#i actually just rediscovered a one-shot | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

604to647 · 4 months

Text

Marine Attraction

4.3K / Detective Tim Rockford x fem!reader

Summary: When a stakeout at the aquarium does not go as planned, Detective Tim Rockford must interview all the aquarium visitors, including you.

Warnings: Fluff! Meet cute! Maybe a dirty thought or two that reader really should not be having about a (hot) man just trying to do his job 🤭 Made up Merge Mansion lore. One cute nickname because it’s me (won’t spoil).

A/N: This was written for @mermaidgirl30’s Ocean Challenge – thank you for hosting a lovely event. Please see #Jamie’s Ocean Challenge for all the wonderful works! I’ve noticed that as of late, some of the authors that I look up to and consider mainstays in this community since I started lurking 2+ years ago have wanted to leave, needed to take breaks from the fandom or felt disconnected from the community. This story is for you, about stepping away when you need to and maybe rediscovering how something old can still bring you joy. Xoxo, love you all.

Fishy dividers by @saradika-graphics 🥰

EDIT: Oops this turned into a series - Masterlist

You’re not really sure how this happened.

You’ve been feeling a bit off, as of late. Nothing was wrong, per say - your job is fine, your friends are dear, your life leaves you grateful. It’s just that you feel… untethered. Like you should be doing something more? Work is fulfilling enough – you achieve and excel. Friends and family make for wonderful company, but your social battery isn’t infinite and as much as enjoy your get-togethers, they can leave you drained. Even some of your solitary pursuits, cooking, watching tv, scrolling through social media don’t seem to be as satisfying as they used to be – you consume, but you don’t create.

On a whim, you decide to take the day off work (the first in who knows how long?) and go somewhere you’ve always loved: the aquarium. You’ve been visiting this aquarium since you were a child – something about the gentle hum of the tanks and the darkness that’s illuminated only by the glow of the exhibits has always relaxed you. You’re going to go specifically to take photos. Photography used to be a casual hobby of yours; you were even featured on local news blogs and had your photos chosen for a gallery showing once – but as life got busier and your other endeavours required more of your time and energy, it had fallen by the wayside. It’s been forever since you took a photo walk or even a picture that wasn’t for capturing a moment rather than a snapshot. You’re actually getting excited about shooting photos again.

It had been a serene couple of hours spent watching your unhurried fish friends and the silent watery dances of the marine plants that shared their abodes. The aquarium is playing host to a few young families and two eager fieldtrips, but otherwise, you’ve had the place nearly to yourself. Able to loiter so you can try different lenses and play with the lighting of your shots, or wait as long as you want in order for a mixed rainbow hue of fish to swim into frame, the morning had passed quietly and contently.

But now you sit in the children’s play area, the last of today’s aquarium visitors, waiting for your turn to be questioned by the police.

---

Detective Tim Rockford is not really sure how this happened.

It had been a simple enough stakeout operation. He and his team had received a tip a few days ago that there would be a handoff taking place at the aquarium today: an exchange of money between one of Grandma Ursula’s henchmen and a mystery player whose identity has eluded Tim for the entirety of this case thus far. Perhaps it was unreasonable to expect Mr. Pie (so nicknamed by the squad for the Bolton Berry pies he consumed) to show up himself, but Tim held out hope that whomever they nabbed today would provide the break in the case that he so desperately needs.

Only, Grandma’s man had come and gone and none of the six men, Tim included, posted at the various vantage points and exits had seen a damn thing. At some point between spotting their target enter the aquarium with a briefcase in hand, they had lost track of him and picked up his movements again only when he was already leaving the gift shop, empty handed. How was it possible they couldn’t account for what happened in the aquarium? Did the meeting with Mr. Pie occur? Or was the briefcase stashed somewhere? Tim presses the heels of his palms to his eyes and grimaces – the operation had been an utter failure.

Not only did they not get what they came for, but now the remainder of the day was completely shot. What had followed once the police realized just how out of depth they were, was a complete shut down of the aquarium with all visitors locked in and needing to be interviewed before they could leave. Even the elementary school trips of thirty children. Each. After giving instruction to the additional LAPD support he called in to search the aquarium top to bottom for the missing case, Tim had settled in for a long afternoon of what he expected to be fruitless Q&As.

As he wearily enters the kids play area once again (an officer more considerate than he had suggested that given the number of children being held, it might be the best place to have everyone wait), Tim sees only one witness left to interview: you. He had noticed you earlier, each time he came in to select another interviewee, in fact – if your pretty features and sweet smile hadn’t caught his attention first, your everlasting patience and kindness would have. Several times, he spotted you playing patiently with the children – the sound of your melodic voice and gentle laughter floating above the grumblings of the other adults who had also had their days ruined. The sound eased the tense spot in his shoulders where his holster straps had started digging in a little bit. At first, Tim thought you might be one of the teachers or a field trip chaperone, but then he noticed that you let all the school trips and families with children go ahead of you, and he overheard you tell his fellow officer that you didn’t mind waiting, that it must be much harder for the children. He was grateful for you and he didn’t even know you.

As Tim approaches, you look up from your phone and shoot him the soft smile that’s been his one bright spot in this disaster of a day, though he thinks it seems a bit more tired than when he first had the pleasure of seeing it earlier this afternoon.

“Is it my turn?” you ask him, still in good spirits despite the circumstances.

“Sorry for the wait, miss.”

“No need to be sorry… Detective?”

“Detective Rockford. Tim Rockford. I appreciate that, it’s been… a day.”

You hold out your hand to shake his before repeating his name, then giving him your own. Tim can’t decide if he likes the way his name rolls off your tongue, or the way your own name floats above the cheer of your voice more.

“Well, hopefully I can help with… whatever has made it such a day,” you give him a sympathetic smile.

The kind of smile you might offer to him when he comes home after a long hard day. Damn. He’s in trouble. Focus, Rockford.

Since you’re his last witness of the day, he offers to conduct the interview right here instead of the stuffy office that the aquarium staff had lent him. As you acquiesce to his suggestion, you stretch out your arms and legs, arching your back to work out a bit of stiffness from having sat for so long and Tim finds himself admiring your figure in a way that is decidedly not going to help him solve this case. He tries to cover up his less than professional gaze by stretching himself – it feels good.

After collecting your information and starting with his routine questions, Tim realizes he’s pinning his hopes on you having seen or noticed something today – not only because no one else has, but so he can keep speaking with you.

When it becomes evident that you didn’t, he sighs a heavy sigh of disappointment.

He hadn’t realized that he’s done so until hears you apologize; quick to reassure you that that you don’t have anything to apologize for, Tim places his large warm hand over yours before he can stop himself. You gasp softly, you think only to yourself, but Tim hears the sweet noise and smirks a little – it’s nice to know he’s not the only one who’s been affected. When he notices that you don’t move your hand away, he lets himself revel in the feel of your soft, small hand under his for a beat longer before he removes it and somewhat begrudgingly starts to wrap up the interview.

---

Fuck. This fucking detective. Rockford. Tim Rockford.

Even his name is hot.

You had noticed him earlier, of course – how could you not? He was a hulking presence, impossibly broad and tall, and he carried himself with the authority and gravitas of a man in charge. During the earlier hours of your wait, you had been preoccupied with helping entertain some of the young children in the waiting area who were restless with boredom, not sure why their promised day of aquarium fun had to be ruined by something as trivial as a police matter.

But once you caught sight of Detective Rockford’s handsome profile, it became impossible to not be captivated by the deep richness of his brown eyes or that strong nose that centered his face perfectly. His grave countenance conveyed the seriousness with which he took his work (that facial scruff screamed he worked too much), but he was quietly calm and his tone gentle with all the witnesses, especially the children. You couldn’t help but hope it was him every time an officer entered the waiting area.

Some time between now and the last two times he had come in to call forth witnesses, the detective had lost his suit jacket, strolling in wearing only a gun holster and a white dress shirt that stretched taut over his firm chest and bulging arm muscles; you thought you were going to have to dunk yourself into one of the aquarium tanks to cool off just from the sight of him.

Your heart picks up a little when it’s him who appears when you’re the last one left to be interviewed; silently, you pray to Beyoncé to give you the strength needed to coherently answer the detective’s questions when he asks them in that honey laced baritone of his.

When Tim mirrors your big stretch, you hope you’re discrete enough that he doesn’t catch you staring: his limbs extend fantastically long, arm span wide enough to cast a shadow that reaches across the floor in front of you - he's huge. After hearing the detective inhale a deep breath, it feels to you as if all of the air has been sucked from the room, leaving you dizzy as you gawk at his hard chest, expanding and pushing up against his crisp dress shirt, held closed only by the strained efforts of a few valiant buttons.

You feel bad that you have to answer in the negative to Detective Rockford’s questions. Unfortunately, you hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary during your visit, too engrossed in your own photo taking, and you don’t remember seeing the man in the picture that he shows you. You can tell that Tim tries hard not to show his disappointment and wish very much that you could please him, be the one to wipe the weary look off his face and the release the tension from his hunched-up shoulders. Maybe please him in other ways, as well. You have a feeling that praise from one Detective Tim Rockford would have you dripping wet and clenching around nothing embarrassingly quick.

GIRL. GET IT TOGETHER. For all you know, a serious crime took place here today!

You apologize. Outwardly, for your inability to help him with his case, and inwardly, for the dirty thoughts that are wholly inappropriate to have about a complete stranger who is just, very competently, doing his job.

To try and put you at ease, Tim relaxes his handsome face and hopes to reassure you when he gently pats your hand; instead, a jolt of electricity shoots through you and you warm all over from his touch. Maybe it’s your imagination but Detective Rockford seemingly lets his bear paw of hand linger over yours for a bit longer than he needs to, and you think you spy his plush lips curve up slightly at the corners when you gasp. You might just melt off this bench right now.

“Oh, one last thing, did you take any pictures at the aquarium today?”

You nod, but are suddenly shy as you anticipate the Detective’s next question. Tim nods at you matter of fact, “Good. Could you please show me? I just need to look through them quickly to see if there’s anything in the background that might be useful.”

He holds his hand out, not really expecting any resistance - you’ve been nothing but perfectly cooperative so far. But when his hand remains empty, he looks over to find you adorably chewing your bottom lip while gripping your phone tightly with both hands, making no motion to hand it over. For one ridiculous moment he panics, Are you Mr. Pie?! He shakes his head slightly to rid himself of that ludicrous thought, and waits patiently for you to tell him what you’re ruminating on.

“It’s just that there are a lot of pictures..,” you start, “… and a lot of them are kind of duplicates…”

You know you’re being deliberately vague – sighing in resignation, you decide it’s best to just rip the band aid off. Unlocking your phone, you go to your camera roll and filter to today’s library before handing over your phone without meeting the detective’s gaze. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Tim scroll slowly through hundreds of photos of the aquarium’s exhibits; you attempt to avoid meeting his eye by focusing on how your phone looks inexplicably small in his big, rough hand.

“That’s… a lot,” Tim finally says when he reaches the bottom of the roll.

When you look up, you expect to see maybe a cringed look or even a mocking expression on the detective’s handsome face, but instead you find the massive man looking at you with a gentle curiosity, maybe even holding himself a little smaller in an attempt to not intimidate you. It doesn’t seem to matter that you don’t really know him, you suddenly feel comfortable enough to tell Detective Tim Rockford this very personal thing about yourself – he might look like he's perfectly cast as the 'bad cop' in interrogations, but you have a feeling he’s got just as good of a track record playing 'good cop'.

“An old hobby of mine was… I guess they call it iPhoneography? Using apps to mimic traditional camera captures? I used to love it, actually. Selecting the different lenses and choosing different exposures, then seeing how the images would developed – of course, with the phone, you wouldn’t have to take it in and wait for a week or anything, it would be processed digitally in a matter of seconds. But… editing apps are so common place nowadays, and most social media platforms have built in filters and effects - iPhoneography has sort of fallen out of favour,” you explain. Tim is nodding along - he doesn’t really know what you’re talking about, he has three apps on his phone that he uses regularly (Weather, Candy Crush, and the app from the City that reminds him when to put out his garbage bins); the rest of the apps on his phone were preinstalled and he can’t figure out how to delete them. But he encourages you to go on.

“In fact, I haven’t really gone out to shoot in years. But lately… I’ve sort of wanted to get back into it? I came to the aquarium today to fire up the old camera, so to speak. That’s why there’s so many – a lot of the pictures are just of the same frame but where I was trying out different lenses or exposure options. I’m not, like, super obsessed with fish or anything,” you finish up quickly, hoping you haven’t made a complete fool of yourself.

Tim hands you back your phone, still open to today’s photos, and smiles, “Why don’t you tell me about what you shot today?”

“Really?” you look up, surprised.

“Really,” Tim tries to convey his genuine interest via his eyes, and is instantly rewarded by a smile on your face that could light up the room. It’s certainly lighting him up.

And so, you tell Detective Tim Rockford all about the photos you took today. You swipe through your pictures and show him how the different lenses affect the lighting, exposure, saturation and even colour tinting of the resulting photo. You proudly tell him about how you had to switch up your technique and settings when shooting the tanks where the marine animals or plants thrived primarily in the dark or relied on bioluminescent light. You laugh, mainly at yourself, when you tell him about how long you stayed at certain attractions, waiting for a particular school of fish to swim perfectly into frame.

Tim thinks your laughter is the loveliest sound he’s ever heard.

You tell him your favourite sea creatures to photograph are the jelly fish because they’re so weird and they move with such alien grace, unpredictable yet seemingly purposeful, and that’s why there are more pictures of them than any other animal in your camera roll.

Tim finds himself enchanted watching you get more and more animated and excited as you go through the pictures you took today; while your eyes are peeled to your screen, he admires how they twinkle and the way your mouth slopes upwards, grinning wide even as you talk non-stop about your long-forgotten hobby. Your pretty face is aglow. He thinks he could listen to you talk about the things that bring you joy forever.

He lets you talk for an hour. You don’t even realize until you get to the last photo (a school of clown fish weaving between the tentacles of their anemone home) and glance up at the time at the top of the screen, “…oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!! I’ve prattled on for so long, I’m sure none of this was helpful at all!”

Tim won’t have any of that, “Don’t be sorry. You had fun. I’m glad you had some fun today… before I ruined it by sequestering you here in this waiting area for the entire afternoon.”

You shyly look at his apologetic face, “I’m having fun now.”

Tim can feel his ears warm and is sure they’re pink at the tips. Darn, you’re sweet. He distracts himself by flipping to a brand-new page in his notebook, “Me too.” You feel your heart expand at his soft confession.

“Now, I have some good news and some bad news.”

You look at him expectantly with an innocent, doe-eyed expression that Tim thinks might be one of the most dangerous things he’s ever encountered in all his years on the force, “The good news is that I think you’re a very, very good photographer. It’s clear you enjoy it and there isn’t a single photo you showed me today that isn’t obviously a labour of love. I think you should get back into it if you can. The way you were talking about your photos today, I don’t think I’ve seen that much joy on someone’s face in… I don’t know how long. I’m grateful you shared that with me.”

You’re speechless. His words are so, so kind… and exactly what you needed to hear today. You’re filled with tremendous gratitude and fondness for Detective Tim Rockford.

“… the bad news is, I spotted the reflection of our man in the shadows on the glass in some of your photos, and I’m so very sorry but I’m going to have to confiscate your phone,” Tim could not be more truly sorry.

After the initial shock of being told you’re losing your phone for a few days, you quickly recover and tell Tim that you’re genuinely glad you could help. You give him your email and use your phone to send off a message to a few of your group chats regarding how you can be reached for the next few days before dropping your phone into the evidence bag Tim produces. Under different circumstances, you might be upset at this turn of events, but the expression on Detective Tim Rockford's face is more than enough to make the minor inconvenience worth it – he looks invigorated, energized. Clearly, this is what he loves doing.

Walking you to the aquarium exit, Tim apologizes and thanks you again before seeing you out. Right before the door closes behind you, you turn and see him already rushing off to brief his team, your plastic covered phone clutched in his hand and an excited grin on his face. After the kindness and patience the detective has shown you today, you’re glad to have played a small role in putting that smile on his face.

True to his word, you receive an email from [email protected] just a few days later, letting you know your phone is ready for pick-up. When Detective Rockford meets you in the precinct lobby, you have to suck in your breath – he’s even more handsome than you remember, and you’ve been spending nearly every waking minute over the past few days picturing his strong jawline, soulful eyes, and that charming facial scruff you’d give anything to run your fingers through. He’s jacketless again, just another pressed white dress shirt that his broad frame threatens to rip through, bordered by those leather holsters that make you want to swallow your tongue.

As Tim takes you to Evidence so you can sign out your phone, he tries to chat amiably and not cast too many obvious and admiring glances your way; you’re all warmth and serenity in this place that he only ever associates with being loud, bustling and cold. He simultaneously never wants you to leave and wishes to sweep you far away and keep you only for himself, distanced safely from this place where his every day is synonymous with darkness and mystery.

When you’re once again outside, Tim leans against the frame of the precinct’s front doors and you look up at him from one step down, hopeful, “Did I help?”

Yes. You help more than you know, Tim thinks, having been unable to get your incandescent smile out of his mind since he last parted from you; finding that it’s become the image that grounds him during his long grueling hours. Instead, he says, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“Oh no – not this again,” you grin.

Tim smiles back, emboldened by your cheery demeanor, “The good news is that a lot of your photos and what the tech guys called… um.. meta data? A lot of it helped generate some good leads that we’re now following.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful! I’m so glad, Detective Rockford!”

“Tim. Please call me, Tim.”

“I don’t know, I kind of like calling you Detective,” you tease, good naturedly.

Tim should not feel his pants tighten at this, “The bad news is, because your photos had so much useful information, there is a very good chance they will be used as evidence if this case ever goes to trial. I don’t think you will need to testify, as you yourself didn’t see anything, and that meta data gives us the info on when and where the photos were taken. But even so… it means I can’t ask you out until the case is over.”

“Oh no,” you’re disappointed, but somewhat mollified that Tim has just basically asked you out without asking you out. “That is bad news indeed.”

Tim looks around to make sure no one is looking before he reaches out with his hand and gently strokes your cheek with the back of two of his thick fingers just once, whispering, “I’ve never wanted to put a case to bed more.”

You can’t let the joke pass you by, “The case? The case is what you want to put to bed?”

The booming laugh that shakes Detective Tim Rockford’s entire torso reaches all the way to his eyes, crinkling them in the most adorable way. It’s staggering the difference it makes – he looks 10 years younger, you think.

He’s needed this. A really good laugh. He’s needed it more than he realized. He’s needed you. He looks at your impish grin, so proud of yourself for pulling this sound from him, a sound so rare that it’s become almost foreign to his own ears; Tim hopes he’s able to convey his gratitude for you with the way his eyes have brightened, flecked with gold and mirth.

He thinks you just might understand him perfectly.

When you lift up on your toes to brush your lips softly against his scruffy cheek for a goodbye kiss, he whispers low in your ear, “I’ll call you, Shutterbug.”

A promise.

7 months later

The Grandma Ursula case has taken the nation by storm. The TV in your workplace breakroom is permanently dialed to the court case broadcast so no one misses a minute of the scandalous proceedings, a single interview with those involved in the case, or any legal and criminal analysts’ commentary. For someone who is billed as the Lead Investigator, Tim makes shockingly few appearances onscreen, but you feel a little thrill go through you whenever you catch a glimpse of his striking figure in the background of a news broadcast about the case, or when you see him standing stoically behind the head prosecutor while the latter debriefs the press from the steps of the court house.

You gaze dreamily at his face while the press shouts out what everyone (your friends, colleagues, the public) all want to know:

How many aliases does Grandma Ursula really have?

Can we even call it the Bolton Mansion anymore?

Why that particular number of pies?

You’ll be honest, you’re just as interested in the case as everyone else, but you have one pressing question that you know no one else is asking: Will he call when it’s over?

You’re in a departmental meeting when the verdict is read. It takes you forever to get back to your desk, caught up in everyone’s excited chatter about the ruling, but when you finally sit down and pull out your phone from your drawer, it’s to the best outcome you could have hoped for from the Grandma Ursula case. Positively beaming, you reread the text message sent from an unknown number only two minutes after the verdict was announced: Hey Shutterbug, take any good photos lately?

End note: The iPhoneography aspect of this fic is a bit self indulgent; some might know that this Tumblr used to be a photo blog before it became my writing blog. Just like reader, it's something I used to enjoy a lot but I haven't opened those camera apps in years - maybe I'll get back into it one day! In the meantime, yes - the aquarium photos in the moodboard are by yours truly 🤭

#Jamie's Ocean Challenge #Tim Rockford #Tim Rockford fic #Tim Rockford fanfiction #Tim Rockford x reader #Tim Rockford x you #tim rockford x f!reader #pedro pascal characters fanfiction #pedro pascal characters

145 notes · View notes

literary-illuminati · 3 months

Text

2024 Book Review 32 – The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

This is the first book this year I picked up specifically and entirely because it got a Hugo nomination; I’d previously vaguely heard of it, but never in any detail and the title didn’t really grab me. Despite what an exercise in masochism the whole ‘read every nominee for best novel and novella’ turned out to be last year, I’m actually very glad I stuck with it. Not sure I’d actually vote for it – this years best novel slate is actually incredibly strong – but it was an absolutely lovely and just fun read.

As one might assume, the story follows the eponymous Amina al-Sirafi, infamous and legendary corsair, smuggler and general rogue plying the Indian ocean sometime in the 12th century. Dragged out of an obscure retirement by the aristocratic mother of a former crewman whose fate still haunts her, she is sent on a mission to rescue the crewman’s kidnapped (or runaway) child by the twin incentives of more money than she could ever spend on one hand and blatant threats to the safety of her own family on the other. From there, she puts her crew together, has an unfortunate reunion with her demonic not-technically-ex husband, makes a pact with an island of officious peris, and races to prevent a Norman warlock from seizing control of an ancient relic to make war upon God.

The setting is honestly the point of this as much as the actual plot or any of the characters are. The late medieval Islamic maritime world and the wider Indian Ocean trading networks are an incredibly rich milieu to sink your teeth into, and one the author’s clearly fallen wholly in love with. I can’t speak for their accuracy, but little details of life and flourishes of historical terminology drip off every page, and the whole thing sings with the amount of research that was put into it. It’s the vanishingly rare work of fiction with a list of further reading at the end that actually makes me want to go hunt them down.

Specifically placing it in the twelfth century is kind of interesting, in terms of placement in the Islamic Golden Age – long, long after political power became fully fragmented and the Islamic world was linked more by economic and cultural ties, in the midst of the Crusades in the Levant, but still a few generations before the Mongols sack Baghdad. I really don’t have any ideas or assumptions about te why here, it’s just centuries later than the voyage of Sinbad the book is clearly riffing off of, so it makes me curious.

The enthusiastically researched and real-feeling setting does sadly kind of stop with the characters. Amina is sincerely religious and comfortable with the supernatural in a way that feels much more fitting than the vast majority of fantasy protagonists, but in every other sense she is clearly written to be relatable and sympathetic to an assumed audience of modern liberals. (Near-)Queernorm settings are great, but does jar with the fixation on historical grounding a bit. (The whole beat where dragging a runaway bride back to their family and decades older rich fiancee is unfortunate but for their own good until it’s realized they’re trans also kind of feels like a parody of a certain kind of identity-focused liberalism).

Between this and the Radiant Emperor duology I’m definitely rediscovering a real love for historic low fantasy. The research burden is immense but it’s hard to beat the actual past for making a world that feels lived in and real, and provide the vital sense that there are a thousand other stories happening just out of shot. The complete lack of generic-western-fantasy magic and monsters is also nearly as appreciated as the lack of castles and earls.

Which is good, really, as if you ignore the setting there isn’t really much to chew on here. To an extent this seems deliberate – the story is trying to be a pulpy, larger-than-life swashbuckling adventure, what with the getting dragged out of retirement for one more big score and the getting the band back together and the cackling 1.5-dimensional villain trying to make himself as unto god. In the main it absolutely succeeds at this (though the introduction of a generous and competent pirate captain who lends Amina a ship and a spirit-cutting magic sword out of nowhere at the end of the second act does strain things a bit). It does end up feeling a bit like using the most gorgeous, lusciously details stage in the world for a bunch of puppets to act out a pantomime, though – Amina is basically the only character in the entire story that feels like a person instead of a cartoon. They are, at least, more amusing cartoons than not. Raksh the murderous but cowardly ambition-seeking incubus husband was a highlight.

All in all, a very fun, page-turning read. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

#book review #sff #hugo nom #the adventures of amina al sirafi #shannon chakraborty

57 notes · View notes

jbk405 · 3 months

Text

I think I've found one of the key reasons why I prefer the old Expanded Universe to the current Star Wars content: Unique types of villains.

More specifically, people who weren't just Evil Force Users With Long Robes And Red Lightsabers. While there were always a few Darth Vader-clones that popped up to fill up space, so many of the Arc Villains were distinct not just in personality, but also how they were dangerous.

Grand Admiral Thrawn was a military tactician, which wasn't the point of any of the main villains in the Original Trilogy. Grand Moff Tarkin was a "Build a bigger superweapon and bludgeon the galaxy into submission" kind of villain, and Vader and the Emperor were mystical dark wizards. This isn't a complaint or criticism, but just pointing out that military tactics were never on display in the films since that wasn't the type of story they were telling. But Thrawn didn't have prophetic powers or Destiny, he had to analyze and plan around what he could learn about his adversaries. It's a different type of fight than Literal Magic. In the original Thrawn Trilogy, Captain Pellaeon frequently internally narrates how different Thrawn's style of leadership was to either Vader or the Emperor (Even if his art-analysis did verge on magic by itself).

Ysanne Isard was a political and/or espionage manipulator, which was even less a point of the Original Trilogy than military tactics were. She took advantage of the realities of actually needing to build a nation out of an underground military movement. With all of the dirty gutter politics, self-serving agendas, and logistics that doom so many revolutionary movements. I'm not as big a fan of her arc as I was when I was younger (I re-read the Rogue Squadron novels a few years ago and the writing quality is not as good as I remember, and Isard's plans frankly don't hold a lot of water), but the concept is still fantastic.

Warlord Zsinj on the surface seems like a merger of Thrawn and Isard -- he's a military commander who specializes in espionage -- but he also has a big focus that neither of them demonstrated: Business. While he still blows stuff up with his giant space ships and is sowing dissent through brainwashing and spycraft, he's simultaneously establishing a galaxy-wide network of completely-legitimate commercial businesses that he owns through untraceable pseudonyms. They fund his campaigns, give him influence on planets outside of his direct control, and allow him to control resources without any of his adversaries even being aware of it.

Even one-shot enemies like the Ssi-ruuk were so unique: They're invading the galaxy because their technology is powered by living souls and they want to harvest all life in the galaxy. That's messed up, and so distinct from the general "Take over the world" motivation of the Empire.

But as time went on, more and more of the enemies were just "Darth Vader Again". Another Jedi who fell to the Dark Side, or another long-lost schism of the Sith who rediscovered mainstream galactic society, or some other thing that is eventually resolved by a one-on-one lightsaber duel and a personal grudge against the Skywalker or Solo families. It definitely felt like they were out of ideas and kept running through the same villains over and over again.

This kicked into high gear after the Prequels came out, and continued in the new continuity after the EU was rebranded as "Legends".

I wish we could go back to the idea that there could be an enemy who wasn't super powerful in the force and consumed by Hatred Of The Jedi. With their own skills, their own methods, and something that makes them more than just another wannabe-Sauron. Pirates who are just pirates, marauding ex-Imperial Warlords who are just marauding ex-Imperial Warlords, and corrupt politicians who are just corrupt politicians, instead of revealing that Palpatine returned (somehow) all over again.

#This doesn't mean there aren't great Star Wars stories revolving around the new Vader-copies but there were just more and more of them #Star Wars #Expanded Universe #Legends #Thrawn #Grand Admiral Thrawn #Ysanne Isard #Zsinj #Warlord Zsinj #Ssi-ruuk #Ssi-ruuvi Imperium

48 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 2 months

Text

Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Finale: The Richest Duck in the World "And As Usual, He Was!"

Hello all you happy people and welcome to the finale of my life and times of scrooge mcduck retrospective! It's been a duck blur, from starting this years ago, to a years long hiatus to Kev paying for me to finish it, btu we're finally here. The final chapter of Don Rosa's masterpiece. Coming out the other side of this LIfe and Times is still one of my faviorite comics of all time and I'm glad to finish it. Kinda. There are a ton of bonus chapters Rosa did throughout the rest of his career, as well as an upcoming new chapter from another author entirely, all of which i'm up for covering at some point. There's a few I definitely want to get to in paticuarl: The three goldie stories (one pre life and times two with the label) that help flesh out here and Scrooge's past, the wonderful "Letter From Home" that gives ups Matilda's return and ties up that loose end, and my personal faviorite "Dream of a Lifetime", a one shot tale that goes through just about every chapter of life and times via Scrooge's dreams for one hell of an epilouge. None of these are necssary but they all feel like good companion pieces to the story and i'm glad Rosa did these interquels among others. I also have an itch to cover more duck material in general as while it has the cynical boost of having more viewers than normal for my content, it's also something I forgot HOW much I loved in the content lull after Ducktales end. And as a wise man once said.. there's always another rainbow. What it'll be i'm not sure yet, but you can expect at least one duck adventure next month.

For now though we're finishing the main story and it's while a lot of plans changed or shifted over this 12 issue saga, one thing was always in the cards: he wanted to end the story where Scrooge's story began all those years ago, with the finale taking place the day after the bulk Night on Bear Mountain. For those less familiar, and I wasn't when I started this though i've since covered the story, Night on Bear Mountain is the very FIRST Scrooge story, with Scrooge inviting his nephews for Christmas to scare them but being impressed by the end and thus inviting them for CHristmas Diner. This story shows what happens in between while also explaning the discrepency between the Scrooge we see in that story and who he'd be in the rest of his meaty cagalogue. In night on bear mountain Scrooge is diffrent, wearing a long robe, living in an isolated mansion (Keep in mind comics scrooge just lived at the bin), with him being more myth than actual person Donald just.. visits every day.

This story bridges that gap, explaning how Scrooge got his groove back, shows his first proper adventure with his nephews, and how he went from only a poor old man to the greatest adventuerer who ever lived once again. If this sounds familiar Ducktales 2017 did something similar, having Scrooge having mostly retired after loosing Della and years of searching for her, with the boys and webby reignting that spirit in much the same way, with Donald busy with a job offer that turned out to be an elaborate scheme. I still love they did that and it's a testiment ot how much impact this story had on the reboot: while a lot of Scrooge's past was changed, including his parents still being alive, the comic was, as I belivie I mentioned in the first entry, required reading for staff and stands as an important inspiration for one of the greatest cartoons ever made and quite possibly my faviorite.

So let's dive into the bin one last time as Scrooge rediscovers himself, Huey , Dewey and Louie discover a legend and Donald won't shut the fuck up.

We open with a Citizen Kane Homage as Scrooge whispers goldie while holding a snowglobe. He isn't dead, won't be till the 60's in rosa's eyes. For now though he's become a recluse as a newsreeel overs over his life and how his last public apperance was 17 years ago, when he threw out his family seemingly for good. We get some neat cameos as we see Grandma Duck again, this time in her glory days, who hasn't seen Scrooge since she sold him most of her land bar the farm.. and Gus when he corrects her that the old coot also came by to forclose on the chicken coop. Gus is Donald's cousin. He eats a lot, sleeps more and is somehow lazier than our boy. Which is possible. We also see Gladstone, the bastard and donald who shoves a hand in the camera.

At this point the Bin is just a legend, with no one really knowing if it's actually full of cash, something four familiar fowl talk about as they watch the newscast: Donald and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. After 12 chapters we're to the present day of duckberg and where it all began as they prepare for that christmas dinner I mentioned. The boys wonder if it could be true while Donald dismisses it: no rich person could've EARNED IT and he assumes Scrooge inherited it.. somehow. Which baffles me a bit as while I'm sure Hortense, like 2017 Donald, tried not to bring Scrooge up, she wouldn't of.. not brought up her childhood in scotland or the rest of her family. They didn't throw her out. Granted Donald does have a talent for self delusion and we don't know how young the kids were when she died, so there's wiggle room it just annoys me a little

What Annoys mea lot is Donald who throughout this whole story constantly says everything about Scrooge is fake. That he probably bought it on crusies. It annoys be a bit less this readthrough as having become fed up with most present day billionares.. yeah most do. This just happens to be the one whose a bastard AND worked hard to earn it. But it's still a very one note gag: Donald is up his own ass and dosen't know what we know or has seen what we've seen and thinks his uncle's only a poor old man.

It's not story breaking, but it is repetitive.

Thankfully we move on to the mansion proper as Scrooge's butler Jeeves, and no that's not me goofing up Duckworth was created for the show, ushers them in.. and as Scrooge slowly stirs.. we see him, in a truly awesome panel

I love all the detail here: the bits of stubble, the tired eyes, how sunken he looks in genearl. This is a Scrooge who has given up: he's retired from work to rot in a mansion, having nothing left and is a shell of what he once was and will be again. I also give Rosa credit for using Scrooge's first apperance design still: he had the time for Scrooge to change.. but him not having done so is a symbol of just how deep in the depression hole he is: as someone whose been in them I relate to clearly not having taken care of yourself in some time, just sitting there letting time pass as you feel you have nothing left.

The boys being their usual charming hive minded selves are delighted to meet their great uncle. Though we get a really sad bit as he notes most family he has has.. disappeared. He dosen't know matilda is alive, and he certainly heard what happened to Hortense. The boys do genuinely welcome him in but he balks, figuring their all after inheretiance. Donald claps back that you spent it all on this place ya jackass.

Scrooge insscensed decides the time has come to do something he rarely does but is sacred to the rich: flashing his cash. Specicially he has his butler.. dress him. Okay Scrooge you need either boundries with your butler or a more equal relationship if you want to keep fucking him. Trust me i've hit on the help too. The help was a gorgon's head but I didn't make her dress me.. hades didn't give me that option because their sane.

He takes them to the Bin, which is decayed.. though Scrooge has been keeping the booby traps fresh and keeps the weeds simply because it's good security: if a place LOOKS abandoned and unloved, people will think that. And it mostly has been, Scrooge having retired isn't using it. Still he kept the most important part of it, the cash ocean itself, but our heroes pass the second most important part first

This little tirade, while very in character.. is also very Rosa speaking his piece, as he hated stories (even barks own) where the Dime was implied to be magic. Whlie his old man yells at cloud behavior often has me shaking my head.. I agree on this one. The dime is better as a symbol that motivated scrooge than as a plot device and it cheapens the man's skill to say the Dime is responsible. I don't mind Magica trying to use it for a power source as THAT makes sense: it has a lot of emotional energy from being around scrooge as he got his fortune, the weight of having traveled the world with him for most of his life and being what started a great man on his path. I like the idea that kind of object with that kind of emotoinal baggage has power, kinda like what adventure time did with Hambo and PB's Shirt she got from marcy. It's magical yes but it fits the world better and makes it clear the dime is impressive because of SCROOGE not the other way around. Somehow Lorcana didn't get the memo

The description and image are perfect, as is the fact it's SHOCKINGLY powerful I just don't get why Number One Dime wasn't considered.

One he unveils the bin though it DOES shock his nephew and even DONALD can't say anything for a change

I do like that explination.. it dosen't scan with every Scrooge story as there are countless that say his bin really is the McDuck version of one piece, from the aformentioned Christmas for Shacktown to the very first Scrooge lead story "Only a Poor Old Man". I'm not against this: Rosa had a tendency to pick and choose which parts of Bark's stories to make canon to his stories, wanting a more cohesive universe and while clearly respecting the man to a sometimes stifling degree, recognized not everything from stories not really built to have a continuity was going to stick together. As reverent as he is to barks, to an annoying degree at times like his feeling put out at having to include Fethry despite being an entirely valid character with loads of potetial simply because one man didn't create him (Not saying barks isn't fucking amazing, he is, but it's a petty reason not to use good characters).. I can respect Rosa for knowing what he wanted in his own canon and what to keep as well as having said multiple times his stories dont' stack up to his idols. I disagree on that statment as while Barks IS better in some ways, for all I gripe about the guy sometimes... Rosa is a truly talented writer, one of the best duck writers there ever was and while Time's made me see the cracks in the guy.. ti dosen't make him any less special or any less vital to duck canon. Ther'es a reason most writers either honor his stories or consider them canon alongside barkses. The man has a degree of talent, care and love that's hard to come by and while I may disagree with some of his choices at times... I can't help but love the guy still.

So anyway that suspcious santa might have set you off.. turns out the santas near the bin were beagle boys, scoping out a hesit and lead by Scrooge's old enemy blackheart, whose descendants indeed got to fucking as he hoped.

As is duck story standard they easily capture our heroes despite scrooge being way more badass than all of them combined... Donald too honestly... the boys also. Honestly a paper bag could probably beat the beagle boys and they somehow win when the plot says so, though this time at least theirs a valid excuse; Donald and the boys are new at adventuering, having gone on a few solo adventures pre scrooge while Scrooge has given up on the world and thus surrenders to being thrown.. though he is pissed they once again bring up the lucky dime thing. So before he can snap out of it let's talk about this dperession and self loathing: honestly while he'd never say it, even Ducktales 2017 scrooge both hides what happened with Della from the kids and refuses to apologize to Donald for a decade despite being almost entirely in the wrong, it's clear loosing his sisters did hurt him: he had his money but nothing else and with nothing to really fight for and his lifelong goal achieved he just.. gave up. It dosen't feel like scrooge ... but that's the point: just as his horrible actions in africa weren't really him, not striving, not searching not trying to build his empire simply because he's seemingly won.. isn't him. Without anyone to share it with... his bin is just a pile of coins, memetos of better days.

So the thing that busts him out of his stupor... are his nephews. The boys search furiously for some way out, unlike Donald and Scrooge not ready to give up and find his old mining gear... while Donald.. well Donald inspires him in his own way

I love this and it's something I really hadn't thought about before but think of now, especially since again Woo-Hoo! takes some steps from this, having Louie take Donald's place as the doubting asshole, and have the boys as a whole, like Donald question if Scrooge really was this big or is just some old man, leading him to ragefully prove them wrong.. granted Scrooge's attempts in Woo-Hoo are more laughable as he plans to go diving to prove children wrong, something Beakley lampshades, but he still gets the step of showing them what he cna do by dealing with everything they unleash in his garage, similar to how here the combined menaces of Donald's jerkassery and the Beagle Boys scheme finally awakens the beast. I also love the subtle note of Scrooge taking off his coat, revealing his usual coat underneath. It's something I again hadn' tnoticed before this re-read, but ti's a very ncie touch... Scrooge the doddering old man given up on everything is gone. Scrooge McDuck, Last of the Clan McDuck, Master of the Missippi, Buckaroo of the Badlands, Raider of the Copper Hill, Laird of Castle McDuck, Terror of the Transyval, Dreamtime Duck of Never Never, King of The Klondike, Billionare of Dismal Downs, Invader of Fort Duckburg, Empire Builder from Callisota... THE Richest Duck in the world is back.

And since he's back he decides to go after the beagles, having the boys haul his trunk. I also really like this joke.

Look donald is my boy, and even in a story where he's not on his a game.. he's still Donald. He's bound to have at least one good moment or two.

The two notice scrooge a coming and take off.. but they left an other Sleigh which Scrooge quickly takes, and begins using a cavlcade of his skills. We've seen his mining, now we see his ablility to tame any animal. It's not as impressive as a lion but he dosen't have time to get to the zoo so a horse'll do.

We also get ANOTHER choice gag. While not all of rosa's comedy lands for me.. the guy really nails it a lot of the time and it's a part of his writing talent that dosen't get praised enough.

Honestly this chapter is easily the funniest next to the invader of fort duckberg, likely because with the dramatic part of Scrooge's life mostly worn down, we have more room for some comedy.

Blackheart has them step on it as he realizes he's no longer dealing with a hollowed out shell of a man but the guy whose beat him twice and is ready to abide by rule of three. We get some fun callbacks as scrooge uses his gold pan as a discus to knock out the driver of the beagle boys then takes out the rest, minus blackheart who grabs the dime for leverage, with his boomerang from his time in australia. This also leads to another fucking phenominal gag

Scrooge then ties up the rest of the non blackheart beagles using his roping tricks, with the officers that poor woman called rounding the boys up. All that's left is blackheart who naturally, as our big bad for the chapter, final antagonist of the story and the foe Scrooge has fought the most on this journey, gets the best takedown of all

Such an awesome moment: The same thing that finally brought Scrooge's dream to reality... is what helps cement his return to his truest self: he may be a mean old man.. but he's tougher than the toughies, sharper than the sharpies, smarter than the smarties and he made his money square.

That said the adrenline does wear off slightly.. until...

I had to share the scene in full.. because it's so damn good. After a whole journey, after seeing Scrooge at his lowest.. we see his core. Something that speaks against ageism: your body may age, but your never too old to start over, to have a second chance.. to chase another rainbow. The quality of your lives are what you make of them also really gets me.

IT's also a nice return to form as the bin being public.. dosen't bother them. Let them come: he's fought off worse and he'll fight them again. I also love him kicking donald's butt. He's just enough of a jerk in this story to well deserve it.

So Scrooge is now fully back: he decides to reopen the office, sell the mansion and get back to work.. and take the boys with them. While he dosen't say it being the stubborn old bastard we know and love... he needs these boys. Adventure is nothing if you don't have anyone to share it with.. .and once again he has someone to share it with. Once again he has family.

So he celebrates with a swim, with the boys astounded at his ability btu Donald unable to understand his uncle: all he seems to have is cold metal... but he could be wrong...

This ending gets me... a reminder it's both never too late (Something I need at only 32, which in tumblr years is 90), and that a life well lived is one not lived alone, that the things that make us who we are good and bad.. are the greatest adventure of all.

The Richest Duck in the World is a well done capper, feeling like a lost modern scrooge adventure, that missing piece in the story that Rosa happily filled in for us. Donald again can be a bit much, even in the stories final page he still hasn't quite got the hint, it's not one of his better stories.. but it dosen't take away from this as an ending.. and a beginning. Of a man who lost everything that mattered finding it again. Of an epic story of one man's life, what made him who he was, and what he gained, lost and ultimately found again.

Life and Times.. is one of the best comics of all time,the best duck comics story ever, and only not currently the best duck story PERIOD because ducktales 2017 is so freaking good. And even then while that series beats it over all as an individual story this 12 part epic still trumps it's worthy successor. It's a labor of love that's massive in scope, character work and gorgeous art work. It's a true masterpice that needs to be read again and again and one i was very happy to cover. I found stuff I disliked sure, a chapter or two had pacing issues, some things didn't land.. but ti's hard to deny what a fucking triumph this book is. Only one other comic I can think of comes this close to distilling a characters essence down into 12 issues, and even then All Star Superman, while excellent didn't also have the task of trying to be in continuity. Life and Times is a masterpiece and it was a joy coverinmg it and the dream of a life time finishing this journey> Thank you all for reading.. and see you next rainbow.

#ducktales #scrooge mcduck #donald duck #huey duck #louie duck #dewey duck #the beagle boys #don rosa #comics #the life and times of scrooge mcduck #life and times of scrooge mcduck

31 notes · View notes

ranbling · 2 months

Note

what do you think would be the quickest way to do an eddie sexuality/love-for-buck realization? (within the first three eps)

Okay, so it is my headcanon that Eddie actually realised that he's in love with Buck when he got shot. Maybe it's just him realising he got shot and going to die, but I believe that you can see it on his face how he is realising that he loves Buck and he will die without ever telling him that, and reaching for him in his last moments (well, what he thinks is his last moments). I also believe that when he told Buck that he does not remember anything from the shooting, he was telling the truth. Repressing the shit out of a traumatic event is common and it was pretty traumatic.

So, I think one good therapy session with Frank focusing on the shooting will unrepress his memories and he will rediscover the fact that he's in love with Buck

#911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #pinky's asks

23 notes · View notes

byoldervine · 8 months

Text

What To Do When Losing Your Flow Mid-Writing Session

Make A Deal:

1. Set a timer. Write for five or ten more minutes

2. Cross the finish line. Finish the paragraph you’re on, or write one more

3. Musical statues. If you write while listening to music, keep writing until you finish the song you’re on, or until the one after that is finished

The intention behind these deals is similar to getting a child to try new foods; you tell them that if they can eat just one or two more bites, and they still don’t like it, they don’t have to eat any more. You can do similar with your writing, but it only works long-term if you actually allow yourself to stop after you’ve met the criteria to do so

Regaining Inspiration:

1. Come back later. Set the writing aside and do something else. Get food or a drink, take a shower, take a walk, cuddle your pet, whatever eases your brain from writing mode to chill mode. Ideally something simple and repetitive that you don’t have to think much about

2. Read something. Maybe a book that inspires you, or a transcript of a movie you like, or anything else like that. I’d encourage you to only read your own writing if you’re working on getting ideas for how to continue; you won’t snap out of editor mode even if you’re just trying to chill

3. Rediscover your passion. Remind yourself what inspired you to write in the first place. Was it this one particular scene that stuck in your mind? Was it a few lines of dialogue? Was it the general plot? A romance? A plot twist? Even just a vibe? Go back to whatever it was that initially inspired your project. With any luck, you’ll catch your second wind

If All Else Fails:

1. Redirect your focus. If you don’t have any further inspiration or motivation for writing, is there anything else you can do for the project? If you’re in the mood to draw, make character designs or background designs or doodle a scene. If you’re in the mood to sing or listen to music, come up with more songs that fit your characters or the scene you were stuck on. If you’re in the mood to eat or cook or bake, get food that a character would like

2. Turn to the internet. I made an entirely new Pinterest account purely for Byoldervine that I like to look through and add to when I’m after inspiration. Aside from that, you can also look at the writing communities all over social media and find new conversations or prompts to try. Which leads me to the final point

3. Write outside of your official project. If your current project isn’t going to plan but you still want to write something, you don’t have to work on your current draft. You can write a different scene from your work to use as a first draft later, you can write a one-shot that won’t be in the project but abides by canon, you can write a one-shot that is basically throwing your characters into an AU, you can write something entirely separate from your project altogether, etc. anything you like, just go ahead and do it; don’t deny yourself fun just because it won’t be in the finished product

61 notes · View notes

butmakeitgayblog · 8 months

Note

Can I just say I love how like, into revisiting and analysing this dumb show’s scenes you still are — with the rise in popularity of streaming (I’m sure this has something to do with it, anyway) it’s become more and more commonplace for people to consume a piece of media, enjoy it, get bored of it after a while and never touch it again after moving on to the next new thing. It’s so wholesome and refreshing to see people still be so passionate and always find something new to talk about a show that, for all many of us care, ended 8 years ago. I do move in and out of being obsessed and disinterested with the media I’ve enjoyed, but in a world where I’m constantly seeing people say “oh you’re a fan of [X]? But that’s old :/“ (mostly about something that finished like last year lol) your blog is a breath of fresh air :)

Well thank you 🥹

The thing is, I get it. I get why and how people move on to different fandoms so quickly, and I don't really think poorly of that or anything. It's been almost a decade and it's easy to fall out of love with something after so long. Hell, when you think about it, this fandom has outlived the lifespan of a lot of entire relationships people have had 🥴. People find new things to get excited over and the *gasp* feeling of finding this new /thing/ is always fun. So I do get it.

But for me, it's just not that way. It's not that simple. Not because I think I'm somehow special (maybe a lil deranged 😬), but rather that's just how I operate. Before Clexa the only other ship I ever really cared about was Willara from Buffy which I watched when I was a goddamn teenager lol (RIP to my fellow gays always falling for girls who get shot ✊😔). I just don't get attached much to characters and ships. Usually ai like them in passing, enjoy watching them, and then that's... it. Tibette from the L Word. Wayhaught. Brittana. I like them and I follow them, but there's no real desire to delve deeper beneath the surface.

And then something like Clexa comes around and just absolutely fucks me up. It hits me and connects with me in a way that I just can't shake. Watching the show isn't enough. Thinking about it isn't enough. I have to discuss it and dissect it and fill in the gaps that we didn't see, and read and (now) create more stories for them just to understand everything about them to a deeper degree.

So few characters really elicit that kind of connection, but Clexa do. Even for a lot of the people who have moved on, at one time they felt that connection. Clexa was a fuckin madhouse for years and I think the fact that even still to this day people keep discovering and rediscovering them and falling in love with them all over again speaks volumes about just how wonderful that relationship and those characters actually were.

Especially Lexa.

Now, I love Clarke. I make it known that thiiiisss is a Clarke Griffin apologist's blog. That feral little kitten has never done anything wrong in her life. Ever. Including all of the terrible things she's done, as well as the many, many things that were flat out wrong. She is still innocent. She is only a baby. A murderous, tormented, compassionate, complex babygirl. So never get it twisted that I'm saying Clarke is somehow lesser than, but when push comes to shove when we're talking about baseline complexity, there is no character like Lexa. There's just not.

This woman was definition of doomed by the narrative. A child stolen away to be used as a glorified sacrificial lamb for her people. A toddler wielding a sword made of wood taller than her own tiny body, trained to accept her own life as expendable for the greatest good of her people before even learning her ABCs. She took the throne at 12 bby slaughtering her only companions and made her death mask out of kohl and fallen tears. Every person she ever loved as a mother, father, brother, either died for her, or by her own hand. The only two people she ever dared to be weak for were torn from her in the name of politics and the weight of her own bloodied crown. Under all the regalia she was just Lexa. Heda, always surrounded by her people and yet eternally just a lonely soul. Born here on Earth, raised to eventually die for others, left to rule over the people on the ground as best she knew how.

And yet through the pain, she was strong. So fucking strong it emboldened the warriors around her. She was brave, and lethal, and unyielding in her pursuit of peace. Meeting every push against her forward march to change head on, never flinching in her own brutality along the way. She knew that she was born for this; believed the black of her blood to be every bit as much of a blessing as it was a curse. Even when people doubted her and did their best to end her reign, Lexa always came out swinging.

She loved hard and kicked ass even harder, is what I'm saying. And the fact that they took a character like that and ended her so fucking carelessly? I just... I'm gonna be pissed off about that for a very long time. And until I'm no longer pissed off about that, I'll be here running mouth about it 🥴 probably still trying to make it better by writing her and the love of her life in as many stories as I can, so they can finally get the happy ending that was robbed of them in canon 🫡

#bisexualseraphim #clexa #lexa kom trikru

54 notes · View notes

mitochondriencocktail · 7 months

Note

i absolutely love your fic with older bojere! we don't really have many fics like that, and it's so refreshing and sweet. could you name your top ten favorite bojere fics?

AHHHH thank you!! I'm honestly such a sucker for them being middle aged and would love to write a proper fic about them one day... even if it's just a one-shot. Something about the beauty of a love that has matured and settled into its foundation... but also the joy of rediscovering love later in life after you think your prime has passed.

As for my top 10, this took some brainpower... There are SO many talented writers in this fandom and it goes without saying that a lot of the notable ones (private landing, camboy AU, 24k bojere space AU, others that my sieve of a brain cannot recall right now) are definitely on there, so I wanted to try and showcase some others that are less talked about :)

So, in no particular order:

hukun täällä lakanoihin by @sepetajmikolikomehoces (banger after banger from her)

Tarkotin sua by @frikatilhi (this take on the soulmate trope was DELIGHTFUL)

The perfect date by @dreaminofu (The pacing in this was DELICIOUS and the tension built so beautifully)

A Stolen Heart by robohippie on AO3 (I looove the world building in this and the commitment to the style of writing)

5+1 Times Bojan Kissed A Boy by @electron-road-suspect (I'm an absolute sucker for the 5+1 trope and also just any story about Bojan coming to terms with his sexuality, so this was a delight)

here, there and everywhere by @oneshotdepresso (well first of all this fic brought us together... but also I am OBSESSED with this concept and how CD put it together)

non-disclosure agreement by @alien-girl-21 (I'm really a sucker for an AU that builds out the world, and this one also crafted the build-up between Jere and Bojan so well!)

I'm barely breathin' (trying to stay afloat) by anonymous on AO3 (Again, the pacing and build-up in this one delight me)

and my road took you from me by anonymous on AO3 (Short and sweet and poignant. I really enjoy the tone of voice in this one)

Fanfiction of Käärijä and the Bojan by anonymous on AO3 (I knoooow this one looks like I'm adding it as a joke, but I'm actually not HAHA. Humor is so hard to write honestly, and OP committed to the fucking bit which I respect the hell out of. It's short but plays with the meta-textual knowledge we all have of BoJere, Jere's speech patterns, habits etc and it does it SO well HAHA.)

This is by no means an exhaustive list and if I had all the time in the world, I'd probably keep adding more. As you can see, I (personally, which is not the end all be all of writing!!!) really love a fleshed out world, thoughtful pacing, and strong writing style.

I also didn't include PWPs because man I'd have a whole separate list for those, but I hope people can check out some of these if they haven't already :) MWAH <3

#bojere

43 notes · View notes

cienie-isengardu · 8 days

Text

Clone troopers & the movie “Soldier” (1998)

I’ve talked a lot about why I hate the chip-in-brain storyline of New Canon but today I want to present an old film that is probably forgotten as it was made 20+ years ago but one that presents my point of view well. I watched the Soldier (1998) as a kid, so naturally what Attack of the Clones did not explain about the life of clone troopers my mind filled in, drawing inspiration from this film.

The story is simple one, but varies greatly from other movie action, as there is no great ideology or strong moral sense behind our main hero, just a life-long training that made him equally a great soldier and traumatized, vulnerable man. A man that slowly rediscover his humanity by interacting with people who see him as a human being.

Greatly important was the opening sequence, in which we have an actual look into the stages of training that shaped our main hero, the sergeant Todd. And so we have:

Year Zero (1996)

Babies are chosen for the military secret project.

Year Five

We can see 5 years old children sitting in “classroom” (all silent and so un-childly obedient) while voice is telling them repeatedly:

A soldier does not speak until spoken to by a superior officer. A soldier shows no mercy. Mercy is weakness. Weakness is death. The Forces are his family. He is most happy when following orders. A soldier lives to kill. A soldier needs no friend or family. War is his friend. The Forces are his family.

while the kids are forced to watch how three dogs sicced on a boar kill the wild animal.

The one kid that turned his head is forced to watch by the “trainer”

The kids and their reactions are observed by the military personnel.

YEAR EIGHT

The children silently sit in the classroom solving the intelligence test while still watched and judged by military personnel.

On the wall we can see alphabet letters, for example:

O - obey

N - nuke

M - murder

S-shoot

Known Chem/Bio (weapon) Which gives a pretty good idea what the children are taught there, at the 8. years old. How to kill and obey.

YEAR TWELVE

We see children running in silence - the one kid that is not physically fit to keep up with the group is killed. The children (and the viewers) can hear the shooting noise. None of the kids stop or panic, they keep running without a world or looking back.

YEAR SIXTEEN

We see the young cadets on the shooting range. They are shooting at the “enemy” while some “targets” are presented as civilians / unarmed women.

Then we are shown a “woman with child” and enemy hiding behind her.

One cadet hesitated but the main hero (cadet Todd) shot without a second thought, as killing civilians to kill the enemy was an acceptable loss.

YEAR SEVENTEEN - end of training

the cadets are tattooed with their name & number on the face and

in the YEAR THIRTY-EIGHT

They are already either veterans of many fights or killed on the mission. We as viewers are literally shown how those men came from one military conflict to another without any word or mercy for enemy and poor civilians who were unlucky to be in the way)

Those soldiers don’t know peace, when they aren’t fighting they are “between wars”.

No talking, no fun, all silent and disciplined ready for another control with no real personal belongings or space.

And once the military can provide a much better, physically stronger and easier to “breed” soldiers by using clones, Todd is discarded like some kind of trash.

Another interesting thing that the movie did is the contrast between Todd on the battlefield (an effective soldier) and Todd between civilians (alerted, not speaking unless spoken to). He barely speaks to people who take him into their house, and when he does, it is a very spartan style of speech - short and to the point. When asked what it feels to be soldier, the movie provided this dialogue:

Sandra: Sergeant Todd what's it like? What's it like being a soldier? Todd (not answering): Sandra: What do you think about? You must think about something. Todd (not answering): Sandra: What about feelings, then? You must feel something. Todd: Fear. Sandra: "Fear?'" Todd: Fear and discipline. Sandra: Now? Todd: Always.

And in all honesty, I prefer to see clone troopers similar to sergeant Todd - as very good soldiers but also traumatized men that rediscover their humanity after years of dehumanization rather than dealing with the TCW/Disney’s nonsense of chip-in-brain as excuse for Order 66.

#star wars #clone troopers #soldier (1998)#my rant #my meta #i cans see repcom and arc acting differently mainly because they were trained differenrly than the common troopers #i can*#but i lack tolerance lately for how fandom at large see them

13 notes · View notes

plantsjustwannahavefun · 7 months

Text

What if I told you that Izzy's entire character arc is actually a metaphor for OFMD itself, as a show, and its journey.

The way Izzy started out as this weird, conventionally unpalatable character that didn't seem to amount to much from the first glance, yet unexpectedly ended up gathering a small yet substantial fanbase around him that recognised his potential from the start and was so unprecedently feral, vocal and dedicated that it became a sort of fanbase within a fanbase.

The way Izzy had such an incredible, amazing arc of character growth that even his worst haters were forced to acknowledge the importance of his character and his place in the story and appreciate Con’s talent as an actor.

The way Izzy went from “subtextually queer” (as in all of us knew of course but it was still subtle enough make a lot of the fans confidently claim he was straight…) to openly and proudly queer with one single scene after which no one could deny it anymore.

The way Izzy kept getting beaten down yet surviving against all odds. Literally having body parts repeatedly slashed off, and not only did this not kill him, the crew collectively used their creativity and good will to take something “damaged” and turn it into something beautiful (yes this is about the budget).

The way Izzy had always known that pirate life was unlikely to last long or end the way he wanted to because, in the end, they’d always be outsiders fighting the system (“The only retirement we get is death”, “It’s not about getting what you want”), but he accepted it and focused on the good parts, the things that really mattered to him and made him happy (“Not moving on is worse”; his speech about the crew as his family).

The way Izzy did die, in the end. Even though he didn't have to, even though it could have been avoided, and the justifications we were given fell short when all of the nuances and other angles were taken into account. Because the inevitable force of the narrative was stronger than him. Because characters like him were typically destined to die in stories like that.

But just because he died doesn't mean his story had been for nothing. He still got to live – against all odds, against his own expectations. He got to be reborn and experience this beautiful transformation, rediscover himself, find peace and happiness and people who loved him, and love them in return. Yes, it was short. So short. He should have had more time. But the little time he did have is unforgettable. It really is written in permanent ink. It will always have been, and nothing can take it away now. The crew mourned him and made him a beautiful monument. They refused to throw his body away into the sea. His body would continue nourishing their garden forever. They will move on, but they’ll never forget him. They’ll keep tending to his grave and planting flowers around it.

And the very last shot was that of seagull!Buttons landing on the grave. A little touch of magic. We don't know what it means. Izzy definitely seemed totally, irrevocably, unambiguously dead. The show itself told us so. And yet. You never know. The world's a strange place. Every once in a while the impossible does happen, and a man’s undying devotion and longing for the sea overpowers the mundane reality around him.

#well this was either cringe or inspired #but the realisation struck me like a sledgehammer and I just couldn't let it go #had to put this out there #consider this my eulogy to the show #izzy hands #ofmd #our flag means death

27 notes · View notes

absurdumsid · 8 months

Note

I AM HERE TO ASK ABOUT YOUR AU'S TELL ME ALL ABOUT THEM THEY LOOK SO NICE I WANNA KNOW THE STORIES I WANNA MAKE FAN ART

SHOW MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE *SHAKES YOUR DOOR KNOBS* LET ME KNOWWWWWWWWWWW AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

OUHFHGFH OK BAR SANSES (BS AU) LORE TIME

The simplest ? explanation for it is Dust becomes Evil Ccino where his AU's Grillby's becomes Nightmare's "headquarters" but also other AU Hoppers' (like Error and um. one of my ocs) one stop bar. Dust is evil Ccino.... (I love putting characters in roles that theyre not supposed to have)

This takes place mostly in Dusttale and Farmtale with character focus shifting between the bad sanses. It was born from an extremely old fanfic I rediscovered (and never published, thank goodness) and built up from these two asks (Dust's tab, Dust's cooking/drinking) from the official ask-dusttale blog.

I've got some plot I'd like to hide for now so you can instead have a summary of the current state of the au !

BS AU LORE !!

Dust lives in an abandoned AU where the human has not come back. In order to pass time, he decides to take up bartending by himself (for himself). He finds some of Grillby's recipes at the back of the bar and "borrows" an apron while he fails time and again but keeps mixing drinks. Alcohol is alcohol after all.

Eventually, Nightmare stumbles into Dust's AU with an injured Killer who was shot by several of Dream's arrows. Dust confronts the two and initiates a fight, assuming that they were enemies and honestly a bit freaked out by them having his face. After a "scuffle," Killer almost dying, and a lot of negotiation from Nightmare, Dust allows them to stay at the inn.

Dust, after figuring out Nightmare and Killer are broke and probably starving, invites them to Grillby's (which surprises the two. Killer actually thought he was planning to poison them). But this eventually becomes somewhat routine-like, with Nightmare and Killer getting somewhat comfortable with Dust, though he still keeps his distance.

Some time later, Nightmare goes out to see if he can get some supplies to repay Dust, hopping through several AUs but unfortunately running into Dream in one of them. This starts a chase that ends with Nightmare in HorrorTale, where he kidnaps the Sans that just happened to see him and his brother. He immediately goes back to DustTale, which, because of the absence of positive emotions, Dream is unable to access.

Horror, startled by the new environment, two more doppelgangers, and the dust leaving him struggling for breath, attacks Nightmare and defends himself (justifiably so, the kidnapping was irrational, and now Nightmare can't bring Horror back to his AU). Nightmare once again negotiates a way for them to coexist and Dust offers to let Horror sleep at his house, saying that he usually sleeps at sentry stations anyway.

AFTER THIS IS SILLY PLOT STUFF !!

if u wanna read more um,,,, many of my saejun headcanons are actually canon in this AU,,,,,,, so u should go read those,,,,,,,,,,

ALSOO it's very VERY old but this is what the sillies look like in this AU ! I plan on revamping this for the site im making hehe (cross comes in at SOME POINT but we dont talk about that yet)

and if u wanna see the older bs related posts (because i didnt.... tag them properly) heres a bunch of links for things that are canon in this

Main BS Posts: 1 2 3 4

Stuff abt that Old Fic: 1 2 3

Saejun Existing: 1 2

BS Horror: 1 2 3(blood tw)

#bar sanses #bad sanses #undertale au #sans au #sid answers #u can RLLY tell i have a favourite #anyway thank u for asking now i have a sort of. master list. thing. for bs au #anyWAY THABK U TYSM TYY I HAVE SO MANY AUS HONESTLY I RLLY NEED TO MAKE LORE DUMPS FOR ALL OF THEM BEVAUSE I FORGET MY OWN STORIES....

48 notes · View notes

thelaurenshippen · 8 months

Text

this is perhaps an exceptionally silly post to make but: it took me 8 and a half entire days (204 hours over 5 years, out of the over 600 hours I’ve logged on this game), but I’ve finally actually completed Red Dead Redemption 2. it is bonkers to me that I have spent so much time in this world and only NOW have I seen the very last teeny bit of dialogue that rounds out the story (iykyk). it speaks to the depth and breadth of the universe that rockstar created (and also the true grinding pain of some of the challenges (those fucking teeny tiny goddamn hunting request birds)) that I was STILL discovering new details in a game I know better than any other.

all these years on, since that fateful day in late 2018 when I bought the game after my friend Jordan spent weeks convincing me I would love it despite not liking westerns (oh the fool I was), I can safely say that this game changed my life. I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, but it was one of the things that dragged me out of one of the worst depressive periods of my life, that provided some relief in one of the worst bouts of insomnia I’ve ever experienced (though probably not doctor recommended lol), and opened my eyes to what storytelling could be on so many levels. I rediscovered a childhood love of console video games that had been dormant for years, got into other pieces of media I never would have tried that led me to truly deep fandom spirals and friendships I couldn’t live without, and inspired me to write a story that is, to date, the story I’ve had the most fun writing in my life.

this is not the end of my time spent in the world of red dead, not by a long shot, but it does feel like a culmination. it was so fun running after this somewhat arbitrary accomplishment (there’s still so much left to do! how!) and a wonderful reminder of how the best art can sustain us forever, even if not all of it has endless challenges to do and herbs to pick. and I hope this post can be a reminder to any artists out there that you never know what your art is going to do. a AAA 100+ hour video game made by hundreds of people can feel like the most intimate story to someone who needs it; a story you write on your own and share with only a few people can open up a world inside someone's head that they'll never stop exploring. a serious contemplation on humanity can be someone's relief; a shoot-em-up action adventure can bring someone peace. you just don't knonw. so always make your art and share it, it will find those who need it most.

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #video games #lauren feels things

23 notes · View notes

acewithapaintbrush · 1 year

Text

I just realized that I have never actually shared the end result of my tattoo. I love it every day a little bit more, least of all because it's actually got some hidden meanings and nods to some important things in my life. It got a bit long (and pretty emotional, oh my) so more under the cut if you wanna know

The colors, rather, the brush strokes in the background. Red, blue, purple and orange. If you know me, you know that I am a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan. But that is not a big enough word tbh. The turtles have accompanied me all my life. My first pajama was turtles themed, I wanted to learn to ride a skateboard because of Mikey pretty much all my teen years. But most importantly, and most emotionally for me, I distinctly remember watching a turtles episode from the 1987 cartoon at a friend's house while my mother attended my father's funeral. I don't remember much of that time, only being 5 years old, but I remember crouching behind a sofa and looking over the back of it to watch the turtles have adventures. Maybe that's where it really started, who knows. I just know that these funky guys mean a lot to me for reasons I might not even be able to explain to myself properly. These colors bring me joy, so they had to be there.

And then, the sunflower. I wanted that there because of Mob Psycho 100, an anime that has not just changed the way I look at the world and at myself. I am the protagonist of my own life. My life is my own. If I can change then others can change too. It's easy to want to be easily palatable (is that the word?) for others, to get their approval, to get them to like you. It's taken me some odd 34 years to realize that I only have to be palatable for myself. I have to look in the mirror and see someone that I can get behind, a person worthy of love and friendship and I am worthy of it, everyone is worthy of it no matter who you are, how you look or what you can do. You are worthy already by just being you and even if you aren't quite there yet you are still worthy. We are all worthy of being happy. I am allowed to be silly and cringe and not act like my age. I live my life the way I want.

Because I am the protagonist of my own life and if I don't write the story, who will?

The last one is the crows feather with the green accents. This is a bit of an obscure one. As some of you know, I have written fanfiction for years. It got me through some tough times during high school. Then adult life hit and I stopped. I stopped writing my original stories too. I can't even say why it just felt like a chore, probably because I got so discouraged with my own skills and my own expectations for myself. Then I slowly got back into it, writing a real short one shot for Monkie Kid and realizing that I have missed it quote a lot. And then Encanto came along. This movie that has inspired me so much that it felt like I suddenly couldn't stop writing even if I wanted to.

And then I got the idea for "A place for crows" and the rest is history I guess? The love and encouragement I received where phenomenal. That story made me fall in love with story telling again, it consumed me for pretty much a complete year. And it brought some of the most wonderful people, beloved friends from all over the world, into my life. I am so greatful to this Fandom, to this story, or rather the things this story has brought into my life.

So the feather symbolized my love for writing and just fandom spaces in general, this wonderful microcosmos I can call home.

The brushes and pencil are a given, my love for art and drawing which have also been big factors in rediscovering myself

This text got long, I just typed it down without pausing and I'm not gonna go over it again for spelling or something like that. Take it as it came out of me, with all my love and emotional bloodletting.

Love you all.

#Tattoo #fandom culture #fandom things #Personal #teenage mutant ninja turtles #mob psycho 100 #encanto

56 notes · View notes

7grandmel · 5 months

Text

Todays rip: 07/05/2024

Rooftop Bop

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume AI

Ripped by Mitchell

youtube

Requested by InitialDDD! (Request Form)

Man, Scatman John...what an interesting relation he has to the internet, huh? For whatever reason back in the early days of YouTube, his titular hit song Scatman became really prevalent to use in amateur comedy videos, most notably with the "Super Mario 64 Bloopers!"-genre of video. These are actually videos that I have memory of watching - people just playing around in their childhood 3D game and making up their own little stories and sketches to the tune of silly music. But Scatman, and its less-viral sibling Scatman's World, are more than just nonsense, there's an emotion to John's two legendary songs, a distillation of raw nostalgia - one that the internet suddenly rediscovered back in 2019, and one that SiIvaGunner itself celebrated in bursts throughout the whole year, with Rooftop Bop being an absolute standout example.

Like with most memes, its hard to really trace down a logistical reason for their upbringing - check any KnowYourMeme page, and its bound to just say something along the lines of "on this date, this video/image was posted, and gained tons of attention". The Scatman-posting of 2019 was a pretty interesting case on top of that - the "AWESOME - HE FINALLY" memes that initiated it all were like a big mishmash of memes old and new. Part of the joke was in using nostalgic pieces from the old internet, the music and the "black border" template, over clips from Vine or elsewhere edited to have a positive, borderline innocent outcome, as if to intentionally turn the "Loud equals funny" format that so much of Vine fell under on its head. It's like three layers deep into irony, to where it loops around into finding sincere happiness funny - but it is genuinely still just a really good bit, the perfect kind of stupid comedy that's at once unexpected yet also brings its audience together over the nostalgia it evokes - nostalgia for two different eras of the internet, even! Despite being so core to the old internet days, Scatman wasn't very prominent on the Unregistered Hypercam 2 takeover of 2018, taking a backseat to other internet anthems like Never Gonna Give You Up in Never Gonna Give Up Mahjong and Dreamscape in How 2 Do Anything. But, as if it was fated to be, just a few months later in 2019 Scatman John would once again be made relevant - and the SiIva team was right on top of things.

A lot of Scatman John's prominence on SiIva in 2019 was, of course, on the legendary Not Funny Didn't Laugh day - on the 10th of September (whats 9 plus 10?), a series of shitposts intentionally drenched in as much irony as possible were featured on the channel, the depths of which I explored back in Sex - Steve Harvey. But beyond giving us all brain damage, the event was like a huge shot in the arm for Scatman Stocks - and just two weeks later, we would receive perhaps the best Scatman rip yet. The guy had been lurking as a meme on SiIva before, notably being in some Season 1 rips here and there - and so his return on Not Funny Didn't Laugh day felt like just one more piece of internet history to be nostalgic for. Early YouTube, Vine, and the very first months of SiIvaGunner - all rolled into two songs filled with such whimsy, yet also filled with pure emotion. Now: Does that ring a bell to anyone else?

I feel like Rooftop Bop is the definition of a "more than the sum of its parts" rip, if that makes any sense. It's an excellent melody swap/mashup no doubt, the kind that almost makes you wonder how it was even done with how authentic the violin's lead melody sounds, and the chorus returning to the original Rooftop Run: Act 1 theme with Scatman John's vocals hits oh-so-hard - its an amazingly paced out rip throughout, ping-ponging between melody swap, mashup and both at once throughout - but like I said, the rip is so much more than all of that. It feels almost like a universal experience (at least, for my generation) to have an attachment to Scatman John - but more than that, we all have an attachment to the very thing his two hits represented. Because his balance of silliness and genuine heartfelt emotion is the exact thing that made SiIvaGunner so special all the way back in Season 1, the kind of balance that has made us all smile, laugh, empathize and outright cry, althewhile never losing its core of pure whimsy. Be it The Paragoomba and the Wiggler, Aphex, Planet Wisp Mashup Medley, Turnabout Fishters, or indeed Rooftop Bop - SiIvaGunner, very much like Scatman John, has gotten so many emotions out of us, and made us all too attached to an entity others may consider naught but a silly gimmick.

It's a fantastic listen - but more than that, it's an incredible experience. The latter half of Season 4 Episode 1 of SiIvaGunner was perhaps the most exciting period to ever follow the channel during, and Rooftop Bop's unprecedented ability to unite us all through a raw dosage of nostalgic memories couldn't have come at a better time.

13 notes · View notes