#how does it feel to know that you contributed to this

[nerdygirlramblings]

finally, the courting contract and Ren's response

previous

You leave the briefing off-kilter. You didn't expect to ever put yourself in Spinner's orbit again, assuming Laswell would connect him to his nefarious doings other ways. But you can't shake the image of him holding you close, the predatory look in his eyes as he told you he didn't believe in putting birds in cages. The way you could tell he wanted to put you in one. No matter how much you want to get back to normal, especially after your heat, you know you can't go back on your scent blockers. That thought is almost more upsetting, and from the soft grunt behind you, you know Ghost can smell your distress. You'd told Price a few weeks back you could control your scent, but you're doing a shit job of that now.

As if called by your thoughts, the smell of his autumn fire invades your senses as a warm hand falls on your shoulder. "Why don't ya take the afternoon, Ren. Tha' was a lot ta come back ta, yeah?"

You want to jump on his excuse, use it to get some space, but between the heat and being told you'll have to try get Spinner's attention, your omega is begging you to stay here with your pack where it's safe. Except they aren't your pack, you grudgingly remind her. They might not want to be your pack. And she does nothing but howl and weep at that thought. Knowing your scent is still laced with distress, you try to dial it back enough to softly say, "I think I just need ta rest a bit."

"Well then," Soap pipes up from somewhere behind you, "why don't we all head to the barracks. Nothing needs doin' right away. Ye can go shopping wi' Adam tomorrow."

Before you can respond either way, Price speaks up, "Actually, Soap, that's brilliant. Let's head off base for a little. Maybe hit the shops, get some scran. Can't promise we'll be as helpful as Adam, but I bet we can help ya find something."

Two hours later, you find yourself in a shopping center near base, different from the retail park you’d gone to with Adam for the first op. Though he'd warned you they wouldn't be as helpful as Adam, Price surprises you when he pulls out several tasteful dresses in a style similar to the first one. Holding them up, question clear on his face, you can't help but smile and nod. A sales clerk comes over, glancing hesitantly between you all, the others intimidating even in their civvies, and asks, "Can I get a room started for you?" He directs the question at you despite Price holding the dresses.

"Er, sure," you reply, watching him walk away with the clothes Price selected. Something in that action opens the floodgates as Gaz and Soap practically dive into dress racks. You smother the giggle that bubbles up at seeing your team trying to help pick a dress. Ghost's only contribution is taking pictures of the dresses and sending them to Adam. After the first six, Adam responds with pictures from the last few events supporting the dinner's nature charity.

While the auction was nearly black tie in attendee attire, the riot of color from the previous nature charity events sends Gaz running to put back nearly every dress they've found so far. Instead he and Soap start grabbing anything jewel-toned. Frills and layers, silks and chiffons, it all ends up over the changing room door. One after the other, you try the on the fabric concoctions. At first, you simply slip a dress on, note how it looks and feels, and move on. It’s when Soap calls out, “Ach, lass, how long does a little dress take?”

The teal fabric falls back around your ankles. “Er…did ya want ta see them?” you tentatively call.

Sounds of a scuffle reach you, a yelp and the distinct sound of fabric being slapped. “Ignore ‘im lass,” Price calls. “Unless ya actually want ta show us.” There’s a hesitant note in his voice. It feels out of place and warms you imagining him nervous in the waiting area.

Thankfully, the teal dress is fit, so you walk back out, watching your feet instead of their reactions. The silence at your appearance stretches for long, uncomfortable seconds until you finally glance up. Ghost is gripping the arms of the chair he’s sitting in, muscles tight. Price’s lips are rolled together, and you can’t tell what he’s holding himself back from saying, though based on how wide his eyes are, you hope it isn’t bad. Soap is literally hanging on the edge of his seat, and Gaz simply looks awe-struck. You take a breath to calm your nerves before saying, “If this is yer reaction ta each dress, we’ll be here all day.”

Soap barks out a strained laugh, saying, "Wouldnae mind at all."

"Well, ya really did put the whole shop in the changing room. I can't promise ta come out in everything, yeah? I do'n really want ta be here all day."

They don't respond as you walk back to the gowns they picked out. You already know the taffeta of the blue one will be too uncomfortable, and the one in an array of sunset colors won't let you move enough. They see the ombre pink with the asymmetrical hem and the deep purple velvet with virtually no back, but it's the white slip dress with silk overlay that elicits the most reaction. The fabric whispers over your skin, and with hidden slits along the front and the back that make it easy to move in. The silk layer has a riot of tropical looking flowers on it: deep pink blooms and bright yellow petals curling over vibrant green leaves and little blue blossoms.

When you step into the waiting area, you're startled by a deep purr reminiscent of a Bristol Fighter. The surprised looks on Price's, Gaz's, and Soap's faces show you how uncommon it is for Ghost to react like this. Price quickly gets over it as the purr fades off almost as fast as it came on. "Yer a sight," he says, looking at you. You want to hide from the intensity of his gaze but your omega won't let you.

"I think that's the one," Gaz says.

Your smile is tentative but warm. "I think so," you reply. "Let me get back into my civvies an' we can grab some supper."

You put the unselected dresses on the rack by the changing room and pass the white dress to Price. Ghost is standing awkwardly near the shop entrance, but you don't see or hear Gaz and Soap. Eyebrow raised, you look at your Captain, asking, "Where are the others?"

"Said they needed ta grab somethin' and ta meet 'em at Chinese," Price tells you, large, scarred hand carefully taking the dress bag from the salesman. He herds you in front of him, gently brushing his fingertips along your low back as you precede him. Ghost joins you as you leave, trailing in Price's wake.

The Chinese is a large buffet on the other side of the shopping center. At this time of day, it isn't too busy, but you hear Price mention the base, and when the hostess leads you into the restaurant, it's to a table in the back, facing the door. Price and Ghost sit on the outer edges, herding you into the center seat. Gaz and Soap aren't here yet, but they'll be able to see you when the get here.

It's strange to be sat between your captain and your leftenant, silent as they both currently are, but the wait for the others isn't long. Soap spots you immediately and heads straight for the table, nearly knocking into a poor pensioner carrying a plate piled with desserts to his table. Gaz isn't much better, weaving around other patrons for the fastest route to where you are. As they sit, both men share the same smug look.

"Jus' show 'er," Ghost grunts, looking at the sergeants.

"Ren, lookit wha' we found fer ye!" Soap whisper shouts, putting a flat felt box on the table. He's watching you the way Mama usually watches the triplets on Christmas, eyes alight with anticipatory glee.

You reach out, flipping the lid up and sit back, a little startled, and then shocked and surprised that the kaleidoscope of butterflies isn't taking flight. There are several different sizes and colors, a riot of piercing blues, vibrant yellows, rich-hued oranges, and deep reds framed in pitch black or pure white. It isn't clear what they're made of, but they're all paused mid-flight in a large arcing collar that will protect your neck. Glancing between Gaz and Soap, you blink back tears. "It's...it's lovely," you choke out. "But it's too much. I remember Laswell's budget for my clothes the first time, and between the dress and this, I know we've gone over."

"Consider it a courting gift," Price murmurs, shocking you straight to your core. The gasp that escapes is entirely unconscious. You try to gather the words for a response, shifting to see Price better, but he continues talking without looking over at you. "We've been wantin' ta talk wi' ya about courtin', about yer place in the pack, for a while now."

Ghost make a noise that can only be a grunt of agreement, and Gaz and Soap are nodding encouragingly. It's only when he turns to look you in the eye do you realize the agreement and encouragement weren't for you, weren't to show you they all want you, though that's a secondary effect, it was to shore up your captain who's looking as uncomfortable as the day he mentioned Ghost's rut. Is he scared of your reaction?

"Told ya when I offered ya the spot on the team we were open ta courtin' ya," Price reminds you. "What I didn't say was we'd already agreed we wanted ta court ya if ya were willin'."

"But," you stammer, "ya didn't even know me! How could ya want ta court me?"

"Because yer amazing, Ren," Gaz says, smiling gently, trying not to spook you. "We knew what others were sayin'. We knew ya were strong and capable. Hell, we knew a few alphas made arses of themselves tryin' ta court ya all the wrong ways." Ghost chuckles darkly, and you wonder if they know about the alpha you'd put in medical.

"When ya had yer heat," Price says, drawing your attention to him again, "we drew up a courtin' contract." He places a single page on the table in front of you. It's shockingly short but thorough, stating that the 141 Pack would like to court you. "The 141 Pack will, in the course of their courting of the omega, never impinge on the omega's career or make demands that demean or diminish the omega's service. As much as is possible, the integrity and safety of the pack will come before everything else; no member of the pack will be transferred off the 141 task force unless a specific request is made, in writing and with the consent of all pack members, to both Captain Price and Station Chief Laswell. During the courting, the pack will find non-barracks lodging that meets the omega's needs for a nest and / or other safe space. After the courting period, the pack may maintain this lodging or find alternate housing that continues to meet the needs of the pack. All members of the 141 Pack will take shared compassionate leave for any ruts or heats that arise in order to support the impacted pack member(s). Non-compassionate leave is not required to be shared by any members of the pack. At no time either during or after the courting process is the omega obligated to undergo a full bonding / claiming."

Tucked at the bottom is the kind of clause the military requires: "If the courting is unsuccessful, all pack and non-pack members would still be considered valued member of the 141 task force. However, if desired, any pack or non-pack member of the task force may request a transfer which will be supported with full-throated recommendations of service from both Station Chief Laswell and Captain Price."

It's everything you would ever want from a pack: the space and support to be you. You knew the team had your back before, but to see it laid out so unequivocally makes your breath catch in your chest. Looking at the paper, with signatures already from the four men around you, Laswell, and the base commander, you whisper, "This doesn't feel real." You swipe at the tears you can't control, catching them before they hit the page. You look up at Gaz and Soap who are wearing warring expressions of yearning and fear, vacillating in that space between achieving your dream and having it destroyed.

"'S real, luv," Ghost whispers, putting a hand over yours. "We wan' ya ta be our omega."

Somehow you find the strength to nod your head and softly say, "Okay." You're staring at your hand under Ghost's, so you don't see their faces, but it's impossible to ignore the way Ghost's hand tightens infinitesimally on yours, or the whoop of glee from Soap, or Price's heavy hand as it drops to your thigh while he leans over and says, "Thank ya for givin' us a chance, Ren."

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[saltnsugarbear]

i see you’ve tentatively opened ur inbox for bob requests lmaoo, may i TIMIDLY request a fox that flips the whole “bob has a breakdown reader comes to help” narrative? ITS A GOOD NARRATIVE but there’s soooo many fics of that, give us some protective bob! some bob with emotional weight!!

shyly putting this on the Robert Reynolds x reader tags doorstep

thank you for the idea, my love! I wanted to see how I felt writing for Bob and if I could find his voice in myself,,,,, I wanted to contribute and I want to give him kisses so thank you thank you <3

I went a bit,,,, idk not like a meltdown but I wanted Bob to be the one that had hope and whimsy!!! Bob is the one to banish the doubt and sadness!!! I feel unsure about this piece and if I like it but here you go Bob enjoyers <3

word count: 1.8k

content warnings: gender neutral reader, 🍃 smoking to cope with existence/trauma/thoughts, reader and Walker have a non-descript past, post Thunderbolts*, existential dread,

side note: did you guys know Bob might have photokinensis (control/production of light) which is pretty cool idk also he dropped out of high school and his addiction started in middle school :( his wiki made me sad

Bob takes care of you in little ways. Quiet ways.

You've learned that he loves quietly. He does your laundry, folds your clothes neatly, and puts them away. He knows your coffee order better than his own, what meals you prefer depending on the restaurant when the team orders out. Bob knows it's easier for you to fall asleep around the team than by yourself, and despite warnings from Walker, how violently you could wake up.

That's how the team first found out Bob could... Well... Glow, for lack of a better description.

Bob's photokinesis was jarring for the whole group. Ava and Yelena whispered softly as they put away blankets while Walker and Bucky picked up leftover trash, snacks, and dishes. Alexei was the only other person asleep on the other side of the couch, so Bob was left hovering near where you rest. No one was paying attention to his silent turmoil, not wanting to turn on the lights in the room and risking a disgruntled group of half-awake Avengerz but not wanting to risk catching an elbow to the stomach like Alexei had earlier that week.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he hadn't noticed that Ava and Yelena had stopped talking. Bob didn't notice the soft glow even as your brows scrunched together, and you grumbled an annoyed "Walker.."

"What?" He chirped defensively, not bothering to look in your direction as he stacked cups in a bowl.

"Turn off the light," you complain, burrowing further into your blanket.

"What ligh-" Walker cuts himself off when he looks over.

Bob misses the way that the girls glance to Walker, who looks to Bucky. None of them had seen Bob display any other powers after the Void's fit over New York. So the soft glow emitting from the man's skin gave them pause, unsure if they should intervene or stay silent. Finally, after a few minutes of staring and your quiet grumbling, Walker makes a choice.

"Bobby-" The sharpness of John's voice makes Bob startle, a bright flash of light blinding him before the room is dark again.

"What the hell," you grumble, finally opening your eyes, officially awake after that. "Why are you yelling at him?"

"I didn't yell-" Walker starts.

"You raised your voice."

"I did not raise-"

"And you know he doesn't like when you call him Bobby." You tack on.

"I know, I forgot." John huffs, glancing at Bob. "Sorry, kid."

"It's fine.." Bob assures him passively, tangling his fingers together as his softly drags a nail over his skin. "I- I didn't turn on the lights, though?"

"You were the light." Ava says bluntly, and Yelena can't help but nod.

"You were glowing, Bob." She says it the same way she would tell him that he was wearing a grey sweater or he had done the dishes.

"I.. I was?" He asks, glancing at each of his housemates for confirmation. Ava huffs with an endeared roll of her eyes while Yelena nods solemnly again. Bucky and John look the most put-off but the revelation, so Bob is unsure if he should be alarmed or not.

"Next time you decide to glow, Bob," You start collecting your blanket as you prepare to get up. "Do it when I'm awake. And when I have sunglasses on, in case you decide to blind Johnny again."

"O-Okay.." He nods, shuffling back so you can stand up.

"Thanks, bub," you say softly, nudging him with your shoulder as you pass. He hums shortly, watching as you make your way down the hall.

The rest of the supers watch Bob quietly before Yelena speaks up.

"We will be talking about this tomorrow.." An easy dismissal that the others agree on, different noises and hums from them. Bob nods, shifting as he watches everyone else clear up. Ava sighs quietly and gives him a pitying look.

"We're not upset, Bob, just surprised. Go get ready for bed." The reassurance settles something in his stomach. He feels like he's can let out a breath again. Bob carries those words with him when he climbs into bed.

Not upset. Just surprised.

Bob can live with that.

Being in an apartment full of people in different stages of recovery from varying substances can be... Stifling, for when you want to let loose. You, Ava, and Bucky all made a vote to keep any form of alcohol or drug stronger than Tylenol out of the house. For the sake of the remaining Avengerz. The three of you also agreed your votes counted as more, as the people least affected by the ban, when the other four tried to argue against it. Not that Bob had much reason to fight it. It was for the better, really.

Except, you didn't realize how horribly this plan backfired until you wanted to smoke or have a glass of wine after an annoying day with Valentina or reading a particularly gruesome article. Or dealing with the most recent, Sam's copyright lawsuit.

As such, your only options were drinking in the dark of your bedroom or standing on the balcony and smoking. The latter is the more appealing, letting you watch the streets with a level of detachment you only got when you were high. The rest of the team had dispersed to their separate night activities, watching TV or sparring or training.

So, you're surprised when you hear the door open behind you. You turn to look out of reflex, and your curiosity peaks when you spot Bob in the doorway. He sniffs softly, and you remember the joint between your fingers.

"Oh, fuck-" You scramble to put out the joint, stubbing it out against the railing. "Sorry."

"It's fine, never really liked pot.." He laughs softly. Bob watches silently as you tuck it away in a small tin and shove it back into your pocket. "What are you, uh.. What are you doing out here?"

"Needed some quiet to... Well..." You sigh. "Like you guys and everything but.."

You let out a deep breath, leaning against the railing heavily. Bob nods behind you, taking a few steps closer to where you stand. He took the stubbing of the joint as the silent invitation it was to stay out with you.

"Alexei is a little loud... Ava and Walker are always fighting." Bob shares quietly.

"Not fighting," You muse before you look back at him. "Maybe bickering?"

"Bickering.." Bob agrees quietly, nodding a little. You hum before turning back to the city lights.

"C'mere," you call him over, glancing back at him when you don't hear him move. "I'm not gonna let you fall."

The assurance makes Bob's stomach twist with an emotion he can't name but is finding himself familiar with the longer he's a part of the team. He muses over it long enough that eventually you hold your hand out to him, not bothering to turn to him. Bob tugs at the cuff of his sleeve before putting his wrist in your grasp.

He doesn't miss the huff you let out, but it follows as you gently tug him closer to the railing. He can feel a flush making its way to his face when you cradle his forearm against your side like a football. Your hold on his arm is gentle but firm, keeping him in place beside you.

"Those people will never know what we go through..." You say quietly, watching people jay-walk, honk their horns at one another, and pass each other in fleeting steps.

"Isn't that the point?" Bob asks, keeping his eyes on the buildings, watching people walk the halls and live their lives. You make a noise beside him, contemplating it silently. You dwell on it for a few minutes before you speak up again.

"Do you ever... Regret signing up for that Sentry serum shit?" You ask Bob softly, eyes tracing the cars as they wind around the city. Bob hums softly, tilting his head this way and that as he thought.

"I wouldn't have met you guys... Probably still doing meth and signing spinning... So this is probably better?" He says it like it's a question, and then he nods. "I don't think I regret it."

You nod, letting that sit in the air, wishing you could cling to that feeling he had. You can't find it in yourself tonight, grabbing around for something that isn't there.

"Do you regret yours?" Bob asks in turn. You turn it over in your mind for a couple of minutes, listening to the city noise.

"I was a kid..." You tell him. "I didn't know... I didn't-"

You cut yourself off, letting out a breath. "I'd stop myself if I could go back."

"Then you wouldn't be here, and we wouldn't be here.." Bob protests quietly.

"You guys could still do this without me," you counter, crossing your arms over the railing. "Be the New Avengerz... Deal with Valentina, play dress up every now and then..."

"Who would fix Walker's shield?" Bob asks quietly, and you can't help but scoff. It's not a mean scoff, more of a huff of exasperation and fondness for the man.

"He can still fight crime with a taco," you tell him. "Sometimes the doubt and the pain is just...."

"All consuming," He fills in. You nod. It's the only way to describe it on nights like tonight.

"Guess you would know something about that." You sigh, having forgotten who you were talking to. He shrugs beside you, making a sound of indifference.

"It's not always like that." Bob reminds you. "Like a wave or- or Ava. It comes and goes."

The comparison makes you snort, ducking your head to hide your grin. Bob sees it, though, adopting a small smile of his own.

"You guys made it better, though."

"Even Walker?" You muse. That keeps Bob quiet for a moment.

"Not always, but... It has to be better than dealing with it alone?"

You hum softly, mulling over his words. Apply them to the pit gnawing at your stomach and climbing at your throat.

"It eventually goes away... Even if it's just for an hour or a month." Bob says. "Like the seasons..."

His words settle over you like a blanket, soothing the doubts in your brain.

"You should become a therapist," you tell him. Your words surprise a laugh out of Bob. You sigh softly, feeling the light buzz behind your eyes.

You lean against him but just enough that if he pulled away, you wouldn't fall over. Instead, Bob finds the pressure comforting. The feeling of his arm cradled against your body and your weight beside him fills Bob with an overwhelming sense of peace. He doesn't even release he's leaning against you as well.

You hum quietly, taking the small victory of him pushing against you. He's warm, even through his sweater, and it bleeds into your own being, taking that warmth and holding in your chest as you look at the city. There's a soft glow in your periphery, and you can't help but grin.

"You're glowing again."

[antianakin]

I don't think the story being about Mon and Luthen means that only their efforts should ever be recognized or that they should be touted as if they're the sole people to have brought the rebellion here and that no one else had any real contribution to make of any value.

Nor am I actually arguing Bail should've had a bigger role in the show. Honestly, I think he probably should've had a SMALLER role in the show. I think it would've been VERY easy to write him out and just not deal with him at all if they didn't actually want him in the story and wanted to keep it laser focused on the characters they actually cared about. You don't NEED to see Bail during Mon's escape from the Senate, it could just as easily have been shown as Mon going to Luthen for help one last time because of how badly Ghorman has shaken or something. Or Luthen choosing to show up because somehow he's heard through his sources that she's going to make a statement or he just knows her well enough to know that this is something that is going to push her to make a statement. I'm not even upset that they chose to have Cassian be the one to save her on Coruscant, and there's canonical reasons why he can't be the one to deliver her so they had to come up with an excuse for it, but there are ways to do that that don't go like "Yeah we got told that Gold Squadron is taking it over even though their own teams botched the first part of the mission and we're just being cut out."

I also don't think he needed to be on Yavin in the last arc at all. He's had next to no impact on Cassian's story and the two of them don't even speak in Rogue One. What does it serve for us to know that they didn't get along when Cassian's conflict with the rebellion can just as easily be shown in his relationship to Draven or even Mon Mothma?

And personally I don't think that the Maya Pei brigade arc adequately explains anything about how Luthen ultimately "chose" Yavin for anything. Cassian knows them already, so clearly Luthen's aware of a rebellion on Yavin long before that mission and hasn't actually tried to set up a base there. Luthen never seems interested in setting up a base at any other point, we never hear him talking about it in any other scene, we don't get to see Cassian reporting back about Yavin or anything like that, either. So at best we're given like Point A of a storyline (Cassian was on Yavin once) and then Point D or E of a storyline (Yavin is now a rebel base) and somehow I'm just supposed to fill in points B and C (somehow Luthen is involved in the rebels being on Yavin as a base) on my own with whatever headcanons I can come up with, but those points are also very important to the emotional narrative because Luthen's involvement in that is key to Cassian's argument in this scene that Luthen is the core of it all and they therefore it to him to believe his information. But that story feels really haphazard and patched together to me, so it doesn't hold any emotional weight when Cassian says "None of us would be here on Yavin if it weren't for Luthen" when it feels like it's coming out of thin air instead of naturally built up. I'm glad you feel like you can fill in those gaps yourself and it doesn't bother you that you have to, but it does bother me.

We've clearly just got different feelings about what the show is trying to say about Bail vs Luthen, and the one thing you chose not to address is Tony Gilroy's words from his interview stating that Mon and Luthen were the "real founders" of the rebellion, which DOES feel to me like it's sort-of dismissing Bail and the established canon that he is in fact the father of the rebellion and while other people certainly CONTRIBUTED, they are not more of a founder than he is or more REAL of a founder than he is. Bail feels shoved into this narrative because they thought they couldn't get away with NOT showing him rather than because they actually WANTED to show him and pay respect to a character who's been around in the narrative for so long. It feels like he got put in there so that they could lift up Mon and Luthen by comparing them to him.

And you're clearly not going to agree with that take, and it might be a bad faith take, but it's the feeling I got from watching it and it soured me to it and unfortunately your personal explanations for why it works for you just don't work for me. I generally get why they did it, what the in-universe explanations are for why certain things happen, I just don't agree with it from a character and writing standpoint.

It seems a little hilarious to me that they have Cassian making the argument that the only reason any of them are here, the only reason the REBELLION exists at all, is because of Luthen... and he's saying it to BAIL FUCKING ORGANA.

I'm sorry, but while I am happy to accept that Luthen did do a LOT of things to keep the rebellion alive and likely recruited quite a few of the people on Yavin to this cause himself and trained them up, there are just as many if not more who are there explicitly because of BAIL ORGANA.

Bail Organa who began fighting the Empire the moment he showed up at the Jedi Temple the night of Order 66 and turned around to save any Jedi he could and then became a GETAWAY DRIVER as Yoda went to assassinate the Emperor and then proceeded to agree to take in Anakin Skywalker's child in order to hide her from the Empire.

Bail Organa who has literally been shown helping recruit the entire Ghost Crew and likely brought on the entire Phoenix Squadon and theoretically the entire Gold Squadron. Bail Organa who was the one who helped Riyo Chuchi try to fight for clone rights. Bail Organa who saw Ahsoka Tano on Naboo for Padme's funeral and immediately turns around to offer her a chance to join the rebellion which she does eventually choose to take. Bail Organa who eventually does allow his own DAUGHTER to join the rebellion and run missions when she's old enough.

You cannot convince me that somehow Luthen Rael is MORE responsible for the creation of the rebellion and its existence and people's involvement in it than Bail Organa. You can't.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

You don't like the art of Jade's merman card? I love the art of this card

[Referencing this post!]

No, no!! To clarify, I really like Jade’s Mermaid Fin (or Mer-Form, as it’s called in EN) SSR!! The aesthetic is totally fine.

I mean, c’mon 😭 LOOK aT GhiS gUY?????????

What I dislike is the context surrounding the card and the content it is associated with.

cbksbsjwvzkz This might be sort of a hot take, but I found Jade (both in his dream and then in Azul’s dream) mediocre at best and irritating at worse.

Cards that don’t have vignettes (like all the ones dropping for book 7) are already starting off on a bad foot with me. Furniture is not an equivalent substitution for me since I find little to no value in decorating the Guest Room. I guess we’re meant to treat each character’s dream as their respective “vignettes”?? But then therein lies my issue: the Jade dream content we got was NOT good, and therefore did not satisfy my craving to see him in the spotlight.

Jade’s dream was… inoffensive? There were definitely parts of it that I enjoyed, like the silly faces slapped onto Azul and Floyd, or how we actually got to witness the twins hissing and aggressively fighting. But those bits were few and far between. At this point in the book, I had picked up on the “pattern” for waking each character up that the narrative was establishing and was getting very sick of it. This formula made the emotional payoff a lot less… emotional for me because I could easily predict what was coming.

I know this is technically detached from Jade’s dream but I’m going to say my piece anyway because this also contributes to my dissatisfaction with him in book 7. It does not help at all that Jade also had a terrible performance immediately in Azul’s dream The other dorm members are supposed to help us wake the OB boy, aren’t they??? And Jade is supposed to be intelligent and know Azul well, right??? 😭 So tell me why Jade made so many stupid and time wasting decisions in Azul’s dream.

Why are we not intervening and telling Azul he’s bored and leaving the restaurant instead of sitting around and just casually watching us eat food and dance? Why waste time smashing up the restaurant? Why is Jade suddenly so dumb as to not immediately suspect that Azul would hide the golden contracts… IN HIS OWN BEDROOM??? Is that not the obvious place to keep personal belongings??? Why did Jade not at least suggest checking that area first??! Why are we smashing plant pots by hand instead of levitating them (which takes a small amount of magic, to my knowledge) and dropping them on the ground to speed up the process? Or at least asking everyone to help harvest each plant if you insist on doing it manually? The details here feel like they were not written with logic or characters in mind, but hastily thrown together to meet a quota and hit all the points on their checklist. (Jade has to use his UM, we have to pause and do something silly to break up the tension, etc.) It wasn’t fun or charming to read, it was exhausting and annoying 😭

Every time I look at that gorgeous Mermaid Fin SSR 💦 I associate it with my frustrations with the book 7 dreams, so I can never fully enjoy the card.

I go into more detail about my gripes with the general dream pattern + how it negatively impacts the character writing, subtlety, and suspension of disbelief in this post. Take a look if you’re curious! I would make an entire post about my gripes with every single dream (because I don't have beef with just Jade's and Azul's) but that would surely be lengthy...

[whovianimeniac]

Y'know what? I am embracing the embarrassment. Here is a list of Jim Headcanons that I posted on Discord a while ago. These are just random thoughts that I tend to think about when writing/drawing him. Gotta get the obsession out somehow. Headcanons under the break.

(Pre-Troll Jim) - He has thin white scars branching down his left arm (to around the elbow) from when he was struck by lightning. They were more prominent when fresh but now they are only noticeable if one is truly looking. - He often fidgets with the sleeves of his jacket when anxious, as though trying to cover the scars. This is subconscious and he never really realizes he's doing it. - Jim's hands have a small tremor from overexertion that makes itself known when cooking or writing. He ignores this and tries to hide it because he worries that his mom might learn too much through examining them. - Jim (post darklands) is slightly afraid when he sees the color red. He has trauma from his month(?) spent wearing the eclipse armor, this also contributes to him being freaked out when stuck in said armor. - Jim's main love language is acts of service: One of which is him making food for those he loves. - Jim badly wants to find an excuse to give Claire the food he makes but struggles with having a reason. He worries that she might reject the food he offers and that it would feel as though she's rejecting him. - The first time he offers his food to Claire he fails at giving a reason, panics, says "You want… food?" and shoves it towards her. She accepts it and it makes his day. - Jim often feels uncomfortable when not in his armor, he sometimes will wear it in his room at home because it makes him feel secure and safe. - (unnoticed) Jim's lower teeth have more prominent fangs even as a human. While the amulet does not make him a troll it doesn't let him stay completely human either. - Jim's skin becomes tougher and his bones strengthen the longer he has the amulet. - (unnoticed) Jim's ears are slightly more pointy than before. His hair covers them and it isn't a big change so nobody ever notices.

(Troll Jim) - Jim has a prominent lisp after becoming a half-troll due to the new tusks pushing his mouth into an unfamiliar shape. (The idea for this one originates from @olivethetiger!) - Jim's nails grow at a rapid pace into claws of a sort. When he first realizes that is the case he panics and tries to cut them as quickly as he can. - Jim fails at cutting his nails initially because he is made of stone and his nails are even tougher than he is. He then tries to hide his hands from Claire for a while because he worries he might hurt her with his new claws. - Jim has distinct scratches where all of his scars used to be. All his scars are now grooves in his flesh. - Since Jim is not only taller but also has horns he is CONSTANTLY bumping into doorways. Every time he worries he broke something and has to check the doorway for damage. - Jim while anxious about how inhuman he is does love his new height because he can properly hug his father now. His second hug with Blinky after the fight nearly left him in tears because of how much he had wanted a true hug from him. - Jim's emotions are heightened which while sometimes negative is also often positive. He is far more physically affectionate with his friends and family as a troll, often wrapping himself around Toby and Claire, and hugging Blinky/Aarrrggh. - Jim struggles with properly hugging Toby and instead sometimes will carry him around to get that casual affection he craves. - Jim's sense of touch is completely messed-up by human standards. He feels little pain, but affectionate touch is multiplied. He constantly is finding excuses to touch his friends because he cannot help but love how safe their touch makes him feel. - Jim is purring NEAR CONSTANTLY around his friends/family. Most trolls can control it but Jim doesn't know how. A frequent sight on the way to NJ was Jim wrapped around Claire with a loud purr echoing through their camp. - While Jim doesn't have two sets of arms, his torso is lengthened as though he should. He doesn't realize this until he is out of the armor.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Had a good chat with my partner about it today that maybe let me put a finger on what's always bugged me about "we're here to fix canon" attitudes being so prevalent in fandom (especially in the past 10ish years) throughout my life. This is not to say there's never a time or place for that (I've written fix its myself, or the occasional meta on how something could be fixed/improved) or that people are wrong to (we're anti fandom policing). It's also not an issue to me on the basis of "I love my blorbo in canon and fandom mischaracterizes them in the name of 'fixing' them" etc as it is just... coming from a fundamentally different perspective for story analysis / interaction than most (not all) people in fandom, I think.

One of the reasons I enjoyed getting my English degree was because I was finally being encouraged to and taught in alignment with what my brain had always be inclined to do: you always assume that there's a reason, and a good reason, for the story to do whatever it's doing. It assumes that the story is already exactly what it is supposed to be as it is supposed to be, and it's up to you to find the reasons Why.

The story was boring, or made you feel uncomfortable/bad, or you couldn't root for a character or relationship? All of that, at least at the beginning, doesn't really Matter. You assume that the story is paced fine, you assume the discomfort was intentional or part of something broader (historical shit that hasn't aged well) or that the dichotomy of "I feel invested or not invested" isn't useful. And in doing so, you replace all that with asking why.

An example I'll use is 1984 by George Orwell. I read that book in high school and I fucking hated it. Normally, I like the protagonist the most in anything I watch/read, but in that book, I loathed both the two leads and were actively rooting for them to be captured and tortured so the book could end faster; it was an actively miserable affair. I don't think that was necessarily the author's intention (certain amount of death of the author is baked in, but for a lot of the texts I was reading, we didn't even know the author or anything substantial about them, i.e. Beowulf) but, more importantly, I don't think any of those things are Flaws or downsides in the text.

Part of this is because 1984 is a dystopian novel (if a romcom book breaks genre convention that badly where you're miserable reading it, yeah, maybe something went wrong, but more on that in a minute) but even then it doesn't really matter on the basis of genre; I'm sure some people read 1984 and felt fascinated/excited while reading.

Rather, the focus becomes: what do I find so unlikeable about the protagonists? Why would they be written that way (on purpose)? What does it say about the society they live in? What does it say about their characterization, social stratification, etc etc? If a character does something that I think is non-sensical, why? Have I missed something? Should I watch retrospectively for clues? Is there another way to engage and to understand? Is what I label as confusion potentially a, or the, Point?

It is only after finding the reasons, and/or finding them unsuitable, that I let my subjective feelings into play. While a story can have great merit on the basis of relatability, relatability or "this aligns with my worldview / expectations / desires / etc." is not the be-all end-all of discerning quality

For example, I'm never going to be a fan of Jane and Rochester (she's 18, he's her 40 year old employer who routinely lies to her) but there are reasons, Good reasons, they get together in Jane Eyre (a book so subjectively boring I struggled through it twice) in response to both when the book was written and with the book's themes / symbols / their characterization. If they didn't end up together, it would be a fundamentally different story; it would not be Jane Eyre. So objectively, it's fine and an understandably massive influence on the western literary canon; subjectively, it's so fucking bad and I'm so glad I never have to read it again. But if I stopped there with my lack of interest or dislike of the main romance, I'd be missing out on what the text has to offer as well, the text.

This applies to more modern day stuff as well. I don't like Double Trouble from SheRa as nonbinary representation, and I'm nonbinary myself; however, I can acknowledge that the things I don't like about them were probably simultaneously empowering and exactly what the author (who is also nonbinary) wanted to be per his own experience of gender. Having a "I assume the text is right" mindset means that I can hold space for my own feelings/analysis (i.e. I also did not like Catra's arc, as I think she needed to learn other things / be written under a different lens) while holding space for the text as is (under the canonical lens of Catra learning it's never too late to be saved, I think her arc is conclusive and well done). And these two viewpoints aren't fundamentally opposed, but can coexist as analytical soup, being equally true / having equal value under the subjective (my view) and more 'objective' (the canon text's construction, or what I / the scholarly consensus, if it exists, believes it to be, anyway) at the same time.

Again, none of this is to say that you can't take issue with a canon text, or want to change something. I remember one time I was watching a show where their refusal to explore a romantic relationship between the female lead and her guy best friend was actively making the show worse; I understood their reasonings of wanting to put them with other people to explore their relationships, and wanting to emphasize a male-female friendship at the core of the story, and I still wanted them to put the two together as a Ship instead for various reasons. But that doesn't mean my line of thinking would've been Objectively Better—assuming if they had been paired together would've been executed in the manner I'd enjoy, or that them being paired with other people couldn't have been executed in ways I would've enjoyed more—merely that I likely would've enjoyed the series more per my own subjective preferences.

What I see in fandom sometimes is that people, understandably, aren't approaching at the start from a "the story always has a good reason" as much as they are speed-running from a "this didn't make sense to me or felt bad/off" and maybe examining why (which is supremely useful!) but not going back to examine the other side of the coin as to why the story would do it anyway.

Because sometimes the story—or a part of a story—is still 'bad' to us. It's just worthwhile to look at why it's 'good,' too.

[uncanny-tranny]

Another bonus to learning a fiber art is being able to speak to others in a Lovecraftian language that nobody else understands...

...and also being able to read things like THIS:

[youngbirdtree]

Yes it’s not a universal rule but i do think it’s prevalent in other musicians other than beatles, how many times have we heard about musicians fighting in court to get credit on a song because a riff or drum sequence, etc

That’s why sampling was such a huge issue you took my music to be the backbone of your song i want a piece.

I do think beatles should’ve done what other groups did which is crediting everyone equally to avoid problems.

But, egos got involved and j/p saw themselves above g/r and that THEY were the geniuses not knowing that geniuses rarely worked alone, and hadn’t been for g and r ideas/ riffs, etc some of their brilliant song ideas may have tanked! . but in the long run it turned out to be a blessing to g/r in every way.

again I’ve said this in a comment but i used to follow music fanatic on twitter looong time ago and he liked the beatles but not love them they were not “dirty/funky” enough for him but he appreciated them greatly.  Anyway, he used to say that the best thing that ever happened to the Beatles was 1)drugs, 2)george getting into Indian culture, his favorite was George even though he understood what people will say”you choose him because he was not the obvious choice” . 

Surprisingly a sentiment repeated by a lot of people who are music lovers of all genres, when they talked about their music solo/beatles it was always john and George the first two sometimes paul got in there “their feelings on paul’s music varied greatly”.

The point is can you imagine the trajectory of beatles had George not been there?! The music, fashion, spirituality and so much more would be different and I don’t know if for the better🫠 or maybe not we’ll never know!

it’s a long winded comment but i guess what l’m trying to say is that everyone contributed to the beatles music and acknowledging that does not take anything from the brilliance of them individually.

Take Stevie wonder for example they said thing about him other than his brilliance was that he took some other musicians idea for his own, but NO ONE was mad about it because he GAVE “without credit at times” just as much as he took he was a generous musician and his brilliant and genius was NEVER questioned.

But Beatles experts rarely that thoughtful about it, it always has to be a competition or statement , john was better than paul or George Should be grateful, paul was the real avantguard of the group,etc.

I always found it fascinating George rarely mentioned specific contributions he made and what he wasn't credited for. We only know about And I Love Her because Paul brought it up after George died.

George gets called petty a lot but imagine how much restraint you'd have to have to not bring the receipts out while John and Paul lapped up every last bit of praise and never mentioned you.

Right? George only talked about it briefly, maybe less than 5 times and it is a bit frustrating because we know that there were plenty of instances that will remain unsolved, same with Ringo's contributions.

George said once that "there’s nothing worse than being involved in a situation where you think, ‘Wasn’t I there?’" but it does seems like he accepted the dynamic that was and he went out of his way to never be or put someone in that situation again. A main problem are the double standards, as John expected George to recognize his help without even thinking of doing the same himself. Most of the times that George talked about the topic was in response to people bringing up John's last interview.

Meanwhile Paul was always adamant that, songwriting wise, his and John's contributions were the only ones that counted because that was "the deal" all while asserting exactly which words or lines were "his" and demanding the change credit order for songs like Yesterday.

I don't understand why would anyone call George petty for this topic specifically, by 1999 there were more interviews of Paul taking credit for inspiring Rev 9 with his tape loops (and claiming he he was the real avant-garde Beatle) than of George talking about the actual lines he contributed to Lennon-Mccartney songs.

[nyxi-pixie]

actually incredibly funny to me that ranpos entire thing centres on how his intelligence is not because of an ability or any other great thing, its just him. hes entirely, completely, inarguably human. and Yet, when it comes to dazai, so many people are Desperate that there just Has to be another explanation. his intelligence cant just be that hes unusual, no it must be a marker of separation, of difference so great it disallows the reality of his humanity.

[youtube-fucker]

Yeah I think I'll just make a separate blog for this stuff now... but in the meantime!

Look! It's a kid! They're having fun! They have their tongue out! They're winking! They're being silly!

Surely nothing bad would happen to them, right?

...

You wouldn't hurt them, would you?

...

Would you?

Would you hurt them?

Are you sure you wouldn't?

W O U L D Y O U ?

W H Y ' D . . . Y O U . . . D O . . . I T . . . ?

Anyways! Credit to @howlonomy once again! I hope you enjoyed... whatever the fuck this is!

[ifmagicexists]

i'm sure it's been said somewhere before but thinking very hard about "no man, however great, can know his destiny. like everyone he must live and learn, and so it must be for the young warlock.." like. the very first line of the entire series. explicitly said by kilgarrah to apply to merlin as well. and yet kilgarrah tried otherwise. he told merlin up front what his destiny was and tried to push him away from living through the bad things whenever possible.

and it feels like kilgarrah reflecting on everything after the fact because he thought he could change it!! he thought maybe by telling him the good stuff it could be happy this time. maybe merlin could become the greatest warlock and help arthur become a great leader and fulfil all of those prophecies and make all those great things happen but also he could kill mordred and destroy morgana and erase all his enemies and still be that great person.

except he couldn't, of course. and by telling him and trying to control the narrative kilgarrah sealed his fate; destiny doesn't allow for choices. it just doesn't work like that, and they all learned, and kilgarrah lived and learned and is left simply with that lesson: that no one can know their destiny.

[corvidaedream]

im literally going to go insane holding up helly r and harrier du bois up like paint swatches next to each other just looking at them

[comradecowplant]

So we're fully in lunatic hours, huh. Just every one of these women have fully lost their goddamn minds. And not even, if I may be so bold in my loving-insane-women opinion, in a fun way. Misty-fucking-Quigley is, by several leagues at this point, officially the least certifiably insane person, which I never would have considered a possibility during season 1. Cool cool cool, just keeping up 👍

[sinful-karateka]

let me be a bit serious for a sec: i've been observing a couple of sentiments here about how there's a lack of binary boyfriends art in circulation with season 6 upon us and the show's foreseeable end. while i agree on that front, and as one of the fellow artists who started making art for the ship in the early years of the show (sketches, full rendered pieces, gifs -- you name it), i would like to emphasize that fanart is not meant to be a one-time piece of "content" that passes by our dashboards. they take time. they take energy. the next person you follow has a life you may not know anything about, and working on these pieces are labor of love.

if you find something that makes you feel a certain and positive way, let the creators know! again: fanart is not fleeting content. they can be evergreen content, but never seasonal. and most often than not, you'd see an artist share these pieces as a love letter to the ship itself first, then everyfan second.

i hope we think twice about this before calling out a recession or drought, because the last thing creators need is to feel like what we make is subjected to scrutinizing numbers until it gets lost in the muddied waters, when it's really meant to be discovered if people mean to look hard enough. they're pieces of history that deserve to exist for as long as this hellhole is still alive. these are products of their time today, and hopefully for the next groups over who will love the boys as much as we do now.

scroll through the main ship tag. travel to different ones, to different places. commission your artists and maybe find an honest middle ground if you can't compensate! or better yet, make one yourself you know you'd be proud of anyway!

and look, not every piece of art is for everyone, but if any piece isn't your drift, that's understandable -- you can silently say that's very cool, like, reblog if you're even more generous, leave a few encouraging words, then move on.

i don't want this to come across as a sermon, but take it from a concerned fan to another who also wants to create and see stuff for these babies. you can't win them all, but your acknowledgement helps keep the ship and our craft alive.

[sskk-manifesto]

!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[not-another-robin]

My opinion does not hold any weight bc I am literally delusional about these fuckers