#i really uh. can't do this with one of my two favorite books lol

[aro-culture-is]

aro culture is reading your favorite book fifty times and going “I have a feeling this characters… aro”

.

[dreamingcloudie]

❛❛ In which; Dottore got turned into a kid... ❜❜

✎ ❛❛ How's the weather down there, doc? ❜❜

Pairing(s): Dottore x GN!Reader

Genre/Format: Crackfic (oneshot)

Warning(s): Use of Dottore's (speculated) real name

wc: ~1.2k

Notes: Just something random I wrote lol. Saw some art on Pinterest and omg KID DOTTORE IS SO FREAKING ADORABLE AHAKDSHAJAKSJDDOS

During nights where Dottore would get held up in his lab, you'd sit on the bed and read one of your favorite books as you wait for him to come back. However, today seemed to be… different.

You just finished reading your book and when you looked at the time, it was already way past when Dottore would usually come back. You knew he's a genius man, whatever happened he could easily defuse the problem. But even so, you couldn't help but worry about him sometimes.

Getting up from your bed, you decided to put on a coat before making a trip to where you thought he'd be. As you made your way down to the hallway that leads you to his lab, you could hear a bunch of people arguing, among them a voice higher than the rest stood out.

"What do you mean you can't fix it?!"

"I've read every piece of research paper and I couldn't find anything!"

"Skill issue."

"Oh my Tsaritsa, all of you shut your damn mouths! You're giving me a headache!"

"You're a goddamn clone you can't even get a headache!"

All the voices quickly disappeared when you knocked on the door. Not waiting for a response, you grabbed the door handle and entered the lab.

"Dear? Is everything alright—"

You stopped talking as soon as you saw the mess in his lab. Papers and books were scattered across the room; vials that held unknown liquids were hastily put on the counter; shards of glass were shattered on the floor.

And the very person you were looking for was nowhere in sight.

What caught your attention the most were Dottore's segments that now had their gaze on you, gathering around in a circle in the middle of the room. They were standing pretty close to one another to the point where their shoulders touched so you weren't able to see past what their towering figures were blocking from your view.

After a few minutes of staring, you managed to mutter out, "Uh, what… happened here?"

One of the younger segments—Delta, who wore a black and white mask spoke up, "Nothing to worry about, darling! Aren't you supposed to be in your room right now? What brings you here?"

"Well, Prime is taking longer than usual to come back so I decided I'd come to check on him. Speaking of which, where is he anyway?" You asked, getting a bit closer to the group.

Upon the mention of Prime, all of the segments looked a bit more visibly stressed.

Before you got too close, Theta (another younger segment), who was reading through some papers nearby, stepped in front of you with a smile.

"Oh, you know, Prime is doing his usual, um, Prime… things…?" His sentence ended with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh really?" You crossed your arms.

They were definitely hiding something.

Walking around Theta, you attempted to approach the group once more. Before you could do that, Theta stepped in front of you again.

"Why- Why don't I escort you back to your room, dear? It's two in the morning and I'm pretty sure you're tired."

"I will go back when I make sure Prime is alright."

"He is—"

You gently pushed past Theta while the other segments were trying to convince you to not get close to them.

But to their horror, you managed to squeeze through their bodies and look at what they were hiding.

You gasped.

In the middle, there sat a kid who looked to be ten with short blue fluffy hair and a pair of huge red eyes. His arms were crossed and he looked grumpy.

He looked almost exactly like the other younger segments, albeit his obviously smaller size and had a rounder face.

As far as you'd know, Dottore never had a child segment of himself, maybe this was the first one?

"Aww, who's this little guy?" You asked while picking who you assumed to be a segment, flailing his arms.

"That's um—"

"Who's the cutest boy? Yes you are! Yes you areee~" You cooed, holding him with one arm while the other was pinching his cheek as he whined.

"Stahp. Pwinching. Me!" His words slurred a little due to you squishing his face.

As you were too busy focusing on the boy, Omega came over to you and blurted out:

"That's Prime, dear."

"...huh?" Upon hearing what he said, your eyes widened and all of your movements ceased.

"Gah! Finally, now let me talk!" The boy exclaimed.

But before he could say anything, you turned your head back to him.

"...Zandik?"

"Yes, that's me, (Y/n)."

Silence filled the air as the both of you stared at each other. Only for it to be broken when you laughed.

"What— BWAHAHAHA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

"I— Stop laughing!"

But how could you take him seriously when he sounded so cute? His usually deep voice and intimidating demeanor was completely gone.

And that was something that happened two hours ago, you were now back at your room as you watched Dottore doodle on a piece of paper with his crayons.

He had explained that he was still himself. But since he was now a kid, it didn't come as a surprise that he'd also have the mindset of one too.

"We couldn't find a way to turn him back immediately, we'll have to wait it out."

"For how long?"

"No idea."

You closed your eyes as you sighed, recalling the conversation you had with the segments earlier. God knows how long it'd be before Dottore would turn back to his regular self.

Someone tugged on one of your sleeves and you opened your eyes, Dottore was holding up a piece of paper, proudly showing you what he had drawn.

"Oh wow! That's a nice drawing, love! Is that… um, someone strapped to a… table?" You squint your eyes, trying to make out what these messy lines depicted.

"An operation table, to be exact! This is what will happen to those stupid asses of clones when I turn back to my adult self!"

"Hey, watch your language, mister."

"I'm not a kid!"

"Are you sure about that?"

---

As time passed, you were now reading Dottore a story and tucked him to bed.

"—and so, the prince defeated the evil dragon and saved the princess! Then they lived happily ever after. The end."

"That's lame."

"You'll take what you can get, dear." You told him.

"I could've done a better job at defeating the dragon! With how advanced my creations are, it could literally be destroyed in seconds!" He exclaimed as he put his arms in the air.

"Yes, of course. Now, go to sleep, okay?" You stood up, walking over to the couch.

"Wait!"

You turned back to him and raised a brow.

"Um, sleep with me, please?"

Oh my god those puppy eyes. You thought, trying not to squeal at how freaking adorable he looked. How could you refuse when he was looking at you like that?

Giving him a soft smile in response, you walked over and got into the bed with him. As you laid down next to him, he scooted closer to you and tucked himself into your chest.

"Give me a goodnight kiss too?"

Chuckling at his request, you pressed a little kiss on his forehead, ruffling his hair as you did so.

"Sleep tight now, dear."

"Night night…"

---

Bonus:

Some time during the hours as you were still asleep. You weren't sure if it was a dream or not, but you could've sworn you felt the familiar warmth of someone's arm hugging you close...

[lastoneout]

Okay I'm finally sitting down to properly watch the PJO series so here's an episode-by-episode live blog I guess. (Fair warning, I haven't read the books since I was a teenager, I am a smidge of an apologist for the films, and my favorite adaptation so far has been the musical.)

Episode One:

All of the actors are doing a really good job, I especially like Sally.

The costume design for both the monsters and the humans is pretty killer. I want Percy's sweater.

I also love the little seaside cabin and want to live there!!!

This is such a mild gripe BUT as someone with dyslexia I wish there was a better way to visually depict it without like, doing the swapping letters thing cuz that's just not what it's actually like at all.

Gabe maybe feels a little too funny. Like I'm supposed to hate him and think it's justified that he deserves to be turned into stone at the end, this version of him is really.....toned down, and his banter with Percy and Sally was fun to watch. I should hate him, but really he just came across as unpleasant. Less abusive asshole and more "old married couple who share interests but can't communicate without shouting" you know?

Loved Grover's little "I'm 24 actually" lmao that was great.

Not a fan of Percy immediately recognizing the Minotaur within a millisecond of it appearing before the audience even got a good look at it. Like, I just sat there thinking "how can he even see it?" rather than feeling scared of a big monster barreling at them.

The action is uh....fine? Feels a little lackluster. Or kinda....divorced from the rest of the show weirdly?? Idk it makes me feel like I'm watching a movie of a movie if that makes sense?? But we'll see where they go with it. (I know banter during a fight isn't realistic and people make fun of Marvel for it, but like...it helps to have at least a little talking. We don't wanna be Man of Steel.)

I feel like there's been a few "slightly out of sync ADR" moments but they weren't too distracting.

Pacing into Sally saying goodbye felt a little long, kinda took the shock of her dying out of the scene, but the actress REALLY sold all the emotional beats so I'll forgive it.

I LOVE the credits sequence!!! Reminds me of the designs on that one box set of the books in a really cool way.

Episode Two:

Oh yes the ugly ass neon orange shirts are here bless!

FUCK YES THAT'S DIONYSUS BAYBEEE!! My ONLY note is that he def could have turned up the energy a little, but that's probably just bcs I love how loud and unpleasant he is in the musical and I also know how unhinged this actor can be.

Chiron is such a delight <3

I like the cabins too, way better than how I imagined them as a kid reading the books lol

Oh, I can see why the new fans fell for Luke so hard.

Grover assuming a human being squished would be like an old banana is very funny. Felt very book-humor in a good way.

Clarisse!!

Oh damn actual disabled half-bloods, very cool!

Minor but I can't actually tell what Percy did wrong with the bow? Weird editing I guess.

Aside from that I actually love a good "fuck up" montage, I honestly wish it were a little longer.

Probably doesn't matter but I don't get having them burn the food after they've started eating? I thought that was a before you sit down type thing.

Percy burning the blue candy to try to talk to his mom was sweet tho T_T

"real friends" hahahaha.....yeah.......about Luke.......

yay! hazing!

Oh I love Annabeth already >:D

Thalia.....is pronounced differently than I thought....?

(I'm sorry I'm too much of a fan of 'Tree on the Hill' for this exposition dump. That shit hits harder when coming from Grover.)

Percy giving Annabeth the "actually I suck and my self esteem is riding on this so like pls don't ask me to do anything hard T_T" talk is just, so good lmao

ofc he doesn't know what's going on Annabeth you didn't tell him anything

Okay the action is a lot better when it's between the actual characters and doesn't involve a 3D monster, though I still had trouble following all the hits Percy was taking.

Oooh I can see why people did so much art of Percy being claimed that was a good shot.

FUCK YEAH TELL HIM YOU'RE SALLY JACKSON'S SON

(I hope they kept the Oracle in the attic...)

Okay I have to go do some things and then I'll be back for more!

[cerealandchoccymilk]

Trigun Bookclub: Trigun Vol.1, Chapter #02

previous | all | next

Continuation of my Trigun annotation for the book club. I'm doing a deep-read of the Japanese original print (reread) and Overhaul 1.0 (first read) side-by-side, and writing down everything I notice from small details, version differences, translation differences, etc. (and being gay about the characters <3 always important)

Here are the beloved non-analysis sillies...

And the rest is under the cut. read my notes boy!!

[link for if the images aren't in horizontal rows]

The second page has an error - 悪夢 was probably misread as 悪魔 ("happen" and "awaken" are also the same kanji). It should be "Then, the nightmare occurred." It's really cool that this still works really well considering...y'know (not saying for the first-time readers ;) )

I just love how that drawing of Vash is so cool and serious...

...and then you turn the page and he's in the most pathetic cunty pussy-out pose you've ever seen. Easily one of my favorite panels. Also made a math question for funsies. sorry to anyone who got high school flashbacks, but I absolutely loved trigonometry lmao. I could do this forever.

A little pun(?) that may or may not be intentional - In Japanese, someone with a bounty on their head is called 賞金首, lit. "bounty neck" ("neck" sometimes signifies the entire head). The locals call out for the bounty-neck right as Vash hurt his neck lol

I love how creepy Vash moves sometimes. absolute cryptid

This is entirely a Japanese-only detail, but I really loved how Vash said バヤイ (bayai) in the sobbing in French line, because my mom also says that instead of 場合 (baai) when she's being silly lmao. Also, it's notable that in Japanese, Vash says フランセ語 ("Francé-go," where "go" is the suffix for languages) which may be either another miles->iles/double-dollar situation, or just him speaking silly like バヤイ.

Also, the line after that would more accurately be "How am I supposed to deal with all these locals?"

Here, the "Really?" is actually Meryl saying something like "I'll give you a hint."

Meryl tends to be the one responsible for the braincell in fanworks but it's important to remember that she absolutely is dumb too (affectionate).

I'm so glad I wrote that reminder about Meryl's speech, but I don't think I'll be able to do it justice here when I have so much more to talk about. I'll have to write another post later, so I'll link it when it's done. The gist is that she talks like a stereotypical high-class anime girl, and the trope is from how a similar demographic in Meiji-era Japan actually spoke.

The boy's pussy faces the world yet again. I love all the faces he makes!! look at him!!!!!!!!!!! he's so cute

The text on the board here was very messy and squished, but it says something like "Vash the Stampede Absolute Capture Task Force Headquarters." Honestly don't know how to fit all that into the board though so uh good luck on that for 2.0... Also dear god Vash has so much energy... He's just been running for 3 hours straight...!!

Fun fact: the equivalent idiom to "fight fire with fire" in Japanese is "use poison on poison."

Love how Nebraska is just like "no we didn't jailbreak, we just let ourselves out :/"

Translation error for Milly and the chairman - Milly is saying "Why do things keep getting worse and worse!?" and the chairman is mumbling "What's the deal with you two..."

Showing some love for his pretty pretty eyes..........(gives him so many smooches in my head)("i can imagine anything" image)(can't add it because i reached the 30 image limit)

The "Freeze!" is actually untranslated, just re-typed to match the surrounding font. Also, that panel is the first time Vash's antennae is shown bent!! It goes back up immediately after that though.

Fun fact #2. Vash says ara ara. if you even care.

This line never fails to hit me hard. They're all desperate mothers and sisters, and they're taking on the bad role because nothing's more important than their dear children. (reminds me of a certain someone...)

I've seen someone mention this before, but Trimax definitely adjusted the number of plants. Fifty!?!? Also, in Japanese, "plants" and "died" were in quotations.

I love the gun pull in the right panel. Vash obviously definitely doesn't intend on shooting, but is rather showing off his skill and resolve as an intimidation tactic to throw the girls off-guard.

God this entire spread is just so RAW.... (here's the post that's mentioned in blue. it just reminded me)

Some more hypes and sillies. The impact that "KISS MY ASS!!" had on my first read was phenomenal!! It's so silly!! and cool!!!

And then there's this!! Another favorite part of mine. Vash's antennae are bent again! They kind of alternate between straight and bent from here.

The green writing about the onomatopoea are more of just a translation note rather than a suggestion. I can't think of any good beckoning noises in English :V

And finally, Milly calls "Mr. Bomb" "Bomb-kun" in Japanese which I think yall would enjoy lol. And happy strangling her saturday tuesday.

The Japanese version of the annotations are in the reblogs, if anyone wants them.

I have Chapter #03 mostly ready, so I'll probably post it tomorrow morning and try to speedrun the rest of the chapters because this is taking longer than I expected!! God there's just so much to say!! (Also gotta remember to write about Meryl's speech!!)

And thank yall so much for the feedback on the Chapters #00-01 post!! I didn't know so many people were interested in such small details!! Love (and peace) yall 🫶🤞

[cadriona]

tagged by @lisascumslut78, thanks for the tag!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

uhh at least 43? 39 are unanon'd, but at least 4 are anon'd i forgot the exact number lol

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

537,345 somehow????

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Genshin impact! but other fandoms that i've written for are trigun stampede and naruto lol, and then atla by dint of crossover and two unmentioned as they form a crossover that i want to discard to the back of my mind

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1: 5 times Ningguang saved Beidou and the 1 time Beidou returned the favour (genshin) 2: Mora for a myth (genshin) 3: [redacted] (naruto) 4: Beidou walks off the gangplank (by accident, really) (genshin) 5: Yelan: Spymaster, gambler, self-proclaimed matchmaker (genshin)

5. do you respond to comments?

Yea!! although sometimes it takes a bit to kick my brain into gear to mass respond. Typically needs the right frame of mind, but then i can chug through replying to quite a few!

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

either Take my heart for it was already yours or Your soul's drowned into silence, No one will rouse you, both genshin with MCD ahaha oops

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fever, soup, and tiny baby chirps maybe??? i've quite a few with happy endings but this one was pretty cute

8. do you get hate on fics?

Probably! but people have been nice in the comments section and i love all my readers dearly :D

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

ahaha yes >u> um. uh. in my defense generally its inspired by art (taro's art specifically) or for event weeks so imgoingtoduckoutofthisquestionnowplsandthanks

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

Yea! The one thats most out of nowhere is Rebirth, Revision, and Revolution, an atla x genshin fic where post apocalypse in genshin verse due to celestia, ning, beidou, yelan and keqing have been reincarnated into the elemental nations! i... really need to finish it lol, there's 3 chapters of *hopefully* 4 up, but the Book of Fire is not cooperating

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not exactly? i know there are counterfeit fic sites and at least one of my fics are there, but idk if that counts

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

yea! with the funniest tags too

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

I... don't really recall doing so?

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

BEIGUANG thank you my queens for rekindling my joy for writing

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the naruto fic, the beiguang vigilante fic, the anon'd trigun fic, uhhh oops

16. what are your writing strengths?

not entirely certain! i think im usually decent at balancing humor in the right situations and worldbuilding?

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

actually getting the brain to settle down to write ok while true, setting that aside, probably not knowing what to cut (i tend to want to put all the details i can think of in the fic, which isn't really conducive for a variety of reasons)

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

depends on if i'm actually familiar with that other language or not, and how easy it is for the reader to get at translations (hover text or subscripts, depending), i myself probably won't be capable of doing so.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

...naruto >u>

20. favorite fic you've written?

mora for a myth for all the worldbuilding i got to cram in! and maybe in that vein, the atla x genshin cross :D

tagging @yuniemaki, @canonical-transformation, @xnarja, @fishareglorious and anyone else who wants to give this a go!its currently past 1am so i can't really remember names rn, sorry orz

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Writeblr Interview Tag

Look at me, mom, I'm a writeblr.

I was tagged by @the-inkwell-variable thank you :D

I feel like I am (again? always?) running out of people to tag, and I don't wanna annoy anyone and this is pretty long, so open tag.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Novels all the way.

What genre do you prefer reading?

Fantasy, murder mystery, romance—the latter only in certain circumstances like a very interesting character or setting. Without that, romance makes me run for the hills.

Are you a planner or a write as I go kind of person?

Yes.

What music do you listen to while writing?

Whatever my current playlist is, which could be a) instrumental soundtrack of something b) a playlist that might or might not be project related (it currently is) containing at least 50% power metal or c) pressing play in youtube for a fun adventure. I can listen to one and the same song for several weeks on repeat.

Favorite books/movies?

I don't really watch many movies. Can't even remember the last one, and there are none I return to with any kind of regularity. I guess The Outsider (2002) was pretty neat. I even made a music video with scenes from the movie and all that XD As for books, some are quite old like The Wind Witch by Susan Dexter, or the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Others are indies, like Once Stolen by D.N. Bryn or The Sorceress and the Incubus by Mallory Dunlin. My favorite murder mysteries are the Lindsay Chamberlain books by Beverly Connor, and Wolfsaga by Käthe Recheis is a (German) masterpiece.

Any current WIPs?

One active one, and one on hiatus. The active one is All of our Lives, currently at around 53k with hopes of finishing draft 1 at the end of the year. Suffering, recovery, revenge, happy end :D The other was supposed to strand Riordan in the wilderness, but it turns out, I can't divide my attention atm. Sorry, Riordan :/

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you what would your standard outfit be?

Knee-length summer dress over leggins and a long sleeved shirt, sandals with two differently colored socks, one matching the dress, the other the shirt, and glasses with a black frame. Also give me an ace ring, even if I'm not wearing it anymore atm.

Create a character description of yourself:

No lol

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

Whole people, no. Freely taking names or small details from people I know? Absolutely.

Are you kill happy with your characters?

I kill all of the bad guys and none of the good guys.

Coffee or Tea while writing?

I don't really drink coffee, so.... 95% of the time it's tap water, though.

Slow or fast writer?

I guess in the grand scheme of things, it still counts as fast, even when I am unhappy with the speed.

Where/who/what do you draw inspiration from?

⭐ Everything ⭐

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

Dead lol

Most fav book cliche:

I'm not really sure if that's a cliche or what, but unexpected kindness. Nothing has me sobbing like a character being kind and accepting when no one else (especially those much closer to them) was before. Aaaand we don't think too hard about why that is, let's move on ->

Least favorite cliche:

Oh! *opens draft again 2 seconds before posting and replaces what I had written before* The redeemed bad guy who gets killed off. Letting us get to know them, showing their tragic past and their love for kitties or whatever, and bam, a chapter later, dead, self-sacrifice for the noble hero. Fuck that.

Favorite scene to write?

Funnily enough, torture ranks pretty low, and recovery not much higher. There's always so much at stake and I take forever getting the words down and I keep forgetting injuries and wait which finger did I cut off? Most fun is just writing a happy little scene where the characters hang out and suddenly tell me things about themselves I didn't know yet, and uh, sometimes there's also happy little accidents.

Reason for writing?

If I don't do it, who else will?

[therealvinelle]

Hi! My ask is a top 3. Top 3 favorite books, favorite songs and favorite movies. I would also like to know the last book you read, last song you listened and last movie you watched. Not for any particular reason, just want some recs lol

Oh this is a fun one!

Favorite books

I take it back, choosing three isn't fun at all.

Agatha Christie has had a little too much influence on me as a person to not get the number one slot. If I had to choose one of her books, let it be The Mirror Crack'd. Jason Rudd showing Miss Marple in to see his wife whom he just mercy killed in her sleep and Miss Marple reciting Tennessee as a eulogy was deeply formative for twelve-year-old Vinelle.

Philip K. Dick, specifically A Scanner, Darkly if I must choose

Les Misérables. Like Christie, it impacted me too much not to make the list.

Favorite songs

In the interest of giving you recs, I think I'm going to give you repeat songs that I will never grow tired of.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmeralda, when the vibe is right for this one it's just right

Venom by Eminem, somehow my favorite Eminem song and I can't figure out why. I just really like what he does with the rhymes in this one and the song is always, always perfect for whatever I'm doing at the moment.

Drøm Hardt - Requiem 1 by Kaizers Orchestra, which surprises me too because it's not one of their flashier songs, but it also isn't one I ever skip when I'm listening to them. It's just nice. All of Kaizers is nice, every so often I remember the fact that I have tickets booked for their reunion tour and the sun shines just a bit brighter.

Favorite movies

Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai, directed by David Lean. Yes, these are two different movies, but I love them equally and they are weirdly the same movie in that exactly the things I loved about Lawrence are there in Bridge, meaning I have two movies with these wonderful things. Possibly three, if Doctor Zhivago is as good (same director, overlapping cast) as I hope it'll be.

The Silence of the Lambs starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. It's just the best movie in the world, the pinnacle of feminist filmmaking to the point where I was very surprised to find out it wasn't classified as a chic flick.

Unforgiven starring, produced, and directed by Clint Eastwood. You should watch a few 50's and 60's Westerns first, but I'm a snob when I say that - really you can just sit down, giddy up and enjoy a beautiful movie about elderly cowboys who angst about what it means to take a life.

Last book, song, movie

Book: I've just barely gotten started on Ursula le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness, however I keep getting distracted so this could take me years. Or a weekend if I get the mania.

Song: No singular ones (unless you count me currently blasting Kaizers Orchestra to determine which of their songs to recommend) I've been abusing my Eurovision playlist lately... The Sunstroke Project, Vesna, Go_A, and so on. Oh and uh Hamilton. Violently unsexy but so very catchy, one might even say I'm helpless.

Movie: Halfway through Remains of the Day, I'm at the part where the lord of the house asks his butler to explain the birds and the bees to his adult godson.

[aceofstars16]

1-3, 5-7, and 27-30 for the Star Wars Rebels ask, please?

Well I forgot to answer this but I saw it now and my brain isn't giving me the writing vibes (even though I want to write) so I will finally attempt to answer! xD

Also apparently I can't just put 1. without it making it a list so...uh...that's annoying...

One: What is your absolute favorite episode of the show?

Oh man....it's been so long hnnng, I might go with Flight of the Defender...that's the one where Sabine and Ezra steal that ship in S4 right? Though a lot of season 1 makes me happy so...honestly a lot of those could fit too...there are too many good episodes xD

Two: Which episode did you not like at first, but grew on you after one or more rewatches?

I cannot remember the name, but the Purgil one, I didn't love it but then my sister just...it's the only episode she remembers and she just says "the space whales one!" and I just...really like it now xD

Three: How do you feel about the Ahsoka show being live-action Rebels season 5?

Ha....haha...ha...I don't really like it...first, it should've been animated and second I...I think the Sabine being force sensitive is the stupidest idea ever I'm sorry but not actually sorry.

Five: If you could change one (non-death-related) plot point in the show, what would you change?

*eye twitches in still annoyed by what they did to Kanan* but aside from that...make Kanera less...weird in the last season, just...have them be secretly married this whole time, because that just...makes more sense than them being awkward

Six: What are your two favorite ships from the show (canon or not)?

HAHAHAHA I'll just...

And Kanera side from the weirdness of S4, but yeah...Sabezra ALL the way, like...if you knew me back in the day...I wrote SO MUCH of them lol

Seven: Who is one character you feel isn't appreciate enough by the fandom?

Uhhhh...bro I actually don't know lol I mean I like Jai so....maybe him? Or Zare cause he had that book series that was actually pretty interesting

Twenty Seven: Which plot point do you wish the show had expanded on?

It's been a while but...probably the loth wolves and...all that, like S4 had so much that was just like "what?" and then we never saw it again

Twenty Eight: Favorite recurring character?

Hahaha....I'm going Hondo cause I love that space pirate xD

Twenty NIne: Favorite piece of music from the show?

Hold on, I gotta find it..."Journey Into the Star Cluster", it's not even my fave episode but like...one day I had it on and it was raining and I literally felt like I was in a Nancy Drew game it was just, amazing

Thirty: Most under-rated episode?

The way I want to say the Purgil episode again lol...but maybe the third episode? When Ezra and Zeb steal the tie fighter? I don't know that one is just fun and I love how the tie comes in at the end of the season again haha

[calicohyde]

Happy STS! What is the best novel you've ever read? What did you like about it, from a storytelling perspective? Has it influenced or informed your own approach?

*instantly forgets every book i've ever read in my life*

in the name of. having an answer. i will pick The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. i don't remember it well enough after so long after having read it (and i've only read it the once) to pick out specific storytelling mechanics, but i do remember being impressed and thinking it was very well done in addition to having a lot of important things to say and being engaging and entertaining. i also remember i had borrowed it, and then texted the friend i'd borrowed it from to ask if he had the next book and if i could come pick it up right then. at 3AM.

one particular thing about the TGWTDT original trilogy (the only ones i personally count as "canon" lol) that really stuck out to me as unique and special to me personally and that i've wanted to see more of since - and am planning to be the change i want to see wrt - are its quote unquote "unlikeable" protagonists.

lisbeth is autistic and point blank refuses to mask, and in addition she's acerbic and angry and tends to reach violence as a much sooner resort than many, she's not exactly arrogant but she would never even dream of not taking credit and representing her skills accurately or god forbid using upspeak, she simply does not follow rules (or conventions or etiquette) she thinks are stupid and she's vocal and unapologetic about it, she's an actual genuine punk and fucks severely and without romance (until mikael), and as far as i remember she never once says sorry to anyone for anything no matter what. i love her with every fiber of my being.

mikael is a workaholic which is not unique, except that everyone hates his guts for being so single-minded and rigid and unavailable, which is, and which i really liked. of course people would not find him fun to be around. he also is arrogant, and a hypocrite, and can be unkind. and these two are the best good guys we've got! (this is also why i discount the opinion of anyone who claims mikael is a "romanticized" self-insert on larsson's part like bruhhh.... just cuz they have the same job? this bitch is not a romanticized version of anyone or anything he's a fucking rat bastard who happens to also be a good man smdh. i mean maybe he is a self-insert but not a fucking romanticized one! he sucks! i'm passionate about this.)

i also really liked the age range of the characters and the polyamory and the queers. additionally, larsson has a really unique and fascinating writing style (which critics have attributed to his writing career starting in investigative journalism before he ever did creative writing or fiction). i think it fits absolutely perfectly with the protagonists and the subject matter, and the way those things match up and meld together makes the series so much more absorbing.

but yeah i always liked a writing style and a narrative voice that was fitted to the characters/content, and i think larsson did it particularly well - even if it's a sort of chicken or egg situation with him. we'll never know since he died of those Natural Causes before he could write anything else and all. anyway! i would have done this regardless, because literally all of my favorite authors do it to some degree, which is why they are my favorite authors. (much of what people say are benefits you can "only" get from first person narration i feel you can get just as well from a limited third person, if you uh. try.) but yeah TGWTDT is a stand-out example!

i also can't necessarily give TGWTDT/larsson credit for my life long love affair with angry and contrarian good guys, but again it's a stand-out example and an aspiration in this.

thank you for the ask, nico!! <3

[icescrabblerjerky]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @senseandaccountability THANK YOU!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 200 exactly! I did not know this until I just went and checked.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 1,222,468 - I too have been at it for a long time, about fifteen years (and there is more of it on other sites lol)

3. What fandoms do you write for? Rusty Quill Gaming, Baldur's Gate 3, SWTOR (and other star wars related fandoms), Dragon Age, The Magnus Archives, Final Fantasy XIV, uh... and lots of little one offs for books and tiny podcast fandoms.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Mbmbam Archives (mbmbam/magnus crossover) with 949 (this still makes me laugh so much)

Seven Days (RQGaming, Zolf/Oscar) at 458

Sex, Death and Plants or: Four Seasons Total Landscaping (RQGaming AU, Zolf/Oscar/Grizzop) at 425

Willing to Wait for It (RQGaming, genfic) at 394

and

A Little Help (RQGaming, again Zoscar) at 384

Rusty Quill Gaming folks are super super supportive and awesome and I'm forever grateful they went on my dumb journeys with these characters with me.

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! I hope! I know sometimes I miss them when I'm away from my computer but they are definitely always read.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Mmmm, angsty-est?? I'm not one really for angsty endings, although I like angst in all the other bits. Probably the fic I wrote where Zolf is mourning Oscar. I honestly can't remember what it was called.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Sex Death and Plants ends in a massive polycule and the take down of a fascist asshole billionaire so I think it deffo qualifies as the happiest of my endings :D.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm LOL. Never directly. I have reports of people who dislike what I write but they never tell me to my face for some reason, it always gets around to me, usually about two years later, on the underground.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do. I love writing smut. I don't write very graphic smut as a general rule but most of my fics will have one or two scenes in it and I've done a couple of kinktobers. Love it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I've got a couple. One Dragon Age/Lucifer crossover that I wrote specifically for a friend. One aborted Firefly/Dragon Age Crossover that lives on FF.net I think if that site hasn't destroyed itself.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I've had enquiries about translating some into Russian but I've never actually seen if they followed through.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! Quite a few actually. Some of them haven't been published :D.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? I should say Zoscar. So I will. I love them your honour.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Gods I got a comment on my old Rebels fic "Talking to Strangers" and I read it again and went "this shit's good I should finish it" but that would involve me actually watching the rest of Rebels and I don't really watch TV any more and it just ends up being too hard.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue and character voices, I think - at least for fic. I have a lot of fun trying to make what characters say feel like it could be lifted directly from the source material but isn't.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Description. Fucken' hate it. I'll do it but I'll moan about it for every single sentence.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Very risky IMO and not something I'll do any more although I used to when I first started out. These days I'll write it in English but indicate which language it should be in in other ways.

19. First fandom you wrote for? If we wanna get technical I wrote my first fanfic when I was about ten years old. It was Sherlock Holmes fanfiction (the stories, not the series, since the series didn't come out for another twenty five years lol). Self insert time travel fic. I may still have it somewhere lol.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written? I love all my fanfictions equally (I really don't care for Mbmbam Archives). No that was a joke, I really do love all of them, my favourite tends to be the one I'm writing at the present moment. That said honourable mention should go to The Nature of Crystal (G'raha/WOL smut) because that one just arrived fully formed in my head one morning and tickled me.

I'll tag @feralkwe, @wishflower4, @zombolouge @makesometime and anyone else who would like to do it!

[misc-obeyme]

I have today and tomorrow off and it's really so weird because I'm not used to them being in a row 😭 but then I'm scheduled six days straight after that soo

i keep getting tiktoks about Book of Life and I wanna rewatch that so bad because it's one of my favorite movies. I don't know if it'd fit but I love putting my favorite characters into other media i enjoy (crossovers technically?) so i keep imagining mc and Mammon as Manolo and Maria. And then probably Solomon as Joaquin, just because he's my other favorite.

but Manolo literally sings "heaven knows your name, I've been praying" while trying to serenade Maria and it gets me every time. I have the perfect mental image to redraw that scene with Mammon and Mc but I can't put it on paper so AAAA

anyway i wanted to ask if you had any movie recs or anything because I don't know what to do with myself other than read all day tomorrow. OH AND ALSO IF YOU WERE GONNA WATCH THE ECLIPSE, A COWORKER GAVE ME GLASSES WHICH I WAS HAPPY ABOUT

- ✨ anon

I hope you enjoy your days off! I think it's always nice to have multiple days in a row... due to be an office gremlin, I always get the two regular weekend days off. I kinda have to use Saturday as a reset day because I'm so exhausted from the week lol. So it's nice to have that extra day for other things! (Usually chores in my case.)

Anyway, I had to look up The Book of Life because I have never heard of it before now. It sounds good! I definitely think you should rewatch it. And yeah, I think that's kinda how it goes with art? You've got the vision in your mind but the hands cannot replicate it. It can be like that with writing, too. It's just trying to convey to someone else the picture you see in your mind and it never comes out the same.

But it's definitely fun to do crossover ideas, like putting characters in other stories. I had a feverish few days obsessing over which Obey Me characters would be who in a King Arthur AU. It's just really interesting to consider how their personalities would change the story, you know? (Not me also kinda thinking about a LOTR AU kadsfkl.)

I'm afraid I may not be the best person to ask for movie recs? I don't watch a lot of movies. Generally I have the attention span problem lol. I do watch them occasionally, like I finally watched Knives Out & Glass Onion which I totally loved. But I suppose it also depends on what sorta genre you're into... I suppose those are like murder mystery style but they're also just very funny. Dang I'm trying to think of other movies I've watched recently but yeah there's not a lot... the most recent thing I've watched is Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon on Netflix which is so so good. I know it's like the tumblr rage right now, but I'm really loving it.

Though due to my inability to watch current movies, I have a lot of older classics that I like. Monty Python and the Holy Grail comes to mind immediately. I also love the old school Clue movie it's so good. And I'm a huge fan of Studio Ghibli movies, so any of those, but I know a lot of peeps have already seen them. Other older animated movies from my childhood like The Road to El Dorado and The Emperor's New Groove and Anastasia. Oh and of course I'm a huge fan of all the Lord of the Rings movies but I know that can be kind of a commitment. I also liked Pan's Labyrinth, The Birdcage, Coco (if you wanna CRY), The Boondock Saints (uh very bloody this one though), and I always kinda had a thing for martial arts movies like I love Legend of the Drunken Master lol but also Hero and of course the classic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (there's a sequel on Netflix that was also very good). Oh and I did see Everything Everywhere All At Once which I really enjoyed!

Er so I guess that's more than I thought lol. But there are a lot of times when people will be like you haven't seen X movie!?! And I just hafta be like... I don't watch movies a lot, sorry??

As for the eclipse, I am not going to be watching it because I don't have protective eye wear and my eyesight is already terrible. I didn't realize it was happening until like today oops. I did see part of the last one... I think that happened a handful of years ago? I can't quite remember when it was, but I did experience it!

Anyway, I don't know how helpful any of this was, but I hope you enjoy your time off either way!

[xslytherclawx-writes]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

stolen from @thebreakfastgenie - if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged!

How many works do you have on Ao3?

508, not including anon works

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

1,779,933

3. What fandoms do you write for?

uh... lots? i think i've written in upwards of 70 fandoms. mostly currently Harry Potter and Star Trek (Voyager & Lower Decks). Occasionally I'll toss in a Miraculous fic. My top 6 by works are: Harry Potter (187), Yuri!!! on ICE (62), Chronicles of Narnia (39), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn (18), The Umbrella Academy (TV) (12) - tied with Original Work (12)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Total Agony of Being in Love (Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston)  Two of A Kind (Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones) La Magique étude du Bonheur (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)  i bloom just for you (Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston) enough contrition to spare (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! but i do have over 100 comments in my inbox so perhaps i am not like... the best at it haha

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think maybe either: (for you) i would ruin myself (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling) or: Death Date (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)  OR: like my parents never did (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)  but like i write a LOT of angst lol

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I've written so much fluff so I'm just going to plug relationship advice (Miraculous Ladybug) (written for @nemaliwrites actually haha) because I think it has enough stakes for the ending to count as truly happy instead of just. fluff all the way through. (though it is pretty fluffy)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

yeah. i wrote aged up characters once and got called disgusting like ok thanks you're the one who took the time to click on it and leave a comment. but ok. i also was told very rudely that sirius was ooc in a fic for not being fanon sirius. again: ok. read the books.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, pretty often, actually. I've written F/M, F/F, M/M, F/M/M. I'll be posting some F/F/M soonish too.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not often? I think the craziest one I've written was Star Wars PT / Buffy the Vampire Slayer: friends in highly low places 

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not just that, but I had a fic ripped off for a professionally published novel. not that i'm still bitter, or anything.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Введение в дипломатию by lyomna, translation of an introduction to diplomacy (Narnia) From English to Русский

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sure have! Mostly in Yuri!!! on ICE

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

don't do this to me. I genuinely don't know. all-time?? Jill/Eustace and Polly/Digory have stood the test of time better than anything for any of my other fandoms tbh. But like favorite???? I can't pick. Some evergreen ships: Katniss/Peeta (THG), Remus/Lily (HP), Drarry (HP), Hyacinth/Gareth (Bridgerton).

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i mean the entirety of the cat café universe is probably not being touched again. uh. beyond that? not one for being let down (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling) - I should probably just put an epilogue on it and call it done a matter of diplomacy (Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis) - I really do like this one, but my brain is just not giving me many more ideas for it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue and character voice!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

detailed description

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I did it before bc I was a pretentious ass and continue it in Ravenclaw AU for consistency's sake, but I probably wouldn't do it again, unless it was a language I spoke fluently (so French or German) and didn't want my POV character to understand, and even then... eh.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, officially, but I wrote out some Halloweentown fanfiction in 3rd grade and submitted it for an assignment, so does that count?

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

making me choose a favorite child. jk it's probably Lost Causes (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling) or, in a completely different vein, the proof is in the pudding (literally. no one tested the pudding.) (Succession (TV 2018)) 

[aphel1on]

tag someone you want to get to know better

tagged by @woobifiedvillain a few days ago and finally remembered to do it!!

Favorite color: Yellow, but not an overwhelming yellow, like that soft warm yellow? I love it. People tend to not expect this answer, I think I give off more of a blue or grey vibe. Honestly a pretty grey/silver is probably my second favorite color, but a buttery yellow is just so good for the soul.

Last song: You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi. Danced to it in the kitchen, got consumed by the guitar riffs, nearly knocked a chair over. Before this morning it would've been the Genshin OST... I've been listening to it a lot while I write or do chores recently.

Last movie: An exceedingly mediocre romcom on Netflix that I watched with my sick mom to be nice. Genuinely couldn't tell you the title or more than like, two or three plot points. Last movie that I watched bc I wanted to was the Barbie movie, which was genuinely better than I expected. Enjoyable but would still give it, like, a mixed review. I'm not getting into two months' ago Barbie Movie Discourse on this post

Currently watching: I'M STILL TRYING TO FINISH THE UNTAMED!!!! woobifiedvillain i'm speaking directly to you and quoting you: i too am "chronically incapable of paying attention to visual media, even the good shit" and when i try to explain this to people irl they act like i am insane!!! I haven't watched Good Omens season 2 yet even tho I am reblogging posts about it rn. I think it's mostly adhd, or really just a part of the larger Neurodivergence Soup (tm) that makes it nearly impossible for me to learn something from a YouTube video. I mean, sometimes for a hands-on task a video is essential, but can't there be a written list of instructions to go with it too, bc that sticks in my mind way better sobs... ANYWAY i'm currently on episode 43 of The Untamed, so I should be able to finish it by, like. The end of the year at least lol?

Currently reading: I started reading SVSSS recently because, like. The mxtx mania is in full throttle. I just got here a little later than most people lmao. I'm also currently "reading" like seven different books that I bought or pirated this year and have on hold. One of my Unfortunate Skills is bingereading like 200 pages of something in 1-2 days and then not finishing the rest of it for 8 months.

Currently working on: Keep My Shadow Alive, my big xue yang-centric fix it fic!!! Well, more like a fix it, and then break it more, and then eventually actually fix it fic. Starting from the canon divergence of "Add Pre-Teen Xue Yang to the Burial Mounds Fam" and going from there. I read every fic like that that's on ao3 and was still being eaten alive by the brainworms so I started writing my own take on it and ~6 months later it's the longest fic I've ever written and only 25% of the way through its outline???? So. Who knows if it will get finished (my track record is admittedly not great)- but I've had such a blast writing it so far. Xue Yang is just SO fun to write. Yes it has a plot and character arcs and I could even go full English Major* and start telling you about its Themes, but also it's just an excuse to write Xue Yang interacting with every member of the MDZS cast. Going to STOP talking now bc I fully am the type of writer who will get carried away talking about their wips.

*i am not an english major, but spiritually i am an english major.

Current obsession: Yeah uh, MDZS. My friend convinced me to finally read it in January of this year, and the hyperfixation train has simply not stopped since then. Genshin Impact also dragged me back in with the Fontaine update and I've been having a lot of fun playing it. But MDZS is still mostly the thing that's eating up my RAM. Particularly the Yi City crew, but 3zun is rotating in there too. Sometimes even The Man WWX Himself, i talk about him less but i do love him a lot also lol

Tagging: I'm honestly too shy to do this!!! But thank you for tagging me anyway<3

[niennawept]

get to know me

tagged by my lovely friend @dwarveslikeshinythings <3; Sorry for the delay - I'm still catching up on my tag games.

PART ONE

are you named after anyone? Yes. I am named after a character in movie, but not because my parents liked either the character or the actress (they hated both). I'm named after this character because they wanted to be like her parents. Needless to say, I am not fond of my name.

when was the last time you cried?: genuinely don't remember, but it was probably either a) writing because sometimes I get overwhelmed by character's emotions or b) something reminded me fiercely of my late father and I just lost it for a minute.

do you have kids?:  Not unless you count dogs. I have two shelter pups.

do you use sarcasm a lot?: Mostly when asked to do something very simple. I will sarcastically refuse whilst doing the thing.

what’s the first thing you notice about people?: Vibes. I have a very vibes-based nervous system (thanks trauma).

what’s your eye colour?: This is complicated. I have central heterochromia, which means my eyes are two different colors within the same iris. So brown on the inside, mossy green on the outside, but you can't tell unless you get close so I say hazel even though it's not technically correct.

scary movies or happy endings?: Scary movies. I typically fall asleep with one on. After you've seen it a hundred times, even the sounds of screaming can become their own kind of comforting because it's always the same.

any special talents?: I don't know what to put here. I have a lot of hobbies, but I'm not sure I'd say I'm particularly talented at any of them. I can tie a cherry stem into a knot inside my mouth? Does that count as a talent?

where were you born?: The United States.

what are your hobbies?: Oh geez, uh. Sewing, cosplay, writing, baking, drawing, reading, singing, playing the ukulele, video games, DnD and other tabletop games, mead making, crocheting, gardening, painting, ... I think that's it. But I'm thinking of picking up book binding and tambour embroidery for elf reasons.

have any pets?: see above answer about kids. 

what sports do you play/have played?: Played basketball for years, not because I was good, but because I was tall for my age, but I stopped once the other kids caught up in height. I really loved track in Middle School, and I was a pretty strong sprinter, but I gave it up in HS to focus on my schoolwork.

how tall are you?: Five foot seven. I'm actually the shortest of all my cousins, lol.

favourite subject in school?: It changed a lot depending on my interest in what we were learning about. I have an abiding love of science and history. I'm also partial to poetry, despite being beyond awful at making it.

dream job?: living in the Star Trek future with a universal basic income, lol. People in Star Trek just do what they want to do for work and it all seems to work out fine.

PART TWO

first ship: I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again probably but Kagome x Sesshomaru from Inuyasha (SessKag). Can't help it, my 14 year old brain latched on REALLY hard.

three ships: Been reading some Bagginshield lately and that's growing on me. Adar x Palariel (my OFC, super normal about this one, lol). Been thinking some Galadriel x Luthien (pre-Beren) thoughts lately - might heck around and write a one-shot someday. Can you tell I'm only thinking about Tolkien things these days?

last (current) song: "The Devil is a Gentleman" by Merci Raines.

last movie: House on Haunted Hill (1958) with Vincent Price. Featuring my favorite line from any movie: "Darling, the only ghoul in the house is you."

currently reading: I am listening to "Oathbringer" by Brandon Sanderson in audiobook form, reading "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson, "The Fall of Numenor" and "The Fall of Gondolin" (thanks people who voted in the poll) in physical form, and reading an epic-length Bagginshield fanfic digitally.

currently watching: uh... I'm partway through season two of Succession. And I watched the first episode of Picard, season three. I'm very bad at watching television lately. It requires too much energy.

currently consuming: orange spice tea, no sugar.

currently craving: I don't really have cravings very often. So nothing?

tagging: @somebirdortheother, @lady-of-imladris, @coraleethroughthelookingglass and anyone to whom this looks fun!

[roguemonsterfucker]

Someone completely new to Thrawn here! I have questions:

- What single trait do you find most attractive in him? I'd love to see you get really specific.

- In your opinion, what is his best on-screen interaction with another character?

- Is there a moment in his canon story that you think could have done him better justice?

- If you remember it, when was the moment that it "clicked" that you were falling for this character?

- Favorite anatomy-related headcanon?

I'll send more as I think of them! @breakingthediaphragm

Thanks for the questions!

~ Unfortunately, I can't pin down a single trait I find most attractive in him because that's not how my brain works. It's collections of traits that appeal to me. I think I really broke down why I'm so drawn to him in This Post.

~ So far his only "on screen" interactions are in Rebels (which hopefully will change tomorrow...) and a majority of my favorite interactions overall are actually in the books, but there are two instances in Rebels where I love his interactions with the other characters. One is where he first meets some of the main Rebels characters and uses his knowledge of art and culture to identify them and uh... also he's just really sexy in that scene. And there's another scene where he's berating a fellow Imperial for fucking up really badly and he's so sexy and scary and she looks genuinely scared and his body guard Rukh is just standing back enjoying the show and it's just lovely. Edit: Here's the scenes in question.

~ Oh so many moments. The writer of the books, Timothy Zahn, has trouble doing Thrawn justice because Thrawn is so smart and Zahn... isn't. So sadly Thrawn as a character falls flat occasionally because Zahn simply can't write Thrawn to be as clever as he should be. And overall in Rebels, Thrawn is very under-utilized. However, there is one instance in Rebels that forever stands out to me as just... not being Thrawn as I know him and that's season 3, episode 5 (Hera's Heroes) when someone says something that upsets Thrawn and Thrawn grabs the dude by his lapels and growls at him... It just doesn't fit any version of Thrawn I know. It doesn't even fit well with Thrawn's characterization in Rebels... He just doesn't lash out in anger like that, especially over a silly comment. Definitely doesn't do Thrawn justice. 😔

~ I honestly don't know the exact thing that made me fall in love with Thrawn, but just today I did find the posts I made on Tumblr the day I started reading the books and I immediately posted "I think I'm in love with Thrawn" and I hadn't even finished the first book yet lol. I really don't know what part of the book made me feel that way. It's just Thrawn's overall characterization in it, I suppose... But later, reading Chaos Rising (the fourth book about Thrawn that I read), I fell truly deeply in love with him because of This Scene.

~ I described my headcanon for his genitals in this post lol. 😳I don't have much else in mind anatomy wise for him.

[thisisadecisionimayregret]

mid-year book podcast freak out 2023

Got tagged by @allcountersarehipheight, which thank you so much for tagging me, I love to be tagged in things lol, but uh

I kinda realized that I haven't read enough books to actually do this lmfao. I did start reading Ancillary Justice this past week, and I read the book How to Keep House While Drowning (definitely recommend), and I've read a decent amount of fanfic.

But (as you know) I've had some Big Life Changes this year. Who knew, looking for apartments, packing, moving across the country, and starting a new job seriously eats up time and makes reading books difficult lol.

So anyway. The only media I've actually really consumed this year are podcasts, cause the move if anything only increased the time available for listening to podcasts. And this looked fun. So I'm gonna just. freak out about podcasts for a minute

Best book podcast you’ve read heard so far this year

The White Vault. Hooooly shit y'all. This show. I'm feeling so insane about it rn, and I am really looking forward to their next season whenever it releases and listening to their patreon-only miniseries in this world. I am just in awe of their entire production, the writing, the creeping dread and terror (my roommate laughed at me for my reactions), the fucking sound design!!!! lemme say, having Done sound design work myself, shit is hard and they really made this show next level real. And god it is impossible not to fall in love with the characters and sucked into the plot. If you hear it, it hears you too....

Best sequel you’ve read heard so far this year

The PALISADE season of Friends at the Table!! Another installment in their Divine Cycle stories and it continues to be my favorite podcast on the planet. It makes me feel so much I have trouble putting any of it into words. I can only scream incoherently and reblog the gorgeous wonderful fanart for this show. Everyone needs to listen to fatt right now immediately. This is not news to anyone who follows me lmfao

New release you haven’t read heard yet

The new season of Life with LEO(h)! I loved the first season, and I am really excited to listen to the second one that's releasing now. I haven't quite gotten around to it though, it's one of the shows where having both earbuds in helps me keep track of everything, and since I'm usually listening to stuff at work where I can't have both earbuds in, it's just been. Sitting in my playlist, waiting to be played.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Within the Wires season 8, definitely. I've been listening to the show since the first episode released in 2016 and it has remained one of my all time favorite podcasts for that entire time. I have no idea what the next season's focus will be, it's always something different, and it always always wrecks me, and it is always rearranges my brain. October can't come soon enough.

Biggest disappointment

The Two Princes. I had listened to the first season whenever that came out, but didn't follow it when it went exclusive on spotify, cause fuck spotify, but this year they quietly gave up on making it spotify exclusive. And maybe the fact I had enjoyed but felt pretty meh about season one should've been a hint for my reaction, but hey, they autodownloaded, so I decided to listen to seasons 2 and 3. And y'know. It was fine. It just wasn't particularly good. Idk, maybe I'm not the target audience for that show.

Biggest surprise

Lost Hills: The Dark Prince. It's a surprise cause it's not something I would've sought or picked out to listen to on my own. But you know the thing some shows do, where they go "hey, we're promoting another podcast, so we're dropping their first episode in our feed, enjoy" and you just go along with it instead of skipping, and afterwards you go "hm well I haven't cared about malibu or surfing At All my whole life, but now i just Gotta know the fucked up history of this One Dickhead who had a huge influence on the surfing culture that extends into the present day." Well. Here we are.

Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Fool & Scholar Productions! Not debut, but new to me. They're the team responsible for The White Vault (among other shows I am looking forward to listening to). Seriously, their writing and their audio production are so so so excellent and I really admire their dedication to Getting things Right, particularly in regards to how they write international characters and go to great lengths to cast people from those cultures and who speak those languages to act. And although I haven't had a chance to listen to their TWV patreon-miniseries Imperial, the whole thing about using an endangered language in it and working with speakers and scholars of that language to get things right is just. Wow. It's incredible and I am (again) so excited to listen to it and their other shows, this team really just makes the language nerd and audio nerd in me vibrate

Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

This was so difficult but I gotta say, Vivian Exler from the Upstairs and Downstairs game of fatt Road to Palisade. Gardner/groundskeeper who gets the revolutionary zines and is constantly bickering with the mechanic. I am predictable and quickly become a fan of any Jack de Quidt character and Vivian was no exception.

Book Podcast that made you cry

Yet another win for The White Vault here. It made me cry multiple times, for sad reasons, and I mean this another glowing recommendation for this show. Love to be made to feel emotions

Book Podcast that made you happy

Ologies with Alie Ward!! Literally this podcast is just a constant source of joy and makes me so happy to be on this planet. Every single ologist Alie interviews is so genuinely excited about their subject and it is endlessly fascinating to learn more about the world around us. There's episodes that definitely can be bummers, but even the bummer episodes ultimately instill in me optimism and hope and appreciation. And also I get to leave every episode with a handful of fun facts I can bring out at parties when I'm anxious.

Alright, there we are! I'm gonna tag @housetalis (eternal thanks for introducing me to TWV) and @grand-magnificent. Feel free to do the original book freakout or do a podcast freakout or to not do it at all — no pressure either way!