#in the last paragraph at least

[einsatzzz]

H.K. & H.K. 🥹💖✨ khr x sanrio collab will always live rent-free inside my brain

[puppyeared]

I CANT USE CSS ON ARTFIGHT...............

[shipsarebeautiful]

Quick disclaimer, I’m going to talk about an NSFW topic, so if you’re not into that please scroll away now!

But, with that out of the way, here’s my Thoughts on a Thing. So, call me crazy, but I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while and after recent events I’ve come to a logical conclusion.

SHMK should, and I cannot stress enough how genuinely I mean this, have gay sex for plot reasons. Here me out!

Shu has IMMENSE issues with repression, and he always has done because of the environment he was raised in, and while he’s worked through a fair amount of those issues by now one glaring thing that still remains is how averse he is to anything sexual. There’s an entire story dedicated to exploring this aspect of his character (Astrae’s Atelier)! One part of that story is that someone from his school in Paris who is distinctly not averse to sexual stuff at all becomes very interested in Shu, to the point where they leave drawings of nude models and even porn magazines in his room to try and convince him that sexual things are normal (surprise surprise, it doesn’t really work). Kuro even finds out about this and brings it’s up again later on in the timeline, to which Shu is still clearly uncomfortable with it.

Mika on the other hand isn’t sexually repressed at all, much like the fan from Paris, and we know how openly horny he is all the time. But above his honrniess is his absolute loyalty. He would never do anything to harm Shu and would do everything to protect him and make him happy, recently including even digging up a grave to confirm or deny the reality of a story that Mika knew Shu wouldn’t like the ending of. He also still really struggles with comprehending how important he is to Shu, being willing to sacrifice himself in every way possible for the sake of Shu’s happiness without realising how that self-sacrificial nature is exactly what’s hurting Shu, and is incredibly insecure about himself and his abilities.

Them having sex is, I believe, genuinely going to be SO helpful for both of them. Because with the way Shu is Mika would be forced to realise how important he is to Shu since there’s no way he would do such an act with just anyone, and Shu would have to realise that sex isn’t the shameful act he’s always thought it to be and can be just another way to show someone how much you love them. On top of that, the act itself is inherently supposed to be one of mutual pleasure, it puts them on completely equal playing fields no matter how much they may want to value the other more than themselves.

Both of these characters are adults at this point in the timeline so it wouldn’t exactly be taboo to talk about such a thing, especially since sexual themes have come up in Enstars before though they’ve never truly been explored. And on top of that, since it’s now implied that they’re canonically together, it’s the type of topic that would be completely natural to explore with these two since sex is a normal thing in most romantic relationships.

And I’m saying all this as an asexual btw, so it’s not as if I’m just looking for excuses to sexualise the two because that’s not what this is about at all. I just whole-heartedly believe that it would actually be beneficial both to their relationship and to their personal development, and that this is something that can and frankly, in my opinion, should be explored in their future stories.

I SWEAR I’M NOT DELUSIONAL HERE, IT ALL MAKES SENSE!

[silverware-is-interesting]

I literally NEVER do asks but I have to,

As predictable (being his number one fan ever) I really want anyyyy tidbits about Sonny,,, I need to know more about the beloved, i need to know,,,

anyways, is it okay that I made a band au version of my recently made oc? An idea just sprung into my mind and I can't get over it. Already drew it n everything but I wanted to double double check.

Band au my beloved <3

so, there's not all too much i can really say if i ever do anything, since most of the things i've thought about are pretty plot-relevant. i can try to put a couple things

so, he still dies but he's not quite as, well, helpful. he kinda fell into a slump sine he worked so hard on everything with the band and, in his lifetime they weren't really all too popular. so he's been in some piece of tech, a computer still, and thinks things over.

oh, he's been almost erased from company history, not in like a gaster way though, more like the company blacks out any images of his face

i'll make him a little bio once i have enough n decide if i'll actually make a story of this or kinda just release little tidbits little-by-little. what i could tell you is the songs in the playlist i had added because of sonny's involvement in the story though

i have a few little sketches of his (concept) design so here, have a concept (not great quality screenshots)

they'll probably change but y'know. it's somethin' though

as for ocs, yeah. that's perfectly alright. band-ify your little guys if you want! basically the only guideline is that they can't have an instrument that someone else in the band has (though, a guitar or different type of drum are both alright) and kinda have a rock-esc aesthetic to them OH! and tag me! i'd love to see them!

yeah,, my beloved too

[orion-kenobi]

I finished stargate sg-1 a bit ago but instead of a full series review for now I'll be sharing my thoughts on seasons 9 and 10, Ark of Truth, and Continuum! These are just my opinions and I am more than happy to hear anyone else's thoughts and discuss. Everything is below the cut : )

I can understand why the plot and cast change would put a lot of people off the last two seasons, and it's possible that had I watched the show as it aired, my opinion would be different. But having known those things were going to happen I went in with an open mind. I ended up really enjoying season 9. Maybe it was the novelty, but I was mostly down with the Ori plotline starting out. It seemed like the writers had crafted a strong villain with a compelling storyline. Surprisingly I liked Vala and her dynamic with Daniel (considering I didn't like prometheus unbound) and while it took me a bit, I grew to love Cam. All around season 9 was a solid season with an interesting new villain and new characters.

Season 10 I enjoyed less.

It wasn't necessarily bad. There were a good bit of high points (the first 3 episodes, most of 200, the quest, the shroud, and bad guys to name a few) but ultimately I felt it wasn't as strong of a final season as it should've been. The Ori plot had so much potential but the ending was lacking. I also felt Unending wasn't a strong conclusion to the series. I would honestly prefer not to think about it. Enter Ark of Truth, a movie I found all over the place and disappointing. But at least they tried to wrap up the Ori stuff, I guess?

Fortunately, the writers did redeem themselves with Continuum! I found it very entertaining and fun. Definitely miles above Unending or Ark of Truth.

The general fandom consensus seems to be that the season 8 finale was a better ending to the show, which I agree with. I totally get stopping after season 8 if you want a nice, satisfying conclusion. However, I don't think everything after that should be completely written off. I genuinely think season 9 was good. If season 9 has one fan that is me. If season 9 has no fans then I am dead.

I'd at least recommend watching through season 9 and Continuum. Sure, you won't get an ending to the Ori story but you don't really get that if you watch all of it either :)

[beevean]

hecula and harkula for the ship ask game please? 👀(movies/books/series/games whatev, your choice)

:)

Book Harkula and game Hecula get the same placement:

because I may be predictable, but I am also coherent 👍

(the reason I didn't go full 100% on "makes sense" is that I leave that tiny room for ships that are peak wholesome romance. obviously. obviously these two ships are less than wholesome.)

Anyway, creepy gross old bastard playing sick mental games with his favorite pretty boy stuck in his castle goes brrrrrrrr <3

I don't know how things go in Dracula 2020 (Jonathan becomes undead I think?), but in the book the Jonathan section is a marvel of realistic horror, of genuinely scary subtle abuse where you can see how finely Dracula is working Jonathan, destroying his sense of reality and making him feel all sorts of small and vulnerable and dependent on him. While I love how Jonathan manages to run away and the way he struggles with his trauma (honestly written better than in many modern works), at first being in deep denial for the shock but then getting ready to kill God if He stands in the way of him and shanking that monster, I'm also interested in AUs where Dracula manages to turn his new crush in a twisted, unholy marriage :) doing everything in his power to replace Mina in his heart :) corrupting this fine young upstanding man :) or does he :)

And well. I don't know what else I can say about Hecula. It's just. the narrative of the golden child who feels so loved and accepted only to realize that he's losing his sense of self, his dignity, his humanity for a cruel mentor and so decides to run away :) but the lingering effects of his servitude are always there, always affecting him and his life :) and Dracula didn't turn Hector and Isaac into vampires but he did infuse them with part of himself :) and Hector thinking about Dracula as he's dying and when he's renouncing his powers :) and the hints that Dracula did in his own way care about Hector ("the more precious things are...") :) and the narrative parallels of Hector almost falling as low as Dracula :) it's So Clear to me.

And just because I feel petty :P N!Hecula:

And this is my best explanation:

(we call N!Hector "Caesar" and N!Isaac "Abraham" as an inside joke :P)

nah jokes aside, I can tell N!Hector respects and cares about N!Dracula, going so far as to be concerned about his wellbeing regarding Lisa's death. And as much as his plan to revive him is a spit in the face of decent character development, I can at least snicker that ohhh look at him, wanting his master back, that's true love <3 game Isaac would be proud <3

But since N!Dracula is so mean to him and treats him like deadweight and clearly is in a relationship with N!Isaac, it's not as interesting. When I want to indulge in simp who'd die for his lord/lord who only sees his simp as a toy, Isaacula is right there :V

[breathofthewildwritings]

*grips your shoulders* I cannot stress enough how much I need Rauru/Reader/Sonia polyamory headcanons. Pleeeeeaaaassseeee.

(SFW and NSFW if you would be so kind!)

To me, when it comes to Rauru/Reader/Sonia polyam content, the most interesting scenario/AU to explore would be where the reader is the one sent to the past instead of Zelda, and they inadvertently alter the timeline in such a drastic way that it pulls an Age of Calamity and the series of events leading to BotW/TotK never happen in the first place.

Perhaps Ganon’s war against the fledgling Hyrule is less severe, or perhaps Rauru and Sonia are warned and prepared by the reader’s existing knowledge to let him get too powerful in the first place. Maybe the reader has divine powers themselves in some form?

I’ll make the Ganon redemption I want to see in the world.

Regardless, the reader is sent back to the age of the first king and queen of Hyrule, and is then faced with the challenge of changing the flow of time and fate itself. Lots of interesting concepts to explore within that! But of course you asked for headcanons, so let me offer some with that rambling preface out of the way:

-

The relationship develops a bit jarringly at first between yourself and the Hyrule royals, jumping from awkward strangers to sweet confidants, and then to abrupt lovers without much warning. Part of this is due to the frantic response you have from being plucked straight out of your own timeline and they being the only ones who know about the truth, but it’s also in part to the fact that there is a strange sort of connection the three of you share.

For the people in Hyrule after all, it is often said that all good things come in threes—wealth, prosperity, even love. It doesn’t help at all that both Sonia and Rauru are both genuinely interesting people to be around. Sonia’s wit can be as sharp as her tongue, while Rauru is a man of many stories and a lovely voice with which to tell them. They are both natural leaders, and it isn’t difficult for one seeking comfort to find it in the king and queen’s presence. Sonia’s careful touch, Rauru’s soothing voice… how far can the intimate comfort of a stranger in a strange time go before one thinks to talk about it openly?

In fact, nobody *does* talk about it for a long while, leaving things unlabeled and unmentioned until someone else entirely asks about it, perhaps even thinking it a funny joke—things are so entwined between the three of you that it’s difficult to tell whether the king or queen is the one who has a consort. Emotions unwind like a ball of yarn tumbling down a hill from there, leading to multiple awkward conversations and only the occasional lingering glance and raised eyebrow from Mineru who, perhaps more than anyone, understands some of her younger brother’s protective body language.

Sonia at least is the most forthright. She is the one to verbalize her emotions first and without very much hesitation at all, while Rauru takes a little more time to do so himself—perhaps it is a culture difference, a particular form of courtship for Zonai that he’s unable to follow. Perhaps he’s unsure how people will treat you or if they might see you as any lesser than they are as the forming couple of the new kingdom. All the same, he admits to his feelings shortly after Sonia does, though it takes a while for them to figure out how to present the relationship to their court without it being misinterpreted.

[Spicy headcanons below the cut:]

The first time you, Sonia and Rauru have sex, it is before anything is established or even *talked* about—a purely spur-of-the-moment series of actions and reactions, though there is never a moment where either the king or the queen treat it as something they regret. It’s a bit scary in a way, being a third party not only in an established relationship, but a royal one at that; but Rauru is attentive and Sonia is calming, and you are left scarcely able to concentrate between the pleasure of their lips, hands and bodies.

Be it due to the queen’s powers of time or the king’s inhuman heritage, but they have a combined sexual stamina that is either terrifying or mind-blowing depending on one’s perspective—this fact is learned repeatedly through the night of your first encounter with them, though you never quite get used to the fact that they’re completely capable of going through an entire evening without a blink of sleep.

Godspeed to you if you have a mommy and/or daddy kink, since the royal couple is more than capable, willing, and enthusiastic about partaking in such carnal desires.

[sealovinq]

not to boast or make anyone jealous, but actually i'm so glad i got into a real life relationship. self shippers, myself included, tend to focus only on the lovey dovey stuff. because who would willingly make up a scenario where you and your partner have to fight/argue, right? unless you're the type to really dig into your lore and show how your relationship was developed and strengthened, that's cool too. it's just something i noticed within the community — how the majority usually concentrate on the bright side of our relationships with our f/o's, which is absolutely valid and i don't discriminate anyone who does, nor do i implore anyone to start putting conflict between them and their f/o's.

my point is, i'm glad i got to experience both the ups and downs with my real life partner. as an active self shipper before getting into the love life, i had to lower down A LOT of my expectations. the expectations that i built due to self shipping. due to how i imagine my f/o's would be like. of course, i already knew every relationship has its rocky road and it would eventually come to the point where i and my partner would argue, but it really opened my eyes to how every problem we encounter in our relationship is a stepping stone to further nurturing and strengthening our bond and love. it takes the commitment to stay and continue to love despite all the flaws and mistakes that were made.

there will be moments of doubt where we question if we really deserve each other or not, but each time, we convince the other that it doesn't really matter and it would hurt more if we were to separate. we stay and fix it together, even if it was hurtful at first. it's genuinely the embodiment of the "it's rotten work." "not to me. not if it's you." quote.

and i enjoy implementing that to the lore with my f/o's. because i personally have experienced it and can say it's true with full confidence. it's true that i won't always agree with my f/o, that i won't always be happy with how my f/o acts, that i won't always satisfy my f/o's needs. and that's okay, that doesn't mean it's the end of our relationship. i and my f/o talk through it, we fix it, we offer solutions, we apologize, we improve. and that enhances the bond and love i have with and for my f/o even more. it also shows how real (emphasis on real) our relationship is — it's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, a rainstorm would come but a rainbow will eventually appear.

i'm not disregarding angst, though — i'm specifically talking about arguing/fighting and the commitment to go through it with your f/o's. but that's just me and my opinion. :]

[theclearblue]

I need to uninstall tiktok fr it is rotting my brain to catastrophic levels just from the stupid amount of pride month discourse.

[peaches2217]

Okay, who kickstarted the return of the Mareach baby fever? Because I logically shouldn’t post even more Expectant/Parent Mareach when I literally just posted one such fic two days ago but DAMMIT NOW I’M IN A MOOD.

…in my defense, for all the crap I’ve posted, I still haven’t given my fankid a name. 😅

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

5, 18 & 19 for the fanfic ask!

Hello and thank you for the questions!!

5. first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

“I have to say, Blanche,” Rose says, settling back against Blanche’s side, “I know you explained it to me, but I still don’t get it.”

18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

I don't really keep deleted sentences/paragraphs, unless they're full concepts for a scene that I might want to use in another WIP, but I did find a couple of sentences from an early draft of i would have said impossible [...] that got heavily edited by the final cut. I'll bold the parts that got kept in the final work:

"She likes to think she hid it well. She tried to, at least; bit back the most acidic jokes, tried to keep a hold on her sarcasm. It's not her roommates' fault if she's had a bad day, is it? So she tries. She listens, and she's patient, and she's affectionate -- and they seem happy. That must count as a success.

And yet, when she's finally alone in her room and ready to call it a night -- then Rose comes, carrying tea and cookies on a tray.

It's strange. She told Ma earlier that she'd like to be alone tonight, and before the door opened she only wanted to get into bed and forget everything until tomorrow morning. Then Rose came in, and she'd be lying if she said a single hint of her perfume and a single glance at her reassuring smile aren't enough to calm her nerves."

The gist of the passage remained more or less the same, but I hope it counts anyway!

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

I'm not sure I can choose the most interesting one -- I love learning and I've had a lot of fun with every rabbit hole I've found myself in for a fic! The most charming one, though, was definitely the little ornithology detour I went on while I was writing sonata for trio, which was a classic case of 'I only needed to find the right simile to add in this sentence, how the hell did I end up on the Wikipedia page for the American Robin?'. I learned a lot, and birds are so cute -- especially robins!! I had a great time reading about them :)

(I'm not counting my research on karst and sinkholes as a valid answer for this questions, because I already knew the topic well enough, but I did spend a lot of time fact-checking what I wrote. I don't want to spread misinformation!)

[✍️ more fic writer asks!]

[compacflt]

i'm so curious: what's your favorite thing you've written? something that makes you nod and go, "yeah, that's it right there. i did that." just the best combination of words you've ever churned out in your personal opinion. it makes you proud just Thinking about it. could be a sentence, a paragraph, etc.

very cute ask anon, thank you. im going to assume for your benefit that you mean specifically my icemav writing—obviously I write outside of top gun and am very proud of that stuff but it wouldn’t make sense out of context.

There’s a lot of more recent stuff that I’m extremely extremely proud of on a technical level, but I’m prouder of this paragraph below on a deeper more existential level.

This paragraph was one of the first parts of WWGATTAI i ever wrote—august 12, i think, well before I had fully realized the characters’ voices or their attitudes towards life/each other; I only had about 5k written of what is now a 300k+ project (at the time of writing this paragraph i wanted it to be 10k max) and had no real outline, didn’t know who or what I was dealing with, hadnt seen TGM in two months, had done no research (so it’s not at all politically/militarily accurate or anything, why the FUCK is ice going to fucking GUAM)—and STILL this wound up being my favorite paragraph in the entire fucking series. not to suck my own dick or anything. I’m STILL so proud of this paragraph, 9 months and 275k+ words later, even though i Absolutely Would Not write it this way now.

[the-genius-az]

You're right. We need more Maizula works!!

Of course we need more Maizula content!!

It's very little, I still remember when I rewatched the series when I was a baby teenager and there were very few fics of them at that time.

And i'm so glad there's more, but WE NEED EVEN MORE.

It is an addiction that many fall into. 😔

We also need more content Maizulee, that is the one with the least content.

I love Maizula, but Maizulee will always be in my heart.

[cartoonrival]

like sasuke is clearly deeply unhappy in boruto which is fine, i honestly think its GOOD that he's not just like suddenly content with his life and himself after the finale of shippuden, its just also sort of insane that the post canon where he is no longer the focus is one where he's so potently miserable. he's clearly still reluctant to really face konoha. he still feels like an outcast or a bad apple, he still thinks he needs to atone for what he did as a teenager, despite the fact that he's been actively atoning for like a decade. but it'll never be enough. the only person he is not afraid to face and does not think he has failed is naruto, but even then he is still eager to isolate himself again, and i KNOW that its isolating and not just "being by himself" (sasuke has never been an outwardly emotional person (except under major duress), and while i believe a lot of this is repression its also just how he is, so no amount of healing would make him as open as, say, naruto, but i digress) because these are not the words of a happy man. "if she hates me its fine, because at least the future will be bright". "this is also a journey of atonement." naruto WANTS him to stay, believes its been long enough, the people of konoha don't hate him anymore (not sure how true this is but it's what naruto believes/wants to be true), but sasuke says they should stick to what they're meant to do, which means naruto as the hokage, because he is well loved and good with people, and sasuke in the shadows, because he is meant to be alone and unrecognized.

tbc i don't think that sasuke could be happy "settling down," i don't think he DOESNT like being on the move all the time, but the scene with naruto where he leaves konoha without saying goodbye to anybody is clearly not a scene where sasuke is content with his life in the way naruto is. he isn't doing this because he wants to, its because he thinks that he has to suffer in order to be good, and that the people of konoha wouldn't accept him any other way. it IS TRUE that sasuke has always been a big believer in sacrifice for the greater good and wouldn't consider his own happiness to be important compared to the missions he needed to go on, regardless of how deserving of happiness he considered himself to be, but i absolutely refuse to believe that, if he DID believe he deserved it, there has been NO TIME EVER that he could come home and just be regular. just for a little. there is absolutely something that is pushing him out of konoha, unrelated to "i have a mission to go on." there's still a disconnect.

WHICH. unfortunately. brings me to. end of shippuden. he receives a letter from naruto praising him for protecting the village even without being there, he thinks, "maybe it's time to come home." sometime before he comes home, he catches wind that naruto is getting married. he sends a letter with nothing on it other than "congratulations," and he does not come home. for like 4 more years. next time he's home for an extended period of time it's when sakura has already giving birth to sarada and he's helping raise her until she's juuuust old enough to start retaining memories before he fucks off again.

he doesn't want to be around sarada and sakura. he doesn't want them to worry about him or concern themselves with him. he doesn't want to be affectionate with sakura, who clearly DOES want to be affectionate with him. he considers the fact that he and sakura had a kid together to be the thing that most connects them, which is only significant in this case because anyone with eyes can tell that they are not really connected in basically any other way. it's like the ring he gives her in that dino arc. clearly since you wear a ring now to show we're married it means that we're married even though i'm not doing any of the other things a husband should do, but this ring makes up for that. clearly since we have a kid our hearts are connected and we really do love each other, even though i'm not doing any of the other things someone who really loves you would do. you could argue that his refusal to make any contact with sarada and sakura IS out of love, that he's afraid of hurting them and thinks he's protecting them by staying out of their lives (this is most likely what kishimoto intends), but this claim doesn't have any actual PRECEDENT outside of the fact that i'm being told that sasuke apparently loves her, the evidence for that being well they got married and had a kid. off screen.

i think he feels guilty that sarada even exists, because it's his fault she has no dad and it's his fault she inherited the uchiha's massive capacity for grief and love, it's his fault that sakura is raising her alone, and he's running from this because hopefully he can make up for it by doing good for the whole world since he cannot bring himself to make up for it by being there for his wife and daughter. "she has sakura, she'll be fine" because sakura is more her parent than he will ever/could ever be. he doesnt HATE sakura or sarada, to be very clear. he cares about them both as people, he fully respects sakura's strength, is proud when he sees sarada fighting well, he wants her to be happy and wants her to like him, he wishes he could be a better father and husband to her and sakura. just without having to be their father and husband.

boruto is not good unfortunately but due to the fact that naruto IS good and sasuke's characterization is very lovingly done in the original series it's critical to me (because i am not normal) that i figure out how to connect pieces that kishimoto could not be assed to properly connect. he seems to RECOGNIZE that he's betraying sasuke's characterization by making him have a kid w sakura due to the fact that everything sasuke does after that is p much exactly what i would expect him to do if, through some freak incident, he ended up having a kid with sakura. Anywho

[dw-flagler]

actually the story of the Azuma is really interesting for the sheer amount of anachronisms it is subjected to.

So the confederacy tried to buy a ship from the french government so they could do privateering raids on american shipping (like classic piracy).

The confederate representative spoke directly to Napoleon III of France (The real napoleon's idiot nephew), because it was illegal to sell weapons to the confederacy under french law and they figured it would be easier for the emperor to circumvent french law than anybody else, which was true.

The ship was constructed under the false name of Sphynx, to encourage rumors it was intended to be sold to Egypt (A protectorate of the ottoman empire, successor state to the roman empire (or at least that's what they said)).

However it was eventually caught as an intended sale to the confederacy, so the sale was cancelled and it was instead sold to Denmark under the name Stærkodder, as a combatant in the Second Schleswig War (Otto Von Bismarck's efforts to unite Germany). Before it could be used for doing war things with, Denmark lost.

After Denmark lost, they sold Stærkodder to the Confederacy in early 1865, who renamed it to the CSS Stonewall. Before it could be actually used for doing war things with, The Confederacy lost. It was then sold to Cuba (which was still a Spanish colony!), and then again to the US. Here's a photograph of it around this time.

At this point the Tokugawa Shogunate purchased the Stonewall, seeking to reinforce their navy. They renamed it Kotetsu (Ironclad). And buddy. You're not gonna believe what happens next. Before the Tokugawa government could use it, the Boshin War started, and. Shockingly. The Tokugawa Shogunate lost the war.

Instead, it was sold to the Shogunate's opponent in the Boshin War, The Meiji Government (who gave it its final name, Azuma), where it was used in the battle of Hakodate to defeat the remnants of the shogunate navy. Here's a sketch of it during this battle.

So the ship was sold by a Napoleon to the Danish fighting Otto Von Bismarck, who then sold it to the Confederacy in the american civil war, who then ended up selling it to the Tokugawa Shogunate in the japanese civil war! This one ship was used by danish monarchists, american cowboys, and japanese samurai, all within 5 years!

[90stvqueen]

the hardest part about writing is all the grinding you have to do in order to earn the ending