#my ship is not in this race so i have no gripes on that

[lycheelovescomics]

need people to pick up some modicum of critical thinking and wonder that maybe, it's possible, that the show is critiquing how it's always the same two men's dreams that come into conflict about how to move forward vs or with the rest of humanity ... and that maybe, just maybe, the answer could be (surprise!!) a secret third or even fourth option that doesn't include them?

because ororo did tell jean that they ought to believe not in a dream or for their gifts/powers... but in each other 👀

[peachteaships]

Okay, I have some gripes about the self ship community. I need to get off my chest. This is a long one. Do not derail this, I will block you. Pro.ship and com.ship DO NOT try to interact with this post, I will block you too. I do not have the patience for this today.

Rant/gripes under the read more.

I'm probably going to get shit for this or something, but I'm getting exhausted over this. The self ship community didn't used to be so scary and hateful. What the hell happened?? What happened to being understanding and kind to others who didn't feel comfortable sharing f/os or having doubles? Why the fuck are we dealing with people spreading lies, causing drama and pulling shit because they're mad someone doesn't want to share? Or causing shit because you end up finding out you share with someone, but instead of blocking them and moving on, you start shti instead? You go out of your way to attack them, harass them, give them trauma and make them feel unwelcome all because you couldn't stand the thought of someone else sharing an f/o instead of using the block button and the black list function that are right there. All because you couldn't respect someone's boundaries.

Why the hell are we being racist or ableist to each other for no other reason besides "I don't like them"? That doesn't give you the right to be cruel to someone because they're a different race or have a mental or physical disability they can not control. There's never an excuse to be out here being so hateful to someone because you feel like you're allowed to say a word or term that you have no right saying or reclaiming just because you want to drag someone down.

And then there are people who question if others' sexualites are valid or not because of the gender of fictional characters they're interested in??? When the hell did we decide that was a "good" idea to do any of this?? Then you have the audacity to claim they aren't valid enough to be considered their own sexuality or gender because they're not good enough for you? Why the hell would you think this is okay?? Does it make you feel better about yourself?? Because it shouldn't. And if it does? You need to take a moment and ask yourself why.

And don't even get me started on the fact that we have to deal with so many pro.shippers and com.shippers in this community. Especially ones that try to lie about it, hide it, and disrespect other's boundaries. We already have to deal with enough toxic bullshit in this community enough as it is, and now we have to deal with these people as well.

It's already hard enough to thrive and grow in this community enough as it is due to the whole fact that unless you're popular or ship with a popular character or have a more appealing and attractive art style compared to others, you don't get much interactions at all. It's a struggle enough in this community for small blogs. We don't need to add on all of this hate to it.

All of this is exhausting and frustrating. I remember when it used to be fun and welcoming, and when we tried to uplift each other, give each other a boost and respected other people's wishes and boundaries. What the hell happened?? When did this all change?? If you're uncomfortable sharing, you're valid, but please don't be so rude and disrespectful to others over it. The block button and the black list function are available to us. It applies to basically everything. Someone rubs you the wrong way, or you don't want to interact with them? Block them. You don't like a person? Block them. Don't like a ship that involves a character you don't like? Black list the tag. It's that simple. I really wish we didn't have all of this hatred happening right now. I really wish this community wasn't so scary and cause so much anxiety for people. Self shipping is supposed to be about having fun and for your own comfort. What happened? What happened to this community?? We need to fix this. People have left the community because of all of this or have been driven out by others over this. This has to stop. We have to do something. I know I myself am just one person, and I'm just a small blog, but it doesn't mean I can't use my voice to an extent.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for taking a moment to listen. Hopefully, this community will improve soon.

Have a good day.

[quantumshade]

okay actually i rewatched potd the other day and. i have so many gripes with that episode. so many. but what really got me is how like. inconsequential 13's death feels, and not inconsequential in the right way.

honestly 13's regeneration feels a LOT like 10's, but missing all of the beats that made 10's work. let me explain:

(under a cut because HOLY SHIT this got long. don't let classicists write dr who meta)

both 10's and 13's regenerations are prophesied to them. ten gets the woman in planet of the dead, carmen, who says "he will knock four times." thirteen gets the Literal Incarnation Of Time telling her, "beware of the forces that mass against you. and their master."

both their regenerations happen after a short-ish period of time, at least for a time lord. 10 regenerates after only a handful of years, a decade at most, and 13 spends the majority of her life in prison for decades. that's nothing!! 11 and 12 both had centuries.

ten cheating regeneration with tentoo and then regenerating a few episodes later anyway 🤝 thirteen cheating regeneration after being forced into being the master and then back again and then dying almost immediately after anyway

they both almost make it out!! but they don't, and it's heartbreaking!

what's different between them, to me, is their reactions to their deaths. a lot of people who don't like rtd era/ten complain about the scene where he has a breakdown before saving wilf, complaining that he's being whiny or whatever, but in my mind, he has every right to be whiny and upset. regeneration is a death, as established earlier in the episode. it's hard, starting over again and again and again, becoming someone new, especially when he's only had this body for a couple of years AND he believes his next body is his last.

yknow why he's upset in that scene? because he could just walk away. he could just let wilf take the fall, let one, inconsequential old man die, and go off and have adventures forever. but it's not a choice for him. because he's the doctor, and the doctor would never, ever take the other choice. he was always going to save wilf. there's no world in which he didn't.

but he's scared of dying. he's scared of change. he's lost everyone he's ever loved in this body, often in horrible, unchangeable ways. and it's a sad story. but it's an incredibly narratively satisfying one, because it's a culmination of ten's entire arc. he lost his way, broke all his own rules, and was punished heavily for it, but in the end, he still does the right thing, because at their core, the doctor is a good person.

there's a running theme in just about pretty much all of doctor who from 1963 onwards that every single person is important and every life matters. 9 dies to save rose, but is also prepared to die permanently to save the human race. 10 dies to save wilf. 11, after centuries of running away from responsibilities and problems, settles down to protect one town on one planet, accepting he will die for good there. 12 dies to save a handful of people on a ship--"maybe not many, maybe not for long"--accepting all of this might be for nothing, but he does it because it's the right thing to do. because it's kind. the doctor does these things, lays down their lives one right after another because they are fundamentally a kind person.

13 lets people sacrifice themselves for her. multiple times. like. four different people she BARELY knows sacrifice themselves for her (i.e. the derry girls grandpa in "the timeless children" and the one pirate guy in "legend of the sea devils"). and she LETS them. i'm not saying this as a gripe against her, but rather, the writing that doesn't consider those lives important.

people sacrifice themselves for other doctors, of course, it happens all the time. to keep using ten as an example, river is one, and that prickish kid from the sontaran episodes, but he doesn't LET them. they don't give him that choice. and when he IS given that choice, to let someone "inconsequential" die in his place, he doesn't take it.

and then the way 13 does die just feels so... nothing. the master's angry at her, so he aims a large and slow moving Beam at her, and she basically stands there while it hits her. and that's it. honestly i would have been much happier with it if they said it was a product of the forced regeneration from earlier. that would have made a lot more sense. but the whole thing with the qorunx (is that what it's called??) just feels so... last minute. like they forgot that she needed to die at the end of the episode so they just shoved something in. it feels like an afterthought.

yaz's exit feels the same way. you're telling me she fought for four years in the past to get back to the doctor, and now she's just leaving because the doctor is regenerating? it feels like yaz and the doctor both had endings because the narrative said they needed endings, not because their character arcs had come to a satisfying close.

they deserved better. yaz deserved an exit that was fair to her as a character. the doctor deserved a death that mattered. and she deserved to be more upset about her death.

she gets a little bit, just a taste, of an emotional moment: "No. No. That's not right. I need more time. I want more time!", before immediately accepting her death and coming to terms with it. "And I have loved being me," she says. but me, as a viewer who cares about characterization and storytelling, asks, "have you?"

because 13 spent more time of this life IN PRISON than out of it. her life outside was never easy, either, she rarely got moments of true happiness. hell, in this regeneration, she found out her entire life was a lie!

...but she loved being her?

i think 13 should have gotten to be angry and upset that she wasn't given those moments of peace or happiness. she didn't get a lot of time being her, and the time she did get was fraught and difficult and painful. she should have gotten to be upset about not having more time for more than 0.2 seconds. she should have been allowed to be afraid of dying. or at least upset about dying.

i don't know. i don't know if this post is at all coherent but i'm just really disappointed in potd and my rewatch really cemented that. it didn't have the emotional resonance that i wish it did. it felt rushed, overstuffed, and, much like the rest of chibnall era, not well thought out.

[siremasterlawrence]

Into The Wild

Reporter Alex Wild Master arrives in the hot midst of a major media storm involving the disappearance of two men in odd location who happens to be surrounding the same area.

Part 1

Hello everyone, my name is reporter Alex Wild Master and I am on a scoop of a lifetime. On the hunt for three missing fathers who are active in this community but unfortunately they have all gone missing.

I am traversing to the back roads of this small unimportant town hoping to find just a bit of luck but I find is a strange law in the middle of the woods calling me I will report and continue to find these missing men even if it cost me my life.

What the hell is going on here? Alex Ponders out, loud, trailing through the area because his nose always new when there was a good case to be found and this surely was a truly epic find as a sound of a weird, eerie crush of otherworldly sound surrounds the area.

The path down the area is crooked, lengthy and utterly destroyed as he walks away int to the woods further in he sees one of the men completely frozen in time staring into space as if they were awaiting something the area begins to feel very faint.

The man’s eyes were glowing a deep evil emerald green, with strange aura, like halo over his head. he is self-destructive he is totally unaware of what is going on and does he care because something is in the wind.

The man freaks out as he approaches him, he lightly taps his shoulder afraid of what occur is it a stroke, a fainting spell, under influence, or is he simply lost in time in space. The whatever case might be the man needs to be saved.

Part 2

The man is in shock to find a second sexy and younger man who appears out of the space of nowhere also staring deep and far in to space he ends up with his back laying on the tree.

The man looks up in to the air his eyes soon become like static frequency with buzzing black and white eyes constantly coming in and out it looks like he is receiving important information that they cannot live without at this point.

A brush of wind is felt harsh, cold and super distracting as he soon finds himself racing to escape this nightmare he gripes at the idea he could be apart of this instead of the hero who finds, saves them and gets praised.

“This cannot be happening to me at the moment it is a dream.” He comments.

“So you think?” He replies to himself.

“Great! I am talking to myself now.”

“Excuse! Hello! Can you two hear me?”

“Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“What is that horrible sound you are emitting ?”

Soon his body is now stuck in the woods as his mind fades everything in the area vanish in to the either. A space craft shudders to the land settling down in huff as green color skin, huge jet black eyes walk off and all three men enter the ship.

The end

[ambeauty]

I have some many thots and feelings on the season opener of Titans Part 2. I’ve literally had all day to process these thoughts and I hope they come off well intended. Well DCTK was something… I’ll make this a compliment sandwich. In the caul’s folly ep I loved how hands on Dick and Kory were. Dick constantly checking on her meant everything to me. 🥹🥹🥹 That was when I really floated to the ceiling. It is something so wonderful and so beautiful about seeing Dick be a literally shoulder for Kory to lean on, even with how strong she is. That’s how their relationship has always been but not seeing them shy away from each other physically meant a lot to me.

Now Kory not knowing how to read ancient tamaranean was a choice.. and the fact that the vision was not discussed was also a choice… How does the heir to the throne not know their ancient language. I can see if she forgot like when she had amnesia and maybe it would’ve curled over better if she said I can’t translate this right now, it must have gotten loss when I landed. IDK something to prove she hadn’t studied her own race’s native language as the next in line monarch, even if she didn’t want it.

However the Diner scene, when Dick sat next to Kory I have to say I was very pleased. Like that’s really her man without being her man.I can’t deal with them. I love how Kory went ahead of Dick to talk to the cops too. She was gonna use that charm by any means necessary and then Dick stepped in like “Baby, I got this.” 🤭🤭

Now here’s where things get shakey for me. When Kory starts to feel sick and Dick takes her back to the RV, where the hell does he leave her while going to meet with the sheriff? Was he not afraid someone wouldn’t find her after? Idk him going to visit the sheriff alone just didn’t sit right with me. And constantly leaving her “alone” throughout DCTK gave me some friction. Just didn’t seem like the smartest of ideas. But likely she didn’t wander off or get taken.

Ok so here’s my ultimate gripe with the episode. This episode was supposed to be about Dick & Carol & Ted & Kory… and I feel like they only got about a fourth of the episode. I feel like this was an episode full of very flavorful tastings of something reallly really special. I feel like if Tom could’ve written the episode of just Dick & Kory he would’ve went so crazy and I wanna see that version without all of the extra plot points like TimBer and Brother Blood. I wanted Dick & Kory actually communicating about why they put them together as a marry couple since it seemed so outlandish that they could be in bed together 🙄 (y’all have fucked multiple times.. be fucking for real) I would’ve liked you to remember it but yeah idk it was weird. Like funny but weird.

At this late stage of the series the tiptoeing and longing and pining of this ship is tortorous and TIRED. We should not fucking be here. I am sorry. We shouldn’t. Dick should’ve tried to snap Kory out of her spell by telling her some of her memories that intertwined with his. A conversation about the Mar’i vision should’ve been discussed there. I feel like it won’t ever be fully discussed because when do they have the time???

I am just forever upset that so much of s3 could’ve been giving us this but they had to throw Barbara in there for some sick reason. We should’ve gotten all of this pining last season so we weren’t spending majority of our final season there. I feel like the moment we see Dick and Kory happy and in love it’ll be over. Like 5 minutes of it. And what was the point of spending 11 episodes pining. IDK. I know Dick and Kory would have such a beautiful relationship once it’s finally said and done and I am perturbed that I am going to have to spend time exploring it in fic alone.

I just don’t wanna have to write fix it fics because that means that I was unfulfilled by the media and that was fine last season they had time to fix it on their own but the way they went about it here leave so much to be desired.

In conclusion. Dick telling Kory he would never leave her was sooooooooooo sweet. A perfect moments in the midst of a lot of shit and although he didn’t tell Kory directly. She knows how he feels. Idk when they will actually have the talk if they actually have the talk but I am sooo ready to see it. For my little DickKorian heart there’s so much riding on this conclusion. And I hope I can feel satisfied in the end. Right now I feel edged to the end of oblivion not gon hold you.

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a long weekend

10pm, sunday, oct 8, 2023

it's canadian turkey-day tomorrow ~ it's windy and grey outside ~ there is pumpkin pie in the fridge and i'm wearing an extremely pleasing wooly sweater my housemate was going to give away. we've turned the heat on for the first time this season. the cozy season of the year has arrived.

reading finished victoria goddard's whiskeyjack, book 3 in the greenwing & dart series! reading this series for me is an exercise in noticing the easter eggs that tell me it was written by a medievalist, and an academic, and a medievalist academic with a degree from the program i'm currently in. there's so much in this particular volume about poetry analysis. she came so close to using the word 'semiotic' and actually did use the phrase 'exoteric.' while i might have quibbled about things like pacing and plot and how i still don't always think first-person is a good fit in the hands of most authors, these books are like tailor-made for me. i can't not enjoy them.

and then on the other hand, i spent some extremely happy hours this past week with patrick o'brian's post captain. when i first read the aubrey books, i was probably in high school, fresh out of racing through the hornblower series. because the aubreyad is-- i'll be honest-- better writing, but also demands more of you as a reader, i fully didn't appreciate like 80% of this book. i knew the series, as much by osmosis as by actual time spent reading, and reading it now? felt like coming home. especially since i now have the attention, and the ability, to read between the lines. to pick up on the irony, the allusions, the humor, the misdirection! the women oh my god how did i not appreciate sophie, diana, or mrs. williams before now. i didn't mind before how little of the larger world and society made it into the movie, but i actually understand the griping now. but even more than that, i found the ship action and actual, like, battle extremely tense and interesting this time; i was up well into the night at one point just to see what would happen next, because i was nervous for my dear boys.

watching friday night double-feature with @hematiterings where we enjoyed the first three new episodes of Our Flag Means Death and finished with another two of netflix's Arcane: League of Legends, which we're probably going to finish fairly soon so i'll focus on that one. just quickly though, had a great time with the first new ofmd episode, just extremely good work from all involved, and then was weirdly not as into the second two-- though the end of ep 3 was back to grand. i think in general i like where the season is going, and i'm going to withhold further comment until we've seen some more.

i was not expecting to like arcane as much as i have been. didn't have a clue what it was when we started, but the art style has absolutely blown me away. here's a quick run-down of the animation, which is a mix of hand-painted digital, 2D, and absolutely gorgeous. it looks like a video game and a painting at the same time-- not in the same way spiderverse combines animation and illustration, but with some familiar elements. people's eyes have this amazing jewel-like depth and clarity? scenery that made us go 'oh, paris looks so nice!' and 'man i love cyberpunk' and other such witticisms. but seriously, if you like good animation and also art nouveau-inspired steam-punk aesthetics, there's a lot here. plus a good (dare I? could league of legends be good, actually?) tragic story-line, and enough twists that i haven't seen coming, to really get me curious about what comes next.

listening a long time ago, probably back in 2021 around the time of the most recent album, i think @mankillercalledbunny was sharing playlists or links that featured The Amazing Devil, and at roughly the same time i had a spotify playlist include a track or two for me, and now here we are. had their two albums "ruin" and "the horror and the wild" on all week, which made it a bit hard to read at times because i would get caught in the lyrics. this is exactly the kind of music two people who met at the RSC would make, it is dramatic, sort of gothic, sort of folky, sort of theater. the contrary motion, the interweaving voices, esp. in the chorus of "marbles", is where i've been living recently. i like knowing this about joey batey, i like that he has this extra dimension now when i see him as jaskier! i hope he can find a way to come back to it again, whenever.

playing i finally (after how long!) got the wizard's ink well - witch's pendant - goblins (??) quest in stardew! not a hard one at all, but so satisfying to be able to use that hint that had been hovering there in the library for the past, oh, real-world year or so. i'm like 50 pieces of hardwood away from getting the ferry up and running too, and i'm excited to move off of the plateau i've been on and open up the next level of the world.

making i mentioned the pumpkin pie up top, and it did turn out well this year despite a distracted me happening to leave out the butter when mixing the filling-- i noticed before it got into the oven, luckily, and was able to add it in! but...while it was in the pie crust, which was kind of sloppy. no nicely pinched or braided crust for me this year. and then, since the size of can of pumpkin you buy here is always a little too big for the recipe, i tried out the smitten kitchen pumpkin bread that many friends have recommended before, and that has been a delight. moist without being dense or heavy, but still very substantial? a little bit less sugar than the recipe called for, and no freshly ground nutmeg, but we did have fresh ginger and overall it is very nice. it also rose architecturally, which was maybe a function of it being on a higher rack? or of me miss-counting scoops of baking soda? anyway, hilarious.

working on working on consistency. working on momentum. working on not getting in my own way. draft of this conference paper due 10/26, slides and notes for this guest lecture due 10/25, and the chapter abides. the conference paper serves it directly, however, which i feel good about. i keep finding new things to read about, and keep being glad i've continued researching, since i'm coming up with excellent (it feels) material to work with, but i can't let that get in the way of actually. writing.

[onekisstotakewithme]

🔥 TWW

I have many opinions on TWW and some of them are fairly unpopular so uhhhh here goes.

I'll get the biggest one out of the way first: for when it happened, I actually don't find the shuttle leak storyline out of character for Toby, nor do I hate it. If it had happened back in season 4, sure, and I'm mad at the post-Sorkin writing team for their slow destruction of Toby's character, but by end of s6, start of s7, it's not out of character for him. Could it have been better executed? Sure. But where he is as a character, unfortunately, it doesn't feel supremely terrible to me.

Second, the best Donna is season 1 Donna. A bit of an audience surrogate sometimes but in a not-overly-clumsy way, funny and spunky and just a bit quirky... and her dynamic with Josh is SO fun in season 1. I'm almost through s1 in my rewatch and I'd genuinely forgotten how much I enjoyed Donna. I feel like she really got flattened out once they really committed to the will they/won't they with Josh, and then was worse because of the whole season 6/7 disaster (that was a mess!), PLUS they had her make some very dumb decisions to advance the plot that did not feel realistic (the dumb shit with Cliff Calley, the accidentally voting for Ritchie).

(more under the cut because apparently I'm not done!)

I know season 5 was the weakest season overall, BUT season 4 was the weakest Sorkin season. I'm not saying season 4 needed to be all about re-election, but I feel like there was a better balance to strike between the "rush through all the election stuff by episode 8-ish" and "stretch it out into a season and a half long affair" (as in 6-7). It also just, despite everything it took to get to this point, felt INCREDIBLY rushed and unsatisfying. it didn't feel like there were any stakes! I wanted to see the whole debate, I wanted to see a genuine election night with stakes, dammit! And I think, much as I love Will, that dedicating so much time to THAT storyline was part of the problem. This also wasn't helped by the fact that Ritchie was a caricature and a Bush expy which worked when the episodes were airing but just makes him look cartoonish and one-dimensional now. Like Arnie Vinick may be a unicorn of a Republican and impossible to believe in now, but at least he's a person and not a cardboard cutout. Anyway! It feels like for all the build-up to the difficulty of getting re-elected post-MS scandal, it was just. they won, shuffle them offscreen again.

Okay, fuck, this is getting long.

I don't MIND Annabeth but I find the whole Leo-Annabeth flirtation thing REALLY weird and honestly out of left field. That scene in the elevator where she says they shouldn't be spending too much time together 'because of the tension', I was RIGHT THERE with Leo like 'what tension?' Like I'm sorry, I just don't see it!

Okay a few more bullet-point gripes just because

I got used to it eventually but I'm still not a fan that CJ got promoted to COS. Like yeah by the end she did a damn good job and she has one of the best relationships with Jed, but c'mon. she loved being press secretary, and she was a damn good one.

CJ's dark hair in season 7 is not a good look on her, I'm sorry CJ my love, but it doesn't look good. The only non-canon part of the flashfoward is that she definitely does NOT still have that hair.

Amy was fun when she first appeared, but in seasons 6 and 7 her character definitely got worse.

For the most part, I actually wanted less election plot in season 7 and more focus on the west wing (and I say this as loving both Matt and Arnie!)

Gina Toscano/CJ is a great ship also. I rewatched "six meetings before lunch" last night and remembered that I ship them.

Episode specific: the B-plot of Requiem makes absolutely no sense to me and I've watched the episode about 6 or 7 times now (the whole 'meddling in the speaker race' plot).

And finally: Danny should've been in every single season, as a regularly recurring character. I know that Tim Busfield was busy with other commitments but Mr. Busfield, I'm begging you.

TL;DR:

[hopeless-writer]

Europan Secrets

The snow storm swirled violently around Pixie, and she was having a horrible time trying to keep herself in the air. Visibility was reduced to a few meters, while the wind was quickly wiping away her Guardian’s foot prints. Panic griped her as white began to swallow her whole. Had it not been for her shell, and the fact that she’s was part of The Traveler, she was sure she would have died in the storm.

“Guardian? Where are you?”

“Here,” came a reply from her Guardian.

“Where’s here? I can’t see anything but the snow.”

“Right in front of you.” The voice came again, but this time a gloved hand touched her shell.

“Thank the Light. I thought I’d never find you. Now, we need to get back to the ship. I have to get you back to The Last City. Zavala will be eager to get you settled in with your duties now that you’re alive again.”

“No, not until I have some answers.”

“And you’ll get them, at The Tower.”

Her Guardian sighed, “No. Something called me, called us here. I’m not leaving until I have answers.”

“But, you’re just back from the dead. I need to get you back to The Tower, back to the Vanguard. They can explain everything.”

“I can’t, if you won’t come with me, then I’ll go alone.”

Pixie beeped in frustration and found her way into her Guardian’s hippack.

New life, a second life. At least that’s what Pixie said, but Noxa was weary. She had no knowledge of her past life. Pixie had told her that she was brought back because something called The Traveler had sent her to find Noxa. It was all so hard to believe, she had been dead one moment, then alive the next.

She spent a week trying to get acquainted with her new reality, trying to harness what Pixie called The Light. She quickly found that she was unable to die, anytime she tried Pixie would bring her back good as new. After a few days she had learned to coalesce The Light into a small explosive, and found that she had the ability to use this new power to propel her to higher places in one jump, and then use The Light in mid air allowing for a second jump. She still had to eat and drink to maintain her energy, but like with the falls before hand, she found if she expired from dehydration or lack of food, her ghost would bring her back.

There was a lot to learn in the beginning, and Noxa was sure there was even more to learn, but for now the only thing that drove her was the mysterious signal she received when she found her first Jump-ship and left the place known as The Tangled Shore behind her.

She tracked the source of the signal to a frozen moon in orbit around a planet called Saturn. Pixie had warned her that Europa was deemed off limits by The Vanguard, a group of fellow Guardians that protected the last remnants of Humanity from hostile forces.

“Wait, something’s wrong.” Pixie said from the inside her hiding place.

“What? How do you know? I can’t see anything.” Noxa said, raising her semi automatic scout rifle into a ready position.

“It’s some kind of presence, something trying to invade my light,” the little ghost said, her shell shivering a little, “we need to leave. There’s something here and it’s not good.”

“Not until I have answers.” Noxa replied, continuing forward.

The snow storm started to subside a little, and Noxa could start to make out shapes in the distance. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. Her new life had been a rough one so far. While she explored her new powers, she had run into a group Pixie had dubbed The Scorn. They were monstrous creatures, filled with something called Dark Ether. It had allowed them to return from death multiple times, but each time corrupted them further into madness. Pixie had said they had once been something called Fallen, a spider like race that once worshiped The Traveler before their society’s collapse. Now, however, thanks to Dark Ether they were but shells of their former selves. Twisted beyond recognition, and wholly devoted to someone named Uldren. All of this just made her head hurt, far to much information for a newly resurrected brain to handle.

She took a deep breath, let it out slowly and looked through her gun’s scope. She wanted to know what she was dealing with before she continued onward. The snow had other ideas however, from this distance she could only get vague shapes wandering through the blizzard.

“Damn, I’m going to have to get closer.” Noxa muttered.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t know...wait, I’m picking up a different signal than before. It’s Fallen. We should leave before they see us.” Pixie warned.

“What, and miss all the fun? I’ve been itching to test my abilities further.” Noxa said through a smirk.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. You need guidance, and that’s at The Tower, with other New Lights, and the help of the Vanguard.” Noxa’s ghost advised.

“One thing I’ve learned about myself. I’m better off on my own.” Noxa said checking her ammo.

Noxa shifted herself into invisibility, thanks to something called Void Light, and made her way closer. When she was finally in range she slipped behind a snow drift just as the invisibility was wearing off. The snow, though it had subsided a little, was still making vision difficult. She was able to see small robots floating just a couple of meters off the ice and snow. Before she could ready her scout rifle to take a shot, a dozen more figures emerged from the snow beyond the little machines. There were two types, one held a long rifle in two clawed hands, while two other arms hung at their sides, the other seemed to be a bit smaller, and with only two arms. What unnerved her the most was the soft blue light their four eyes were emitting. She looked through her scope to get a better look, and noticed that they all had some kind of breathing apparatus covering what she hoped was a mouth.

“What is that?” Noxa asked, retrieving the ghost from her pack.

“Fallen, but I’ve never seen their house symbol before.” Pixie replied, her glowing eye transfixed on The Fallen.

“House symbol? Is that like a caste system or something?” Noxa asked, sinking behind the snow drift.

“Sort of, it’s a long story. Quick version is each house has a specific role in Fallen society. This one, is new.”

“What’s that around their necks?”

“It’s their Ether supply. They need it to survive, it’s their only source of food.”

“So, are they friendly?”

“I’ve never known The Fallen to be friendly. I think we should avoid them and go back to the ship.”

Before Noxa could reply there was a screech from behind. She whipped her head around to see one of the four armed Fallen standing behind her, it’s gun pointed at her head. Without thinking she drew her scout rifle and fired a shot into it’s skull. A plume of smoke erupted from it’s breathing apparatus causing it to scream and claw at it’s face. It fell to the snow with a muffled thump, and in an instant the others were firing their weapons. Noxa focused for a second, and the explosive was in her hand again. She threw it, and shifted again into invisibility. The grenade went off, causing a small void to open at it’s location, causing a few of the smaller Fallen to collapse in on themselves, plumes of Ether escaping from their ruined bodies. The ones that weren’t caught in the small gravity well, began firing in earnest where Noxa had been. Giving her plenty of opportunity to circle around behind them and unleash a few rounds of her own.

In an instant two of the taller Fallen were slain, but there wasn’t a moment of reprieve. The small robots were armed, and firing their own weapons at her. She felt pain as some of the rounds hit, leaving small burns where they made their impact. Without thinking, Noxa called on her power again, this time a small device appeared in her hand, she threw it towards the machines. It stuck to one of them, and then a plume of dark smoke formed around them, temporarily blinding the machines. She slung her scout rifle in favor of a shotgun she found when she first landed on the moon, and moved into range. She slid across the ice, leveraging her lower profile, to avoid on coming fire from the ones outside of the smoke, and unleashed a few rounds into the machines. The other Fallen having seen her display retreated back into the snow storm. Noxa smiled to herself, loving the feeling of victory. It was short lived, another screech was loosed, this time answered by a lower pitched Fallen. She knew her fight wasn’t over. A larger figure made it’s way through the snow, it was at least three times as big as the ones with four arms. In it’s arms was a far larger weapon than the others were carrying. It raised one of it’s arms in a rallying cry, that was reciprocated by more beyond the snow.

“This is bad, that’s a Captain. You’re not ready for this. We have to get out of here, now!” Pixie urged.

“I can handle this.” Noxa replied confidently.

“No, you can’t. You need more training. You need to listen to me.”

Noxa smirked under her helmet and rushed the Captain with her shotgun. In response the Captain raised it’s arm and in an instant Noxa was pushed back. She tried to catch herself, but she wasn’t able to move her arms. She hit the ice uncontrolled, and slammed into a snow bank. She tried again to move her arms again, but they wouldn’t listen to her. She called for Pixie, but the ghost didn’t respond. This was very bad, why didn’t she listen to her? The Captain pulled her from the snow bank and righted her. When she was fully upright she was able to see what was happening better.

It looked like her lower body, hands included, were bound in some kind of ice. It was colder than the surrounding air, something that surprised Noxa. The Captain let loose a gravelly laugh and lowered his face to meet hers.

“This is power. The Great Machine, holds us no longer.” The Captain said, a cold glow in one of it’s hands. The ice started to cover her face, and her lungs were freezing in place. She only just returned to life, now darkness filled her sight and she found herself yearning for it’s embrace.

Embrace this gift. Open yourself, and let our power flow through you. We can help you, we can save you.

The darkness consumed her, but she was still conscious. The cold seeped down into her core, and began to resonate within her. Slowly she broke one arm free, then another, as her vision started to return she saw her skin was covered in a shimmering blue ice. In her hands were two cold kamas, made from the ice that was her temporary prison. Instinct took over and she threw one, then after a quick twist of her body she released the second. Where the first landed it exploded and instantly froze the Captain and at least half a dozen other Fallen that had once been obscured by the blizzard. When the second landed a tornado formed, but it wasn’t just wind swirling but far more damaging. The tornado shattered the smaller Fallen entirely as it made it’s way towards the Captain. It made contact just as the Captain broke out of the ice, and tried to scuttle away from the sight it now faced. It was no use, the tornado had instantly encased it in ice once again.

Noxa felt the cold flowing through her veins, but it didn’t make her shiver. It only seemed to empower her further. She tried reaching for her smoke bomb and instead was greeted by two shurikens made of pure blue ice. She launched them one at a time towards the large ice crystal that use to be a Fallen Captain, and they sent cracks splintering through out it. Noxa grabbed her shotgun from the remains of her prison, and made her way to the Captain. She placed a hand on the tomb, smirked and unloaded a round into it. Where there use to be a Fallen Captain, now only large blocks of blue ice remained, the body still trapped in each of them.

Pixie floated lazily out of Noxa’s bag, small ice crystals falling from her shell. She surveyed the carnage that lay before her and Noxa. She blinked her singular eye, then turned to Noxa.

“What...what happened here?” Pixie asked, afraid what the answer maybe.

“I’m not sure. I was frozen in that ice block back there,” she pointed to the snowbank behind her, “then I heard a voice telling me they could save me if I opened myself to their power. Next thing I know I’m free and with a power that I’ve never felt before. Do you think The Traveler spoke to me?”

“The Traveler doesn’t speak, and I’ve never seen this kind of power from any Guardian. I’m afraid that this is something else all together, and I’m not certain it’s even a good thing.” Pixie replied flatly.

“I see...” after a long pause Noxa continued, “I think you’re right, I think I should go to the Tower now. I’m afraid whatever called me here, isn’t safe for me, yet.”

Pixie nodded, and flew back into Noxa’s pack as she started to move. The blizzard subsided, and as Noxa made her way back to her jump ship a hooded figure examined the icey remains of the Captain. Two more people joined her, a man with a rebreather in his mouth and a large hand canon on his hip, and another woman with three glowing eyes and a green orb floating in her hands.

“Think she’ll be back?” The man said, his voice cocky and dripping in smoothness.

“Quiet Rat, I think the important question here is can she control the power she’s gained?” The woman with three eyes said.

“I think we’ll have to wait and see, my timeline didn’t have her in it, nor half the Guardians there are now.” The first woman said, her voice sounding like it was coming from an electronic speaker box in her mouth.

[coe-lilium]

I am trying very hard to be reasonable with a whole lot of Rings criticism and see where it comes from because I have my own gripes (major gripes too) with what has leaked so far and so on but then I run into stuff like: 

“The Numenoreans *have* to be taller (or Amazon is shit that doesn’t respect Tolkien: shame on them!)”

or 

“They depicted X Numenorean character with a beard, lol, what ignorant cretins, don’t they know the universally-known fact of Numenoreans not having a beard because of their blood ties with the Elves?” 

and think, do you think you’re being smart? Or not sounding like desperately reaching like the fox with the grape?

Like the -rightly- almost universally loved movie trilogy also didn’t respect either of these things? Was Aragorn shaved, blonde and 2 meters tall in the movies? NO. Did that hurt Aragorn’s portrayal in any way? Also NO. 

If you want a visual story where two races of 2 meters tall people intermingle with regular sized humans and shorter people your only option is animation, not a 5 seasons long live action. The making of the movie trilogy docs talked at length about how much work had to go into making the hobbits and dwarves look shorter than the other actors and you expect that work to be multiplied for also every elf and numenorean? Who bloody cares!

Or shit like “Oh, this scene of Elves on an Elven ship (with a very similar design to the movies) moving through a blank sea doesn’t *feel* like Tolkien, it’s sooo bland”.

Are you fucking kidding me, we’ve reached levels of complete ridicule. Just admit that you’ll hate it whatever the authors will do because it’s being produced by Amazon and go on your merry way. 

[dude1818]

Under Fortunate Stars

I recently read Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings. It was a fun space opera story about two ships from different times that got trapped in a spacetime rift and had to work together to escape, and not break the historical record in doing so. I have some gripes, but overall still something I'd recommend.

The plot follows two ships: the Jonah and the Gallion. The story jumps around a lot in time, so I'm going to use the Gallion's reference frame as "the present." 150ish years prior, the Jonah was a smuggling ship during the generations-long war between humanity and the alien race called the Felen (which the humans were pretty close to losing). In the present, the crew of the Jonah is revered as ending the war and negotiating peace with the Felen. Now they're in the same room, and neither ship's crew can understand how to make those dots connect.

Most of the story takes place in the spacetime rift, as the ships' systems are failing and they need to find a way to escape. A lot of the chapters are flashbacks though. Unlike Witch King or Children of Time, it's not two parallel stories that converge. Instead, there's the main story in the present, and a large smattering of somewhat disjointed vignettes in the characters' pasts. For example, there's a chapter about the Jonah captain's childhood, then several about his and the pilot's previous adventures, but also several chapters about one of the Gallion's crewmember's former job on a top secret space station that slowly drip feeds information about the current relationship with the Felen. (This eventually becomes relevant when that space station also shows up in the spacetime rift, having "vanished" six years ago.) This isn't necessarily a bad structure, but I find it tiring and was already a little burnt out from having recently read several other books like that.

My main gripe with the story was the sheer level of coincidence required for things to happen. It's already a circular time loop story (because obviously the interaction between the two ships is what causes the Jonah to be the ones who end the war), and I know that breaks credulity for some people automatically. I don't mind that, but then the number of other little deus ex machinas that line up gets to be too much. For example, the weapons the Jonah was smuggling happen to be made of the exactly the right components for the device to free them from the rift, or the crate the character from the space station knocked over when she left before it vanished happened to prop open a fire door they needed to go through now, or (bigger spoilers) a character got a concussion and regained their psychic powers that we had never even know they had in the first place prior to this point. All of this being fated was kind of the point, but it played its hand a little too heavily for my liking.

[shelly-ya]

DESERTED ISLAND 1

Hi all missed posting so I decided to do one about reader and killer one piece lost on a deserted island. Reader as usual in my writings is a heart pirate member. Please enjoy the romance, thriller and hopefully comedy that ensues now....

The day was calm no way In hell did you or the crew expect a storm. No just a normal day racing on the open seas trying to out do other pirate crews. Today's crew was none other than the kid pirates. The bet was who could beat who in a race to the next island since both crews log poses pointed in the same direction. The prize, drinks for the winner crew sponsored by the losing crew. The Victoria Punk and the polar tang zoomed through the relatively calm seas. Then you felt it a shiver run down your spine.

"Uh captain I think we should call this bet off and dive." You said to your captain who was looking straight ahead.

"I am not going to lose to the likes of Eustace - ya!" Trafalgar Law your captain yelled back at you. " and you can't tell me what to do"

"Listen dumb ass I am older than you and I have every right as well as you to take command of this ship" you yelled feeling another shiver down your spine. Law was ready to argue back but stopped looking at how you reacted. You were hugging yourself so tightly and trembling. This wasn't a devil fruit power it was just you were sensitive to changes in the weather.

"What's wrong? My sister/brother is it a storm?" he asked.

"Yeah a big storm" you shivered again.

"Everyone get your things inside we have to dive!" Law barked his orders. The crew looked at him confused and started to whine.

"Aww come on sencho we are so gonna win this race." shachi complained

" I don't wanna sponsor those idiots any drinks" Penguin equally griped. They eventually spun around noticing their captain and you in an embrace. He was trying to calm your quivering body.

"Eustace - ya take precautions a storm is about to hit!" Law yelled to the captain of the Victoria Punk.

"What Trafalgar you trying to run? You wuss!" Eustace kid yelled. Then stopped mid rant when he felt a wet plop on his head. "What the?" Then a barrage of rain drops fell down from above. The sunny skies turned grey. Fierce winds began blowing as if Neptune himself became angry within a split second.

Orders were being given to the kid pirates to raise the sails and try to sail in line with the storm. Where as in the Polar Tang the few members that were outside wobble inside. You were holding onto a railing waiting for the last member of your crew to run inside. The sub and the ship were being tossed back and forth like tennis balls in a tennis match. Law being the last to enter you let the railing go to run in behind him to close the sub door and the crew can dive the craft. However letting go of the railing was your undoing, the Polar Tang lurched forward throwing you in the air. Your hands outstretched towards the door trying to grab something sturdy. Looking in through the entrance you saw your captain and crew, wide eyes with surprise. Law's right hand on the door his left outstretched to you missing you by the tips of your fingers.

"LAW!" You yelled feeling the force of the sea hit you with a rush. The last thing you heard was your captain screaming your name and the blue of the sea turning blurry after which you lost comciousness. You felt so light you wondered if this is what death felt like. Groaning in pain you began you push yourself up. Hands sinking into damp cold sand. "Where the heck am i?" You said outloud. *am I really dead? Is this place pirate hell?* You questioned yourself. *ok mental check my body parts. Head? Check. Arms and legs? Check.* You were mentally checking everything while patting yourself down.

"Heh" you heard a man half laugh in front you. Looking up you see a long blonde haired man grimacing at you. Sharp blue eyes bore into yours. He was a tall muscular looking man wearing a black shirt with white polka-dots and an open collar that shows his chest, with blue riding chaps over his pants and has a red sash around his waist. Handguards on each hand and a sheath with blades attached to his right hip.

"You look familiar" you said cautiously rising to your feet.

"We met before. I always where a mask" he said

Realization clicking and hitting you hard in the face. "Wait you're killer?" You yelled pointing at him.

He then took his finger and started cleaning his ear. "You don't need to yell" he said. Clapping your hands on your mouth you mumble a sorry.

"Where's your mask? Where are we? What happened?" You started assaulting the man with questions.

"You talk too much" he stated without even answering any of your questions. Turning he started walking in land. This action prompts you to look around. You notice a dense forest to your front and the sea to your back.

"Where are you going?" You asked running behind him trying to catch up to him.

"To check this place out. Looks like a deserted island we are on." He stated not stopping or looking at you.

"Well if it is, we need to locate Cray fish" you stated causing the man to stop then.

"What? and why?" He asked

" Cray fish they are fresh water creatures most species can't stick around polluted water. Thus fresh clean water for drinking. To think a big bad pirate don't know that" you smirked folding your arms in front you.

"I could just kill you now and feast on your flash like a cannibal" he stated, " and you are just thick enough, I will be feasting for days"

You visibly gulped and then anger took over "hey did you just call me fat?"

" that's what you got from my whole threat? " he quirked his eyebrow up.

"It would be better to keep me alive though." Killer walked into your personal space his presence threatening

"Oh why's that?" He asked glaring at you

" because my captain had a vivre card made for me. He would be here any minute or day. Until then we need to work together to survive. " you stated not flinching from him. "Once I tell him we survived because we worked together then I can convince him to give you a ride to your crew." He didn't answer you just pulled away and continued towards the forest. You ran behind him to catch up. "Besides killer you would have already killed me if you wanted to." You said noticing his shoulder jump a little.

He sighed and then spoke "we call crayfish yabbies or mountain lobster. And I said you are thick not fat." He said stopping at the edge of the forest. "Fine we will work together. But try anything funny... "

"I know I know you will not hesitate to kill me" you cut him off trying to mimic his deep voice. "What's the difference between thick and fat?" You asked. You could have sworn you saw him mentally facepalm.

" let's set up camp" he stated "our clothes drying on us is not a good thing. Also check out the shore to see if you find any washed up stuff we could use. I'll do most of the hard work of setting camp up. You should take of your clothes, hang them up to dry " You grew embarrassed " after I go into the forest ofcourse" he said taking his shirt and jeans off handing you them asking you to dry it for him. You took them all the while trying to avoid watching his half naked body. You almost had a nose bleed while asking him.

"Should you go in a forest naked?"

" don't you worry I'm fine " he took off. With that you removed your wet clothing once you were sure he was gone and placed it on a large rock on the beach to dry along with his clothing. Only in your underwear you scoured the shore for anything that could have been washed up from the storm. Until finally coming across some cloth from torn sails and other little things. *Too bad there is no den den mushi washed up* You thought when you heard a loud rumbling from the forest coming towards you.

what can this rumbling be tune in next time to find out. Oh should I make this nsfw? Hmmm

@angelsdevils

[masterthespianduchovny]

I’m going to be honest before I get to the Sam/Rebecca subplot: if they drop plots threads indicating that this continue into the next season and uplift this pairing, I’m out.

This storyline is gross and I can see why some people quit the show when the revealed happened.

When I say I’m repulsed by age gap relationships of this nature, this isn’t a shipping thing or a race thing. This is a moral and ethical thing. Because it’s not just an age gap, it’s also that Rebecca is Sam’s boss. I legitimately don’t see how people can overlook this and ship how “cute” this is. I’m not judging anyone, it just genuinely doesn’t make sense to me.

And for people who think I’m a hypocrite, Ted/Rebecca is not the same. Sam and Rebecca is like a principal dating a student. If you want to age Sam up, because people love to accuse others of infantilizing Sam, it’s like the president of a college dating a student. In both cases, there would be backlash, and have been, to these types of relationships.

Which would make Ted’s position that of a teacher/professor or someone higher. In most cases, there aren’t objections, however, both parties have to be transparent about their relationship and careful about how and if that influences their professional relationship with each other and others.

Last week, I mentioned a friend of mine who was 18 and dated someone who was 28. Both are white for reference. When I found out their ages and respective positions, I became concerned and doubly concerned.

Oh, they had chemistry and he made her so happy, but he was also controlling as fuck and emotionally abusive. During the duration of their relationship, he became her boss and would monitor her interactions via cameras in the back office. She was stressed out as fuck and would go to the bathroom to cry. You know, where cameras weren’t and where he couldn’t enter.

And it was a secret relationship because he could get in trouble. I didn’t say anything because she was with her boyfriend before she knew me. Me telling someone could’ve gotten him in trouble or fired, but that wouldn’t have ended the relationship. It would’ve made her end our friendship and cling closer to him. Instead, after I quit for other reasons, I sporadically checked on her to see how she was doing and give her advice and resources.

As far as the actual episode itself goes, I struggled to enjoy it due to the Sam/Rebecca situation. It should’ve ended at dinner at most.

The only emotional beat that landed, imo, was Jamie and Roy’s hug. I do think Ted’s confession was strong, but the flow was kinda weird for me. By itself it works.

Two things working for me that wasn’t at the forefront of the episode was 1. How Ted’s problem is fucking over the team. 2. That Nate is in over his head.

Even if AFC Richmond had lost with Ted being in his A game, it wouldn’t have been that made and the team would’ve been more competitive. They were sloppy and making baffling errors. Their head was not in the game and it showed. Man City wasn’t that good, Richmond was just that ill prepared.

And who led training?

Nate.

Nate has great instincts, but he isn’t ready to lead a team and he still has a lot of work to do before growing into coaching a team as head coach.

But let me stress, this falls completely on Ted and even Beard to an extent. Yes, Ted is having emotional issues, however, many people rely on him and he wasn’t there. I don’t mean literally because teams should be able to function without their head coach for stretches of time. He hasn’t been there mentally and emotionally for most of the season. Because AFC Richmond’s competition isn’t as premier as Man City, it’s easier to appear more dominant that you are, esp if you’re coach isn’t on his A game. However, when you’re up against actual Goliath’s in the league, you’ll get your ass handed to you like Richmond did.

As I mentioned earlier, if they do go through with supporting and uplifting Sam/Rebecca, my time with this fandom ends with the season 2 finale.

But if we take Ted’s dark forest into consideration, there is another way this could play out. Actually many.

The one I can see happening that can get her somewhat redeemed, because some will never get over this happening in the first place, is her hitting rock bottom via her relationship with Sam. Something will happen or make her have unflattering thoughts about herself and her actions that will drive her into a tailspin.

And I’m unsure if it’ll be just a personal crisis or if it’ll also be a professional crisis.

Some may disagree with me, but I do want this affair to come to light. Because if it doesn’t, it sets up this fucked up precedent that Rebecca can do fucked up shit and get away with it in private.

Rebecca fucked over her club, uprooted a man’s life in bad faith, and almost ruined several people’s careers due to her bullshit in the first season. The fact that she didn’t have to answer for any of this is a God damn mercy on Ted’s part even though she didn’t ask for it.

Now for her to date/fuck a player because “she just has to know.” Because she doesn’t want to let something pass her by?

Yeah…no.

Rebecca’s fear of loneliness is leading her to make very bad decisions and I fear what this means for Sam’s career and relationships if this breaks. There were people who allegedly care for Sam, yet cheered for this relationship to happen. What do you think happens with his locker room relationships? I’ve already explained in another post that either this sours those relationships OR they want favors from him because he’s dating/fucking the boss.

He’ll get crucified in the media. He may even have trouble getting employed. Why? Because that’s how racism works.

“But, masterthespianduchovny, if Sam may receive hate and racist acts committed against him, why do you want the affair exposed?”

Because this shit show of a relationship isn’t about just Sam. It’s about Rebecca’s fear of loneliness leading her to make bad decisions that effects everyone not just her and Sam. It’s the fact that a white woman isn’t thinking about how her actions could have major consequences for a young black man.

Rebecca is so obsessed with not being lonely and being loved that 1. She never sought help or productive ways to deal with the fall out and humiliation of her marriage. 2. She dated a man because he was “fine” and not because she was actually invested in him and the relationship 3. She’s getting involved with a player on her team without thinking of any of the consequences. 4. She’s not considering the other players, the coaches, or anyone else she’s responsible for.

Oh, and considering we got that call from Sam’s dad…his relationship with his father will most likely suffer as a result. AND now that Dubai Air thing looks suspect, esp because she was talking to him around that time unknowingly.

Oop! And isn’t she getting her relationship with Nora back on track? Even though Nora and Sam can’t legally date and I’m not saying every decision should be swayed by a teenage girl, however, Rebecca is literally sabotaging every relationship just because she’s afraid of being alone (I agree with another poster who said we really didn’t need to explore this storyline, but alas…)

Although Ted forgave Rebecca for her scheming in season one, I honestly don’t think he’d be so forgiving for this. It’s his job to protect players and look out for their well being and how can he one his boss is involved with one of his players, which again, affects others players. This relationship has major consequences for other people who are not in it.

Also, Sam…for someone who people love to say is mature enough to date an older woman, not once did even be consider the ramifications of getting involved with the boss.

Not once.

And that looks bad because a mature person his age would be mindful of such a thing. This isn’t considered or, at least, isn’t said onscreen. Sam os either thinking with his dick, his heart, or both, but he isn’t thinking with his head. Because there is no way you’re thinking with your head and don’t stop to say, “hey, this thing could jeopardize my relationship with my teammates and the other people I work with. Maybe I should think some more of this before pursuing a relationship with my boss.” Sam was all in from the moment he decided he wanted to have dinner with Rebecca. There was no thinking on his end.

But Sam’s super mature, right?

Another poster mentioned that there might be a screaming match between Rebecca and ted and I’m so here for that. No, I don’t think this argument will be romantic. They’ll have legitimate gripes with each other, but yeah…this is an argument that needs to happen. Which will most likely be before Rebecca gets help.

That’s all assuming this happens. Like I said, they could have Sam and Rebecca being a power couple (🤮), or handle this some other way. But if this is going to be framed as a good thing, others can enjoy it, but the show will have one less viewer from me.

[b00ket]

Just ate some shitty chocolate and mulling over my growing dislike of the arcana

Like the characters in the game, fandom (ie. like 5 people), fanartist are cool and sexy

But I feel like I would’ve enjoyed the game more if Nix Hydra actually wanted to portray POC and weren’t such vague and lazy writers

Disclaimer: I talk about Asra but I haven’t finished their route so take this grain of salt

Taking a step back and looking at this game... i don’t like it. Here’s the main reasons why:

They claim to have a diverse story and world but honestly you could change all the characters to look white and nothing would change.

They are so fucking ambiguous it drives me insane. The world in this game is never built up at ALL and neither is the magic system. They have left hints and details of a bigger complex world but never elaborate on it even when it could be relevant to the story.

Magic

Details from some stories aren’t even in others. When explaining magic to my boyfriend I was making a-lot of assumptions about how magic works because everything is so vague.

For example, magic limits are brought up maybe twice. Herbal magic exists (Mazelinka practices it I believe), runes and charms are a thing, glyphs are a thing. All these things are great details for magic that could have been explored as other forms of magic other characters have. Julian using glyph magic was never explored further, Muriel using charms and herbal magic would have been great.

The fact that these are never revisited or expanded upon digs at me. It feels like lost potential.

The minor arcana is a world detail that is only prevalent in the weekly card reading when the concept of another set of arcana is super fucking cool? Even mentioning any form of the minor arcana in the major arcana realms would be a nice tie in. But no its never even mentioned.

The world

Reading the arcana, Vesuvia feels more like a symbol than a place. It lacks a sense of life ehich is strange considering how much time we spend there. Nadia, Portia, Julian and Asra are all people who have a knowledge and understanding of Vesuvia but exploring with them is so focused on romance they lose the chance of building this world.

The outside world follows suit. Aside from names you can’t really tell me anything from outside kingdoms. Anything said about Prakra and Nevivon is vague and broad, even when Julian and Nadia are speaking about it.

The assumptions I’ve made about this world and how it functions are doing a lot of heavy lifting in giving the world life. I’ll make a post about each place in the arcana world about these assumptions just because of how important they are to my interpretations of the characters race. Ill touch on them here.

Race and Culture

This is my biggest gripe with Nix claiming to be diverse. Sure the characters have different skin tones but you could make them white and it wouldn’t affect the plot.

Everyone in this cast is some form of racially ambiguous or their culture is not in anyway important to the plot if mentioned at all.

I cannot speak on Asra’s portion but they’re not from Vesuvia. Their mom wears a headscarf but its never shown whether this is a fashion piece or religious outfit. (The fact that no other person wears a headscarf and it looks like a hijab implies muslim faith exists but its never explained) Asra themself is a magical person in tune with themself. Having them show us some of their culture would have been nice.

Nadia, despite her arc being that of family, never shows any sign of the cultural aspects of Prakra. A nice character touch would be her growing distant from her culture while with Lucio in the palace (spurred on my Lucio’s lack of care and her apathy) and later in the story doing something significant and unique to her culture. Whether it be dressing in a way that’s distinct from Vesuvian citizens to praying or making a Prakran dish with their family.

Muriel’s cultural exploration is the best out of all of the characters as it’s a main plot point. Unfortunately not enough focus is placed on it. A great touch would have been language differences, perhaps even reclaiming the fading language of his tribe after its destruction.

Both Julian and Portia being from Nevivon and having lived on a pirate ship, I expected a deeper look into pirate culture and the life of Nevivon. None are elaborated on so Julian becoming a pirate in his upright ending feels empty as I’m not invested in pirate life at all.

Not doing the bare minimum to flesh out these characters culture means the world feels flat and the characters don’t feel like true representation. A hollow attempt at giving us diverse characters in what should be a living breathing world.

Race and Design

Again, everything is ambiguous.

The smallest gripe I have is that clearly the artists are not people of color. Granted I did get this impression from the fact that the palms of the hands arent lighter than the skin tone. Its a subtle thing but doing it shows a care for detail and it makes my melanin self very happy when it’s shown.

Another smaller gripe is how ambiguous Muriel and Asra look. I had assumed Muriel was just a white guy until the name of his tribe and seeing cultural wear gave a different impression. But I can’t fault anyone fir thinking he was white. Just like I can’t really fault people for thinking Asra is also white.

Why do the lighter skin characters have natural hair colors but as soon as Nadia and Asra are shown they have fantasy hair. While having colorful hair isn’t a crime, its a tactic often used to separate people of color from truly looking like people of color. It was a wall I had from connecting with these characters.

There’s not a single black person in this game. The more I think on it the more it bugs me. So many side characters and yet none of them are black. If the devs hadn’t said the baker is black you could make a strong argument that black or Afro-centric features don’t exist in this world. There is no kinky or very curly hair. Not a wide nose to be seen. Seeing an Asra design that was inspired by African culture and saw it fit the aesthetic so well made me even more confused why there wasn’t any.

It makes me sad truly. You can’t call your game diverse when it isn’t. The Arcana is not a diverse game. It’s a lazy game with a hollow attempt at representation.

I am open to discussion on this as it’s something I’m passionate about. So if you have any insights or want to voice your own opinion I’d be happy to hear it!

[babydarkstar]

my dad is actually such a feminist and is very supportive of the advancement of women in the workforce while also ensuring from his position at his job that people are being paid fairly and that at least within his influence he can try to keep the wage gap nonexistent. he understands and acknowledges that the wage gap is a very real thing with intersections of disadvantage regarding race.

he has two daughters, has only had small girl-dogs at the request of his daughters (despite desperately wanting a german shepherd) and he is extremely subservient to his wife, my mother. never once has he griped about not having a son. is like, deathly allergic to cats but has told me (because i love them so much) if mom didnt hate them we would have one. he has taught me how to load, handle, shoot, and reload as many different guns as there are types of birds. he donates to charity, pays off people’s layaways at christmas, does home builds with his company, volunteers at toys for tots. my parents rarely argue about serious things, he makes sure to sort them out when they are serious. he cooks for my family as much as she does. never missed a ballet recital or orchestra concert or graduation, had flowers specially shipped from our homeland for my graduation. he cries unashamedly about losing his parents, never suppresses emotion because he feels like he needs to be ‘manly.’ LOVES the mandalorian for all its portrayal of positive masculinity and is OBSESSED with grogu, has like five different grogus in his home office because ‘look at the little guy with his ears!’ i live in his house without an expectation of paying him rent. he wants to pay for my college because he never went, his father never went, etc. i love him dearly.

so why. the fuck. did he 1) vote for trump and 2) continues to support the corrupt extremism of the far right

[absurdthirst]

I’m pretty sure this is probably my first ever request for you, so I’m excited to see what you’ll do with it, but how do you think the boys would react to their significant other almost drowning? I’ve come close a few times in my life and it’s quite scary, so I think some headcanons of our boys would make the thought a little more comforting. 💕

When You Almost Drown:

Javier: Do not come at me, but Javier Peña spend his summers swimming in river that butts up to his father’s land. There was a small section that was diverted from the larger, faster moving portions of the Rio Grande that he would always go cool down in. He is a strong swimmer and when something happens and you are in trouble, this man doesn’t hesitate to act. He is practically racing to get you to solid land so he can make sure you are breathing, hold you close to him for a long moment while he catches his breath, then he’s going probably mutter a few curse words to cover his fear. 

Ezra: Also knows how to swim but it has been years. Still he doesn’t hesitate to jump in and try to help you. With both arms it’s easy, with just the one, it is a tad trickier. Still when he manages to get you to shore with your assistance, he will most definitely not be opposed to giving you mouth to mouth. Even if you don’t need it, he does. He will watch you closely from now on when you are near water now. 

Mando: Jet pack to the rescue! This man is not the best swimmer. That beskar is heavy, but like with the Child, he will dive headfirst without even hesitating. Once he has you in his arm, He is firing that jetpack up and zooming you out to dry land. Once the water is out of your lungs, you can expect a hard pat on the back and deep sigh of relief. Later on though, he is going to crawl into your bunk and cling to you once the lights in the ship are off and he’s removed his armor. 

Catfish: Another strong swimmer. He had to be. Special Forces. It’s kind of a requirement that he be able to swim. Not as much as the Navy Seals, but he can definitely pull you out of trouble when you are at the beach and the untow catches you unaware. He lets you cling to him, his arms around you once you are back on the beach, murmuring in your ear about how he’s got you. He’s not going to let anything happen to you. He seems very calm about it, but his heart is thumping and he’s running through about a thousand different scenarios on how he could have fucked up and lost you.

Tovar: Another one that grew up swimming. When he wasn’t fighting or working to survive. He’s more gruff. He’s making sure you are okay but then he is grumbling and griping about how you shouldn’t be in the water if you can’t swim for shit. Does use it as an opportunity to take you down to the lake when you are stopped one night and teach you. Mainly to get you out of your clothes, but also to teach you a skill. 

Agent Whiskey: Low key freaks out. Literally would wrap you in cotton wool if he could. Especially since realizing his feelings for you. He’s already had one love die on him, but to lose you to water? Jesus, why are you being so cruel to him. He gets ginger to have some sort of small rapid flotation device built into something that you are to wear on your body at all times. Will misappropriate the fuck out of Statesman resources if it means not losing you. 

Max Phillips: He's honestly not that worried. He would have turned you before he lost you. At least that’s what he tells you. The speed at which that man moved kind of tells you otherwise, because you definitely don’t remember him being so close you when you started going under. In fact, he wasn’t even in the water. 

Marcus Pike: Oh our sweet little worrier. He would be upset, making you go to the hospital. There have been people who have died later on from complications to his kind of thing and he is not risking it. If it’s because you aren’t a strong swimmer, you can bet your ass he’s signing you up for swimming lessons, he will even go with you. If its natural, this man would watch the flags no the beach like a hawk. 

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[lovehotelreservation]

Prepare for Boarding

Summary: Vacation awaited for the entirety of the Grandcypher crew in Auguste. And yet, without having even stepped out from the ship, Rackam was already feeling the heat from watching your hands polish away at his beloved Benedia.

And as his dearest Captain, you simply had to take responsibility. 

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: DFAB!Reader/Rackam

RACKAM’S DILF ENERGY IS SO STRONG AND THE MANS IS ONLY 29 HEWWO???

ANYWAY THANKS SO MUCH TO MY DEAREST COMMISSIONER FOR THIS BLESSED PROMPT!!! 🧔👨‍✈️✨ -------------

“Only pilots get it.”

Your words echoed within Rackam’s head all the while his hands held onto the steering wheel of the Grandcypher with a grip tighter than Sandalphon’s fingers were on Lyria’s wrist while the two plummeted down the sky.

But as to what it meant, he was still trying to parse the significance.

However, his mind was racing through a million thoughts but never stopping to settle on one.

Simply because all that he could think about was the absolute temptation that he was subjected to just moments earlier.

Benedia held so gingerly within your grasp, the smooth strokes of your hand dragging a polish-slicked handkerchief along its neck, that cheeky grin on your lips which never seemed to falter in the slightest while the two of you conversed about the imminent crew-wide vacation at Auguste.

You coyly remarked how you wouldn’t mind if he rubbed sunscreen on your back in the same way you were applying polish onto Benedia.

Your smile widened while one of your eyes shut in a wink, the four words that were now reverberating in his mind uttered as you turned to leave with his beloved weapon in your hands, having offered to bring it back to his room once you started doing maintenance.

A creak was suddenly heard from the steering wheel as he docked the Grandcypher, searching through all of his willpower to not fumble with the process due to being distracted. His grip was tighter than ever, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes widened, all while scorching heat shot straight to his loins.

Rackam finally knew what it was.

With the Grandcypher properly and safely docked, and members of the crew already filing out to kick off a much deserved vacation, he wasted no time to speed off towards his room. By his hard hitting steps, his approach was sure to be detected by whoever was within his quarters, something confirmed by the giggling he heard as he prepared to open the door.

As in, prepared his leg to kick his door open before he stomped inside.

“Oh Captain, my Captain--”

He greeted with a huff, kicking the door closed and locking it behind him as his narrowed eyes immediately locked right onto yours.

Rackam was already worked up from your teasing earlier, but seeing the still cheeky and taunting grin on your face grow even wider from his arrival only served to rile him up to the point of no return, his chest heavy with a deep long breath as he stepped up right towards you, his words uttered in a low grunt,

“--that pretty little ass of yours is mine.”

Words were no longer needed to convey his intentions, only the immediate smothering of your lips by his own, his arms seizing hold of your body as he pulled you right against the sturdy front of his chest.

The sensation of your mouth smirking into his kiss had him hissing in response, his hands reaching down to grab at your ass in admonishment. Hearing your muffled squeak was a feeling he would savor, glad to see the situation turn towards his favor, his lead.

This was furthered when the two of you parted for breath, his eyes taking in and relishing the sight of your blushing cheeks and your mouth, once triumphant with its smile, now parted in a pant.

Rackam leaned forward to kiss you again, all the while his hands proceeded to knead and grope your ass. Feeling you squirm against him and hearing moans spill from your lips, he couldn’t resist from grinning as he remarked,

“Captain you may be, but Grandcypher’s a ship for the crew, by the crew…”

His words trailed off as one hand drew away from your ass.

“...and I object to our leader being such a damn tease…!”

The yelp you let out from his palm swatting at your ass had him shuddering as he tugged you closer, nudging his stiff erection against you through your clothes, which now only served to irritate him the longer they kept him away from your naked skin.

Impatient didn’t even begin to describe his demand for you.

Your clothes were soon tossed onto the floor, sometimes in tatters, others simply yanked off to join the growing heap. 

As more of your body was exposed, his fingers roamed over your skin to squeeze and fondle you as he suddenly had you bent over upon the rather broad surface of his work bench. With both of his hands massaging your breasts, teasing your nipples with pinches and tugs, spanking your ass out of admonishing vengeance, delving between your thighs to caress your core, each shudder and whimper he elicited from you made all the teasing you had him put up were prizes for him to treasure.

“I get it though--teasing Rackam is everyone’s favorite pastime, but I’m pretty sure you of all people should know that I always am happy to return the favor, especially when it’s you.”

While he grumbled, part of what caused the hoarseness of his voice was his admiration of your nude form--from your curves to the glistening shine off of your dribbling core.

He cursed under his breath.

God he couldn’t wait to sink his cock inside of you.

“I mean, you’re the only one who’s allowed to hold Benedia...” He continued while making quick work of his pants with the tug of his zipper and belt, soon unsheathing his hard erection as his need for you became far too much for him to bother with even thinking to undress completely. “--hell you’re practically holding my damn heart by this point.”

Leaning forward, his lips brushed against your neck, the bristles of his facial hair raking over your skin. “Guess what I’m tryin’ to make crystal clear to you, Captain--”

The moan you let out as you felt the blunt hot tip of his cock nudge against you was sheer heaven.

Grinning broadly, he brought a hand up to grasp your chin, turning your head so you faced him, finishing his thoughts before he kissed you fully while plunging his cock into your core. “--is that you can tease me all you want, but just never forget that you’re all mine, yeah?”

At first, he wanted to indulge in the hot, velvety wet depths in your core, but with you wiggling your ass so cutely in need along with his previous gripes from earlier, his self-restraint was teetering.

And then you responded to his words upon pulling away.

“Yes Rackam~” Your lips curled into a grin, your eyes twinkling as you hummed, “Though if I forget, you’ll be sure to punish me more, right?”

His eyes widened but soon narrowed just as quickly, his hands seizing your waist tightly as he readied to plow into you with all his might. “O-Oi, you little--!”

Needless to say, for you and Rackam, by the time the two of you left the Grandcypher, staggering but hand in hand nonetheless, rather than spending your vacation out on the waves, the two of you were happily tucked away in your hotel suite, tangled together upon the sheets.