#sure. why the hell not

[maddie-grove]

Every time I see this post I wonder how one person can be so off the mark. You see a mass-produced anodyne romance novel based on a popular m/f ship (but set in a low-stakes environment where nobody’s killing each other with lightsabers), published years after it first became apparent that serial-numbers-filed-off fanfic was financially viable, and you think the problem is that the author is too weird? The market is oppressively normal and that lady is just hustling.

[spinchs-field]

in which Ashes loses Tim

oops! all gunfire angst! im sorry i just thought of DTTM and um. yeah. anyway. warnings: ANGST, violence, murder, temporary character death uhhh yeah. lemme know if i should put a warning for anything else. stay safe <3

Tim’s mad, low cackle echoed through the hallways of the Aurora, bouncing off the walls until it eventually reached Ashes. Now, don’t be deceived, Ashes had heard this laugh countless times over the millenia. They knew it well. They found it rather endearing, as a matter of fact.

But this time was different. There was an edge to it that was only ever there when he was about to do something very, very suicidal.

Sadly enough, Ashes knew this edge well.

They stood from the couch that was bolted to the floor all those countless years ago, and set off to find Tim.

They never felt scared to be on the ship, even if their life was constantly threatened by everyone and everything that could feasibly kill them. But this time was different. Unknowingly, their shoulders tensed, their breath seized in their iron lungs, and they tried their best to ignore the shake in their hands.

Aurora felt so… hollow without Jonny to fill in the gaps with his ego. The silence was deafening.

Soon enough, Ashes finds Tim, eyes darting about the cockpit at every control and switch and button. 

His laugh wavers slightly as Ashes gently knocks on the doorframe to get his attention. 

Slowly, he turns to face them.

Ashes was well aware that Tim lacked any ability to cry– some losses had to be taken to fix his pretty little eyes– but his face was blotchy, and he was practically collapsing into himself. It was a near perfect copy of the horror stamped on his face when he first woke up after Carmilla gave him his new eyes.

He was terrified.

“Ashes!” Tim half-yells. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

His eyes never focus on anything. His pupils shrink and expand wildly, keeping everything he sees a hazy blur. 

“I just uh–” Ashes winces as Tim violently whips around to fully face them, cracking his wrist against the control panel. He barely blinks at the pain. “Just… heard you laughing. Wanted to see what was so funny.”

For one split second, Tim’s eyes focus perfectly on Ashes, the camera-like swirl of his irises twisting, as if to zoom in on them. His eyes quickly unfocus again as he averts his gaze. “You’re worried about me, ain’t’cha?” he asks, voice rough and shaky. Droplets of blood cascade slowly from his newly formed injury.

Ashes’ face contorts slightly with sadness, and they move closer to Tim. “No, love, I’m just–”

“Get the fuck away from me,” Tim says, voice horrifically clear all the sudden. “Don’t touch me.”

Ashes feels a spark of anger in their chest. They stomp the feeling out before it starts a bonfire. “Fine,” they say, stern and quiet. “Just tell me what you’re doing.”

“That’s–” Tim cuts himself off, forcing his voice down from a scream to a near whisper. “That’s none of your business.”

Another flash of anger. This time, something inside Ashes catches fire. “I think it is my business! Especially when the one I love is–”

Tim whips around to face Ashes again, ripping his gun from its holster and holding it by his side with an iron grip. “Since when did you care so fucking much about the ones you love?!”

Ashes shouts at Tim for the first time in centuries, “Since Nastya fucking shot herself out into the abyss and when Jonny went and got himself killed, you bloody moron!” 

The cockpit falls dead silent. 

Tim’s eyes focus again, directly on Ashes. 

He laughs. Loud. Harsh. Grating. The sound rips itself from his throat, and shoots Ashes clean through the heart. 

Something akin to panic explodes through Ashes, and every part of them is set ablaze at the feeling. 

Now, don’t be deceived– Ashes had lost Tim plenty of times in the past. It’s rather difficult to stop the breakdown of a traumatised, should-be-dead soldier with very hefty knowledge on nearly every weapon in existence. The best thing to do was just drown him with guns and explosives and let him loose on some poor planet with a high enough population to satiate his bloodlust for another few decades. Or kill him.

But Aurora was nowhere near a planet, and there most definitely wasn’t enough time for Brian to hurry in and drive her to one. 

Someone was going to die, and it was either the rest of the crew, or Tim himself.

And Ashes wasn’t going to die.

They lunge at him, and a shot explodes through the harsh laughter. The bullet only barely misses Ashes, shredding the skin on their arm. The pain only fuels their panic and anger.

They grab Tim by the throat and slam him against the control panel. The force is enough to loosen his grip on his gun. Ashes wastes no time in ripping it from his hand, wincing at the sound of his trigger finger cracking. They hold the gun tight and press the barrel to his temple.

Right before Ashes pulls the trigger, they catch a fleeting glimpse of pure, unrestrained horror in Tim’s eyes.

Then a shot explodes through Tim’s head, killing him instantly. 

He wakes up some time later with a screaming headache, surrounded by the crew in the med bay.

His eyes flit about wildly before stopping on the horrified, tear-slick face of Ashes.

His eyes focus, and in that moment, he wishes he could cry.

[koolaidashley]

Old (new.?) habits die hard ig

[shrimpricebowl]

oh thank god

[vaguely-concerned]

sometimes I think of all the on-the-surface warm, well-meaning but deeply ineffectual advice and attention john gives harrow through harrow the ninth (make some soup and get some sleep! get a hobby! don't be so hard on yourself! self care harrow! as long as I need take no actual responsibility in this relationship whatsoever I would have loved to be your dad!) set up against the stark truth that with his other hand he has been staging her attempted horrific murder again and again and again like a living nightmare on the logic that it will 'put her down or fix her'. and then I find that I wish there is a hell. a special hell where twitch streamers turned necromantic death emperors go

[mabbbish]

wonderful day to remember ninjago has a canon highschool au

[lesbianralzarek]

approaching the creche and was reminded that wyll and shadowheart have the best interactions in the goddamn game. the way that wyll talks about his superhero alter ego in 3rd person is the cringiest and most earnest shit. been off on his own for so long hes gotta be his own hype man and by god does he take that job seriously

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

wear headphones :)

Transcript:

As much as I'd love to witness more of your prowess, I'd very much like to have that body of yours.

Is that a strap-on?

Machine, I'll cover you in more than blood.

Fuck. *exhale* Shit. Fuck-God! mmmm-ohohoho. fuck. fuck. h-Harder, Machine. Mph! *whimper* Hah... Come on!

End transcription

Sorry for this. I promise this is the worst thing I'll ever post. Unless he somehow manages to do something worse.

I can't really provide the audio sources in a neat way because this is 6 clips stuck together.

[chalkrub]

been doodling some bri'ish wildlife - love seeing these guys. because they are the classics aren't they?

[anakirui]

hot take ??

the only reason people say that "mafuyu and tsukasa have nothing in common" when presented with mafukasa parallels is because they equate mafuyu and tsukasa being similar to "tsukasa has depression" because the fandom equates mafuyu's personality to being depressed and nothing else.

it doesn't help that people (primarily younger people in the fandom) who DO believe in mafukasa parallels end up making the mistake of portraying tsukasa as depressed because as of right now he is not (although it's possible he was in past because of his Very Unclear Middle School Backstory but that's irrelevant)

anyways, mafuyu and tsukasa are narrative foils because their core personalities are built off of the concept of wanting to make the people around them— especially their families— happy.

they both developed personalities at a young age based on someone they looked up to. for tsukasa, it was seiichi amami's performance that inspired him to be a star— a hero that could cheer anyone up. for mafuyu, it was her mother taking care of her that inspired her to be a nurse— and you can see the similarities from there.

for mafuyu, her identity would first come into conflict when her mother expressed her want for mafuyu to be a doctor— suddenly, "everyone's" happiness didn't match what she wanted to do, leaving her in a state of disorder and eventual depression.

for tsukasa, his identity was something he nearly forgot in its entirety at the start of the main story— becoming arrogant and fully absorbed in a hero persona, forgetting the kind person he truly is. furthermore, his current character arc seems to be foreshadowing that what "being a star" to him is going to be called into question— maybe it is something more than just being the main character that saves everyone.

their insecurities are incredibly similar.

in mafuyu's first mixed, mafuyu feels insecure towards ichika because unlike ichika, she feels as if her lyrics have no genuine meaning to be expressed to other people— despite them being her very real feelings. this is brought up again in her second mixed as well.

in tsukasa's third focus event, something similar happens. when watching seiichi's performance, he thinks that his acting is "real" and feels inferior towards him, which is ironic because tsukasa has been method acting this whole time. when tsukasa is acting out rio or bartlett or really anyone at this point in the story, it's not just those characters— it's a reflection of his traumas.

just like mafuyu, tsukasa undermines his passions he's poured his feelings into because someone else's work is more genuine in his eyes.

now, then, foils have many similarities and parallels (and i could honestly list a lot more), but how i define them is that they usually have some kind of major branching difference that MAKES them foils.

for mafuyu and tsukasa it's pretty straightforward.

mafuyu's people pleasing behavior comes from external expectations and pressures— her mother's demands.

tsukasa's people pleasing behavior comes internally, from himself— if he can't meet his own standards, if he can't be the perfect big brother or the perfect star, then he is nothing.

and even then, there's some overlap.

tsukasa's behavior was indirectly encouraged by his mother praising him for being a "good big brother" over the phone instead of asking him if he was okay while home alone.

mafuyu's terrified to be herself around other people because she doesn't want to worry or bother them— she doesn't want to be a burden— and projects her mother's expectations onto them, not realizing that they would prefer the real mafuyu if they knew the truth.

and the concept of mafukasa being foils is most perfectly and blatantly portrayed in these two cards.

mafuyu, the marionette, sitting limp on the floor— puppeteered by her mother's demands and donning a mask to hide her true self.

tsukasa, the jester, standing above everything else— puppeteering silenced plushies— his feelings. he's not being completely honest with himself, and he doesn't even realize it.

mafuyu has cut her strings and ripped her mask in half. she has acknowledged her true feelings and expressed them to her mother, even if she had to run away in the end.

tsukasa has not yet cut his.

[mixmangosmangoverse]

The discussion around the fandomization of the I/P conflict is so fucking relevant because why did I just see someone in a discord for a reaction channel that reacts to musicals and cartoons suggest them to react to the Columbia ""protests"" with a heart emoji as if it's another episode of their favorite show and SIX other people agreed with that

[mumblesplash]

heartbreaking: this viral post is saying things you completely agree with in the most irritating way possible

[kinetic-chaos]

Iblis is so back guys

Inspired by one of the memes on this post!

[uncanny-tranny]

If somebody in your life offers to knit or crochet or, really, create anything for you, please be an active participant in the creation of the piece they are making. I adore making and gifting things, but nothing bums me out quicker than a person who passively just goes "okay," to my ideas about what I'm making them - it can send the message that they won't like it, or that they don't care, even if they're happy about my offering. The back-and-forth feedback is a great way to make sure that you are being gifted something that was truly worth the time, effort, expertise, and money that will inevitably go into the gift!

I know it's really hard to be an active participant, believe me, I'm an anxious ball of horror, but it will only do good for both parties to interact in this situation. It is a big deal to be offered a hand-crafted gift, but it's also something we want you to love and use, and that can only happen if you tell us what would make you fall in love with what we create.

[the-alpha-doodle-dome]

stupid doodles oodles

[moghedien]

it actually drives me personally insane that they gave Karlach an outlander background when she's LITERALLY from the fucking city