#but the one is REALLY bad. the one that had a resurgence lately. i don't even know HOW you get that bad. but STOP

[oveliagirlhaditright]

I'm just... so done with fandom shipping as a whole. Y'all are the worst and need to take a chill pill.

[spaceorphan18]

How an animated series saved Remy LeBeau (again)

It's a bit of a hyperbolic title, but catchy, non?

I was looking over my comic collection as I've decided to reread X-Men's 60 year history over the course of the summer. And it got me thinking about a dead period of 616 canon that I've never actually read. Around the time Rogue hooked up with Magneto and scooted off to the Avengers, I decided I'd be done with comics for a while. And didn't start again until Rogue (and Gambit) came back to the X-books in 2017's Astonishing X-Men. But it made me wonder -- What happened to Gambit in that time??

Well, after his solo ended, he flitted around to X-Factor and hung out with X-23 and then kind of went 'poof' for a good long while.

Why? I can only guess the same reason this is a running motif with Gambit. There's something about him that drives the X-Office crazy. I'm not here to speculate what or how or who of it all. I don't know enough about the back end of Marvel to give concrete answers. But I think what has surprised me (recently) is that he's definitely a fan favorite character.

[Yes, I know he can be a divisive character. Yes, I know elements of his character from the 90s have not aged well. Yes, I know there are those of you who can't stand him. Don't really care - you can get off my lawn, thank you.]

Which got me thinking -- Gambit's original popularity, I believe, stemmed from the original X-Men Animated Series. He had just started showing up in the comics at the time, and had barely any kind of page time. And the X-Men TAS swung and was a hit. And so was Gambit.

I don't really know that Gambit would be around today if TAS hadn't done its thing. Would the X-Office have kept him around? I really have no idea.

But they did try to get rid of him. That was the point of leaving him in Antarctica. And things were just never the same after that. Claremont tried his best in the early 2000s. And then Deathbit happened. Carey's run wasn't bad. But Carey clearly had an agenda for other things... And then, Gambit just kind of faded into the background. (I hear his run as a side character for Laura (X-23) was good - but I haven't read that.)

Bless Kelly Thompson (always) for sparking life back into him with (and his relationship with Rogue). And bless the fact that she actually married him to Rogue. Yes, I understand comics -- my god look what they did to Peter and MJ, no one really gets to be happily married except Sue and Reed. He and Rogue are now really tied together in a way that I don't think is going to be undone any time soon.

Even if the X-Office still isn't thrilled with the guy. Krakoa era has been less than ideal. (I can't comment on it fully - I haven't read much of it, as I'm behind on my comic reading.) But I've heard rumors that one reason Thompson was let go was that she didn't want Gambit killed off. And she didn't like the direction they wanted to take the character.

Which leads me to X-Men 97. Killing him off sucked. Really. As a fan, it really sucked. But - my god, the reaction to it. Gambit was amazing. And all I've heard lately is good things about the character. There's been a Gambit resurgence in the best way. He may have went out -- but he went out with a bang. X-Men 97 made an emotional impact with people. And that changes things.

Gambit is cool again.

And I love it.

What's even more exciting is the fact that the X-Office has changed hands again and Gail Simone on Uncanny who (if her Twitter/X feed is to be believed) is really enjoying writing the character. Which means (hopefully) at least another year or two in the comics of some (hopefully) great Gambit stuff.

And maybe there will be some changing of hearts and minds in the X-Office.

It's actually very exciting.

And, guys, I really (really, really) doubt he'll be completely gone from X-Men 97, too.

Because Remy LeBeau never stays down for long.

But as a fan, it's nice to see him be on top again. And I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon.

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

Your only chance

(dark!)Yandere FO!General Poe Dameron x gn!reader

Category: Twisted Letter - I recommend you read the informations for twisted letters first ->here<- if you haven't already.

Dead dove do not eat - you'll get exactly what's in the warnings!

Warnings: NSFW, Poe is a perv, mention of male masturbation, possessive Poe, yandere themes(?), dirty thoughts.

Hello Precious,

do you miss me? Did you think about me? Because you can bet I sure did miss you. I bet the Resistance has some real trouble without me by their side. I'm gonna be honest with you here, let me spill the beans: remember my last mission a few months ago when the Resistance - you, saw me for the last time?

I switched sides. I joined the First Order, I was sick of constantly losing my friends, always running, always fighting, over and over again. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Call me crazy if you want but I made a decision. As the First Order became stronger, I began to realize that fighting against them would make everything worse for the Galaxy.

It's true the First Order suffers under being called the big bad evil, just like the Galactic Empire, but it really just depends on the leaders. After I joined them they of course interrogated me, I spilled everything about the Resistance I had, every top secret operation, revealed the bases, and I even snitched about some Resistance spies within the First Order.

And you know what they did? What they gave me in return? They promoted me to a General, they gave me my own fleet to command, my own loyal Stormtroopers, my own Resurgent Star Destroyer.

The First Order welcomed me, they gave me power. And all that just because I did the right thing - to fight for the right side.

But enough about me, let's talk about you.

Did you know I had - still have - a crush on you? From the very first day you joined the Resistance. I can still remember how Leia introduced you to me. She gave me the order to make sure you were prepared for your tasks. I did just that, watched you doing your tasks, and I liked what I saw.

In the following weeks you became a good member, following your orders obediently, you were proud of being in the Resistance. And I'm pretty sure you knew how much I liked you - how much I wanted you...

I mean, didn't you notice how I was looking at you every time during briefings? Perhaps not because I was almost always sitting at the darker corner of the room.

Whenever I praised you, putting a hand on your shoulder, it always stayed there for a moment longer than necessary. I just liked touching you...

I gotta admit, everytime when I saw someone else touching you I just wanted to rip them apart...

But don't worry, I wasn't mad at you for flirting or touching someone else - after all you didn't knew about my secret crush on you, so I forgive you.

And speaking of touching...

I bet you knew how flirty I could get sometimes, but you didn't know how dirty I can get, right?

How you thought I wouldn't pump my fist up and down my rock hard cock after thinking about you every single night? Sometimes, late at night I even paid you visits, stroking my cock over, and over again until I shot my cum on your thigh. Almost every night, again and again... I wished you could have been awake to see how hard you made me, how you made me feel, how feral you've made me...

The things I wanted to do with you. You don't know how hard I fought the urge to just wake you up and fuck you stupid, ravage your body until morning...

And now that I'm at the First Order? Now I want you back. I want to show you how good it is to be on my side.

I'm going to make sure you will belong to me, just like back in the Resistance...

You may not know it but you've always belonged to me, from day one.

I wrote you this message so you know how I feel about you, what happened to me.

I hope you read the message as soon as possible because I know exactly where you are, which base - and I'm coming.

And don't be afraid when you see my fleet arrive, you will be captured and brought to me.

But don't bother warning the Resistance, it won't change anything - even if you get evacuated from the base - I will find you eventually...

Your only chance to be part of the future of the Galaxy is with being by my side.

And lastly, don't fight against my troops or you will be stunned.

I will see you soon, Precious.

-- P. D.

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Chapter 19 ~ Hope is a dangerous thing

Hidden Depths

Previous ~ Masterlist ~ Next

Also on ao3

Genre: Fantasy whump

CW: everyone is just *full* of self-blame, are we happy? Huh? So uh, blood, impalement–technically if you’re shot with an arrow you get impaled, right? Right. Also, *drumroll* lots of angst *gasp* and a healthy dose of denial. And I guess a tiny bit of minor whump, bc Orla, but it’s next to nothing, I swear. Unless you count the angst, cuz then we're all screwed 😂

WC: 2735

In which I really wanted some whump. I'm sorry but not really XD

AN: Ch 19 AKA the bitch chapter. I don't think I'll ever be completely happy with it so here it is. Sorry it took two months 😅

Orla

A grand adventure. 

That’s how Orla had imagined the idea of leaving the city, traveling north until they found a quaint little village or maybe even a town to settle in. 

She’d pictured it in her mind, aided by the sketched illustrations in some of the books she’d read in the palace’s library. A small village, each house a cozy cottage with a thatched roof, filled with kind people: families, grandparents, children, a whole community, one who would welcome them in with open arms. Resh could take up their father’s business or maybe even return to carpentry, although she wasn’t certain he’d apprenticed long enough. 

A wave of longing for a life long gone washed over her, leaving behind slimy strands of loss and guilt. She pushed them away. Carr and her brother had those emotions covered in spades. 

She glanced up from her book at her brother. The dark circles under his eyes were deepening, looking like bruises that worsened with each day that passed. Carr had noticed them as well and clearly had as much clue about how to deal with her brother’s sleepless nights as she did. 

The guilt resurged; Carr thought she was at fault for what happened to Resh, but Orla knew better. Her brother had sold himself to the Crown for her, because she’d been ill. The words on the page before her blurred, so she looked out the carriage’s window instead, distracting herself with the view. 

Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves adorning the great trees of the Seleni Wood, leaves that were as big as her head. She’d found one on the ground and tested that claim, then rolled it up and stuck it in her bag to study closer later, fascinated with the white veins that contrasted sharply with the dark green of the rest of the leaf. Sturdy too, that leaf. The locals used them to wrap food they intended to smoke. 

Orla liked the Wood. The shade provided some relief from the oppressive warmth they’d found in the north, warmth that didn’t seem near to tapering off even though it was late summer.  

She would’ve liked to live here, but none of the towns or villages west of the Wood had been suitable. The people had either been too insular or downright hostile, so they were heading back east. Weeks of travel had dampened Orla’s initial excitement as much as her brother’s declining state. Nothing was as she had imagined, and she had an active imagination. 

Like now. She had to be imagining all those eyes glinting out of the undergrowth as they passed by on what felt like increasingly unstable ground. It was bad enough that she closed her book and replaced it in her bag, right in time for the carriage to lurch to the side, slamming her into the wall with a squeak of surprise. 

“The fuck!” Carr shouted. 

Orla was impressed at how quickly Carr roused from her nap to full awareness, anchoring herself before she could be tossed from the bench seat. The carriage picked up speed, and the wood creaked, protesting the increased pace. Resh and Carr exchanged a loaded glance. 

“What is it?” Orla asked, her voice cracking as the carriage pitched again. 

Resh caught her arm before she could hit the wall a second time–Orla was thankful, her shoulder already throbbing from her previous impact. He said something to her, but she wasn’t very good at lipreading, despite Carr’s efforts–something with a b, and the rest was lost; she shook her head, wiping her sweaty palms on her skirts. 

He shoved himself in the corner, one arm on each wall, one foot on the ground with the other on the bench. Then he moved, pointing to her. Oh. Brace yourself, maybe? Orla followed her brother’s example, clenching her teeth to keep from biting her tongue when the carriage bounced roughly again. 

Sometime during that demonstration, Carr had put her boots back on and opened the sliding door to the front. 

“We bein chased?” Carr asked the driver. 

The rest of the conversation faded to the background as Orla caught a glimpse of a bearded man on horseback through the opposite window, holding a bow. Rangers carried bows, Orla knew. Maybe this one needed their help with something? The carriage veered sharply then, and Resh lunged across the seats to stabilize Carr. 

The bearded man returned, slightly behind and to their left, but visible to Orla nonetheless. He smiled when he caught Orla’s gaze, and her eyes widened. She’d never seen a smile that looked less like one than his. A chill skittered down her spine, worsening when he pulled an arrow from what looked like out of nowhere and nocked it. 

She felt frozen, her muscles locked in place. Her throat closed up, refusing to let more than the barest whisper of air through, nowhere near the scream she wanted to loose. The arrow flew through the window, embedding in the wall right next to where her brother was holding Carr steady. Orla watched as a crimson stain spread on her brother’s upper arm. 

He grimaced, but the wound didn’t stop him from grabbing her and Carr and shoving them to the floor of the carriage. Orla curled into a ball, shivering. Why was this man chasing them? Was there only one, or were there others? The eyes she’d seen in the brush returned to haunt her with possibilities. 

“Damnit, Resh, I can help,” Carr snarled, popping back up to rummage through the compartment under her seat. 

But Resh spun, his hands going through one of the short, succinct signs Carr had taught them, one Orla recognized as ‘hold’. 

The sign wasn’t really necessary, though, not with her and Carr both staring at the purple glow overtaking Resh’s brown eyes. 

Orla gasped; it was the first time she’d seen him use his magic since he’d come back. She’d missed it. Missed the bond she’d shared with her brother because of it.  

When she was little more than a toddler, she’d been more fascinated by the pretty purple light than the blocks Resh would float in the air for her entertainment. It was their secret, he would tell her as he built impossibly high towers for her to knock down. 

It was their secret, he’d whisper, when he’d return with some fruit or bread at the end of a miserable, rainy day spent cowering under an alcove, hoping no one would kick them out for loitering.

Their secret, when he’d brush what remained of her hair out of her face, allowing just a hint of purple to shine in his eyes because he knew she loved it so. 

Later, when the queen had deemed her well enough to resume her schooling, she’d learned more about magic. About how dangerous it had been to be a mage in Elysia. How it was still dangerous, the population’s opinion on magic widely divided. 

This must be bad if it wasn’t their secret anymore. 

“Orla.” 

A hand patted her cheek with stinging force, just short of a slap. She blinked, feeling confused until the carriage tilted crazily again. Her arms shot out, bracing against the seats. 

“You can’t freeze up, Orla,” Carr said, grabbing her hand and pressing a dagger into it. 

The leather-wrapped handle felt foreign in her hand. It felt wrong, and she wanted to drop it. The look Carr leveled at her changed her mind, her fingers tightening around the hilt almost on their own. 

“If anyone comes near you, stick that in them, hard, as hard as you can, you hear? Then you run. Run as if your life depends on it.” 

“Who…” Orla’s mouth was far too dry. She watched, wide-eyed, as Carr pulled dagger after dagger out of the compartment, strapping them on. She always had the ones in her thigh sheaths, but now there were two hidden beneath her boots, two strapped to her wrists, one–Orla blinked. Where had that one gone? Or that other… 

“Why do you have so many knives?” she asked, feeling her eyes getting wider and wider with each weapon Carr withdrew. 

Orla glanced around, wondering if her brother knew about all this, but he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there he wasn’t there! Her breathing sped up, wondering if he’d been shot again, but then her eyes snagged on the opening to the front of the carriage. Had he climbed through that? It didn’t look nearly big enough…

“It’s gonna be alright,” Carr said, strapping something around Orla’s waist before taking the dagger she’d given her back.  

An ominous creak sounded as the carriage bounced extra hard–followed by a nasty-sounding crack. The carriage listed heavily to the side, and Orla bit back a scream, held by the steadiness in Carr’s eyes even though her heart pounded. Her hand felt empty, and she suddenly wished to have the dagger back, craved its security even though she had no idea how to use it. 

“It’s gonna be alright,” Carr said again, sliding the blade into the sheath at Orla’s hip. 

Orla sucked in a breath, feeling a little better with the weight at her side. She stared at Carr, repeating her words in her head, over and over. It’s gonna be alright It’s gonna be alright It’s gonna– 

The glow of Resh’s magic grew brighter, stronger, illuminating the entire cabin in lavender. Thank gods, he really was still there. It’s gonna be alright. Her brother would protect them. Whatever was happening, if the carriage crashed, his power would keep them safe. It’s gonna be alright.

Carr turned to look at him, and Orla found herself mimicking her motions, relieved to see Resh’s face peering into the cabin. It’s gonna… 

Someone screamed as an arrowhead broke through Resh’s shoulder, jutting out from under his collarbone in a flash of crimson and silver. 

No! Nononono… a high-pitched whine filled the cabin as her brother’s body sagged against the opening, blood staining his torn tunic. It was supposed to be alright! It still could be, right? Right?

But the purple light flickered, and the carriage lurched again, the motion flinging Orla back against the wall. It kept tilting until it seemed she was weightless, the world beyond the window a smear of green and brown. Carr reached for her, her body floating within the remnants of Resh’s fading magic. 

This is not alright, Orla wailed in her mind as she careened past Carr but somehow stopped short of the opposite wall. Fingers grasped Orla’s flailing hands when she flew back in the other direction–Carr, dragging her closer, her mouth moving. She was trying to speak, but Orla couldn’t hear her through the terrible noises the carriage was making. Through the terrible noises she was making. 

Carr’s arms curled around her shoulders, hugging her tight right before…

Purple light shattered. 

Wood shattered. 

Orla’s world shattered.

~~~

Carr

Carr stifled her groan as she came to, unsure of her surroundings or why her body ached so bad. 

The floor felt soft beneath her, the scent of crushed grass and moist earth filling her nostrils. 

Not the floor then. The ground. She was outside? 

Her eyes snapped open. Outside. Bandits, chasing them. She raised a hand to her head, met a sticky patch of half-dried blood above her eyebrow. Well, that explained why that part of her hurt. 

Wherever she was, it was dark. She listened, but aside from the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, everything was quiet. Unnaturally so. The bandits–ah, right. The carriage–it had crashed, flinging her and Orla around like ragdolls. 

Flashes of memory assailed her. Resh’s magic, surrounding them, cushioning them from the worst of the damage. The cabin splintering apart, Resh’s magic fracturing, Carr’s arms surrounding the small, frail form of Resh’s sister. 

Desperate to shield her when they were flung from the cabin, Carr had called earth, and it had answered. The impact had still been enough to knock her out, though. She hoped Orla had survived. 

And Resh–his face as that arrow went through his shoulder. How had he managed the strength to shield them after that? Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She would make no assumptions. Having been through this once already, Carr told herself she could do it again. She’d find him alive again. She would.   

Clenching her jaw, Carr dug her fingers into the ground and stared up at the weave of greenery above her that she could just make out. Vines. She’d cocooned herself in vines. 

She waited a few minutes, listening. Were the bandits still around? But she heard nothing except the sound of the wildlife slowly picking up its natural rhythm again. Good enough. The light still streaming through the forest’s canopy stabbed into her eyes as she pulled the vines back.  

Her head throbbed, but the ache wasn’t too bad. She lay still for a few moments anyway, letting her eyes adjust. The light was weak and patchy but not too much different from before, which meant she hadn’t been out for long. Hopefully. 

Okay, enough with the waiting. Carr pushed herself up to find she was laying in a small patch of undergrowth, and… oh, thank fuck. Orla was splayed out next to her; if Carr had reached out inside her cocoon, she probably could’ve touched her.

The girl looked pale, too pale. Carr held her breath, waiting… there! Her chest rose and fell ever so slightly. Thank the gods. 

“Orla?” she whispered, reaching out to touch the girl’s cheek. 

Her eyes fluttered at the contact, but she didn’t wake. Fuck. Carr supposed she could leave the girl here; she’d be safe within the vines, provided she didn’t make too much noise, but what if Orla woke and was scared? 

Carr didn’t have an answer for that, so she spent a few more minutes trying to rouse her. Just as she was about to give up, Orla whimpered. 

“Orla?” Carr said, feeling a little desperate at this point. “C’mon, kid, I need you to wake up.” 

“Lemme sleep,” Orla mumbled, swatting her away. 

“No can do. We gotta move. Can you sit up for me? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t… think so? But my brain feels scrambled,” Orla complained, finally cracking open her eyes. “What… where? Ugh, we crashed?” The girl winced as she sat up, her breath coming too fast. “Resh!” 

Carr peered at her pupils, relieved to find them an equal size. “Yeah, we crashed. Can you walk? We need to find him.” 

Now that Resh’s sister was awake, Carr burned with the need to find him, make sure he was still alive and stayed that way. Hopefully, the bandits had raided the remains of their carriage and left him lying in a ditch somewhere. Hopefully, one of the horses could be found. Hopefully, the sun wouldn’t set for a few hours yet. 

Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. 

Orla was a little unsteady but able to walk. Thank fuck. Carr guided her, sticking to the underbrush for cover as she searched for the crash site. It didn’t take long to find; she followed a trail of splintered wood until she found the twisted, shattered mess of wood and metal at the bottom of a hill. 

She stopped, looking up at the bank, then over her shoulder where she and Orla had been thrown. Without Resh, without her using earth at the last moment, they would have died, Carr had no doubt. A sudden stab of fear pierced her chest; had Resh saved any of his magic for himself? 

“Oh gods,” Orla whispered behind her. 

Resh had shown Carr, over and over, that he didn’t give a shit about himself as long she was safe. Add his sister into the equation… 

“We need t’ find Resh. Now,” Carr said, her voice harsh.  

Orla started crying. “How could he survive that?” 

“He’s alive,” Carr said. “Has t’ be.” 

She sent Orla to search the immediate area around the carriage, then started climbing the hill, which was steep enough that she was forced to use elemental earth to aid her. Maybe he’d jumped before the carriage tumbled down. Maybe that’s why his magic had broken. He’d be up there, hurt, sure, but alive, waiting for help to come. 

She wouldn’t accept any other possibility, not until she was presented with his cold, lifeless body, and maybe not even then. 

Next

Image Description

[ID: The banner is a blue-green background, with tree branches arching over a set of blue-green eyes, forming an approximation of a face. The words Hidden Depths are written in white above the eyes. Any other images are purely decorative lines. end ID]

[cchickki]

"About the Blogger" Meme

Thanks for tagging me @currymanganese! ❤️ sorry i'm doing this super late ugh

Star Sign(s):

virgo sun, pisces moon, capricorn rising (i can list my entire chart if anyone is interested lol)

Favorite Holidays:

i'm not religious but i absolutely love christmas. my favorite time of year and favorite holiday. i get depressed whenever it's over and i have to take the decorations down.

Last Meal:

i think a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. i was craving it lol

Current Favorite Musician:

lana del rey and kendrick lamar! i listen to a lot of music and all different genres, but those are my go to. there's something about fantastic writing/wordplay and production across both of their genres that just inspires me and transports me to a different place when i listen.

if anyone is interested, my spotify profile is here: (x)

When the Tigers Broke Free by Pink Floyd

The Wall is one of my favorite albums!

Last Movie Watched:

Everything Everywhere All At Once

i'm so glad i finally got to watch this movie, it was incredible. although watching it with my boomer dad at parts was awkward (aka the butt plug part lmaoooo)

Last TV Show Watched:

oh man, still trying to finish Succession, my husband is dragging his feet with it even though we both are enjoying it. finished The Boys almost 2 months ago, need to start Gen V soon. i'm bad at finishing shows, unless they're mini series.

Last Book/Fic Finished:

i recently reread Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, the prequel to The Hate U Give. i haven't finished any of my fics in awhile, except for the two mini requests from my friend @chrissymodi-frost.

Last Book/Fic Abandoned:

oh boy... i've got quite a few i'm struggling to get through... just look at my ao3 and you can see how bad my writer's block has gotten lately :(

Currently Reading:

rereading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas <3

Last Thing Researched for Art/Writing/Hyperfixation:

i graduated in may 2023 with my art history degree, so i was deep into ancient egyptian history and art, and had to write a hefty 20 page paper on german painter Albrecht Dürer. my most recent hyperfixation was the uncharted games again, so while writing i was researching the Hoysala empire

Favorite Online Fandom Memory:

first joining tumblr and meeting so many friends on here. but i'll tell you back in 2013 when the citadel dlc for mass effect launched, that was an incredible build up and very fun few months.

Favorite Old Fandom You Wish Would Drag You Back In/Have A Resurgence:

not really an "old" fandom, but i was HEAVY into spiderverse over the summer, met some great mutuals through it. i still spiderverse, but don't feel as fixated with it at the moment. the fandom was kind of annoying with some people's think pieces, not gonna lie, and kind of turned a few of us off from it. i'm sure it'll have another "resurgence" when the next movie Beyond the Spiderverse comes out!

Favorite Thing You Enjoy That Never Had an Active or Big "Fandom" but You Wish It Did:

most recently the movie The Creator! movie was so visually stunning, with great/powerful themes, and one of my favorite tropes: found family (kinda) with a father/daughter dynamic. not enough people liked it/saw it which sucks, so the fandom is pretty much non existent for it. i want more art and fanfics from it! i'm going to be buying it soon, that way i can get inspirited and hopefully create more for it!

Tempting Project You're Trying to Reign In/Don't Have Time For:

i was working on creating a real-life version of nate's notebook from uncharted 4. it's taking a lot of time, and is quite an undertaking so i had to take a break from it. i do want to continue it though!

no pressure tags (sorry if you were already tagged!): @mothertodaughters, @chrissymodi-frost. @malabadspice, @not-those-kids, @durrtydawg, @lilylavender, @lilsnatch, @libertatias, @xinamiguel, @georgieluz, @distantsonata, @soft-girl-musings (and anyone else who wants to! sorry i'm trying to remember all my moots tumblr names)

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars Ahsoka: "Dreams and Madness" - Review

Ahsoka's penultimate chapter is a fun and action packed outing that delights even as it does relatively little with plot or character.

As the New Republic debates Hera Syndulla's future, Ahsoka and Huyang arrive at the ancient world of Peridia in the hopes of rescuing their friends and preventing Thrawn's return to the galaxy at large.

I remarked last week that Eman Esfandi's portrayal of Ezra Bridger felt like a pitch perfect adaptation of the character's beloved appearance in Star Wars Rebels. In many ways, "Dreams and Madnesss" feels like an extended episode of Rebels. We get lots and lots of big flashy set pieces, cute alien sidekicks, heroic banter, Admiral Thrawn scheming in the backdrop, and even a somewhat optimistic ending.

In a way, it feels like writer and showrunner Dave Filoni is throwing a bone to fans of these characters and providing the fun, light on its feet outing that many have been missing in the long five years since Rebels' conclusion. And for much of its runtime, "Dreams and Madness" (which may be the most strangely titled outing that this series has had so far) serves up a healthy serving of flashy sci-fi spectacle. There's daring chases through alien minefields, a great chase sequence of bandits riding on Howler's trying to attack the adorable Noti in their shell-mobile-homes, and, of course, a marathon of Stormtrooper smashing, blasting, and slicing. Our heroes think of creative ways to outwit their enemies and even when things seem dire, they come out on top with a smile. Director Geeta Vasant Patel keeps the action moving and the pacing light and things never once feel like they are dragging their feet.

There's likely a reason this week's episode is so relatively lean and playful. It seems very likely that Filoni and the rest of Ahsoka's creative team are allowing us one glimpse of joy before letting all of this week's optimism shatter in what seems to be a very dramatic and eventful finale. I mean, floating beneath Ezra and Sabine's interactions is the true nature of how she found her way to Peridea and the revelation that Ezra's many years long sacrifice is about to be undone. This is all speculation of course. It feels like the right storytelling move to justify why an episode so late in the season should feel so relatively shallow and lacking in consequence, but we can't know for sure until we actually have seen what is to follow. As it stands, "Dreams and Madness" just has to be accepted at face-value: fun but in the end uninterested in really pushing its characters or narrative.

The one area where this doesn't seem to be the case is with our two Dark Side mercenaries, Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati. Here, Baylan abandons Shin, announcing that his true mission must take him elsewhere. There's no room for his apprentice's ambition and lofty goals of ruling as part of Thrawn's resurgent Empire in Baylan's vision. It's a relatively unceremonious parting which in a way makes Shin's confusion and uneasy behavior throughout the rest of "Dreams and Madness" feel so powerful. Shin has never seemed like a particularly stable person and without the grounding force of her master, she quickly seems unsure and out of her depth. Ivanna Sakhno wonderfully portrays Shin's discomfort and fear wonderfully here and her fleeing from her former enemies when offered a hand of grace is a powerful moment and some of the strongest acting this series has shown so far.

Baylan is another story. I love Ray Stevenson in this role, but I'm growing a bit tired of the teasing. Yes, we know something big bad and scary is coming down the line. Yes, I'm excited to see it. But at this point, Baylan's secret quest is joining the "what the hell was Ahsoka up to in the ten years prior to this series" category of annoyingly vague storytelling. If we don't get some kind of answer or resolution in the finale I'm going to break into Dave Filoni's home and make me watch as I eat his cowboy hat.

Separate from all the action on Peridea, "Dreams and Madness" also begins with a cold open depicting Hera Syndulla's court-martial. It's still not covering much of the way of anything new. Kazuda Xiono's dad is still a blowhard, the events of Mandalorian season three are acknowledged in passing, and the threat of Thrawn or an Imperial Remnant are ignored. (It'll honestly end up being hilarious if the New Republic disastrously underestimated the threat of a resurgent Empire two different times in its existence.) The decision to have Leia come to the rescue via C-3PO is a smart and logical move here. I don't quite buy the logic that every major event in the galaxy post-Return of the Jedi demands some sort presence from the Original Trilogy's trio, but it does feel a bit strange that Leia's opinions regarding her former friend and ally's court martial wouldn't matter. Having C-3PO (complete with Anthony Daniels's voice!) waddle onto camera and deliver a last minute message of exoneration is a great work around and helps avoid much of the ghoulish digital trickery that Lucasfilm has been too happy to play with in recent years. It's not a trick that will work that often.

And so with a surprisingly happy note, we arrive at the big finale. Ahsoka has a lot on its plate to resolve and answer and don't count as me optimistic that Filoni will be able to stick the landing, but I've been proven wrong before. Let's see how this goes.

Score: B

[system-of-a-feather]

Bless the caretaker-like parts in our system - myself included. Autistic communication issues and a neurotypical (well intended) "up by the boot straps" boomer for a mentor at work has spawned a really passively triggering situation socially that some deep part from the other side system (probably) is really set off by and randomly the body just has this sense of dread and flight instinct that just is urging us to pivot plans, find a different new job, and flee the issue when its HONESTLY not that big of an issue and not that atypical of one NOR an issue we don't have the communication coping skills and what not to handle

But even so, the triggered terror of the mysterious passive influencing part is real and its taxing (and also keeping me somewhat up rn, Im gonna do our protocol for calming to sleep when triggered since we do need to get a decent number of hours to actually set us up for a good day at work tomorrow so we can handle it) and so Lin and I have been floating around the front especially when it gets set off to just calmly reassure them that it is fine, it is relatively a normal work stressor, and that we are more than capable of handling it without making any sudden life plan switch ups and even if we NEEDED to switch it up, we are more thab capable of doing that too.

That said the resurgence of overt trauma symptoms is a bitch when your system has only had moderate and light trauma centered symptoms for a hot minute. How the FUCK was this our GREAT days like 4-6 years ago.

How the FUCK was our standard day like at least twice as rough as today has been, which has been one of the hardest in what I WANT to say is 6 months (XIV might argue otherwise but its at the very least Up There)

*exasperated sigh* At least we are fluctuating between surviving and living which all things considered is not that bad even if it fluctuates WITHIN the day and causes whiplash.

but gooooood the "just survive" crash when you havent been operating in survival mode much lately

Shit sucks man.

[marley-manson]

3, 5, 6, and 14 for movie asks and i may be back with more ✨️

3. What is a film you absolutely despise and why?

Hmm I can think of a few answers here.

One is Antichrist, which I despise because it's an extremely well-made and engaging movie that's just absolutely wildly misogynist. Not in a women being objectified and mistreated by the narrative way, but literally in a 'the thesis statement of this movie is that women are evil' way lol, featuring certain essentialist masculine and feminine stereotypes taken to extremes. It's Lars Von Trier's divorce movie iirc so yeah. Anyway I hate it personally because I had to watch it for 2 different film studies courses, and the second time I intended to bounce bc I didn't care to watch it again but it's unfortunately so well-made it suckered me into staying, so I have extra resentment towards it for that lol.

Another is Four Christmases because my sister likes those obnoxious 00s comedies and due to circumstances beyond my control I've found myself sitting through it with her like 3 separate times. It's just grating as hell. This is my petty pick.

And I'll finish with Crash (2004). I don't watch a lot of oscar nominated white dude takes on racism but I happened to see this one and good lord it was horrifyingly bad. From the cop apologia to the cardboard cut-out stereotypes to the both sidesism to framing racism as an unfortunate tragedy that's no one's fault rather than a system perpetuated by those with privilege to, most horrifyingly, depicting a rapist as heroic including using the image of his heroism in promotional materials, it was practically a lesson in how bad a critically acclaimed movie could be. And like I recognize that it was trying to be ~morally grey~ with that rapist thing lol but it failed completely. The message was 'despite the assault this guy is still heroic' and not 'despite saving his victim's life this dude is still a fucking racist rapist.'

5. What is your favorite genre of film?

Oof idk, I'm open to almost all genres if it's a good movie. I love genre as a concept and film theory in and of itself, like any film is worth watching if it's a well-known pillar or deconstruction of or twist on its genre. lol I guess maybe I'll say satire? I love commentaries and stories that are responding to something, and satire is a really strong hook for me.

6. What is your least favorite genre of film?

het romcom. I don't hate every single one I've ever seen, but it's a very high percentage lmao, especially if we specify the late 80s/90s resurgence. And of the ones I like, it's always because there's something else going on with the story that's more interesting and lets me tolerate the romance.

14. Who is your favorite director? Why?

I'm not actually much of a cinephile so there aren't a lot of directors whose work I follow, and none whose oeuvre I've fully completed, so I have no solid answer. Most directors I'm into have films I love and films that don't particularly appeal.

That said, my answer right now is Billy Wilder. Every Billy Wilder movie I've seen is an instant fave, and he has a recurring vibe that strongly appeals to me. Wry cynicism, dark humour, and usually some exploration of gender roles/subverted masculinity. Plus just solid, iconic filmmaking. If I was making a list of directors whose work I'd be willing to go full completionist on, his would be at the top of the list.

Thank you!

[anonthefold]

I've been playing a lot of Ana and Kiriko lately. I mean A L O T. I have one gripe that is unique to them versus Brig and Moira. My first priority is to keep the team out of critical health, not necessarily topped off just enough that they can take damage and I can do damage before healing again. Their heals are more targeted. Kiriko can fan ofuda but you generally want 3-5 on a critical ally to get them into safe. Ana is one to two scoped shots. They have very little aoe outside of nade and suzu. I will use those on allies when absolutely necessary but ideally I want to hold them for cleanse and the enemy. There has been a resurgence of fairly new players it would seem lately and it is giving me a literal headache how much damage they are taking. It is absolutely miserable. I am not heal botting but all my uptime is spent keeping people alive and it is a waste of my own potential and how I'm learning the heroes. My last game I had to nano boost the Zen TWICE because if I didn't he would have died. I had more elims, damage, and healing than him which isn't surprising but it is just really draining to be the babysitter when I want to improve my aim on live targets, my positioning ( I'm be relegated to taking bad positioning to even be able to see the teammates), as well as my utility. I even had the Zen asked "whhhhhhy Ana did you nano me?"

Like, my guy, little bald robot friend, floating monk of enabling eliminations, you were next to the tank and I have pumped my last three shots of my rifle into you so you don't become a pile of scrap. It would have been better for the genji to get the nano but here we are solo supporting the team while you run around town in daddy's new convertible carefree. But I digress... I could have just ignored it. I could have done all the things I wanted to do and, yes people would have fallen over in record breaking time, lose the game. I ultimately don't care because it is quick play but it is so groan inducing going from one extreme to the other.

[newhologram]

New's Ketamine Diary 10.27.22 Underworld

Been almost a month since my last k + health update.

I waited 13 days for my next dose. I still felt great mentally and emotionally despite a resurgence of anxiety lately. Likely a combination of world events + new pain meds + changes happening around me. But no PMS depression. I had been feeling kind of emotional and was cranky last week but I was also kinda burnt out and stressed in general.

It's still so weird to go so long without my intense feelings of hopelessness. Especially considering things going on in the world. I feel so much deep sadness and anger, but that's more helplessness, I guess.

It felt like much longer than 13 days and the trip was definitely a little more intense, but not overwhelming. Very melty. I can't remember any visuals but there was a really good internal conversation about my future that made me feel excited.

The energy I feel lately is very much "Eight of Wands" in the tarot. Path is cleared and there are so many options for me to choose from. Easy to get overwhelmed, but also just really exciting.

After this one I waited a full 14 days. I was worried it'd be rough because of a recent death of a friend. I'm realizing it's the first time I've lost a friend and it's been a lot to process. The trip itself was fine, quite positive actually. But afterward I felt really dizzy and sick for a few hours.

The night before my next dose (15 days later), I narrowly avoided a random panic attack. It came out of my body from nowhere, like suddenly I was in danger. I wasn't able to take my rescue meds to calm it since I was already on pain meds from earlier but I got it managed with acupressure mat, deep breathing, etc.

With a lot more recent triggers, the k session was a little bit of a rough one. I was thrown into the late 80's and it was very film-like. I can't remember much of the trip, but it was definitely a lot of processing and releasing.

I stayed put in bed but even just shifting my position made me sick. I forgot my puke bowl so I had to crawl to the sink. Vomiting is still so weird on k. It's not as unpleasant since I'm dissociated but it's still gross.

It took me a few more hours to recover. I'm now reclined at my desk but not feeling well enough to eat more than a few pickled plums. All out of salt and vinegar chips, which are the healing elixir I crave after ketamine therapy.

The past month has been mostly a dissociated blur. Moving between anxiety, grief, rage, pain. Definitely burn-out from working myself too hard. But not depression and hopelessness. Yes, I want my physical and emotional pains to end but life is still worth living if they don't. I feel very excited for things to come, for a future I can grasp, and that motivates me to keep fighting for health care so that I CAN do what I want to do.

Still waiting to hear about the grievance that was filed for my thoracic MRI, but I did catch up with my PCP. She can't refill my Tramadol since my pain mgmt doc is giving me Suboxone. Tbh I hate the latter. It's stronger, sure, but it makes me sicker. Can't sleep, eat, go number two… I don't want to JUST be on that stuff. So my PCP is going to try to refer me to a pain mgmt doc who has experience with Tramadol (most I've seen don't prescribe it anymore at all). She said that she trusts I'm not abusing it since she knows how painful my conditions are and that the rate of my refills indicates I really am only using it for "bad days."

Still trying to make appt with new GI. Colitis has been really good lately though, I'm managing it well with my new supplement and pate routine. Period is supposed to be due today, so we'll see if I survive it since I can't take Suboxone or Tramadol on a ketamine day. Whoops.

[yeleltaan]

//Hello everyone! Alright, here’s an update on things:

I’ve got one more exam to do before I’m done. The good news is that I’ve got plenty time to prepare it, and I’ve decided I’m not going to wait until then to do the things I want to do. That being said, I know it’s going to take me a little while to truly pick up the pace here and I’d like to give a little priority to adopting some healthy habits and improving my lifestyle.

There’s one thing I wanted to address though. I realize that I haven’t really engaged much with the dash and most blogs, both the newcomers and the returning faces (which, by the way, I’m very glad to see back- seriously, it’s lovely to see characters embark on new stories when they seemed to have reached a conclusion, and watching writers come back to the fandom after some time away).

Truth is, I’ve found the dash overwhelming lately. This comes partially from me being too busy to engage, and therefore experiencing something like FOMO because I can’t quite keep up with stuff and be a part of it. The Soulsborne RP community is either getting bigger or becoming more visible to me, and that’s great, but it does also present a challenge to me because if I’m engaged in your character and/or blog, I want to see what you do! I want to see all these things you’ve put effort into, I want to give you feedback, send an ask here and there, have my muse interact with yours!

If I give your post a like, I haven’t just looked at it. If it’s a drabble/headcanon/thread, I’ve read it and re-read it to get a good understanding of it and try to find whatever clues or references you’ve put in there. Perhaps it’d be better for me and the other mun if I gave likes more liberally, but I don’t know, it’s important to me that if I give your post a like, I’ve genuinely had a moment where I’ve stopped and paid attention to nothing but that exact post.

Anyways, where I’m getting with this is that I do feel rather bad that I haven’t quite been able to... welcome? you with the attention and energy I would have liked to have given you. I hope that despite the delay with which I approach you or continue our interactions, we can make up for lost time later.

I’m unsure how I’m going to handle this. I don’t intend to unfollow anyone because of this, as my issue isn’t a lack of interest but my difficulty displaying it and putting it into practice. I do think I’m going to keep a fairly passive attitude (for now) when it comes to seeking new RP partners though, because I cannot comfortably seek and approach some of the blogs I’ve seen mutuals interact with when I’m already struggling to give my time to said mutuals. I’ll still be happy to plot and write interactions with blogs that approach me though.

Anyways, thank you for your patience once more and hopefully it won’t take long for you to see me more here. May things go well for you!

[genderisareligion]

The Twilight series featured a man stalking the female lead, pushing her away from her friends and family, disabling her car, and continuing to have sex with her WHEN SHE WENT UNCONSCIOUS and the author portrays any female characters that aren't passive and demure enough as being the bad guys but I guess that's fine because a woman wrote it. Fucking woke people

Wait do the woke uphold Bella and Edward as a progressive relationship? Cause I thought the Twilight resurgence was just a meme lol

I don't remember much about those books but I read them about twice, once when they first came out in my early teens and later I re-read one or two in my late teens, and I was definitely more put off by Edward the second time than I had been

Patriarchy really tries to make sure girls think the "relentless pursuer" is "romantic" so much so that even women write about it as if it is

[tellmegoodbye]

Harley are you up very late?? I feel that you ought to be asleep by now. It's morning here! But in any case, questions:

1) How did you meet your girlfriend?

2) Middle part or side part? Or, ZIG-ZAG part, the chaotic late 90s resurgence option.

3) Are you a breakfast skipper? Or is breakfast absolutely necessary?

🖖🙃

Hello! It's 7am here actually. Though I won't lie, I have been up for quite a bit. Stress tends to kill my sleep schedule (long story) I did get some sleep though. No worries. ^_^

1. Well this is definitely a story! Okay, so we met back in 2017. I was following her on wattpad (yes, I know, this was before I had moved to ao3) and I was lowkey obsessed with the fic she was writing. She's a really good writer and she's the one who inspired me to start writing my own fic! Anyway, after a while of me stalking, I mean, ghosting her, we eventually got to talking. We became best friends pretty quickly and we met in person for the first time in summer of 2018. One month later, and exactly a year after we spoke for the first time (august 12th) she asked me to be her girlfriend. So we're coming up on our four year anniversary this year. 💖

I will admit, the long distance is hard. With her living in Canada and me in Florida we only get to see each other a couple times a year, and when covid hit we were separated for 17 months. But hopefully we won't be long distance for much longer because she's applying to a university in my city and once she gets in she'll be able to move down here. So I'm very excited for that!

2. Uhhh, middle? I think? Sometimes side, but I don't know I never give my hairdresser any specifications cause I never get anything more than a trim. I know next to nothing about hair styles. 😂

3. I'm guilty of skipping breakfast, although I hate doing it. Usually it happens when I sleep in but unless I'm really low on energy that day I'd still get some cereal or something. I'm actually guilty of skipping 2 and sometimes even all 3 meals throughout the day which is very bad but if I'm stressed and sleeping through the day it's difficult for me to remember to eat. Breakfast is very necessary though and if I'm feeling fine and my sleep is normal I always try to eat something.

[sokkastyles]

Hey, I tried to send this earlier, but my WiFi was acting weird and I don't if it really sent. Anyway, if it is with the Netflix live-action or the Avatar Studios thing, I don't think anything will really come out of either of them. Aside from that the Studios feel like another one of Br*ke's tantrums for keeping their spotlight — which is EXACTLY how the live-action with Netflix was born — what's left to continue the story? The comics with nonsensical plot and almost no action scenes whatsoever? Aren't Br*ke the ones who are always saying Book 3's finale was an ABSOLUTE ending? Everybody is worried saying "this IS happening" and I'm "yeah, the live-action with Br*ke on board was ALSO happening, and now it WON'T happen and never will." As for Netflix, I think it's only a matter of time before they realize how difficult it is to recreate bending and more. I mean, I rather watch a reboot than a continuation that apparently not even the creators' wanted, but everything surrounding new ATLA projects lately has been so secrecy and hyped to only show little results.

I just got home from work and saw both asks.

I mean, I feel like I’m looking at this from a different perspective than a lot of fans because I didn’t grow up with the show, I watched it last year, and I loved it, but I’m an adult and don’t really have the time or energy to expend on more content that isn’t going to be high quality, and that’s why I didn’t bother with LoK or the comics, and why I’m not particularly interested in anything else coming out. I only read fanfic if it’s well-written, which is also why I’m immune to all the “Zutara shippers always do (x bad trope)” because like...okay, but if it’s bad...don’t read it...? I’ve seen bad fics, sure, but then I press the back button and find something I do like. I don’t care about the new shows but I’m also not going to criticize people who did grow up with the show for being excited about more content.

I will say though that adapting a show like this for live action had “bad idea” written all over it from the beginning, because part of the big appeal of ATLA is the animation. Not just the bending, but the character designs and world are highly stylized. Animation is an artform that is getting less and less appreciation nowadays because of the need to make everything live action with computerized 3d.

I think the Avatar Studios thing is a better idea in theory, but it does seem bizarre and petty that they came out with this after Bryke left the live action, and it comes across as an attempt to steal back the spotlight, and to make money off of the show’s resurgence in popularity rather than any artistic or creative vision, so I don’t really trust it. I think there are additional stories to be told within that world, but given what we’ve seen come out already, I don’t have much hope for it. And like you said, the comics are bad in part because that story is already finished. That’s why they had to rehash old plotlines (is Zuko a bad guy or a good guy? Is Aang going to commit murder?) in ways that felt manufactured.

One good thing though that hopefully will come out of the live action (if it happens, like you I’m still not sure it will) is that if they adapt Aang’s noncon kiss of Katara and Mai telling Zuko to never break up with her in the year of our lord 2021 (or whenever it comes out), they’ll likely and rightly be skewered.

[omegangrins]

Chibnall, Children, Choice and Consequence

Allow me to introduce a companion piece to A Treatise on the Doctor:

It's pretty simple:

Chibnall knows what he's doing and is playing a long game to show how the Doctor needs to take more responsibility.

Let me start off with my favorite examples. That's right, plural.

Every single villain 13 faces is never defeated, merely pushed away from causing them any immediate problems. Tim Shaw being the prime example.

1&10. Seriously, Tim Shaw. Her plan was to use his own bombs on him and then teleport him off the planet. Even without Ranskoor Av Kolos, the Doctor should have thought to check in on him. Especially after The Ghost Monument showed the Stenza were a greater threat than she knew. She still hasn't even checked up on WHAT THE HELL THE STENZA ARE! They sound worse than Daleks but naw, let's go rain-bathing in the upper tropics of Canstano instead.

2. Ghost Monument. We saw the END of an interuniversal race. What the fuck is the beginning that got them there? Who is Illyn and how and why did he orchestrate a super race?

3. Krasko. Sent back in time. Really, Doc? Not gonna take a look at the device and see where Ryan sent the prick so you can double check that he's not gonna cause anymore damage?

4. President Trump analog. Ooooo, you looked at him menacingly, Doc, that'll show him!! Not like he's gonna KEEP DOING ILLEGAL SHIT LIKE THIS.

5. The Pting. She literally shunted it off ship to be dealt with by someone else BUT DOESN'T GO BACK TO BE THAT SOMEONE ELSE ONCE SHE HAS HER TARDIS. That's like leaving a living nuke floating around after sweeping it under the rug while you fly off to Paris.

6. The Pakistani-Indian conflict still happens and millions still die. Not her fault but still....

7. Kerblam. Sure, Charlie's terrorism was solved but not the underlying problem that led to it. Humans still can't work because corporations like profits over people.

8. Similar to the Punjab, how you gonna solve sexism, classism and all the -isms?

9. WHY WAS THE SOLITRACT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE??!! It's been around since before the universe. Why'd it decide to come back now? It's a whole universe trying to hug our universe to death. Maaaaaaybe we should check out why.

11. She's gets a pass on the Dalek. Fucking impossible to eradicate them.

12. The Master!!! Finally she checks up on something after the adventures... and it's horrible. With everything gone to shit in her absence. Seeing a pattern yet?

And Barton? And the Cassaven? They didn't disappear into smoke.

13. Multiple Earths being multiply fucked. Remember when I said the Doctor couldn't solve racism, classism, sexism, or any of the other -isms? Starting to look like she needs to TRY.

14. The Skithra FLY OFF after getting hit by a laser beam. That kind of thing tends to piss people off. Even if they're idiots using other's technology.

15. Jack. The Judoon. The Ruth Doctor. All things I'd start checking out if I had a time machine BUT

16. WE CAN'T cause the TARDIS emergency alert is going off and we need to hurry up and run and solve this problem before we run out of time in our TIME AND SPACE MACHINE. Leading to another problem the Doctor could help solve but won't. Plastic and over-consumption.

17. Oh yeah, let's trap two Eternals from another universe in the same place. There's NO WAY that could ever turn out bad.

18,19,20. And again. Cyberium. Pushed off Shelley onto herself and onto Ashad and onto The Master.

That's almost 20 "enemies" the Doctor still needs to deal with.

Oh, not to mention that they let UNIT go defunct because they didn't have the forethought to ask if they needed any money in their alien fighting budget. After asking for an office, a desk, and a job. Kinda funny that way, aren't they?

I hope by now you've gotten the idea that this is VERY deliberate. This is Chibnall laying down some very heavy pipe to smack the Doctor like a clothesline. There isn't a one of these situations that can't come around to bite her in the ass.

Barton, Roberts, Skithra. These are all very loose strands for a time traveller like the Doctor to get tripped up on. Chibnall's past episodes prove it. They're all about the Doctor learning how to take responsibility.

42: The Doctor almost gets Martha killed and almost gets himself killed trying to fix it.

The Hungry Earth: The Doctor (a thousand year old "adult") tells Elliot (a 10 year old kid) that "Sure it's totally fine to go get your headphones while we prepare for an approaching unknown alien force." And 11 rightfully gets his ass chewed for it by the child's mother when the kid goes missing because OF COURSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS, JACKASS!

Cold Blood: I could write an entire essay about the Doctor's guilt over the Silurian/Human conflicts they've witnessed, but I don't need to. Because every single Silurian centered episode written in the new era is from Chris Chibnall. And you can feel the sad knowledge of Classic Who spill through. He KNOWS how many times the Doctor has fucked up with the Silurians (about 8 times in television format. And it's rough everytime. Rough.) and he writes those episodes like an apology on behalf of the whole human race. And the Doctor. You know why people are put off by Warriors of the Deep? 5 releases a gas that melts the Silurians. And though it's cheesy, the idea and execution is still horrible.

Add to that if the Doctor hadn't stopped to check the crack, then Rory wouldn't have waited and been around to be shot then absorbed by the time crack.

Power of Three: An entire episode about how the Doctor has a problem slowing down and really taking account of the lives of their companions.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship: The Doctor actually tries to be responsible and pick the right people for a job. For once. But gets angry when they realize it's too late and there's another bunch of Silurians they failed to save. Classic!

Like I said, if you can't see the pattern, you're not paying enough attention to your responsibilites.

Which leads me to the why.

When you fly around time and space for thousands of years, you develop a few duties of care along the way. In every situation, you're the oldest. Technically the only adult in terms of experience. You have a responsibility to act a little less rude and be a bit more aware than needing cue cards to tell you that you should be sad about things around you. And that's the purpose of 13. She's unlucky but learning. Like 12 telling himself something with his face he couldn't say out loud, 13's instincts are leading her to a new place for the Doctor: being a caring, responsible person. Not so much laughing hard or running fast, but being kind. It's the one thing they recognized as a problem in themselves when seeing 1. Being a Doctor is about being kinder than that. Just because you HAVE to saw someone's leg off, that doesn't mean you can't wait a little and comfort them before you do it.

You wanna know what gave me every faith in Chibnall showrunning Doctor Who? 13 staying for Grace's funeral.

Do you understand how unprecedented that is? This is the same person who never said Goodbye to Jo Grant as she got married and fucked off into the night. The same Doctor who said, "I don't do domestic.", did it with Rose a regeneration later, and then closed himself off to everyone but a married couple he felt guilty about who ended up birthing his wife. Have you any idea the number of funerals the Doctor should have the common decency to sit through? This many.

So for 13 to stay around for the death of a woman she has only just met and not only that, BUT call out Ryan's father for not doing the same, it shows tremendous character growth. It's taken millennia but they're still changing.

Something similar happens with Rosa and The Witchfinders. Realizing that there a lot of companions who have been in situations that are sometimes worse than aliens, but they still manage to make it through. So she needs to buck it up and persevere for everyone else.

That's where her anger comes from, and really it's one of my favorite traits on her. It reminds me of 7. Someone impossibly old and impossibly kind saying to hell with it and at least having some fun with the evils who drag us through the universe. And just like Cartmel planned for 7, 13's past will come to haunt her.

That's where children come in. Most of us are crying babies to the Doctor.

There's this thing you notice most in British shows about answering the question directly as asked. Someone says "Are you sure?", you answer "Sure". That's a direct acknowledgement that you heard the question, understood it, and processed it enough to respond in a manner directly correlating to the question asked. Yas and Graham got it and said "Sure" but Ryan missed it and said "Deffo". This is like Elliot with the headphones. The Doctor should have immediately been like, "Okay, Ryan, it's obvious that you're still dealing with the trauma of your grandmother's death and probably not processing things on a logical level. I said "Are you sure?" Not "Are you deffo?" Because we are most definitely not deffo, Ryan. Graham, you wanna help here?"

I'm being sarcastic for points sake but you understand the idea. The Doctor knows better and has a responsibility as such. She should've really sat down with Ryan and Graham and seen if there was a better way to process their grief.

Because I'm fairly certain that "Deffo" is gonna lead to Ryan's death and Graham's cancer resurging as time cancer (I don't know what time cancer is. I just know it's bad.)

And that is gonna piss Yas off. Which will give you all that character you think she's missing (she isn't. Her character is in her subtleties and silences.). That's WHY her character is a police officer (like how does no else see that the man who wrote Broadchurch wrote an inspector character companion?) Imagine you're Yaz and you see the Doctor flying around in a big, magic box that says POLICE. As a fellow officer, you're gonna expect some basic safety protocols.

Like do a background check on everyone flying in the TARDIS to know whether they're stable enough (mentally, physically, emotionally) for time and space travel. It's no picnic. These people are going to go through hell. A little vetting and planning like Time Heist or Dinosaurs on a Spaceship goes a long way.

Secondly, full fucking disclosure.

"Oh. I can't die because I change my body. Oh. I have arch enemies that will try to kill and torture us any chance they get. Oh. My home planet is full of the biggest assholes in the universe and I'm including my arch enemies."

Third, police like to do this thing called "check-ups" where they go back to the scene of the crime in order to see if there is any more information that can be gleaned which you might not notice when you are busy running around trying not to be killed... Like, the Doctor has the perfect machine to do this with, but nope. Adventure done, run to the next place!!

These are all things you'd expect any reasonable person to do and say when taking others flying off into time and space and "helping". Even if they are an idiot passing through and learning. Especially when you consider the Doctor is vastly older and more experienced than everyone they encounter. They SHOULD know better. And they've got the lifespan to slow down. It's not like they need to be in a hurry because they're going to die at any moment like humans. The Doctor could easily stay for tea and it would be less than a drop in their lifespan.

Now, as usually is the case when I make these theories, I have a parts 1,2,3,4 and 6. There's allways this 5th piece I miss but I manage to get at the end.

But the 6th piece is the Timeless Child. The Doctor isn't a Time Lord anymore. They're not beholden to those people and ideas anymore. Even moreso, those people basically raped her childhood for their own gain so it's not like you'd really listen to them and their "policy of non-intervention".

I'm sensing a coming Trial of a Time Lord season (even believing these two seasons are the opening statement and preliminary evidence of the trial itself) wherein the Doctor finally gets the turnaround 6 deserved. A Trial of the Time Lords, if you will.

"In all my travels through time and space I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed here! The oldest civilization: decadent, degenerate and rotten to the core! Power mad conspirators? Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen — they're still in the nursery compared to us! Ten million years of absolute power: that's what it takes to be really corrupt!"

This is what it's all coming down to. Chibnall's takedown of the Time Lords. And The Master is going to play the most crucial role of all.

They're going to be revealed as an Ux alongside the Doctor and show how the only constants they have in this universe are each other and it's about damn time they work together and tell these high collars to eat Schitt while they explore every star and planet they can find.

Come on, the episode is called The Timeless "Children". If it was just the Doctor it'd be called "The Timeless Child". The Master says as much with the misdirect line, "built on the lie of the Timeless Child." since we see two kids playing in that flashback.

"Since always. Since the Cloister Wars, since the night he stole the moon and the president's wife, since he was a little girl. One of those was a lie, can you guess which one?"

Now we know which one was a lie, we know the Master HAS known the Doctor since they were a little girl. THAT little girl...

But this is all just speculation. It's not like Chris Chibnall could have been thinking about this for the past 40 years and was given a blank slate to do whatever he wanted for five years on his favorite TV show. If y'all want to think he took those reigns and is choosing to make things worse...

Well then you don't know much about responsibility.

I'll let the man himself tell you about it.

"Very early in my career,” says Chibnall, “someone told me that you learn more from a failure than you do from a success. And then I lived out that phrase for a year in Los Angeles. I learned that I would not work that way again or be put in that situation again.” The essential lesson was: “You either have to be in total control of a show or working with people who share your vision and will work with you to achieve it. Also, never work with 13 executive producers.

“Camelot was the classic case of too many cooks. It wasn’t a harmonious set-up and I think that does manifest itself on screen.

“I had a fantastic cast but you have to be free to tell the story you want to tell in the way that you want to tell it. What ended up on screen was not what I wanted and so it is a blemish on my CV.”

Credit to @thirteenthdoc

“You immortals - so entitled, so spoiled. You never clear up after yourselves and you always leave stuff lying around.” - Thirteenth Doctor in Can You Hear Me?

[tottwriter]

hi i'm sorry if u addressed this or not already ! but i was wondering if you're planning on ever finishing hope's fire + your other digimon fics? i don't have a tumblr/ao3 acct but hope's fire was (is) one of my favorite fics ever and i've honestly been going back to it regularly since you started it (aka for YEARS) to check for updates and to reread the chapters you've posted!! no pressure or anything, i was just curious!

Hi! I’m super sorry I didn’t get to this one sooner, I totally meant to answer straight away and then...well...lockdown. Permanent hometime with the Tottlets is not leaving me very much free time right now! First of all, can I just say that I am hugely grateful and delighted that you’ve enjoyed reading my story! It means so much to me that something I created has had such an affect on you, wow! Secondly...well, I tend not to write so much about my fanfic on this account. No worries that you asked here or anything! But I actually have a second tumblr where I talk more about fanfic-y things, and recently I did an ask game where I ended up talking a fair bit about Hope’s Fire! (It’s here if you’re on browser and can follow links: https://tottwritesfanfic.tumblr.com/post/615827789927612416/fanfic-authors-tag-game) The TL;DR of that if you don’t want to/can’t follow that is basically... I kinda end up working on HF quite regularly! Buuuut I’m a terrible perfectionist and rather than working on progress which people can read, I get distracted going back and tinkering with earlier chapter drafts. I’m a bad person, I know this.  I also just got off the back of two years of Extreme Stress And Bad Times. This was meant to be my writing resurgence but...well. Now I have full-time Tottlets, as mentioned, and finding a quiet space to work is much harder when they’re here, and also need both my PC and my laptop simultaneously to do their schoolwork! The short short version of this answer is that no! I haven’t given up on them! I really do want to finish them someday (and i was actually tinkering with Metanoia the other day as well). But unfortunately, between other writing commitments and a general void of writing time right now, I can’t really give even a ballpark estimate of when I’ll be able to post a new chapter. I’d like to make enough progress to at least get a couple of updates together, but to be honest, at this point as soon as something’s finally ready to go I’m not gonna hold back. I miss my Digimon stories so much, and particularly with all the Adventure revival lately I’ve really wanted to get back into it all.