#some backstory hint crumbs for you

[nach0]

Spotify Wrapped #78 - & by Tally Hall

Nyx looks like she’s in a hurry.. I wonder where she’s running to? (Or who she’s running from?)

[lynxgriffin]

What are your predictions for Deltarune Chapters 3-4 ?

Hmmm, let's see...

I think Susie and Ralsei are going to work out very quickly that Kris was the one to create this fountain. Susie's going to brush it off like "Okay yeah I get why you would, it's okay we'll just have fun and seal the fountain when we're done anyway!" and Ralsei will try and act like it's not a problem, when he clearly is bothered by it, and this will start to build up some tension between Ralsei and Kris.

I am open to Toriel being another side party member, less convinced yet that we'll be seeing another adult like Undyne or Napstablook there as well. I do not think we'll be getting a Snowgrave repeat where Toriel is manipulated into killing Undyne or anything like that. If there's a weird route continuation here, it'll be handled very differently.

I don't think we'll be seeing more of the Dreemurr household in the dark world; it'll just be focused on what's on the TV. We've already got a few possibilities for areas: a cooking show, the weather report, and the monster movie, plus we do keep getting hints that the western show may show up in some capacity.

To that end...hopefully a Susiezilla sequence for the monster movie part!

Unsure of what Mike's role will be in here, but I'm anticipating Tenna as the main big bad for this Dark World.

I don't think anyone has guessed the secret boss for chapter three yet, and I don't think anyone will. Thusfar for secret bosses, there's been no hints of them from other places, and you have to go out of your way to find them. Their function as Darkners made from discarded/forgotten objects makes sense in hindsight, but isn't obvious from the get-go. All we know is that we'll need the shadow mantle for a future secret boss, and that that's missing now.

At the end of chapter three, Asriel is going to call on the landline phone and talk to Toriel briefly, but WE won't get to actually communicate with him and it's going to drive me bonkers.

We know less about chapter four, except for some very basic things...Susie and Kris have a few scenes talking out in the light world, and it's raining some of that time. It could either go the direction of an all-light world chapter, or another dark world they explore the next day.

Assuming it's the latter and there's another dark world (which makes more sense to me), I feel the best location options are the hospital, the church, and Asgore's flower shop. If there's a thread started in chapter three getting into more of the Dreemurr family history and Kris's place in it (which does seem to be the case), Asgore's shop seems the best bet to continue that thread next, so I'm going to predict Asgore's shop for chapter four.

Since that's a flower shop and all, a more Alice In Wonderland sort of theming seems likely, with more of a jungle/wild area that the Fun Gang has to explore compared to the city and sound stage areas of previous chapters.

I am expecting Catti (and potentially also Jockington) to be future Dark World partners, and either chapter four or chapter five seems a good option for that.

I think Catti is necessary as a partner 1) because of her occult history with Kris, 2) her focus on protecting Noelle, who I could see showing up in the Dark World again as early as chapter four or five, and 3) her clearly having beef with Susie.

If we're dealing with Kris's family history through chapters 3 and 4, I can see that then going into more of Susie's backstory and whatever is going on with her family. I get the feeling that Catti knows some secret about Susie that makes her dislike her more than just "she stole Jockington's hat once", and that will need to be resolved in conjunction with learning more on Susie's situation.

Every day in-game that big-headed blue bird monster is going to reveal another shelf in the second floor of the library, which will slowly give more worldbuilding lore, and it's going to be maddening just getting those little crumbs of info one at a time.

We'll be getting more Knight hints, but not a real reveal until chapter five.

[hotpinkboots]

You should do a fic where reader is like a female version of Sweeney Todd or sm and mrs.lovett is like obsessed with them

:)

~~~~~

~𝓜𝓻𝓼. 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓽𝓽 x Fem!Sweeney!Reader~

(Headcanons + Mini-Oneshot(s))

SWEENEY TODD BUT LESBIANS? YES.

Note(s): Female Reader, it is mentioned that the Reader likes to sketch, "(L/N)" stands for "Last Name", I occasionally switched between using "Nellie" and "Mrs. Lovett" to keep it fresh, Reader overall has Sweeney's personality and backstory

Warning(s): Dark themes, Cannibalism mentioned, Blood mentioned, Mrs. Lovett is a yandere, Delusional mindset, Unhealthy + Codependent relationship, Manipulation, Mention of being hanged

How long it took to write: 4 hrs, 30 mins

~~~~~

𝓜𝓻𝓼. 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓽𝓽 set down a plate in front of you, next to your parchment of which your pencil had been scratching on for the last hour. On the plate sat a piping hot fresh meat pie. She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, watching you intently, waiting for you to take a bite. You glanced at the pie, remembering how horrific the last one she fed you was. Your eyes flicked up to her briefly, expression unreadable. You then returned to your drawing.

She sighed in exasperation, letting her right arm fall to her side. She nudged the plate forward with her index finger. "C'mon, y'haven't eaten a thing all day. Promise this one's good." Nellie's gaze lingered softly on you as she added, "...Put a lot of love int'it, Ms. (L/N)," she added gently to guilt trip you into taking a bite.

You decided to humor her, praying that this one wouldn't do anything too terribly awful to your gag reflexes. Her stare made you uncomfortable as you took a reluctant bite. Lucky for you, this one was decent- delicious, even. You paused your chewing, taking another hesitant look at her. Did she just feed you one of the victims? You had no desire to try human for yourself. Mrs. Lovett quickly shook her head no. "Chicken. It's chicken, I swear it," she promised.

You thought it over momentarily, muttering a "Thank you", then taking another bite. Mrs. Lovett smiled proudly, giving your shoulder a pat. "O'course, love." You had expected her to leave your personal space, but rather, she lingered. She continued to hover beside you like some sort of maid awaiting a command. One more glance from you gave her the hint to leave. She took a hesitant step backwards, murmuring an awkward, "Oh- right." Nellie walked away, throwing one more secret look at you from over her shoulder.

She began to wipe down the counter, cleaning off imaginary crumbs as an excuse to keep an eye on you. She occasionally looked to see your reaction to the pie, you seemed to be enjoying it. Nellie certainly knew the way to a man's heart was through his stomach-...well. She hoped it worked for ladies, too. Mrs. Lovett looked down, pretending to focus on cleaning up the kitchen. She hummed as she worked, all while contemplating her future with you.

The business was running smoothly, and she was worn out by the end of each day from running to the cellar, collecting and chopping the "meat", baking, taking orders, serving, etc. She certainly had her work cut out for her. It would all be worth it, she knew, for one day, she'd live a cozy life with you. Perhaps not like she was imagining, but you and she could get by. The money was certainly piling in with the customers that came every day. Soon, she could finally live comfortably. But she couldn't live comfortably without you. She wished you'd open up eventually.

~Mrs. Lovett is so in love with you that it's disgusting. If she were given the chance to inject your blood into her veins just to feel you closer, to know a part of you is pumping through her to keep her alive, she would. But this wouldn't be enough- she wants to be part of you, as well. If she gained the bravery to do so, she would cut her own hand open to allow her blood to drip into your next meal, watch you eat it, and be satisfied that a part of her was inside of you, connecting you to her by blood.

~Of course, this is all wishful thinking. Mrs. Lovett tries to be somewhat normal with you, while still making it very obvious that she's in love with you. In public, she casts glances at you from the corner of her eye and makes a point of standing close enough to you that people grow suspicious that you may be a couple. She always makes something for you to eat, taking an extra long time on it so it's perfect (note that she can, in fact, cook delicious meals, she was only unable to before because there wasn't money for high-quality ingredients). She checks on you so often that it becomes a chore for you to tell her "I'm fine" multiple times a day, etc.

~Nellie sees herself as being the only person who can tame you. She thinks she needs to gently coax you into opening up to her. She finds ways to manipulate you into thinking that the world is cruel and she's the only warmth you'll find in it. Nellie believes she's the best option for you, and you're the best option for her. You were born for each other, your hearts beat in sync every second of every day, she's sure of it. Mrs. Lovett sings about you, sometimes purposely around you to show off her voice, and so you know that you're the only person on her mind.

~She'll eventually grow very lonely and desperate for you if you deny her for a long period of time. Nellie gets rather touchy-feely with her affection, brushing her hand against yours, kissing your shoulder when she walks by, fixing your hair far more than needed, and giving you a few pet names.

~But, Mrs. Lovett isn't always so lovey and adoring. She's refreshingly cheeky and exasperated. She once pretended to be inconvenienced when she spotted a cut on your hand from your barber shears. She patched you up and scolded you to be more careful, while you sat and humored her, knowing full well you could do it yourself. Nellie is very happy to be taking care of you, even if it's just the smallest opportunity to do so, and even if she plays hard to get about it.

~Somehow, her clingy behavior, the way she looks at you so deeply, and how she's always insisting on planning for the future with you, begins to get into your head and heart. She's such a unique lady, you've really never met anybody like her. Nellie always looks so perfectly disheveled, you've started taking a liking to her messy hair and her cheeky remarks from across the room to fill the silence. She's a quick-witted lady, any suspicions from a customer would result in an easy cover-up explanation from Mrs. Lovett. She works quickly and efficiently in her shop, trotting about to get the work done. All of her strange little personality quirks became home to you. Nellie infuriated you in more ways than one, and really, you wouldn't have it any other way.

~By this point, you and Mrs. Lovett are completely codependent on each other. You couldn't imagine a life without her. This was all her idea, anyway, where would you be without her? Poor and alone, that's where, perhaps even back in prison. The same goes for Mrs. Lovett. She'd continue to be alone in her empty shop without you. She most likely would've gone mad (although, she's gone quite mad already) with her lonesome life.

~Nellie couldn't be more satisfied with the way everything turned out. The business was flourishing, the money was coming in, and she had the love of her life by her side.

𝓜𝓻𝓼. 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓽𝓽 had quite a tiring day. She was busier these days than she had ever been- she was grateful for the customers, but she was undeniably exhausted. Going up and down the steps of the cellar had done a number on her knees, she had been in such a hurry that she'd burned herself on the furnace a few times, and to top it all off, one of the customers had been infuriating. When she finally had time to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, she'd fallen asleep.

You quietly went down the stairs to the first floor of the building, Nellie's pie shop. You spotted her lounging back on the chaise lounge, the dying fire crackling softly, her tea cold without even a sip of it gone. You reckoned she must've been exhausted, doing most of the work, while you simply stayed upstairs slitting throats and sending them down the chute. You had the easy part of the job, you realized, as you made your way with silent steps over to where she lay.

Nellie felt you coming toward her even in her sleep. She turned her head in your direction and muttered something incomprehensible at you. You didn't respond verbally, but you gained the courage to lean down and give an affectionate peck to the top of her head, your breath gently ruffling her unkempt hair. Mrs. Lovett immediately opened her eyes and looked up at you. She scoffed when she saw that you were walking away. "Y'can't just kiss me an'walk away. Come back, love," she called after you, her voice sounding raspy as she had just woken up.

Mrs. Lovett sat up to make room for you, while you hesitated before walking back to sit by her. She rested her chin on your shoulder, looking up at you with rich dark brown eyes. "Ms. (L/N)," She murmured tenderly, waiting expectantly for you to kiss her lips. "Don't be shy," Nellie added playfully, hoping that you would follow through.

All of her dreams suddenly came true when you cupped her cheek tenderly. She wanted to rush it and kiss you already, after all, she'd been waiting months for this, but she knew it would make the moment far less special if she gave you a hurried kiss. Nellie's eyes fluttered shut, as did yours. You felt her tender lips against yours moments later, your body melting into her like soft butter on warm toast. Neither of you had kissed anybody in years. This felt like a first kiss for both of you, full of adoration and pure unadulterated devotion.

Just as yours had, her body melted, as well, in relief. She was finally kissing you, after so long of daydreaming about it. Nellie softly ran her fingers down your jawline, her other hand busy tracing the back of your soft neck. You could feel her smile against your lips. Once the kiss was broken, she looked up at you sweetly. You caressed her cheek with your knuckles, causing her to lean into your hand as though she had never been touched so gently in her life.

You and Nellie had an unspoken agreement that night. You'd stay together forever, until death do you part- whether from natural causes, or from the noose you'd hang by should society ever find out the secret ingredient in Mrs. Lovett's meat pies.

~~~~~

Request Guidelines!

~Love, PinkBoots

[sleep-deprivedracoon]

JJK Manga leaks - Heavy spoilers ahead.

Please do not read below the cut if you do not wish to be spoiled.

These are for chapter 237.

I repeat do not read below the cut if you do not wish to be spoiled.

The pacing of this arc has got me so anxious tbh. It's gotten to a point where people cannot even predict where the plot would head towards and I like it to be honest. It's refreshing (traumatizing) that something isn't predictable even though it follows certain Shonen manga tropes. JJK is such an outlier Shonen. This is a long read, I apologize in advance.

After reading the leaks, I have some thoughts and I have listed them below -

1. Gojo’s death seems kinda pointless right now with Sukuna's reincarnation and reverting to his true form. He literally healed all the damage done by the Hollow Purple. Gojo probably is gone for good and I have slowly come to terms with that. But I need to know what Sukuna's reincarnation to his true form implies for Megumi. From how Twitter and Reddit is reacting, it seems like Megumi also is gone for good now. Everyone clowns on Gojo for being hated by Gege but I truly think Gege hates Megumi the most. Poor baby cannot seem to be catching a break.

2. The fact that we don't see Gojo's body anymore worries me. The fact that we still haven't seen any of our remaining characters react/process Gojo's death also worries me. Worries me because it is giving me copium again and I just have started to accept Gojo's death 🙃

3. We now know Kashimo is going to die when he runs out of CE because he yeeted his human form to fight Sukuna. So Kashimo is not making it out alive in Kashimo vs Sukuna. I atleast hope he damages Sukuna enough for the rest to jump on Sukuna but I doubt that will happen (explained more in detail towards the end)

4. We finally get crumbs of Sukuna's backstory. He was an unwanted child (if the fan translation is believed to be right. I am still going to wait for an official translation because last time the fan translation made us all hope about Gojo's revival way more than it was hinted.). Knowing Gege, I think this is the maximum we will get to know about Sukuna before he became the king of curses. Gege once mentioned in an interview that Sukuna was beyond help and was pure evil. I mean this dude has Uruame cook humans for him. So I don't think Gege is going to give us a tragic backstory for Sukuna.

5. Also Kashimo's line about Sukuna's strength reminds me of Geto and Gojo's KFC breakup line.

6. Hakari vs Uruame. Let's fucking gooooooooo! Beat their ass Hakari!!! I am betting on Hakari winning this. The good guys desperately need this win. Please Gege, just be merciful on us for once.

7. We still don't know what Kenjaku is up to (stay the fuck away from Gojo's body you slimy fiend).

I honestly still do find it weird that Gege chose this route of let's kill the strongest character because he is a roadblock by creating an almost omnipotent character that is absolutely insane and a master strategist. At this point someone will have to turn into Buddha themselves to take Sukuna down. I think the last win we had (if we do not consider Gojo unboxing as a win and the culling games win) was with Yuji and Todo. And Todo retired/left? (I don't blame him though. STAY SAFE MY BOY).

But to summarize the good guys roster right now - Nanami is dead, Nobara is MIA, Yaga is dead, Yuki is dead, Todo has retired, Megumi is likely a goner, Gojo is dead and since we don't know what happened in the 1 month (because we didn't get a training arc), Yuji only has black flash, stamina and super strength right now. The higher ups were probably kiiled/dismanted by Gojo. Zenin clan got KO'd by Maki. Yuta is the only special grade in Japan that is alive. Mei Mei will switch sides like it is nobody's business. Maki is one of the only people who's had an insane shonen level power creep since Shibuya arc. Shoko and Utahime are not fighters.

Whereas the bad guys roster - Uruame with their icy powers, Kenjaku with literally all the curses that Geto had plus several more that he acquired and Sukuna. The fact that Sukuna has a binding vow with Kenny and Sukuna is almost omnipotent rn.

Sukuna abilities :

1) Can make himself immortal by putting his soul into cursed objects(fingers)

2) Can take over others bodies by making them ingest his finger

3) Can use the taken over body's CT proficiently with minimal training

4) Has twice higher CE than the next highest person (Yuta)

5) Has the best RCT on par with Gojo

6) Has a way to revive himself without RCT (such a possibility was not even considered possible in the power system uptil now )

7) Has/Had the 2nd best cursed technique (ten shadows)

8) Has a cursed tool that can shoot lightning

9) Has a flame arrow than can insta kill a special grade curse

10) A way to transfer damage he sustains ,to the soul of the body he inhabits

11) A way to enlarge his body parts (when he tries to eat angel)

12) Has the best durability (sustained 2 purples (probably the technique with the highest damage in the series besides the space-time cleave) a blue infused black flash punch, and unlimited void)

13) An unexplained CT that hasn't been revealed yet.

14) Crazy learning rate able to reproduce anything by seeing it only once

15) Has 4 arms and multiple eyes

16) A barrier less domain - idk if his reincarnation can now do DE

17) Cleave and dismantle for which he can modify the cursed energy output however he wishes.

18) No moral compass or emotional attachments that can be exploited against him.

19) probably has 2nd highest IQ (after kenjaku ) and easily highest battle IQ. Mans not only planned for Gojo but also for after Gojo.

Realistically our protagonists (Right now only Yuji and Yuta) need a dues ex machina moment to take down just Sukuna. And after Sukuna is dealt with, they need to plan for Kenjaku.

The odds aren't looking too good :(

I miss the goofiness that this Manga had lol.

[kisskissbanggang]

Jumpspace Renegade - ep. 17 ✨🚀

[5.4k words, 20min. read - Stray Kids Multi Fic, Scifi!au, Choose Your Own Adventure - Jisung x Fem. Reader - NSFW/Smut - Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Hooking Up, Navigating Feelings, Platonic(?) Intimacy, Ominous Plot Hints, Reader has a Another Terrible Idea, We Have to Figure Out What to Do on Sentury Station, Dressing Up, Crumbs of Backstory, Who the Hell Knows What Minho is Thinking, Chan is Not Completely a Dick?, Always Check the Tags]

[Author's Note: This is the end of season 2! Stay tuned for polls and updates about the series. Thanks as always for coming along for the ride! 💕]

[Author's Note #2: This episode is late! Voting closes on Saturday, 10 pm PST]

[Episodes on Fridays 7pm pst, Polling closes Saturdays 7pm pst]

[Series Masterlist | Come Say Hi!]

You were frustrated, hungry, and disappointed.

And confused.

Because the disappointment didn’t feel just like disappointment. Maybe you felt a little heartbroken, finding out that you were likely never going to see Seungmin again after his negotiations at Sentury.

But for now, you were hungry.

You surveyed the kitchen, hoping to see if Jeongin had left a plate out for you. Finding none, you checked the warmer. There was a plate inside, but it’d been picked clean, leaving a sad corpse of dinnerware covered in crumbs. Dejected, you grabbed an energy bar and nibbled on it while you walked back to your cabin.

In the cool air of the workshop, Felix was reclined in the hammock set up by the workbench, hanging all the way down from the catwalk. Changbin was preoccupied tuning up the four-wheeler. Someone, at some point, had written “PLACE FELIX HERE” in the middle of a circle on the cargo basket, the permanent marker ink shiny in the overhead lamps.

Just when you thought you’d slink by, letting the duo go about their business in peace, Felix’s smooth voice made you pause.

“You excited to go to the Station?”

When you turned back around, Changbin was chuckling and shaking his head. “You know it’s only folks who’ve never been that are excited to go,” he teased Felix.

The ranger’s giggle was deep, comforting despite being foreboding. He lazily kicked his feet where they hung over the side of the hammock. “Doesn’t mean she can’t be excited to dock tonight. She’s never been, after all.”

You hopped up to sit on the workbench. From here, you could see Felix looked a little bashful, maybe surprised that he and Changbin were back to bantering. But your confusion multiplied.

“Wait,” you shook your head, “tonight? I thought we were docking tomorrow!”

Felix and Changbin looked at each other, and then at you. The blonde pointed to another digital screen, like the one in the galley, this one on the wall by the door back out to the common area. Sure enough, the time and date had changed to Galactic Standard. The ship must’ve passed a Federation satellite at some point. 

You were internally screaming, but you tried to remain calm on the outside. “Well,” you heavily sighed. “I’m not even sure what to expect at Sentury. All I know is the Station is huge and there’s some casinos.”

“Some casinos?!” Changbin roared out a laugh, popping his head out from where it was focused on the four-wheeler’s engine. “There’s dozens of casinos at Sentury, maybe even a hundred. You’ll find some of the best gambling of your life there.”

“It was our home base for a few months,” Felix clarified. “Some great nightlife there, if you’re into that. They don’t even follow a day-night cycle, so you’ll run into folks out having a good time or the worst night of their life at all hours.”

You somewhat recalled this, that Felix and Changbin were a team before joining Chan. Something about Changbin rigging slot machines and Felix shaking down tourists and high rollers.

“Well I’m excited to go,” Changbin snickered to himself. “Always something going on. We just have to finish prepping first.”

The urge to share everything that had gone down was nagging at you. Felix and Changbin were clearly experts on Sentury, but you were more than a little wary of how eager Changbin was to cause some ruckus, apparently. 

“Do you need any help?” you cautiously asked. “Preparing, that is.”

A soft sigh could be heard from the hammock. “I still have to do inventory and secure the lockers,” Felix explained. “Anything bigger than a blaster needs to be deactivated or emptied before we disembark. I don’t think we need any help–”

“Or,” Changbin stiffly cut in, “maybe you could ask Nova to do the thing.”

“The thing?” you repeated.

Felix’s blonde head peeked out from the hammock. “Chan just asked if I could grab a trunk we nabbed from Floree Outpost out of the cargo hold. You don’t want to–”

“Sure!” you instantly nodded before you hopped off the workbench. “It’s no problem at all.” You could sense Changbin’s concern over Felix, and what could it hurt? There wasn’t anything to do before docking tonight.

You strode over to the mini-lift down to the cargo hold in the workshop, hearing your racing heart booming in your chest while you descended.

Tonight.

All this groundwork you wanted to do had to be done as soon as possible.

You punched the button for the lights when the lift hit the ground. The cargo hold was still an indecipherable mess in your eyes. If there was any method to the madness, you’d yet to find it. You entered the winding labyrinth of crates and boxes, trying to figure out what the hell you were looking for when you came across your old boots.

They smelled like your old apartment, something you never even considered to have a smell before.

What had it been, a week? A very long, exciting, terrifying week?

It felt like you’d been away from T’kaarm for decades.

“Looking for something?” came a voice, making you look up from the maze of cargo.

Hyunjin was leaning out of his cabin from under the stairs. You waved in greeting although you weren’t quite sure why, but Hyunjin waved back.

“A trunk? Apparently?” you asked. “From Floree Outpost?”

The appraiser nodded dutifully and made a bee-line down a path of crates. You could somewhat see him moving things out of the way, shuffling items around before he came up with a giant foot locker. The thing was gaudy, shiny magenta with gold curlicues decorating it and brass hardware. A large combo lock was on the side handle.

“Exciting,” Hyunjin laughed. “If Chan wants this, something interesting must be going on. Been hearing funny stuff about Sentury lately.”

There was that nagging feeling again, but just like with Changbin, Hyunjin came with his own risks. The appraiser was way too gossipy for your preference to ask for his help, even if he knew just about everything.

“You excited to go for the first time?” Hyunjin asked, leaning on a pile of crates.

“Er, I think so,” you waffled. “I hear there’s great night life.”

Hyunjin let out a guffaw, his laugh bright and airy. “Who told you that? Felix?”

You sheepishly nodded before Hyunjin walked back in the direction of his cabin, waving you over after him. “I love those two, him and Changbin.” Hyunjin picked up his tablet and typed something in before presenting it to you. On the screen were two mugshots: Felix, having the time of his life with a big grin on his face, and Changbin, quietly proud and giving a dazzling smolder for the camera. 

Some time had clearly passed since then. Felix’s hair was a daring shade of blue, while Changbin’s was a cute chestnut brown. Felix even had some cute extra piercings and a large love bite on his throat, while Changbin was apparently hiding all sorts of tattoos under his long-sleeve shirts if the mugshot was anything to go by.

“Look at ‘em,” Hyunjin cooed. “Felix is blacklisted from practically half the clubs and bars in Sentury, and Changbin’s not even allowed on a casino floor. Any of them.”

“Shouldn’t they have made bank then?” you wondered out loud.

Hyunjin shook his head. “They didn’t hit all these establishments, mind you, they just created enough of a reputation to become a preemptive issue. Keep a close eye on them when we disembark, and if anyone asks where they are–”

“I don’t know anything,” you innocently raised your hands. 

“Exactly,” praised Hyunjin while he looked at his wristwatch. “Now come on; it’s almost time for dinner.”

You spied the time he was looking at. “Dinner?! It was just breakfast!”

“A good crewmate is hungry when the clock says to be,” Hyunjin chided. “Much to learn, rookie.”

You sighed and returned to the trunk to haul it upstairs, fully prepared to drag it over to the lift before you realized that it was actually surprisingly light. It was difficult to figure out what was inside the foot locker; nothing was rattling inside. The most awkward part of getting it up to the common area was simply the size of the thing, trying to maneuver it up the tight staircase. You had to admit, you were still hungry.

Something smelled amazing when you got up to the galley, and you dropped the trunk by the booth before heading into the kitchen. It appeared that Jeongin was finishing getting everything set.

“Looks good, chef,” you complimented, peeking over his shoulder to the stew he had going on the stove.

“Thanks,” he humbly replied. “I’m getting more comfortable not having Felix right here to help me.”

You raised a curious eyebrow. “Didn’t do much cooking before this?”

Jeongin shook his head. “Never got a chance to learn, so Felix has been teaching me.”

“You’re doing great,” you reassured him.

“Excited to go to Sentury?” the cabin boy asked. “I’m a little nervous, honestly.”

“What?” you involuntarily laughed. “You’ve never been?!”

“No!” Jeongin laughed back, his eyes turning up into charming crescents. “Last time we passed through, Chan refused to let me go, ‘for my own good,’ he said.”

Internally, and although you’d never admit it, you commended the captain a little bit for that one.

“It’s funny,” Jeongin continued, “Lee told me something similar recently, like, when he was still in the brig. He said I should be getting off the ship and exploring as much as possible, also ‘for my own good’.”

“Is that what made you look for Jisung back on Phaborus?” you smirked. He simply nodded in return. “And were you nervous?”

“A little,” he admitted. “I know it makes me sound like a pussy, but just a little.”

“Nonsense,” you shook your head resolutely. “Doing shit when you’re nervous helps you to not be nervous the next time.”

The cabin boy smiled again, softening his sharp features, but the mention of Minho turned the wheels in your head. It felt a little selfish, but it was worth trying when you had a chance.

“Want help? I can take Minho’s food to him.”

“Sure!” Jeongin brightly agreed. “Gives me a chance to eat. Do you remember the combo?”

He asked as if you ever knew. When you shook your head, he dug in his pocket and fished out a keycard, just like the one Chan had given you. You tried not to squeal in excitement when you quickly fixed a bowl for Minho and rushed off.

Thoughts were racing through your head before you stumbled into the workshop, apparently interrupting something when you heard Felix curse from the loft. He and Changbin ducked down behind the couch, and you surreptitiously ran into the alcove between your and Minho’s cabins. You took a moment, though, pausing to make sure you had a game plan, a stance you were actually holding.

It sucked to think that Minho set you up.

Largely, you admitted to yourself, because the idea was ridiculous. In order for that to happen, Minho had to have made sure the ring not only made it to you in the first place, but that you would make it onto the ship. Yes, it was convenient that the crew got the lead, picked up Minho, and then picked you up, and you had it – but it was only that. Convenient. And conveniences did happen, you reminded yourself. 

You beeped open Minho’s door to find him examining his stubble in the mirror again, but not the one on his closet door. He was sat on the windowsill. Someone, at some point, had not only brought Minho a change of clothes, but a hand mirror and a razor. He looked comfy and refreshed in some cargo pants and a hoodie.

“Remind me what you said about facial hair the other day?” you nonchalantly asked. You helped yourself to a bite of food from his bowl, marveling for a second that Jeongin did do a good job.

“Dunno,” Minho shrugged, “but I miss growing it. When was the last time that you saw a Marine with a beard?”

You shrugged back. Actually, you don’t think you’d ever seen a member of the Federation military with facial hair. Minho cleaned off his razor in a cup of water at his side. 

“That’s because,” he continued, pulling the skin on his chin taut, “they neutralize the follicles on your face in orientation. Hurts like a motherfucker, but it’s supposed to enforce dress code. Takes some folks years to grow it reliably again. I’m still patchy as hell.”

You watched Minho shave for a little bit, lamenting that it maybe was somewhat attractive.

But you wanted to calm that relentless thought in your mind.

“Hey,” you bluntly changed the subject, “my Clessorian ring. Did you know about it before I came aboard? Like, did you know it was on T’kaarm?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Minho staunchly answered.

“Was it ever in your possession?”

Minho rinsed his razor in the water cup beside him and patted his chin dry with his hoodie. “Sure was,” he nodded. “You done eating my food?”

You swallowed your spoonful of stew before handing the bowl to him. “And what did you do with the ring?”

The bounty met your gaze but it was hard to read. “I got rid of it. Too much trouble. You excited to go to the Station?”

This was a satisfying enough answer for you. You walked back to the door. “Not really,” you shrugged. 

“Smart girl,” he praised. “I knew I liked you.”

Minho was giving you an odd look. You pointed at the bowl in his hands. “Your food’s getting cold,” you told him, before you promptly left.

The loft was empty, the workshop was empty, and the galley was empty when you entered it. You scarfed down a quick bite to eat before you crept upstairs. The boys were all assembled in the back of the bridge, with the trunk from Floree Outpost at the center. Hyunjin, Changbin, and Felix were all squished together on the couch. Chan sat at his console. You could hear faint music from the nav office, implying Seungmin was busily at work inside. Mysteriously, Jeongin and Jisung were nowhere to be seen.

Beyond the front window, a gargantuan, revolving, metal mass of a space station could be seen in the distance. This had to be Sentury.

“Enough bullshit,” Changbin ribbed. “We finally get to see what’s in this thing?” The mechanic pointed at the trunk.

Meanwhile, Chan pointed at you.

“It’s for Nova,” he cryptically explained. He tried the combo once before he broke the cheap lock with his bionic hand. Inside the tacky trunk was a tangle of fabric, all shiny and satiny textiles. The captain pulled out a couple items, revealing them to be showy dresses, the kind you’d wear to nightclubs.

Well, not you, but the kind that you could wear. 

Chan plonked the dresses into your hands. You scanned the room, confused, and caught Seungmin peeking from the nav office.

The crew were tittering and giggling. “So,” Hyunjin grinned, “it’s true about Sentury, then?”

“Is what true?!” you demanded.

The captain waved a dismissive hand at you, and then at the peanut gallery. “So we grabbed this trunk off a couple resort hostesses back on Floree Outpost,” he flippantly explained. “Pick one or two outfits you like, just to last you until you find something at the Station. And you’ll need to name an escort from the crew.”

“Excuse me?” you gawked, your arms limp in front of you.

“That’s new,” grumbled Changbin. He dug in his pocket, counted a couple credits, and placed them in Hyunjin’s waiting hand, having apparently lost some wager.

You spiked the dresses at Chan’s face. “Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on? What’s with the dresses? Why do I need an escort?!”

“It’s fine, babe,” Felix soothed you. You and Chan both turned to face him. “This happens sometimes with regime changes. Whoever runs the Entertainment Bureau gets to make the rules. One time, the Director was super into bikes so everyone was big on street racing for a bit, you know?”

“Okay, sure,” you huffed. “But what changed for there to be assigned escorts now?”

Chan mumbled something and you whipped around to look at him again. He met your eye and reluctantly began explaining. “From what I gather, the Director must have one hell of a crew of dancers or hostesses or something because ladies have preference on the Station. Their own security checkpoints, their own transports, their own reserved sections in bars, clubs, even casinos–”

“And still no decent shopping, I bet,” Felix complained. Changbin and Hyunjin nodded in agreement. 

The captain shot the three a look, gaining their silence before continuing. “The escorts have been used before, when valuable cargo was moving through Sentury. It’s basically naming your one trusted contact. If you have this escort around, they’re permitted with you, no questions asked. If someone’s with you who isn’t your escort, they can be separated from you at any time.”

“And what if I don’t name one?” you asked.

“Apparently,” he began, “one will be assigned to you. From our crew or from the Station, I don’t know which. On the flip, I’ve actually heard of cases where an escort isn’t even named, but instead a crew member is indicted. Can you fucking imagine? Even a whole crew one time, holy shit.’

“Maybe they deserved it,” Felix shrugged.

The captain and the ranger began bickering while you regarded the dresses in the trunk. Not to be that person, but you never really had the occasion to dress up back home. You sneakily pawed through the trunk while the boys were busy arguing, sort of indulging and taking a look. One little number did catch your eye, a slinky, shimmery, champagne-hued dress. 

“Is that the one?” Chan asked, almost warmly, but catching you off-guard nonetheless. “Try it on!”

“Now?” you whined. 

“He has a point, love,” Changbin admitted. “Don’t want you looking frumpy when we disembark. We can make adjustments but we can’t do magic.”

“Fine,” you huffed, ready to turn heel down the stairs. 

“Oh my god,” the captain grumbled, “just try it on here, you prude. None of us are looking, no one is gonna care.”

You were this close to tearing Chan a new asshole, breaking his knees based on principle alone… but he sort of had a point. He’d said you were part of the crew. The crew all lived in these tight quarters, seeing each other in various states of undress on regular occasions – why shouldn’t you act like part of the crew?

“Whatever,” you relented. “But if I hear one catcall, it’s gonna be a bloodbath.”

“Such big talk coming from you,” Hyunjin giggled, sliding off the couch and looking through the trunk himself. Changbin and Felix were reading something on the appraiser’s tablet. Chan even had his hands over his eyes, rich coming from the one man present who’d seen you naked.

Regardless, you were modest about it. You turned around, swiftly slipping off your shirt and pulling on the dress, finding just enough stretch in the fabric to fit around your shoulders and hug you around your waist. Then you tugged off your bottoms, yanking them over your sneakers. You turned back around, admitting to yourself that you felt really good in the garment – when you noticed Seungmin staring. His cheeks rouged immediately, his face going pink when he tried to look busy and not like he was just watching you change.

The boys all turned their attention to you when they no longer heard your clothes shuffling. Chan looked you up and down but didn’t say a word, while Felix and Changbin nodded their approval. Hyunjin, meanwhile, nudged your hip with a pair of high heels from where he was digging in the trunk. Once again, they were in your size despite never confirming it for him. 

“Oh, no,” you refused, “I’m not ready for that.”

“Then practice, you maniac,” Chan complained, taking the heels from Hyunjin and pressing them into your hands. You scooped up your clothes from the floor. “Go practice, make sure you’re presentable, and pick an escort,” the captain directed.

You sighed hot into your chest as you defeatedly nodded, turning so you could head down the stairs. 

This was a lot to take in all at once. 

Just like you’d considered who to conspire on Jisung’s lead with, now you were wondering who to name as your escort. They’d have unquestioned permission to accompany you. 

Did that mean you could force someone to help you?

Like… if you named Seungmin?

Or you could even indict someone, apparently.

Could you even… name Minho as your escort? 

That’d probably make Chan snap. Hilarious.

A rush of footsteps in the stairwell startled you, and you turned to see Hyunjin jogging down to the galley. He held out an equally gaudy train case he must’ve found in the trunk.

“Chan, that idiot,” Hyunjin smirked, “he didn’t think to give you these.” He opened the case, revealing a mess of costume jewelry, hair clips, and makeup. He then produced a small clutch purse from under his arm and held it out in his other hand. “You’re going to look amazing. Don’t overthink it.”

The appraiser pushed the case into the growing pile in your hands before heading back down the stairs to his room in the cargo hold. You were left alone with a lot to figure out. Dazed, you walked back to your cabin, lost in thought – when you ran face first into Jisung, leaving his room. He looked particularly cozy today, with a tank top and some shorts, with a backwards baseball cap holding his fringe back. It was still taking some adjusting to see him without the eyepatch. 

The pilot looked thoroughly caught, his eyes wide and his face paling, which interested you until his eyes shifted down from yours, down your collarbones and onto the dress.

“I, uhm,” you struggled to explain, “I have to name an escort.”

Jisung’s eyes lit up and he pumped his fist a little. “Fuck yes,” he cursed in celebration. “I fucking told Changbin. But… are you going to disembark? Like that?”

The look you gave must’ve been brutal with how Jisung clammed up. It didn’t help that, following your criteria, you were still pissed at him. “Er, I mean,” he babbled, reaching forward and brushing a tendril of your hair out of your face. “I just think you can do something nice, really look the part, you know?”

You continued to stare, confused. Jisung sighed helplessly and grabbed your elbow, herding you into his cabin and closing the door. He sat you down at his desk, where he had a small standing mirror that you could see yourself in. The pilot brushed his fingers through your hair, a bizarrely soothing sensation, and began parting it and sweeping your hair in different directions. When you were about to ask him what the hell he was up to, he pointed at the train case.

“What’s in there?”

Instead of answering, you simply clicked open the case and gestured for him to take a look. Jisung peered inside, stroking his chin, and then picked out a couple pins before grabbing a hairbrush. Now you could no longer hold back the question you were dying to ask.

“Jisung,” you pestered, reaching back and grabbing his hand, “what the fuck are you doing?”

“I dated a couple dancers before,” he shrugged. “You pick up a thing or two. And you deserve to look nice, don’t you think?”

Stunned wasn’t exactly the right word here, but it’s what came to mind. Jisung whipped your hair up into a casual updo with some loose tendrils framing your face, and then dug into the train case. He held up a few options before holding up two sets of simple earrings for you. When you picked the modest golden hoops, he grabbed a matching bracelet and slipped it on your wrist. You sat still when he applied some light makeup, adding just a little drama to your eyes and a hint of shimmering highlight. 

It was ridiculous, how your heart skipped a beat when you looked in the mirror. 

You reminded yourself to stay pissed at Jisung.

“Alright,” he nodded approvingly. “Now the heels.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you stubbornly shook your head. “I haven’t worn heels in years–”

“It’s like riding a bike!” Jisung refuted. “Besides, look at these. Wide platform, ankle strap, chunky heel – you’re going to be perfectly fine. May I?”

You swallowed hard when Jisung knelt down and spun you in his desk chair so you were facing him. He pulled off your ratty sneakers and delicately slipped your right foot into the shoe before buckling the ankle strap, and then repeated the process with the left. Jisung’s gaze felt piercing when he looked up at you, and you caught yourself feeling all vulnerable again. He got up to his feet and stepped back.

“Well?” he asked. “Is it true? You can’t walk in heels?”

A small sigh escaped your lips before you got up.

You took a confident step forward–

But you over thought it. Your weight shifted weirdly, sending you stumbling over your own feet and into Jisung’s quick arms, where he awkwardly caught you but shifted you over so it looked more like he was dipping you during a waltz.

You blinked at him, haloed by the lamp in his room. “It’s too bad I’m still mad at you,” you joked halfheartedly, “because that was pretty smooth.”

“Yeah,” Jisung nodded, a little dazed. “It’s a good thing you’re still mad at me, because you look amazing.”

“Thanks,” you replied, trying to crack a lighthearted smile, “I just got my hair done.”

In a moment of terror, you realized that Jisung was leaning in towards you, and you pushed a hand into his face, smushing him back and off of you until you were properly standing up on your feet again.

You were both a little out of breath. “You, er,” you fumbled, “you didn’t formally pitch a plan to me yet, remember?”

“You’re right,” Jisung agreed, nodding and taking your hand in his. The tension was ballooning in your chest. “Can I talk to you?”

Your chin dipped in a weak nod while you leaned back to sit against Jisung’s desk, but he followed you, stepping between your knees. The following minutes were dead silent. Jisung tentatively kissed your cheek, which you permitted. He then brazenly slid his arms around your waist, and you gasped when he kissed your neck.

“I wanted to see if you’re interested in a plan of mine,” Jisung explained into your skin, his voice breathy and needy. 

“Yeah?” you replied, way too into this already. Your breath hitched when his teeth grazed your pulse.

“I know a guy, at the place I mentioned, Sunrise Casino–”

“How many guys do you know?” you teased. Jisung’s fingertips pressed tough into your waist, despite his muffled chuckle.

“I know a guy, okay?” he repeated. “He just works a door, but he’s a guy. And I haven’t heard from him in weeks–”

Jisung exclaimed as you grabbed onto his tank top, reeling him in and kissing him properly. He melted into you then, spreading your knees so he could slide between them. His fingertips found their way down below your waist, and you hissed out a curse when you felt him tease his touch inside of you. 

“Okay,” you breathlessly nodded while you pushed his shorts down under his erection, “so you haven’t heard from your guy. What then?”

You gasped into Jisung’s mouth when he kissed you again, his tongue hotly writhing against yours while he pulled his fingers out to massage the tip of his hard length against your entrance.

“What then, Jisung?” you repeated, teasing him to keep up with your little game. He sank into you then, pulling a full-bodied moan out of both of you.

“Then,” he groaned, “that means I have to rely on the one other guy I have at the moment, a jewelry dealer. He should have some direction for us to go and try to find the safety deposit box while we try to build some contacts on the inside, grease some palms and gather some intel– oh fuck–”

Jisung shuddered, getting a little distracted fucking you in earnest on his desk. He thrust into you hard, almost grinding his hips into you so he could really rub into your sweet spot. You kissed down his neck, sucking a little love bite into his collarbones. His eyes were squeezed shut, savoring the sensation of your walls enveloping his cock, and you reached up, cupping his face and encouraging him to watch you.

“Come on, tell me the rest,” you urged.

“Then, once we get a solid lead on the whereabouts of the payload,” Jisung panted, “we’ll have to decide if it’s smarter to go after it ourselves or try to make a deal–”

“That is the simplest, most run-of-the-mill plan I’ve ever heard,” you giggled, but cried out when Jisung kissed you hard again.

“It’s harder when I don’t have a guy, okay?” whined Jisung. “I gotta start all over again, do some groundwork–”

“Then I can help you,” you offered, whimpering when Jisung started pounding into you at just the right angle.

“Then I did it?” he asked eagerly. “You’re not pissed at me anymore?”

“No,” you shook your head, “I’m not pissed at you anymore, just make me cum, holy shit–”

Jisung nodded obediently, desperately grasping onto your hips and consistently thrusting into you at a steady enough rhythm. Almost risking ruining it, he sucked a thumb into his mouth before leaning you back and caressing your clit. You tensed then, grabbing onto his arm and crying out when you hit your climax. You were seeing spots, you finished so hard. Jisung came a moment afterwards, pulsing inside of you and practically collapsing, limp, on top of you where you were uncomfortably half-reclined on his desk.

The two of you took a minute to catch your breath, with Jisung’s lips buried in your neck and tickling you when he breathed. At some point, his ball cap fell off, and your hands ran through his hair and massaged the back of his neck.

“I guess that just means you need to name an escort then,” he mumbled against your skin. 

Even though you were dazed, you still tried to consider this.

But you were still seeing spots.

Well, no you weren’t. 

You saw a spot.

A light. On Jisung’s talk box by the door. 

Someone was listening to you.

Your eyes widened in horror at this realization, but you kept this to yourself. 

You were landing soon, and you needed to name an escort.

And some asshole was spying on your conversation.

You considered your options again. Jisung was an obvious choice, but it made sense to widen your resource pool. There was Seungmin, obviously. Even though he had business on the Station, maybe he’d actually help you if you named him. There was also Hyunjin, who was a clear wealth of knowledge despite being a gossip. You even humored the idea of naming Jeongin, who was green enough that you knew he’d help you with little to no arguing. Chan was an option as well, you supposed. He had skills and experience, and maybe naming him would help you keep a close eye on him. And there was Minho, obviously, a delightfully funny idea that’d stun you if it actually worked. Getting Minho’s help and getting him out of his cabin? Who knew what that would get you. And, of course, that left Felix and Changbin. A duo that already had a valuable reputation on Sentury, and knew the ins and outs better than the whole crew, most likely. Even though they’d hardly be able to accompany you anywhere, you considered that you could accompany them wherever you wanted. You wondered, for a brief moment, if you could name two escorts.

Sentury Station wasn’t too far off by now. All that you had left to do was choose who to name.

[eerna]

ngl i find it hilarious that they just speedran crooked kingdom while matthias was just sitting in jail like 🧍‍♀️

IT'S SOOO FUNNY it was literally "Crooked Kingdom but they never got Matthias out of jail". He was just sitting there praying, drawing in the sand, developing friendship, and having sexy thoughts. Bless

I totally remember when everyone was still debating whether the bathroom scene will be present in future seasons after the sea whip plot when season 1 was released in 2021.. but now we got a Walmart version of it 🙃 No hate to Freddy and Amita.. Like I believe they could totally pull the canonical CK scene off if the showrunners cared about a steady paced plot.. So far, the only thing I frankly like about this season is the set designs

Bro I thought I could give up hope and get over it, but when I saw them in their final scene together,,,, how GOOD they were if the writing is plucked straight from the books and allowed some subtlety.... I was sitting there imagining they were on the Ferolind and it was 2 different scenes and dyin from happiness. Freddy Amita you deserved better

what made me super duper extra mad was the pekka confrontation scene included the other crows. like only inej is supposed to be there you really think kaz would say SHIT about his brother in front of everyone????? he literally called jesper jordie in the books and refused to elaborate on it when jesper kept asking. and even inej doesn’t get the full story out of him.

YEAH LOL this season took some truly important scenes for Inej and Kaz and just. Wrote Jesper into her place instead. And also Nina. And Inej is now the one with the LEAST context for his trauma (except for Wylan, who still knows Nothing). This is not who Kaz is this is not what he would have done this is NOT HIM

The way I don’t even care abt getting kaz’s backstory anymore in this season and can’t be convinced to watch it bc the show already butchered literally everything else with his character. Speaking of I don’t think I’ve seen anyone even go into detail or talk abt it much which probably says a lot abt everything else the show is doing lol.

NJKnkjnkj you see, the writers just decided to tell us his entire backstory in shittily-placed flashback during the first half of the season, so waiting for his backstory isn't a thing. There is no buildup. No hints. You find out most of it in ep1. Remember how bad and scary it was in the books? Well here it is really lazily shot and cliched and just seems like not a big deal at all, which is probably why no one is mentioning it

@jfkisonthemoon asked:

okay wesper IS being sped through as terribly as kanej. but i do have to say that theyre at least fun to watch and the dynamic from the (end of the) books really is there. it probably helps that the casting is perfect and that im looking for any crumbs of non-ruined book content, but still.

Crumbs help us cope, no worries, that's great for you! But I honestly really disliked their new dynamic, is was very flavorless. What, Jesper just decides to be monogamous out of the blue because Wylan told him he doesn't seem like someone who would do it and also played a few bars on the piano???? It's killing me because Jack is such a good Wylan, they nailed the balance between assertiveness and cuteness he needs, but for WHAT

[weirdestcornelius]

honestly i think i can remember a few posts where kittycorn has been like "i say cometcare is the happy ending but they're incredibly dysfunctional lol" but like. idk... it feels like main sparklecare, where the main story only comes up and is thought about when it HAS to be, and otherwise it's all cutesy and comfort and shipping. if you're gonna tell a story, tell a story!!! don't make us pick thru unrelated stuff for crumbs of story!!!

So real anon. There's so much we haven't learned in both CC AND SC. I'm just a bit obsessive with my hyperfixations and special interests but frankly I wish we had less fluff and more actual storyline.

We don't know who broke Eve out of her egg, for starters. Not even a hint. Doom did seem to get all anxious and jittery when it was eventually mentioned though, so unless some random staff member did it I'm honestly confused on how the heck that happened. Pretty sure they didn't have any kids at the time of the cover-up and I can only imagine that Cuddles didn't like. Dropkick a child out of their egg for no reason. But I can assume that we're not going to be seeing him anytime soon, if at all, in CC. I feel like it will eventually be explained what actually happened to him but I'm waiting for arc five for that. Kc has said that it's the most interesting arc storyline-wise so HOPEFULLY we'll get more info about it.

There's things in SC that haven't been explained to. How the heck are the rats part spider if there's no arachnid anthries? Why do Funfetti and Pinata have to stay in the hospital? It's been mentioned that Funfetti has gone to jail before (I think. I'm not sure how but I think she mentioned it in v3) BUT Kc continues to say he's completely innocent so I'm not sure how that works. Of course not everyone who goes to jail is a bad person because the jail system fucking sucks and targets people that the government doesn't like, but that's still a very gray undeveloped area.

Also we were told that we'd get Cuddles' backstory at some point, but Kc specifically said "Nothing bad has ever happened to him" which makes him SUCH a BLAND CHARACTER. I wish we would get more interesting character arcs instead of just crumbs of story immediately followed by shipping material. v4 was absolute whiplash for me because one moment this character is having a mental breakdown, oh that's sa- oh it's barruni. Look this character is suffering from someth- oh it's a sex joke. Doom had a near death fucking experience! He was SET ON FIRE and it was still just leading to a sex joke.

It's not just that we aren't getting a lot of story that's the issue, any story we do get is interrupted by sex jokes or ship material. It's perfectly fine to have all three in the same issue, of course it is! But you need to learn how to cushion some areas in-between otherwise it's going to confuse your readers. You can't expect us to feel moved by an emotional scene but immediately follow said scene up with a sex joke.

[mareenavee]

For choose violence asks: 12 (easy), 17 or 18 (my favorite questions in the list), 22

PARA!!! Flapping about over here and cawing, are we? I appreciate it :D Let's do this!!! And give you something to read over coffee.

From this sardonic ask game right here.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

You want me to talk more about Athis? Well yes, I shall oblige.

I have a hard time judging who is and isn't popular. I just like who I like and will write fanfiction around them LOL simple as that.

But Athis, the bean, does lack quite a bit of fanfiction in his tag and he needs more attention so I'll yell about him some more.

I like how you can ask him his story, even if it's...admittedly not much. AND then if you ask him to repeat himself he gets affronted and sarcastic really fast:

What does it mean to be a Companion? The second time asking: "To me, it means not having to answer foolish questions a second time."

Bean. <3 As good an answer as any especially since most LDBs are gonna be engaging in Riekling Behavior and aren't really worth talking to on a good day LOL. Even as Harbinger.

This little factioid off the wiki:

Although his default gear is governed by the Light Armor skill, Athis is actually more proficient in heavy armor.

So it appears he's that kind of person who is barely wearing any clothing at all for no discernable practical reason. In fact is the opposite of practical if one were to consider the effectiveness of said armor and his specific skill set. So... no reason at all except to be barely wearing any clothing at all. And that does take a specific kind of person, doesn't it? LOL

(I mean I don't write him this bold, honestly because it's a little tiny bit annoying that most of the warriors in the Companions aren't very practical warriors in this manner. But it is a thing. It's a "trait" Bethesda gave him.)

And another tidbit!

You bring his butt with you over to Solstheim or on the Barenziah's crown quest and get too close to that side of the map near Morrowind? The boy gets antsy.

Here:

"Are you thinking you're better than me? I crawled west out of the wasteland, so show some respect." "I avoid going to Eastmarch if I can. Something in the air... I think it's just too close to the border."

I fully intend to twist all of this out of shape and make something really cool of his backstory. I've already hinted at some of it in a few posts here, but yeah. Bethesda gave me a crumb and I will run with it. (:

So yes ATHIS. (Yeah that turned into a ramble. I wonder how that happened. Hm.)

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

For art specifically!! Please more alchemy ingredients just tossed on a canvas. I love plants, love drawing them but I am not the kind of artist who produces work at a very fast rate and I would have a whole blog of just different depictions of Skyrim alchemy ingredients and plants if enough content existed. I love it so very much.

Fic? More friendship fics for sure. Not everything has to be shippy. (Aro brain taking the wheel again.) If it is gonna be somewhat about love, though, please definitely show me as much possible diversity in the different, nuanced types of love, romantic and otherwise or different iterations of romantic relationships. Knock me off my feet with the coolest possible aro pairing I've ever seen. ( :> ) Make me feel seen with your words, people. Make yourself feel seen in your work, because it's yours. It doesn't need to be a shippy fic if what calls to you is something more or something else.

That said, I am very fond of certain pairings and can be persuaded to like ships. BUT more nuance is always very, very needed and good.

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

OOOh this one again yesss.

Oh. REBUILDING!!! I want fic where we're seeing things being fixed, and settlements recovering. I understand that the theme of the world is decay, really and the dragons are about to [redacted] up the entire situation. BUT. But. It doesn't make sense that things have stagnated for decades or centuries... there should have been some repair to Winterhold. There should have been some kind of changes made to the structure of cities in Vvardenfell, some rebuilding. I think the fandom could do some really cool redesigning and bring forward a ton of awesome OC backstories set in situations of rebuilding like this. I know some mods fix these things, but like...to really dig into what it means for people and why they may be in Skyrim due to these efforts or being displaced due to incorrect handling of said efforts and/or succumbing to more danger and disaster over the years? SO much to work with. I'll be touching on this with Athis things in future. (:

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

This is a fancy way to ask question 1 again (:

But no there's a lot that can be ignored in canon. And another favorite is that Neloth was alive in Morrowind and is presumed to use and know all those cool spells you can craft.

He should know these things in Skyrim, too, but doesn't. Some silliness about the wiki infers some magic is Illegal but I think Neloth would not give a single shit if it was illegal or not.

So why do these spells no longer surface? (aside from game engine limitations?) Especially when Neloth fights?

I don't know if people ignore this in their fics but I sure don't. I do love my ✨Weird Magic Shit.✨ And crafting spells seems the weirdest and absolutely something that would be frequently and illicitly going on in Tel Mithryn if certain magic is illegal.

It existed and some characters were around when it was normal magic useage and are still around in Skyrim LOL so.... (: Yes. How much weirder magic shit used to be in older games. I feel it's ignored not purposefully...but because not everyone has played the older games. And that's okay too. But I remember and I will take canon and run wild with it.

Thank you for these, Para!!!! AUGH <3 🫂💖

[wannaeatramyeon]

Does Gojo have a grip on you too? (Tho I prefer Toji)

More JJK as a whole, not really Gojo or anyone in particular. And not to start some discourse here but I'm caught up with JJK and do not get the hype with Toji.

SatoSugu on the other hand... Fuck yes give me those star crossed lovers.

(Currently happily frolicking around JJK on AO3 with its 40k+ fics 🥰)

+ a couple more asks answered below the cut!

@sublimequeenmango this is the sweetest thing I've ever received or read. Honestly I feel HONOURED. Let me screenshat this and use it to feed myself whenever I feel my hyperfixation waning 🫶🫶🫶 I'll try my best to continue to make fics you will hopefully enjoy! 🫡

On a separate note I should be reopening my asks soon.... And it would be quicker but I haven't felt compelled to answer them in the last week or so because of that goddamn Ryuhei Kuroda and those 461 chapter panels ughhhh.

@backshotsdevil swerving this like Neo if it's subtle hint to recruit ME because I have an endless list of things to read and watch 😭

Actually, if it's anything like The Great Estate Developer then I am curious!

It's unfortunately because Gun is too strong, he's affecting all of us with how much we care about Daruma 😮‍💨

For me he's just... There? Not really enough personality crumbs for me to be interested apart from the tragic backstory. I like his character design though! At least PTJ didn't copy and paste him from someone else.

...I have never had an opinion whatsoever on wigs. Yes I guess? They can be fun or serious, there's endless options.

[smokestarrules]

Heya! What would you say your favorite rwby songs are from the rwby soundtrack? Hope you're having a good day!

ooooooooooh... I'm going to spend entirely too much time on this ask, but I don't care because it's going to be fun. I'll give myself two favorites from each Volume, I think? So I don't ramble on for-fucking-ever. Onwards!

(Also consider every intro song as one of my favorites as well, because it's true.)

Volume 1:

I May Fall. The amount of foreshadowing in this song is insane and the fact that it's in the v1 soundtrack is laughable. Notably, it of course does have a hopeful message, but man... they had no idea what was comin', huh?

Red Like Rose, Pt. 2. Of course. The first little hint we see of especially Ruby's flawed coping mechanisms, and to have a song about Summer, like, ten years before she actually appears in the show is insane. It's a banger, and the lyrics "I made a sacrifice but forced a bigger sacrifice on you" is just!!!!!!! You know?

(Runner-up: Wings. You cannot convince me it's not the very first Bumbleby song.)

Volume 2:

Die. I guess I just really like dark songs from the earlier volumes; this one's just fun, and it does well to set up the Bad Times (tm) that are coming with v3. If you thought everything was fine and happy during the first two volumes, just check out the soundtrack. It didn't just come out of nowhere.

Sacrifice. Continuing on with the theme, I guess. I'm also a known Cinder Fan, so this as part of her theme is just... really, really cool. Again, some serious foreshadowing. The chorus for this one is really good; just again a super fun song to listen to.

(Runner-up: Boop. Banger.)

Volume 3:

It's My Turn. Fav Weiss song, maybe? Certainly one of the best ones. Sets the stage for Weiss' feelings considering her family that comes up in this volume and the next ones, and it helps that this song plays during the first arena fight with Team RWBY, which is a bomb-ass scene.

Divide. PEAK villain song, and I mean peak victorious villain song. The goal to split up the protagonists isn't exactly a rare thing, but the fact that it works... this entire song is just a kick to the face; they've already lost, and now they're having to hear about it. Divide them, and that's already happened. It's a fucking fantastic song. One of my favorites overall, I think, not just from v3.

(Runner-up: Mirror, Mirror, Pt. 2. Weiss gets a lot of great ones.)

Volume 4:

Like Morning Follows Night. Bit of an expected choice, probably, but this song is just too damn good. I really love the argument in the beginning between Blake and Sun, and it's just... god, it's good. Blake songs are always incredible.

Armed and Ready. I mean, of course. Yang's Getting Back Up moment, Bees crumbs, the incredible way the tone of this one changes from fear to determination?? Fantastic. Also, the title being a pun is just... yeah. It's so good.

(Runner-up: Bmblb, because of course. Also, holy fuck this volume was hard. V4's soundtrack is stacked.)

Volume 5:

Smile. Ilia! Love Ilia. Love this song. It has one of my favorite rhythms in RWBY, and man, the amount of character backstory that we get from it is crazy. It's not a backstory you really need to know if you don't listen, but it's nice to hear nonetheless. Ilia beloved <3

This Time. Like I said: Blake songs are always incredible. Blake and her papa!!! Making a better world for the Faunus!!! Just really love the implications of this song, of Ghira and Blake side-by-side as they rally the rest of Menagerie. Really cool.

(Runner up: All That Matters. The yearning, my god. Yang is down bad and she's going to make it everyone else's problem.)

Volume 6:

Miracle. A lingering darkness from v5; they're not at all in a great place by the beginning of v6, but they're still fighting! Another one of my actual favorites overall, it's just a banger.

Nevermore. A Blake and Yang duet that explicitly details how they're feeling when they stab Adam??? That's one of the best concepts I've ever heard, and it's insane. This one is also a bit nostalgic; I watched RWBY after v6 stopped airing but before the soundtrack had dropped, and I specifically remember jamming out to Nevermore the day it was released. Peak romance, actually.

(Runner-up: Indomitable. Still makes me want to cry. Singlehandedly one of the most powerful songs, I think.)

Volume 7:

Touch the Sky. Blake song!! Blake song where she's happy! Blake song where she talks about finally feeling like herself again!!! What the fuck!!!! This one gets me so emotional every time. She's healed.

War. Complete opposite vibes of the last, but still cool as hell. The fact that they got four different voices in this one to play as RWBY is incredible, and my god is it a banger. Betrayal vibes, obviously, but like, looking down your nose at the person who turned their back on you. Super cool.

(Runner-up: Brand New Day. Another happy one!! God... we had no idea how good v7 was being to us.)

Volume 8:

Treasure. Oh, you thought v5's All That Matters was peak yearning? You were wrong! Blake's pining knocks Yang's out of the park, especially considering they're apart in this volume for like, three days maximum. Blake is in love and she's going to make it everyone else's (Weiss') problem.

Friend. I mean... what can I say about this song? RWBY's not exactly short on "mourning this person" music, but the fact that this one is explicitly cheery... it's just. Wow. It's Penny in a nutshell, and while it's still devastating, it's also, like. Celebrating her life. Celebrating what she did get to have, rather than grieving that she won't get to have more. It's really, really good, and the song itself is fantastic.

(Runner-up: Be Strong and Hit Stuff. Nora themes! Emerald themes! And what a catchy chorus!)

Overall, thanks for this ask, I had way too much fun with it. Sorry for how long it got lmfao, I have Opinions about this show. I don't think there's a single song I actively dislike, though of course I've got my less favorites. Hope you enjoyed my madness :)

[fangirlandtheories]

some Steve related questions in case you wanted something in your ask box: what is an underrated Steve moment in the show, in your opinion? what is a scene,one from all four seasons, that you wish would have been extended? is there a major wish you have for s5 Steve that you have, if so what? and does it need to be followed to a T or would you be happy at it being hinted at, but not expanded upon? a common fandom headcanon about Steve that you can't stand? one you love? favorite fic trope to read? favorite to write? your dream Steve scenario you think about when daydreaming or just trying to sleep at night? if Steve wore an item of jewelry, besides a wedding ring, what would it be and who gave it to him?

I love this!!! Thank you so much, these are so cute!!!

I would say that there's not many moments of the show where Steve is underrated, I think the fans as a whole have really appreciated and analyzed every moment of screen time that we've been give, understandably so, but my all time favorite moments are during the interrogation, SPECIFICALLY "He's long gone you big asshole" because it really just feels like Joe and Maya were cracking up and having fun during filming, despite the awful context of the scene. The other scene I enjoy is during S4 during Dear Billy when he's so genuinely concerned about Max and so touched to receive a letter. Everyone calls him Mom but he really has this Big Brother Energy like no other.

I wish so much that his chat with Robin while making Molotov cocktails was extended this season. I also don't wish it was. Kinda odd, I know. It was succinct in the way it needed to be, but I also feel like their relationship is so unique, especially in the sense that it's a strictly platonic male x female friendship, that I wish I could see more of their relationship beyond the banter.

I would LOVE to see some Steve backstory. Anything, any little crumbs of his life that they've hinted at and I would be thrilled. I also think that Steve should be single. I'm not going to fool myself into believing that Steddie would ever become canon, I'm not sure I'd want it to because I feel like it would kind of ruin the dynamic that the fans of the ship have created, but I want Steve to be a character that doesn't define self worth by relationship status. I feel like so much of his character growth has been rooted in who he has had a crush on and not how he as a person has grown, so I'd love that especially.

I won't say I can't stand it, but I've grown tired of the 'Steve has the groundbreaking discovery that he's bisexual' trope. It's not a bad one, hell I've used it, I just feel as though it's been done to the extent that it can be. I also don't love how he's written as stupid sometimes. He's a himbo 50000% but he's still a smart character. One that I love is that he's very emotionally intelligent. I love every time I read something and see that Steve is picking up on the emotions before anyone else does. It's uncommon to see a male character perceived that way, especially not one that is viewed as the group fighter.

This is so funny because the answer to both questions is the same: Hurt/Comfort and Sickfics. Anytime where Steve is trying to hide that he's hurt or generally having a hard time in order to avoid being a burden, only to have it all come crashing down on him as he is forced to rely on his friends and discover that he's loved *dreamy sigh*

This one is very tricky and I'm trying to find a way to answer without answering too much. As someone who writes fics, most of my scenarios are my plans for my fics. I am laying them out in my head thinking about dialogues and the movements of the characters. Right now I've been doing a lot of thinking about bits of Steve's backstory, especially how it would be affected by having a psychiatrist for a mother because that's the main plot of the fic I'm currently working on.

I like this one because it kinda came out of left field but bear with me here. Steve would 100000% wear friendship bracelets. Lots of them. All different colors and all from the kids. They'd teach him how to make them, El would string the beads with her mind, Max would show everyone how to braid, it would be a bonding experience like no other. I also think that Eddie would give him his class ring because that was a way of saying that you're dating in the 80s.

Thank you so much for these! I had so much fun answering! If anyone ever has questions like this, feel free to pop them in either my inbox or my messenger if you would prefer! Thanks my loves!!!

[mrs-lockley]

(I'm definitely not procrastinating)

⭐⭐⭐SPAMMING YOU WITH STARS NYEEEEEOW ⭐⭐⭐

⭐⭐⭐

I wanna learn more about your Kapangpangan fic! I need crumbs please I'm begging KAJHSDKJAS Anything you wanna share! (Also love love love your work and your support! Literally you are so kind HNNGGG)

Hehe thank you Nelly! I'm actually struggling with part 2 right now so this will help me sort my thoughts out! I'll do 9 facts for each star 😘

Where the Spirit Meets the Bones was partly inspired by the Little Mermaid. I was surprised I haven't seen a Little Mermaid AU for Namor, so I decided to write one! I debated on making her a Sirena because I did see a few Sirena/Mermaid fics in the tag, but after doing some research, I decided to settle on Sirena because I felt that a Sirena was right for her.

The title and premise of the fic is inspired by the song ivy by Taylor Swift, my favorite song from my favorite album by her (Evermore is her best work and completely underrated, imo). The entire song screamed Namor to me and if you look closely at the lyrics, it'll give many hints to more of the reader's backstory. 👀👀

Speaking of the reader's backstory, it's been hinted at throughout the first part, but she was human before she became a Sirena. How she became a Sirena and why the ocean spared her life will be revealed in part 2! She may seem sweet in part 1, but she has just as many skeletons in the closet and darkness like Namor. She's just better at hiding it.

Originally I was going to have Namor and our Sirena meet when she rescues him at sea because she was intrigued by the wings on his ankles and pointed ears. But I scrapped that idea because I wanted more of a slow burn and build up before that meeting. That’s when I got the idea of her finding Namor visiting his mother on the seashore and leaving behind the jasmine flowers as an offering.

Although he did not know what our Sirena looked like when she rescued him, Namor painted jasmine flowers in his cavern to mark that that was the first time he was nearly discovered by humans in a foreign land, but was saved by her.

His original intentions were to learn more about her to see if she was a princess or goddess that he could have diplomatic ties with, so he restored her necklace with vibranium and offered two Talokanil pearls as a possible token of diplomacy and courtship. But all that changed when he and the Sirena meet face-to-face for the first time. It was almost love at first sight, but it was definitely love at first sound. 

I went back and forth on having it be a standalone, but then I decided to make it a duet. I have several ideas for part 2 that I don’t want to spoil too much, and depending how long it is, I might make it 3 parts if people are still interested  👀 It would take place over the course of the 20th century and lead up to modern day 

Part 2 will go more in-depth about their relationship, and I may or may not be planning on incorporating the bakunawa as a metaphor for their relationship since I already did a lot of emphasis on them meeting under a bright moon 

Ultimately I made the reader a Sirena Kapampangan because while I do love reading Filipino!reader fics, I felt a little isolated because I don’t understand a lot of Tagalog. My parents only spoke Kapampangan at home (I can speak a little bit (but understand Kapampangan fluently), my mom made me speak English when she spoke to me in Kapampangan so I wouldn’t struggle with English) so I struggle with grammar sometimes and don’t really know which is my first language. I did pick up a little bit of Tagalog from watching TFC and most of my Filipino-American friends are Tagalog. We would do Taglish with each other but I’d get my Kapampangan mixed up with Tagalog words and get frustrated with myself for not knowing Tagalog, but also feel incredibly guilty because I’ve heard that back home, Kapampangan is slowly dying out and I want to preserve it. I can’t read or write Kapampangan and some of the Kapampangan terms I used in the fic, I had to double check the translations to make sure I spelled it right. This is getting a little personal but even among my Filipino friends, I always felt like the odd ball and a fraud because we don’t know any other Kapampangans here in the States (and a majority of my immediate family are in Pampanga). So this fic is really personal to me because for once, I feel a bit more included in the Filipino space. The Asian diaspora is real and even my Fil-Am friends feel it too, so we try to learn more about our history. It’s just even in the Asian-American community here in the States, Filipinos are still looked down on by our East Asian cousins that I still struggle with my Southeast Asian and Filipino identity. Doing research for this fic has made me want to learn more about my history, specifically Kapampangan history, which sadly I did not learn much about from my parents because  growing up they did not get a chance to teach us much about it since they were working to provide for my Ate and me. So in a way, this fic is really personal and self-indulgent because this is the kind of fairytale that Little Me would have wanted to read. This fic is a fairytale for my younger self and other Filipino girls, not just Kapampangan, to read. It’s a love story for our younger selves.

[susie-dreemurr]

Willow, Luz and Hunter for the character asks

(Edit: fuck it read more time)

Willow Park

1) First impression:

(Episode 3?) She seems a bit like the stereotypical sweet bullied best friend, but that’s okay. She’s nice and has some mischievous moments. Not much to say about her.

2) Impression now:

She’s still not a favorite, but I like her more now. I enjoy the parts where the girl subverts some of the tropes she was assigned (being allowed to being angry at her bully, not immediately forgiving, still a gremlin) and how just because Willow got more self-confidence, it doesn’t mean the teen won’t struggle with negative thoughts after getting put down for being “half a witch” for so long.

3) Favorite moment:

The monster in her mind being revealed to be Inner Willow after it was pushed into the water. Plus, the iconic: “I remember what you did, too. I can’t say we’re friends, but…it’s a start.”

4) Idea for a story:

We’ve seen Willow’s complicated feelings on Amity, now it’s time to explore what she and Skara got going on. Although I remember S1E17 hinting that Skara would be nicer to her and didn’t hate her, unlike Boscha, it’s still a bit weird to see one of Willow’s former bullies in her team when they’ve had zero on-screen development. Especially because, unlike with Amity, they don’t have any history to build on.

In other words. Fanfics of Willow & Skara friendship slow burn when.

5) Unpopular opinion:

Willow should have gotten more screen time, yes, but I think the girl’s current time explores her enough. She’s one of those characters who already feel complete since season one. (With that said, gimme some a Willow POV reason to ship Huntlow, bc if this is gonna happen, I need mutual content—)

You can argue that the girl hasn’t completed her arc yet, but, while that’s fair, I think the fact that we’re being shown that she’s in a better state than she ever was in her life, plus that she will keep growing, makes up for it.

6) Favorite relationship:

Willow and Amity. It’s not even a competition. Understand Willow, my best friend…

7) Favorite head cannon:

She’s somewhere in the AroAce spectrum! Maybe she can have crushes still, but they’ll be either very small and short, or they’re less “blushing, can’t function, etc” and more her normal attitude them + a mushy feeling in her chest and the desire to cuddle. Thought people were exaggerating about how intense their romantic urges were until Luminity happened. I’m not projecting.

Gus Porter

1) First impression:

Funny little man. Definitely not neurotypical. That’s it.

2) Impression now:

Labyrinth Runners changed me as a person, so listen. His whole character is about autism and the ND experience. His struggle of feeling guilty for not being able to read people as well as the others around him, therefore leading into being taken advantage of, mostly for his smarts, is a mood. Still a funny little man, but now is a character I love. This explains it better than I possibly could, but the point is: He Gets It!

3) Favorite moment:

His last on-screen Illusion Nightmare, when Hunter goes into the sphere to snap him out of his mind. Specifically the “I let myself get tricked…again” part because the slightly creepy and symbolic visual is my kind of shit. Aside of that, probably the whole scene where he calms Hunter down from a panic attack and then gives his speech.

4) Idea for a story:

Something exploring his post-King’s Tide feelings, because…imagine having to deal with being a 12 year old unable to go home to your only family member, who’s current status is unknown, going to your dream location in the worst way possible, and. As if that wasn’t enough, having to stay silent about his knowledge of Belos’s backstory, including the creation of grimwalkers, which his friend is. I am but a humble angst enjoyer and I need my crumbs.

5) Unpopular opinion:

Okay idk tbh. Although he was criminally underdeveloped in season one, TTGLR and LR came in clutch, so I don’t mind his lack of exploration as much as other fans. My main complaint is that I wish he got more focus on King’s Tide. Let him into the Angst Train in the next specials, Dana. You know you want to.

6) Favorite relationship:

As the Labyrinth Runners stan that I am, I’d have to be lying to say it’s anything but Hunter & Gus. It’s just an equally positive thing for both of them. They are nerdy sillies together me thinks

7) Favorite head cannon:

Augustus Porter has the autism swag (real)

Luz Noceda

1) First impression:

Luz looks like a regular “quirky child” kid’s show protagonist, but just because she’s not anything special right now doesn’t mean I won’t like her. She’s fun. I like her neurodivergent swag and…girlie made me cry in S1E02 😔 why would you hurt me like this. It’s not even a sad episode. It’s just… her being tricked by that self-indulgent illusion hit me in my weak spot 😭😭😭

2) Impression now:

ONE OF MY FAVORITES, JUST LIKE ME FOR REAL! Watch this video, it’s the best. Seriously, I still like her kid’s show protag vibes, yeah, but what really draws me in is her insecurities. It’s the alienation Luz faced due to being neurodivergent and never really fitting in anywhere until the Boiling Isles. It’s about the people pleasing and hiding away any signs that she needs help due to not wanting to be a bother, because being too much of a burden means losing your only friends. It’s about loving your parents but feeling as if they will never really get it.

The urge to self-sacrifice and put the blame on yourself in case anything goes wrong. It’s about reaching one of your lowest mental health points and thinking you’re a horrible person who ruins everything when you’re just a kid with some Issues and anger. When, at some point, you start only confiding on your sibling figure because they’re the only one who understands and you think won’t run away. Pushing away your friends and, after apologizing, being surprised at how instantly kind and forgiving they are. It’s about Reaching Out and Thanks To Them.

3) Favorite moment:

Camila watching her computer diary in Thanks To Them. Literally everything about it, but especially the reveal of her hyperfixation being a connection to her late father. Aside of that, moments like her bitter speeches in S2E02 (to Eda) and in S3E01 (to her class) are very cool…I relate to her so much 😔

4) Idea for a story:

I’m not very creative when it comes to these types of questions, so this is hard. You know what they say, when in doubt, go for a PMMM AU! She gets a Sayaka-like role! (it’s about the heroism complex and ideals, the destruction of the fantasy, the angst. And the gay, too. Amity, get in the Kyoko cosplay right NEOWWW—)

5) Unpopular opinion:

I mostly stick to my fandom bubble, so I always see similar takes, but. “She got some trauma and issues from the Boiling Isles, as no kid should bear the burden of the world’s fate in the way Luz does, Belos worsened her ‘I gotta do this by myself’ shtick” and “She already had trauma before the Boiling Isles, that island is essential to her healing atp, and her Owl Family + friends helped her get some coping mechanisms and actually rely on her loved ones” are all statements that can and do coexist!

6) Favorite relationship:

The Owl Family, aka Luz, Eda & King. It’s the heart of the show! Three outcasts, who grew to unconditionally accept and love each other, even when others don’t have their back. Three traumatized people with awful coping mechanisms who do their best teach each other how to be better. Found family that may not be perfect, but is essential in all its members in a growth and healing journey. Plus they’re really funny. Can best be described as “they’re a set, do not separate them.”

7) Favorite head cannon:

No “favorite” comes up right now, so regular ones it is. HC that Luz has not only ADHD, but autism and (for a while) depression as well! And undiagnosed eye problems, because she refused to ask for glasses and is deeply regretting it! I’m projecting! Also, when she stays in The Boiling Isles, she’s going to cut her hair to fit the Clawthorne Women Hair Style(TM) like how Eda looks in the EOTP flashback, but mixing it with her own style at the same time. The girl needs a cool leather jacket, too! Give her some more drip.

[stormkpr]

10 things I love about The 100 (and 10 things I hate about it)

10 things i love about The 100:

The characters

And way the show makes me  care about all the characters. I kind of love them. Once I was at a party and the song “Radioactive” came on, and I got teary. I explained why. My friends thought it was hilarious.

The settings. Although the worldbuilding was not perfect, it was good. Each episode could have launched a thousand fanfics

Although I believe many storylines were way too rushed, still this show had some great plots. I rewatched 5x2 The Red Queen recently and could only say “Damn this is good TV”

I already did a post on the ships I love. So I’ll just name them again. Bellarke. Memori. Mackson. Niytavia. SeaMechanic. Kabby. Marper.  

Some really really good non-romantic relationships too. Do I have to list them all? I can’t, but here are some. Monty and Jasper. Sinclair and Raven. Octavia and Indra. Kane and Indra. Octavia and Diyoza. Raven and Memori. Bellamy and Murphy. Bellamy and Miller. Roan and Clarke. Kane and the Blakes until the writers said screw it. 900 more.

The ending of S5. Which most of the fandom seems good with regarding as the real ending. I cry every time.

Raven and Octavia being badasses the whole way through. And shoutout to Indra for also being a badass, for 6 seasons

The music, the visuals, the direction. Top notch.

LGBT representation and strong female representation. Not enough POC representation though

Fanfics. There have been some amazing ones

10 things I hate about The 100:

Bellamy’s death

In fact, so many of the deaths were brutal. No, I didn’t expect sunshine and rainbows when I decided to watch a post-apocalyptic show. But damn. Lexa, Lincoln, Sinclair, Jasper, Roan, Luna, Kane, Abby. At least Marper’s deaths brought in a new era of hope for everyone else

Six seasons of lead up to Bellarke and it doesn’t happen

I want less rushing through a plot and more character interactions

The time skip after Praimfaiya didn’t do us any favors. Neither did the overall pacing - six months from 1x1 to Praimfaiya, then a timeskip, then it’s back to rushing. 

Not enough. Of anything. I want more backstory on all the characters

The way that some characters barely interacted at all (Octavia and Raven. Murphy and Octavia. And don’t get me started on the “secondary” characters. I want more than 1 scene showing Gaia and Miller’s friendship thank you!)

So many things that were teased or hinted at or “could have been” but never did and just got dropped. Examples? Too many. Niytavia for one thing. Reply to this post and list 100 others because if I start listing more I will scream

After S5, they never seemed to know what to do with Raven.

I love Mackson and I wanted more than the crumbs we got

[kisskissbanggang]

Jumpspace Renegade - ep. 11 ✨🚀

[5.1k words, <20 min. read - Stray Kids Multi Fic, Scifi!au, Choose Your Own Adventure - SFW/Smut in Other Chapters - Mentions of Changlix, Navigating Feelings, Unexpectedly Not as Exciting as Some Characters are Hoping, Minho is Getting Restless, Minho is Also Indeed Still Acting Weird, Rescue Missions, Prison Breaks, Hints of Motives, Crumbs of Backstory, Dumb and Unusual Punishment, Loyalty Crisis, We’re Still on the Ocean Planet, Mentions of Blood, Scifi Guns, Always Check the Tags]

[Episodes on Fridays 7pm pst, Polling closes Saturdays 7pm pst]

[Series Masterlist | Come Say Hi!]

“Do you think you’re in a place to be making demands?” Chan was pissed. The bounty was asking for a goddamn cabin?

Minho cocked his head, almost taunting the captain. “Do you want your appraiser back? Ask Nova. She’ll tell you I'm the best bet you have.”

Both men looked at you then. You took a brief, deep breath.

“Minho should be compensated. You’re having him help bring back Hyunjin, and who knows what kind of mess he’s in. Making the bounty do work for nothing is just slave labor,” you determined. Chan reeled. Minho grinned. 

“But-!” you added. 

A mutual pause struck them both. 

“Obviously,” you continued, “there should be conditions.”

“Oh really,” Chan and Minho said in unison. The captain was smug. The bounty was the one reeling now.

“Yes!” you confirmed. “Minho should be locked in and out at all times.”

He grumbled under his breath at this, gaze set hard on Chan even though you were the one coming up with this garbage. “Fine,” he sighed.

“What else?” Chan asked.

“What else?!” Minho repeated, whining.

“And–” you floundered. “And, and… and! To continue paying for this upgrade, you’re on-call for medic duty and other auxiliary crew assignments, like this.”

Chan clapped his hands together. “Yes, even better.”

Minho scoffed hard. “You’re a fucking piece of work, Captain.”

“And you’re a piece of shit!” Chan retorted. “Do you want the cabin or not?! This was your brilliant idea.”

“Yeah,” Minho huffed, “and my next brilliant idea is to put my foot up your ass.”

Chan groaned and pointed accusingly. “Holy shit you’re so annoying, I should’ve fucking shot you when you asked me to! I have half a mind to–”

“Oh my god,” you interrupted, “would both of you shut UP?”

Thankfully, this seemed to do the trick. You turned to Minho. “You want to make it to Daedalus in one piece, don’t you?”

Minho’s glare could kill. Chan paused again.

“... Interesting. You want to go to Daedalus, Lee?”

You winced in realization before turning back to face the captain.

“Uh, obviously,” you floundered. “Minho’s fiance is there, laying low until he gets back.”

Chan raised an extremely dubious eyebrow. “Fiance,” he repeated, unbelieving.

Jeongin chuckled, still lurking in the doorway of the medical office. “Fiance?” he also parroted. “It’s not Momo, is it?”

“Momo would never go back to Daedalus,” Chan shook his head. His gaze fell on you now, wondering where the hell you would get an idea as stupid as covering for Minho.

“Fine,” Minho relented. “I’ll do it.”

This seemed to pacify the captain. “Glad that’s settled,” he casually nodded as he turned to leave the med bay. “Our ground clearance expires at nightfall, so you have the whole afternoon if you need. Now get the hell out of here.”

“Well, hold on–” Minho added.

Chan paused.

“You’re asking me to go out there with no cover, and you haven’t cashed your bounty yet. Can I at least get my obfuscator back?”

The captain thought about this and shrugged. “Smartest thing you’ve said since you’ve been on this ship. Knock yourself out.” He strolled over to a locker built into the wall at the top of the spiral staircase and beeped it open. Inside was a satchel, which Chan pawed around in. He retrieved a small pendant and tossed it back to Minho.

“What’re the chances of getting my bag back before Daedalus?”

“Doubtful,” Chan shook his head. “What are my chances of you thanking me?”

“Doubtful,” Minho mocked. He pocketed the pendant and grabbed your hand before pulling you down the stairs with him.

“What about you thanking me?” you teased him.

Minho stopped dead before wheeling on you, pulling you onto the same step he stood on and herding you against the wall of the stairwell. You felt your eyes widen when he leaned in. “I’m sure my new fiance will be thrilled to hear you got me better accommodations,” he finally retorted, voice low and ominous, but still somehow reminding you of your rendezvous the other morning. 

You got over yourself. Based on everything you'd seen so far, Minho was all bark and no bite. You tiptoed up to kiss his cheek, predictably breaking his concentration. Minho wrinkled his nose and swatted you off before turning to reach the galley floor.

“I said no more of that,” he badgered back over his shoulder. “Just, ugh, don’t overdo the cover story next time.”

“Yes sir,” you complied, only slightly rolling your eyes. He did have a point.

Minho’s expression over his shoulder turned into a smirk. “Sir? I like that.”

He paused by the table in the galley, with Seungmin still peacefully passed out in the booth. 

“What’s the story here?” Minho asked, jabbing a thumb in his direction.

“Not sure,” you answered. “Changbin and Jeongin said there’d been a misunderstanding when he went to drop off the charts for his clients.”

Minho drew out a pen light, likely swiped from a drawer in the med office, and stooped down to get a better look at the navigator.

“I’d love to know what kind of misunderstanding it was,” he casually remarked. He gently ran a fingertip through a dark blue smudge on Seungmin’s glasses and rubbed it between his fingers before smelling it and ultimately tasting it, much to your horror. He reeled for a moment, face scrunched in regret. “Holy shit,” he laughed. “This is Azure. You know what that is?” 

You blankly shook your head, feeling a bit dumb and naive once again. 

“Makes sense,” Minho assured you. “It’s made of ink from a specific type of sea cucumber in the subarctic seas here, so it doesn’t go off-planet that often.”

“What is it?” you asked curiously. 

“At its most innocent? Party drug. College kids and marines on surface leave love the stuff, but I never understood the appeal,” the bounty explained. “At its worst? Well… you know.” 

“Oof,” you winced. “So with Seungmin… You don’t think–”

“Nothing nefarious,” Minho quickly reassured you. “Again, the Phaborians are largely against violence. If the guys say there was a misunderstanding, I'm guessing the navvy’s clients originally intended to tranq’ a possible threat to play it safe.”

“So he’s fine?” you implored. You tried not to sound worried. 

“Yeah, hun,” Minho nodded. “He’ll wake up with a pounder of a headache and a wicked case of minor amnesia, but he’ll be fine.”

Finally pleased with his diagnosis, Minho followed you out to the workshop. You tried to ignore a dot of Felix's blood on the floor at the top of the ramp. Instead, you let yourself be entertained by how Minho apparently knew how to access the weapons rack behind its hidden door. You were interested to see what he’d grab, and were somehow not surprised to see it was only a single blaster before he closed the rack again. He clipped on the pendant that Chan had returned to him while you ventured down the ramp together, tucking the thing into the collar of his shirt. 

“So,” you started, but stopped short. It was hard not to feel like you were being a pain despite your curiosity. You pointed at the pendant. “What exactly does that do?”

“You've never seen an obfuscator?” Minho chuckled. “That’s surprising. I bought mine in T’kaarm.”

“Don’t make me feel dumb,” you whined. More and more, you were being proven to not even be as street smart as you originally thought. Reaching the end of the ramp, you led him around to where you left the four-wheeler. 

“Calm down,” laughed Minho. “You know how most facial scanners are affected by interference or distortion maybe once every ten times?”

“Sure,” you nodded. Obviously.

He pointed at the pendant. “This thing spews out a cloud of interference, it’s like a portable data jammer–”

“That’s what that does?” came a voice unexpectedly. You both jumped and searched, quickly finding the cabin boy gingerly closing the sub-hatch door to the cargo hold. 

“Jeongin?!” you asked, still a bit startled. “What’re you doing out here?”

“Chan’s crazy if he thinks Seungmin needs watching,” he heatedly explained. “Seungmin needs sleep and Jisung still isn't back! Can you give me a ride to the market?”

You and Minho traded glances. Jeongin had a perfectly good reason to go from the sound of it, but it was pretty clear he snuck out–

“You were dropping off the payload with the navigator?” Minho asked, interrupting your deliberation. 

Jeongin nodded in response, confused. What did that have to do with anything?

Nevertheless, this was apparently the right answer. Minho waved him over with a nod while shooing you away from the seat or the four-wheeler. 

“What,” you scoffed, “you don’t trust me?”

Minho tickled your waist, the same move as earlier, to get you out of the way before he sat down at the handlebars. “There’s plenty of room for you behind me if you want. You can cuddle up real cozy.”

You swiftly punched Minho in the shoulder before sitting down on the mudguard. For wanting to curtail any fooling around, your alliance with Minho apparently did not forbid occasional flirting. 

Jeongin’s eyes awkwardly darted between you two before hopping on as well, just before Minho set off to take you back to the market. Maybe it was the new surroundings, maybe it was the events of the day, but it felt like you'd been on Phaborus for weeks. The sunlight on the water was gorgeous as it just started to set. Really, you were beginning to regret you didn't have any time to actually put your feet in the water. 

Rude as ever, Minho interrupted your sightseeing. He shot a look back at Jeongin. 

“Alright. You gotta know what happened to knock out the navvy.”

“What,” Jeongin ogled with a laugh, “you want the gossip or something?! I have no clue, dude. Changbin and I were waiting out in the lobby. Seungmin was taking his meeting solo, and suddenly we hear yelling and this bang like a blaster or something.”

“Oh shit,” Minho remarked. “You think Seungmin pulled a gun?”

“Seungmin?!” Jeongin wheezed. “He'd never. No, I assume it was a capsule gun or something, something to aim the Azure. Changbin and I barged in when we heard it.”

“And?” you asked, more intrigued now. 

Jeongin shrugged. “They were checking his charts and pockets and apologized. And then we left.”

“Oh my god,” Minho groaned. “That’s it?! You’re the most boring crew I've ever met.”

The bounty paused when he pulled you up to the market, at a similar spot to where Felix had parked that morning. He pointed past Jeongin's direction. 

“Go on,” he directed. “Get. Don't come back unless you have Jisung or a juicier story.”

Jeongin’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head. Still, he waved goodbye before venturing off into the market. Minho got your attention again. This time, he was pointing at an open air restaurant at the edge of the marketplace. 

“I went on my first date there,” he serenely explained. He didn't give you a chance to even digest that properly before he revved the engine and took off again, but it stuck with you. You tried imagining Minho as a teenager, head in the clouds instead of invested in civil uprising, maybe even bashful and shy on a date. 

You were preoccupied, feeling a little mentally exhausted when Minho pulled up to the temple. The feelings of ease and curiosity that shaded your previous trip here were replaced with wariness and paranoia. This had gone so wrong earlier that suddenly, there was no doubt in your mind that it wouldn’t get any better or easier. Minho seemed to sense this, judging by the way that he hesitated  when he got off the four-wheeler. He was, as always, surprisingly gentle with you. A mindful finger nudged under your chin brought your momentarily unfocused stare to his eyes. The setting sun reflected beautifully off the circuitry in Minho’s otherwise rich, dark gaze.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

You nodded in acknowledgement but pushed Minho’s hand away nonetheless. “We need to get Hyunjin back,” you reasoned.

“It’s not like you know him or anything,” Minho reminded you.

“Sure,” you nodded, “but we’re a crew. Tell me the plan.”

Minho’s normally hard expression softened a little and he let you hop off the four-wheeler. He checked the charge on his blaster. “My plan, honestly, is that we storm the place and start firing if we don’t get any answers–”

“Oh no, I don’t think so!” came a familiar voice from the temple.

The old priest was standing by the door, arms folded across her chest.

Minho was a bit caught off-guard by this. So were you, to be honest, but you weren’t the one preparing for a firefight. He gave you a dubious look before he walked over. Soon enough, Minho and the priest were having a heated discussion, both squaring off with their stances, pointing any which way, pointing at you, and nearly shouting at each other – all in Phaborian. You’d thought it earlier, but this practically confirmed Minho being modest about his abilities when you first mentioned stopping at the Hatchery. But soon, with the bickering and discussing and arguing seemingly past, the tall, elderly priest placed her hand on Minho’s head, seemingly reciting a small rite or brief blessing before sternly dismissing him, back in your direction. The whole exchange had taken minutes.

“So about your firefight…” you smirked.

“It sounded so much more grave up until now!” Minho reeled. “They did the respectful thing and dumped him. Your appraiser is in jail at the port authority.”

“Is that far?” you worried.

Minho scoffed. “Not at all. It’s on the other side of the market.”

This time, hopping on the four-wheeler, you surprised Minho by sliding onto the seat behind him, calling his earlier bluff. When he questioned it, you teased that it was for better balance. He didn’t argue when you wrapped your arms around his middle for more security. Cutting through the market this time meant Minho was patiently weaving through swaths of passerby. You nudged your chin closer to Minho’s ear, asking him if Phaborus still felt the same as when he was younger.

“As similar as it can when you’re older,” he shrugged. “Everything feels smaller, more quaint, I guess. I missed it, though. Feels like going back to a simpler time.”

“Simpler all around?” you asked. “Or simpler for you?”

“Simple for me,” Minho admitted. “I don’t think I’ve let myself have a simple notion in years.”

A blaring horn behind you alerted Minho to a coming vehicle, moving much faster than the crowd. He navigated to the side of the road as much as possible, a tall task for a crowded street, but managed to get out of the way just in time for a speedbike to come blazing through.

With Jeongin riding it.

He noticed you both, too, judging by the way he braked suddenly. Now that the bike wasn’t in motion, you recognized it as the one Jisung had been using. 

“Where are you going?” you called over.

“I’m trying to follow some leads!” Jeongin answered while Minho pulled up alongside him, yelling over the ambient cacophony of the market along with both your idling engines.

“No luck?” Minho asked him.

“Folks have seen him,” answered Jeongin. “I didn’t bring a headset with me so I’m working with a language barrier. But he’s been around, and I don’t think he’s made any positive impressions by the sound of it.”

“Finally,” Minho sighed. “Something exciting, hopefully. Come with us to the port authority. We can get your appraiser and if Jisung has been getting into trouble, they might know about it.”

“Is Hyunjin in jail?” Jeongin grinned. He laughed out loud when you nodded. “I gotta see this,” he explained. “Hyunjin is either the king of the drunk tank or dying of germ exposure.”

You traded glances with Minho again before gesturing for Jeongin to follow along. It turned out you weren’t much further to the port authority, and it was only a couple minutes more before you were able to park outside. Unlike the gorgeously amber-hued clay buildings of the Hatchery with their storm windows and alternating roofs of tin or tile, the Federation installations were all a gross combination of concrete and steel. The port authority jail wasn’t an exception, it being a sterile looking building that was probably enjoying a break from the typically unrelenting rain.

The clerk was a bored, likely conscripted Phaborian, looking through paperwork when the three of you came in. There was no greeting, no acknowledgement.

“Officer, we’re looking for a crew member,” Minho confidently began.

The young Phaborian, masculine in stature, looked up at him. “And you’re…?”

“First Mate Lee, tradeship Ambler.”

Jeongin raised an amused eyebrow at you from where you both flanked Minho. The clerk tapped into a computer.

“And you’re missing…?”

“Hwang? Hyunjin? We think we lost him during surface leave at the start of the day.”

“Found him,” the clerk boredly remarked. “Can’t release him yet, sir.”

“What?!” Minho sputtered. He leaned forward, striking up another hushed argument in Phaborian with the clerk this time. The language was difficult to parse out tone from, but whatever Minho was saying to the clerk, it involved some elaborate hand gesturing and emphatic repetition. At one point, you could’ve sworn Minho was miming a stabbing motion. The clerk finally reacted somewhat interestingly, eyes widening before he ultimately nodded. He tapped into the computer some more and pulled out some paperwork to sign before scurrying to a back office.

Minho sighed and turned around, leaning back on the desk. “This is garbage,” he whined. “I’m paying for room and board on my way to a prison sentence with this?”

“What’d you tell him?” you asked. 

You were met with a shrug from Minho. “It was an easy story. They think Hyunjin did it, and they just want him to say sorry. So I said he did it. And that he was deeply ashamed about stealing it, but he was in a sordid affair with a rich woman who betrayed him, and maybe it made him a little crazy, so he just decided to return it.”

Jeongin was failing to hold in a snicker. “He’s going to love this.”

“Why lie?” you balked.

“Too much back and forth,” Minho tiredly explained.

The clerk came back with a huge officer who ushered the three of you back into a row of holding cells. Hyunjin, unlike Jeongin’s prediction, was not king of the drunk tank or apparently dying from germ exposure. Instead, the appraiser was napping, sitting up against the wall in the first cell, sporting a bandage on his jaw that could possibly have been hiding a bruise or other small injury. A much heftier dressing adorned his hand where he’d been shot back at the temple. The officer banged on the bars, roughly rousing Hyunjin from his rest, but he quickly woke up upon seeing you all. He hopped to his feet and grabbed his bag. The officer opened the door for him and stepped aside, letting him through with ease. Hyunjin was very confused why the officer gave him a pitying look as he passed.

“Is that all you’ll be needing?” the officer asked.

“We should be fine,” you replied, feeling more like you were checking out at a hotel. You regarded your compatriots. “That’s all we needed, right?”

Everyone shrugged. You were ready to leave, until a voice rang out down the aisle.

“Nova? Guys?!”

You and the rest of your party processed this for a moment.

Jisung.

You would’ve thought you’d realized first if Jeongin didn’t run right away.

Sure enough, there was Jisung in the last holding cell. His enhanced eye had apparently been punched at some point. He clung onto the bars when you all arrived.

“When did you get here?!” Hyunjin ogled.

“When the fuck did you get here?” Jisung asked in return.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” the officer ushered you all away from the cell. “Not him.”

“Why?” asked Jeongin.

“Still doing paperwork. But he should be fine tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? Not good, you realized. Chan had told you the ground clearance would expire at nightfall.

Minho’s lips brushed your ear. “Pretend to be Jisung’s wife,” he instructed in a whisper.

You shot him an entirely involuntary but very necessary glare in refusal. “What? Why?!” you demanded. 

The bounty rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

In a stunning theatrical display, Minho reached for the bars and immediately began arguing with the officer now, really playing up something supposedly personal and emotional before the officer gave up with a sigh. He begrudgingly opened Jisung’s cell, too, and Minho dramatically collapsed inside, cradling Jisung’s confused face and kissing him full on the lips. Jisung exclaimed, muffled by Minho’s mouth before falling backwards. Minho hauled him up to his feet and profusely thanked the officer over and over and over again while pushing all of you back out to the lobby.

Minho continued to graciously thank the officer while he tried to pass the clerk’s desk with no trouble, too, but that was too good of a hope to come true. The front doors barred shut with a heavy clank. You all panicked, looking for what reason there could be to still be here… until the clerk held out a hand.

“1,200 Credits,” he boredly requested, holding out a number pad. A deathly silence fell over the lobby.

“... For what?” you finally asked.

“His–” he pointed at Hyunjin, “damage to the temple.”

“And Jisung?” Minho asked, amused.

The clerk pulled out a report. “Han, Jisung,” he read, “responsible for damage to five market stalls, one restaurant, and three civilian vehicles.”

Jeongin and Hyunjin were practically rolling on the floor with this revelation. And Minho was nearly about to launch into yet another cloying argument–

–when the lanky cabin boy simply walked up, wiping away a hysterical tear, and punched in his credit number.

The four of you: Minho, Jisung, Hyunjin, and you, all traded bewildered looks at the exchange. Afterwards, the clerk still had his hand outstretched when you finally realized. You pulled the pendant out of its pocket in your waist pack and handed it to him. He briefly marveled at it before delicately placing it into a locked drawer.

With the clerk satisfied, he waved over Hyunjin and Jisung, who had their faces scanned before the doors unlocked.

You all felt a bit dazed when you left the small jail. There were a few more questions humming around your head. What exactly did Minho tell the cop to get Jisung out of holding early? What the hell did Jisung get into that got him that heavy of a price tag to get out? Because a majority of that couldn’t have been Hyunjin. And where the fuck did Jeongin get all that money?!

“What the hell was the tortured lovers routine for?” Jeongin snorted.

Minho’s eyes rolled back in his skull. “Holy shit,” he impatiently blustered. “There’s a theme here, can’t you tell?! The Phaborians value love and relationships above anything, that’s what makes them so peaceful but also fucking terrifying if you mess with them–”

“But I didn’t get a smooch,” Hyunjin pouted. Jeongin howled another laugh beside him.

“Want one?” Minho shot back. “Come here, I’ll even – what do you think you’re doing?”

Jisung was about to get on the speedbike when Minho stopped him.

“Sorry, dear,” Jisung sardonically answered.

“Get your ass over here,” Minho demanded. “Someone has to have a juicy fucking story for me or I will lose it.”

“Yeah, I have some questions, too,” Hyunjin ribbed, sitting himself down in his same spot from the morning.

“What about us?!” you asked, gesturing to Jeongin. Jisung reluctantly sat himself across from Hyunjin.

“I dunno. Meet us there!” Minho gleefully yelled, revving his engine and speeding off.

You turned to see Jeongin patting the seat of the speedbike. “Room for two,” he grinned.

Fair enough, you reasoned. You’d hardly interacted with Jeongin at all since you’d arrived. He straddled the bike before you and waited until you settled in before he also gunned it out onto the main road. Unlike riding with Minho earlier, this proximity felt a bit more sudden. The sun on the water was gorgeous as it was setting. But now you were burning with curiosity.

“So…” you began, holding Jeongin around his middle as platonically as you could. “You’re, uhm, fucking loaded with cash?”

You could feel Jeongin laugh, the way his broad shoulders shook. “I guess so?”

“And despite this,” you continued, “you’re cool being a cabin boy?”

“As opposed to what?” Jeongin asked over his shoulder. Just like Felix, any of Jeongin’s tattoos were decorative. A small one of a creeping vine was tucked behind his ear. So far, he was the only member of the crew that you’d seen without a military brand. “I wasn’t anything before Chan, so I kind of just took what I could. If that’s as a cabin boy, then so be it.”

“Right,” you nodded blankly, “but what was before? What did you leave behind?”

“You got a hell of a lot of questions, Miss Nova,” Jeongin smirked. “But whoever, whatever I left behind was nothing of note. It wasn’t any way to live, that’s for sure.”

This struck you harder than you expected. You definitely understood leaving behind nothing of note. It just surprised you that someone with as much cash as Jeongin could feel that way. 

But it was valid.

No way to live was no way to live, no matter how you sliced it.

You lamented not being able to feel the water or the sand one more time when you met up with Minho at the workshop. Well, you were supposed to meet up with them. Weren’t you? You and Jeongin searched around the ramp and the ship, even peeking into the galley, but no sign of them, until you sighted them a few minutes later pulling into the port.

Minho looked pissed. Hyunjin looked more disgusted, but both men were unmistakably put off.

Jisung was babbling something when Minho drove up the ramp. Jeongin began retracting the bay door, equally confused as you were. Minho flapped a hand at Jisung to shut him up.

“I’m ashamed to call myself your fake husband,” Minho pointed accusingly at him. “I need to hear that you apologized tomorrow. Get the hell out of my face.”

You tried to reach for Jisung, who leaned out of the way, mumbling about needing something from his cabin. Minho turned his threatening point to you now.

“Babe, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll have no mercy on that idiot.”

All this noise apparently summoned Chan, who stalked out of the cabin by your room and donned a welding mask. He pointed his laser torch at Jeongin.

“You!” he bellowed. “What the hell are you thinking? You had me fucking worried sick. I gave you a direct order! I had no clue where you were!”

Jeongin stood quiet, like he was withstanding a scolding from a parent.

Chan pointed with his torch beyond the workshop. “You go clean the head and report back to me. You’ll love the stupid chores I’ve been saving up.”

You watched Jeongin nod affirmatively before leaving for midship, not hanging his head in shame or anything, but his eyes trained on the floor nonetheless. When you brought your focus back to the current commotion, Hyunjin was adding to Chan’s stress levels, apparently, by explaining Jisung’s absence.

“ARRESTED?” the captain shouted. He took off the welding mask to run his fingers through his hair in distress. “Why the fuck was he arrested?!”

“He can tell you all about it,” Hyunjin grumbled. “I’m sweaty, I’m gross, I have a headache – I’m taking a shower.”

“I just directed Jeongin to clean the head,” Chan argued, exasperated.

“Then he’ll either wait or close his eyes,” groaned Hyunjin, brushing past Chan on his way into the ship.

This left you and Minho. Chan took a deep, heaving, steadying breath before grandly gesturing towards the cabin he emerged from.

“I’ve prepared Sir’s stateroom during his expedition.”

“What’s with the torch?” Minho grinned, peeking into the room. 

Chan proudly gestured with his welding mask. “I sealed your stupid hatches shut, you son of a bitch.”

“Great,” deadpanned Minho. “What if there's an emergency?”

“That doesn’t sound like my problem right now,” Chan shrugged. “Now, thank you for your service, but get the hell in there.”

“Yes sir,” Minho mocked. Unexpectedly, though, he leaned over and kissed your cheek. Except, of course, his gesture catching your attention meant it was pretty much a peck on the lips. He ducked into his new room before either you or Chan had a chance to react. 

You tried to process this for a second before you caught Chan leering at you. Now you got it. You were a dumb little bartering chip between the two men. The key card Chan forgot to get back from you was burning a hole in your pocket for some reason. 

“You’re sure there's nothing going on with you and the bounty?” the captain asked while he walked back out to the workshop proper. The grease and sweat smeared on him was almost as endearing as it was gross. 

“Yes, Captain,” you teased. “I'm more worried about Felix, though.”

“Felix is doing fine,” Chan assured you. “He’s resting… in Changbin’s room.”

“Really,” you gawked. 

“Right?!” Chan laughed. “And Seungmin's resting in his room, too… If you’re wondering.”

“Why would I be wondering?” you deflected. 

Chan chuckled to himself, packing up his tools and setting the welding mask back in its compartment. “You’re cute, you know that? And you have time. There’s only one boost lane on Phaborus so we’re backed up until well into nightfall.”

“You don’t need me for anything?”

The captain looked puzzled. “No? There's such a thing as free time, love, go cherish it. Just don't leave the ship in case our time gets moved up.”

Chan left for the galley, leaving you alone in the workshop. A heavy ball of restlessness weighed you down. You wondered what should be next. If you couldn’t leave the ship, what could you do? The first thing that came to mind was Felix, checking on him and seeing how he was doing. However, there was also Jisung. Minho was fuming on your behalf. Or, you mused… you could check on Seungmin. You couldn’t deny you were worried about him, and Minho did manage to make you wonder just went so wrong in the first place.

[musclesandhammering]

Every Single Issue I Have With S*lki (It’s Not Just The Selfcest)

Here goes. I threatened to post this a few days ago and never did, but I just saw a s*lki stan Twitter account claim that Loki caring about Sylvie more than the whole multiverse was a Good And Romantic thing and it pushed me over the fucking edge, so now you all have to read this. I’ve divided it into categories cause there’s just THAT much.

OOC Bullshit

• First and foremost, no amount of mental gymnastics you do will ever make me believe that this specific Loki- the one that just invaded New York, that just came off a year of Thanos Torture, that just got done being influenced by the sceptre, that was literally in the middle of a crisis already, and then on top of that went through all the trauma of Ep 1- would even be worried about a romantic relationship. That would be the furthest thing from his mind. Go back and watch how he acted in Avengers- you think that guy would abandon his previous mission to become a snivelling simp for a girl he’d just met 3 days prior? Yeah, there’s no universe in which that makes sense.

• “It’s very in character for Loki to fall in love with himself lololol-“ NO, it’s literally not. Out of all the characters in the mcu, I don’t think I can think of anyone that genuinely hates themselves more than Loki. He even referred to all his other male variants as “monsters” and said meeting them was “a nightmare” in this series. He’s got so much self-loathing, plus the fact that he genuinely thinks himself to be an evil backstabbing scourge- so there’s no evidence at all suggesting that he would ever develop a fondness for, or even be inclined to trust, another version of himself, after only knowing them for 3 days.

• Building on that, the whole concept of Loki falling in love with a version of himself just feeds into the annoying ass misconception that he’s a narcissist. No matter which way you stack it, he’s not. If you’re referring to NPD, he doesn’t fit the criteria, and if you’re saying “narcissist” just as a slang term meaning “selfish and arrogant”, that still doesn’t accurately describe him. But when creators like Waldron and Herron do things like having him fall in love with himself, it makes it so much easier for casual viewers to think that he is.

Shitty LGBT Rep

• It’s kinda sus that Loki’s are allegedly genderfluid and yet the only female-presenting variant we see (and apparently the only female-presenting variant there is, cause the male Loki’s all seemed unfamiliar with the concept) is treated as some kind of mind-bogglingly special paradox. Also very sus that, out of all the Loki variants, the one our Loki falls in love with just so happens to be the only female one. What a coincidence.

• The fact that the creators of the show went around bragging about Loki’s bisexuality and Marvel purposefully (lbr) allowed stories about Loki possibly having a male love interest to circulate, specifically enticing queer viewers to watch the show (you know, the definition of queerbaiting), and then instead of having a male love interest (Loki was the first queer main character, so it was the perfect opportunity) they gave us *gestures to this dumpster fire* this… it’s just a middle finger to LGBT fans. The fact that they would rather have this relationship with all its myriad of problems than have a gay relationship is just……. Very telling.

• While him being with a woman obviously doesn’t refute his bisexuality, the fact that they showed/talked about him being interested in 3 different women (flight attendant, Sylvie, Sif) and never even hinted at him being attracted to a man, definitely makes it seem like they were trying to cover up his bisexuality to smooth things over with the more homophobic viewers. You know? It’s like “I know you’re pissed that we sorta confirmed Loki as bi, so we promise we’ll never mention it again! Or even hint at it! As a matter of fact, we’ll give him lots of female lovies and make him seem as straight as possible! That’ll take your mind off of that horrible crumb of queer rep, right? Please please please keep giving us your money!!!”

• Aside from all the other issues, at its core, the biggest reason why I think I’m so irritated with s*lki is that it took one of the most interesting, complex, and diverse characters in cinema atm and squished him into a tired ass unnecessary heteronormative subplot…. Like literally every. single. other. protagonist. ever. Loki is such a unique character, and it’s so so so incredibly disappointing that they stuck him into that same boring cookie cutter romance that happens to every other character in every other movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a disservice, and it’s honestly just not compelling or entertaining at all.

Thematic Issues Galore

• His arc didn’t need a romance. With anyone. It was unnecessary and it didn’t make sense plot-wise. In fact, one of the reasons he was my fav prior to this was because he was the only big-name mcu character whose story wasn’t muddied-up by a romance that didn’t need to be there. So much for that.

• He wasn’t emotionally ready for a romantic relationship with anyone. Hell, just a genuine friendship would’ve been pushing it for him at this point. He was in such a bad state that any relationship he got into would’ve been toxic and unhealthy for both him and the other person, and it doesn’t make sense why the writers would want to put him in one when there were so many cons and essentially no pros (other than “Uwu aren’t they cute together”).

• Sylvie’s character in general was unnecessary and Loki’s character was robbed just by her being there. The whole show became about her post-Ep 2. They spent most of the time giving her backstory, building her up, telling us how awesome she is, trying to convince us to like her, etc when what they really needed to be doing was building Loki up- cause I gotta say, if I had to describe TVA!Loki in a few words, they would be Flat, Boring, and Weak.

• The romance overtakes the plot. They spend time portraying their supposed connection that could’ve been spent adding depth and complexity to literally any of the characters. They make the big Nexus Event them giving each other googly eyes on Lamentis when it could’ve been so many other way more profound things that speak to the fundamental nature of Loki’s. They have the climax of the finale be “oh no she betrayed him to kill He Who Remains” when it could’ve been something way more compelling (Loki having a moral crisis over whether or not to kill HWR, Loki contemplating the state of the multiverse and weighing the pros and cons of freedom vs order, Loki looking into some What If situations and getting emotional about what could’ve been regarding his family, Loki realising the gravity of HWR’s offer and finally coming to terms with how important he is to the universal cycle, etc etc). The entire plot suffered in favour of a romance that half of us didn’t even want.

• It essentially reduced all of Loki’s potential character growth down to “He did it for his crush.” He seemed to at least have some motivations of his own in Ep 1-2 (feeble as they were) but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, literally every action he took was just him being a simp for her. Why did he lie in the interrogation? To try to protect Sylvie. Why did he fight the minutemen and Timekeepers? To survive kinda, but mostly cause it was important to Sylvie. Why did he get pruned? Cause he got distracted trying to confess his crush to Sylvie. Why did he try to get out of The Void? Cause he thought Sylvie needed him. Why did he stay in The Void? Cause Sylvie was staying. Why did he try to enchant Alioth? Cause Sylvie told him to. Why did the multiverse get cracked open, leading to an infinite number of Kangs waging war on all of existence? Cause Loki didn’t wanna hurt Sylvie in their fight at the Citadel and then get distracted by her kissing him. It’s uninteresting and honestly pretty embarrassing.

• Throughout their “relationship arc” the writers do their absolute damndest to convince us that we should like Sylvie more than Loki. And you know what? It’s the most hypocritical shit I’ve ever seen. They preach and preach about how Sylvie’s life has been so difficult/we should feel bad for her/she had it so bad/poor poor sylvie/she had it SO much worse than pampered prince Loki…. But then they never even touch on any of Loki’s trauma of hardships (the ones that have been ignored for literally 3 movies now). They frame Sylvie as a good person and a Freedom Fighter after she spent literal decades/centuries mass-murdering brainwashed TVA agents and showing exactly zero remorse for it….. but then they make it their mission to constantly remind us that Loki is a terrible person and constantly put him in situations where he’s forced to acknowledge his wrongdoings/show remorse/admit to how “evil” he is for being a mass murderer for like 2 years. They show him on-screen having a wider range of powers than her, and perpetuate his whole shtick of being a “master manipulator” or whatever….. But then they make Sylvie “the brawn” more competent, intelligent, and physically capable than him. Tell me how it’s a good thing for a ship to be so narratively biased toward one character.

Missed Opportunities

• If they absolutely had to have a romance subplot, then they could’ve paired Loki with one of the characters that have already been established OR one of the characters that were a big part of the whole TVA storyline anyway. It would’ve been so interesting if they’d revealed that Loki had a history with some of the players from previous films (Sif and Fandral both come to mind). It also would’ve been really interesting if they’d given Loki a love interest that actually had some allegiance to the TVA as a whole (Mobius maybe, but not necessarily. It also could’ve been Renslayer or B-15). Hell, imo it would’ve been cool if they’d followed through with that “See you again someday” line that he said to the flight attendant in Ep 1. ALL of these characters have way more chemistry with him than Sylvie, and they were also already relevant to the plot without wasting half the show to give background info on them.

• If they absolutely had to have a hetero-presenting love story involving an enchantress-type figure, then there’s a whole Enchantress (Amora) that was actually Loki’s love interest in the comics. Plus, fans have been screaming for Amora to appear in the mcu for years. Plus, Tom literally pitched an Amora/Loki storyline way back in 2012-13. Also, Lorelei (another enchantress) is also one of Loki’s love interests in the comics, and she already exists in the mcu (she was on Agents of SHIELD). There were several different established characters for them to choose from. Creating a whole knew amalgamation of a character and going with the “she’s a Loki variant” storyline was just completely unnecessary and made no sense.

• They completely robbed us of a Chaos Twins dynamic. Had they handled Sylvie better and not forced her and Loki to smooch, the two of them could’ve had a really really complex and interesting sibling relationship. Loki could’ve stepped into Thor’s shoes and sort of used that new role to gain some self importance, and Sylvie could’ve finally had somebody to look out for her/teach her magic/be there for her. It would’ve been very aesthetically pleasing, the vibes would’ve been out of this world, it would’ve been way more profound than this bs, and frankly it would’ve been much more entertaining to watch.

• Loki’s relationship (read: obsession) with Sylvie completely overshadows all Loki’s other relationships in the show. Loki and Mobius were literally the focal point of the series in Ep 1-2, but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, they barely had any interactions with each other, and Mobius pretty much faded to the background entirely. Loki had the beginnings of a pretty interesting antagonistic relationship with Renslayer (with her wanting him pruned, then arguing with Mobius that he couldn’t be trusted), but after Sylvie showed up the dynamic shifted to focus on the history between her and Ravonna. Loki and B-15 started off very badly and openly disliked each other throughout Ep 1-2, and then in the end of Ep 2, Loki showed a little bit of concern for her when she was possessed, hinting that they might be inching toward a reconciliation- especially considering how obvious it was that Loki was gonna uncover the TVA’s sins eventually. There was so much potential for him to be the one to give her her memories back and convince her to change sides, but no, of course that honor went to Sylvie. In fact, after Sylvie showed up, Loki and B-15 never even spoke to each other again.

Various S*lki Fails

• If they were trying to convince us that this affection was mutual, they completely failed. There’s nothing I’ve seen that even hints at Sylvie feeling the same way about Loki that he does about her. At most, I’d say she has a slight endearment to him. She finds him likeable and she’s grudgingly fond of him, but she definitely isn’t in love with the guy. Maybe she thinks he’s cute and hopes that he gets out of this mess alright, but her mission obviously comes before him- whereas, it’s been confirmed multiple times that Loki cares about her above anything else. She doesn’t trust him, she looks at him like he’s an incompetent fool half the time, she shows little to no reaction during most of his confession moments, and she kissed him as a means to distract him so that she could get him out of her way. Look, all I’m saying is, when you get into a relationship where one of you is way more invested than the other, it never ends well.

• This goes without saying for a lot of us, but the selfcest is just straight up odd and cringey. If you’re cool with that sort of thing, fine! People can ship what they want! But don’t pretend it’s not at least a little bit uncomfortable. Yes, I know they’re not technically siblings so it’s not technically incest, and they’re also not technically the exact same person, but they’re similar enough that it makes things weird. And yes I know selfcest can’t happen in real life, so there’s no way to judge it morally, but neither can most of the other stuff that happens in these shows/movies (the Snap, Loki destroying jotunheim, superhero with powers being held accountable, mind control) and yet we still find ways to judge their morality, because they all mirror real-world events. (The snap= genocide; Loki destroying Jotunheim= bombing other countries; superhero accountability= weapons accountability; mind control= grooming and coercion). And lbr the closest real-world mirror to two versions of the same person (who may or may not share DNA, family, backgrounds, physical and emotion characteristics) being romantically involved with one another is incest. And you can be ok with that if you want- that’s your prerogative- but don’t get pissy just cause a lot of us are squicked out by it.

• The whole mirror metaphor (learning self love via each other) thing just fell completely flat. First of all, having Loki learn to love himself by looking at someone who mirrors him did not, in any way shape or form, require them to be romantically involved. But they were. Of course. Secondly, the creators have contradicted themselves so many times on whether Loki and Sylvie are the same or not, that it doesn’t even really register to the viewer that the mirroring thing was what they were going for. Finally, Loki and Sylvie are shown to have so little in common- and to have only the most bare minimum of similarities personality-wise- that it doesn’t even make sense that Loki would “learn to love himself through loving her”. Like? They’re nothing alike. So how would he make the connection that he himself is actually pretty cool, based on her alone? There’s virtually nothing in her that reflects him.

• I know the objective of the entire show was to convince us of how awesome and unique Sylvie is, but honestly her relationship with Loki just did the opposite. A hallmark of a Mary Sue is having her constantly upstage the male lead, and then having him instantly fall madly in love with her anyway. And that’s.. exactly what happened here. Everything they’re doing to try to force her character to be more stan-able is really just forcing her to look more like their self-insert OC. Which is exactly what she is. It would’ve been so much more satisfying if she didn’t have to try so hard to look cool, if they didn’t have to try so hard to make her backstory tear-inducing, if they didn’t have to turn our protagonist into a snivelling simp just to prove how incredible she supposedly is. Very much #GirlBoss energy and we all know how performative and cheap that is.

• The entire thing was too rushed, there was too little build-up, and it was nowhere near believable. As stated above, it’s ridiculously unlikely that Loki would canonically even be interested in Sylvie, and this show did nothing to explain why he was. He just suddenly was. There was nothing they showed us as viewers that would justify a guy as closed-off and preoccupied as Loki falling head-over-heels for a girl he just met. Their was no explanation, no big revelation, no reasoning, it just… kinda happened. And I’m also severely skeptical of any love story that has the characters go in this deep after only 3 45-minute episodes of exposition.

I’m sure there’s other stuff, so if anyone thinks of anything, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to add it. Tagging @janetsnakehole02 @raifenlf @natures-marvel and @brightredsunset800 for expressing interest. This is all your faults.