#go back to iOS 16

[enjoysoftware]

How to Downgrade/Remove iOS 17 Beta to iOS 16 without iTunes

[bibleofficial]

i just think it’s funny that raspberry pi seems to plan their releases around that of apple’s

[silverskye13]

Hello everyone today I am nitpicking a book.

Recently I joined a local book club [very excited to be going to an in-person one!] and their monthly reading was Red Rising by Pierce Brown, a book published back in 2014. This is a book that's been recommended to me a thousand times now by the various reading apps I've collected, but I have shied away from committing to it because it's marketed as a Hunger Games style Dystopia, except in space. And, as someone who wasn't a big fan of The Hunger Games when I read them, I didn't feel like opening the can of worms.

Now, Red Rising surprised me by how much I ended up liking it -- though I did spend 90% of the book screaming I'm sorry these kids are all 16?! They do not act like 16 year olds, but by the end of the book the world building for their actions made sense, so I've since disregarded that [though every time someone does murder like a hardened soldier I do still clutch my pearls a little. Like yeah I'm sure child serial killers exist but not everyone here is a serial killer, goodness.]

Anyway! That's not what I'm critiquing. I'm critiquing the use of "girl" and "woman-ish" as an insult in this dystopian world.

Context for my critique, and spoilers for the plot of Red Rising:

Darrow is a Red, in a world where your birth color influences your caste in a heavily stratified society. The Society keeps Reds enslaved under the surface of Mars, toiling away for H3, the valuable resource needed to terraform worlds [and also, it is later revealed, to power space ships for war]. They are a very Appalachian / Irish style mining community, with a patriarchal culture. Women do not work in the mines because men are stronger and needed for the brutal work. In the first book it's implied it's very rare for a woman to want to work in mining, in the second book it's revealed to be flat-out illegal. The women in the deep Red mines are often victims of assault and violence because the families are so poor, they have to sell their bodies and services for food and medicine. It's a great shame to their husbands, and many a blood feud has been started over this.

Darrow's wife, Io, by contrast to this patriarchal society, is strong willed and powerful. Darrow describes her as having a "spark for life", the desire to have more than what they're given. Unfortunately, this leads to her death, jump-starting Darrow's rage and revenge arc against those who killed her -- the Golds.

The Golds are the ruling class. Genetically modified to be the perfect incarnations of humanity, when you first meet a Gold, they are described by Darrow as looking like gods on earth. They fly with hover boots, regard the castes below them as animals akin to dogs and horses, and generally sip from the cup of prosperity. Through plot convention, Darrow is given the chance to become a Gold to try and take down The Society from inside, and so spends the rest of the story in a Lord of the Flies style school for war-like Golds, trying to prove he's the best of them, so he can get command of a fleet and come back to raze Mars.

The Gold Society is not patriarchal. They value strength, and might makes right. Their leader, Peerless Scarred Octavia, is a woman, and she is greatly feared and admired. The school Darrow is taken to is filled with just as many ruthless women as men. Both are expected to hunt and kill and survive in equal measure. One of the leaders of one of the other war bands is a woman who goes by Mustang, and she out-wits and out-fights Darrow several times before the plot eventually allows them to be friends/lovers. One of Darrow's biggest rivals in his own war band is Antonia, a cut-throat woman who betrays him twice, and eventually kills someone trying to blackmail him into giving himself up -- something heavily frowned upon in the weird little Lord of the Flies war school. And equal number of the Peerless Scarred proctors for this school are women as they are men. Women are featured almost calculatedly 50/50 in battle scenes as proficient fighters -- namely when theyre coming from other warbands, not Darrow's, but that seems like authoral preference for writing male characters so I'll let that slide. The point here is: The Golds don't care about gender. Women are allowed to be and are encouraged to be just as ruthless as men, and the most terrifying leader of them all is a woman.

The most popular insult in this book is "woman-ish". It happens a lot. And Darrow is far from the only character that does it, and that's the problem I have with this book.

It makes sense for Darrow to insult other men by calling them girls, or girlish. He was raised in a patriarchal society, where women have expected and enforced roles. They get married, they have children, they try not to shame their husbands. They are strong in the way a homemaker is strong, sacrificing virtuously for their male children and husbands so someone can work the mines and bring them food. Io, Darrow's wife, is an outlier to this caste of stereotypical home makers, but she still performs her wifely duties of loving her husband wholeheartedly well. It is only her desire for more that dooms her, and the fact that, when the story begins, her resolve and conviction makes her a stronger character than Darrow. It's something he openly admits many times. But it's reiterated again and again that she is an outlier. Normal women aren't like this.

However, the Golds live in a world where women are equal to men. The greatest goal is strength and might, the largest sin weakness. To be weak is to be damned. You're not worth following as a leader, if you're weak. Worse than that, you deserve misfortunes if you're perceived as weak. Darrow's "weakness" as a character is hammered out of him by cruel people with zero concern for the wreckage they leave in their paths. A common insult is to be called a "Pixie", that is, a gold who is resting on their family lineage to move up in the world instead of actually getting their hands dirty. Insults about weakness, and softness, are the ones that matter.

But the author chooses to freight those insults with references to women. There are so many times when a character is called out for "being a girl." That they need to "be a man, you soft little baby." "What are you, a woman?" Characters are proved to be flawed because "He was a giant warrior of a man, who had a girlish laugh". "He was tall and thin, with womanish hair and eyelashes." "He had a soft, womanish voice." And some of this is definitely Darrow, yes. It makes sense for Darrow to attribute some female traits to softness and weakness. But there are Golds, raised from day 1 in The Society who do this too! Who talk about being scornful because a man was too girly. Who view women as inherently weak. There's an entire arc early on where a male Gold assaults a bunch of women, and the raining consensus is not "How could you rape someone you monster!" But instead "How could you rape a woman, you monster!" A statement which implies women are weaker and can't be expected to defend themselves, and this character is worse for taking advantage of the inherently weak.

It makes absolutely no sense to me! And I'm sure it's author bias, right? The book was published in 2014, and popular media even then was still waffling over how to portray female equality without taking on artifacts of the 80s and 90s. But, I don't know man. There is so much good world building in this book? How the society works. How something as small as the slang you use can identify you as a traitor. How the genetic grafts and enhancements work -- how the labor is decided and why. There is a lot of intentional word choice to do with the Romans, because the Golds are very obviously ripping off Roman war culture. And you're telling me you were intentional about all of that, and still couldn't figure out how to insult someone without calling them a girl?

Author?? Help??

[mamirhodessxox]

Bellissima, PT 1

Cody Rhodes x Fem!OC

Desc: Liyana comes from a family of wealth, her uncle being Roman Reigns creates conflict within the family especially towards her when her father unintentionally introduces her to a man she didn’t expect to be in love with from her own doubts & insecurities.

Contents: Mentions of body shaming, insecurity, jealousy, toxic relationships, family issues, mommy & daddy issues, smut in later chapters, foul language, alcohol use.

🏷️ List: @alyyaanna @ginswife @coolpastelartshoe @greatkoalawizard @cokolin044 @kotoriarlert @alicerosejensen @bunnybot55 @mini-rollins @southerngirl41 @harmshake @femdisa @kabloswrld @claymoresofinfamy23 @bones-rhodes @cococodysleevlesshoodie @edtomh @actuallydrew

{~I'm very serious with you guys interacting with my writing!!!! it would make me so happy & excited, the more comments & reposts the more inspiration i have to write :) likes and comments are strongly appreciated so please COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMEENNTTT the more comments the more content <3!!!~}

It was always the same dream. Every night & day it never once changed. Who is this girl??

Ocean waves crashed against each other creating obnoxious crashes & even some coolness within the air while Cody stood on the beach with a girl on a gloomy day, not a single sun ray was to be found but something about the current weather was comforting, romantic almost. This girl was younger than him by 9 years, she was around 21, she was just so goddamn captivating, he couldn’t tell if it was the perfume sprayed on her body or her wispy touch on his skin or something else about it.

Her smile was comforting, everything about her felt graceful but it only frustrated him more when he wasn’t able to figure out who she was, she would just grab his hand & roam across the shorelines for hours, sometimes she would pepper soft kisses along his jawline & whisper something in his ear that he couldn’t quite understand..“Mi vuoi tanto quanto io voglio te?” And then it would end the same way every morning like usual where he would be left on his toes living his life in curiosity on who this mysterious blonde woman is that invades his dreams so suddenly.

—

June 8th 2012, Verona Italy

Liyana strides down the hallway of her childhood home as her Mother & Father insisted that whether or not she was 21 she was not to move out until she found herself a good man. Meanwhile her uncle Roman & her father Marco sat in the lounge prepping for tonights bit occasion. Roman was attending a WWE Red carpet event that he would be dragging Liyana to attend alongside with him.

Eventually after each step she took her mother Gianna caught up to her with irritation all over her face “Dannazione, sei una tale delusione, you were supposed to be ready for tonight, what gives?” Liyana stopped her movement & sighed pushing her hair back “Mama I just don’t think these are my kind of events to attend, I was hoping I could back out?” Gianni chuckled rudely before shaking her head at her daughter’s request “Don’t be ridiculous love, you’re going to support Roman & that’s final. Now go get dressed. It’s classless to attend these important occasions later than everyone else.” Liyana sighed as her mother strutted off before she went ahead & got ready for the red carpet.

Liyana lived a life of having high expectations sitting on her back since the day she was born, be a star & be damn good at it. But she felt as though she wasn’t, not like her mother or uncle Roman. At 16 she was signed to modeling & since then that’s all she’s ever done & succeePiccolo she was known for the amount of fashion shows she’d walked and the amount of times she modeled for New York Fashion Week.

It wasn’t a shock that her parents wanted to attend a Red Carpet that they knew would grab any form of attention with her presence there. But they didn’t expect to grab the wrong kind of attention as-well.

—

So here we were, the important part of this journey, the moment where Liyana & Roman arrived to the Red Carpet event/party, Roman had introduced her to everyone he personally knew, Randy, she had already met him at the very beginning of Romans start of popularity in WWE, Randy easily bonded with Liyana in a sibling sort of way & this was the first time seeing each other since a whole year ago since they never remember to ask for each other’s numbers to stay in touch until times like this, Seth, quite obnoxious but very sweet, Dean, funny & entertaining. At some point in the night Roman decided to split up with Liyana & get to know most of his friends, he soon regretted that idea when he left her alone with Randy. Who was friends with a SPECIFIC person that Roman didn’t necessarily like. So here we were, Liyana clueless as ever hanging around with Randy while he walked around with her all over the place “So far you’ve met Seth, Dean, Becky, Punk…You’ve met Cody?” The blonde girl shook her head with a smile “No I don’t believe I’ve met that one yet.” Randy widened his eyes before shaking his head “What?! I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you two yet then, good guy c’mon let’s look around for em’ it won’t take too long.”

When Randy walked towards the bar he found his friend Cody standing with multiple other people chatting it away, “Cody! I got someone you should meet! Very sweet girl, this is Liyana. Liyana this is Cody” The two politely shook each other’s hands with respectful smiles, Cody was caught off guard slightly when he recognized her, Who was this girl? Why was she so familiar? Her touch felt gentle, her perfume was sweet yet subtle. “It’s nice to meet you Cody.”

Her voice rang through his ears which caused him to focus back onto the current moment. “Likewise, you look familiar by the way? Have we meet before?” Liyana smiled “No, I don’t believe we’ve met before, maybe I just have one of those faces.” Her chuckle echoed through his mind while he grinned nodding his head.

For most of the night the pair had hung around the bar getting to know each other but as the party was coming to a late end they were walking around the balcony & admiring the moonlight that reflected off of the ocean water that was in view while they talked & talk, “I haven’t been to America a lot of times but the times I have been were for modeling & fashion show, maybe a few magazines here & there but not the important ones.” She leaned against the railing while he stared at her in awe, she was so beautiful to him, Who is this girl? “Well I can tell you right now that you’re gonna be on the important magazine covers in no time.” He reassured her despite her not believing an ounce if what he said. She’s played these games before with men.

Eventually while the two hung out more they were interrupted by Roman “Liyana it’s time to-“ When Cody turned around as she did both of them glared each other down, the energy was now tense & thick “Is there a reason why you’re hanging around with my niece Cody?” Roman questioned sternly while Liyana stood there confused “What is the issue?” Cody shook his head before running a hand over his jaw “No issue here, it was nice meeting you Liyana. Really it was.” He turned his focus away from Roman & looked back at her. “Whatever, I don’t have time for this. Meet me in the Limo Liyana.” She watched as her uncle walked off with a very pissed off expression before turning back over to Cody & smiling.

“It was nice meeting you Cody, I hope we can get to know each other before you have to leave so soon..” Liyana spoke softly “I would love too. I’m free tomorrow for lunch & maybe the rest of the day if you are..by any chance..available” his lips curled slightly before digging into the pocket of his pants before pulling out a napkin “This is my number. Call me, or text. Whatever you feel is best. Have a good night.” He placed it in her hands before backing away “Have a good night..Cody” she mumbled as he kissed the back of her hand before backing away & eventually leaving at the same time as her.

—

“How am I supposed to keep track of Romans stupid grudge! I didn’t know papa!” Liyanas voice echoed from the dining room as she argued with her father about her encounter with Cody tonight. “Idiota! Sei un idiota assoluto, It is your duty as his niece to not go & make him look like a fool & be around the type of people he is not fond of! Quell'uomo non è una buona influenza per te.” She groaned as she paced around the table “I’m not going to moderate who I talk to at 21 years old because of Romans petty drama! È tutta una stronzata comunque.” Liyana scoffed before walking off & storming off to her bedroom before her door was slammed shut. The silence within her room was already loud enough than one would possibly think, but suddenly it was quieted down one she heard pebbles hit against her bed side window.

As she sat up & went to open it she found her best friends Bianca & Elena holding up a wine bottle smiling together while waiting for her to run downstairs and go on whatever adventure they were taking her on, and so she did.

Liyana found herself on the shoreline of a beach while all 3 of them drank from the wine bottle & passed it around before silence was finally broken aside from the beach waves “I met someone tonight.. Così bello, he was eh..very sweet, charismatic.” Bianca grinned while turning over to her and listening before she herself let something be said “What’s his name! L'hai scopato?” Elena snickered to herself at Bianca’s question before Liyana could smile & shake her head “His name is Cody. American, and no Bia, I didn’t fuck him.” the brunette frowned to herself & shook her head is fake disappointment “He’s got some problems with Roman. I don’t know what they are but it’s not my problem anyways. Papa got mad tonight because I hung around Cody, said he was no good for me as a friend or anything further from that.”

Elena scoffed “Bullshit, he’s said that about every boy you have ever met Liyana. It’s a control thing, You’re 21 & they won’t allow you to move out until you find a good man but they also won’t allow you to talk to any man that cross paths with you!” It was true unfortunately. She felt as if she was never going to find love, make it out of her parents grasp. Maybe she was incapable of love? Or maybe she just wasn’t born to be loved. It would make sense, her family never taught her or showed her what love is & how it’s supposed to feel, her parents hate each other, they never raised her showing they loved her, her father has numerous affairs with many women during major occasions & her mother is the exact same. Liyana just wants to experience love for the first time, but maybe in another timeline she will.

—

Meanwhile he couldn’t get her out of his head, she was so familiar but he didn’t know from where, everything about her was familiar, her hair, her voice, her touch, the perfume on her body. He couldn’t figure out where the hell she could possibly have come from that gives her a familiar face. He hasn’t seen any magazine involved with her because she simply wasn’t as popular in the states yet, so who is she? Who is this girl?

And like usual the minute he fell asleep he was faced with this mysterious woman all over again, the beach waves echoed through the atmosphere, her soft touch ran up the sides of his torso, he heard soft mumblings but he still just couldn’t quite understand. It’s as if his dream was skipping time more than once, he found himself laid out in a grassy space with her now away from the ocean, daisy’s lightly grazing his skin, the sun glowing against the two of them, his lips locked with hers, the mystery girl pulling him on top of her while she whispered into his ear for the last time. “Mi amerai per sempre? Mi insegnerai come provare amore e capire cos'è l'amore? Per favore?”

Who is this girl?

Mamirhodessxox’s Masterlist

Italian Translation

Mi vuoi tanto quanto io voglio te- You want me as much as I want you

Dannazione, sei una tale delusione-Damn, you're such a disappointment

Idiota! Sei un idiota assoluto-Idiot! You're an absolute idiot

Quell'uomo non è una buona influenza per te-That man is not a good influence for you

È tutta una stronzata comunque-It's all bullshit anyway

Così bello-So Handsome

L'hai scopato- Did you fuck him?

[bagsbyler]

no no no no tumblr just told me that the next update won’t support ios 16 anymore this is ridiculous. i own an iphone x and it can’t update to the latest ios version so uhhhh yeah thanks tumblr for taking away the only app i can get st updates from 🥲 because no way i’m going back on sttwt

[lixiesstorys]

Vent (?)

NOT A FANFIC

Trigger warnings: talking abt self harm and suicide, addiction (?) to pain killers, abuse of pain killers, eating disorders, mental health problems/illnesses/issues

Normally I don't do those posts, because I don't want anyone to trigger theirselves with it or that people worry about me (or because if I write something like that, I feel like a burden XD) but I have to get this off my chest. (I'm about sorry and please don't read to trigger yourself or if you're senitive about those topics!)

I'm the quiet friend that nevere belongs anywhere. I'm the quiet friend that is the side kick you can go to when no one else is there and that you can abonton, but it stays with you. That is what I am. nothing but an annoying side kick that is only needed for listening to problems.

No one ever cared about my feelings. How I feel about that, what problems I have.

You know what the problem is when you're a perfectionist? You're as good as possible and most times that is good. But as soon as you write a worse mark than normally and you are sad about it (maybe from 9 - 10 to 7 - 8) you make things up and are too sensitive. 'that aren't even real problems'. Maybe it isn't a really failed grade, but for me it's as much pain as if someone really fails a grade. It is the same pain, but no one understands it. Maybe I don't really have to fight for my education, but it feels like that. And my marks don't come from donig nothing. I can't count the nights I skipped, so I was able to study, but got only a 7 - 8 (in Germany it's the mark 2).

For most people it looks like I ahd the perfect childhood, but in real life I didn't even have one. My father abononed me and my mom when I was 1. I got bullied in school (from my teachers). When I was 11, I was able to think like an adult. That may sound cool, but that is only the result of growing up to fast. I also got anorexia. With 9 I had nothing else in my head then grades, marks and studying. With 12 I burned out and got depression and social anxiety. I never had real friends, only those who didn't care about me.

I also lie alot. I don't want to, but as soon as I don't know what to say or if I'm overwhelmed, I start to lie. Those aren't big, but something like 'yes, I ate something' makes me feel bad for the person that asked. Another (maybe more understandable) lie is about my age. I won't say my age here, but I can say, that I'm still a minor.

Back to my time-line: when I was 9 i also started to hurt myself. Not by c&tting, but by punching, biting and insulting myself. With 13 I was (nearly) addicted to pain killers. They made me feel numba nd the pain would go away. I got bulimia in that time too. With 14 Io started to cut myself and with 15 I tried to kill myself several times. Those are the worst parts of my life, but no, I don't have problems, if anyone asks. I'm fine, don't worry about me. I was changing between binge eating and starving myself.

With 15/16 my mom wanted that I go into a clinic, but we agreed on therapy. There we found out, that i have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), ADD, depression, burn out, obsessive-compulsive disorders, anxiety and social anxiety. With 16 I found out about littlespace ans a coping mechanism.

Sometimes I wonder if that all wouldn't have happened, if someone had really listen to me. If someone watched my smile fade away. Or am I such a great lier that no one noticed?

I'm still the quiet but 'happy' friend. I'm still the perfectionist no one understands and everyone is annoyed of. Nothing really changed except that I know why I am who I am. That I actually am non-binary trans masc (wich also can lead to depression if you don't know who you are).

But isn't it sad, that people have to harm themselves or even try to kill themselves? That people have littlespace as coping meschanism as reaction to trauma?

And another thing: why are mental health issues accepted (what is important of course!) as long as it's not gender dysphoria?

There we are again. I'm still a minor and so much happened in my life. And you know what is kinda sad? There are other people outside, that have the same problems like me. To everyone whos suffers: I officially tell you: I am here for you! Talk to me and I try to help you! (This is okay for me, since I told you I want to help you) But in every case: please, if you don't feel happy anymore, please search yourself help! It's never too early, only too late. It doesn't have to come that far, like with me, just because I didn't see that I needed help (I still don't see that, but I'm working on it. Please, just reach out for help and don't fear to talk about your problems. That is important! You are important!

[solangelo]

I was wondering, do you have any recomendations on some long fics? Like, not just one chapter? Sorry if you had already posted something abou that. Anyway, thanks!!! (Really like your blog <<3333)

Absolutely!! I pretty much only read on Ao3 anymore so all of my recommendations are going to be there, but if others want to tack on their own recommendations in the comments they're always welcome to do so :)

A few things,

I tried to put content warnings on the bodies of work as I see fit, but some of these I read over a year ago and haven't looked at since so I apologize if I've missed something!

Additionally speaking, I've marked anything in which contains characters having sex with a red heart emoji ❤️ as it should be viewable on light and dark mode, across multiple forms of devices (ios vs android, etc) and should be readable to screen readers as well; As per previous notes on this blogs, any explicit depictions of characters having sex will also have them being explicitly over 18. Now without further ado-

I'm a huge fan of rabbit_soup's "Healing Takes Two" series, it's 13 pieces in total some of them are oneshots and others are multichapter but they all fit together making it a large body of text. The plot extends from Nico's three days in the infirmary to the early stages of their relationship and still seems to be ongoing with the author taking on rewriting some of their older pieces.

arum scarce by GalwayGirlo [16/20] AU ❤️:

Nico wakes up paralyzed following a motorcycle accident. Maybe Will Solace can help him get some feeling back?

(cw: suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, adult having a relationship with a minor, "mafia stuff")

When I Get Home to You by 2nd2ndalto [10/10] Canon Compliant, Time Travel ❤️:

Will’s brow furrows."N - Nico?"

It’s impossible, this boy can’t be Nico, but the name falls from his lips without real conscious thought. Nico is 38 years old and probably sitting at home in their living room, hopefully having figured out how to fix the clogged dishwasher line, which is what he’d been planning on doing when Will left early this morning.

(cw: conversations about suicidal ideation and related topics, and young nico is involved so canon compliant trauma of his comes up as well)

talk your talk and go viral (i just need this love spiral) by wrongcaitlyn [34/34] and a part 2 currently at [2/?] chapters, Celebrity AU ft. Trans Nico:

“Keep telling yourself that,” Will says quietly, because even though the door is closed, speaking any louder would seem wrong. “You’re too harsh on yourself. If you wrote songs or something, you’d easily get on the Billboard Hot 100. Dad would help you. I would, too.”

“Promote it to your seven followers?”

“Yes!”

Nico laughs, and then Will is joining him, and they’re closer than before, but it’s nothing unusual. It’s been this way since before stupid feelings and stupid crushes, and Nico would be damned if he let it change just because of that.

(cw: alcoholism, childhood abuse and neglect, character death, car accidents, transphobia/homophobia/generalized queerphobia, gender dysphoria, suicidal ideation and related topics)

peach tea by ghosttotheparty [5/5] AU ft. Latino Will:

Will brushes his thumb over the side of Nico’s hand gently. His skin is soft. Nico’s fingers tighten on Will’s. It kind of feels like neither of them wants to move. Will doesn’t mind.

He sits up after a moment, but Nico doesn’t let go of his fingers, so he lifts the arm that’s awkward between them and sets it behind Nico, leaning back to rest on it. Nico just looks at the tapestry.

or; Will falls in love with the new kid.

(cw: mental health struggles, ptsd, anxiety/panic attacks, depression, grief, and character death)

What Could've Been Lights by athaleablaire [18/18], AU - I can’t remember if they have sex in this, rating is teen and up and all characters are over 18 but enter at your own risk:

In Will's eyes, he really has it all. A job as a surgeon at an amazing hospital, great friends-- what more could he ask for? Everything is going great until a man walks into his emergency room half-dead. In the mission to save his life, Will gets a little more than he bargained for.

(cw: injury and recovery, accusations of substance use)

a shadow in the rising sun by demigodbeautiies [9/13], AU Royalty, Arranged Marriage:

This is a story about the Ghost King.

Will Solace (crown prince in the Seventh Kingdom, politically useless as it may be) does not particularly want to be married to a thing of nightmares. He doesn't really have a choice, though. When does he ever? He allows his father to push him led into this politically advantageous, beauracratically necessary arrangement without too many complaints, and resigns himself to the fact he will be marrying a tyrant out of the tall tales his mother used to tell him when he was a boy.

Except then he meets his husband - a boy, and one younger than he is at that! - and realises that he has absolutely no idea what to expect. All he can hope for is that no one tries to kill him.

(cw: character death, character injury?)

NICO Centric:

Lethe by Eridans [8/8] Canon Compliant with a part 2 at [16/16]:

He's ten and ninety simultaneously, his mother was murdered and his sister is a stranger. He's got a deck of cards that he holds onto like a lifeline and an Italian-English dictionary that's old as hell and crumbling, but it's not as old as he is, and that makes him laugh.

The River Lethe was supposed to take away their memories, but Nico remembers his past, his days at home, the times he spent with his sister and mother at parades Mussolini hosted, where Maria sang the national anthem. The river tried to take away everything Nico cherished, and it could have been pure desperation or grief that made him remember his past.

Nico didn't know.

(cw: I started reading this fic over 8 years ago and haven't read it since it's last update 3 years ago, expect canon compliant events and themes to occur but otherwise proceed at your own risk, exercising caution and compassion for yourself where necessary <3)

WILL Centric:

Solace by solisaureus [11/11], Canon Compliant:

solace (n.) comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness.

solis (n.) the Latin word for "sun."

(cw: author includes their own content warnings at the start of each chapter!)

sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes by whimsicalMedley [13/26] Canon Compliant ft. Trans Will Solace:

Contrary to his general disposition, William Andrew Solace was born in the middle of an October hurricane.

Or, Growing up is hard. It’s even harder when you’re the son of the sun god.

(cw: author includes their own content warnings at the start of each chapter!)

Hopefully this is a good place to get you started, nonnie!

[arctic-space-penguin]

Ultimate Hope Sterling Thorne 'Character Card'

General Info:

Name: Hope Sterling Thorne Age: 14 (show) and 16 (movie) Best Friends: Leo, Ace, Mikey, Splinter, Cass, Draxum, Casey Jr Friends: Donnie, Raph Relationship(s): Leo Family: Mom (Irene), Dad (Bishop), older sister Dove Pets: Inari (fox) Loves: fighting, being outside, Leo, Draxum, Cass, Halloween, Inari, Mikey Likes: Irene, spars w/ Raph, Donnie, Raph Dislikes: Bishop, Dove, other people getting hurt, bikes Ethnicity: Japanese-American Songs to Represent her:

This or That Questions:

1. Playlists or podcasts? A: Podcasts 2. Shoes or slippers? A: Slippers 3. Pork or beef? A: Beef 4. Swimming pool or beach? A: Pool 5. Fruits or vegetables? A: Fruits 6. Cats or dogs? A: Cats 7. Summer or winter? A: Winter 8. Salt or pepper? A: Pepper 9. Cash or cards? A: Cash 10. Cookies or chips? A: Chips 11. Soda or juice? A: Soda 12. Farm or city? A: City 13. Text or call? A: Text 14. New phone or new clothes? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 15. Black or white? A: White 16. Driver or passenger? A: Passenger 17. Laptop or tablet? A: Tablet 18. Comedy or Horror? A: Horror 19. Beer or wine? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 20. Dine in or dine out? A: Dine in 21. Movies or TV shows? A: Movies 22. iOS or Android? A: iOS 23. Waffles or pancakes? A: Waffles 24. Rain or snow? A: Rain 25. Love or money? A: Love 26.Ice or fire? A: Fire 27. Curly or straight? A: Curly 28. Oranges or apples? A: Apples 29. Sweet or salty? A: Salty 30. Trucks or cars? A: Trucks 31. Lunch or dinner? A: Lunch 32. Weekends or weekdays? A: Weekends 33. Pizza or pasta? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 34. Friends or family? A: Family 35. Boys or girls? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 36. Fiction or non-fiction? A: Fiction 37. Skiing or snowboarding? A: Skiing 38. Red wine or white wine? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 39. Singing in the shower or singing in the car? A: ¿Por qué no los dos? 40. Organized or messy? A: Organized chaos

Vine that represents her:

(she's the one with the knife btw)

Summary: (Up to end of movie)

Hope didn't have the best childhood growing up. She ended up running away from home because of it, joining the Foot after finding a (badly drawn) recruitment poster. She didn't like the girl who had also been recently recruited, Cassandra Jones, at first, but the fact that they matched each other's energy helped in becoming best friends. Despite being recruited at a younger age then most, Hope rose to a Captain role quickly. At thirteen, she, the Foot Brute, and Foot Lieutenant go in search of paper for more soldiers. There they meet the turtles, and, after having used her ninpo and lost the paper to them, goes home at the cost of Leo telling Splinter about her, therefore Leo learned about all the Hamato stuff early. Hope declined every time Leo pursued her to ask her to join her true family's side. Eventually though, she couldn't deny how she felt and started doing insider work. After the Shredder is beaten the first time and Big Mama sends him back into his dimension, Leo and Hope confess how they feel about the other and start dating. All of this leads to a heated confrontation in the Always Be Brownies episode. Then after the Shredder is defeated the second time for real, Hope moves into Draxum's apartment with bribery and begging. About four months after the end of the show and the start of the movie, Hope gets kidnapped by Big Mama, mutated into a cat, and forced to fight under the name 'Death Blow'. Five months after she gets rescued from that, she is ambushed by a group of four men that ended with a mutilation, necessary amputation of her left leg, and a Genius Built™ prosthetic. Three months after THAT, Hope and Leo take a camping trip that totally wasn't interrupted by Mikey. There, her prosthetic malfunctions, causing her to fall from a (low-ish) tree branch, which is how she met Inari for the first time. Three months after that (gosh so many months lol), she gets unhappily reunited with Dove and their ma. Five months after that (listen a lot can happen in 23 months and 4 weeks alright?), Hope and Leo drag Donnie into a new restaurant in the Hidden City where the softshell meets and soon enough starts a relationship with the only son of the owners, Ace Yarrow. During the movie, Hope remains with April and Splinter the majority of the time before needing to check on how her ma is doing. But also because seeing a future version of yourself is way too weird, man.

Good Future Summary:

Hope avoided Leo during his entire recovery as well to punish him for doing what he did and also because she didn't want to know how badly the Krang had beaten him. She eventually visited him after convincing from Sterling, but it took a while for her to get over what he had done (Good thing she had Ace as a friend to help). A year passes as NYC repairs itself. Draxum (kindly) tells her to leave his apartment and get her own when she turns nineteen. She ends up moving back into the lair in the spare room they have now while landing two part-time jobs as a sub at the high school where Draxum works and as a server in Ace's restaurant he had paid for a year earlier to pay for her own house (after about two years she's able to afford a mortgage). Leo asks her a year later if she would marry him (dated for about six years at this point; everyone couldn't be more proud of them, Sterling, Splinter, and Draxum especially). While they agreed to disagree on not having kids, they considered Inari their kid in a way. The day Splinter passed was hard on the whole family, some more than others. They all took three days off work if they had one to mourn. Couple weeks later, Inari disappears and returns with four kits, evenly split between girls and boys. Hope names the girls Finch and Flicker while Leo named the boys Falcon and Flint. It wasn't easy raising those four, but they managed.

Bad Future Summary:

While Hope was devastated at the destruction the Krang caused, she pushed through and fought with all she had. When Casey came into the family about five years into the apocalypse after his dad died, she couldn't have been happier. Especially when Cass adopted him. A year later Raph died and Hope put in upon herself to pick up the slack in leadership while Leo mourned through mourning too. It was worse when Donnie died eleven years after that, but Hope was nothing if not good at keeping her emotions in check in tough situations (she only broke down when no one else was watching). She took over caring for Casey with Leo when Cass died a year after Raph did. During the few years nearing year eighteen of the apocalypse, she and Leo came up with the plan to send Casey into the past to prevent everything that happened in their timeline, also deciding he couldn't go back alone and that Hope would go back as well to which she agreed. Leaving everyone behind wasn't going to be easy, she knew, but it would all be worth it in the end.

Voice Claim:

[lacefuneral]

ok i've seen some posts about the tumblr alternative cohost but none that were actually helpful so!

(disclaimer: i am very new to this website. users who have been there longer can and should chime in with additions and/or corrections)

Cohost Introduction Post

What is cohost?

Cohost is a fledgling website that is essentially a tumblr clone, but with its own culture and site-specific features. It is also very much a work in progress. You are encouraged to talk in the cohost forum to suggest changes for devs, report bugs, and upvote other people's suggestions. This website WILL grow and change over time. And as such, I do not know if/when the information I share here will be outdated. Edit: To answer an ask I received, anyone can join cohost without an invite. It used to be invite-only. It is not this way anymore.

Is "adult content" allowed there?

Yes. Cohost is not on the app store, meaning that it is not subject to Apple's specifications. You can post illustrations, writing, and photographs (cohost does not support any video formats at this time, just gifs). Cohost has an elaborate filtering and trigger warning system (moreso than tumblr), and you can disable adult content for your entire account or for individual tags. I actually don't engage with the adult content at all on there. Visual CSEM (both real and fictional) is specifically forbidden (although frankly I think the guidelines could be stricter wrt written content. Still, does seem to handle this better than AO3 does, going as far to say that written content about real minors is forbidden.)

How are minors protected?

The minimum age to join cohost is 16, and requires proof of parental permission to join. Users who are under 18 are automatically age-gated and cannot view adult content.

If cohost isn't on the app store, how is it used?

You can, of course, use cohost on a computer, but it is designed with mobile in mind. Opening the website on any IOS browser, clicking "share", and then "add to home screen" will install an app for you to use. The same can be done on an android. There is a guide here.

How does cohost work?

First, you create an account. Then you wait for approximately two days (read: weekdays) for the account to be activated. This is done to prevent spam bots. In the meantime, edit your profile. List some interests, your pronouns, your other social media links. Give yourself an icon. Note: icon and banner file sizes are small. You may need to shrink and compress images.

After the two days are up, make your first post! Write a basic introduction (with what you feel comfortable you feel sharing) and list some interests you like, maybe some hobbies, media, etc. And then tag this post with "#welcome to cohost". This will let existing members know that someone new has joined, and they may initiate conversation and/or follow you.

Next, go to the search and type in "The Cohost Global Feed" and click on the tag. Bookmark this tag. This is essentially one giant community space where you can find random users. (There is currently some discourse on the website as to whether this tag existing is a "bad thing" or not because "cohost isn't supposed to have a global tag". Just ignore that lol). Next, go back to search and type in things you like. TV shows, maybe. Video games. Music. Anything. See if people have posted in the tags. Follow them. Comment on their stuff. Click "like" to bookmark the post if you want to.

Most crucially, make sure that you bookmark the actual tag so you can look in that tag again later without having to manually type it each and every time. Also, you get a feed called "bookmarked tags" which allows you to scroll through all of them at once, which replaces the "for you" feature other websites have.

You can "share" a post (called "rebug" in user slang) which serves the same purpose as a reblog on tumblr. In a rebug, you can add your own tags or comment in the body of the post. Cohost users do not talk in tags as much as tumblr users - they tend to prefer to speak in the body of a rebug, or in the comment section (replies). At this time, you cannot view all reblogs. But you can view all comments in the comment section. Any post that is rebugged will preserve the tags of the OP, with any additional tags added being attributed to you. Rebugs are named after the website mascot Eggbug, a purple bee-like insect.

Posts are called "chosts" - and shitposting is called "shitchosting." Two examples of global shitposting tags are "#css crimes" - which is when a person does goofy things with the HTML/CSS editor to make colorful text, fake chat windows, and such - and "#shitchosting" which is a general shitposting tag. I've also seen people use tags like "#random".

If a post makes you laugh, check out the OP's profile. See if they post frequently, and if you have any common interests. If you realize you want to block or mute someone instead, you can.

You can send asks just like on tumblr, but your inbox must be manually opened first. So remember to do that.

How do I look at my own blog?

This is one of my gripes about the UI. You would think, intuitively, you would click here (at the top of the screen). But you would be wrong!

It is ACTUALLY under the sidebar menu, called "Profile." And I'm not the only one to to complain about this. (To get back to your dashboard, by the way, you click on the cohost logo.)

Are there sideblogs?

Yes! Each sidepage (sideblog) has its OWN set of likes AND followed pages (blogs). This allows you to easily switch between multiple sets of dashboards. A lot of users use this to have a SFW dashboard and an adult content dashboard. But it works like tumblr, too. You can have a side page/dashboard for whatever you'd like. Maybe one of your pages is for programming. Maybe another is for photography. You switch between your pages by clicking the arrow next to your icon/username at the top of the screen. ("Ohhhhh.... THAT'S what that's for.")

What's the userbase on there like?

Mostly programmers. Trans people. Furry artists. Plural systems. Furry trans plural programmers. Certainly a lot of shitposters. The website is trans-run and, as such, has zero tolerance for TERFs. Everyone seems pretty friendly from what I can tell. And there's very much a culture of "follow someone randomly based on their vibes" that doesn't happen as much on tumblr. Tumblr is more like "I really like this TV show, I'm going to follow 40 blogs about just this interest." Because the cohost community is so much smaller, there is a lot less content overall, especially fandom content. You can't follow 40 fandom pages because your fandom tag has a total of 3 posts, all made by one person approximately a year ago (well. for me anyway).

Cohost, then, actually has much more in common with real-life socialization. You seek out people with interests that may be very different from your own, and to find a common interest is very exciting! Unlike tumblr, you are encouraged to tag as much as possible. This allows your posts to be seen, to find common interests. And, of course, don't forget to look in "#Welcome To Cohost" too! You may find some new friends there.

What file formats can I post in?

Currently, I am aware of basic image formats working (like jpeg, png) animated gifs, and mp3s. You currently cannot upload videos to cohost. I believe the reason is not related to server costs, but rather as a way to curb the uploading of copyrighted content.

How does cohost make money?

There are no ads, and yet, as far as I am aware, cohost is operating comfortably. There is, however, an entirely optional "cohost plus" that is $5 USD a month. Currently, there are a few perks, but not enough to convince me.

What if I think something about cohost should change?

Cohost has a forum where users can submit ideas for features and other users can discuss/upvote those ideas.

Here is a list of posts made for newcomers to read:

[kaciebello]

Hi babe😭 can I ask what you use for fake messages because I just spent a dollar on the ifake app someone said they use but apparently it’s not on iOS so I don’t know what I just bought 💔

Hi pookie! So personally I am an Android user so I do use ifake, picture below to be specific ( peep my dog in the back)

But I have asked my friend if she could look up an iOS alternative for you, this is what she found. The second one has a better rating. Now I can't vouch for any of these, so you're gonna have to go through some trial and error.

Also, I have never spent any money on these, there is always a free alternative.

Also, thank you @hewinsinmonza-16 for searching for it for me(⁠•���ө⁠•⁠)⁠♡

[fallloverfic]

"Nimona" fandom informational rundown

New to the fandom and a bit confused about things? Hopefully this will help!

Nimona was a webcomic by Nate Diana Stevenson/ND Stevenson that was first shown on tumblr on December 14, 2011, and Nate later launched it as an official webcomic on its own website on June 19, 2012. It was contracted for publication post-completion as a graphic novel sometime before November 1, 2012. The webcomic finished online publication on September 30, 2014. Shortly afterward, most of the webcomic was taken down as part of the contractual agreement for publication as a physical graphic novel, leaving only a short bit of the opening as a preview. The website for the webcomic later went down entirely, and is no longer accessible.

The comic was published in entirety as a single graphic novel on May 12, 2015. The movie adaptation rights were sold to Fox in 2015, as well, and the project was given to Blue Sky Studios. The comic was later adapted into a full cast audiobook on October 4, 2016. The graphic novel is available for purchase in paperback, hardcover, and as an ebook, and the audiobook is also available for purchase. (The link has international seller links). The graphic novel has been translated into 16 languages. It is also available in a special edition English hardcover via Illumicrate. They only ship from the UK, but ship internationally, and you don't need a subscription to buy the book. As the standard graphic novel and audiobook are ~7+ years old now, if you have a local library, you can see if either of them are available that way.

Disney bought 20th Century Fox Animation (later 20th Century Animation, the purchase completed in 2019), but later shut down Blue Sky Studios in 2021, cancelling the still-in-production movie. Crew worked on shopping the movie around for a new home after talks with Disney. The movie was later picked up and completed by Annapurna, DNEG, and Netflix, premiered June 14, 2023 in France, showed in select theaters starting principally on June 23, 2023, and released to general audiences on Netflix for streaming on June 30, 2023. I have more info on this here.

In English, Nimona is voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz, Ballister Boldheart is voiced by Riz Ahmed, and Ambrosius Goldenloin is voiced by Eugene Lee Yang.

If you're looking for official merch, the movie soundtrack is up on multiple platforms, including YouTube, iOS, Spotify, and Amazon, and a vinyl version of the soundtrack was sold by iam8bit. There is an official humanoid Nimona plushie, a whale Nimona plushie, and a shark Nimona plushie, available via Gee and Hot Topic, as well as a variety of official shirts available via Hot Topic and Amazon (just search Brand: Nimona). Nate also still sells "Nimona" comic art on his INPRNT store.

Netflix released a free-to-read digital-only multimedia 358-page artbook for the movie (but took it down in March 2024). (It's also been released at least for crew/friends of crew(?) in physical release, so maybe it'll get mass release as a hardcover). Outside of this, a lot of the crew for the movie from both Blue Sky and DNEG have been releasing a ton of concept art and development stuff, and the cast and crew have been doing a lot of promotional interviews and videos going back through like April 2023, so there's a lot of material to look through on YouTube, tiktok, tumblr, twitter, Instagram, Facebook/Meta, and Vimeo, as well as various news and media sites. Nate is active on tumblr, his personal blog, twitter, and Instagram. Annapurna, DNEG, and Netflix also have multiple accounts on many platforms, including their own websites, YouTube, Facebook/Meta, and Twitter, and have been sharing clips and behind the scenes stuff.

Nimona actually has been added to a video game: Nimona was included as an event companion in SharkBite 2, a Roblox game.

If you're looking for fanworks, the fandom is active on most platforms, and has been ever since Nate started posting early art of the characters. Nate's talked at length in multiple places about how big the fandom was during the webcomic's publication. Mostly back then folks were very active in the Disqus comments on pages, which are a bit harder to find these days. There's a lot of the older comic fanart still circulating in different places (particularly tumblr, where the fandom was most active), some of which Nate reblogged. There is crossover between the comic and movie fandoms, as many fans of the comic love the movie and vice versa, and both fandoms are quite active. There is at least one active subreddit and fanwiki (and many others on assorted fantasy, comic, movie, and non-English language sites), as well as TV Tropes pages for both the comic and movie adaptation and a number of Discord servers.

For fanfiction, there are a ton of fics on Archive of Our Own in the comic tag and in the movie adaptation tag. There are also a number of fics on tumblr, some fics on fanfiction.net, and some on Wattpad. There are fanvids on tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube. There is fanart on tumblr, twitter, deviantart, instagram, and pixiv. There are cosplayers, meta analysts, roleplayers, music makers, and many other fanworkers

Some tags to use/browse for posts on tumblr and other sites:

Nimona

Nimona fanart

Nimona comic

Nimona movie

Ballister Blackheart

Ballister Boldheart

Ambrosius Goldenloin

Gloreth

Meredith Blitzmeyer

Ballister x Ambrosius / Goldenheart / Boldloin / Boldenloin / Blackenloin / Blackloin / Goldheart

Will update this post as I come across new things.

[satureja13]

Beltane - Part 6 It all starts -> here (incl prequel)

Ji Ho woke up early after his night with Vlad. And he feels fantastic! Like always when they make love. All fatigue and exhaustion is gone.

He's going to sneak out before Vlad wakes up to spare them the awkwardness. Ji Ho is too shy to look at Vlad when he's awake so he takes in the sight for a while. Vlad is so beautiful. And their encounter last night was pure bliss for Ji Ho. Vlad is an amazing lover and Ji Ho enjoys every touch from him. The only downside is, that Vlad tries to avoid it. But Ji Ho is determined to start his Therapy Game as soon as they are back at the Beach House and he'll do whatever is necessary to dig out his buried feelings and then he will finally be able to love Vlad! (That's the plan at least...)

Ji Ho is on his way to the beach to swim for a while before they leave. He just loves saltwater (in Tomarang he only has access to sweetwater). That reminds him that he tasted the sea salt on Vlad's skin tonight, which was an extra treat for him. Argh - it's time to leave and cool down in the ocean before he does something stupid....

Jeb was already sitting there. He doesn't sleep well since Saiwa moved to the Beach House.

Ji Ho: "I promise I will prosper in my therapy to lure Saiwa in and then you can fix this, hm?" Jeb: "He needs time. I don't want to push him."

Ji Ho: "Maybe you and Kiyoshi should try the therapy too? It's such an amazing opportunity, we all should seize it." Jeb: "We thought about it. Kiyoshi suffers even more than I do. I have all hands full stopping him from going back into the tree. But put you, Jack and Saiwa first." Ji Ho: "Don't worry. We need time to process the sessions anyway. Vlad can bring Tiny Can over and we take turns."

The sun rose and warmed the beach. Ji Ho and Jeb went to swim.

They are so cute :3

Ji Ho sensed that Jeb feels a bit better now. Ji Ho: "Jeb, I will visit more often and we are going to spend more time together, hm?" Jeb: "I'd love this. And Kiyoshi surely too. You could sleep over from time to time and Vlad could stay with Jack and Saiwa."

Ji Ho has the special ability to light the mood of the people around him. Not quite like the puppy energy of Jack. Jack does it deliberately. Ji Ho just radiates a kind of energy that feels like a warm embrace. He's like a little sun. And his Siren's Songs seem to intensify this energy so it actively influences his friends' feelings. But Ji Ho doesn't fully trust these songs yet. They're an inheritance of his evil grandfather, so he just uses them sparingly. And never without their consent.

And then Ji Ho coaxed Jeb for a little run before breakfast. Jeb couldn't overcome himself to go jogging for a while, even though it does him so good. Usually he runs every morning.

'È inutile suonare qui, non vi aprirà nessuno. il mondo l'abbiam chiuso fuori con il suo casino. Una bugia coi tuoi, il frigo pieno e poi, un calcio alla tivù - solo io, solo tu.'

'It's useless to ring the doorbell here Nobody will open (the door for you) The world, we've shut out with its mess A lie to your folks, The fridge, full and then Soccer on TV, Just I, just you'

Soli - Adriano Celentano

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[chil-aglia]

For The Dialogue Injury Prompts - Lets pick 16 and 11 with younger Gio and Mikey.. Like Gio being the Second tallest comes with his detriment as well... So Gio's is either really injured and mikey being as well tired, but still capable of fighting a little bit, so Gio simply say to leave him to help the others (Gio know he might be a hard for mikey to carry so he is simply draging his feat on the ground) but mikey tells him "no that is not going to abandon him and left him alone".

Dialogue Prompt (Injury)

by @promptsbytaurie

11: “You have to help the others”

Character(s): Giovanni (younger!Gio AU) and Mikey

Warnings: Blood, angst, open wound, etc

I couldn’t find the number 16 dialogue that you also requested, I don’t know if I just read it wrong or you must’ve mistyped the number? Not too sure since the number 16 dialogue prompts I found didn’t seem to match/make sense to what you were trying to say.

But I’ll do number 11 and try my best to take your words and put them into the fic!

Big Brother’s Do (Younger!Giovanni AU)

THIS IS NOT CANON TO THE MAIN STORY OF GIOVANNI!

Also, I imagine this as the apocalypse timeline, so…yeah—

Sorry for any grammar mistakes!

This is a short fic (like most of these prompts are!)

————————-————————-————————-————————-

Was this supposed to hurt? How come he didn’t feel anything? Why were his ears ringing? Why was everything so…hazy?

“—io!”

Huh? Was someone calling his name?

“Gio—!”

The voice sounds so familiar. Giovanni struggled to keep his eyes open, looking around as he felt so nauseous and exhausted. He saw orange in his eyesight, and finally, his vision cleared.

Mikey, his big brother, had tears in his eyes as he was staring in utter worry. “M…Mikey?” Giovanni coughs, which wow, that hurts.

“It’s okay, don’t strain yourself.” Mikey shakily assured, gently putting a hand over his brother's head, trying to calm him down. “What…what happened?” He asks, as he looks around. He was outside, buildings crumbled in debris and the smell of death was intense.

Explosions from the distance were heard and felt. Now he was starting to remember. He was doing a simple recon mission with some of the Resistance members.

But those fucking Krang surprised them with an ambush. And Giovanni wasn’t quick enough to react. He remembers activating his Ninpo, managing to shield the humans, but he had always been low on energy beforehand, making the Krang break the shield so easily.

Giovanni was then sent flying the next minute, and he remembered feeling something sharp in his leg, but he had passed out.

“Leg…my leg?”

He coughs, wincing as he tries to sit up and stare at the pain he felt. “Gio, you need to rest.” Mikey tries to explain but he sighs when he is ignored. Giovanni held back a whimper when his right leg had been impaled by a rusty pipe from a building he crashed into.

Just his luck.

He then gasps, realising that he was forced to leave the Resistance sighed to the Krang. “My team…!” He croaked out, trying to stand only to wail in pain as Mikey placed a hand to his plastron to keep him down.

“You’re in no condition to walk. Let alone fight.”

He gives a stern gaze but Giovanni shakes his head and tries again to stand. “I can’t sit here and do n-nothing. Ugh!” He wobbles, pulling the pipe out his leg which makes him collapse as he pants, tears swelling up in his eyes and threatening to fall.

“I can still fight…”

“Gio—!”

Mikey was interrupted when Giovanni gave a pleading look to his older brother. “Mikey. Please…you have to help the others.” He begged but the box turtle only shook his head. “I can’t leave you here alone!” He argued back, watching as his stubborn little brother stood back up, gritting his teeth.

“I won’t be alone…not for long. I’ll catch up with you.”

“Giovanni, just listen! You’re not going anywhere and neither am I.” Mikey shouted, his marking glowing for a moment, he was getting overwhelmed by this situation, while yes Mikey felt guilty for leaving Giovanni’s team to deal with the enemy, he couldn’t just…leave his brother in this state.

“How’d you even get here?” Giovanni asked, making Mikey bitterly chuckle. “You must’ve landed on your panic button.” Mikey mumbled as Giovanni hummed in acknowledgement, that made sense he supposed.

“Mikey…please.”

Please leave him and go help the ones who need it.

Mikey narrows his eyes, “I’m not going to abandon you. I won’t leave you here alone.” Mikey pressed, hands on his younger brothers' shoulders, who slightly winded at the grip before sighing in defeat.

“I’m useless…I couldn’t even see this ambush coming.”

“No one could have.”

Giovanni let out a shaky breath, lips trembling. He felt like such a failure. Such a burden.

“Mikey….”

“Giovanni, I’m not leaving—“

“Can you hold me? P-please?”

Mikey stiffened, eyes wide as he stared at the fearful look of Giovanni. He was scared, hurt and angry at himself and the situation. He was spiralling, Mikey knew because he knew his brother well.

“Of course…”

He gently moved Giovanni’s position to have his head lay across Mikey’s lap as the older brother cradled him as much as he could, rubbing soothing circles on his head and shell.

“I contacted Leo and the others earlier. I’m sure they’re dealing with the Krang issue right now.” Mikey assured, but he just received a small nod and hum of acknowledgement and appreciation from Giovanni who then whimpered when his leg throbbed.

“They’ll be here soon to pick you up. Just…rest for now. Your big brother isn’t going anywhere.”

Giovanni slowly nods. Trusting Mikey’s words as he inhales and exhales, closing his eyes.

Mikey was here with him. Mikey is protecting him while he rests…

Cause that’s what big brothers do.

[supposedlysecretlysapphic]

Petrichor out of context commentary episode 4! 01:05- yikes poor Ran 5:36- Ran quit playing hard to get 6:20- Jiu is persistent that's for sure 7:43- YOU CAN'T SAY NO TO PORRIDGE 7:59- OUCH MAY NO NEED TO BE SO BLUNT 8:55- OIL AND WATER is officially a sapphic trope now 11:48- Tul cracking the whip 13:45- wow they jump right in 14:55- oh boy here we go again... 16:01- cut to the bakery boys 18:04- hmm do we need to read into this? 19:24- ah the police brutality starts 19:47- well you know what they say about not meeting your heroes IRL... 20:54- wow the boy's fucked up 21:55- I'm really intrigued with this Wisut dude, what's his deal... 24:34- balls of steel that guy but WHERE'S MY GIRLS 25:49- live Tul reaction 28:12- it's starting to smell fishy, also I love how the junior squad have keen instincts if not the experience yet 29:52- OHHHHH CALLED IT THE WIPING OF THE LIPS

30:42- kitty approval 32:48- I sense this is about to go horribly wrong 34:52- keep your cool Ran 37:19- here we gooo 37:43- OH MY GOD THE IDEA I HAD FOR A FIC IS ACTUALLY FUCKING CANON?!?! 37:43- also how has that women got a sleek new iOs in 2008? 38:22- poor Ran 39:17- WELL THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY 40:04- phew close call 40:43- GASP 41:57- going above and beyond for your grieving gf 42:36- WELL HELLO 43:43- yikes 44:48- what a sycophant 45:09- THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN (gender neut) 49:30- Jiu I feel that haha 49:52- well thanks for nothing creep 51:57- did you forget Tul that Ran doesn't like cake haha 52:20- Tin: Someone's in luurrrvvvvv 53:59- great timing Tul 54:52- that line is hilarious 55:59- oh no it's all coming crashing down...(it'll be resolved by the end of the ep I know but still) 57:25- Tul you're so weak haha (same) 59:54- RAN INTIATES?! did not see that coming! 1:00:23- my fav! kiss in the rain eeeee WOOO they got there! But things look like they're about to heat up... Ep 5 tomorrow!

[violethowler]

After my last re-read of Iron Gold, I felt that what dragged down the pacing of the novel was how disconnected from everything Lysander’s chapters felt. His chapters didn’t have any tangible impacts on the others the way that Darrow, Lyria, and Ephraim’s did. But while re-reading Light Bringer and how Atlas and Atalantia used The Syndicate to draw the Rim into the war, I realized that the moment in Romulus’s trial where Dido name-dropped the Ophion Guild as the source of the footage of Darrow destroying the Ganymede Docks was supposed to be the big “oh shit” moment where it dawns on the reader that Lysander’s story was connected to the others all along and that the Syndicate was trying to get the Rim involved in the war on top of meddling with the Republic.

But that reveal went over people’s heads because the only frame of reference the reader has for the guild at that point is a single, easily forgotten throwaway line about Ephraim’s broker being an intermediary between the Guild and the Syndicate almost thirty chapters ago. And then we don’t even learn about the nature of the Guild and the Syndicate’s relationship until four chapters after what should’ve been our big, dramatic “oh fuck” moment.

What I think would’ve helped the flow and pacing of Iron Gold better is if they had structured the book into four parts like all the others instead of compressing everything into three.

Then we could have something like this:

Part I would basically be everything in the published Part I except for Lysander’s chapters, because my timeline notes place his chapters several weeks later while the other three POVs are happening near-simultaneously with each other, and make repeated references to the events happening in other chapters. (In other words, chapters 1-7, 10-14, 16-19, and 21)

Part II would open with Lysander’s rescue of Seraphina and capture by the Rim to set up the tension for what he’ll find when he gets to Jupiter, and then we’d cut between Lyria, Ephraim, and Darrow’s canon chapters for Part II up through Chapter 31. (So chapters 8-9, 15, 20, 23-24, and 27-31)

Part III would open on chapter 34 when Darrow finds Rhonna on board the Nessus and makes his agreement with Apollonius. Then we’d cut back and forth between Lysander’s chapters from his arrival on Io up through the chapter where Bellerphone declares a blood feud against Cassius, and the heist at Quicksilver’s party in Lyria and Ephraim’s chapters up through her escape in chapter 43. (Canon chapters 22, 25-26, 33-39, 42-43)

And then Part IV would go from chapter 44 to the end of the book, plus chapters 40-41 for the start of Cassius’s duels with House Raa. For maximum tension and dramatic impact, I would structure the chapters so that the chapter where Dido explains how she acquired the footage would come after Ephraim tells Virginia that the Ophion Guild is in the Syndicate’s pocket. (Chapters 40-41, 44-65)

I feel like that would do a much better job tying Lysander’s chapters into the rest of the book and making us feel like his plotline is connected to the others despite the physical distance.

[keeksybee]

I’ve been seeing Rimmer outfit appreciation post lately and I wanted to add the OG JMC uniform, I mean…look at him. It doesn’t wash him out either which more muted colours can do.

He must have so proud when he put it on the first time, 16 years old on his first away mission (I’m assuming the JMC works like the UK military and you can join at 16) regulation boots polished to gleaming, tie done over and over until it sat just right, sewing over his arm patch again with meticulous precision just so he could be sure it wouldn’t come off. So full of hope, he was going to become an officer, he was going to make his family love him, he’d be successful just like his brothers, sure he hadn’t been able to get into the academy but school isn’t for everyone, plus he’d get a more hands on education in a real mining ship, no theoreticals here, just the unaltered experience, he was going to prove them all wrong, he was good enough, he wasn’t a failure, he wasn’t worthless, he was going to be one of the greats. He’d taken a grinning picture next to the Dwarf before he’d gotten on board the first time and sent it to his Mother, he’d never heard back about it.

Oh how naive he’d been, he’d think to himself years on, how childishly, ignorantly naive. How stupid, how worthless, suddenly the uniform he’d been so proud of caused him no amount of shame, he shamed it by never getting as far as he wanted, by the time that Lister comes around he’s fourteen years and two menial promotions in to a devastatingly pathetic career that his family (or at least his parents) enjoyed pointing out him immensely, his brothers were marginally kinder, Frank had even given him an awkward side hug and quoted a Bible verse about everything working itself together for good that he didn’t believe in, but at least he’d tried, Rimmer begrudgingly admitted to himself, John had showed his support by having his wife interrupt their Mother with wedding inquiries when they were engaged, then baby preparations when she’d degraded him for what he deemed too long, his wife was genuinely nice, their parents hadn’t liked him marrying her as pretty or as intelligent as she was, probably because she was nice, she baked and he was always the first to try a new recipe, she was the only one of the in laws who remembered to invite him to family celebrations and events, she even had coffee with him when he was shore leave on Io, her voice was soft and her hugs were warm, she would shoot him these commiserating looks over the table, and Howard, well he hadn’t said anything, which was better than joining in, Howard stayed mercifully silent and he was known for his sharp tongue.

Despite all this the uniform was a strange comfort, even though it was a constant reminder of his failures. It wasn’t that he didn’t have “normal people clothes” as he put it, or couldn’t fit in a pair of jeans, that had gotten a slap across the back of the head, it was that the clothes made him feel oddly vulnerable, he’d always imagined he’d ware them on shore leave or a weekend partying with friends, friends he’d never made, they made him insecure, so they sat in the bottom of the wardrobe locker untouched. He knew it was sad, but so was the rest of his life.

The song has very little to do with the post other than being something angsty I’m sure would listen to and Josh Groban deserves some appreciation for that performance.