one ^^

Cristo Canyon/Tomie Katana (Lastman) : 50% (1/2). I’m alone with a friend.

Ozen/Lyza (Made in Abyss) : 50% (1/2). Yeah, not alone! I was surprised going back in the tag and finding another fic, actually!

Hi’iaka/Hopoe (Hawaiian mythology) : 50% (1/2). Same!

Marnie/Anna (When Marnie was here) : 50% (1/2). It is was not incest, if could be big ^^

Sistah Spooky/Mindf**k (Empowered) : 50% (1/2). Alone with another friend. This one should be huge, I’m so annoyed it doesn’t even exist. It has all the tropes I love (except that I wanted a good ending, but why are people not writing fix-it?)

Nemu/Kuna (Bleach) : 50% (1/2). I’m alone with the same friend.

Chizuru/Misato (Bleach) : 50% (1/2). Still the same friend

Cora/Anastasia (Once upon a Time in Wonderland) : 50% (1/2). Yeah, rare mentor/protegee ship! I with the only other fic was not so gen-ish, otherwise it’s good.

Mikuru/Haruhi (Haruhi Suzumiya) : 50% (1/2). It’s actually big outside of AO3?

Akira/Shiina (Naru Taru) : 50% (1/2). Very dark fandom, dark ship, I’m still so sad it’s not a Thing.

Rei/Fukiko (Oniisama e) : 50% (2/4). Romantic canon one-sided incest!

Callisto/Karima (X-men comics) : 67% (2/3). It was just so shippy in Excalibur. With tentacles. But well, obscure like all the Marvel pairings with a few brilliant scenes but no long history.

Old God/Radiant Goddess (Lady of the Shard) : 75% (3/4). Yeah! Enemies with a past, and it’s totally canon! So much my kind of ships! It could be so big if the fandom was bigger!

Dani/Hela (Marvel Comics) : 100% (1/1)

Luna/Valeria (Marvel Comics) : 100% (1/1)

Psylocke/Selene (Marvel Comics) : 100% (1/1)

Karima/Monet (Marvel Comics) : 100% (1/1). All Marvel pairings where I like an interaction once and had to write about it (for Luna and Valeria, it’s even only the potential of an interaction)

Tracy Zenkova/Annabelle Chang (Lastman) : 100% (1/1). I had to write it once, it’s canon after all, even if Annabelle isn’t my favorite.

Anlise/Renge (Namesake) : 100% (1/1). Canon mind control! But secondary characters in a small fandom. I still wish I were not alone.

Agathe/Nagîna ( Mesdemoiselles de la Vengeance) : 100% (1/1). Very small fandom, French historical children’s book. THe ending is a bit too heterosexual for my tastes.

Phoenix/Acolyte/Radiant Goddess/Old God (Lady of the Shard) : 100% (1/1). It’s the canon ending, but quite hard to write, especially when you’re more interested in a specific relationship. Small fandom anyway.

Malen/Rue (Princess Tutu) : 100% (1/1). Character of the week with a crush on the dark magical girl!

Nemu/Rangiku (Bleach) : 100% (1/1)

Chizuru/Lisa (Bleach) : 100% (1/1)

Chizuru/Rangiku (Bleach) : 100% (1/1). Bleach crack ships!

Dante/Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist 2003) : 100% (1/1). Just because it was super-hot

Empowered/Ninjette (Empowered) : 100% (1/1). More crack.

Amber/Bai (Darker than Black) : 100% (1/1). This one I really love, and I wish it would be bigger! To me, Amber is as shippable with Bai as she is with Hei, though in different ways. But it’s almost unheard of.

Jheselbraum/Pyronica (Gravity Falls) : 100% (1/1)

Darlene/Shandra (Gravity Falls) : 100% (1/1). These two are crack pairings written for a personal challenge. I’m nor surprised I’m the only one.

Harriet Jones/Astrid Peth (Doctor Who) : 100% (2/2). From whoniverse1000. Once again it’s only one fic, but I translated it, so two versions.

[radramblog]

Retro Games WTB

So for reference, this and the last two posts were written on the same night. We went from serious discussion about sensitive and graphic material in media, to silliness about shooty mans, to this. The thing is, I’m going away on a weekend camping trip (Melbourne got delayed again but at least getting to go on this is a silver lining?), and when this post goes up (assuming I figure out how to schedule it right) is the one day where I’m just never at home. The Saturday of a weekend trip. I don’t know if the place is going to have cell signal, and I’m not letting that of all things get in the way of me posting more bullshit.

It’s been a long night.

I was originally going to do, like, a tierlist thing, but staring at the list of these was just depressing. Motherfuckers put Homestuck in the Video Games section multiple times, and I had to stare at the fact that someone went out of their way to make a FNAF shipping tier list. And lots of people played it. Fuck, man.

I don’t know if me talking about a bunch of games I want to buy is actually more interesting, but I’ll be damned if I can’t do that easily and for a lot of words. Plus, it’ll force me to actually come up with a complete list.

(editors note this is ridiculously absurdly long and it has no images it’s just 2.5K words of jack shit and me tiredly trying to make jokes about old games you probably haven’t heard of you’ve been waaaarned)

N64

The prospect of collecting all the N64 games I want is somewhat daunting, especially considering my region-based issues. But I’ve made some solid progress since that one time I talked about my collection (and I cannot be fucked dragging that post up at the moment). I’ve acquired Banjo-Kazooie and a Kirby 64 cart that I sure didn’t know was coming in fucking box.

Anyway. I’d like to pick up Smash 64 at some point, if only for the novelty of it. I’ve played it, like, once? And that was a very long time ago, the first time I ever played an N64 (possibly the only time I even touched a controller before I bought my own), and I wasn’t as mediocre to functional at Smash as I am now. 64 is kind of a whole different animal, though- no competitively viable maps by modern standards and the engine is fucky- every character combos so well that they run 5-stock matches instead of 3.

(From this point on, I’m literally looking at a Wikipedia list of games and picking ones to comment on, so it’s alphabetical)

Banjo-Tooie would be nice, I suppose, but I’ve barely played the first one- let’s maybe do that before I start thinking sequels. I didn’t realise until I actually picked up the game that Kazooie is like, a massive asshole? Extremely rude? Apparently that’s their character trait and I just didn’t know. Banjo seems like such a cool bloke, why does he hang out with them?

Even though I’d never be able to play it, the Australian version of Beetle Adventure Racing actually replaces the titular cars with Holdens, which is fucking hilarious and I need to see it.

I’ve heard a lot about Conker’s Bad Fur Day, that it’s basically Banjo/DK but M rated. I…don’t imagine it’s aged particularly well. Man, remember when he showed up for Project Spark, though? Yeah, me neither.

Donkey Kong 64 is another classic, and I’m sure it’s really good. I have managed to pick up an Expansion Pak, so there’s half the cost of it gone, too. I’ve never actually finished any of the Country games, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t play like one, so. I also never watched the HBomberguy charity marathon, so I am pure and unspoiled as to the grisly details of this jungle bash.

On the one hand, Goldeneye is arguably one of the most iconic FPS games of all time. On the other, it’s not aged particularly well, and I don’t have a cadre of people to hang around being nostalgic for it, because we’re all either younger than this game or barely out-age it. I hope someone reading this feels old now. (sorry)

Even as a Pokemon fanatic, I’m not buying Hey You, Pikachu. That game barely worked with people in the USA, imagine that shitty microphone trying to decipher my accent on fucking N64 hardware. Also it’s pretty lame even if you can get it to work, so.

Majora’s Mask is currently my White Whale, because I want nothing more than to play that game. I’ve heard so much, it sounds and looks so fucking incredible, and as I said I have the Expansion Pak now so I can actually run it. One day, man, one day. Once again I should probably finish Ocarina of Time first, but like, I know I’m going to play this one, so.

I guess Mario Kart 64 would be worth picking up, apparently it’s one of the better ones. I reckon if people showed up to play fucking Beetle Adventure Racing before knowing the game was actually really good, they’ll show up for Mario Kart. I’d rather buy 64 than 8, frankly.

I could barely get any interest in my bootleg-ass copy of Mario Party 3, I’m not going to spend stupid money on the other ones.

Oh, apparently Mega Man Legends came out on the 64 as well? I thought that was just on the Playstation. I mean, people really seem to like that sub-series, but then people also liked Star Force, so I don’t know if I can trust the Mega Man fandom on anything. (MMBN legacy collection when, Capcom)

Yo so there was a Neon Genesis Evangelion game for the N64, and apparently it’s a fighting game? Japan-only, of course, but my console can run those anyway. And like, that sounds funny and cool, I’ll punch Sachiel to death, why the fuck not? Who needs a progressive knife. Congratulations joke.

God Paper Mario is so fucking expensive god damnit

Perfect Dark rounds out the trio of “hey I have the expansion pak now”, but I know substantially less about it. So, maybe?

The Pokemon games I’m missing (and care about) are Snap, Puzzle League, and Stadium 2. I’ll consider Snap if I can find a cheap copy, as I know it’s pretty limited (and the new one just came out), Puzzle League is probably meh, and Stadium 2 sounds fun but I’d need to then buy a GSC cart to get the most out of it and they aren’t cheap. Unless I get a Japanese one, but apparently, they’re only compatible with Japanese Stadium 2 (er, Stadium GS), so I’d have to double down on illegibility.

Oh fuck, right, Star Fox. Man I thought I was going to get away with just talking about Star Wars here (I’ve already got the good ones), but I forgot about fuckin Star Fox 64, aka The Good One. Shit I gotta get that don’t I? Fuck me. At least searching for one will be slightly easier because the PAL version has a different name.

Oh, and Yoshi’s Story looks like a trip and I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Like, this just looks worse than Yoshi’s Island if I’m being honest.

 GBA

I haven’t actually talked about by GBA collection on here have I? TL;DR- it’s a console I’m very nostalgic for, but my collection is lacking because all the carts in Malaysia were bootlegs.

Jesus there’s so many more GBA games than N64 ones. Like, in general, not just on this list.

Advance Wars is a solid maybe, because the carts are super fucking expensive, I’ve never played the series, and the remaster is coming soon. But apparently they’re good? Big shrug energy.

Wow, they made two whole Banjo games for the GBA. Both of these look like shit, though, so fuck it. No wonder I never hear anyone talk about them.

Boktai is an interesting series I’d like to maybe give a shot. It’s a JRPG made by fucking Hideo Kojima, where the cartridge had a light sensor in it to encourage you to play outside by buffing the main character. Which was an interesting choice on the notably not backlit GBA. It also has crossover stuff with something we’ll get into later.

I’ve played Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow to death, and as a result I’d love to pick up a copy of it’s GBA prequel, Aria of Sorrow- it’s apparently almost just as good. I’ve not heard much about the other two GBA Castlevanias, but they’re apparently similarly excellent- a stark comparison to the mediocre to bad N64 ones.

If someone buys me a cartridge of Crazy Frog Racer I will play it and that is a fucking promise.

There are like three whole Fire Emblem games on the GBA, though only two came out in English. I actually have a bootleg of one of them. It’s another one of those ones that are unreasonably expensive because it didn’t sell well and they didn’t make that many as a result, though. So probably not worth getting a real one unless I fall super head over heels for the series- I don’t see that happening soon.

Oh right, Golden Sun. Another JRPG franchise for the GBA. There were a lot of those, huh? Anyway there’s like no way this guy is getting into Smash, don’t get your hopes up.

Harvest Moon is basically Stardew Valley, but older. Two games of it came out on the GBA, and I’m probably not about to commit to buying one of those rather than Stardew. And that game has yet to successfully appeal to me, soooooooo

I have a bootleg of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, and that’s one of the ones where it probably doesn’t matter at all that it’s a bootleg, so I’m satisfied with it. Don’t have Nightmare in Dream Land, which I’ve played before on emulator and wouldn’t mind retrying, so maybe. I’ve never been massive on remakes if the original is viable, but I don’t have an NES so I’m sure not buying Kirby’s Adventure.

There are two Zelda games on GBA- a port of A Link to the Past which I have, and Minish Cap which I don’t. Minish Cap is very expensive!!! Aah!!!

Yo they ported The Lost Vikings to GBA? Wack. I guess Blizzard gets a shoe in this console’s door, then.

Yeah okay so there are like a million Mario games here, huh. Superstar Saga was the first Mario and Luigi game, and the one of those I’ve played (Partners in Time) was good enough that I’d bite for the original. Or I’d just go buy Bowser’s Inside Story. Mario Kart and Golf on the GBA don’t appeal super hard, and I��ve played Mario Pinball Land (long before that Alpharad Deluxe series), to the point where I don’t feel the need to actually buy it.

Speaking of Alpharad, I played Mario Party Advance on one of my Malaysian Bootlegs long, long before he made that video reminding people it existed. That game actually kind of fucks, for what it’s worth, and since my copy can’t save, I’d consider buying a real one. Assuming that Alpha’s video didn’t lead to a mass buyout or price spike.

Okay, so Mega Man Battle Network is kind of the big one on this list- definitely the White Whale so far, since to my understanding the series had extremely limited release in Australia. I do have a Japanese copy of 4 (Blue Moon) that I picked up because it was like 5 bucks, but A. 4 is godawful relative to the others and B. it’s a JRPG and I can’t read Japanese. But I would Do Things to get copies of 2, 3, or 6. Not so much 1 (because it’s not great), or 5 because I’ve nearly 100%’d the DS version on my flashcart.

Seriously, I’ve considered writing multiple blog posts on this series, I think it’s a super underrated gem. It’s an eSport on GBA for fucks sake! It’s also the series that crossed over with Boktai from earlier- apparently Kojima’s kid was a huge fan, so he got in touch to get some cross-promo content going. Funny how that works.

It’s not like they’re ever going to release Mother 3 anyway. Y’all aren’t even going to let me pay for this game, so you can’t complain if I buy a Chinese bootleg with the fan translation on it. I paid five whole bucks, and if they released it in English for real, I’d easily drop more on it. It’s a 10/10 game.

Oh alright, there’s Pokemon. I’m actually 4/7 on the GBA Pokemon games, which is pretty good considering the price just keeps going up and up. I’ve actually considered making a Living Dex solely in Gen 3- however that would either require all the ones I don’t have (save Pinball) a Gamecube with Colosseum/XD (which I have thought about), or maybe both. A long-term project, for sure, but one I’d enjoy doing.

Apparently the Sonic GBA games are pretty good, save for the infamous remake of the first Sonic game- Sonic Genesis. That is, however, the only one of them I’ve actually played. And for a long time was the only Sonic game I’d ever played. Great first impression, huh? The Marble Zone OST unironically slaps, though.

Yeah okay so there’s like over a hundred games still on this list and I care about, like, none of them. Except maybe some of the Wario games and Yu-Gi-Oh games- and I know some of the latter are complete and utter garbage. Like, I’ve played The Sacred Cards, and that game is genuine shite. I’ve still only played one Yu-Gi-Oh game I’ve liked.

I guess I can close off this wall of text by saying I want to get a GBA flashcart so I can run romhacks on console, but there’s a bunch of different types and it doesn’t seem like anyone can agree on which one is the best, so I guess I’m in limbo a bit on that one. Still, it’s worth a look at some point- I’ve gotten so much mileage out of my DS one after all.

And that’s a full-ass list. Perhaps a little daunting, but something like this is a long-term project, and there’s plenty of time to adjust, or make trades rather than buy, et cetera. I don’t ever expect to like, complete a collection, but I’m happy getting things bit by bit.

Anyway it’s like 2AM now I need to be up in 5 hours oops if I’m late then sorry james lmao except you won’t possibly be able to read this until Saturday and it’ll be too late then ha HA