#halo fans know Exactly what i mean

[renesassing]

in my 'halo species as star wars species' au the kig yar have a very 'casual' relationship with force sensitivity in their culture; there are a large variety of jobs that require the skillset of any general force user, though those with highly developed precognition or psychometry were considered especially valuable in exploration and evaluation. there is also a special sect of kig yar who tune all of their senses into the force until their perception transcends that of all other known species. they produce the greatest and deadliest sharpshooters in the galaxy.

[aragaki]

Zelda & Hylia, Praying Was Never the Answer

This is probably incoherent but I'm having thoughts on Zelda and Hylia's relationship and how I don't feel that Zelda's frustrations with the goddess are completely warrented.

I don't think Hylia is the detached, cold figure that a lot of BotW fan content presents her as. The goddesses in the Zelda universe exist, they're not just theoretical or mythological and they do intervene when they have to and no goddess is as present and active in protecting mortals as Hylia.

People point out that Link is able to communicate with Hylia whenever he wants at the goddess statues and that means she must like him more than Zelda. I don't feel that's exactly the case. I doubt Link was able to hear the goddess before he pulled out the Master Sword, and wielding it to protect Hyrule is his sacred duty. Thus, his connection to the goddess is established.

Zelda ends up able to hear Fi's voice from the Master Sword when she unlocks her sacred power so it's reasonable to assume that she would be able to hear the voice of the goddess now. And I know that's fairly obvious but what I'm trying to get at is without the sacred connections, either through divine power or being the wielder of the Master Sword, you can't hear the goddess. Zelda was never going to be able to hear Hylia until her powers manifested and I don't think prayer was ever going to be how she got them.

Even if Zelda has complicated feelings about Hylia because she couldn't communicate to the goddess through prayers, Hylia was desperately trying to speak to her. One of her diary entries pretty much confirms this:

"I had a dream last night... In a place consumed by darkness, a lone woman gazed at me, haloed by binding light. I sensed she was...not of this world. I don't know if she was a fairy or a goddess, but she was beautiful. Her lips spoke urgently, but her voice did not reach me. Would I have heard her if my power was awoken?"

So it feels like the idea that Hylia is ambivalent or choosing to ignore Zelda when she prays at the springs to unlock her powers is wrong. I honestly don't think Zelda was ever going to unlock her sacred powers that way because introspective prayer is almost the antithesis of Zelda's nature, and that's true for almost all of the past Zeldas.

Zelda was a pirate, Zelda was a Sheikah warrior, Zelda was a monarch trying to lead during the darkest hour of twilight. The only reason Hylia's mortal reincarnation went to those sacred springs was to purify her body and regain her memories of her life as a warrior goddess and protector of the Triforce.

Zelda doesn't sit and pray for power when Demise's curse revives evil into the world. BotW Zelda was on the right track when she was trying to figure out the Sheikah technology, because that was the drive and the weapons she chose. Sitting and praying didn't do anything. She only gained the sealing power when she chose to protect Link, when she stepped into the role of a protector.

King Rhoam was a bad father and it's obvious and easy to blame everything on him but I really feel like it was his fundamental misunderstanding of how the goddess' sacred power worked that caused Zelda to have have such a hard time unlocking it. She was never going to awaken anything through prayer because neither Zelda nor Hylia sit on the sidelines during a crisis.

Zelda blaming Hylia for being "deaf to her devotion" when Hylia is meeting her in dreams, urgently trying to speak to her is misplaced anger. Hylia isn't ignoring her, she isn't the statues with their placid smiles, she's near screaming for her mortal self to hear her.

I'm not saying that Zelda doesn't have the right to feel like she does or people's angsty interpretations aren't good but for me? I like this idea a lot. Zelda feeling like the goddess isn't listening while Hylia feels the same way about her.

[urfrenfishy]

Do You Hear Marimbas?

A New Jersey Rats Short Story - M4A - Implied Masc Presenting Listener

I do not own these characters they are all made by the wicked @escapedaudios , this is a fan fiction of said characters :)

notes: this is my first time writing on tumblr please be nice idk how to format this shit, also this takes place a month after the new orlean rats

Intern breathed in, breathed out. This is meant to be fun, it’ll be fun...right?

It had been weeks since Jean and the brothers had told them about Stacy. It had been weeks since they and the brothers planned this. They had weeks of rehearsals. Alone.

Why was this so different? Jean and the brothers the only audience members and they rented out the whole fucking building! Jean won't care if they mess up, he wasn't even aware this was happening to begin with.

God, what were they thinking?! Oh yeah, let's put Intern on a stage in some fancy clothes and they'll sing all sexy for Jean! At a rented-out jazz club! They're sure that's exactly what Jean would like as an impromptu seven-month anniversary gift. A reminder of his ex.

God, they'll probably look so pathetic. Like really? Jazz singing just because his ex was a singer? Talk about insecurity.

But...wait no- this was never a jealousy thing. At least, they never wanted it to be. Well, maybe a little- but come on, you find out your lover's ex was a sexy jazz club singer, and he settled for an accounting intern who has about the same amount of social skills as a Batman villain. You'd feel a little insecure too.

So- no, they wouldn't say this was a jealousy thing, because they knew that Jean wouldn't leave them, or at least, wouldn't leave them over Stacy. They weren't worried about Stacy. Maybe...maybe they just wanted to prove they could be as...cool as she was? Yeah. Cool. They'll try their best.

----------

"Aight Jean, sit right...there," Badaboom explained as he gripped Jean's shoulders.

"Guys- what's- what is going on right now? I mean, when you put a sack over my head and shoved me in the driver's seat of a car- only to make me drive. With the sack still on my head. Honestly, I don't even know how we survived the trip but- Anyway! What- what are we doing at a jazz club? And why-"

As Jean prattled on, Badabing sat him down, front row. And cut him off because Jesus Christ, Jean.

"Okay okay okay- Jean- Jeany boy, just- just chill out alright? You're gonna like this, we promise!"

The music started (a slightly pitched-up version of Michael Bublé's Sway) and Jean couldn't help but grunt a witty remark.

"You promising anything doesn't actually promise any-"

Then they walked out, he heard them even before he saw them. The click of heels against waxed tempered hardboard. As he turned his head, he felt time slow. They..He had never felt like this before. There was no way to describe it. He couldn’t believe they settled for him. 

At first, he only saw their shoes, he didn't realize they would be so close. Then their legs, god- their legs. Finally, he was able to meet their eyes, only to find they were already locked on his. They weren't wearing their glasses, could they even see him? Doesn't matter. The spotlight behind them, a halo. An angel.

Then they started to sing.

Jean wasn't even listening to the lyrics. Just them. Just their tone. Their cadence. Their eyes. God, he loved them so much.

As the first verse began, they lifted the mic off of its stand and started walking, never breaking their gaze. Jean had never seen them like this. Sure, they knew how to set a mood, and they were pretty charismatic when they wanted to be, but this. Their confidence. Even the way they walked- it was a strut, honestly.

He could feel Badabing staring at him with a shit-eating grin.

"Yeah you're definitely bi-cycleul or however you say it..."

Jean couldn't afford to look away so he just sort of.. whacked his hand around the shorter man's general vicinity to shut him up.

A music break. A moment to focus on the physical alone. And god knows there was a lot to focus on.

Where did they even get that outfit? Jean had never seen it before, did they buy it just for this? Well- yeah that would make sense they had enough money for a lifetime supply of new outfits if they wanted.

Their skin shined under the spotlight, so did their clothes, their hair. But somehow their eyes were always visible- never drowned out in beams.

And soon they were singing again.

"Other dancers may be on the floor,"

Every sway and footstep was a dance. Jean couldn't even imagine how much time they put into this.

"Dear, but my eyes will see only you,"

They stared at him, into him. They reached their hand out to him and it took everything for him not to reach back, he could even feel his hand starting to rise all on its own.

"Only you have that magic technique,"

They receded their hand, twisting the mic back onto its stand and jutting it beside them as if it were their dance partner.

"When we sway, I go weak."

Their knees bent and the mic was dipped, their eyes shut as they held the note, and their eyebrows curled upwards; they almost looked sad. It was beautiful. Jean wasn't ashamed to say he was pretty envious of the mic at that moment.

As they seamlessly transitioned from lyric to lyric, Jean was positively awed. How could they sing a line so- so...seductively? Then immediately jump to the next lyric like it didn't even happen! It was like magic. Hypnosis.

The last chorus, the last verse. Jean didn't think he would survive.

Each note just kept climbing higher, he didn't know they had a range like...like this. Sure, he had heard them singing in the shower occasionally, or in the kitchen when they thought he couldn't hear but...never like this.

They held onto the mic and reached down to Jean, their glove becoming God's hand, and Jean had become their Adam. If only Michelangelo could see humanity now.

The final note was held. Their head momentarily snapped to the left to briefly bend into the mic before it snapped back forward again. And the performance was over. Jesus. Christ.

----------

They did it. They actually did it. Holy shit, they- they didn't think they'd actually be able to. Knowing their luck they would have tripped on a cord or had a voice crack so bad they'd permanently lose their voice or something but, no they- they really did it!

Sure they probably strained some notes at the end there, and they were so sweaty. Those lights were so hot. They hoped it didn't show. Jean was still staring. Did he like it? He looked like he liked it, but- you can never tell can you?

They were breathing so heavily. This outfit felt so heavy. They really hoped he liked it. They just kept their eyes on him.

Clapping. Oh- The brothers were clapping. Cheering even. And Jean followed. He stood up, cupping his mouth and practically yelling in support. He was always so supportive.

Jean ran up to the edge of the stage as they walked to him. He practically jumped them as he helped them off the edge. Just as their shoes grazed the floor, Jean's arms were already around them.

"Sweetheart that was- I- I don't even have the words-"

They laughed, and he laughed with them. They were so relieved. He didn't think it was weird.

"I'm...I'm just glad you liked it," They rested their hand on his chest, his heart was pounding.

"Liked it? Of course, I liked it, you- you were...I mean- you were fucking gorgeous," His voice grew quiet as his forehead rested on theirs. They loved it when he did this. They felt so close.

They felt even closer when he kissed them. Definitely closer then.

"Alright lovebirds, cut it out, don't make us singles feel too homicidal," Badabing blurted as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know, I 'tink it's sweet," His taller brother defended.

"Well, no one asked you, did they?"

Intern always was amazed how those two could turn anything into an argument. The 'lovebirds' chuckled to each other at the sight. Then they felt him tugging on their hand. They turned, he was pulling them towards the stage.

As they walked, the intern gripped his hand tightly and whispered, almost overtaken by the noise of the brothers.

"What are you doing?"

Jean smiled and turned his head to them as they both walked up the steps of the stage, "Taking us backstage."

Oh? Backstage? Alone? Well damn, they thought they performed well but not that well, but they're not complaining.

As soon as the two of them got into the wings, the intern was met with another kiss, a deeper kiss than before.

"Baby- Do- are we really gonna do this here? I mean Badabing and-"

Jean cut them off. His hands gripped their arms.

"You didn't do this because of Stacy right?"

And just like that. Mood, gone. Jean had an unparalleled ability to do that. Intern probably wasn't much better. It took them a second to respond.

"That's...a good question actually, I don't...think so?"

He stared at them, his lips pursed.

"You don't...think.. so?"

"Well- I- Okay it's not- I'm not jealous. I swear to god I'm not. I just...I don't know- I guess- I guess I just wanted to prove myself," They looked down, smiling at the stupidity of it all.

He tilted his head in confusion and inched closer.

"Prove yourself of what?"

"To prove to myself that I'm worthy of you?"

Jean sighed, managing a sad smile. His hands slid from their arms to their back, pulling them towards him. A hug. He breathed in the scent of their hair and they breathed in the scent of his shirt.

"You don't have to prove anything, honey, you've already got me," Jean comforted while he rubbed their back.

"I know," They dug their fingers into his shirt, the fabric felt cool compared to how high their body temperature was.

He slid his hands down and hugged their waist and began to shift his weight back and forth. Soon, so did they. Swaying.

Jean kissed the top of their head.

"I love you so much."

They smiled into the crook of his neck, he felt it.

"I love you too." 

[fountainpenguin]

"I'm not the kind of girl to get messed up with you- Hello! ... You're all right, but I'm here, darling, to enjoy the party..." (x)

---

New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 31 - “Flame (Etho, Skizz, Pearl)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

---

Scar files a microaggression complaint with the HALO team. Pearl helps Scott settle in while he recovers from glitchy code. They have a spat that's not about a sticker.

Meanwhile, SnifferMyFeet and Etho separate their souls… and start an honest talk about Sniff's identity as Sniff, not Joel. It was needed. It's for the best.

(First 900 words under the cut)

---

Etho - Fox

Status: Resting

Self-taught programmer, full-time hero

💙  💙  💙

He gets it now.

It's like ice in your water. It's like marshmallows in your cocoa. It's like wind beneath your wings. The final week before he's due back in Between (reluctantly, but definitely due), Etho flops on his bed and sprawls his arms to either side. Is he giddy? He doesn't mean to be, but this feels…

… Oh, it's a game-changer. Which is exactly what he texts Cleo after scooping up his admin panel. They won't see it if they've left their private server, and since Session 2 of Dog's Life could be starting any day now, there's no telling how long that may take.

Etho: hey so Etho: remember after limlife 4 or 5 when we talked about burnout?

Grocery shopping. For a family dinner- he and Cleo both made one (like a peace offering) in a way that wasn't really flirty married life roleplay, but more like… regular, everyday person roleplay. Did all their shopping together so they wouldn't cook the same thing. Call it 'date night' if you want; he walked her home and there might've been a little 'dramatic logout' roleplay in there. We don't… We don't need to go into detail about it.

To some people that's romantic and to some it's completely gross. Not really sure why… It's a natural process, isn't it? Soul-eaters can't help being what they are, and you may as well snap at endermen hybrids for struggling with eye contact or shame unthreaded players if they expose their glitches instead of keeping them covered up. This world's too big and life too long for arguing. Do you really want to make enemies and be rude to people who are going to carry the echo of your words for the rest of their lives?

Lend a helping hand. Extend a little kindness. Be polite. Respond to the hurt. Try not to avoid responsibility when others are counting on your strength. Sit with the injured, even when the night is cold. They're simple goals, but so easily forgotten these days.

Etho: I think you said if I felt stuck then I should break my routine for a while

Nothing happens for several minutes. Etho rotates words without meaning through his head, then types out something else.

Etho: you were right. I get now why you go on adventures with Martyn. Why you let him and no one else log you out all the time. Thanks for the advice. Let me know next time you need a favor. Rating this cycle 10 of 10 and I owe you big xD

He takes a long, guilt-free nap in his cushioned bed. Catching up on block updates and videos really drains a guy (especially this close to the end of the Hermitcraft season, not to mention Vault Hunters and a Life series on top of it), but he spent all morning prepping the bed and it's already providing every agonizing tick of its worth. Two hours later, he's stirred awake by a buzz on the admin panel.

ZombieCleo: yay! So glad that worked for you <3 I want to hear all about it. Maybe in a couple weekends you can watch MCC with me and the kids + Martyn? If we catch a minute alone, I can recommend more stuff you might be into ;)

The kids refers to Bdubs and Scar, who skated through Limited Life like energetic teenagers spreading their wings. It's goofy, it's endearing, and Cleo's got her roleplay voice on because she knows it makes him snort. His tail gives a twitch as he tries to keep a smirk from creeping out behind his mask.

Martyn, huh? he muses, but doesn't say that. Cleo circles between lovers, friends, and exes like a pollinating bee.

Etho: whoaaaa Etho: inviting a fox? that's dangerous! ZombieCleo: nose out of your tail, fur boy Etho: dibs on Martyn, I see ZombieCleo: If you're serious about returning the favor, Martyn says Rhetoric's down here and this might be our best chance at smash and grabbing from your mum's museum Etho: Hm… ZombieCleo: I mean, you did leave my eggshell when you rescued Grian and that other soul

Yeah- it looked distressed. Now Sniff's down here. He can actually talk now when he couldn't before. Honestly, not the worst decision he could've made.

If anyone's going to try getting into the Fox Dragon's museum, a fox has the best chance of doing so. It's kept separate from the nesting cave where souls respawn, but even the deadliest traps won't keep foxes out since they'll just respawn. Unless they're traps that can't be dodged even with careful planning, or some sort of system that short-circuits code. The phantom roost is nearby, right? Frankly, phantoms are excellent trackers, they can fly, and they're probably the fastest of all non-swimming hybrids, so a phantom alone provides great security as-is.

Etho: I'll think about it. Not tonight, though. Full moon fox face isn't for me. Also if there are raiders there then that's probably the worst time to show up ZombieCleo: Fair ZombieCleo: I can think of something else, but if you ever get the chance, I want it back Etho: duly noted ✌️ ZombieCleo: btw say hi to Scar and Bdubs when you see them. They've been cracking nonstop jokes since you disappeared. One can only imagine they're attempting humor to bury immense throes of pain Etho: D:

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[rabbitenn]

Can you write out some headcanons of what you think it would take for Tenn to fall in love with someone?🙈in my mind he’s a hard nut to crack so I want to know what would make his heart break from its cage and start fluttering!🤍thank you <3

YOU ARE IN LOVE, TRUE LOVE.

Maybe this feeling wasn’t in his plans, but all he wants is to feel the warmth of your affection.

ft. Kujo Tenn x gn! reader.

cw/genre: fluff, romance.

hello, dear and thank you very much for your request ! I always love it when you guys ask for Tenn content, he deserves all the love in the world <3 I also included an additional mini scenario, I hope you like it ! My apologies that I couldn’t post it sooner !

— For Tenn to start taking a liking to someone, they’d need to be kind and hardworking.

— Those are attributes that he very much shows, even if he may not realize the former sometimes.

— It’s endearing to see how you give it your all, trying your utmost to do your job/passion/hobby perfectly.

— Plus, if it’s something to do with an audience, like being an artist, a musician or idol too, a writer, streamer, etc, Tenn can relate so much to the feeling of doing your best to make them happy.

— Tenn dislikes inconsiderate people, that is why I mentioned kindness as another key quality he’d be attracted to (also, who doesn’t like a kind and caring partner?)

— The center of TRIGGER is always giving his everything to everyone, doing all he can and more to make his fans and the people that are important to him happy.

— So when you care for him, doing your best to make him smile, to make him comfortable, Tenn can feel this warm sensation in his chest… Almost like a desire to get closer to you, to share more with you, to return the gesture…

— It’s so cute, you think, how his eyes widen and the pink tint on his cheeks deepens when you give him one of your sweet smiles as you hand him a lunch box you made for him.

— As much as you love charming angelic center of the stage Kujo Tenn, there’s something so adorable about his feelings being so raw in his expression.

— You’d love to kiss him.

— And you don’t know yet, but he feels the same way.

— A sort of magnetic pull, a sense of yearning akin to the anticipation he experiences before stepping on stage.

— Another quality Tenn would like in his potential s/o is honesty. Compulsive liars are the kind of people he doesn’t get along with (I mean, pretty common sense again).

— So, please, be honest with him! Even if sometimes there are things he won’t tell his fans in order to avoid them worrying, if you are truthful with him, it makes Tenn feel valued.

— The same goes for any actions or kindness you extend towards him.

— To see you caring for him from the bottom of your heart and for who he is as his own person, rather than just for his idol image…

— Tenn has to let you know how much he appreciates you.

— Has to let you know he loves you.

— And that is exactly what he will do.

♡

Shades of argent blue paint the wintry evening sky.

Sunset is approaching, the glowing trail of the dusky sun lining the horizon, readying the stage for the appearing constellations.

Beneath this moment, tinted in shades of both night and day, two figures stand.

If a young shooting star were to see the world for the first time at this moment, it’d believe one of the two people is an angel.

Right now, you are staring into this person’s eyes.

They remind you of the cotton candy you ate with him just a while ago at the amusement park.

He smiles softly.

For you to surprise him with tickets and fulfill his dream date… It’s true you’ve become pretty close, but this gesture alone melts the singer’s heart.

This isn’t the first time you’ve been so good to him, either.

It’s been a while since his heart started dancing to the song your affections played for him.

He had never verbalized it, though.

But today, as a halo of early night surrounds the quiet street, he has to tell you.

“[Y/n],” The idol calls you, his expression tender but solemn. “There is something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” He utters, breath coming out in puffs that merge with the first stars.

“What is it, Tenn?” You prompt him, that smile filled with kindness you always gave him, illuminating your features.

One of his hands reaches to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear, his lingering touch sizzling as it sends waves of fiery shivers down your spine.

“You’re so kind to me, so good… You make me happy.” Tenn says, voice soft. “I want to be with you. Not just as friends. I love you.”

Your gaze widens, the shimmer of a charmed night reflected in your eyes, staring at the curve of Tenn’s lips as he gives you his sweetest smile.

“Tenn…” You return his smile, as you throw your arms around him. “I’m so glad… I love you too.”

In the threshold of your beloved’s shared residence, two figures stand.

The ancient stars watching from above smile knowingly; they had already foretold how the angel’s invisible wings would wrap around his lover.

♡

— In addition to all of the aforementioned attributes, Tenn himself mentions how he’d like to be with a partner who understands the music/show business industry well.

— There are times when he may not be able to spend all the time he wants with you, since his job requires hours upon hours of practise.

— In other instances, you two may have to keep your relationship a secret, so as to not hurt the fans and avoid mass media.

— Being with a lover who could understand that, plus enjoying at least to some extent the world he’s into, would really make him cherish them more. (And not only that, but someone like that would be highly compatible with him as well, from an objective point of view).

— So, what would it take for the perfectionist idol’s heart to start fluttering? To sum it up, kindness and care for him and for all of those he holds dear (please, get along well with Riku too!), earnestness and hard work, knowledge of the showbiz world and being considerate and honest.

— Hold Tenn’s heart of gold gently, please, he needs and deserves all the love.

[animation-is-my-jam]

Halo heloo!! Popping in to say if you have any more Wordgirl hot takes? I'm new to the fandom and I saw your post about the opinion meme. (Btww my favorite character is Lady Redundant Woman and I ship Tobecky-- I wonder if you also have unpopular opinions on those mostly cause im curious)

Hi!! Thanks for the ask.

Kinda funny that I'm asked fandom/character questions considering my activity and obscurity, but I have been in the Wordgirl space for 7 years and observed it back in the early 2010s.

As for hot takes...hmm, I could give some since I was watching through the series again, and I recently had some discussions with a friend about Wordgirl stuff. (The Disclaimer, aside from one of the takes I have, these aren't that serious, or do I want to come across as confrontational, just my thoughts and opinions):

Scoops is not a jerk. Random, I know, but it's also connected to the idea of Scoops being this secretly selfish boy and why he's the least liked kid character in the fandom next to idk Eileen. Yes, Scoops is a bit of dunce and can often say or do stuff because he gets carried away or his ego--but he wouldn't straight up be malicious. He's a kid. And idk, I think it's pretty funny how oblivious or callouse he can be to others. But no Tobecky fans, Scoops wouldn't just straight up hate or stop being Becky's friend if she either confessed to him or started seeing Tobey. (I agree that he's such a dummy at times and could say the wrong things, but come on, look at Scoops and tell me he would treat his friends terribly.)

Granny May is funny. I know a lot of people don't like her or her episodes because they hate the gaslight or turn on Wordgirl schemes, but idc I think it's hilarious that this 75 year old is beefing with a child and gets away with manipulating people for the 100th time. Plus, I think it's interesting that her episodes could bring out a Becky that makes us question if she's doing good deeds bc it's the right thing or doing them because it gives her purpose and adoration. Either way, I'm like the only Wordgirl fan who is interested in Granny May character lore, and what exactly is her relationship to her own kids and grandkids. And that's cause she makes me laugh.

(Oh boy, serious time) Okay, so this is a very recent observation and discussion I had with a friend who is more educated on this matter over the entire fandom perception of Two-brains|squeaky. And I'm gonna say it on mine and on their behalf... I don't like the usage of squeaky as this ultimate evil or an overt metaphor for the difficult/bad side effects of mental illness. Like, okay, I know this is touchy for people since Two-brains is the favorite--but I don't like the constant fandom aesthetic sticking to making Two-brains the ONLY character with either DID or any number of serious mental conditions just because he fused with the brain of a evil mouse, especially when their depiction of it is worse than Detroit Become Human with racism. At worst, it could be ablelist and ignorant to people with those actual diagnoses. What do I mean by this? Well, it's mostly for people who think that Steven is still inside Two-brains or that Two-brains could be fixed. I'm one of the Steven is gone believers, but regardless--it's kinda ehh to try and make Two-brains represent someone with mental illness or addiction and just say "dw he can be cured if we kill this other part of himself". Even worse than when he does get "fixed," it's only squeaky's influence that encourages his bad behavior and that others would care for him more if only he got rid of the "problem" and went back to being "normal". Like...that's not how a mental illness/condition works. I should know. And this idea kinda makes me uncomfortable because idk, it's like the equivalent of when TOH was still airing and some ppl going: "Why doesn't eda just isolate or destroy the owl beast?" Or the audacity to say that she should have been fully healed at the end when no, she was a good example of the metaphor, and it would completely ruin the purpose. (Plus, I don't get the Jekyll and Hyde comparisons if you try to apply the mental illness metaphor).

As for the other parts of your question. Hmm do i have unpopular ideas/takes of Lrw or Tobecky?

For LRW, um, not really? She's one of my favorite villains, so I'm good, not really any complaints with her or how she's done in fandom tropes. All I know is that fandom actually makes her cooler somehow, and I get mad about that bc shes so awesome/lhj

For Tobecky...yeah I know, another discussion about them, lol, can't help it. But for unpopular ideas/takes...I guess one is that I don't think Wordgirl was completely terrible during the Miss Power scene with him. Like obviously it hurted Tobey's feelings and Wordgirl shouldn't be so mean, BUT you can't lie to say that if not then...Wordgirl would have blown up at him one day and it's good that Tobey at least knows what she deep down thought of him. I know a lot of people who like Tobey don't think he should be treated badly ever, but no, the kid kinda needs the humbling (the stuff of his appearance was uncalled for though. Like who cares about his drip Wordgirl--he destroys buildings and belittles others 😭 thats the least of his issues.)

Another one is that I don't think Wordgirl/Becky owes him anything just because he likes her and is secretly lonely. Like you can have Tobey as your favorite and want him to be happy, but, to me, it's like don't just make Tobey the one who only gets Becky because he like deserves it after getting mega sad or he "won" her (im saying this as a tobey fan). What's Becky thoughts? Or make her the one to realize why she would be with Tobey? How does Tobey make her happy? And that it's okay that Becky rejects Tobey in a fic or art. It doesn't make her the bad one in the scene or that she's treating him unfairly. (Something I realized in my own fic).

[extraneousdominomask]

What I did on my summer vacation

As you've no doubt gathered by now, for the last two years I've been playing various old games with my wife. I often used to post about that adventure here, and then I kinda stopped. I feel bad about that, especially when it comes to the two excellent, free indie games I had fully intended to spotlight. So here's a quick rundown!

Celeste, OJONMRAG, Double Cross

Three great indies I got in the same bundle. Celeste needs no introduction, and I've spoken about it before. I don't know if I ever mentioned Oh Jeez Oh No My Rabbits Are Gone!!!, but it's a fun puzzle game with cute visuals and surprisingly catchy music. And speaking of those two things, Double Cross is a hidden gem of a game. We really enjoyed its eclectic cast, and still sometimes quote the zany catgirl in particular. ("All cats are tyrants, Zahra.")

Manic Miners

Lego Rock Raiders was a toy line in the 1990s, which earned its own video game tie-in. I remember it fondly... as did one absolute hero, who remastered the dang thing as a non-profit passion project. Manic Miners is available via Itch for free - because it's a fan game! He had to ask very nicely to do this at all! - and it completely revitalizes what was an engaging but flawed fuzzy memory from my childhood. As well as adding several quality of life improvements to make the game flow better, cut content is restored and entirely new features are added in, such as a character creator. If you want an accessible game that can provide the sweet, sweet satisfaction of collecting every scrap of resources from a initially messy environment, I highly recommend this.

inFamous 2: Festival of Blood

An important thing to know about me is that I hate vampires. I don't like 'em and I don't like looking at 'em, so I usually avoid and and all vampiric media, even if they're getting slaughtered. For that reason, despite loving inFamous 2, I never checked out its DLC side-adventure Festival of Blood... until now. (Making a new purchase on the PS3 digital store was hard, but not impossible. Thanks for complaining every time they try to shut it down, everybody!) It's a short experience, but a lot of fun, thanks to the wise decision to let Zeke narrate the whole bullshit stor- I mean, thrilling tale of true heroism. I found Bloody Mary to be an entertainingly nasty villain, despite my biases.

Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts is one of the video games ever, no question. Expectations were lofty for its much-delayed sequel. If anything, I think I prefer this one! The core (the gameplay, visuals, hilarious writing, and Peter McConnell's consistently excellent music) all remain unchanged, with new mechanics, some quality of life improvements, and an impressive voice cast all added on top. Jack Black and Elijah Wood are both in this game, and they're both great!

Pokémon White

this one kinda sucked ngl

Halo: Combat Evolved

Mostly, I'm showing my wife a game and not the other way around. There was one major franchise that I had almost entirely missed, however - aside from a few free-form skirmishes at parties - that she fondly remembers. This summer, we both experienced the first Halo together, and in short: yeah, I can see why this changed the course of the industry singlehandedly. It still feels great to play, even with my wife assuring me that the sequel is a big improvement from these already solid bones. I frankly don't relish slaughtering the fleeing, crying Grunts, since we as a society have moved on considerably when it comes to the rights of funny little guys. But it feels great to shoot aleins and Cortana is my friend. Exactly as advertised.

Jak II: Renegade

this one definitely sucked, holy shit. I remember this being a good game. I remembered incorrectly.

Shantae (2002)

I've played two of the more recent Shantae games, and I found them charming. But how does the original hold up? Pretty well, honestly! It's far from perfect - the day and night cycle really adds nothing beyond referencing Castlevania - but the music and visuals are truly impressive for the original GameBoy. I'm gonna be thinking about Shantae's cute little 8-bit dances for a while.

Undertale Yellow

Like anyone who listens to a lot of Toby Fox's music over YouTube, I've seen my fair share of dubious OCs and "epic fights" floating at the corner of my vision. With that in mind, I went into UY with managed expectations, despite the positive buzz. Could a fangame really match the unique energy and charm of one of the greatest independent games of our generation?

Uh... yeah! I'm as surprised as anyone else, but everything from the music to the gameplay to the writing was really bang-on. It's not a flawless experience - the El Bailador fight needed reworking, it was WAY harder than other, more impactful fights - but the eight years of passion very much shine through. If you're a fan of UT/DR and need something to tide you over as we all wait for Chapters 3+, I fully recommend this. It's free!!!!

Spyro the Dragon (1998)

Finished this just yesterday! I got the remaster when it came out, but - no offense - nothing beats the blocky low-poly charm of the original. This was my first time replaying it in several years, and for the first time, it felt small. Levels I remember struggling with posed no challenge any more. But I think that only speaks to how many times I replayed this lovely little adventure. Also, did you know that of the, like, four voice actors in this game, one of them is Clancy goddamn Brown? He plays like 30 of these polygonal dragons!

...I would normally try to end a post this long on a more climactic note, but, uh... yeah.

[rockwgooglyeyes]

saw your reblog snd. vera would very much welcome a visit but she might be uh… hard to find… and a little scared that onyx might report that he found her but. i kinda wanna know what you think if onyx did find vera eventually ?

HHYYEYY HI HI HI JUNE!!! sorry you are probably in school rn . . . I hope that is going well! Anyways back to Vera and Onyx. . .

🥺👉👈 i hope it is okay that i am going to write something instead of actually . . . answer your question directly *cries* but basically, Onyx would be actively seeking her out because he's been worried about her since her round. I don't know how to exactly articulate his thought process in a straightforward way atm (which is honestly why I'm going to write instead of just saying it lmao)

trigger/content warning for gore, mentioned/referenced death

As soon as he got out of the holding pod, brushing past Oryon and ignoring the huff of frustration that earned him, Nyx ran to the place he last saw Vera. The staff backstage didn't stop him or even give him a passing glance, recognizing him as one of the contestants in the upcoming 16th round. He didn't think too hard about the fact that he was only some two, three weeks away from his end. He couldn't think too much about it or else he was at risk of falling into a downward double helix of mental decay.

Splotches and rivulets of blood dribbled and dripped along the typically cold, clean floors. The particular river that found its way to the source of Flor, Rosca, or Ellie, well, that was unclear. He followed each tributary to the mouth, unflinching in the face of the gore and viscera being cleaned off of the floor and the bodies, before they could be disposed of. It was nearly impossible to tell that Ellie was ever bleeding, her hemorrhage the same shade as the halo of curls around her face. He wondered, distantly, what they were going to do with the bodies. He slunk away before he got a chance to find out.

She loved her. She loved her and she took her life. How could something like that happen? Part of him just can't let it go. He rubbed at his face and let out a sigh. Rosca loved Flor and decided to die with her. Love shows itself in different ways, he supposed.

Finding a messy, smudged trail of red on the floor, not belonging to any of the girls who died tonight, Nyx walked beside it, careful not to smudge the blood further. By process of elimination, this path must to belong to Vera, who ran away uninjured but not unscathed by the spray of gore, the hem of her white dress absolutely drenched in it as she fled. Nyx made sure that no one noticed him weaving his way through the throng of people mulling about, as well as the ones rushing in and out of the backstage on a mission, and he ducked behind a thick fabric, deeper into the belly of the arena.

Luckily enough, Nyx has always been good at finding things. Whether or not something is lost or someone just doesn't know where it is, Nyx can find it, with nearly 10/10 results. It's only been a few times he hasn't been able to, and he prefers to think of those as outliers, rather than the rule. He doesn't know how long exactly it takes but, as always, he finds Vera.

Pushing the vent open and crawling out into a dimly-lit room, Nyx blinks in surprise when he sees a small figure huddled in the corner, white ruffles fanning out around her in waves, the edges stained with crimson slowly oxidizing into copper. Her head pops up and she locks eyes with him, eyebrows shooting up as soon as she sees him, and she recedes in on herself further, something he hadn't really believed possible.

"Vera," he starts hesitantly, unsure of what he really wants to say. She stiffens, going as still as stone, giving him pause. He takes a moment to close the vent panel behind him and the moment he turns around, she's lunging at him, her hands at his throat. His back hits the wall with a clang and he wheezes at the sudden restriction on his trachea but somehow, he knows that she doesn't truly mean to hurt him. Maybe it's the way her hands trembling are against his neck.

"If you even think of speaking to anyone about this and- and turning me in," she tells him, her voice wavering ever so slightly. Her jade eyes bore into him, always dull since the incident but somehow even duller since she won her round. "I- I'll make sure you never speak again." He swallows and feels her grip tighten.

"Ver. . . Vera," he rasps. "I wouldn't do . . . that." Her eyes narrow before she raises an eyebrow at him.

"Swear on it," she demands. He holds up his hand, pinky raised. She glances to it, hesitating before letting out a sigh and releasing his neck. She wraps her pinky around his and nods to him. "Alright."

"Are you okay?" He croaks. She looks at him for a moment before letting out a bitter, cracking laugh.

"What do you think?"

"No, you're not," he answers softly. He holds out his hand to her. "Is there . . . anything I can do?" Vera is silent for a long moment before she puts her hand in his, tangling their fingers together. She nestles into his side and gives him a questioning look.

"Can," she breathes, looking down at the ground. "Can we just stay like this? For a little while?" Nyx feels himself smile and he wraps his free arm around her.

"Of course, as long as you need."

(flor and rosca belong to @sotogalmo!)

[teanicolae]

i have been exploring the algorithm of the Mahāvidyā Kamalātmikā through sound pathway as facilitated by the AshZero offering of "Sounds of Śakti" for which @lensonearth created a series of sounds distilled from bījā mantra. the sounds are not chants nor articulated resonance; instead, they are what we see as a container through which sound is projected as shape. this model of absorption is a near non-linear oral transmutation which aims to follow the siddhānta (algorithm) of ṛṣi darśanāta (to understand more, watch "Vedas: All You Wanted to Know" by Dr. Kesarkar which expounds on how the Vedas originated from sound: https://youtu.be/mK6KdrmyOcg?si=t7vuad5g9kiLXCyF).

after experimenting with various abstract sound combinations for a week, i began continuously looping through one particular waveform.

with the awareness that it is in our humanness to prefer what is amiable and to make choices (such as that of which sound to absorb) based on what resonates with our sense projections, i aimed to renounce any bias and to absorb the sound for 3 weeks without expectations, familiarity or target. i listened to it in the morning and in the evening, 4 times each round.

gradually, the sound became integrated in my system; i became able to access it spontaneously, in the sensory exchanges occurring in my regular days. i noticed change in my perception of the events arising in my life as well as in my actions. as instructed, i aimed to avoid the natural urge to linearly make sense of it or to differentiate positive and negative effects arising of this flow. thus, i will not pinpoint what exactly changed in my life through the means of this sound, nor do i think it would be feasible or fruitful, as it causes validation toward a process - which is not the aim of application-based Tantra.

however, as an exercise, i decided to jot down the unfolding of a sound exploration that transpired in my first night in Rishikesh without any rationale other than an opening to the process possibly unlocking something within without a specific subconscious target.

i'm not sharing this with the intention to construct a mystical halo. mystical / energetic experience is ultimately just an experience - it can greatly help us open or gain clarity, but it's important not to get caught up in it. the experience i am sharing simply demonstrates how sound can be absorbed by the system and nothing more, and has no inherent specialness.

as i sat by the Gaṅgā, the sound i have been imbibing spontaneously rang in my right ear at low volume. after a small dram of whisky taken as sacrament, the sound boomed in both of my ears. my heartbeat increased and various bodyparts, such as navel, feet and hands began pulsing. what i understand as "pleasure pathways" in my system fired. followingly, i directly listened to the sound with headphones, eyes open. after i finished listening, the sound overturned my thoughts and my experience became an immersion in the five senses (sight, touch etc).

sacrament choice: 6 y/o Highland Park independent bottle, 60.1%, which i got from Cadenhead's at a Whiskybaba.in immersion in summer - i'm not a fan of OB (original / official bottling) of Highland Park but their IB (independent bottling) i think is a must try.

[lion12211221]

[Writing Prompt]

I would, but my muse blocked my number like a jilted ex.

"what is this place?" "A temple. A shrine. A bastion of a once great empire. A golden age of splendor, of enlightenment, of boundless technological advancement…" "A tomb. And a message. A warning to all those who would come after, that no matter the heights, the power or the ingenuity, eventually, everything falls. Everything rusts or decays. Everyone, every structure, every line of poetry or prose, every institution or bright new idea, none of it lasts, not forever. Nothing endures the inexorable march of time, not even the stars in the sky or the planets on which we so briefly stage our fleeting existence. Flickers of light, fireflies before an approaching dawn." "It's poetic, in a way. A comfort to some, I'm sure; a somber, existential reminder for others."

Some Context: (Not part of prompt, just my own thoughts if you want them (I write like I rant, fair warning))

I'm a big sci-fi and sci-fi fanfic fan who regularly organizes spelunking expeditions into the depths of the Star wars, Mass Effect, Halo, Titanfall and Warframe fandoms, and sometimes when I strike a precious vein there is more than one mineral present if you catch my drift[er] (I'm a regular comedian, I know, sue me).

Well recently, on one such subterranean enterprise, while playing Warframe till oh-shit-my-shift-starts-in-4-hours o'clock for the umpteenth time I had an idea (find cover, this is not a drill).

What if Warframe was simply the very distant past in the Star Wars (works better than Halo imo - more diversity of timeframe/characters/not already well established history/Obi-wanturnedmegayer...) universe. So I started connecting some dots.

What if the tenno (who as far as I can tell were essentially made immortal by the Zariman incident, I mean apparently the Orokin-Sentient war lasted 'generations' and the operators still look like they could put you on a list) were like the original force sensitives in the galaxy. The big bang of Ashla and Bogan if you will.

And what if, after living for a long time and seeing more beings begin to develop and exhibit powers like theirs, they decide (in their galactic guardian/caretaker wisdom) to try and bring these beings together to train and learn from them, and to study the void [the powers the Tenno have]/the force (The void itself/the rift can be hyperspace - little understood in modern Star Wars times as knowledge so lost they don't even know that it is; they can use it, just don't ask them exactly how).

Thus begins the Je'daii order. (The Tenno have access to Orokin tech, and have had a long time to refine it themselves (these people out here collecting PHD's like trading cards they've been alive that long), they could have built the Tho Yor pyramid ship thingies)

Je'daii order around for a long ass time (like 36,453 BBY to 25,783 BBY long according to wookiepedia) before the great jedi/Sith schism. Most Tenno at this point kind of regard the whole thing as a 'it was fun while it lasted' type deal and peace out (thus no/very few Tenno to start the Jedi order) while some of the more sadistic Tenno (Sevagoth/Nidus/Revenant/Nekros type Tenno) basically become the original ancient Sith lords (Who are said to be ungodly powerful and make more contemporary (give or take ten thousand years, I mean what's that between friends anyway?) Sith look like loth kittens.

Haven't quite figured out how these guys were killed off/gotten rid of yet. Maybe the rest of the Tenno just decided they'd gone insane and banded together one last time to take them down/banish them to God knows where.

Fast forward to a more familiar era in the Star Wars universe, where the Tenno and the Orokin who birthed them have basically completely faded from memory/record (There were never that many of them to begin with, for all that they were incredibly powerful), and in steps our fateful Tenno Operator/Drifter (They can switch between like in the game depending on what is most advantageous in the situation. It would suck being tens of millennia old, getting ID'd and never being able to get a drink because the real age on your ancient ID is not just in a writing system no one has ever seen, but looks like an integer overflow error in a warlord Gandhi civ game) just cruising through life, chilling in some seedy cantina on some outer rim dust-ball when all of a sudden our [sparkles emoji] protagonist [sparkles emoji] character, who inevitably drags said Tenno into their shit/back onto the galactic scene after millennia of laying low, trying out every hobby and career under the sun, and refreshing their PHD collection (Why do they have to do the damn medical - read neurosurgeon - exams over and over again what seems like every other week! (actually like every couple decades when someone bothers to check their long expired medical licenses).

That's basically as far as I've gotten with it in my head, just kinda plugging different characters/scenarios/eras into my head to see what sticks. I'm partial to pre-Mand'alor Jaster Mereel if you want to take it the mando route, or on/post Bandomeer/Melida-Daan Obi-wan if you want to take it in any number of directions from there (or why not combine the two?).

So the Prompt is a little snippet I wrote of our lucky Tenno bringing a character to an ancient Orokin temple, no idea for what purpose though.

[randomthefox]

What exactly is your stance on remakes? I don't mean ports that are 99% the same with added content or old games with remastered graphics/remastered graphics options available, but actual, from-the-ground-up remakes? Me personally, I don't think remakes can ever replace a game from 5th gen and up (as well as SNES/Genesis remakes of NES games; those always look weird as hell).

As a general rule I think remakes are not only unnecessary, but actively harmful. People will often treat a remake as a replacement for the original game, or see the original as obsolete because a remake exists, which impacts the discussion about the game or series and creates that problem where two fans ostensibly talking about the same piece of media will be talking at cross purposes about two completely different things. They are also damaging to the efforts of media preservation and archival efforts, because companies will treat the remake as more recent and valuable and thus not bother with rerelease efforts for the original.

In general, ports and remasters are good. Whatever word or method you wanna use that just means taking the same game that existed before, and releasing it on new consoles and platforms to make it more accessible to modern audiences. That's preservation. That's making sure everyone is talking about the same game. Personally, I don't even mind if they do waste everyone's time on a remake AS LONG AS the original game is made accessible, like with Konami remaking Metal Gear Solid 3 well at least they released the Legacy Collection so everyone can just play the original, or with Final Fantasy 7 the remake(s) might be there but the original is right on the digital store space as well and folks have zero excuse for why they can't just play it.

I also wouldn't mind a release that completely changes the graphics of the original as long as an option to experience those original graphics is made available, like the Tomb Raider Remasters and Halo Anniversary Edition. Spyro Reignited, much as I love it, fails in this regard.

On the whole I think remakes are bad and unnecessary, because they're pretty much only ever done for greedy short sighted reasons and not artistic ambition. They choose to remake a game because the game was already good and of significant importance, and thus they know they'll get a lot of buzz and sales for remaking it. If they were remaking arguably bad games and improving a flawed experience, that'd be one thing (I would argue Resident Evil REmake and to a lesser extent Yakuza Kiwami are both examples of this). But that's almost never what they're trying to do, they're often just going "HEY REMEMBER THIS COOL OLD GAME EVERYONE LOVES, WELL HERE IT IS AGAIN BUT WITH FANCY NEW GRAPHICS AND SHITTY NEW GAMEPLAY AND CELEBRITY VOICE ACTING!!!" and it's like fucking put a gun in my fucking mouth.

[beastenraged]

the nature of the diseased, pt. 3

@hallowed-nebulae

The Radiant Nightmare knows that there is something wrong with her. But there is nothing she can do about it.

Her tail curls about her multiple limbs, the change in form somehow less frightening than the change in mindset.

Because she thought with 'I' once, didn't she? But now the 'I' has become 'she' and her thoughts are her thoughts, instead of my thoughts.

Something has changed and she doesn't know what.

"You continue to chase my vessel."

The nightmare forces eyelids into existence so she can use them to blink slowly (and warily) at the unicorn masked...man.

Not a man, but the shape of one, so man will do. For now.

Radiant Nightmare does not see the mask with eyes, she just feels it. A hum of a tune, a whisper of robes. Senses beyond the human mind that was once hers.

"I do not chase them," she states firmly. "I...they go where my past goes, so I follow."

The mask tilts in her direction, the eyes underneath no doubt staring into the core of her.

"You are chained by your past."

Literal chains flicker into life, on her wrists, at the mention of 'chains.' With some effort, the Radiant Nightmare forces herself not to think about them. Because they are always there, but much like a Game many once played, she only loses herself to enchainment when she recalls they exist.

She flicks her tongue in one of three mouths. Hm, maybe she should close some of those up, man-shaped Others often don't like the reminders of exactly inhuman they all are. Inside and outside.

Though he may be Light, and her Dark.

Wrists free. Free of...don't think. Act.

"Are you going to do something about it?"

The unicorn man taps at his arms. "Is there something you want me to do about it?"

No.

"Not from you. Never from you," she states firmly. Her scales rise, her fins fan out.

"Some things cannot be broken. Like certain connections. You would know, huh? Between you and your Master."

Something shifts in the shadow that isn't. Because just then, she realizes that the one who stands before her has no shadow at all. Just the light halo of one standing directly under an eclipse.

In a world without a sun. With only stars.

"He is my Master no more, though he tries to claim the past is all that matters. Much like you."

She can't help but laugh. A mere nightmare that shouldn't exist, anything like the Master of Masters? Give her a break!

Her entire body shifts and wiggles under her laughter, shifting all colors under the judging Light.

"Oh, he and I think very differently. About what past means."

After all.

He wants to save the World, doesn't he? Make it into something that he wants to see.

As for herself...

(I will break the worlds. To make them happy again.)

[ageless-aislynn]

Tagged by the ever lovely and awesome @swiftzeldas Thanks, hon! 🤗💖

How many works do you have on AO3? 148

What’s your total AO3 word count? 290,660 😵‍💫

What fandoms do you write for? Actively writing for Halo now, but still have some for the Flash to finish up. I've previously also written for Doctor Who.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? "Five Times Oliver Held Felicity (And The One Time She Held Him)" (Olicity, Arrow) "15 Minutes" (John-117/Reader, Halo the series) "Balancing Act" (NSFW) (Tenth Doctor/Donna Noble, Doctor Who) "Side Effect" (NSFW) (John-117/Kai-125, Halo the series) "No Time" (John-117/gender neutral Reader, Halo the series)

Do you respond to comments? I always do and if for some reason I didn't, you can be sure I either didn't see it or something interfered with me in replying and now I've thought I did. That, er, happens more than I wish it would these days. *swiss cheese brain is swiss cheese* 😔🫥🙄

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I very rarely write angsty endings, so they're kinda notable when they happen: "Cold" (Eobard Thawne/Killer Frost, The Flash) (Very short but I've been told it packs a punch. 🥰😉) "Dark/Light" (chapter 1) (Harry Wells/Caitlin Snow, The Flash) (An experimental fic where the dialogue is exactly the same in ch1 and 2 but they tell vastly different stories. 😉) Honorable mention to "Gray Sunflowers" (Caitlin Snow/Hunter Zolomon, The Flash) as a rare one where the entire fic is a metaphor for depression and even though the ending isn't super angsty by any means, it also isn't particularly hopeful either. It's still one of my favorites, though, because I felt like it has a distinctive voice.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'm resisting the urge to put "Side Effect" and the, er, multiple "happy endings" that occur in it here, lol! 🤣🤣🤣 Honestly, basically all of my other fics have a happy ending. I might go with "The Thousand and the First" (NSFW)(Eobard Thawne/Caitlin Snow, The Flash) because I wanted it to carry through a complete redemption arc for Eobard and I think it succeeded. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯😉

Do you get hate on fics? So far, no. On vids... oh yeah. 😑

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Um, yep. Lots. I tend to write smut with a funny tone. I've very rarely done a conventional "romance novel" type scene. "Balancing Act" (Ten/Donna, linked above) was one of the first I'd did with that quasi-realistic/funny tone to it.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I've only written one so far: "Cold Hands" (Caitlin Snow/Jordan Mahkent, The Flash/Stargirl), which also has a vid, "Gasoline."

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of. Again, a vid? Yes.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not as far as I know.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I don't work well with a co-writer, simply because my muse is so resistant to writing to an outline.

What’s your all time favorite ship? To write? Any variation of Eobard Thawne/Caitlin Snow and the Wells dopplegangers/Caitlin or Killer Frost, The Flash, John-117/Kai-125 and John-117/Reader.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? "Try" (both versions of Eobard Thawne/Caitlin Snow, The Flash). I have 3 chapters completed and it's definitely the fic with the most world-building in it and it would also be the first full-fledged poly fic I've done. But my inspiration for the Flash just got smushed by the show so repeatedly I doubt I'll ever get enough oomph to finish it.

What are your writing strengths? Funny smut? Taking fandoms that are very not domestic and writing domestic fics in them? (I'm looking at you, Halo. Apologies to all of the Halo fans out there who absolutely hate people like me. 🫣I know you're out there but I appreciate you only vague-posting about me/people like me and not calling me out by name.)

What are your writing weaknesses? I don't write plotty fic very well, nor do I stick to canon very often. Worst thing is how easily I can sabotage myself and get convinced that everybody hates what I write. I've had SO many wonderful comments telling me otherwise but mannnnnn, my Evil Inner Editor can make me feel like the worst imposter ever. 😔

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've written for Sherloque Wells a handful of times, most notably "Unrequited" (Sherloque/Caitlin, The Flash) but I had help from a genuine French speaker to make sure it was saying what I thought it was saying, lol! It's not something I would want to do a lot, though, because I don't have a good enough grasp on any other language to feel comfortable with it. I greatly admire those who can, though!

First fandom you wrote for? Lord of the Rings, though it's no longer online anywhere. Doctor Who was my official entrance in the awesome world of fanfic after that!

Favorite fic you’ve written? Well, ask me my favorite child, why don't you? 😮🤣 How about I pick one two that haven't been mentioned so far that I'd love to see get more attention? "Phase Two" (Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Doctor Who) is a sentimental fav and "Offer" (Eobard Thawne/Killer Frost, The Flash) is honestly a world I would've loved to have written more in because I found it so interesting.

Tagging any of my writer friends who see this and would like to do it! *boops your nose politely*

(Boop paw GIF kindly made by @theredtours) 😉

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Alright I am back to talk about my boy Peet again, specifically how he was introduced in episode 2 of the Wingfeather TV show. He technically appears in episode 1, but it’s only for a few seconds (and I’ve written a different post about that here).

What I want to talk about is how his character is formerly introduced to the audience in episode 2, “The Mysterious Map”. Peet is in this episode for all of about two minutes but man did they pack a LOT into those two minutes. I’ve said before that every second he’s on screen in the first two episodes of the show is telling us something about him, so let’s take a look, shall we? (there shouldn’t be any spoilers for the books except maybe little teeny tiny ones, I tried really hard to make this accessible to new fans.)

We first properly meet Peet (and learn his name, if you’re new) when Janner goes into Glipwood Forest to retrieve Sara’s zibzy ball. Just as he finds the ball, a mysterious silhouette drops down behind him.

Now, the lighting here is really interesting, because while Peet is in shadow and we can’t see him, there’s still a sunbeam shining down on him. So while his entrance initially seems sinister the lighting is telling us otherwise. This is very much a hero pose that Peet is doing here, and, interestingly enough, he’s also bowing, which he does a couple times in the very short bit he’s on screen, which means it’s a significant detail.

You can see it even more clearly in this shot- the bowing and the sunlight streaming down on him. The imagery is telling us very clearly “this man is good, he can be trusted” (maybe even hinting that he has a noble heart, which anyone who knows the story knows is true). It’s giving us a positive impression of Peet before we know anything about him, even while Janner is still nervous. It’s telling us that while Glipwood Forest is dangerous, this man is not- at least, not to our heroes.

And then we cut to THIS and first of all, have you ever seen a softer, kinder expression on anyone? Second, he’s still in the light- actually, that’s a theme with Peet in this episode; except for the first couple shots he’s in he stays solidly in the light almost the whole time. It’s even giving him a bit of a halo effect here, which is more imagery associated with good, noble characters. He is good and the story wants you to know that- needs you to know it, because they don’t have a lot of time here and we won’t learn much about who Peet is and his motives until the end of season 1 (if they follow the book’s framework there, which I’m assuming they would since there’s no reason not to).

In a sadder frame of analysis, it’s also pretty easy to see that Peet is… not doing great. We don’t know much about him at this point, except that he wears socks on his hands and does amazing acrobatics, but when we first meet him here you get a better sense of his mental state. Not only does he have trouble talking to Janner and act confused (“Oh, hey Peet, what are you doing here?” “Where? Oh! Here. Me.”) he’s also got bags under his eyes (to carry all the trauma), his hair and general appearance is unkempt, and if you look closely you can see what are either splotches of dirt, bruises or scars on his arms and legs which just. makes me worry about him even more.

The way he talks to Janner is also important. He doesn’t say much, but his voice is very soft, he seems to be whispering at first, like he’s afraid of scaring Janner away (;-;) and he only talks a little louder after Janner asks him a question. The way he’s framed in the shots of this scene, how he talks and how soft and gentle his expressions are all speak to the fact that he is kind and good. At the same time we find out about his mental confusion when Janner asks him what he’s doing in the forest and he doesn’t know how to answer the question.

So we have a mentally unwell, kind, noble, sort of weird fellow, who for some reason appears to Janner in the woods. We don’t know why exactly he jumped down from the tree to talk to Janner, because he’s interrupted before he can explain what he’s doing there, but knowing what we do from the books an educated guess can be made that he was keeping an eye on Janner and the other Igiby kids from the woods (he was watching their zibzy game and you can’t convince me otherwise) and when Janner ventured in and seemed frightened, Peet jumped down to make sure he was alright.

So that’s one micro scene. It’s showing us Peet’s caring side, that he might be weird and wear socks on his hands but he’s also kind and gentle to scared children lost in the woods.

The second tiny scene shows us the other side of him.

So Janner’s kind of been being harassed by this little critter (I think it’s a thwapperfly) since he entered the forest. It flies over and dive bombs him while he’s talking to Peet and even right here you can see how Peet’s expression changes. Before he was all softness, but now you can see his face turn more serious. (He’s also still in the light here, though partially shadowed)

(Wait wait, and Janner in that shot and this next one is in the light and oh no, oh gosh, Janner’s practically glowing in the screenshot below and there’s a sort of subtle divide between him and Peet in the lighting which is showing us that Janner is Peet’s light, Janner is literally bringing him into the light without even realizing it just by existing- which is representing what all the kids have a hand in doing for Peet which is bringing him out of darkness and into the light and hope and oh jeeze, oh gosh, I need a minute-)

Peet tenses, and it’s hard to see here but his whole expression changes, hardens. Because now Janner is afraid and Peet can’t let that stand. You can watch him track the thwapperfly’s movement like he’s zeroing in on a threat (because he is).

The thwapperfly circles back around for another attack and Peet’s reaction is immediate and instantaneous. He places himself between Janner and the danger:

Notice how fierce he suddenly is compared to how he was a moment ago when it was just him and Janner. This is Peet in protect mode and it’s showing us a lot of things. One is that he is 100% ready to throw down at any moment to protect Janner and the other Igiby kids- even if the threat is insignificant! Because I really doubt a thwapperfly could badly hurt Janner but that doesn’t matter to Peet because Janner is scared, and Peet cares more about making this kid feel safe than if the threat is actually dangerous or not. We don’t know why yet but he is.

Second, Peet is a very effective fighter! He not only jumps in front of Janner with lighting fast reflexes, he bats the thwapperfly away the second it gets close, and he does it in a practiced, easy way that tells you he’s used to defending himself (or others). He never hesitates for a second during any of this, just does it. It’s the sanest and most purposeful thing we’ve seen him do and he does it to protect our main character.

(Wait, oh, wait, hang on, another thing- Janner’s in the dark now and Peet is leaning into the light. Peet knows what’s going on here, he knows why he’s protecting Janner, but Janner has no idea! Janner is in the dark about what’s happening! That’s so clever I’m just-)

And then Peet catches Sara’s zibzy ball out of midair and skips away cackling delightedly.

Also note that this is one of the times we see him walking out of the light, though interestingly he’s still not shadowed significantly. And it’s the moment where he slips from protect back into the silly Sockman. (from his true self and into what he’s been forced to become)

I’m almost at tumblr’s image limit and I still have a ways to go with this analysis, so I’m going to stop there for the moment to continue this in a second post. Feel free to comment with your thoughts! I’m having a lot of fun with this :D

[foxymoxynoona]

Rant anon here- yes! Thats exactly what I meant. About the attitude that a lot of people in the fandom seem to have whenever the members mess up. It feels gross and it feels like they’d let them get away with murder. It feels like they treat them more like objects or dolls than humans that have flaws and can make bad choices. It feels like the more the fandom tells the company that “it’s ok!!! They shouldn’t have to respond to hate!!” It will keep pushing the boundaries of what they do and do not take seriously enough to formulate a response. The group has mentioned, ad nauseam, their morals and what they want to do in this industry. It feels like they’ve stopped caring and that’s what I feel like grossed me out (other than the weird attitude towards the group I mean).

It just feels like they’re too old and too seasoned to be making these mistakes. They should know better- or at least know that when you hurt people the best thing to do is apologize- regardless of whether or not you felt you did something wrong. At the end of the day you hurt someone (this is all the metaphorical “you”) regardless of intention and that, a lot of times, is enough for some to step back and reevaluate the situation.

Through out this all it feels like there’s a lack of the accountability that we hold more western artists to (this is a research topic in its own right and far more intelligent people than I have written about it and produced wonderful articles and video essays on the subject. I am not one of those people and it’s 4 in the morning where I am and I don’t feel like delving into why we infantilize East Asian pop stars at this hour). Not that the accountability we have here is great, but at least it’s more talked about than suppressed (this can be seen with the growing number of Taylor swift defectors after her recent cease and desist letters)

Hm, it's interesting to talk about cross section between infantalizing and model minority racism overlapping with celebrity halo effect. TBH now that it's no longer directly my job, I don't spend much time paying close attention to music artists unless it's something really within my interest or it crosses into more mainstream attention --so I'm sure about the Taylor Swift controversy you're talking about, and I only have knowledge about a handful of Asian-artist controveries so definitely not enough to talk about that cycle or compare it with western artists in any real way other than to say this is such a rich and complex topic to dig into from the fan side, the consumer side, the partnerships side.

I'm certainly not going to explain away anyone's mistakes, people can answer for their own, I will only say we are never too old to fuck up haha, but yes then you do the learning, growing, and repair process.

Definitely agree that criticism or calling out incorrect behavior isn't hate, it can in fact be a demonstration of love and respect --and also that it's completely and entirely reasonable to take a step away from supporting an artist or group becasue you are not comfortable with their behavior! Not only because it's a way of putting your money and time where you want to endorse but, for the other types of folks you're talking about who see everything with rose-colored glasses, it can help create some space and ability to not only see humans as complex and likely to make mistakes, but also disrupts a hard part of hero-worship that i think may come into play too psycologically: I love this artist and believe they are good so if they screw up, I can't admit that they made a mistake because what does that say about me?

Anyway, I know you probably already know this 1000x over but protect yourself and your heart and your peace. It's ok to need to take a break from things or groups of people or whatever when they are filling you with rage, especially if you feel unable to really fix or change what you're seeing. <3 <3 <3 I'll always be here too!

[jade-kyo]

Red vs. Blue season 15-17 retcon pros and cons:

Season 16

Oh sweet 16…. Yeah I don’t like this season so expect a very long list of pros to this potential retcon as there are a lot of things I’ll be more than happy to say goodbye to

Pros:

No time travel bullshit

No Donut is Jesus

No gods

Everyone is so unnecessarily mean to Doc. I get that they’ve never exactly been nice and Doc did betray them but somehow they managed to push it to the point of feeling ooc

Oh god the absolute butchering of Tuckers character

The absolute butchering of Sarges character

I’m serious I will never forgive what they did to my boy Tucker

Painfully bad sex jokes

Grif straight up tries to kill himself???? Bro I think I blocked this from my memory 💀

The Tucker and Kai stuff is painful

The whole Sarge recruiting historical figures thing

Jax’s entire movie thing

NO FUCKING GODS

That fucking cyclops

Just… the entire cyclops thing.

I feel like animation is overused in this season

I forgot there was a second cyclops

Trying to explain time travel. Just give up, only one series has ever successfully done it and that is Steins;Gate and you’re not Steins;Gate

The way certain jokes would actually be funny if they were said by different characters. The whole bit where Jax is telling Sarge to hide in the closet but Sarge keeps saying his choice out loud would be way funnier if it was Caboose instead of Sarge. That kind of humor just fits way better for Caboose

King Tucker. I refuse to comment further on this.

Gods

Saying the word penis and seeing if people laugh is not comedy

The whole carwash joke. I get it’s poking fun at how the fans reacted to the “take off your suit” line, believe me I know, I was one of them (shhh I was 15 give me a break) but now it’s just awkward. I’m pretty neutral towards the ship now but I just don’t really care for making jokes this directly about any ship that isn’t canon

Again saying the word penis and hoping people laugh is not comedy. There is an art to a good dick joke.

This weird insistence on explaining the jokes

Saying your super powerful gods that can blow up moons, summon swords from nothing, change peoples physical sizes etc, are AI does not change the fact that functionally they are still basically gods with like one or two limitations. If they’re going this route they should’ve made the gods as powerful as Church was in the floaty ball with just a few extra powers since he never fully unlocked everything he could do with it. Or just follow whatever rules Halo canon has for the floaty ball thing.

Like I get it the aliens worship technology but if you didn’t want them to be actual gods then don’t give them god like powers on that scale

However on a funnier note, all of this being Church’s simulation is VERY funny. Especially when you think about how often he either jokes about being god or has actually been worshipped as a god. This makes everything much more entertaining that’s for sure.

The way Tucker basically just completely redoes his Chorus character development. The scene between Tucker and Kai on the space balcony thing is fine on its own until you realize it’s basically just a rehash of a scene between Tucker and Wash in season 12

Time travel bullshit (can you tell I really don’t like time travel)

Cons:

No Tucker wanting to bring Wash a whole pizza

No Donut is Jesus

That one cop voiced by Jeremy Dooley

Tucker being the one who shot Flowers. I actually didn’t mind that one (can you tell I’m desperate for things to put on the cons list)

there’s actually this really good conversation between Tucker and Kai about missing when things were silly and fun and they didn’t have to worry about messing up. That was nice.

Docs whole sad past with his brother like damn okay I can vibe with that. Was not expecting the tragic backstory from Doc.

I forgot Tucker killed Hitler that actually got a good laugh out of me

Wash and Carolina. That is all.

Wash’s disability

You know what? I like Grif and Huggins dynamic.

Caboose not knowing that women have butts (again I’m desperate to find cons and that joke made me laugh)

Caboose beating monkeys with a stick

As much as I despise what this season did with Tucker, Kai calling him out was very girl boss of her

Donut

Everything with Wash

Wash’s entire speech

Carolina telling Wash the truth about his disability. The entire scene is so good.

“My brain is fuzzy and I do good” Caboose says this line and I have always thought it was an absolute crime that we didn’t get some good Wash and Caboose moments about this

Muggins speech at the end. It’s very good.

DONUT

Donut vs Doc is actually a pretty cool fight

Verdict:

If the retcon is real I am truly not sad to see this season go. I really can’t stand it. Tho I do want to say that if this stuff had happened in the Blood Gulch Chronicles I probably wouldn’t mind it. I’ve always said that you can retcon the goofy stuff but once you do you can’t go back and that’s what this feels like. It feels like it’s trying be Blood Gulch again with how ridiculous and absurd the whole thing is and very simply you just can’t go backwards with this stuff. It doesn’t work.

However this all being Church’s simulation is a VERY entertaining thought and it makes this season much easier to watch that’s for sure.