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britesparc · 8 months

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Weekend Top Ten #606

Top Ten Time Travel Stories

I probably should have written about this last week, when the show actually returned to Disney+, but I wanted to do something about Loki. I think the series has been one of the most popular of the MCU TV shows so far, and whilst (for me at least) it wasn’t as experimental as WandaVision or as fresh as Ms. Marvel, it’s still one of the most consistent shows they’ve done, with some terrific new characters in the likes of Mobius and especially Sylvie, and probably on balance the best designed Marvel show around (skinny ties for the win!).

Anyway, at its heart it’s a story about time travel; time travel so pervasive and all-encompassing that it ends up creating the MCU multiverse. But there were parts of that first season that felt like a weirdly off-kilter episode of Doctor Who, as a foppish Brit tooled round time and space accompanied by grumpy sidekick. And this got me thinking about a topic that I’ve rather amazingly (unless I’ve cocked up my reckoning) never covered before: time travel stories.

I’ve always loved time travel stories, as far back as I can remember. Part of it was the thrill of seeing other times and places; as a kid, I especially liked visions of the future. But also, from a young age, I loved the trippy, timey-wimey nature of the stories; whether it was changing history in a way that was reflected in the present, or some kind of pre-ordainment that allowed for all manner of amusing hijinks (something I still refer to as a “key moment” because of Bill & Ted). Basically, I think I can put all of this down to three things: Terminator, Back to the Future, and Target: 2006, all of which are reflected here in this list.

The way time travel stories can depict alternate futures or allow for our characters to interact with the past in interesting ways has always been fascinating, and it’s something I just adore about the genre. I love the different rules that you have to concoct for time travel; like how in Timecop you can’t touch your past self for some reason, which I like to think of as “Chekov’s Ron Silver” (also in that film: Young Ron Silver is cut on the face, instantly making a scar appear on Old Ron Silver). Or the way in Transformers there could only be a certain amount of matter occupying the timeline so if you went into the past, due to “mass displacement” someone was shunted into a limbo dimension temporarily. And, of course, there are tons not on this list; books (This is How You Lose the Time War!) and comics (Days of Future Past!) and films (Looper!) and games (Day of the Tentacle!) that I just could not find room for. So many really cool ideas explored via the medium of time travel.

Not much more to say, really, other than let’s have at it. And as Einstein rather melancholically intones in the intro to the sublime alternate-timeline adventure Red Alert, “sooner or later, time will tell”.

The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991): I feel like these are the big guns of time travel, with their dystopic future, characters with a glorious destiny, high-tech robos, and an intriguing mix of the preordained and “no fate”. If you’re feeling shallow, the notion of a killer cyber-skeleton from the future with its skin suit coming back in time is a cool hook; but the unpicking of what we can change about our destiny versus what’s already “happened” is intriguing, because obviously if they change the future in T2 then there’d be no Terminator to get sent back, so no Reese, so no John, etc. These first two films are both masterpieces in their own right and classics of the genre.

Doctor Who (from 1963): this feels a little rote, oddly enough, because it’s an entire sixty-year-old show where one of the main hooks is they’re in a different time every week. But let’s be honest, that’s a hell of a hook. And there are some terrific ways in which they play with the ramifications of that; I could wax lyrical about Time Wars and fixed points and stuff like that bit in The Day of the Doctor when the “youngest” version of the Doctor starts a program running in his screwdriver so the “oldest” one can use the finished program, but I’m just gonna link to this fantastic explanation of the Bootstrap Paradox. God, I love this show.

The Transformers comics (from 1984): right, this one’s a bit of a cheat, because the comics have been going forty years and across (at least) four big publishers, but by Christ this was a biggie. Simon Furman’s Target: 2006 and its aftermath (literally ending in something called Time Wars) brought a character from the future into the present day and really introduced Little Me to the ways in which you could mess with time and space in a story. It’s phenomenal and I doubt there’s a British Transformers fan in their forties who wasn’t massively influenced by this story. Flash forward three decades, and James Roberts does something similar but very different in his Elegant Chaos arc, which sends the main characters back in time and not only seeds the future stories in interesting ways (this thing you thought was a thing was actually one of our guys from the future!) but ends up creating the entire Transformers multiverse and setting up the series Big Bads from the “Functionist Universe”. Phenomenal.

Back to the Future (1985-1990): the other biggie from my childhood. The first film is still a masterpiece in scriptwriting, but the properly wobbly time stuff happens in the other two films (especially part II). Tricks such as the vanishing photo are great representations of the perils of time travel and a fantastic piece of narrative sleight-of-hand, and we get great gags like “your kids are gonna love it”; but as well as offering a wild and exciting vision of the future, Part II has the barnstorming notion of integrating the characters into the events of the previous film. It’s just ingenious, hilarious, and a technical spectacle. Then the next film is a Western, which rocks.

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2003): a passionate, earnest, heartfelt, tragic love story that feels incredibly real and true – but is also a trippy time travel thing. A bloke is randomly pulled through time, keeps meeting the same woman at different points in their history, and they fall in love. Has some great notions as their lives slide in and out of sync: she meets him when she’s a child but he’s already married to her in the future; he meets her when he’s a student but he’s been present in her life for years at that point. Beautiful and profound, one of my favourite love stories. Also has a bit where, as a teenager, he shags himself.

Bill & Ted (1989-2020): full disclosure, I’ve not seen the latest one yet, but the first two have some terrific uses of time travel. Even the very notion of using a time machine to visit different periods in order to pass a history test is inspired lunacy; as is the concept of these two arseholes needing to be saved because they’re the ones who’ll eventually save the world. But the bit where they deus ex machina themselves out of a predicament by basically saying “when all this is over we’ll go back in time and leave a key here under this rock” is genius.

12 Monkeys (1995): another one where there’s a really cool, dark, sumptuously-designed dystopic future that we’re trying to avoid. This excels in being trippy, though, as poor old Bruce Willis doesn’t know down from up as he’s pulled back and forth in time, using piecemeal clues to search for a cure to a plague that destroyed the world. The slowly-emerging truth about what’s happening, and the gut-punch rug-pull ending, are darkly phenomenal, but despite it all it seems to end with just a sliver of hope.

Avengers: Endgame (2019): ah yes. Of course. Here we are. But there are two big reasons why I love this film and its use of time travel. One is the almost Back to the Future way it revisits scenes from previous films. The other is its depiction of time as a solid thing; you can’t change the future by changing the past, you just create other branches of time. This allows them to dick about in the past with impunity, bringing forward the older, eviller versions of characters. And, of course, it has the courage of its convictions to stick with the wild decisions it makes.

Star Trek (from 1966): like Transformers, another series filled with different depictions of time travel. I love the fact that in the future, time travel is relatively commonplace – people know it happens and different ways to accomplish it – but still rare and kinda exciting. Really, though, I want to talk about two films: The Voyage Home and First Contact. Both see our established crews journey to the past, but other than that they’re quite different. There’s a lot of great comedy in Voyage with our heroes navigating the “present day” of 1986; Contact is still set in a future but really uses time travel to examine things about the Federation and our characters. And, let’s face it, the scores of other films and episodes make time travel a fundamental part of Trek.

The Return of Bruce Wayne (2010): just pipping other great time travel epics to the post, we have this brilliant story about Bruce Wayne Quantum Leaping his way through history (and that was another show that only just missed the cut). The notion of Batman being a caveman or a pirate or a cowboy is interesting in and of itself; but the way Grant Morrison seeds in the future history of the character, or grapples with wacky metaphysical concepts, is incredibly entertaining.

#top ten #films #comics #games #books #time travel #time travel stories

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hawkland · 3 years

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(Mostly) Destiel Fic Recs #5

This is a LONG recs post because it’s been a while since I did an update and I fell hard into reading one author’s work (DeanRH). In fact I could easily do a rec post just of their fics alone, but for this round I’m just going to pick out a handful of my absolute favorites so far, the ones I’d recommend to start out with, along with more other authors’ works I’ve especially enjoyed lately.

Absolution at the Five-and-Dime by DeanRH (125k) - this is perhaps THEE DeanRH fic to start with if you want a good, long read with a little bit of everything (Roadtrips! Intriguing casefic! Americana! Tasty Dean/Cas pining! Wing!kink and unique angel lore! Kinky soul fisting and tentacles!) It’s kind of two of parallel stories in one: the first, a flashback to Dean and Sam's first year hunting on their own (as well as trying to avoid hunting, and John in general); the second on how Dean and Cas finally get together during an unusual case and when Dean is able to really let go of his past trauma and accept himself/accept love from Cas.

What I love about DeanRH’s work is that they write from the unique point of view of a drifter, so they understand living on the road, traveling place to place, and the highs and lows of that life like no others I’ve encountered in SPN before. (The author’s notes are often as much fun to read as the stories themselves). They also write a kickass angel!Cas and never lose sight of his non-human traits and background. Their writing style is unique - almost poetic in nature, and I know some readers have found it difficult to get into. But it works really well for me in their SPN fic...gives it the flavor of oral story telling as might actually happen at a drifter’s camp (with one story written exactly as such). Be warned this particular fic does play up the idea of John Winchester being mentally abusive and Dean having to turn tricks when he was younger in order to support him and Sam, so there is some dark stuff. But as someone who grew up with mentally abusive parent, reading this was extremely cathartic to me and believably written (unlike some stories that go too over the top with abusive John, or just don't understand how that kind of abuse leaves lifetime psychological scars.)

The rest of this round’s recs below the cut.

Carnevale by DeanRH (18k) - Actually the first fic by this author I read, because I just couldn’t resist a story set in my favorite place in the world, Venice, Italy. Castiel is the Angel of Venice, banished there for so long he does not even know or remember the reasons why. But Carnevale season is the one time a year he can let his wings out - figuratively and literally. And during this particular Carnevale season, he meets an intriguing masked young American tourist there with his brother and their one night stand turns into something far more powerful than either expected. This one’s hot, romantic, and achingly sad at the end as it all ties together unexpectedly with canon-verse...though with a hint for the future so it’s definitely not totally sad. I loved how DeanRH clearly understands Venice as a fellow lover of the city, the side of it most tourists never see unless they spend a long time there. This story made me cry just from wanting to be back in Venice again.

Ice cream was sweeter, food more satisfying, everything was an epicurean delight. There was just something magical about Venice, and he had lived here in the city for hundreds of years, so the shine should have worn off by now.

But it didn't, and there was always something more, something wonderful to discover around the next corner. The painted eaves of a church. The beauty of two women dancing with flowers in their teeth across the Piazza San Marco one day, overcome by the sheer joy of just being there. The way the university students still created Venetian masks, like Castiel's extravagant volto mask and Dean's humble servetta muta, with crafts that had been handed down across the generations. The morning silence that lay against the stones.

Hard Landing by DeanRH (26.9k) - A bit similar in theme to Carnevale. A pre-series Dean and Sam are sight-seeing in Spain when an angel, struck by a babel-spell, crash lands right in front of Dean. A strange yet seriously hot encounter with the angel turns into something much more complicated when the brothers return home and realize something more serious is afoot and they are both trapped in the middle of it. This is another story where things are very much not as they seem at first (as fun as that is!) It features master strategist Cas at his best, with a side helping of delightful trickery care of Gabriel and Balthazar as they deal with Lucifer, Michael...and a few others along the way.

The Sacred Band of Thebes by DeanRH (14.5k) - The last DeanRH fic I’m gonna allow myself to include in this round up, because it’s just very soft and sweet and beautiful - for a story about Dean & Cas being magically transported back in time to ancient Sparta! This is another story infused with a great knowledge of place and history, with some wonderfully delightful original characters added in that make it all the more enjoyable to read.

And now on to some other authors, I promise!

IPAMIS OL OLPRIT by emmbrancsxx0 (56k). A really wonderful fic that take a different look at what might have happened with a temporarily resurrected John Winchester during Season 14. Dean & Cas are in an established relationship here, and John here isn’t too happy about it — though mostly because he sees Cas (and Jack) as monsters, the kind of monsters he spent his lifetime hunting. This is a great fic for the emotional complexity of how John, Dean and Cas are all handled. John isn’t a cardboard evil dad, Dean is struggling between his loyalty to his father and to Cas, and Cas is increasingly bitchy/frustrated at Dean still being so desperate for his father’s approval (and all the more complex for not just being a quietly suffering perfect supporting boyfriend.) There’s some great action sequences in this too along with the emotional angst and a delicious dose of hurt!Cas if that’s your thing (as it is for me :D)

Abrenuntio by Neonbat (51k). A very dark but compelling AU take on the/a apocalypse universe. Dean, Sam and John are all alive in this post-angel war-apocalyptic world. They are part of a group of human survivors fighting against the angel army when they manage to capture “Blue” — a particularly feared angel of death. Dean is tasked with bringing Blue in for interrogation and he becomes a prisoner in their camp after John is killed. As mentioned, this is a pretty dark/sad fic (with some rather gruesome torture scenes) but I still found it quite compelling as a look at how things could have gone in some other parallel universe. And somehow the author manages to make the Dean/Cas relationship come together despite them starting out as complete enemies. This is one of those AUs that works for me because the core of the characters really shine through despite the differences in the setting.

if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee (37k) - a gorgeous post-Empty rescue fic that takes an approach I haven’t really seen explored in detail before (despite being something I’ve actually thought about as something that could’ve happened.) What if Cas has spent so long denying himself happiness, and then trapped in regrets and false-rescue scenarios created by the Empty, that he can’t trust that his rescue is real? And so he runs off to be on his own - literally stealing the Impala because he can’t handle being in Dean’s presence one moment longer - and only slowly comes to terms with the idea that it’s over now and he can be happy with/around his friends and family. This one’s both deliciously angsty and at times funny/sweet, looking at Cas’s relationships not just with Dean but with Sam, Jack, Claire, even Eileen. It does some fun stuff with other returned angels and demons who now find themselves back on Earth (and human), and...I just really enjoyed this one a lot.

Both Saved and Lost by angelfishofthelord (13.7k) Gen Cas character study, absolutely gorgeous and sad and one of those fic I couldn’t stop thinking about the day after reading it. AU where Apocaverse!Cas isn’t immediately killed by our Cas during 13x22 but instead hitches a ride back to the main ‘verse. Dean and Sam want to keep him alive for information on Michael; Cas is torn and trying to figure out just how similar—or different—they really are. Some great angel stuff here (I also highly recommend this author’s Jack & Cas “dadstiel” fics, they’re equally lovely and heartbreaking at the same time.)

flesh of the mighty by Mudprophet (2.7k) - THEE “What exactly did Dean eat in Purgatory, anyway?” fic you’ve probably already heard about. *cough* I’ve been trying to work up the courage to read this one for a while and finally gave in and OH MY CHUCK I’m so glad I did. It’s perversely disturbing and beautiful at the same time, Cas is wonderfully DERANGED and ALIEN in that way that I love it when fics managed to convey just how much angels are NOT human. Do heed the tags.

Full of Grace by ilovehowyouletmefall (11k) - Another one for the weird-as-fuck-angel!Cas lovers’ list. Heaven/canon-compliant fic where Dean knows he should feel happy and at peace but he just...isn’t, even with Cas and all of his friends and family there. He finally goes looking for Cas when he’s been absent for a time and, for the first time, gets to not just see but experience his true form. Another one that hits some kinks I knew I had and others I didn’t...until now. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

don't ask me where i've been by saltwound / @1x06 (8k) - I can never resist a good 09x06 fiction gap fic! What makes this one really stand out is how well it captures Cas’s internal voice - his struggles adapting to human senses, limitations and emotions versus what/how he experienced things as an angel. The longing and feelings between Dean & Cas here are so achingly beautiful and I just wanted to cry when Cas says he misses hearing Dean’s prayers, so Dean, he...oh, I’m not going to spoil it. *happy sigh* Just read it.

this room is wrong by DarkHeartInTheSky (12k) - Sometimes I like torturing myself with some good 15x03 divorce arc angst and this fic hit that button just so. It’s an alternative take on where Cas might have ended up after leaving the bunker and features some great Cas & Sam friendship feels, when Sam sets out to try to bring Cas home. It’s all the stuff you’d wish the writers would’ve let them talk out in canon.

Well that’s more than enough for this round! Go forth, read and give some great writers some kudos & comment love!

#fic recs #my fic recs #destiel recs #destiel #deancas recs #my destiel recs

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here4theheartbreak · 3 years

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My Tentacle Romance (ksj)

AO3 Link Here!

Relationship: hamster hybrid!Seokjin x Eldritch Horror!Reader

Genre: smut, pwp | Rating: Explicit | Word Count: ~7.2k

Summary: You didn’t mean to scare him. You didn’t to fall in love with him, either.

Tags: agender reader, gender neutral reader, tentacle monster, first kiss, meet weird, and they were roommates, getting together, tentacles, tentacle monster, tentacle dick, come inflation, come swallowing, excessive cum, gagging, choking, dirty talk, oviposition, multiple penetration, multiple orgasms, switch!Jin, switch!reader, mild bondage (but with tentacles)

A/N: This fic was written for @aroseforyoongi both filling a request from my 2k followers event (”you need to stop pulling my tail”) and for Eva’s birthday! Happy birthday, ilysm!!

A/N 2: The banner for this fic was made by the awesome @i-live-so-i-love - thank you so much!!!

The first time Seokjin saw you, he was terrified. Reasonably, you assumed; most people would have that reaction if a humanoid tentacle monster oozed from underneath their bed the first week in their new home. He didn’t need to throw that stupid book at you though. Books really hurt when the spine struck a sensitive tentacle tip. He also didn’t need to scream the way he did. Your ears ached for an hour after. You didn’t know a human male could make that sound. Well… Humanoid.

He had looked human, at first glance. And then you saw his ears. They were large and round and most definitely not human. And his face – with a streak of light tan fur over his nose and a smattering of whiskers on his cheeks – You’d found yourself rooming with a hybrid of some sort. Which was okay, hybrids scared just as easily as humans, in your experience. But you were curious what kind of hybrid he was. Not that he would tell you, what with all the book throwing and screeching he was doing.

A few weeks later, you attempted to meet your reluctant roommate once more. You snuck out from under the bed once more and peeked over the bed, watching the handsome humanoid. He was lying on his bed, reading. At least it looked like he was attempting to read. He was squinting and turning the book this way and that. You spotted his glasses a few feet away and slid a tentacle out, snagging them and bringing them to the bed. You dropped them next to him, and he startled again, head whipping around.

“Don’t scream,” you said, plugging your ears in preparation. He put his glasses on and drew in a gasp of breath, mouth open to scream. “I said don’t,” you pleaded, one tentacle whipping out to cover his mouth. He promptly bit it. You screamed, that time. Who the hell thought biting a slimy black tentacle was a good plan?

You yanked the tentacle back, holding it in your hand as it throbbed. “Why would you bite me, you fucking lunatic?!”

He spluttered, scrambling back into the far corner of his bed. “What are you?!”

“You don’t go around biting people, Jesus Christ, are you an animal?” You snapped, crawling the rest of the way out from under the bed.

He squeaked, covering his mouth with both hands. You could see his chest rising and falling rapidly, and hear his heart racing.

“Dude. Calm down. You’re gonna have a heart attack.” You glanced down at yourself, chuckling a little. “Just calm down,” you repeated. You shuddered a little; this was never an entirely pleasant experience. Bit by bit, you withdrew the multitude of tentacles from various parts of your body back into your skin. Your magic allowed you to appear in somewhat human clothing, simple pants and a shirt, though your left arm remained rather… Tentacle-y no matter how hard you tried to change it. “Is this better?”

His breathing seemed to slow a little. “W—What are you?” He asked again, letting his hands drop from his mouth.

“I’m ___. I’m the Eldritch God that lives under your bed.” You grimaced, looking around. “What is that horrendous sound?” You asked. You spotted a radio on the dresser nearby, blasting some male voice screeching and snarling about dancing to the tune of someone’s death, loving, or something—A tentacle shot from your back and slapped the pause button on the noise. When the room was silent, you turned back to Jin and stuck your right hand out for him to shake, holding the tentacle arm your back.

“Eldritch God?” He repeated. “Also, that was a good song.”

“Yep. I’ve lived in this area for hundreds of years. Scaring humans or… Hybrids. Just generally enjoying life. I’m a low-level god. Pretty young, so I just kinda have to find stuff to do until the end of the world. Scaring people is fun. Never had one bite me though… I won’t comment on the… musical taste.”

When he didn’t move, you blinked at him. “Don’t your kind shake hands? What’s your name? What are you?”

“Th—I— Jin. S—Seokjin,” he finally spluttered. “Kim Seokjin.”

You dropped your hand, realizing he wasn’t going to shake it. “Okay, Kim Seokjin. What are you? Those ears – Are you a mouse?”

“Hamster,” Jin murmured. His ear twitched and he pawed at it.

He seemed to be relaxing a little. You approached slowly, raising your human shaped hand in surrender when he pressed himself against the wall.

“Look, I live here, I’m not leaving,” you said simply. “This is my apartment!”

“I’ve lived here since this place was built. I think it’s technically my apartment,” you clarified. “Just because I don’t hand the humans money doesn’t mean I don’t live here.” You pouted a little as you spoke, wrapping your arms over your chest. “I don’t want you to leave. Humans need a place to sleep too. I just… Want to work something out.”

“Sure, leave.” Jin snapped, his whiskers twitching madly. “You smell like water and… Storms.”

“It’s the Eldritch in me, sorry.” You smiled a little sheepishly. “I’m not leaving. Normally I’d get my kicks scaring the shit out of the humans in this place, but I’ve never had one that had the gall to bite me. So I wanna work something out with you.”

“I’m a rodent hybrid. You scare us, we get nippy. Especially when we can’t see.” Jin crossed his arms over his own chest, mouth thinning into an annoyed line.

“How blind are you?”

“Pretty blind.”

“I can’t see in the sunshine,” you said.

“It hurts my eyes. They don’t dilate so well.” Jin touched his glasses. “It’s why the curtains are always shut.”

“I appreciate it, honestly. I can be in the sun, but it doesn’t feel good to bump into everything. Plus with tentacles… A little more of a hazard.”

“Those were tentacles…” Jin’s face contorted into an awful grimace. He slapped his hand over his mouth. “Oh God – I bit that thing. Was that like biting your dick? In the pornos—”

You truly couldn’t help it. You really tried, but you had never seen a human look so horrified. You doubled over in laughter, holding your stomach as you did.

When you were able to right yourself, Jin was still staring at you, the horrified expression now blending with a shocked one.

“Sorry, sorry,” you said between gasps of breath. “No, no you didn’t bite any of my genital tentacles; it’s more like an arm. They look similar though so I get the confusion.”

Jin’s eyes bulged comically. “Y—You have more than one? Are you…” He hesitated, seemingly searching for the right way to phrase it. “Boy?”

“I’m an Eldritch horror.”

“Right, but… Genital tentacles. Plural? You don’t…” He motioned to your crotch area.

You chuckled. “I existed before the concept of gender and sex was even a flicker in the DNA sequence of the somewhat sentient slimes that would someday become your species. I’m a god, Seokjin.”

“But you look human,” Jin mumbled. You noticed his cheeks and ears had begun to take on a reddish hue. It was kind of cute.

“Sure I do. I like this shape. But it’s not my true form.”

“What is?”

“Your eyes would burn from your skull and your brain would melt into sludge if you saw my true shape even in your peripherals. Why are you so pink?”

Jin blinked. “What?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to a human, or a hybrid,” you explained. “I seem to have forgotten their ways a bit. And most of the time the color they change around me is a paler hue. Or purple, occasionally, when one has choked on something and been unable to breathe…”

Jin swallowed audibly. “Ch—Choke on something?”

He touched his mouth, his cheeks brightening more. You could hear his heart thudding rapidly. That was a familiar scent… You moved forward a little, surprised that he didn’t shy away, and sniffed. Oh. Oh. You smirked.

“Hm…”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” You backed up, letting him relax a little. “Well, I’m going back to my space. Perhaps next time I come out, you won’t screech at me.” You sank down and Jin scrambled up.

“Wait!” He reached out, touching your shoulder before you slid under the bed. His hands were firm. And big. You felt your own body begin to warm up.

“Yes?”

“What is your space? Do you just… Live under my bed?”

“In a way. I live in the depths of the shadows under your bed that allow my form to transcend the plane of this existence and rest in an area of my own design.”

Jin blinked owlishly at you. “Uh…”

“Portal. To another dimension. Under bed.” You spoke in simpler terms, assuming his humanoid mind was unable to compute. He nodded slowly, ears twitching.

“So when you’re in there… Can you… See up here? What I am doing?”

“If I choose.”

“Well, don’t choose.”

You blinked, scowling a little at the firmness of his tone. What did he mean by that? Was he intending to tell someone about you? That would be a problem. Most humanoids and humans you scared were too terrified to have a conversation about what you were. People would think they were nuts. But this one… Seemed different. He smelled different, that was for sure. Almost like he was interested in you.

“Well, I’m going to go now. I’ll see you again.”

“Knock on the wall before you come up next time. It’s scary when you just appear like that.”

“Right. Bad eyes.” You smiled at him. “I’ll knock.”

You sank back down on the floor sliding fluidly under the bed, oozing into the shadows. You heard the bed creak before you fully disappeared and peeked out, a simple black mass with red eyes. You met Jin’s wide gaze and smiled… Not that he knew it was a smile … Before disappearing into the shadows.

You tried to rest. You really did. Floating along in a sea of nothingness, the distant screams of a billion galaxies colliding, dying, and reforming all at once. It was normally a lullaby to you. But tonight, your mind wandered. Not to the murder and bloodshed of a million cruel lesser Gods, or the agonizing scream of terror as someone is riddled with nightmares from your very presence… But rather… Of Jin. Seokjin. The hamster boy Jin. His ears looked so soft, you wished you could pet them. And his big, dark eyes… That soft smattering of fur. The balls it took to bite you.

Heaving a sigh, you unwound yourself from your tentacles and drifted back up to the space where your world connected with his. You slipped out from the shadows, peeking out from under the bed. It was dark in his room – he must be sleeping. You could smell him above you, that musky fur scent, the bitter scent of human- sweat, the rich scent of sex. A pang shot through you. Sex. Was he mating with someone?

As if on command, the bed creaked, and Jin whimpered softly. You could smell no one else, only him. In the silence, you could hear a slick squelching noise, and a soft, electronic babble from a device on the bed. Curiosity piqued, you slid further out, peeking up over the edge of the bed. Jin was stretched out on top of the covers, naked. You could see a smattering of the same creamy light fur on his chest and belly. His fist was sliding rapidly up and down his hard cock, glistening with lube and precome. His head was turned, earphones over his round, twitching ears. You peeked a little further, spotting the laptop on his bedside stand. The video on it was some sort of cartoon. A male figure was being suspended in the air by a multitude of tentacles, his ass being spread open as one drove into him in an obscene manner. His mouth was filled as well, tears streaming down his face.

You couldn’t deny that the video was quite attractive. You glanced back at Jin and smirked. So that smell earlier was arousal. You were right. Hm. Well the feeling was mutual… Why should he have to do this alone?

Slow and careful, not wanting to terrify your skittish roommate, you slid one tentacle up over the bed. Moving slowly, you reached the laptop and poked the pause button. Jin’s hand hesitated and he scowled, eyes widening when he spotted the tentacle on the keyboard. He looked down at the foot of the bed. You grinned and waved another tentacle at him.

“What the fuck?!” Jin howled, yanking his blanket over his lap and jerking the headphones from his head. The fabric was raised ever so slightly where his erection was, doing nothing to really hide it from you.

“Sorry,” you apologized, “you were masturbating to tentacles…” Jin reached out and snapped the laptop shut, nearly pinching the tip of your tentacle in the process.

“So what? It’s my room!”

“It’s a room we share,” you corrected, moving out from the bed and coming around. “I was worried you were going to tell someone about me with how determined you were that I didn’t come back through… And I couldn’t stop thinking about you in other ways, so I was going to come back to talk and… I stumbled onto this.”

Jin remained silent, his lips pinched in annoyance. You smirked and moved closer to the bed, noting that he didn’t cringe away this time.

“So that scent from earlier was arousal.”

“What scent?”

“Oh, I smell you very well. When I talked about choking humans… I smelled what seemed like human arousal. But I figured I was just imagining it. Why would a pretty humanoid like you be aroused by me?” You reached out with a tentacle, brushing the smooth skin of Jin’s chin. His eyes fluttered shut.

“I’m interested in you too, you know. I’ve never had a human so brave face me down. I admire that.” You hesitated and looked at his lap, the blanket still lifted. “Shall I help with that?”

“Wh—” Jin’s eyes snapped open. “What? No, please, I’m so ashamed,” he lamented, setting a pillow over the spot.

“Why are you ashamed? You are decently endowed for a humanoid of your height and weight ratio. The phallus seemed healthy and firm, and I sense no chemical influences so it can be safely assumed that you can get and maintain an erection capable of breeding, with no help.”

Jin’s cheeks reddened more and more as you spoke.

“Please!” He cried, waving his hands in front of him. “Stop talking about it like that.”

“Oh.” You frowned a little. “I suppose that wouldn’t be arousing for you… If you were wanting me to speak in a way that aroused you… I suppose I should rather say that your cock is beautiful… It looks so hard and I’d love to make you come…”

You heard Jin’s heartrate pick up and couldn’t help but smirk. “Would you like that, Jin? For me to make you come?”

Jin swallowed hard and nodded, meeting your dark eyes.

A tentacle shot out, knocking the pillow out of the way. It yanked the blanket down, revealing Jin’s cock, still mostly hard despite the conversation.

You moved down to the foot of the bed, relaxing and allowing more tentacles to emerge. Jin’s eyes grew wide as you did, darting from side to side as he seemed to try to process.

“You enjoy this,” you said. It was a question you already knew the answer to.

“Yes.”

God, that felt good to hear. You slid a group of tentacles up over Jin’s chest, feeling the smooth skin and delicate hairs. Your touch left goosebumps in its wake, and Jin shuddered softly.

You used another set of tentacles to push open his thick, muscular thighs. You made a soft noise of surprise. At the base of his spine, visible when he spread his legs, was a tiny tuft of fur, and a fuzzy tail. Only about two inches, thin and blunted, it was potentially the most adorable thing you had seen on a humanoid being in all your time living with them.

More tentacles to lift Jin’s hips off the bed.

“Oh my—Your tail,” you commented helplessly. You reached out with your human-ish hand and grabbed it, petting the soft fur above it. Jin’s entire body went tense, and you watched his cock twitch. You cocked a brow. “Oh…”

Curious, you tugged the tail, ever so lightly, and Jin grunted. You pulled again, with the same response. A third time, and he moaned softly.

“Please—Stop pulling my tail,” he pleaded.

“Why? Does it hurt?”

“N—No.”

You smirked. “So then, it’s good…” You tugged once more and Jin’s back arched off the tentacles suspending it.

“Please—” He whined.

“Would you like my help, Seokjin? I could make you feel quite good.”

Jin huffed, swallowing hard. “Th—This is so strange.”

“Mhm. I’ve never, if I may be blunt, seen such a willing person.” You let one thin tentacle circle around the tight rim of Jin’s hole, leaving a trail of slick fluid behind. “I’d love to see just how much you want.”

“Everything,” Jin confessed, his body relaxing against your tentacles.

“What was that?”

“I want everything…” Jin opened his eyes, blinking a few times before focusing on you. “If you want it, I—” He nodded. He let his thighs fall open further, smirking. “I want it.”

Excitement coursed through your body. He was so willing, so aroused. It was the most intriguing and exciting thing you’d done in a millennia.

You pushed the leaking, swollen tip of the tentacle into Jin’s tight heat, barely able to resist moaning. His rim clamped down around your tentacle like a vise, coaxing a little of your warm slick to squirt from the tip. You were gonna wreck this pretty rodent.

You drove the tentacle deeper into him, smirking when you reached a resistance. Jin whimpered, biting his bottom lip.

“Deep—“ he whined.

“Do you enjoy it?”

“Yes—” Jin groaned. You pushed your second tentacle in; this one a little thinner and slicker. Jin shouted, his back arching. The movement tightened the skin of his stomach. You gasped, spotting the barely there swell. You worked the thinner tentacle up to where the first was and relaxed, letting it balloon and expand. The swell in his belly grew, and you groaned, reaching forward and touching it. You could feel yourself in his body.

Jin tried to lay back on the bed, hiding the beautiful swell. You reached out with two of your tentacles, catching him and arching his back once more.

“I like this,” you growled.

Jin sobbed brokenly, and you worried for a moment you’d hurt him. But his cock was hard and leaking, and his face was twisted up in a grin.

“___— Please...”

“I’ll take care of you,” you promised him. You wrapped a tentacle around his neck, letting your suckers rub over the smooth skin there. So easily torn. Jin’s cock twitched on his belly and he moaned. You began to squeeze his throat, ever so gently. You relaxed your grip and prodded his plush, swollen lips with the flattened tip of another tentacle. the movement left behind a glossy, oil slick sheen.

“No biting this one, Jin,” you warned. He huffed and rolled his eyes, opening his mouth. You slid the tentacle in, sighing as Jin eagerly lapped at it sucking softly. You stroked the smooth flesh of his tongue with your tip before sliding deeper. You bumped his uvula, smirking when he coughed.

“Open wide.”

Jin did his best to obey, and you pushed in, nudging past his tonsils and down his throat. His eyes bulged and he swallowed, squeezing your tentacle delightfully. Cool air whistled past it as he struggled to breathe.

“You liked being choked, didn’t you?” You cooed, squeezing his throat once more.

Jin’s cock throbbed on his stomach and began to shoot come onto his belly. His eyes rolled back and he gagged hard, moan muffled. His ass clenched rhythmically around your tentacles, milking fluid from them.

You couldn’t help but laugh even as you moaned from the stimulation. Two suckered tentacles slid up, rubbing through the hot come on his belly and up to tease his hard nipples. Jin sobbed what sounded like your name, but you couldn’t be sure. You allowed the rest of your tentacles to surround Jin, touching and rubbing and leaving little streaks of oily slick on his smooth, clean skin. The one that started this all, wrapped firmly around his dainty tail, yanked once more.

You’d been saving the best for last. A tentacle no thicker than his pinkie wound up his leg. You could feel his muscles quivering from the overstimulation, his breath whistling around your tentacle firmly lodged down his throat, his eyes already rolling back. Up, through the mat of curly dark pubic hair, around his still hard shaft, stroking and squeezing. It was so warm and smooth. Your mouth watered. You’d have to taste it one of these days. And finally his tip.

The tentacle released and touched the tip of his cock. Jin’s eyes widened, still somewhat unfocused. Slow and steady, you let the tip your tentacle open, sliding down, down, swallowing Jin’s cock.

You moaned, quivering as you were filled with his thick girth. It had been a century since you let something penetrate you in this way. His cock was perfect, solid and warm and hit every single spot inside your channel just right.

Jin reached out with the hand not being held by a tentacle and grabbed his cock, rubbing his fingers lightly over the smooth outside of your tentacle. He began to stroke, up and down, firmly, jerking off with your body.

You moaned brokenly, head falling back. Your tentacles caught you as you sagged, legs spread. A pressure built deep in your guts as he used your channel to jerk off, sucking the tentacle in his mouth and clenching his ass around the ones inside him. He knew exactly how to drive you wild. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair— He was just a human—

You screamed his name as you came around his cock, squirting thick and wet. Jin moaned, gagging hard when the tentacle in his throat swelled a bit.

He continued to jerk off with your tentacle, his eyes losing their focus once more. He was going to come again, you could feel it. The wet squelch of your released as he used your hole filled the room. It was music to your ears.

A tentacle whipped forward and grabbed his wrist, yanking it off his cock and pinning it to the bed. You wrapped another tentacle around his cock, squeezing yourself against him as you began to jerk it.

“You’re gonna come in me, Jin,” you cooed.

He tried to nod.

“I’m going to come in you.” His eyes rolled back, a full body shudder making you moan as well. Enough foreplay.

The tentacles holding Jin’s arms and legs went taut, pulling his arms above his head and forcing his legs open wide. You jammed a third, slender tentacle up his gaping asshole for good measure, shuddering at the impossible tightness of it.

At once, every tentacle buried inside your new humanoid plaything began to thrust, the room filled with the obscene glugging noises of his throat and the wet squelch of his ass as you added more natural lubricant. You were still pumping his cock with your other tentacle, squeezing that and his throat playfully.

Jin came first again - not that you were surprised. You moaned as he spilled ropes of come into your channel, swelling it a bit. You continued to milk him with the slender tentacle and the one wrapped around it. Another tentacle slipped up to play with his balls, urging every drop of come out of them and into you. You moaned softly at that, smiling down at him. Time to return the favor.

You began to fuck his throat hard and fast, mouth hanging open in pleasure as he choked on you. Jin’s eyes screwed shut and you growled. “Look at me, pretty.”

He struggled to do so, drool and your own slick bubbling up around the tentacle in his throat. His throat was painfully tight.

“You wanted me to choke you. Is this how you wanted it, Jin?” You purred.

Jin nodded, gagging and coughing hard. His eyes rolled back in his head, cock dribbling once more into the slick channel of your tentacle.

“That’s it… Give it all to me, baby. I’ll give you what you want too. Swallow it.”

Your body tensed, a knot of pleasure squeezing tight and drawing all of your nerves to a near painful edge. The tentacle began to spurt down Jin’s throat. He coughed hard, some of the dark fluid escaping around his mouth and nose. A tentacle caught the back of his head, holding it as you pumped your release down his throat.

You threw your head back, moaning loudly. At the same time, you continued to fuck his ass, your secondary climax nearing.

Some of your smaller tentacles that you’d been using to tease his tail and skin began to spurt as well, streaking thick, hot ropes of dark, oily release over his heaving chest and tearstained face. And over his tense stomach, now swelling with amount of fluid you were pumping down his throat.

Your second climax ripped a scream from your throat, surprising you. The tentacles buried in Jin’s ass began to spurt, shudders wracking your body as you filled his with release.

A pressure grew in the base of your groin and you whimpered. With fuzzy eyes, you watched the base of the tentacle swell just a little larger than a chicken egg, before moving down the length of the tentacle. And another… Another… Seven total eggs made their way down your length. The first caught on Jin’s clenched rim, making him sob wet and broken around your tentacle.

“Shh… Let me in,” you whispered.

Jin seemed to try to relax. You shuddered and strained, helping work the thick egg into Jin’s body. It slipped past the rim and down the inserted part of your tentacle. You moaned and shuddered when it released. Time to repeat. Again, and again, you worked the eggs into Jin, tiny aftershocks of orgasm washing over you each time your tentacle ejected one.

Jin’s stomach was swollen with come and eggs, and his body was lax, eyes half closed and glassy with exhaustion.

You pulled out slowly, smirking a little at the little rivers of come that followed both from his ruined ass and his mouth. Carefully, you laid him back onto the bed, still cocooning him with your tentacles as you crawled onto the bed and kissed his sweaty cheek.

“Still with me?”

“Mhm…” Jin touched his stomach. “Eggs?” He croaked, as if speaking through a mouth full of caramel.

“Yes. They will dissolve harmlessly within you in a few hours, don’t be alarmed. I should have warned you.”

“No, not at all… It’s good. I liked it… I feel so full…”

“You look absolutely ruined.”

Jin blinked tiredly at you, looking mildly concerned. You smirked and kissed his come stained lips. “It’s a beautiful look. We should get you cleaned up, shouldn’t we?” You sat up, your tentacles slinking back into your body. Jin reached out, grabbing one and holding onto it.

“Do you like being this way better?”

“I have no preference, but it’s more comfortable with some of them out,” you admitted. “I’m not used to using these.” You held up your human-ish hands.

“Leave them out then. I like them.”

“They don’t frighten you?”

Jin’s ear twitched. “No. Not now.”

A smile crossed your face before you could stop it. “I’ve never really let a human look at me so long.”

Jin ran his hand up your tentacle, his soft skin tickling and warming you. “I’m so different from you. Why did this happen?”

You hesitated at his question, unsure how to answer. Jin smiled when you did.

“I’m not saying I’m mad or… I dislike it. But the problem is… I’m human. At least human adjacent. And the way I feel emotions… It’s strong but I don’t know how your kind does. I just…” Jin frowned at a spot in the corner, clearly deep in thought. “I guess I just want to know what this is going to be before I let myself get too attached.”

You chuckled a little. “This is absurd.”

“What is?” Jin’s face drooped.

“We’re having this deep conversation... While you’re lying on the bed naked and messy. Come on, let me clean you up. We’ll continue when we’re both a bit more put together.”

You scooped him up with your tentacles, laughing a little at his surprised shout. With minimal effort, you carried him out of the room and down the hall to where you knew the bathroom was located. Jin laughed, wiggling in the firm grip of your tentacles as you did.

“Aren’t I heavy?”

“Not really. Rather light, actually. Do you obtain ample caloric sustenance to maintain humanoid organ function?”

“Do… Do I what?”

“Eat. Enough food,” you supplied. You turned on the water of the bath with another tentacle, turning to face Jin, who was still firmly wrapped in your grip.

“Yes, I eat enough,” Jin huffed. “I’m a good weight.”

“You are certainly well built,” you agreed, letting your eyes roam Jin’s body. Even covered in the oil slick iridescence of your come… He really truly was stunning. Broad shoulders, firm chest, thigh, muscular thighs… Even with the tiny swell in his stomach where your eggs were slowly disintegrating… He likely drew the attention of anyone on the street.

“___...” Jin drifted off. “You’re staring.”

“I’m admiring,” you argued. “Do you have a human partner?”

“No. I’m single.”

“Why?”

Jin blinked, seeming surprised at the question. “I—I don’t know. I guess… Nobody’s ever really struck my fancy.”

“Why not?” You turned, reaching a tentacle out to test the water. Deeming it warm enough, you shifted, settling Jin into it.

“I have no idea. I guess I just know what I’m looking for.”

“And what’s that?”

“Join me?” Jin asked, shifting to sit in the tub and make space.

You let your tentacles disappear back into your body save for a dozen smaller ones, and stripped out of the clothing you’d donned. You crawled into the tub, sighing a little as the warm water lapped over your skin.

“I want someone who is there for me,” Jin continued after a moment. Someone who knows what I need both physically and emotionally, and someone who is willing to let me provide for them too. A give and take.”

“Do you desire offspring?” You reached out and snagged a washcloth, wetting it and adding soap. You began to wash Jin’s skin clean.

“Someday, maybe. Not now. I am young, I wanna use that youth.” Jin shifted, sighing. “I like you, ___.”

“I know you do. And for some bizarre reason… I rather like you too.” You sighed a little, frowning at the confession. It was the truth. That much you knew. But why did it feel so scary?

“Bizarre? Have you never liked a human before? Or a… Hybrid?”

“No.” You continued to wash his shoulders and back. “I tend to just scare the pants off them and call it good.”

Jin laughed a little. “Well you got my pants off in some way, it just wasn’t by scaring me.”

“Oh, I scared you,” you argued, laughing as well. “You threw a book at my head.”

“A giant tentacle monster appeared in my room, of course I threw something at you.”

“You also bit me.”

“I’m starting to think you liked it.”

You paused, brows raising. “I guess… I sort of did.”

Jin’s smile faded a little, the laughter dying. “I asked you a question in the room, ___.”

“You did.”

“And you didn’t answer.”

“Because I didn’t know how to. I still don’t.”

“Do you have feelings? Like… Happiness or sadness or affection?”

You nodded. You sank down a little more in the tub, and Jin reached out, gently sliding his hands over your legs and tentacles where he could reach. “I do. I’m sure it’s slightly different but the result is the same. I do find you interesting, both physically and otherwise. I want to get to know you more, and spend time with you. Being on this plane of existence is… Different. I don’t normally do it, but I feel content to be in this form, because it means a chance to learn more about you. I’d watched you for a while before but… Face to face.”

“I understand.” Jin took the cloth and washed his face and ears. “So, you do like me then.”

You nodded once.

“And I like you,” Jin continued. He set the cloth in the water, using the tip of one finger to gently slide it back and forth.

“It would seem that way. For some strange reason.”

Jin smiled softly. He scooped up the cloth and ran it gently over one of your tentacles. The slightly rough texture sent shivers through your body, and you couldn’t stop the smile that formed.

“That feels nice.”

Jin shifted, the sound of the water sloshing in the small tub the only answer he gave you for the moment. The tub was truly too small for the both of you, but he was able to make it work, shifting over to settle closer. He used the cloth to wash over the exposed tentacles and the humanoid form of your body, meeting your gaze every few seconds. His ears were perked forward, nose and whiskers twitching.

You reached out with a free tentacle, stroking his back and running down to his ass. You touched his tail. The fur was soft and silky where it seemed to blend into his skin, and his tail was covered in the same soft down. It wiggled a little under the water and Jin made a small noise between a squeak and a sigh.

“Just don’t pull it,” he whispered.

“We know what that does. Is it difficult?” You asked. You let go of his tail in favor of stroking along his smooth back.

“Is what difficult?”

“You’re a hybrid. I know your kind is not common still. I’ve never seen one of your species specifically.”

“It can be. I’m a pretty timid animal by nature. So I used to get bullied. But I enjoy being different. In the long run. It’s what makes me who I am and I wouldn’t change that.”

“That’s admirable. You are a beautiful specimen.” When Jin frowned, you paused.

“Being. I don’t mean specimen as an insult.”

“I know,” Jin sighed, sitting back. He pulled his knees up to his chest. The air in the bathroom seemed to thicken a little, and you frowned. Though human emotions weren’t your forte, you could still sense enough of the shift in Jin to get it.

“I’ve upset you.”

“You haven’t. Not on purpose.” Jin rose and grabbed a towel, beginning to dry himself off. His stomach was back to normal, and it felt like all sense of afterglow had worn off. You followed suit, rising and opening the tub drain. As you stepped out of the tub, you allowed your powers to work, drying your body and re-clothing it instantly. As you did, Jin turned around, about to offer you a towel. His face drooped when he saw you clothed.

“Oh.” He pulled it back and looked at it for a moment before dropping it into the hamper and heading back toward the bedroom. You followed from a safe distance, unsure how to help the humanoid you’d found yourself so attached to.

When you reached the bedroom, you hesitated at the foot of the bed while Jin stripped the mattress, messy from your activities.

“Jin…”

He glanced at you, but said nothing. Instead he tossed the sheet into a hamper and went the closet, digging around to get a clean one. He hesitated, rubbing at the back of his ear.

“Jin.” You repeated yourself more firmly. He turned, his whiskers twitching.

“You’re not human.”

“No, of course I’m not.”

“Even with the… The tentacles. It’s easy to forget. You look humanoid.”

You nodded.

“But then you do something like… Like what you did in the bathroom or you call me a specimen like I’m so different and I just—I like you, ___. But can you like me? Do you want to get to know me and maybe be… Something more?”

“Of course I do, Jin,” you answered. And the reality of it was – you were being honest. You stepped forward, reaching out with your tentacles to pull him closer. When he was near enough, you wrapped your arms around him, nuzzling his neck. “I want to know you. You’re the first human I’ve ever wanted to be around like this. I know we’re different… I’m sorry I’ve upset you. I don’t mean to.”

“I’m not upset, ___. I just know things are… Difficult.”

“They don’t need to be.”

You stepped back and shifted a little, the tentacles sliding into your body. You changed your clothing with a simple thought into something a little baggier, pulling your left arm more out of view in the fabric. “I can look human. I can be anything you need to make you comfortable.”

Jin pouted a little, his plush bottom lip sliding out. “But this isn’t you. I don’t want you to change. I like you.” He pushed the sleeve up and grabbed your tentacled arm. “I like all of you. If you meet my friends, of course… This works, but… When it’s me. I just want you to be yourself. As much as you can be.”

“I don’t frighten you? Make you feel different?”

“You do.” Jin shrugged. “But that can be okay.” He sighed softly and reached up, stroking your cheek. The motion was unfamiliar to you, but not unwelcomed. You could feel the calluses on the pads of his thumbs from use, hear his pulse throbbing softly against his wrist, feel the brush of his fingers against the baby hairs on your current form’s face. It was soothing. Your eyes fluttered shut and you smiled a little.

“Do that again…” You whispered when Jin pulled his hand away. He repeated the motion, and then on the other side, cupping your face in his hands.

“___.”

You opened your eyes, surprised to see him so close to you, his dark gaze trained on yours. “Have you ever been kissed?”

“No.”

“Never? Wh—”

“It’s never really come up,” you admitted.

“Well… I’m going to kiss you, okay?”

“O—Okay.”

Jin closed the gap between your faces, tilting his head a little as his eyes closed. His lips pressed against yours, soft and silky. You could feel his breath tickling your cheek, and you giggled a little.

Jin pulled back, a smile of confusion brightening his face. “What are you laughing at?”

“Humans do this a lot?” You asked. “I’m sorry, it feels funny,” you laughed a little.

Jin laughed too, nodding. “They do. It’s an affection thing… But now that I think about it, you are right, it’s kinda weird.”

“It’s cute,” you said, reaching up and touching his cheek. “I don’t hate it. I’ll do it if you like it. But know I might laugh every time you do.”

Jin nodded, kissing you again quickly. “It’s okay. You have a delightful laugh. I want to hear it more…” He sighed softly, seeming to search your face for something unknown.

You remained quiet, letting him look. Being honest, it gave you a chance to really look at him. Humans – even humanoid hybrids like Seokjin… Were so simple. Their genetic makeup was easily replicated, reproduced, altered. You could reach out with your true self and shatter his genome sequence. You could change him completely – turn him into a hideous monster, or a beautiful human, devoid of any rodent features. You could kill him, or make him live a thousand years longer. Simple creatures. Yet there was one thing that even you – with all your age and knowledge… Couldn’t master.

Their minds.

Sure, you could scare or arouse one, you could tweak simple emotions, but not for long. They always compensated. And each one compensated differently. Some coped, some panicked, some lost their minds. The answer to the human equation had long eluded you. Not that you’d bothered to care much before now. Before this humanoid being had blazed into your existence. And now… You found yourself caring, but not to overpower or control humans. But to make the one that was offering himself to you… Happy. The feeling was foreign. You didn’t want to scare or change or fiddle with this one. You just wanted to be with him.

Cautiously, you reached your hand up, letting your fingers brush over his whiskers, then up, over his large ears, covered in soft, fur. They twitched, as did Jin’s nose, and you smiled.

“Do you eat?” Jin asked suddenly.

“Eat?”

“Yeah, like food. Burgers or rice or a steak…”

“I am capable of it, yes. I can almost perfectly mimic a humanoid existence in this form.”

“Wanna get a midnight snack?”

“Shouldn’t you sleep? Humanoids need an ample number of hours of sleep per night in order to maintain proper f—”

“You’re worth a night of no sleep,” Jin cut you off.

“I—I am?”

Jin grinned broadly. “Of course you are. I want to learn more about you. I want to spend more time with you. Do you have to… Go back? To your… Space, I guess?”

“Not with any pressing need. It simply exists because I’ve created it.”

“I want to know more about it. More about what you can create.” Jin took your hand, and your tentacle. “Everything.”

“There is far too much to tell.”

“Then we’ll just have to spend more time together. Is that alright?”

“It is.” You felt the smile spreading across your face before you could stop it.

What a human response. Could spending time around this human make you more of one? The thought would have been horrifying to you a month ago. Now… Looking at Jin’s bright gaze, and broad smile… Maybe a little humanity was exactly what you needed.

One tentacle drifted out and over to the radio on Jin’s dresser, poking the play button. The same male voice from your meeting earlier in the day filled the air, though it was an entirely different song now.

“You’ll never make me leave, I wear this on my sleeve…”

Jin’s eyes darted to the radio before landing back on your face. “I thought this was horrible noise?” He asked, a grin causing his cheeks to fill out adorably.

“Give me a better cause to lead…”

“I can learn to like it. I want to. For you.” You closed the space between your faces this time, kissing Jin’s soft mouth gently.

“Give me a reason to believe…”

#thebtswritersclub #seokjin x reader #jin x reader #reader insert #seokjin smut #bts x reader #mywriting #kim seokjin #seokjin

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sholeh675 · 3 years

Text

Hello,

So there’s been a lot happening the last few days, some of it centered around the most recent TopJoe server event. It’s also come to my attention that another “list” was made and accusations of racism.

I don’t think it’s a secret that I’ve written a number of TopJoe fics that have darker themes: underage, dubious consent, immoral!Joe (in an AU setting), unsafe sex, tentacles, etc.

I like dark, morally grey, weird shit. Those are things I like to write about. Not all the time (you may notice if you look at both of my profiles that I’ve also written femslash, Non-Romance Crossover fic, Character studies, Meet-Cutes, Slow Burns, etc). But yeah, I like weird stuff, and I try to tag for it extensively so that anyone who does not like the idea of the fic can avoid it. And then I write extensive author’s notes warning people about the content in greater detail so that you can backspace it if it’s not your thing.

But it seems that writing Joe in certain ways (again, always in AU settings for me) is unacceptable because depicting him in these scenarios can only be maliciously racist and is part of the larger systemic racism present in many societies.

Okay, so what if the premise of my most controversial fics were flipped? Joe is an underage Muslim teenager and begins a relationship with an older white man, or Nicky makes revenge porn to blackmail Joe, who has blackmailed older men to further his own career. I can totally understand why you wouldn’t like a fic with Joe in those roles I’ve described, and that’s why I tag so much. But a white man preying on a POC man can also be extremely problematic.

(Also I’d love to have it known that I don’t write Nicky as an uwu helpless white boy in the face of the aggressive brown man. If you think that’s in my story after reading it, please DM me, that was not my intention and I have edited my fics after getting feedback before.)

So if a Muslim man doing these things is feeding into dangerous stereotypes, a white man doing these “awful” things to a brown man is… what? Not reminding people that there’s a long, hateful history of white men being hyper-aggressive toward people of color? Both scenarios can be disturbing to certain people, and the repeated dismissal of that fact by the people in this fandom who only go after “TopJoe” fics is galling.

Nicky gets abused too much, and it should be Joe instead because we like him more and only people who are abused or whumped get sympathy. Does this sound right to you? Because this is a hottake I’ve heard making the rounds a few times. If you like extreme kinks and want to see Nicky, or Joe, or Andy, or Nile, or Booker, or whoever, being the focus of that, that’s up to you. Everyone has their reasons for what they want to write/read and I don’t know anyone here well enough to make assumptions about their motivations.

Also, I have never told people, not once, what they could or couldn’t write. I have never said that people should block another person’s content because I felt it was disgusting. Everyone’s thoughts and feelings and what might be disturbing to them is unique. It’s up to individuals to decide what content is safe for them to consume, and so to allow someone to do that for you, without an explanation as to why you should besides “here are the bad people”, is something I find extremely disturbing.

By all means, though. If you need to block me on ao3, please do so. I have absolutely no problem with that. The same goes for the #TopJoePornathon2021 event. There are several people that I have blocked on tumblr and ao3, and it’s not for personal reasons, but because their content makes me extremely uncomfortable.

However, I don’t believe the main architects of the most recent “discourse” are genuine. I have never spoken to any of them personally, and when I started writing “problematic” fics, not one of them approached me about it. Instead, that’s when the vagueblogging started (though to be fair, the originator of the “list” was not one of them. In fact, she left a lovely comment on one of my fics in October, so I guess I wasn’t that awful then- even with my ~problematic~ underage fic already published). I have since blocked many of them because of how they vagued me or because they’ve vagued people I know, or because I don’t think a constructive conversation with them is possible, for one reason or another.

I’ve always considered myself a reasonably open and friendly person. If you come to my DMs or my askbox, I won’t be dismissive or rude. I’ve thought a great deal about my own stories, about how I’m portraying the characters, since I’ve joined the fandom, and I really do invite the opinions of people who are respectful, who aren’t interested in condescending to me or assuming I must have bad intentions because of what I like to write.

But I don’t hate anyone in this fandom. I don’t know any of you, not really. We’re all strangers on the internet, no matter how well you think you know a person whose blog you follow or whose fic you read or whose art you like.

Emotions are high right now- there are so many awful things going on in the world and this feels so small in comparison. Especially stories written for a small fandom that are tagged for their potentially triggering content and rarely get over 3000 hits. So again, please block anything that you feel needs to be blocked. But don’t pretend that the current discourse is anything other than a tumblr performance.

#the old guard #tog #tog discourse #sorry guys it's personal this time #old guard discourse #and this is all i'll say on this #block me if you need to

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mst3kproject · 3 years

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Sting of Death

Sting of Death was directed by William Grefe, who also made Wild Rebels, so it wouldn't be surprising if actor John Vella appeared in both, too (which he did). It's got a specially-written theme song which, while not the equal of The Green Slime, is certainly as infuriatingly catchy as anything ever sung by Arch Hall Jr. Mostly, however, this film makes the MST3K cut just by being very, very silly, and almost unbelievably fucking bad.

A bunch of 35-year-old college students arrive at an isolated manor in the Florida everglades for spring break, where one girl's father is doing his research on jellyfish. They spend their vacation doing some of the whitest dancing ever committed to film and being cruel to the jellyfish scientist's inevitable deformed assistant, Egon. Too bad for them, Egon has a secret weapon: he has created a wetsuit that makes him invulnerable to jellyfish stings, and he uses it to murder people with a giant Portuguese man o' war that he wears like a hat.

I am actually not a hundred percent sure that's supposed to be what's going on here, but the movie never really explains so it's the best I've got.

Before I do anything else, I'm going to nerd for a bit. Since the movie bothers to name a specific kind of jellyfish, I did a bit of reading, and wow... you wouldn't think an organism that looks like six roadkilled balloon animals and an inflated condom would have much going on, but Portuguese man o' wars (men o' war?) are fascinating. Rather than being a single creature like most jellyfish, each man o' war is a set of quadruplets, who have divided the 'be a jellyfish' duties between them. One forms the bubble that lets the animal float, one is the tentacles, one is the stomach and intestines, and one is the reproductive system. I drew y'all a diagram. It's very scientific.

This is cool on its own, but it also means that had the writers so wished, they could have suggested that what Egon has done is persuaded these organisms to accept him as the fifth member of the colony! They could have a symbiotic relationship in which the man o' war gets the ability to move and hunt on land, and Egon gets to have revenge on his enemies! At the end Egon might be dead, but the man o' wars are still out there, and they're searching for a new human host...

The people who made this movie of course did not go in that direction, because they did not bother to so much as read the World Book Encyclopedia entry on the Portuguese man o' war. I think they picked it because they liked that it's purple.

Sting of Death really sounds like it ought to be fun. It even looks like it'll be fun. It's a cheerful-looking, colourful movie, which is slightly incongruous for a story about people dying agonizing tentacly deaths but just perfect for a slice of sixties monster camp. The characters wear brightly coloured sixties clothing that looks like it came from an old Archie comic, and the ones who aren't mad scientists are students on spring break. This all sounds like a silly beach party movie with a really dumb monster, and it ought to be a comedy... yet I can't actually tell what Sting of Death is trying to go for. It never actually winks at the audience, but it's full of stuff that makes you go, “wait... they can't be serious, can they?”

I mean... this guy wears a jellyfish. While doing so, he somehow manages to lurk in a tiled swimming pool and be noticed by nobody, including the girl who is actually in there swimming. There are chase scenes so slow that they seem like they must be parodies. Everything is just beyond cheap, beyond silly, beyond badly-written, and yet if these things are jokes they never have punchlines. Instead, the impression one gets is that the film-makers are, indeed, deathly serious, and that makes the whole thing downright embarrassing.

For starters, I cannot even describe how atrociously bad their monster is. It is very clearly a guy in a wetsuit and swim flippers, wearing a plastic bag on his head and draped in what looks like one of those bead curtains. They try the thing where they only show a little bit of it at a time but even that doesn't help, and finding out that it's supposed to be a man in a wetsuit somehow makes it worse. It's like in Shriek of the Mutilated, where the fact that the monster really is fake just makes it risible that anyone was afraid of it.

Egon dies when the jellyfish on his head gets popped like a balloon, leaving his face covered in some kind of bloody goo (as distinct from the non-bloody goo he got covered in earlier, in a scene with some very strange and uncomfortable sexual overtones). I was actually sort of relieved to see that plastic bag go, because it had to be sealed in order to make sure it stayed inflated and the stuntman was probably in severe danger of being poisoned by his own carbon dioxide.

While wearing his jellyfish friend, Egon is apparently able to command swarms of actual Portuguese man o' wars to attack people. I do not know how you command something that lacks a brain and has no capacity to communicate with its own kind... never mind that man o' wars cannot actually swim but simply drift wherever the currents take them. His gelatinous minions appear to be plastic bags with paint or half-inflated party balloons inside them. The movie does not explain how they are able to sink a boat. I googled this and apparently a fishing boat in Japan capsized and sank after their nets filled with too many jellyfish, but that's not the same thing.

There's also one hell of a Hero's Battle Death Exemption. The movie establishes that jelly-Egon can sting people by touching them – he touches two of the party kids and leaves hand-shaped welts on them. Yet at the climax a guy manages to wrestle with him for a minute or so and at the end there's not a mark on him. No explanation is given for this, or for the fact that their fan boat runs just fine despite the fact that they said it was out of gas minutes earlier.

Anyway. Even more embarrassing than the monster is the dancing. You can go the classic MST3K route and make jokes about white people, but that really does not capture just how awful the dancing in this movie is. There's a whole song urging us to do the Jellyfish without ever telling us just what this dance entails, which is a shame because I for one would prefer to avoid doing the Jellyfish at all costs. Worse, the opening credits actually name a choreographer, which means that somebody told the actors to dance like that! A room full of eighth graders doing the Sprinkler would be easier to watch. It makes the dancing in Catalina Caper look good, and it goes on forever.

Oh, but it gets worse. How, you ask? Well, as in Village of the Giants, the dancing exists mainly to show us butts. Sting of Death is not subtle about this at all. We'll get a wide shot of people dancing badly, and then a sudden close up of an ass in a bathing suit. Sometimes the asses are upside-down, just to be artsy or maybe to show us that everybody's having a wild time, I don't know.

Then there's the acting, which varies from 'bland' to 'painfully bad'. Jack Nagle, playing Dr. Richardson, talks like he's narrating one of those old Disney nature documentaries I mentioned in my review of The Painted Hills. The only notable thing about his performance is that the script had to make an excuse for the giant bruise on his forehead, but they couldn't come up with one that was plot-relevant. Also, the bruise shrinks and grows over the course of the movie because they didn't film the scenes in order.

Valerie Hawkins as Richardson's daughter Karen (an actual Karen in her natural habitat!) and Joe Morrison as her boyfriend John are just incredibly uninteresting, but they're still better than Karen's empty-headed friends, who are so bland and poorly differentiated, by the actresses and the script, that IMDB lists them by their hair colours. The other students who turn up to party are a bunch of raucous drunks distinguished largely by what swimsuits they're wearing. The only one who talks much is the guy in the red shirt, who spouts embarrassing pirate jargon.

Then there's John Vella as Egon. Half his face is covered by very bad makeup that's apparently meant to represent some kind of deformity but I have no idea what they're going for, honestly. I guess he gives the best performance in the movie, since he at least manages to come across as a creepy sexual predator the way he hovers over Karen. He really has no more depth than any other character, though, being simply a stereotype mad scientist determined to Show Those Fools who made fun of his theory.

Sting of Death was never going to be a good movie, but it had lots of potential to be a fun bad one. The premise is ridiculous, the music is goofy, and there's plenty of supposedly exciting stuff like murders and boat chases happening. Yet tragically, it is never, ever enjoyable. Everything takes just that little bit too long, or is that little bit too bad. The result is a movie that was just about made for MST3K, in that Joel and the bots are probably the only thing that could render it entertaining.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #sting of death #60s #manly Beach dance

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neon-junkie · 3 years

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…goddamn it I made the mistake of reading that in public.

But I gotta say that was interesting. I’ve never seen a tentacle kink interpreted like that. Very well done! Loved the creativity, and it was written beautifully.

To be fair, I've never actually read any tentacle fics before xD Going in on this totally blind!

And thank you!!! hopefully you wont read nsfw stuff in public again (even tho I do the same)

#love

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bedlamsbard · 3 years

Text

VERY SCATTERED thoughts on Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule -- not terribly spoilery, but probably there’s some if you don’t want to not be spoiled at all. I’m just going to copy and paste from last night’s Twitter thread(s), so this is definitely not in the top ten most coherent things I’ve ever written.

Under a cut for anyone who is avoiding spoilers.

Light of the Jedi is fine. Weirdly paced, probably a nightmare to read if you're going to read it over several days rather than in one day because of the size of the cast of characters (go back to doing those, Lucasfilm), very much a Western.

I will say this, as someone who came out of the EU: this book is REALLY jarring to read if you're familiar with the EU, especially the Old Republic era but quite a lot of the later-set stuff as well. It's essentially a reset, but there are things in there that are just ???? like, okay, we're going to change where bacta comes from, sure...? why...? hyperspace is weird and scary a mere two hundred years before TPM. why...?

I had this vibe from A Test of Courage (which I read first), but I'm getting it here too -- the Jedi seem more...Christian. It's not something I can put my finger on or point to anything really specific, but something about the approach feels far more Western. I know the promo and publicity for the High Republic series leaned hard into the Knights of the Round Table vibe and it's very...I mean, I can't argue? I'm not totally comfortable with it?

Coming out of the PT/TCW era as well, these Jedi seem more...what's the word I want. They're not necessarily different philosophically (except for the fact they read more Western-influenced than Eastern), but they're...smoother. That's not a great descriptor. The PT era Jedi feel scrappier, and I don't necessarily mean that just because we mostly see them in the midst of the Clone Wars. (I came out of the PT-era EU, not just the Clone Wars era.) Maybe this is the event that's going to scrape the Jedi down to bare bones and sharp-edged teeth. Maybe I missed something not having read the PT-era new canon. Again, like, I don't think they're philosophically different, they're hmm. less...desperate? and certainly part of that is that the PT Jedi are in their twilight, even before the Clone Wars, and the High Republic Jedi are at their height, but... *flips hands* I don't know.

also I'm going to be honest if I saw the words "we are all the Republic" one more time I was going to lose my mind. this is particularly noticeable because the government is apparently just the Chancellor and two ministers. you are telling me the Senate doesn't care? perhaps I am particularly sensitive to this because of the U.S. politics we are all suffering through but WHERE WAS THE SENATE.

the Nihil are whatever.

a lot of the design choices in this book feel very Rule of Cool, which going by the way that the designs seem to have been done may actually be true. (lightsabers...holstered?) (honestly I have my back up with how SW introduced them by basically going "ALL RIGHT COSPLAYERS HAVE AT." and I feel kind of weird about the fact they went for the blonde white woman as their main Jedi.) just a lot of this feels very "okay what if we do THIS because it's COOL" which like as a fic writer sure! fine! that's great! I'm tired.

I can't believe we have to live through three phases of this for at least the next three years.

anyway it's fine. the pacing in Light of the Jedi is fucked up -- mostly it's fine but then there's the back third and that's...not...great. especially if one is trying to apply timeline logic.

***

[this is a separate thread I wrote about the same book]

was not expecting the trend in new canon Star Wars to be authors being really weird about writing nonhumans but whatever like, they're doing it, but the descriptions are...weird. it's the less fucked up equivalent of "she breasted boobily"

this is something I think about a lot because I write from Twi'lek POVs all the time, so I am probably more sensitive to it than average

would you describe a human in this way? no? then don't do it. (I should specify because lolsob people, would you describe whatever your idea of a Standard Person is in this way? no? then don't do it. because people are also weird about describing, amongst others, women and POC.)

this sort of thing isn't, like, BAD but it also feels very...unnatural.

IDK, this is one of the Star Wars things that I'm unusually sensitive about.

the author is less weird about describing some of the other nonhumans so I think it's entirely possible he doesn't think his audience knows what the fuck a Nautolan is

um.

if you didn't already know what Togruta looked like this description would make zero sense so it's kind of just reading like the author going "Togruta are sexy, check."

(I swear I'm getting other stuff from this book too, it's just the description thing is what I'm attuned to so it's getting the most commentary from me.)

[subthread in response to a question I got about this sort of thing]

I don't know that there's a pattern -- I'm not doing much SW reading because I don't generally find it enjoyable anymore, but what I usually look for are 1) in a close third person POV how is the author having the character describe themselves?

and then, is that described in a way that feels natural? (thinking about Freed having Hera call her skin "jade-colored" or here "tentacles emerging from the back of his skull.") is there an ever-present awareness from within the character that they're not "human-standard"?

2) how much does the narrative exoticize their non-humanness -- Soh talking about Togruta in this thread is a very obvious example, even if that's not a Togruta describing themselves.

if it feels like the narrative is going "LOOK! THEY'RE NOT HUMAN!" and then lays out the ways how based on their physical characteristics. and what the narrator chooses to describe and not (skin color, lekku, horns, etc.)

there can also just be some REALLY weird phrasing around the way authors choose to describe nonhuman characters -- thinking about EKJ's Ahsoka talking about how "her head had grown again", that'a a phrase that lives rent-free in my brain.

also Soule has a weird quirk I've noticed where nonhuman characters are not described as being "a Twi'lek" or "a Tholothian" but as "Twi'lek" or "Tholothian" -- using the species as an adjective rather than a noun, which grates a little on me because it's not SW standard.

and then also the decision about what's being described sometimes just feels WEIRD in a Star Wars setting, and it's particularly glaring here because there are some species Soule's singling out to describe and some that are just allowed to exist.

*snaps fingers* and also if the author will identify various nonhumans as their species, but never specify that humans are humans, even while describing skin tone, eye color, etc. (I mention this because I JUST ran into this in the book.)

the human default is really jarring in this book even if there are a ton of nonhuman characters, because he tends to not specify that the humans are human. like, I'm more attuned to it than most of the audience for various reasons, but. *flips hand*

like, this is definitely a thing I'm unusually sensitive to because of Backbone, so. *shrug*

#bedlam reads star wars #bedlam reads the high republic

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kaypeace21 · 3 years

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i’m a survivor too, and i found that certain scenes/stuff will said just really struck me as ‘csa-survivor’-like? i felt a bit uncomfortable about headcanoning it happening to someone else, especially for a fandom as wild as this one, but your metas have really been a comfort to me because they’ve been able to pick out and explain things that i couldn’t necessarily find the words for myself.

and yeah, i would love to have a character like me that is powerful and who finds love and who gets a happy ending. the people who call the theory disgusting always kinda hit wrong with me because although csa is a difficult subject, we shouldn’t be ashamed about sharing it. they sound like they’re trying to say that it’s a bad topic to talk about and implying that it can’t happen to kids, which uhhhhh-

(i’m sure that’s not what they mean, precisely, but it’s still what they sound like, and i wish that they would stop implying that we can’t exist, especially in popular media. we do, and i’m not gonna pretend we don’t, and if they feel uncomfortable with the topic they can just use the block button. we deserve to have some well written representation just as much as anyone else. also, i really really hope that will gets a happy ending.)

anywayyyy i love your theories and i can see your post in the tag so i think you’re fine?? have a good day ❤️❤️❤️

SORRY, this ask took so long to respond to. It always warms my heart to hear other survivors speak and say they found comfort in my theory.

Yes, I think I and a lot of c*a/r*pe victims (subconscious or otherwise) were triggered by some of the symbolism/visuals in s1-3. And s3 made it hard for most of us to ignore the past imagery- since s3 wasn’t as subtle.

I get why people have reservations about the theory. But the debates to the contrary are usually just plain offensive. Or people trying to be respectful but being the opposite. There’s the obvious bad-apples . I got many anons after part 1 of my DID theory saying it “ruined/tainted byler”, and “if that happened to Will i’ll stop shipping byler” , or that it “ruins the best gay character” , and to “remove the post immediately”. And this was when I was open about being a gay c*a victim. I obviously blocked them. Many survivors don’t come forward because they’re afraid people will see them as “tainted”, “ruined”, “ just their trauma”, or blame them for what happened. So yeah, it pisses me off when people say similar stuff about Will (and thus other c*a victims). Not even diving into the messed up psychology about byler/mileven shippers (knowing i was a lesbian c*a victim) but purposely spreading bs rumors about me being a p*do that was into Will/Noah-all because of the theory. -_-

Then there’s the people who try to be “respectful” but literally do the opposite.

I’ve heard numerous times it’s somehow “less offensive” to just use r*pe imagery to make monsters scary. Rather than have the monsters have that imagery cause Will created the monsters from his memory/imagination-and st is a story of Will healing from that trauma. SORRY- I disagree. Using the worst experiences of peoples’ lives (and triggering their trauma) for no real purpose- except to make their monsters scarier to the normal/general audience who haven’t gone through it so won’t be triggered like us - is MORE OFFENSIVE to victims! NOT LESS! At least to me.

Then there’s the people who say “c*a should never be talked about (in stories).” Which I disagree with. V*ctims have already been told by ab*ser’s and enablers of the ab*ser- to never talk about what happened to us . So it rubs A LOT of us the wrong way when people say this. Because (subconscious or not) you remind some of us of the people who used to hurt/silence us. People say this -simply for their convenience (like ab*sers) and cause deep down they’re uncomfortable with our existence and equate the despicable act to us the innocent v*ctim ...or just want to deny the horrible reality of the situation (like many enablers who deny the truth and hurt us because they don’t want to accept reality) . And 1) It brings us back to a time where they told us to NEVER talk about it- and makes us feel like we did something wrong when we didn’t! 2) Every psych professional says with-holding/keeping the ab*se a secret is detrimental to our mental health.

Plus, there’s a HUGE difference between sugarcoating/minimizing trauma or WORSE glamorizing, condoning, or romanticizing C*A in stories (ex: pretty little liars) VS showing how the action is wrong, causes trauma, but showing recovery and happiness is still possible for v*ctims. if the story shows how accurately traumatizing it is (instead of minimizing/glamorizing it)- it’s incredibly rare for that character to get a happy ending. Having a story about recovering from that type of trauma and finding happiness despite such hardships would be amazing for US survivors! We rarely get stories with a happy ending- it’s more harmful to us survivors to never see ourselves get happy endings in tv/film/books. How can some survivors (in a dark place) think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel- if it’s never shown?Also if Will has DID too- it’s good mental health rep, along with queer rep (and survivor’s rep.) All 3 groups rarely are treated well or get happy endings in media. A lot of people may feel more heard, seen, and a bit more hopeful for the future - If Will (and other characters) get a happy ending.

And even though st has many themes- like say homophobia. To try and hand-wave all the disturbing r*pe imagery away as ‘Will is just gay so the monsters are like that”. IS SOOOOOO offensive. Trigger warning for examples. I’m sorry what part of Max saying when Billy had c*nsensual s*x it’s “good screams” but when possessed by the mf he causes Heather to do “bad screams” read as gay???! Having the possessed ch*ke/dr*g people before throwing them in trunks (like it’s implied Lonnie did to Will -since Jonathan checked Lonnie’s trunk for Will in s1)?Tying their arms and legs up/ g*ging them and getting on top of them and saying “stay VERY still it’ll all be over soon”-before a monster shoves it’s tentacle into someone’s mouth and inserts a goo - just gay??? Similar to the sentient vine/shadow monster forcing itself down Will’s throat. Let alone Will saying things like “he made me do it”, “i felt it everywhere”, or being tied to a bed and screaming “help! stop! it hurts! let me go!” While Jonathan is the only one who’s visibly triggered by this and has to literally turn away and hug someone . Or barb, billy, and El spiting up a white liquid from their mouth (similar to will spitting up a slug and lying to his mother about it ).El/billy touching a suspicious looking slime with their hand and looking at the substance confused . El drawing Papa with 3 legs (the middle one being shorter) , trying to undress in front of the boys , and Benny saying “I think she’s been ab*sed or something”.The theme of ab*sive dads- brenner , Lonnie, and Neil . Even when the demogorgan (called in d&d the “deep father”/ in the show “a man without a face”) attacked Barb it’s chopped up with scenes of Nancy having c*nsensual sex (the monsters are doing the opposite symbolically). There’s way more examples but NO- to try and hand wave /equate ALL OF THIS to just “gay imagery” or an “a*ds metaphor” is WAY more problematic. And just offensive (specifically to gay people) than just admitting what it may actually represent. R*pe imagery and gay imagery is NOT THE SAME THING!

Also ST has never been a kid show- maybe rewatch the show and see the rating of tv-14 . Goodness sake- s1 has a st*ged su*icde, k*dnappings, m*rder, discussions of physics, h*mophobia, and s*x (with stancy in s1 & jancy in s2-s3). S2/3 discuss at their finalies recovering from tra*ma . S2 had gra*ic de*ths, a man causing a women br*in damage/ and faking her m*scarriage, and a gang of vigalantes k*lling criminals. s3 had critiques on capitalism /media/s*xism, many d*eaths, and questionable imagery like the prior seasons. The Duffers constantly reference movies & events from the 80s (capitalizing on 80s nostalgia /subverting 80s motifs that middle age people from that time remember)! Those people were their intended age demographic . Most 80s centric refs go over most kids’ heads (heck a lot went over my head too since I wasn’t alive in the 80s XD).The Duffers even said in the book “worlds turned upsidedown” “it’s not a kid’s show despite having kids”. And maybe it’s a coincidence but when Lucas in s3 hands Will the “devil’s baby” firework (a hint about Lonnie) he says “18 and over only.” Which idk is a weird/random af line unless it’s foreshadowing that the show will get darker about various themes- and maybe even change ratings.

I get people wishing nothing bad ever happened to Will or Jonathan. And being apprehensive and not trusting the Duffers to do such a story justice (cause it’s difficult to do). But personally i trust them to do so tastefully with tact and not be exp*itative, (overly gr*fic) or offensive to v*ctims. You can disagree and think the show is about something else (or not trust the Duffers)- but it’d be great if people could stop using these other messed up talking points. While trying to appear ‘(fake) woke’ and like they care for victims- cause we see through it that you really don’t.

Have a lovely day anon ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Update- I just really agreed with and appreciate the tags in this reblog

#tw: csa #tw:r*pe

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hitoshisbabygirl · 4 years

Text

Under the Moonlight and Fireworks // Tamaki Amajiki

Authors Notes ♡: hi hi, I’m Bunny and welcome to my first collab and first official fic I post to this blog! I promise I’m gonna be active even more now, I’ve written a few things I plan on posting in the next week or so! I’m so glad to be a part of this lovely collab and hopefully you guys will see me in many more! I hope I did my baby Tamaki well in this, I just love him so much~ I hope you enjoy reading this and much as I did writing it ~ bunny ❥

Warnings : none! (Maybe a lil angst if you squint really hard) I tried my best to make a tooth rotting cotton candy fluffy fluff story for Tama!

Word count : 5k give or take!

Paring(s) : Tamaki Amajiki x F! Reader

Mirio and Nejire are dating in this world too ♡

———————————————————————

Summer, the warmest time of the year, from spring flings to summer love, studying to vacations, the time of the year students look forward to, being able to make some of your fondest memories. Even in its short duration, Summer is arguably one of the people’s favorite times of the year.

For Tamaki however, he dreads this summer more than the ones he had before.

You see, He doesn’t hate the heat, or the social interactions (shudder), or getting ready for his exams, his work studies that go through the summer break, or having to get stronger, as he is one of UA’s big three. Oh no, no of these bother him at all. Not even talking about the work studies to 1-A (which is terrifying in itself) can compare to this. This summer has him dreadful for one very big problem, a big issue, specifically one person he can confirm his dread comes from.

[First Name] [Last Name].

One of his childhood friends (alongside Mirio), one of the first people to talk to him, to get to know him, someone who knows him sometimes more than he knows himself. Yes, [First name] [Last Name], the person who makes his heart beat a million miles per second when he hears her laugh or see her blinding smile. The girl with a golden heart...

Is causing him so much dread.

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It started with a smile, a gentle sign of acknowledgment, warmth, and care without saying a single thing

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“Hi, I’m [Name]! What’s your name!? Have you gotten your quirk!? I have mine it’s-“ The small girl rambled on and on, and all Tamaki could do was blink. Between meeting Mirio and this mystery girl [Name], he didn’t know how much more interaction he could take. He looked at the strange duo in front of him, Both coming to talk and befriend the timid boy. With a smile and a grab of a hand by the girl, Tamaki, Mirio and her ran around the playground, they talked and played the rest of his first day, starting the beginning of their friendship.

“Hey, I know! How about we become a group! We can become heroes together and take out the villains!” Mirio said one day during lunch, the small children eating from their bento boxes. “Hey, we should! Then when we get older we can be like All Might!” [Name] said happily, jumping up and down with Mirio while Tamaki watched them, slowly picking in his bento for the octopus-shaped sausages.

“ Whatcha got Tama?” The girl asked, causing young Tamaki to turn crimson “N-nothing something my m-momma made me...” He answered timidly, trying to close the lid before she could see the cut-out creatures in his lunch. To his dismay, she did. “Hey don’t be shy! I like octopuses, your mom really must love you to do something like that!” [Name] said, smiling at her stuttering friend.

“ Hey, do you like octopuses Tama?” She said, widened and bright eyes looking into his slanted darker ones. With a sigh he looked up to her, seeing how close she was, young Tama couldn’t help but to fall backward, shocked at the close proximity of his counterpart. “ Wahhh are you okay Tama??” “Hey, Amajiki are you alright?!” The two asked, looking over the small hill he had rolled down. Without hesitation, they came to his aid, Mirio reaching out to help him up

Whilst [Name], helped brush grass from him. “Butterflies..” He let off, the pair confusingly looked at him. “My favorite animal has to be butterflies..” He said, looking up at [Name] with a small smile that she too, had forming onto her face...

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Then there was the exchange of gifts, unspoken words, and heavy hearts

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“Hey, Tama! Mirio!” [Name] yelled down the hall towards her two best friends, seeing them head to the gym for the ending ceremony of the fifth grade. “[NickName]” Mirio yelled back, running towards her as she met him halfway, the two turning to their shy friend. “We were headed to the gym, let's go before they start!” Mirio said energetically, running off to the double doors. “Hey wait up! Come on Tama!” She said, grabbing him by the hand and catching up to their hyper partner.

The ceremony went smoothly, Tamaki and her holding hands until the very end.

“[N-Name]...” Tamaki said softly, grabbing the girls’ hand a bit tighter as they started home, book bags filled with the last day's stuff they either left in their lockers or got from teachers. “Tama?” She questioned, turning to face him. With skin as hot as coal and a shaky breath , Tamaki reached in his bag and gave her a white bunny, a blue dress on it with a vibrant blue butterfly clip on the ear. “T-this is...this is f-for you...” he said so quietly he was shocked when he heard a response “oh Tama..she’s beautiful” With gentle hands she took the bunny from him, playing with the hem of the blue dress. With a gasp and a smile she dug in her bag, giving him a squishy and soft red octopus, an identical blue butterfly pinned to a tentacle. “I guess we had the same idea huh?” She said with darkened cheeks, looking away as he took the octopus from her.

“Y-you..wanted to get me something too..?” He said in disbelief, looking at her with doe like eyes. “Of course! I gave Mirio a Ox because he’s just , well, big and cuddly like one!” She said, giving Tama what he called “the sun in a smile” face, a soft giggle falling from her lips. The two of them stood there for what felt like eternity, then finally, finally [Name] moved, giving tamaki a hug. A stuttering and blushing mess , he froze, not knowing how to handle the display of affection when he heard what she whispered to him “I’ll always be connected to you now Tama “ she said and with a kiss to his ear she ran off before he could say anything, his heart aflame as he watched his best friend dart around the corner.

“Hey Tamaki!” Mirio said, seeing his friend frozen on the concrete. With a snap back to reality, tamaki looked at Mirio, his heart feeling heavenly and heavy all in the same breath. “Y-yeah?” He said looking back at the blonde boy. ‘So bright’ he thought to himself and they walked home.”I heard [Name] was going back to the states” Mirio started, judging by his friends' shocked and sad face , he knew she didn’t tell him. “She didn’t say that when she left huh? Well don’t worry tamaki! We’ll see her again. I just know it! “ Mirio said joyfully with a thumbs up, seeing his sad and shy friend get worse. ‘Maybe that’s what she means by we’ll always be connected..’ Tamaki thought to himself, the octopus she gave him wrapped safely in his arms....

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Left with a broken promise, fragile in time , stuck in the suspense of hope in the future

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It didn’t matter as the school year started for middle school, nothing felt the same. Mirio was here but she wasn’t..

He felt like he was missing something, somewhere something was missing.

Her.

He couldn’t stop thinking of the girl who constantly pushed him out of his normal, to push him into bigger and better things, no matter his rebuttal. He missed laughing, eating bento in the grass. No looking out for butterflies together, no long walks home. No warmth.

He had Mirio and he was enough for the two of them

He never noticed it until now..and he wishes he did sooner.

He needed her too, more than he knew , a bigger piece into his life was missing that was more than he thought.

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Then the fireworks came, setting off a fuse to a blaze that couldn’t be bothered to try and be contained

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Tamaki didn’t like festivals, too many people and things everywhere. But he promised Mirio he’d go, with their new friend, Nejire Hado. He saw her the beginning of their first year, and she was just like her in a very odd and....aloof way. She had the same spark he could say, louder and more outgoing, but she felt right in their friendship. ‘I wanna go home’ tamaki thought to himself, looking for the tuft of blonde hair or periwinkle wandering about. He was hot, tired, and drained. He wanted to see the fireworks, he really did, he just..couldn’t. With a sigh, he grabbed his phone from his yukata when-

A laugh

A pair of laughs

The sound of angels to his ears

In turning around he saw Nejire, bubbly and happy as can be rambling to a girl, who had on one of the most unique yukatas he saw all night. Dragons and waves, tigers and flames, wolves and mountain tops. Dark with golden trim, Artistry and design at it’s finest. From her in geta to the black, red and gold yukata, to the beautiful pieces placed in her hair. Soft makeup that he’d never seen before.

Unique, like her.

He knew what he saw but he didn’t want to believe it

She couldn’t be back

Could she?

And with Nejire?

Then it happens, the fireworks began to blast, colors in the sky as people stop to watch and it’s almost silent, almost, except for the pounding in Tamaki’s heart as he watches his best friend, no , love of his life , smile up to the sky , that same glow as the day he met her.

And that’s when he realizes ‘I’m in love with her’

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And everything froze for that moment

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He saw her.

Her eyes suddenly went from the sky to his , and they widened , full of questions, happiness and warmth , and also...fear? Sadness? A hint of nervousness? He couldn’t pinpoint it but once their eyes saw each other, nothing mattered, no one mattered, except them in that moment. She looked different...her body was shapely and taller than she was in the fifth grade of course. She was stunning, no , she was beautiful, a goddess amongst the morals as he saw it. He couldn’t help but want to hide , feeling like he couldn’t look , fearing to get burned.....

But he wanted to touch the sun, to have it to himself regardless of the pain, regardless of burn.

He wanted the warmth of her to scorch him, to free him

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She saw him.

The way he looked at her made her heart flip, Nejire’s words far gone as she saw her best friend in the distance. Way taller than she last saw him, a stronger physical shape and still his boyish charm had morphed into his handsome qualities. Eyes unsure of where to look, him slowly clamming up at the sight of her. She knew better than to get offended, if anything she was flattered, her childhood friend must feel something like she did. But within that she still saw the same shy third grade Tamaki Amajki in front of her, scared to speak his mind, making her heart smile at the thought. ‘He hasn’t changed a bit’ she said to herself as she smiled sweetly at him, throwing a gentle wave to him as her hyper female friend Nejire pulled her to a stand , then disappearing into the sea of people.....

But the only sea she wanted to drown in was the darkness of his eyes wrapped in the cool of his arms.

She wanted the sea of him to take her into his heart

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“Tamaki?” Mirio said, touching his friends shoulders as he watched him jump at the feeling, wide eyes and stuttering out incomplete sentences, he shook him and with the loudest and most confident voice Mirio’s ever seen or hear his best friend say “She’s here, she back Mirio, my bunny’s back”

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Which brings us to the current time of why Tamaki hates the summer. His long standing, hidden feeling crush is back in town, and going to one of the biggest hero course based schools in Japan ,UA Academy, with no other than the shy boy himself

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“Why didn’t you tell me she was back, Mirio?” Tamaki said , a large sigh tumbling from his lips As he watched the two girls walk arm and arm together to class , Mirio and himself headed to their own designated room. “I didn’t know myself Tamaki, honest! Nejire just said she was showing a new student around , how was I supposed to know it was [Name]! I’m glad she's back though, I missed her but obviously not as much as you do ~” Mirio stated, elbowing his red friend as they sat down for their lessons. ‘Didn’t know..huh’ he looked out the window as everyone poured in. This was gonna be a long day..

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Nejire walked arm and arm with [Name], the two of them blabbering to each other as they headed to their class together. “Aw come on and have fun, I need your help y'know don’t laugh at me! ” She whined, shaking the now laughing girl. “I know! Why don’t you talk to him for me?” She said with her iconic excitement, turning to face [Name] as she owlishly blinked back at the girl, hands up in defense. “Uh uh don’t get me in your way of what your crush. I’m not even that helpful in these things!” She said with a giggle as they started to walk once again, passing an open classroom. Stealing a glance through the open door, she swore she saw a certain blonde and Indigo duo she hadn’t talked to in years, not counting the fact she saw them at the recent festival she went to with Nejire. With the sudden stop Nejire turned around, looking back at her with a confused look.

“[Name]? Hello did you hear me?” She asked , waving her hand in front of the girl as she snapped out of it, smiling nervously back at her friend calling her. “Huh? Oh yeah! I-I’m fine just got a little distracted” She said, waving off Nejire's side glance as she headed to their classroom. The periwinkle haired girl watched her friend with a pout, looking into the classroom as she saw her other two best friends. “Miri! Tama! Hey!!” She said , running into the classroom as she hugged them, Tamaki hating her loud appearance while Mirio blushed at the girls’ affection. “ Hey Neji, what’s up?” Mirio asked, color flushing his face, a thing his quiet friend noticed. With a nervous smile Nejire let go of the boys, giving them room as she laughed. “Nothing much, heading to class with [Name], what’re you guys doing? Are you guys ready for the class collab this afternoon?!” She started excitedly

Tamaki immediately looked up, eyes wide as he heard her name. ‘She is here, but why? Is she in the hero’s course too? Sigh...I wanna go home..I can’t face her..not yet’ He thought to himself. “Yep we sure are! I can’t wait to see her, is she really here? Where?!” Mirio jumped up , grabbing the shorter girl’s shoulders. “W-well we’re in class together! Class 2-A!” She said , a wild spread of color onto her cheeks settling in as she looked at the energetic blonde. “Tamaki let's go say hi! It’s been awhile since we saw her, I bet she’s happy to see us as much as we are to see her! Oh yeah, I can’t wait to ask her about the states, I wonder what she’s been up to!” Mirio said as he ran out of the room , headed to the neighboring one.

“Let’s go chicken heart!” Nejire turned to Tamaki, seeing the boy even gloomier than usual. “ Oh come on you knew her before I did! It’ll be fun, we can even be the big four!” She giggled as she tried to drag the elf ear boy along, a sigh falling from his lips. ‘Definitely a long day..’ he thought. “I’ll wait here Hado..I’ll talk to her later..” He said, pulling from the confused girl. “Aw come on, shell be happy to see you! Let’s go yeah?” Nejire begged to no avail, Tamaki already facing the wall in defeat. With a heavy sigh and pout she went after Mirio, leaving him to stew in his thoughts.

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“So...you want to ask Hado out?” Tamaki started, looking to his usually ecstatic friend, a nervous look washing over his face. “Y-yeah..I dunno Tamaki, she’s something special. I can’t help the way my heart feels whenever she appears, her smile makes me warm, she's like a female me! Ah what can I say, I just feel..whole y'know? In a relationship way not saying that you don’t make me feel happy and whole too! Hey Tamaki! Stop looking like that!” Mirio said, finally turning to the boy after his confession, seeing his friend now looking intimidatingly at his lunch, chopsticks pulling apart the fried octopus in his meal.

“I dunno Mirio...are you sure you want to do this..? What if she..rejects you…?” The pessimistic boy said, looking over to his friend in concern. “Well...we’d just have to go back to being friends! No harm in that right?” Mirio said, happy as can be with a smile to Tamakis’ dismay. ‘How can someone be so happy all the time..’ he thought, hearing his friend explain how he’d confess to Nejire, but all he could think about is how to do the same for [Name]. ‘Oh bunny..I hope I could one day too..tell you how much you mean to me..’ Tamaki thought, looking up as the sun shined brightly.

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“Okay so I wanna confess to Miri” Nejire blurted out, halting a stretching [Name]. “You want to do WHAT?” [Name] said , a little louder than she hoped, seeing angry stares at her as she apologized, looking back at her friend. “ You really want to go to the next step huh?” She said soon sighing ”Do you...think you’re ready Neji? There's good AND bad that could come from this, I don’t want you getting your heart hurt if it doesn’t work out…” She said, looking back to the periwinkle haired girl , determination plastered onto her face. “ I have to [Name] , if I don’t I won’t be able to know if I really like him , so I can finally deal with this silly crush once and for all!” Nejire said, turning to look back at her lost friend. “Trust me , I’ll be okay..I need to do this. Next year is our last year together, and if we have a blossoming love into the ages I refuse to miss the opportunity!” She said, enthusiasm laced throughout her speech.

“I’ll text him now! Tell him there’s something I have to tell him” Nejire started, opening her phone as she typed vigorously, sending the text with a ’ping’ “Well alright..but I’m telling you now I’m no wingman!” [Name] said , following behind Nejire, who soon was squealing through the halls, starting to run towards the stairs. “He said yes [Name] , he said yes! He told me to come up to the rooftop! C'mon we have to hurry before class starts!” Nejire said, taking up the stairs. “Wait! Ugh love birds..” [Name] grumbled, speeding up to catch up to her.

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Twilight, when the sun and the moon meet in the middle to change, from night to day , day to night. I’m this cause however, love is blossoming in the mist of its glory

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Year 3, the final stretch until UAs’ finest become heroes in the world, men and women joining the social aspect of the world. But Tamaki knew it was a mock to that part in highschool, truly it being a ticking time bomb for him to confess his own feelings for his childhood best friend. The duo were currently headed for the workshop to get the updated gear they put in from the support class, both them excited to see the updates and new gear they ordered in. “Hey Tama, what did you think your hero gear looks like now? Ah I can’t wait! I hope now I don’t have to worry about tears and damaging me and my whole outfit!” [Name] said happily, rambling about her gear. Tamaki looked fondly at his energetic friend, his eyes sparkling as he took in her appearance.

The UA uniform hugging her in all the right places, her smile bringing a warmth to his heart. Her skin looked soft to the touch and her hair pinned and out of the way of her face, displaying her happy disposition. She soon looked up and met eyes with the shy boy as he soon turned red, stuttering out apologizes as he hid his face from the now giggling girl, her own face warming at noticing him staring at her. “Aw don’t be shy Tama! What’s up? Something wrong?” [Name] said, tilting her head to him as she leaned closer, which caused Tamaki to lean back from her and stutter even more which amused the girl even more. “ N-nothing s-stop teasing me bunny..” he whispered to the girl, turning even darker as he faced the wall , feeling his heart starting to speed, fluttering against his ribcage as the butterflies in his stomach rose up to meet his throat, the two mingling until they made a knot in the middle.

He tensed when [Name] wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her face under his arm to look at him, a soft smile splayed on her face. “Tamaki. Talk to me, what's got you so flustered hm?” Her voice calmed him but also made him nervous as he finally turned around to her , with darkened cheeks and a shaking body , he grabbed her hands, holding them in his own as they both looked in eachothers eyes, each slowly moving towards the other when..

“Hey you two! Are you guys getting your gear too!?” They heard a loud happy voice yelling from down the hall, knowing it was a certain happy go lucky couple. Tamaki quickly released [Name] , both of them flustered as they didn’t look up to their friends, an awkward silence falling between them as they walked into the workshop.

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“Tamaki you really should tell her! I bet she’ll say yes, and if it's anything like what we saw last week it seems she’s really into you too!” Mirio said to his timid friend, the indigo haired boy in thought as he watched the girl he was practically in love with laughing and joking with his other best friend and Mirios’ girlfriend Nejire.”You remember how scared I was to tell Neji I liked her and it turned out she was coming to tell me the same thing! The way you and [Name] stared at each other until we were done confessing had meaning in it y'know?” Mirio looked over at Tamaki, the shy boy now glancing towards him.

With a deep breath he continued “I know when she left you were heartbroken Tamaki….” With that statement , Tamaki perked up to look at his blonde friend seeing him look at him with soft eyes “You’ve always been in love with her Tama, everyone could see it…” With a sigh , Tamaki started, opening and shutting his mouth but with no avail , nothing came out. Mirio smiled and continued his thoughts “ We all hoped you’d tell her soon, to at least see where it could go….All of us really, you two maka a great duo as heroes, and we all see the chemistry, inside and out of the ring. And you know Neji, once she gets her mind set on something she doesn’t give up until it happens.” He said , glancing to his periwinkle haired lover talking to [Name] , the other girls face flushing with color as Nejire continued to talk on and on , obviously giving their other friend the same talk he was doing up here.

“I’ll...talk to her” Tamaki finally spoke up, shocking his optimistic friend. “What? Really??” Mirio said , grabbing Tamaki's arm and shaking the now dejected boy. “That’s great Tama, I’ll let Nejire know! Y'know we were planning to go out and get some pre summer fun done before we get out of school and start our pro hero lives! Why don’t you tell her there?” Mirio said , giving Tamaki a thumbs up. “Sure..what’s worse than confessing to a crush but doing it in public…” Tamaki responded, walking towards the door of the roof with his excited friend beside him,texting his girlfriend the plans as they headed down to meet them. ‘ I hope this works...Bunny I hope you’ll feel the same too..’ He thought to himself, trying to be the most confident he could muster inside of him.

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Tamaki waited outside with Mirio outside of the girls dorm, the energetic blonde constantly trying to giving the pessimistic indigo advice of what to say and how to confess, but all he could think about was all the ‘what ifs’ and how this could go wrong. Just before he started to try and get out of something he thought could bring him more regret the main door opened, showing a happy Nejire and a shy [Name] hidden behind her.

“Sorry boys it took so long! [Name] and me had to get ready , wanted to look our best for you two!” Nejire said with a wink, walking over to kiss Mirio on the cheek.” Well you two look beautiful! Don’t they Tamaki?” He asked , seeing as his friend was disgraced by the girl in front him, mouth slightly agape. “H-huh! Oh y-yeah you both look n-nice..” He rambled out, turning from his crush in front of him, looking everywhere except to make eye contact with the girl in front of him “Aw Tama stop being like that! [Name] got all dressed up and pretty for you and you won’t even look at her!” Nejire said, smacking the timid boy in the back with her purse.

With a pout from Mirio telling her to give their shy friend time, the couple started walking, the two shy friends behind them following close behind.”Nejire“I-it’s okay! He’s just nervous is all!” She defended him as well, walking beside Tamaki and throwing him a small smile. “We better keep up, or Nejire will have your head at this rate!” She laughed as he let off a deep sigh, all of them heading to what Nejire called their “romantic getaway”. As they went up the hill, [Name] gasped happily, looking down at an early festival going on. “Guys come look! It looks like they’re having some type of festival going on!” She exclaimed and Nejire sat beside her, they both giggled with joy as they watched the people beneath them run and dance around happily as the festival continued. Soon Tamaki and Mirio joined them , sitting beside each girl as they watched on, the joy from the day settling into them all.

As the sun started to set, Nejire gently laid her head on Mirios shoulder, the blonde smiling down at his girlfriend as they started snuggling up to each other in the sunset, drifting asleep on one another.

“Ah looks like the two of them are starting to sleep” [Name] said softly, seeing as their lovebird friends were drifting off as the sun hung low in the horizon, everyone in the festival gathering as they collected fireworks to set off.

“Y-yeah..” Tamaki agreed softly, looking at the girl beside him, his heart skipping a beat as she was already glancing over to him, a smile grazing her lips.

“I’m glad we’re here, back together Tama...I..missed you a lot when I went back home..it wasn’t the same” [Name] said with a whisper. “I..didn’t want to leave you..it’s why I gave you that octopus, I guess that was sorta silly..trying to convey how I felt with a stuffed animal “ She let out a light sigh, shaking her head as she watched the sun slip away. Tamaki reached out for her hand causing the girl to snap her head towards him, seeing his cheeks flush.

“[N-name]...Bunny..I’ve always c-cared for you and y-you moving c-changed nothing..if anything I-it made me realize how m-much you mean to me..I think…no..I know I’m in love with you, and I-I’m hoping...t-that you..c-could maybe..” And before he had the chance to finish they heard the iconic pop of fireworks, the two of them turning to watch the array of lights, their hands intertwined. As the moon slipped up from being hidden under the horizon, Tamaki watched [Name] , a smile settling on his lips as the moon and fireworks making the girl seem lambent to him, inside and out.

“Bunny..” He called out to her and with a soft hum she turned to him , eyebrow raised. ‘It’s now or never..’ Tamaki thought to himself, standing up as he held out his hand to her. [Name] smiled and stood with him, holding his hand back as she tilted her head, eyes wandering between his.”B-be mine..?” He asked, almost so quiet he didn’t expect her to let out a held breath and with a gentle smile answered “I’ve always been yours”. With a shaky exhale of a breath he pulled her closer, closing the distance between them with a passionate kiss, savoring the first of many kisses together, under the moon and fireworks.

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Bonus ♡ !! :

Later that night , the gang of Tamaki and [Name] headed back with Mirio and Nejire, all four of them sitting on the floor of Mirios’ dorm as they ate snacks until their dinner arrived. “ Okay so! What should we watch tonight?” Nejire asked, stuffing her face soon after with marshmallows. “Please Hado..don’t chew with your mouth open..” Tamaki whispered, laying his head on [Name]’s Lap as she played with his hair, a held snort coming out. “We have games too! Don’t forget!” She said in response , laughing at her periwinkle haired friend as she started to finish her bowl of gummy white marshmallows, smiling when she was done. “Okay okay, now! Games or a movie?” “Games.” Mirio interrupted , a smirk growing on his face. “Let’s make a bet , whoever loses has to help and serve the winners” With a huff, Nejire stood to her taller male counterpart, cheeks puffed “That’s why we’ll win! You’re on!” Tamaki let out a sigh of disappointment and [Name] couldn’t help but smile, kissing the cheeks of her new boyfriend. “ It'll be okay Tama, I’m here remember?” She said softly as he sat up from her lap , giving her a proper kiss “You are and I wouldn’t change this for anything. I love you bunny” Tamaki said , kissing her once more on the lips, their friend arguing background noise as she kissed him back with a sweet “I love you too Tama”

#amajiki tamaki #bnha imagines #bnha x reader #my very first fic!#and collab!#bnharem collab #my hero imagines #my hero academia #mha fanfiction #bnha writer #bnha

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being-of-rain · 4 years

Text

I've been enjoying the Time Lord Victorious series so far, and since I caught up with a lot of it recently and we’re about half-way through it, I thought I'd post a bunch of thoughts on it here together.

I’m fascinated by the idea of a Doctor Who series made up of lots of different interconnected media, which feels like a natural thing to do when you consider how much history the franchise has with so many different formats of storytelling. And it’s wild to me that, contrary to what I first assumed, it was actually conceived before the whole global pandemic thing happened; it felt like almost perfect timing to give Doctor Who fans something to think about during lockdown.

One of the series’ greatest shortcomings was its promotion, which seemed to consist entirely of the title and that one promo visual. The lack of a clear, simple, all-encompassing premise from the start means that I still see fans reacting to TLV with confusion. Using ‘Time Lord Victorious’ as the only promotion also feels a little misleading - I think many people imagined the series being an Evil Ten AU (similar to the timeline glimpsed in the Four Doctors comic), when really most of the content is either building up to that or just tangentially connected to it. On the other hand, the series was clearly lovingly designed for Who fans (who are all about piecing together timelines and consuming a large range of stories) instead of a wider audience, so the unclear promotion feels more like a miscalculation than a fatal error.

Defender of the Daleks: Titan’s comic is easily the weakest link of the series for me- it didn’t have a meaningful part of the series to fill, I was bothered by a lot of the page layouts, and it felt like a lot of it was made only for Dalek superfans. Well, I genuinely hope the Dalek superfans enjoyed it.

Monstrous Beauty: It’s really nice to see BBC give Nine some love in the series, and you can tell writers like Scott Gray and Steve Cole enjoyed writing for him and Rose. The extreme gothic aesthetic for the Dark Times, the Great Vampires, and the coffin ship is lots of fun, even if the story itself is a little straight-forward and meandering. Rassilon turning up felt very unnessecary to me, at this point I wish authors would leave the Time Lords’ founders alone unless they have something genuinely interesting to add. Admittedly, seeing the Cucurbites return and Nine make an explicit reference to the ‘90s Eight comics made my day. Y’all know I’m an Eight comics nerd.

Master Thief/Lesser Evils: Honestly, both of these stories left me a little confused to what actually happened in them, and what the point of them were. The first one didn’t even seem to tie in to TLV at all. Despite that, I’m really happy to see the Delgado Master and Ainley Master get some audios to themselves. Both characters were captured wonderfully by the stories and were a joy to listen to.

He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not: I was really surprised by this just being an out-and-out Western, but I loved it! Brian sticking close to his hostage while the other characters slowly pieced together what was going on and what they should do about it made for a very different kind of tension to the usual Who story. Brian’s explanation about killing with a thought made me properly nervous about him being around any other characters. I’m glad they got to do some non-formulaic stuff with Eight before the Daleks turned up at the end. Overall, the Daleks have a larger part in TLV than I’m happy with, since it makes it feel like the series is split between experimenting with new ideas and retreading old ground.

The Knight, The Fool and The Dead: The novels are definitely the heart of the Time Lord Victorious story, and so I’m very happy with the choice of authors for them. This first one was great. I really liked Ten’s characterisation of being at his limit but trying to continue on as normal and do what’s right.

His temporary companion Brian the Ood Assassin is every bit as fun as the concept sounds. I love how Brian doesn’t (usually) try to hide that he’s a merciless murder, but is still very polite and dresses in a tux. The little descriptions of him commanding a space fleet of mercenaries like a headwaiter running an expensive restaurant are hilarious. I can’t wait for more stories with him.

The villains of the piece, the Kotturuh, are surprisingly and delightfully eldritch, with their tentacles and their symbols in the sky. Not to mention their plans for the universe written on the cave walls of the planet that acts as a gateway between their cosmos and ours, writing which make people who look at it go mad. The Kotturuh, or Kotts, spread the effects of a natural lifespan to every species in the universe, ending an era of immortality for most of them.

This leads me to the heart of the story, and the premise of the series as a whole; is the Doctor doing the right thing by trying to stopping natural death from spreading in the Dark Times? But there’s a problem here. The concept of death being unnatural is one that TLV introduces to the Doctor Who universe without warning or really giving you space to process it. If all death by old age is something artificially added to the universe, and isn’t a natural part of life and change (as has been part of the heart of basically every other Who story), then is it really wrong to oppose that? Surely that would make the Kotts the uncontested biggest mass murderers in the history of everything. It feels like we need to develop a whole new moral compass just to reckon with this. And it doesn’t help that the other side of the argument is about if it’s right to change time, something the Who franchise has never been super consistent about and another thing that we don’t have morality established to deal with in the real world.

It feels like far too complex a set-up to be explored in just two short novels and a collection of tie-ins more interested in Daleks and Ood than the Time Lord Victorious himself. I’m a little worried that the moral question will be boiled down to the ‘killing is inconceivable even in the face of genocide’ stance that the franchise has held before, and practically never handled well. But needless to say, I’m very interested in what will happen in the future stories, especially second novel and series finale All Flesh Is Grass.

#Time Lord Victorious #Tenth Doctor #Ninth Doctor #Eighth Doctor #Daleks #my posts #my thoughts #I hope the read more works #also sorry if there's any mistakes or bad wording. It's past midnight whoops #Yknow maybe I should get a real blog and not a tumblr one for this kind of thing #Ten #Brian #Nine #Rose #Eight #Master

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thanksjro · 4 years

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Dark Cybertron Chapter 1: Welcome to Comic Event Hell

You know what readers love? When the stories they’ve gotten invested in over the course of a couple years get interrupted for some pseudo-crossover bullshit.

And you know what writers love? When the story they’ve been crafting over the course of a couple years get interrupted for some pseudo-crossover bullshit.

Did I say love?

Because I didn’t mean it.

“Dark Cybertron” was penned by John Barber and James Roberts, with collaboration with comic writer and artist Phil Jimenez, and was published from early November, 2013 to late March, 2014. Atilio Rojo, James Raiz, and Livio Ramondelli did the art, each responsible for scenes in specific locations, with Robert Gill filling in as needed. Alex Milne, Andrew Griffith, and Brendan Cahill would also contribute pencils to the first issue and the back half of the series. It was a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the franchise, and the second birthday of Phase Two... which went on for over four months, but never mind that!

Both "Dark Cybertron” and its preliminary materials were made to go alongside the Transformers: Generations toy-line, each issue being included as a toy pack-in with whatever character was being featured… or, at least, that was the plan. Sometimes it didn’t work out. Regardless, this storyline was created to sell toys directly, as opposed to the MTMTE/RID series being made to sell toys more through the power of suggestion. It’s a small distinction, but important, because it will help explain any lack of soul one may perceive while they read “Dark Cybertron”.

“But Hannz!” you cry out, reaching to grab me by the throat and shake me like a rag doll, because to you I’m merely a faceless voice on the internet. “Surely by calling this specific storyline soulless, you’re completely ignoring the very nature of this franchise that you’re almost uncomfortably invested in!”

To which I’ll say this: look, I’m pretty realistic about where my giant space robots came from; Transformers as a franchise would not exist the way it does without Ronald Reagan introducing the Free Market to literal children and fucking up how we interact with media for the rest of time. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and that rings especially true when I’ve got a Spinister on my bookshelf staring me down as I write this, that was likely made out of plastics which either involved blood oil or unethical labor practices, if not both.

However!

The choices of a company to have their comic license holders to cook up an entire plot that derails what they’ve already got planned out for toy tie-in comics is a completely different animal than what IDW had had going on up to this point. Phase Two had been about exploring different ideas that hadn’t been able to be explored during the war, and seeing what happens when you take away a third of the logline for Transformers G1 as a whole. Being a part of a brand of toys was almost inconsequential to how the stories were being told; even the Spotlights, which were also toy tie-in comics, had plenty of charm to them, if only because there weren’t quite as many constraints placed on the writers, and they were stand-alone issues.

Of course, being tie-in comics isn’t the only reason that “Dark Cybertron” is a bit of a slog, considering everything IDW itself was trying to get done within this storyline, but we’ll cover the publishing company’s/Simon Furman’s/Transformers’ tumultuous relationship with the concept of gender identity and expression later on, when it becomes relevant to the story proper. This point also ties into the interesting origin of Windblade, who we’ll meet in a few issues, and what happens when you let your fanbase have a taste of power and forget that people might like to see themselves represented in the media they consume.

“Dark Cybertron” is what ended up making me stop reading MTMTE the first time I tried it in 2015. A big part of it was because it forced the reader to need so much information from RID and even events prior to Phase Two, it wasn’t very fun to try to parse what was going on, on top of the writing beginning to flag because of obvious constraints to what Barber and Roberts could actually do, both within their deadlines and the rules put in place by their higher ups for the event.

“Dark Cybertron” is the result of the sort of executive meddling that kills reader enjoyment by requiring writers to cram their two worlds together as quickly as possible, without the option to go for nuance because there simply isn’t time. The reason we have four separate artists for the front half of this story is because Milne and Griffith didn’t have time to draw both their current workload and “Dark Cybertron” at the same time... but sales probably went up due to the nature of how the story was published, so I’m sure they didn’t really see a problem with it.

That’s a general “they”, not a Milne and Griffith “they”.

In short, we’ve got license contract obligations, fan-poll obligations, and gender stuff fighting for space within the next 12 issues, which will be published in the span of roughly four months. Things are probably going to be a little bloated and sloppy.

Regardless of any of these points, this is what we’ve got. It’s not like it’s all bad- “Dark Cybertron” has the benefit of being written by two people who had been working closely before it had even been conceptualized. Barber was the senior editor for MTMTE, and IDW as a whole until he left in 2016. It also isn’t a proper crossover- y’know, where two completely separate titles get mashed together for a bit. MTMTE and RID exist in the same universe, just have their own things going on, so a decent amount of things still carry over without you needing to have read every single thing in both. The writing, while not quite up to par with pieces that had more creative freedom and breathing room between scenes, is still recognizable as being Barber and Roberts’. Their voices are still here, they’re just strained under the weight of everything that has to be said inside of 12 issues.

With all THAT out of the way, let’s dive in to Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1.

We get a quick rundown of the most basic information you’ll need for this entire story to make sense, as we reintroduce the fact that Shockwave is an ecoterrorist with more agendas than a daily planner factory on meth, and also that he grows magic crystals. I don’t care what he says, the Ores are fucking space-magic. If you don’t want to read through all of RID for everything else, please see Robots in Disguise (2012), #1-22- A Recap, For Reference Purposes. We also get a quick rundown of the Lost Lighters’ deal, as Swerve potentially has a meta-episode.

Be careful what you fucking wish for, bucko.

Our story proper starts with a flashback to the shittiest road trip Cyclonus ever went on, as the Ark 1 finds itself at the edge of a mysterious portal. This is likely why he wasn’t super thrilled when the portal to Luna 1 showed up- portals are probably a touchy subject for him.

Jhiaxus doesn’t know what this portal is- surely this means that science has failed us, and it’s time to call in the religious crowd to try and suss out what’s going on here.

It’s moments like this that make me wonder what exactly happened in the Dead Universe that made Cyclonus’ cheek meat just pack up and leave.

Now, we know that Cyclonus is correct here, because we as readers have more knowledge than the characters at this point, but Jhiaxus tries to write off this theory as hogwash, because he is a man of rationality and science. This is a slight removal from his character in the present, whose most notable traits seem to be a lack of ethics and screaming.

Everyone here seems to be slightly different from their current iterations, actually; Galvatron doesn’t say a word as he steps between Jhiaxus and Cyclonus, only using his body to communicate that the scientist might want to back off. Cyclonus himself is certainly the wordiest we’ve ever seen him to be, droning on through his actual thought process before he comes to a conclusion on what exactly they’ve found. Compare this to the Cyclonus of today, who only deigns to grace everyone with his voice if they outright threaten him, have something he wants, or are Tailgate. If he were to ever pull this verbal meandering on board the Lost Light, people would probably assume he’s having a stroke.

Nova Prime- you remember him, don’t you?- gives not a fuck about the Dead Universe, only what it means for him personally. And what it means for him is more locations to subjugate, because he is cartoonishly evil. His character is the least removed from his present-day iteration out of everyone. He tells the crew they’ll be getting a little closer, only for the portal to do the work for them, by way of dark energy tentacles.

Wow, the pilot for the Ark 1 really is just straight-up named Butt, isn’t he? And what the fuck is that face you’re making, Cyclonus? Are you- oh my god, are you emoting? Oh my god, he’s emoting.

As the Ark 1 is pulled to its doom, Jhiaxus makes a quick phone call to Shockwave to tell him he’s his favorite, and to keep up the good work.

In the present, Shockwave reflects on just how friggin’ long this whole ordeal has taken. Fortunately, Waspinator and the Titan are almost here, and he can hardly wait.

Not, uh, that he’s got emotions or anything. It’s been established that he doesn’t have those anymore. Is impatience an emotion? Does that count?

Shockwave seems like he’d be really frustrating to write for.

Anyway, the Titan shows up, the Ore inside him and the Ore in the underground Crystal City combine, and the Titan starts screaming because everything hurts. Shockwave’s about as thrilled as he can be about the situation, given his lack of emotions.

Above Crystal City, we finally get back to that nonsense about the early sunrise, as someone- maybe Starscream, given the color of the narration box- waxes poetic on the planet of Cybertron, wartorn and wild in its rebirth, ruled by paranoia that has nothing to bounce off of, and so creates its own walls.

Then we get a detailed shot of Rattrap’s mug, and the moment is broken.

Rattrap’s character is a lot of fun in everything he gets tossed into, but you’re a goddamn liar if you think he’s pretty to look at. You are lying to yourself, and I won’t apologize for saying it.

Starscream walks out of his room in his hot new body, feeling fine and ready to take on the world. We’ll check in on him later in the day to see how that positive mentality is working out for him.

So, the sun hasn’t moved, and it’s way too early for the sun to even be up right now. That’s weird. Because I guess he didn’t know how the sun works, Starscream’s only just realized that this is perhaps a problem. He does some computer work and realizes that this is indeed a very bad thing, and asks that Rattrap call the Autobots. Not the ones who fucked off into the wilderness, the other ones. The gay, space ones.

Up in space, Orion Pax and his pals have found themselves in dire straits, the collapsing Gorlam Prime sucking their ship back down as the Death Ore consumes everything.

That’s not how engines work! And I think it really says something about the “Prelude” issues that I completely forgot why Wheelie was down an arm for a solid five seconds.

It turns out that Orion was the narrator the entire time, which I should have known- since when is the once and future Optimus Prime not the primary voice in any media he appears in?

It’s looking rough for the fellas, but luckily we’ve got to get the plot rolling, so the Lost Light VZZZZTs into existence and picks up the Skyroller to place it gently into its belly.

Orion isn’t exactly jazzed about the fact that Rodimus didn’t listen to what he told him, not even bothering to thank the guy for saving his life. I say y’all keep going on your Thunderclash Quest and leave this ungrateful loser behind. No space yachting for you, Orion.

The rest of the Pax Posse enter the Lost Light proper, and Hardhead reveals that he nearly joined the Quest, before he saw who all would be coming with, while Garnak has a tearful reunion with Rodimus. The fact that he’s calling him Sir- which I don’t recall him doing in Transformers (2009), at least not in a way that seems reminiscent of an unfortunate Antebellum Period Romance- feels rather weird, but I’m glad someone’s fucking happy to see Rodimus at least. Ultra Magnus asks Orion if he’ll be assuming command of the vessel, as Rodimus tries not to look horrified by the thought alone, but fortunately Orion’s not going to pull his “I’m Optimus Prime and I Can Do What I Want” Card just yet.

Smash cut to the bridge, as Rodimus tries to make himself sound competent, when Starscream calls. Orion doesn’t like that Starscream has their number, Perceptor almost reveals the fact that this ship technically doesn’t belong to a faction, likely due to being purchased after the war, and Cyclonus gets brought in for his professional opinion.

As it turns out, that early sunrise isn’t a sunrise at all, but a portal to the Dead Universe. This is a problem, because the Dead Universe really sucks, and you don’t want to go there, especially if you enjoy being alive. Orion seems more concerned about the fact that Starscream is ruling the planet, and Bumblebee is nowhere to be found.

Speaking of Bumblebee, he and all his camp buddies are psyching themselves up for a confrontation.

Swoop, please, this is hardly the time for crudeness.

The Dinobots, sick of Bumblebee’s dithering about, decide they’re going to fight the fucking sun and gear up. Prowl, though generally disliking their brand of problem-solving, does share his begrudging respect of their can-do attitude.

Their can-do attitude over fighting the fucking sun.

Then an earthquake happens and the ground rips open to reveal that Titan that Waspinator showed up with.

Shockwave takes over the narration at this point, and we get artsy, as we see events that haven’t transpired yet over musings on the nature of... time? Maybe? It would be in line with Roberts’ go-to topics, but honestly the whole thing’s kind of vague so I couldn’t give you a solid answer. Shockwave gets awfully introspective for a guy who shouldn’t care, I know that much. The point is, he is inevitable and is super good at logic and science.

Also, Nova Prime and Galvatron are back, which is cool, I guess. Not sure where Galvatron had gotten to exactly after the events of “Chaos”, but he’s back now, so it doesn’t matter too terribly much. Shockwave serves them, which we’ll probably get an explanation for at some point.

God, you can practically taste the desperation to pin all these plot points together before the entire thing implodes on itself.

#transformers #jro #dark cybertron #issue 1 #maccadam #Hannzreads #overthinking about robots #incoming analysis #text post #long post #comic script writing

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