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theglamorousferal · 3 months

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Persephone's Binding Part 5

AO3 Prompt Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Jason woke from a start to someone pounding on his bedroom door.

"Jason!" yelled the sing-song voice of the High Prince. Jason shoved his head back into the pillow and groaned.

"Come in!" He yelled after raising his head again. He swept the covers off and sat on the edge of the bed, stretching his shoulders out.

Danny floated in, today he was in his other form, the one he showed the previous night. Unlike last night however, he was now wearing armor. studded leather armor stained black covered his torso, forearms and legs. Held around his shoulders with a stylized D clasp was a fabric cloak with black fur lining, the inside however looked like the fabric of reality. It was like staring into space when traveling with Kori, he looked away to not get too focused on it.

"So, did'ja sleep okay?" Danny asked flying in lazy circles around the chandelier near the ceiling.

"Like the dead." Jason deadpanned. He stood and made his way to where his usual clothes and armor were neatly folded, cleaned and mended. "We heading straight to spar, or do we have time for me to like, eat?" He took the pile of clothes and made his way to the bathroom, and kept the door cracked so he could hear Danny's response.

"We can grab breakfast burritos from the kitchen on our way to the training grounds."

"Okay, fine by me." Once dressed, Jason latched on all of his armor. He stomped out of the bathroom then gathered his helmet, which he held under his arm against his side. "Weapons allowed? And what kinds?"

Danny stopped circling the lighting and floated down to eye-level with Jason. He appraised him for a moment. "We'll start with hand-to-hand and see where you stand, we can move onto non-lethal weapons after that. I don't think Jazz would forgive me if we use projectiles against each other."

"Fair enough, lead the way." Through the corridors Jason was led once again.

"So Jazz mentioned you said the city you live in is cursed? What's that like?" He floated on his back facing Jason not seeming to need to pay attention to where he was going. The cloak billowed around him as if he were in water, galaxies rippling.

"Yeah, Gotham, home sweet home. It's a pretty messed up place. We've got quite a few rogues in out city, and then there are times outside threats come and try and mess with it. It's got the highest crime rate in the country, one of the rogues polluted the water with his special brand of insanity and now we have fish mutated to have a human death grin. That's not even counting the Lazarus Pit under the city."

"Lazarus Pit?"

"Yeah, bubbling glowing green liquid that heals those near death and kills those that are healthy. The Demon Brat's grandfather has one he's used to keep himself alive for 600 years. I was pushed into it when I was basically catatonic and came back with my mind and most of my previous injuries healed."

"Shit that sounds powerful. And another thing that could help in tracking down your dimension." He flew ahead to where a pair of yetis were looking over a scroll. He spoke to them for a moment before returning to Jason. "K that should help a bit more. So you mentioned something yesterday that I wasn't familiar, what's a meta-human?"

"Oh, they're probably called something different on your Earth. So it's people either born with the meta-gene or are powered due to their species or otherwise have extra-human powers. Like, my brother Duke is a meta because he has the meta-gene, but Superman is a meta because his species naturally has extra-human capabilities. Another hero, Beast Boy, got his powers from a lab somehow, he didn't give much details and I wouldn't share it anyway."

They went through a set of dark wooden doors and the delicious smell of chorizo floated past Jason's nose. In the kitchen was a woman who looked like the lunch ladies from school but floating, glowing, and with green skin.

"Hey Lunch Lady, how're those burritos coming?" Danny floated in, careful to stay away from anything cooking or on the counters.

"Oh hello dearie, I was just wrapping them up. I do wish you'd stay and eat a full meal." She said smiling at him. "Oh hello there, you must be the young man who appeared suddenly and set this castle into a tizzy. I hope you're doing alright?"

"Yes ma'am. I've been treated very well since I've arrived." He felt the need to be polite, she just seemed like a sweet grandma.

"Good good, now you two enjoy these and go play." She handed each of them a burrito wrapped in tin foil. They made their way out of the room.

"Jazz mentioned that originally the people studying ghosts thought they were all evil, but every ghost I've seen so far has been extremely kind and nice. What led them to think they were all evil?"

"Oh, don't be fooled, Lunch Lady gave me a run for my money several times. She was the first humanoid ghost I fought, she turned into a giant meat monster because my friend got the menu changed to vegan for a week. It was a whole thing." He rolled his hand. "And I mean, ghosts say 'Hi' by play-fighting. To be fair, I didn't know that at first either and it caused quite a bit of confusion. Once that bit was cleared up I was able to talk with my rogues and they backed off and made sure to keep the fights away from civilians."

"Right, Jazz mentioned you fighting ghosts. So you were a hero then?"

Danny sighs. "Yeah, once I started to gain control of my powers and defeated my first big ghost, I realized I could use my power to fight anything that came through the portal. I had the whole deal, villain of the week, a nemesis who later was redeemed and became a mentor, a cloning mishap, an evil alternate timeline, the whole shebang." He rolled his eyes. "I had the whole secret identity thing for a while too." He smirked.

"Oh, do you normally have a mask on when in one of your forms?"

Danny laughed. "No, no, just turns out face blindness is a common thing in my home town. Even though I'm literally just a palette swap, no one figured it out without me transforming in front of them." He turned serious for a moment. "The town found out in the last battle. It's been a bit of a learning curve for people to get used to." His tone turned bitter. "That the scrawny little Fenton kid could possibly be the town's hero? As if." He scoffed.

"Fenton? I thought your last name was Nightingale?" Jason asked. Danny froze mid-air with his eyes wide.

"Forget I said that, you weren't supposed to hear that. Do not mention it to Jazz." Danny's face was three inches from Jason's and glowing that horrible Lazarus green. He nodded.

"Will do, heard nothing, locked away." He made the motion of zipping his lips and tossing the key over his shoulder. Danny stared at him for a moment before nodding his head once and flying in the direction of a set of stairs ahead in the hallway. Jason jogged to catch up.

At the base of the stairs was what appeared to be a medieval training grounds with several paddocks, one paddock with obstacles for mount riding, one for racing, another had what seemed to be a military-grade obstacle course and yet another held a free-running course. Outside of the paddocks, there were several rings for dueling and weapon racks along the fences and an archery course along one side of the grounds. A green dome was above the entire field, presumably to keep projectiles from hitting passersby.

There were a few different mounts around. Some that looked to be unicorns but had sharp teeth like a predator, some had wings but similar teeth, all the horse-adjacent were colors from blue, to green, to black to purple. There was a large cat with long fangs and a pair of horns, it had a long fur coat that was patterned plum and lavender stripes sleeping in top of one of the lean-to's that held benches for resting. A mechanical horse with Egyptian regalia stood beneath it as it huffed not liking being ignored by the cat.

Jason whistled impressed. "Impressive grounds, reminds me of what I've heard of Themyscira." Activity began to stall at their approach, a tall black suit of armor with flaming purple hair came up to Danny.

"My liege, do you wish us to clear the grounds?"

"No Fright Knight, we are just going to use one of the sparring rings for a bit of the morning once we've finished breakfast."

"Very good." The knight nodded and then turned to the others scattered about the grounds. "Back at it you all!" Fright Knight went back to brushing his humungous black alicorn.

Danny directed them to one of the resting spots next to an empty ring. "Here, let's finish our breakfast and then did you wanna warm up?"

Jason sat and took a large bite as Danny was asking the question and thought for a moment before nodding and chewing. The chorizo burrito with egg, bell peppers and spinach was delicious. Once finished, he worked his way through his usual pre-patrol warm-up. He expected to go a few rounds before Danny was tired of playing with him.

Danny worked his way through some warm ups, stretching in ways even Dickie would flinch at, then made his way to the ring. Jason followed and they faced each other, and for the first time that morning, Danny's feet were firmly on the ground.

"So, best two out of three in hand-to-hand then we move onto weapons?" Danny suggested.

Jason considered for a moment. "Yeah, sounds good to me."

"Alright then," Danny smirked and got into position, "bring it on."

#dpxdc #dp x dc #anger management ship #hardcover ship #jazz x jason #jazz/jason #sacrificial bride au #Just not realized I made Danny the wrong age in a prev chap #goddammit

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championashley · 3 months

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True Love: Why FifteenxRogue Works

WOW. Man, that Rogue episode, huh? Watching that live was probably the greatest experience I’ve had recently regarding Doctor Who. Not just as a queer viewer, but as a queer media analyst. Fifteen and Rogue truly feel like a relationship written for me to analyze, because there is simply so frickin’ much to talk about. So, allow me, gentle reader, to be your Lady Whistledown of queer alien fuckery, and guide you through analyzing the latest dalliance of our Time Lord extraordinaire with the most honest bounty hunter in the galaxy.

We’ll be covering a LOT of ground in this: the theme of facades/masks, an interrogation of The Doctor’s perception of romantic relationships, and a deep dive into The Fifteenth Doctor’s character overall. So, needless to say, this is going be a LONG LONG piece. Grab a snack, some water, whatever you need, cause we’re going deep on this one.

You’re still here? Fantastic! Then let us begin! Specifically, with the Fifteenth Doctor himself. Because above all else, this episode works as a dissection of his character overall.

I’ve already done two metas regarding The Giggle’s ending and The Doctor’s perception of romance pre-Season 1/14, so if you want more elaboration, go read those here: 1, 2. But in case you don’t, I’ll sum up and expand based on what we’ve learned since.

The Doctor, as a character, has always struggled with commitment and attachment. They never stayed in one place for long and when they did, they had an unhealthy relationship with it (Trenzalore, Darillium, Bill’s University). Romantic connection is a permutation of this larger issue, as every romantic relationship we have seen The Doctor take part in since 2005 either was unbalanced (holding back problems/outright lying) or ended in a really bad way. However, thanks to the 60th specials and a bi-generation, The Doctor went through a massive change, and with it, came a new perception of openness and love. Fifteen is more expressive, and willing to verbally identify beauty. He openly points out how beautiful people are, and talks about previous exploits with pride. But this supposed openness betrays a deeper dishonesty still inside the Doctor. As much as Fifteen talks the talk of openness, he doesn’t often walk the walk when things get tough.

Fifteen’s character struggle is trying to break out of the Doctor’s previous patterns of unstable attachment and commitment while continuing those patterns. He values emotional honesty and encourages it in others yet simultaneously runs from it when the spotlight is on himself, even when he knows it’s beneficial and necessary for him to do so. So, with all of that in mind, let’s deep dive into Rogue (the episode, not the character, but also the character).

The best word to describe this episode is ‘deception’. Setting the episode in Bridgerton-esque Regency-era England was an appropriate choice, likening to a show that is all about facades and posturing to gain wealth and social standing (yes I am oversimplifying, don’t hurt me). Throughout the episode, we see characters who aren’t who they present themselves to be and use all manner of tools or tactics to disguise themselves to meet their ends.

We have the Chuldur, creatures who gain pleasure from cosplaying. They thrive on creating fake entertainment for their amusement, honesty is useless if it can’t satisfy them. While this is meant as an obvious commentary on fan culture and how dangerous it can get when taken to the extreme, it also functions as a darker reflection on The Doctor’s habits. Because think about it: what are Fifteen and Ruby doing in this episode? They are having fun, dancing alongside the other partygoers. They’re wearing the outfits but only to blend in. Ruby doesn’t know how to dance, she has to wear psychic earrings to keep up. She watches the fake fight between ‘Emily’ and ‘Lord Stilton’ like she would watch an episode of Bridgerton. Her fight with Emily later in the episode is set to Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ playing in the background.

What we’re seeing in the villains is The Doctor’s pastimes becoming toxic, taking a companion and bringing them to a culture far removed from their own. But it’s not only a commentary on The Doctor overall, it’s also Fifteen’s philosophy in a darker context. Posing as sincerity and maybe containing it to some extent, but ultimately not completely honest. Through the setting and the villains, the episode is already priming us on a subconscious level to be thinking about disguises and dishonesty, a topic that both The Doctor and the Fifteenth incarnation specifically have a complicated relationship with. And then comes Rogue.

Rogue himself is such a fascinating part of the episode because he is such a deliberate disruption to this cultivated environment of deception. Rogue is the complete antithesis of everyone in the plot. He’s terrible at improvising, he’s socially awkward, he dances without needing psychic earrings, and he never cleans the inside of his ship. Rogue intentionally disrupts the narrative of lies by not being able to play the game. Even when he tries to wear a mask, the mask of an uncaring bounty hunter, He doesn’t wear it well and gets rid of it after the ship scene with The Doctor. Rogue is a character who cannot help but be who he is, he’s a character who not only can’t wear a mask but doesn’t want to. To put it simply, honesty is Rogue’s kink. That’s why the episode is named after him; it’s not just because he’s a central character, but because he provides the counter-argument to the themes of lies and deception. Rogue, the disruptor to The Chuldur’s acts of fake entertainment, and the disruptor to The Doctor’s act of cosplaying with Ruby, and on a deeper level, disrupts Fifteen’s oscillation between sincerity and repression. But we’ll get to that, we have Mount Everest's amount of context to analyze first, starting with their first meeting.

The Doctor and Rogue’s beginning scene sets the stage for the main obstacle in their relationship: their masks. ‘Cause right now we’re operating with two versions of the characters: the facade/mask versions, and the real versions. We get our first look at Rogue when Fifteen looks around for interference on the psychic earrings. He finds him being the most conspicuous while wearing the ‘bounty hunter’ mask: on a balcony (separated from the party physically), not speaking at all.

He is standing out here but only in the way someone who knows disguises would recognize. The Doctor, remember no. 1 liar, of course he’s gonna recognize that. So much so, that he gives Rogue pointers on how to put on a better “brooding” face, literally teaching him how to wear the mask better. Rogue is an amateur mask wearer, going up against the master of mask-wearing. And that’s why Fifteen smiles when he sees him, he’s intrigued by that contradiction and wants to know more.

Rogue meanwhile, is being rude and dismissive to scare him off, trying to keep to the mask he’s built. At this point, he knows that Fifteen also stands out from the rest but right now is assuming that he’s still a random partygoer. Notice what he says to him:

He’s still using language and ideas someone from that era would understand. Where this deviates is this little exchange that felt familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out from where. Until I remembered this:

(credit to @ngatwa for this set, you're amazing)

This is the first instance in the episode where Fifteen and Rogue’s relationship calls back to previous romantically-coded relationships The Doctor has had between companions. But it’s not just romantic subtext, it’s subtext that explains where the two are in the relationship. Victorian Clara was far more than what she appeared to be (a governess masquerading as a barmaid/echo of a companion scattered in the Doctor’s timeline), and the Doctor was more than he appeared to be (an alien who lived in a blue box). In asking those questions, it’s both recognition of the masks and inquiry for the real person underneath. Same thing here: Rogue and Fifteen at this point are trying to figure each other out, trying to see beyond the masks of the uncaring bounty hunter, and the flirtatious partygoer. Where things start to go wrong is that neither party fesses up to who they are. Rogue instantly assumes Fifteen is The Chuldur he’s looking for, while Fifteen assumes Rogue is a regular partygoer looking to…*ahem* create a scandal in the gardens if you get what I mean. This explains why a violin rendition of Billie Eilish’s ‘Bad Guy’ plays in the background. It’s not just a Bridgerton reference, it’s contributing to both characters’ perception of each other in this scene: both characters think the other is the “bad guy”. The lead into the scene is deception, we leave it the same way. No breakthrough yet.

Now we’re moving on to the scene in the garden, where both masks of Fifteen and Rogue begin clashing with their real personalities. Fifteen is still being semi-sincere, still complimenting Rogue. And like water, all of it is rolling off of him because he’s still under the assumption he’s talking to a shapeshifting alien. He rudely asks about The Doctor’s info dumping and doesn’t respond to The Doctor’s compliments.

(credit to @klausbens for the gif, you're awesome)

He’s not engaging because he thinks the Doctor is not who he appears to be, and for a character that values honesty, everything Fifteen says is gonna wash over him. The moment this changes is when the two are accusing the other of the murder. Quite literally finishing each other’s sandwiches (C’mon, you know I had to throw a Frozen reference in this somewhere).

This is a very interesting scene given our current context. Trope-wise, this is meant to communicate to the audience the bond between the two characters, they’re thinking the same thing. But the trope is flipped on its head because both characters take it in opposite directions. Both Fifteen and Rogue are in perfect sync, they are being honest about how much they understand about the situation, but that information is leading them to completely different conclusions (i.e. the other person is the Chuldur). They’re slapping more masks onto each other, this time with information they know is true, which leads to them locking in their heels and simply not being honest altogether until later. This scene is a repeat of the previous one, except this time it’s them showing their hands a bit more, making the backslide all the more difficult. Getting close to sealing the deal, then heel turn at the last minute, a classic Bridgerton move.

So, what needs to happen to break this backslide? Well, plain and simple honesty. The scene on Rogue’s ship is when both masks start coming off. What Fifteen is doing on the ship during the scene is essentially trying to figure out Rogue. He finds out the ship is meant to be piloted by two, and he discovers the origin of Rogue’s name, the Kylie Minogue music. Which is a moment I want to zoom in on. Right before this happens when Rogue gives a cheeky response to Fifteen finding out about the name, Fifteen makes a joke and starts emphasizing his Scottish accent. This is Fifteen putting on another mask to make a joke, and Rogue doesn’t appreciate that, given his dirty look.

Then Fifteen finds the music, which he then again uses as an opportunity to joke around and make fun of him (and flirt a little bit with him). Fifteen is removing Rogue’s mask, while he is staying enigmatic and mysterious, which is why Rogue is still stonewalling him. HOWEVER, two can play that game, and Fifteen makes a big mistake in showing Rogue the psychic paper. This is the first time Fifteen is completely honest about his feelings towards Rogue. No mask, no posturing, complete honesty. And we see Rogue responds positively to this:

This is the first time the two are both on the same level, communicating honestly. And that’s where we start to see genuine romantic feelings and attraction.

But it’s not enough, so what does Fifteen do? He pulls out the big guns. He shows Rogue the truth: he’s a Time Lord from Gallifrey and has lived many different lives over hundreds of years. He not only rips off his mask, he quite literally reveals all of the other masks the Doctor has worn throughout the ages. And what is Rogue’s reaction to this?

Complete besotted awe. If honesty is Rogue’s kink, then The Doctor revealing their faces just supercharged it. This is the moment that Rogue falls in love because he’s finally seeing who this mysterious flirty person really is.

Now, I’m gonna pull out another previous Doctor romance for two reasons: One, I’ve been seeing this comparison floating around for a while, and if you know me and my old analyses, it’s that I cannot leave an inaccurate take alone, and two, because I think it applies here. I’ve been seeing comparisons online of this episode to Girl in the Fireplace, in which a new character falls in love with The Doctor and gets the rare opportunity to see their true self. But what makes Reinette different from Rogue is that honesty kink. Reinette was attracted to the mystery of the Doctor, her childhood hero who somehow doesn’t age. Note when he comes back the first time, she focuses on how strange he is:

She learns more about them later, but she was already in love with them before that. Rogue doesn’t want the mystery. In reality, The Doctor wearing masks is a turnoff for him. He only wants the real thing, so when Fifteen reveals the truth, that’s when the genuine romance begins.

(We could also extend this comparison to the discussion of consent: Reinette found out everything without The Doctor's permission, while Fifteen revealed all the info by himself, but whether we can consider this consensual depends on your definition of consent under duress/threat. So I’m not entirely sure what to make of this conversation, feel free to expand in the tags/replies cause I want to hear more about this)

So now we’re moving along to the TARDIS scene. We continue with the theme of disguises with the whole “bigger on the inside” routine, Fifteen riffing as Willy Wonka for a hot moment singing Pure Imagination, and we have Rogue’s momentary slip-up:

(credit to klausbens for the gifs, you're awesome)

This is a great sign of character growth because while he’s maybe not wholly honest about his feelings towards The Doctor, he still is open about his love for the TARDIS, an important part of The Doctor’s life, so big step right there.

I want to pay attention to the heart-to-heart here because watching what Fifteen says and how he reacts is extremely important to getting his view on the situation. Because right now, I wouldn’t say The Doctor is in love with Rogue back. While there is a lot of attraction and hints at a deeper bond, Fifteen is still operating with most of his mask on. Notice that when he asks Rogue about the person he lost, Ncuti Gatwa’s blocking has him leaning on the railing at an angle to the side of Rogue. He’s purposely staying at a distance, yet is leaning on the railings to appear casual.

And when Rogue starts opening up, he moves closer and they’re at equal distance from each other.

We get a really sweet (and allegorical to the queer community) moment about The Doctor’s motivation of living out of respect for the dead, to keep living each day that they lost. And then we get Fifteen inviting Rogue onto the TARDIS. I want to focus on this because he doesn’t seem upset or disappointed by Rogue countering this offer by inviting The Doctor to travel with him, meaning he doesn’t see this as a “take it or leave it” offer. In fact, the compromise Fifteen comes up with, “let’s argue across the stars” and Rogue accepting it, is what leads to the almost kiss. So that prompts the question, what is Fifteen trying to say here?

Well, what Fifteen is asking for is to continue seeing Rogue. It doesn’t matter to him if he’s on the TARDIS or not, all that matters is that he still has him in his life. The choice to see him more. Why does that sound familiar? Because that’s exactly what I wrote about in my dissertation on The Giggle’s Ending:

“In giving Fourteen their own TARDIS, Fifteen is allowing his younger self to have what they always removed from the equation: free will. The Doctor can still go anywhere they want, which makes them even more motivated to stay and fix themself. Fourteen can feel safe staying with Donna, Wilf, Mel, Rose, Shaun, and Sylvia because the option to travel is still there.”

Fifteen’s love language is giving the people he cares about the freedom to express the love they already have within them. He values freedom above all else, and when Rogue accepts that freedom, that’s when we get the almost-kiss. This is the moment where The Doctor falls in love with Rogue back because it’s Rogue being willing to meet The Doctor where they’re at. He’s allowing Fifteen to set the pace and not force himself on him.

Additionally, this willingness to be as slow or fast as The Doctor needs means far more to The Doctor overall than to just Fifteen. Many people have already pointed out the similarities between the line “let’s argue across the stars' and previous lines the Doctor has said to villainous characters like The Master and The Toymaker:

"We can take your games back to the stars."

"We can fight across the constellations if that's what you want".

Now, why is that? It’s because again, The Doctor’s perception of Rogue is evolving in this scene. Remember, up to this point, The Doctor doesn’t entirely know Rogue’s morality. All they know is that Rogue is a bounty hunter, and is not afraid to use his gun when he deems appropriate. There’s even a little line in this scene before the heart-to-heart where Fifteen specifically imposes his own brand of morality on the situation: “Whatever the Chuldur has done, I can’t let you kill it.” Now, we know that The Doctor’s morality and romantic life can conflict: River being a known murderer/psychopath, their longtime situationship, and later attempted rehabilitation of The Master/Missy. This is another feature of The Doctor’s character: while they do act like they have the final say on what is right, they also compromise that morality for people they care about.

Like how The Doctor surprised Rogue by showing all of his faces, Rogue surprised the Doctor right back by not only being honest about his past but by being willing to accept The Doctor’s compromise. This moment is when The Doctor finds out that Rogue is a good person, and that The Doctor doesn’t need to compromise their morality when entering this relationship.

This heart-to-heart is about Rogue not only winning over the Fifteenth Doctor by agreeing with his values of freedom but also winning over The Doctor overall by just genuinely being a good person. But of course, the moral duty of taking care of the Chuldur rears its head in the form of the TARDIS alerting that the trap is ready. The bubble has popped and we still have a long way to go.

(Plus, Fifteen’s facial expression in this shot perfectly captures that trademark “Oh.” moment, realizing you’re in love with someone but then taping it down to focus back on the immediate problem. Love you Ncuti Gatwa, you do great work)

Alright, now we’re at the dance/fake proposal scene. Oh lord, so much happens here with both dialogue and production regarding character, so let’s take this one at a time. Fifteen, Rogue and now Ruby have figured out the big plot regarding the Chuldur, their obsession with cosplay and dressing up to create drama. In response, Fifteen comes up with the idea to essentially beat them at their own game: create a fake scandal to draw them out.

Now on paper and in terms of beating the bad guys, this is a plan that could and does work, but in terms of his relationship with Rogue: THIS. WAS. A. BAD. IDEA. Why? The very idea of masks and faking not only was the leading cause of them not connecting in the beginning but specifically doesn’t work with Rogue. You can see it in how Rogue nervously looks at Ruby and Emily when Fifteen asks him to dance, and even questions the validity of the plan:

(credit goes to @carricfisher for texted gif, you're awesome)

It’s not just that he doesn’t know about homophobia, he just doesn’t like the idea of pretending at all. But the reason why it doesn’t collapse right away is because it’s not entirely pretending. The dance may function on the surface to create a scene, but for Rogue (and Fifteen albeit to a smaller extent) it doubles as an intimate moment between them. This connects to the choice of dimming the lights in an unrealistic way (which btw, as a film student, had me going insane watching it live). We’re seeing a deliberate break in reality, a dishonest showcase of the story being told, that serves the purpose of highlighting an ultimately honest and sincere act of love. Both The Doctor and Rogue are warping the aesthetic of deception in terms of the narrative by fabricating a scandal, and in terms of the production by changing the lighting.

But of course, things start going to hell right there. Fifteen tries to up the drama and Rogue can’t keep up. Rogue overcorrects and proposes to Fifteen, who freaks out and leaves the room. Now, I don’t want to get into the question of whether or not Rogue was playing along by proposing or being genuine (Personally speaking, I think it was both. 70% true, and 30% fake). Instead, I want to clear up why Fifteen freaked out here. I’m sure a lot of the long-time audience could already guess that it was parallel to River Song, The Doctor’s wife, but I think it’s more layered than that. Why would a reference to River scare the Doctor so much, aside from reminding them of a close person they lost? Because the last time the Doctor got married to someone they truly loved, it involved a 24-year stay on Darillium, which he knew would end in tragedy. Note the word choice here:

“Sorry I…I can’t.”

Not ‘I don’t want this’, it’s a void of agency (which connects to my piece on The Giggle’s ending and freedom). The Doctor can’t have that with Rogue, he was fine with them being casual to avoid the possibility of losing him.

But on my first watch, I couldn’t help getting a little bit cross with Fifteen here, because the amount of ball fumbling on display is outright ridiculous; The Time Lord brings himself onto the dancefloor, with a guy he nearly made out with two minutes ago, gets all up in his face and starts shouting at him to “tell me what you heart wants!” and then completely freezes when said guy starts proposing to him. What in the fuck did you expect was going to happen, bud?! What made you think this would go off without a hitch?

I want to preface this by saying I had a completely different reading of this scene for a long time. My original thought was that Fifteen was trying to do multiple things simultaneously. He potentially was trying to lure out the Chuldur by creating scandal and at the same time, was trying to have a serious talk with Rogue about where he’s at emotionally. These lines in particular have fascinated me since my first watch: “You would ask me to give up my title, my fortune. But what future can you promise me?”. It did feel like these lines hinted at Fifteen’s thought process at this moment, he chose those specific lines to use for this moment. Was Fifteen trying to have an honest conversation with Rogue about their relationship while being fake to everyone else? But that doesn’t make sense considering the previous conversation in the TARDIS showed Fifteen comfortable with the idea of them being casual and Rogue respecting that, so it doesn’t make sense with where Fifteen is progression-wise.

But it wasn’t until writing out this piece that I realized I had it all wrong and the truth was far simpler: this is a repeat of their meeting on the balcony, albeit with higher personal stakes. Let’s take a step back here: What is happening in this scene? Fifteen and Rogue are completely missing what the other is trying to say. Fifteen ignored Rogue being visibly uncomfortable over being back to playing with masks, and Rogue is not getting if Fifteen wants him to be genuine or not. Just like on the balcony and the garden, where both sides think they’re saying one thing when it’s the opposite. Before, both parties were wrong about who they were, now both parties are wrong about what they want.

Fifteen is saying complete bullshit here, not true stuff to their situation but stuff that their audience would react to. He’s being over the top on purpose to elicit reactions. Meanwhile Rogue is thinking he’s being genuine. He thinks Fifteen is, through code speak, trying to genuinely ask him these questions. Which leads him to get down on one knee. And that’s a big problem because Rogue doesn’t know that proposing is wading into a gargantuan trauma pool for The Doctor. This scene is a magnified example of the duo’s problem with masks and not being completely honest with each other.

However, while this scene may have been a cause for regression from The Doctor on the relationship part, Rogue on the other hand has an epiphany. In the scene following this one, we get the truly iconic callback of “Run.” and Rogue taking the Doctor’s hand. Why is this important? Well, there are three specific examples that this moment is calling back to:

Nine meeting Rose ("Run!")

Victorian Clara and Eleven fleeing from the Ice Governess ("I do the handgrabbing! That's my job! That's always me!")

Twelve running with River ("Stop holding my hand! People don't do that to me!")

Nine meeting Rose establishes this idea of protection: The Doctor taking care of someone by leading them away from danger. The other two examples are subversions of that idea: Clara and River are now leading The Doctor out of danger. Same principle here, except here it has a bit more context behind it. Clara and River subverting that act of protection made sense given who they were: Clara as an echo across The Doctor’s time stream knew who The Doctor was and what they needed, even if she didn’t know it consciously when the moment happened. River as The Doctor’s wife also knew who they were and what they needed at the time.

By connecting Rogue’s action of taking Fifteen’s hand and running to Clara and River, it not only again connects Fifteen and Rogue to previous romantic relationships, but it also shows Rogue learning from his mistake. Rogue’s mistake in the proposal scene was him not figuring out what Fifteen needed at that moment, it was a major miscommunication. Now, at this moment, Rogue is starting to figure out what he needs to do. He is, to use relationship lingo, "shelving his agenda" to help the Doctor.

And that progression continues through the last leg of the episode, including the moment when Fifteen thinks Ruby is dead. I’ve always found this moment in particular so fascinating because of how loud it is metaphorically for both characters. Fifteen is taking off the mask of coolness and revealing that Doctor™ anger. This is a complete switch-up from what he’s been like throughout most of the episode. Yet when he lets out that chilling line, “Good. That’s a long time to suffer.” Rogue doesn’t look all that scared or mad at him.

The face Rogue makes here looks far closer to a resigned sadness, almost like he knew that he would have that reaction. Keep in mind that Rogue knows nothing about The Doctor at their worst, all that he knows right now is that they lost “everyone”. Compare that with Donna, who was outright terrified of The Doctor when at their worst (for good reason though).

Rogue isn’t surprised by this at all. He’s not asking “What happened to this person in front of me?”, he’s realizing “This is how much he cares about his best friend.” He’s seeing the depth of this person’s love that is inexorably linked to the depth of his grief, and is realizing he can’t allow that grief to corrupt this person he’s grown to love, even if it means endangering himself. Which is exactly what ends up happening.

This is where the theme of masks finally pays off. At the beginning of the episode, both Rogue and Fifteen are wearing their masks (cold, uncaring bounty hunter, and flirtatious partygoer). Those masks started to come down, but that got messed up thanks to miscommunication. Rogue didn’t understand what The Doctor needed from him, causing their trauma to resurface and The Doctor ran away from having to deal with that grief. This final scene is them being completely honest with each other. Rogue asks him “Can you lose your friend to save the world?”, and Fifteen tells him the truth. He can’t, he can’t let that happen again. And Rogue understands that, he finally knows what needs to be done. And so he kisses him. Why did Rogue kiss him? Again, it’s a repeat of a previous scene, this time the dance. Rogue is comfortable putting on a mask/doing something dishonest when there’s an aspect of truth to it. Even if they danced together to serve a lie, it still was a moment powered by romantic feelings. Same with the kiss. Rogue had wanted to kiss him, so he felt comfortable doing something with an ulterior motive (taking the button from him) because it was also something he would’ve wanted to do regardless of the situation.

But why did Rogue do it? The one line that I kept thinking of in summing up the intent behind Rogue's sacrifice was, ironically, from Frozen: "Love is...putting someone else's needs before yours”. Essentially, shelving your agenda, like we’ve been saying. Back in the proposal scene, Rogue’s mess up was not figuring out what Fifteen needed out of him at that moment. Fifteen needed him to play along in faking and instead, Rogue heel turned into a lot of trauma for The Doctor. So now, after seeing how important Ruby was to Fifteen, so important that he was willing to torture The Chuldur out of grief, Rogue is putting The Doctor’s needs before his own and stopping him from having to choose between her and the world. It's also why Rogue wiping away his tears before the kiss was so crazy because that's normally the Doctor's job. The Doctor is normally the one who turns sadness into hope. This time, someone else is doing that for him.

(credit to ngatwa again)

The greatest act of love in the episode was not the proposal, it was the sacrifice.

To close our tale, let us circle back to talking about Fifteen’s character arc. I opened this essay by talking about Fifteen’s main character flaw being a contradiction: both valuing emotional intimacy and running from it. That doesn’t seem to change by the end of this episode, so much so that Ruby forces Fifteen to take a moment and mourn Rogue’s loss when he wants to steamroll forward. But there’s one little detail left: Fifteen kept the ring. Not only kept it but is wearing it in the season finale to the point of even playing with it like a nervous tick.

That bond, that relationship was so important to him that he doesn’t allow himself to ignore it. It’s only after he has that hug with Ruby that he pulls out the ring and chooses to wear it. Rogue is the one thing Fifteen won’t run away from because what they had wasn’t fake. It was real.

Rogue, the supposed bounty hunter who only cared about wealth, loved The Doctor so much that he was willing to give up his life for his friend. The Doctor, the supposed Time Lord who flees from attachment, loves Rogue enough to remember him every day.

I ask you, gentle readers, how could one resist a love story like that?

NOTE: some extra bits I wanted to include that I couldn’t fit anywhere else: I’m such a sucker for color symbolism, and having Rogue wear blue in contrast to Fifteen’s normally warm color palette, as well as blue being the color of The TARDIS…it just makes me feel things, ya’ know?

Also, by not gendering Rogue’s previous partner, only ever using they/them pronouns, it helps add to the relationship in a social commentary way. It subtly shows that Rogue already has experience/is attracted to people who on some level defy gender norms, which helps prime the audience to buy Rogue accepting/liking The Doctor being able to change gender when regenerating.

Essentially, I'm insane over these two, and I need them back on screen as soon as possible.

#text #meta writing #long post #doctor who #dw meta #doctor who meta #doctor who analysis #fifteenth doctor #rogue doctor who #fifteenrogue #fifteen x rogue

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thelaurenshippen · 10 months

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re: that *chef kiss* PERFECT Franken-Drummer post and tumblr not being all over The Expanse, I know right?? it’s such an amazing show with so many delightful, complicated characters yet it’s so unfairly slept on! maybe because S1 takes awhile to get going and ppl give up? idk but it makes me sad that I have so few ppl to squeal about Drummer and Amos and Bobbie and Christjen and Ashford and Naomi (ad infinitum) with 😭🚀😭

WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT OBSESSED WITH THE EXPANSE HELLO!?!?! there's literally so much to love about it oh my god. you're right, it DOES take a second to get going but once it does!!!

for those of you who have not read or seen The Expanse series (I myself have yet to read the books), let me tell you why you'll love it:

political space drama with incredibly distinct cultures and phenomenal world building, if you're a details girlie (gn), you're gonna go nuts

the found family vibes!!??! are off!?!? the charts!?!? (minor spoilers for the first few episodes) four people are thrown into a situation in which they accidentally become the most important people/fugitives in the whole galaxy and most of them DO NOT trust each other, what could possible go wrong, and even better, what could possibly go RIGHT

Christjen Avasarala. you are not ready for her. most powerful mover-shaker on earth with the most incredible outfits you've ever seen, refined elegance with the filthiest mouth, plus she's got a classic "whatever those two have going on is so gay it veers into something else entirely" with her younger protective knight lady, Bobbie

Bobbie. the "not to be a lesbian but oh my god" post is made for her. we meet her in the show for the first time when she arm wrestles a robot and WINS. you will be begging for her to step on you with her mech suit

speaking of women I want to step on me Camina Drummer. angry revolutionary pirate queen of my heart. do you miss the unique agony of 2000/10s queerbaiting but want it to be not baiting somehow? this show does that, idk how else to explain it. the most agonizing sapphic pining you've ever seen but it's textual and also not painful because its gay. don't worry, Camina fucks, just not the girl she wants most (also spoilers, but this is not a bury your gays show don't worry)

Jim Holden is literally just Some Guy who becomes the special fantasy chosen one because he simply cannot stop Getting Involved. nosiest bitch in the universe, I love him.

imagine you're a girl who leaves your shitty ex and gets a normal industrial job on a spaceship, only to have a six foot, two hundred pound killer dressed as a mechanic imprint on you like a baby duck, and its unclear whether he wants to fuck you or call you a little sister but he definitely WILL kill for you and will do literally anything you say and then you both end up caught up in a weird galactic war by mistake and there's this other guy with a captain america level moral compass and he's cute and you're into him except your shitty ex is still out there with the biggest secret you have and meanwhile your best female friend is the coolest person you've ever met but you don't think you can be what she needs and you're holding your family together, you're holding the universe together and all you want is justice for your people but unfortunately you've gone and fallen in love with the accidental most important man in the galaxy. well, every day Naomi Nagata wakes up

Praxideke Meng. botanist of my heart. literally tames the rabid guard dog that no one else could. gentle and able to stay gentle because of said dog. which brings me to...

Amos Burton. I saved him for last because he is my guy. he is THAT guy. canonically aromantic pansexual king. are you into guard dog characters? do you find yourself drawn to the "sorry my love language is acts of service and all I'm good at is killing people" characters? amos burton is like seventeen tumblr posts come to life. previously mentioned enormous killer dressed as a mechanic, former heels wearing "I didn't always work in space" sex worker who is always rolling into brothels and being like "you guys unionized?", gives a shit about basically no one in the universe except his crew and every single child in the galaxy, accidental comedian because he cannot stop saying weird shit, not a nice or good person but a loyal one, and one who is always trying to relearn the empathy that was carved out of him as a young person. every time he goes homicidal to protect one of his chosen people (crew + any and every child), an angel gets its wings.

fin.

#the expanse #most of this is cribbed from the essay I was texting a friend the other day lol #which is what inspired my expanse posting in the first place #bc I was like 'I HAVE to stop bothering this friend' lol #btw the canonically aromantic pansexual thing teeeechnically comes from the writers' twitter?#but like #you simply have to watch the show to know that about amos #he mostly doesn't sleep with people in the show and yes the few he does are women but the dude is queer #but anyway the authors have explicitly said he's aromantic and that his sexuality is 'yes'#lauren answers things

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kirbybecomesastarwarrior · 3 months

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10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

Needless I went off the rails with this one! LMAO

This became an excuse to draw Celarthur/Merthur content in different scenarios & and outfits. And I had too much fun with the designs of each one.

Sun King & Moon Queen AU:

Basically, I was watching Lego Monkey Kid and this happened! I really wanted to do something that really got the essence of the show. If you watch the show you can really tell I kinda (or a lot) based it around the Lady Bone Demon & Sun Wukong. And of course some classic Chinese folklore...

It is a total rom-com scenario, with the Moon Queen betrothed to the Sun King... they but heads at first then slowly but surely fall in love.

Sleeping Beauty/ Fairy Tale AU:

This one was really made for young Sir Arthur & Celestine... I couldn't help it guys it was such a classic movie. Malfience icon (she's definitely be Morgan in this Au).

Especially when I was looking for dancing references I kept looking at the sleeping beauty reference dance sequence the most. (for a project to be revealed later still a secret) So I had to give a shoutout to that of course, love how it turned out!

Super Paper Mario Au:

I think this one is my favorite one I always got emotional for Count Bleck & Tippi's backstory. Their love story is quite similar to theirs....they just fit the characters so well.

In all honesty, if Sir Arthur didn't have Meta to ground him... then he definitely would have become like "Count Bleck." Oh but just like Tippi Celestine would still love and forgive Arthur anyways.

And here is an Au relevant to the plot of KBASW... I did wanna draw out more scenarios relevant to the plot of KBASW but then they kept leaking out to spoiler-ish territory.

Next Scenario Happy Ending Route. (Basically, Celestine & Arthur are running the GSA and this is a daily occurrence~)

They still have to wait for...(Kirby is lost for a while and is found by Meta and of course baby imprints on him and he's still Meta's) They become this obnoxiously flirty-loving couple... MK's seen this since he was a kid so he's desensitized. They do get work done I promise ~ (LMAO)

@kirbyoctournament

Keep reading for spoiler content/ Special thanks

This is where Celestine finds a cure for her " broken warp star" situation. They basically gave Gala the same isolation treatment (because he was supposed to be the galaxy's savior~). But Celty (secretly visits him as often as she can to ensure he isn't lonely.

After this time Celestine finds Meta in the Fountain of Dreams (before anyone could find him). The Ancients were so preoccupied with Gala that they weren't even montioring the fountain.

Basically, no one knew that Meta Knight was born but Celestine & Arthur. He's raised in secret at the temple. (They make a cute little family together ~) And Celestine would set up secret little play dates for the both of them.

A few years passed and then BOOM!

They manage to catch Icarus in his crimes for "forcibly creating another astral from Void." (Kirby was always going to be made but he came out too early due to Icarus' involvement.)

Morpho still takes his life but they manage to trace it back to Uther... The people are now questioning the Acients in their decisions and soon fall out of power due to the controversy. To save face they crystalize Sir Uther... (HA) but that doesn't help them at all~

It was during this time that Celestine properly revealed herself as Merlyn... WHAT!? Another blunder blew up in their faces...and the people immediately began to rally behind her. The popularity of her good deeds as Merlyn is what gets her into the seat of power.

Leaving Celestine in charge of the GSA (finally left in the right hands!) And of course, she takes Arthur with her as her right-hand man and well I think the GSA would become more of a light-hearted place after that.

(Morgan leaves, she doesn't fit into this hippie-dippy-happy place but she's not evil per se... she kinda just travels around as she pleases and she does find her happiness being a wanderer.)

Nightmare is still a problem but Nightmare Enterprise is never created, so it's not as widespread. So it's managed and the galaxy is thriving under Celestine's control. And of course, Arthur & Celestine confess their feeling for each other yada yada yada....

And of course, Kirby defeats Nightmare and that's it~

Despite this happy ending Meta Knight never meets Jecra & Garlude as a result of this. Along with Kirby never going to Dreamland or meeting everyone; Fumu, the cappies, no nothing. And the need for Star Allies no longer exists.

More content on these two to come and guys let me know which Au scenario you like more (reblog, leave a comment... maybe I'll expand on it more fun content to come)

I also wanted to thank everyone for getting me through round two I hope you all continue the support for next week's voting poll ROUND THREE!

Thank you for riding this wave with me!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

@lulu-chaos-incarnation I just also wanted to thank you for being such a loyal fan. I really appreciate you I know I went a little crazy on the AUs but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! :D

#kirby oc tournament #lady celestine #kirby oc #kbasw #merthur #sir arthur #celarthur #sir arthur kirby #kirby anime #meta knight #kbasw answers #galacta knight #kirby #hoshi no kaabii #sir nonsurat #sir falspar #sir dragato #i had too much fun with this #once again i went off the rails on this

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electrospherevaults · 27 days

Text

'ello everyone, today's a special day!

Back one year ago, and merely two weeks after I was done with the mandatory army conscription, I kept thinking about Defiler. This thinking led to some ideas on how to expand the world, especially coming off the heels of whatever the fuck being in the greek army was, and with friends explaining how much they loved the world and especially the faction of the Maidens of Wrethella, a warrior army in service of the King, I soon had a concept I wanted to explore.

Thusly, on August 26, 2023, at exactly four minutes past midnight, Maiden, the sequel novel to Defiler, was born.

HAPPY MAIDENVERSARY

Fair Lady Analussa of the Maidens of Wrethella, protagonist of MAIDEN Artwork courtesy @meer-draws

It's been a wild time since then, exactly one year ago now! Lots of things changed, lots of things improved; I know my characters better than ever before and the world they inhibit. Analussa grew from a simple character meant to inform the reader about Lionelli and her goals into her own fully realized character; her squad grew to include six more wonderful and superb lady maidens that are as badass as they are sweet. And at a current 97.5k words and 258 pages, I am inching closer to achieving the goal of finishing the sequel! It is still quite a long way to go - there are 41 planned chapters for it after all, and it would not be a Defiler sequel had it not posses some ambition of its own in what it is trying to do - but writing the story of Analussa and her squad as they survive the war-torn world of Tessereich has been a cathartic and healing experience for me; one that I hope I will get to share with you all soon enough)

Alongside the sequel, I have been continuously building the world of Defiler; its past, its present, its future, and how the cast of characters fit in the whole thing. Several of the short stories I have been writing earlier this year take place in the Tomorrow Galaxy where Defiler and Maiden takes place. Each one has been instrumental in figuring the world out, how it ticks, how it works, what it has to say. Most of all, this whole endeavour has helped me figure out Mallik the most, the protagonist of the first novel. She is especially dear to me - I wouldn't have so many artworks of her commissioned had she not been so instrumental in my growth as a writer and as a person - and it would be a severe understatement to say that her perseverance aided me to keep my chin up and continue unabated by difficulties and plights life threw my way. One day, I hope I can tell her story properly.

So what is next for the denizens of Tomorrow? Well, for now, my goal is to finish Maiden. Next goal is the to fix the draft of Defiler; that one will remain private unfortunately as I seek to get it published. I hope it will be fun to come back here and contrast the finished product with the first public draft made during its NaNoWriMo challenge phase. I also want to see if I can depict Defiler and the rest of the stories taking place in the Tomorrow galaxy in other mediums, such as animation and videogames - but that's a plan for later in the year, depending on how things pan out.

In any case, I want to thank y'all for reading, and I especially want to thank my friends, (like Babka, Beth, Gree, September, Sapphire, Chloe, Balkon, Aenore, Steph and Mirnos), for being instrumental in guiding me and believing in me throughout the way; from finishing Defiler, to reading it and critiquing it, and now traversing alongside me this wild new wider galaxy!

Thank you all kindly, and I promise you more news about Maiden in the coming months :D

In the meantime, you can read the first draft of the first novel, available for free, on here. (Analussa does appear in it, and her role, whilst small, is still quite important!)

#Defiler #Maiden #defilercore #Mallik #Analussa #my writing #writing #writeblr #writblr #original work #original worlds #original character #current wip

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fanfic-writer-and-rambler · 1 month

Text

Harley Quinn continues her mission to get Jason Todd to not hate her, but she can't keep following him, she needs to talk to those close to him. (if I didn't use their hero names here and their actual names, my bad)

Orphan (Cass) and Spoiler (Stephanie) take a break from patrolling and chat about cartoon characters on top of q building.

Orphan: My favorite character would be Patrick.

Spoiler: No way! He's so annoying. I'm a SpongeBob girl.

Orphan: Patrick is lovably dumb, SpongeBob is too loud.

Spoiler: So is Patrick.

Orphan: Not all the time.

Harley: I've always preferred Sandy!

Orphan and Spoiler scream. Spoiler jumps into Orphan's arms.

Harley, groaning: Jacy I understand, why are you screamin? I jumped into the conversation so well and you're screamin? You're masters of stealth!

Spoiler: Thank you, but-

Orphan drops Spoiler.

Spoiler: Ow!

Spoiler stands to her feet.

Spoiler: You sneaking up on me always unnerves me. Since you were Joker's girlfriend.

Orphan: I could hear your footsteps when you made it to the roof, Spoiler's screaming scared me. SpongeBob fan indeed.

Spoiler: Stand by what I said. Back to Harley, hey it's good to see you again, minus the screaming. Sorry.

Harley: You're fine, I should be used to it by now. Spoiler for you and the dark suited one, Orphan?

Orphan: Correct, it's nice to see you as well. You came here for a purpose. Your body language suggests you’re stressed, what is it that bothers you?

Harley: Geez Batman wasn't kidding about your body reading skills. You got me, I need some help with Jason. He hates me.

Spoiler: He kind of has a disdain for everyone. Except for Nightwing ... Signal... and Orphan.

Orphan nods.

Spoiler: Wait, you know his real name?

Orphan: She was there when he died, she remembers his real name from that. She calls him Jacy as an endearing nickname.

Harley, resting her bat behind on her shoulders: Yup, which he hates. I save the kid when he's tied up in a building, we fought Snowflame and I gave him a puffy cat sticka, but he hates my guts. I get it, but we're trauma siblings! We have a special bond that can only be fixed with fighting other baddies.

Spoiler gasps.

Spoiler: Trauma siblings! That's me and Orphan! That doesn't work on him?

Harley: No!

Harley plants her bat on the ground, groaning.

Harley: I even offered my therapy services.

Spoiler, chuckling: Yeah, but you're not an actual therapist, you-

Harley, aiming her bat at Spoiler's nose: If you say I slept with a professor to pass college, I'll bop you in the arm. I am intelligent! Wouldn't have gotten with Ivy if I was a ditz.

Spoiler, lowering the bat: Sorry, dude. To be honest, I got nothing to help you. It took me two years to have Jason talk to me for longer than a minute.

Harley shoulders slump defeated and unsure what to do next.

Orphan taps her chin wondering what advice to give.

Orphan: It took a year to befriend him, you're off to a good start with being nice to him. I suggest giving him a better peace offering. He likes books, get him a book.

Harley: A book? What's his genre fave? What's he like to read the most?

Spoiler: Mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction.

Orphan: No, it's sci-fi not fantasy. I'd recommend something akin to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, historical fiction he's been wanting to read Lady Macbeth and the Brigerton series, any book will work there. His detective book interests are random.

Spoiler, mystified: Sometimes I wonder how you know these things.

Orphan: Bruce keeps a file on his interests so he can send him the best birthday gifts. He has one for all of us.

Spoiler: Is that why he bought those boxing gloves for my birthday last year?

Orphan nods.

Spoiler fist pumps happily.

Harley: That is sweet, nevah pegged Batsy as the sentimental type. This helps though. I got some shoppin' to do, thanks girls... Orphan mostly.

Spoiler: Hey, I suggested books first!

Harley: You got most of them wrong and no suggestions. She told me about Brigerton. She saved me time.

Orphan: No problem.

Harley waves bye, turning on her heel and rushing across rooftops with ease.

Spoiler: I like her. She's insane, but likable.

Orphan: Agreed. Now Squidward or Mr. Krabs?

Spoiler: Mr. Krabs, obviously.

Orphan: We've arrived at another impasse.

-----------------------------

Harley Quinn leaves the stack of books she bought at a book store in Jason's car. She tossed a rock to get in since she never learned to pick car lock. She rund off eagerly.

Jason makes it to his car, sees the broken window glass on the front seat and sighs.

Jason: Oh that's real nice.

Jason wipes the glass off his seat while wearing his gloves then sits in the car. He sees the tote bag of books in his front passenger seat.

Jason: Why are there- Who breaks into a car and leaves a gift?

Jason notices the note.

Jason, reading the note: Jacey- Oh God- I bought as many books that I think you'll like and a couple that helped me when I needed help, but mostly a lot of Brigerton. I got the five new ones. I also found Lady Macbeth the collectors edition. I paid for them with my own money, don't worry, not stealing. I hope this shows I'm truly sorry for what happened to you.

Jason sighs.

Jason: I hate that this is actually a nice gift.

He grabs the top book and sees it's the latest Brigerton book.

Jason: Good damn it I didn't even know this one was out yet. It's a start.

#batfamily #batsisters #jason todd #harley and jason #harley quinn #headcanon #batkids #batfamily chronicles #batfamily shenanigans #batfamily ao3 #batfamily feels #batfam shenanigans #batfamily fanfiction #batfamily fluff #batfamily headcanons

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pastel-peach-writes · 1 year

Text

Master Post! <3

(Most of my writings will be targeted toward wlw/nmlnm with gender-neutral pronouns!)

✩ MEANS NEW, ☾ MEANS FLUFF, ⋇ MEANS ANGST, SLASH MEANS COMING SOON

(The list is in alphabetical order 💌)

CURRENTLY ACCEPTING REQUESTS FOR: Requests are closed for catch up! *Please read my Request Rules before requesting!

﹏﹏

AVATAR: THE LAST AIR BENDER ﹏﹏

→ Katara

☾ Season’s Chances

→ Mai ☾ Flushed Cheeks

﹏﹏

AVENGERS ﹏﹏

→ Natasha ☾ Learn To Take A Break PT.1 | PT.2

☾ Blankets & Brunch

﹏﹏

HAIKYUU! ﹏﹏

→ Kiyoko ☾ Fruit Loops

﹏﹏

HORIZON: ZERO DAWN ﹏﹏

→ Aloy ☾ Cool Off ☾ Two Peas In A Pod(Sibling!Reader) ☾ Face Paint ✩ ﹏﹏

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: ARCANE ﹏﹏

→ Jinx

☾ “You’re Mine Now” ☾ Someone Better ☾ Wrapped around a Pinky Finger ☾ Arcane Ladies W/ A Touch-Starved Reader Headcanons

→ Vi ☾ Random Headcanons (Lesbian Week Special) ☾ Class Is In Session ☾ Arcane Ladies W/ A Touch-Starved Reader Headcanons

→ Caitlyn ☾ When Rains Falls On Your Window, I’ll Be There ☾ Random Headcanons (Lesbian Week Special) ☾ Arcane Ladies W/ A Touch-Starved Reader Headcanons

→ Mel ☾ Arcane Ladies W/ A Touch-Starved Reader Headcanons

→ Sevika ☾ Arcane Ladies W/ A Touch-Starved Reader Headcanons

→ CaitVi/Reader

☾ Wipe The Smirk Off Your Face ☾ They Go Low, We Go Lower ☾ “Daw, But You’re So Cute!” ☾ Catch Me In Vegas, Catch Me In Tokyo ☾ Catch My Breath ☾“How Do You Know That?” ☾ Hot Rocker ☾ Marshmallow Pillows ☾ Shortstack ⋇ “You Can Tell Us.” ☾ Skyscraper ⋇☾ Cling Onto the Words You Say ⋇☾ Don't Cry Over Spilled Paint ☾ Merry Christmas (Ya Filthy Animal) ☾ Curls and Coils

﹏﹏

LEGEND OF KORRA ﹏﹏

→ Korra ☾ Freezing ☾ Nails ☾ Ways Of The Wind ☾ Water Is Hard As Concrete ☾ Childhood Best Friends ☾ Don’t Mess With The Avatar ☾ “You Were Her Rock And She Was Yours.” ☾ Dating The Avatar ☾ Jealous Thing ☾ Kiss It Better ☾ Fire Comes From Within PT. 1 | PT. 2

☾ Shy Until You're Not → KorrAsami ☾ Jealous or Attracted? PT. 1 | PT. 2 ✩ | PT. 3

→ Lin ☾ Trouble

﹏﹏

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON ﹏﹏

→ Raya ☾ Unforgiving Elements ☾ When I Looked Into Your Eyes, I Saw Stars For The First Time

→ Namaari ☾ Stars | Galaxy (Stars PT.2)

SHE-RA ﹏﹏

→ Adora ☾ Arm Wrestling ☾ The Guide to Confidence (You Must Have a Guitar)

→ Perfuma ⋇ Yoga and Meditation

﹏﹏

STRANGER THINGS ﹏﹏

→ Robin ☾ “Okay, I Guess She’s Cute” ☾ Random Headcanons (Lesbian Week Special)

﹏﹏

THE LAST OF US ﹏﹏

→ Ellie

☾ We Fell In Love In October ☾ Warm Even When It’s Cold ☾ Random Headcanons(Lesbian Week Special) ☾“Dude, Chill Out.” (Sibling!Reader) ☾ Innermost Thoughts (Blurb)

#pastel-peach-writes #pastel peach writes

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its-wabby-stuff · 5 months

Text

How Human is your Animal?

Based on animalistic representation in Media. Ranging from anthropomorphic to everyday pet.

A tier list for your convenience

S Tier- Humans don’t exist here

Qualifications: the world has no humans, animals tend to walk on hind legs and participate in human like societies, most likely anthropomorphic but not required

Zootopia, Kung Fu Panda, Sing, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Chicken Little, My Little Pony, Goofy Movie, Ducktales, Robin Hood, Angry Birds, Samurai Rabbit, Paws of Fury, Spiderhams Universe

A Tier- I see, a little co-op happening

Qualifications: the world has humans, humans acknowledge animals in some way, they can be hired/considered for jobs and/or are active in society. Might be considered mutants

Paddigton, Muppets, Stuart Little, The Bad Guys, Pinnocio, Shrek universe, Care Bears, the Bee Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, and subsequently the entire MCU, Monsters Inc, Storks, Looney Tunes, TMNT, MHA, Yogi Bear, We Bare Bears, Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hop, Wonderland, James and the Giant Peach, Hoodwinked, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Ichabod and Toad, Sonic Movie

B Tier- Your getting suspiciously close

Qualifications: act more human like, perhaps develop a hidden society or walk on hind legs or plan elaborate heists, it’s just not quite right for an animal

Madagascar, Ice Age, Shark Tale, Surfs Up, Snoopy, Rescuers, SpongeBob, Ratatouille, Horton Hears a Who, Free Birds, Great Mouse Detective, Chicken Run, Flushed Away, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tom and Jerry, Secret of Nym, Tale of Desperaeux, American Tail, Once Upon a Forest, Garfield, Over the Hedge, Rango

C Tier- Communication is key in fostering animal relationships

Qualifications: Perhaps by magical transformation or special gift or something that has always been kept a secret until now, these animals are able to talk to you

Cinderella, Tarzan, Jungle Book, Epic, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Charlottes Web, Scooby Doo, Happy Feet, Snow White, Pete’s Dragon, Princess and the Frog, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Spies In Disguise, Emperors New Groove, Enchanted, Sophia the First, Peter Rabbit, Meet the Robinsons, Anastasia, Swan Princess, Dr. Dolittle, Leo, Up

D Tier- Oh look, it’s gaining complexity

Qualifications: although animals have been known to convey emotions nothing is more complex than creating Shakespearean like storylines. Humans take to the sidelines

Lion King, Finding Nemo, 101 Dalmatians, Bambi, Land Before Time, The Secret Life of Pets, Bugs Life, Oliver and Company, All Dogs go to Heaven, Lady and the Tramp, Fox and the Hound, Aristocats, Migration, Bolt, Dinosaur, The Good Dinosaur, Super Pets, Dumbo, Home in the Range, G-force, The Wild, Spirit, Rio, Curious George

F Tier- It’s all okay, animals are just animals here

Qualifications: Imagine your pet in a movie, that’s prolly what fits here. The everyday dog, or cat, or shark. Likely plays a part in the plot progression of the movie

Babe, Jurassic Park, Milo and Otis, Old Yeller, Life of Pi, Sword in the Stone, Beethoven, A Dogs Purpose, We Bought a Zoo, Pokémon, Dolphins Tale, Homeward Bound, The Black Stallion, Marley and Me, Jaws, King Kong, How to Train Your Dragon

Z Tier- So it doesn’t work like other places, but it works for you

Qualifications: a Universe with its own set of rules, perhaps jumping into a place outside of their own where rules seem just a little different. Who can say if it was real, or a dream?

Mary Poppins, Spiderverse, Fantasia, Mario Bros, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland (cartoon), Calvin and Hobbes

Each placing is based on the highest human to animal ratio in universe even if that is one exception. This is for fun, don’t take it too seriously. You’re welcome to fill in anything you think is missing. If I mentioned one of your favorite movies you have to reblog, I don’t make the rules.

😉

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msunitedstatesjames · 5 months

Text

A few years ago, I played through the Dragon Age games. Now I'm playing through Mass Effect, and I find it kind of hilarious that in both DA2 and ME2 Bioware was like, "Okay, these games are pretty combat heavy, so we've got to figure out who the protagonists are going to be fighting the whole game." And in both games, they were like, "How about various gangs, each with a gimmick, whose members will ceaselessly throw themselves into the deadly path of the protagonist?"

I've written about this before for DA2, but it's just as funny in ME2.

You've gotta imagine the conversations happening in the mercenary gang headquarters throughout the events of this game. The leaders have gotta be like, "Okay, why are our members dropping like flies all of the sudden?" And then they get a little intel and they're like, "Oh."

So they gather their crews around and they're like, "So guys, we just want to let you know to keep an eye out on any jobs coming up because we've been taking some hits."

And the crew members are like, "Okay, who are we looking out for?"

And the leaders go, "Well, first of all, Commander Shepard. You know that human who saved the Citadel from the Geth and that rogue Spectre a couple of years ago?"

And one of the dudes is like, "I heard it was actually a Reaper she defeated."

And the rest of the crew laugh at that crazy conspiracy theory and are like, "One human? Big deal."

And the leaders are like, "Well...not exactly. She tends to run with a crew."

And then the leaders have to tell them about Shepard's crew, consisting of:

Some human lady who always wears a hood (Kasumi is actually good at her job, so I assume they wouldn't have reliable intel on her)

A Quarian tech expert

A former Alliance marine who survived Eden Prime and the attack of the Citadel

A lady who's pretty much a clone designed to be physically and mentally perfect

A Salarian who helped redesign the genophage and was also a member of the Special Forces

The galaxy's top bounty hunter and also co-founder of the Blue Suns

Some Drell dude who may or may not be the most successful assassin in the galaxy

A biotic prodigy who has broken out of more than one high security containment facility

Weirdly, another clone designed to be physically and mentally perfect, but this time they're a Krogan

An Asari Justicar (or her even more murderous progeny)

A Geth who can talk, apparently

And a Turian who looks like, sounds like, and shoots exactly like that guy Archangel, who took out large swaths of merc crews almost singlehandedly before mysteriously disappearing (or dying?) on Omega

And at first the crew isn't that impressed. They're like, "Sounds like a bunch of weaklings to me." And then somewhere around Zaeed they start to be like, "Okay, we'll keep a lookout." And then somewhere around like Samara they start to be like, "Well, shit." And then they get to Garrus and they're like, "Please don't let it be that asshole again."

And the merc Commanders are like, "Good luck to you guys. Make sure to wear a helmet or you might be getting your head crushed through some mixture of pure biotic force, a Krogan bodyslam, and/or a headshot from the guy who's definitely not Archangel!"

And then after the guys leave the Commander thinks to himself, "I'm glad I made it up through the ranks before all this bullshit."

#mass effect #mass effect 2 #commander shepard #garrus vakarian #miranda lawson #kasumi goto #jacob taylor #zaeed massani #mordin solus #grunt mass effect #jack mass effect #tali'zora vas normandy #thane krios #legion mass effect #samara mass effect #video games #rpgs #bioware

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mostlysignssomeportents · 7 months

Text

The Bezzle excerpt (Part II)

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me next in SALT LAKE CITY (Feb 21, Weller Book Works) and SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix and more!

Today, I'm bringing you part two of this week's serialized excerpt from The Bezzle, my new Martin Hench high-tech crime revenge thriller:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

Though most of the scams that Hench – a two-fisted forensic accountant specializing in Silicon Valley skullduggery – goes after in The Bezzle have a strong tech component, this excerpt concerns a pre-digital scam: music royalty theft.

This is a subject that I got really deep into when researching and writing 2022's Chokepoint Capitalism – a manifesto for fixing creative labor markets:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

My co-author on that book is Rebecca Giblin, who also happens to be one of the world's leading experts in "copyright termination" – the legal right of creative workers to claw back any rights they signed over after 35 years:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/26/take-it-back/

This was enshrined in the 1976 Copyright Act, and has largely languished in obscurity since then, though recent years have seen creators of all kinds getting their rights back through termination – the authors of The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High Books, Stephen King, and George Clinton, to name a few. The estates of the core team at Marvel Comics, including Stan Lee, just settled a case that might have let them take the rights to all those characters back from Disney:

https://www.thewrap.com/marvel-settles-spiderman-lawsuit-steve-ditko/

Copyright termination is a powerful tonic to the bargaining disparities between creative workers. A creative worker who signs a bad contract at the start of their career can – if they choose – tear that contract up 35 years later and demand a better one.

Turning this into a plot-point in The Bezzle is the kind of thing that I love about this series – the ability to take important, obscure, technical aspects of how the world works and turn them into high-stakes technothriller storylines that bring them to the audience they deserve.

If you signed something away 35 years ago and you want to get it back, try Rights Back, an automated termination of tranfer tool co-developed by Creative Commons and Authors Alliance (whose advisory board I volunteer on):

https://rightsback.org/

All right, onto today's installment. Here's part one, published on Saturday:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease

It was on one of those drives where Stefon learned about copyright termination. It was 2011, and NPR was doing a story on the 1976 Copyright Act, passed the same year that was on the bottom of the document Chuy forged.

Under the ’76 act, artists acquired a “termination right”— that is, the power to cancel any copyright assignment after thirty-five years, even if they signed a contract promising to sign away their rights forever and a day (or until the copyright ran out, which was nearly the same thing).

Listening to a smart, assured lady law professor from UC Berkeley explaining how this termination thing worked, Stefon got a wild idea. He pulled over and found a stub of a pencil and the back of a parking-ticket envelope and wrote down the professor’s name when it was repeated at the end of the program. The next day he went to the Inglewood Public Library and got a reference librarian to teach him how to look up a UC Berkeley email address and he sent an email to the professor asking how he could terminate his copyright assignment.

He was pretty sure she wasn’t going to answer him, but she did, in less than a day. He got the email on his son’s smartphone and the boy helped him send a reply asking if he could call her. One thing led to another and two weeks later, he’d filed the paperwork with the U.S. Copyright Office, along with a check for one hundred dollars.

Time passed, and Stefon mostly forgot about his paperwork adventure with the Copyright Office, though every now and again he’d remember, think about that hundred dollars, and shake his head. Then, nearly a year later, there it was, in his mailbox: a letter saying that his copyright assignment had been canceled and his copyrights were his again. There was also a copy of a letter that had been sent to Chuy, explaining the same thing.

Stefon knew a lawyer—well, almost a lawyer, an ex–trumpet player who became a paralegal after one time subbing for Sly Stone’s usual guy, and then never getting another gig that good. He invited Jamal over for dinner and cooked his best pot roast and served it with good whiskey and then Jamal agreed to send a letter to Inglewood Jams, informing them that Chuy no longer controlled his copyrights and they had to deal with him direct from now on.

Stefon hand-delivered the letter the next day, wearing his good suit for reasons he couldn’t explain. The receptionist took it without a blink. He waited.

“Thank you,” she said, pointedly, glancing at the door.

“I can wait,” he said.

“For what?” She reminded him of his boy’s girlfriend, a sophomore a year younger than him. Both women projected a fierce message that they were done with everyone’s shit, especially shit from men, especially old men. He chose his words carefully.

“I don’t know, honestly.” He smiled shyly. He was a good-looking man, still. That smile had once beamed out of televisions all over America, from the Soul Train stage. “But ma’am, begging your pardon, that letter is about my music, which you all sell here. You sell a lot of it, and I want to talk that over with whoever is in charge of that business.”

She let down her guard by one minute increment. “You’ll want Mr. Gounder,” she said. “He’s not in today. Give me your phone number, I’ll have him call.”

He did, but Mr. Gounder didn’t call. He called back two days later, and the day after that, and the following Monday, and then he went back to the office. The receptionist who reminded him of his son’s girlfriend gave him a shocked look.

“Hello,” he said, and tried out that shy smile. “I wonder if I might see that Mr. Gounder.”

She grew visibly uncomfortable. “Mr. Gounder isn’t in today,” she lied. “I see,” he said. “Will he be in tomorrow?”

“No,” she said.

“The day after?”

“No.” Softer.

“Is that Mr. Gounder of yours ever coming in?”

She sighed. “Mr. Gounder doesn’t want to speak with you, I’m sorry.”

The smile hadn’t worked, so he switched to the look he used to give his bandmates when they wouldn’t cooperate. “Maybe someone can tell me why?”

A door behind her had been open a crack; now it swung wide and a young man came out. He looked Hispanic, with a sharp fade and flashy sneakers, but he didn’t talk like a club kid or a hood rat—he sounded like a USC law student.

“Sir, if you have a claim you’d like Mr. Gounder to engage with, please have your attorney contact him directly.”

Stefon looked this kid up and down and up, tried and failed to catch the receptionist’s eye, and said, “Maybe I can talk this over with you. Are you someone in charge around here?”

“I’m Xavier Perez. I’m vice president for catalog development here. I don’t deal with legal claims, though. That’s strictly Mr. Gounder’s job. Please have your attorney put your query in writing and Mr. Gounder will be in touch as soon as is feasible.”

“I did have a lawyer write him a letter,” Stefon said. “I gave it to this young woman. Mr. Gounder hasn’t been in touch.”

Perez looked at the receptionist. “Did you receive a letter from this gentleman?”

She nodded, still not meeting Stefon’s eye. “I gave it to Mr. Gounder last week.”

Perez grinned, showing a gold tooth, and then, in his white, white voice, said, “There you have it. I’m sure Mr. Gounder will get back in touch with your counsel soon. Thank you for coming in today, Mr.—”

“Stefon Magner.” Stefon waited a moment, then said, for the first time in many years, “I used to perform under Steve Soul, though.”

Perez nodded briskly. He’d known that. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Magner.” Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared back into his office.

ETA: Here's part three!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination

#pluralistic #the bezzle #martin hench #marty hench #red team blues #fiction #crime fiction #crime thrillers #thrillers #technothrillers #novels #books #royalties #wage theft #creative labor

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choco-pudding · 21 days

Text

Space Channel 5 Part 2: Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book p. 200-209 (Translation by @lavoszero and myself. Edits and typesetting by myself)

Third part of the character profiles.

Imgur link to all of the Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book translations we’ve done thus far.

Plain text below

p. 200

052: Rescue Police (leader) Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Approaching A Profile: The strong, dependable leader of the Rescue Police and former professional swimmer. He faces danger and disaster on a daily basis to protect the lives of people across the galaxy. His morning routine consists of 300 sit ups before breakfast. A friend of Ulala's (as a result of seeing each other on the same site so often). Note, Secret Inputs: Information for five secret inputs in Report 4 (see 114).

053: Rescue Police (troop) Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Approaching A Profile: Members of the organization that serves as both Fire and Police dept. for the entire galaxy. Thanks to the force's recent restructuring, they're far more reputable and at least 40% more dependable. Note: Pine is the organization's top Police Unit and Head Special investigator. Note, Item Received: Gives you the Big Mug item if you check his profile after clearing Report 4.

054: Space Cheerleading Captain Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile: The envy of every Space Junior and High School student. An idol in her own right. Her element moves and staccato voice that makes even the ladies blush sets her apart from other the cheerleaders. Her high kicks give her black-belt potential, so keep your distance if you value your jawbone. Note, Secret Inputs: Information for several secret inputs (24 if you rescue everyone, 16 if not) in Report 4 (see 114).

Perfect! 195 Toyota Toyota Toyota Toyota Honda Honda Honda

p. 201

055: Space Cheerleader 1: Hitomi Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile: She exploded in popular after becoming the assistant for Channel 5’s hit morning show “Go! Go! Channel 5!” However, much to her annoyance, this new role is all smiles and no cheer. Note, Secret Input: Information for a secret input in Report 4 (see 114).

056: Space Cheerleader 2: Futaba Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile: It’s a cheerleader’s job to wear a cheerful smile all the time, no matter the situation. To the untrained eye, all cheerleader smiles look alike, but subtle differences can create dozens of smiley variations. Futaba’s signature "Smile of the Sun" routine reinvigorates viewers like magic. Even the most downtrodden of fathers will want to get up and go, go! Note:

057: Space Cheerleader 3: Mimi Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile: She spends most days contemplating methods to get her legs to kick higher and her hips to swing more swiftly. She performs most of her daily practice sessions in costume. Maybe that’s why she has so many fanatics. Note:

Perfect! 196 Honda Honda Honda Honda Toyota Toyota Down

p. 202

058: Space Cheerleader 4: Yoshiko Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile:A diligent worker with high hopes that her appearance on "Go! Go! Channel 5!" will lead to a debut as an actress. She also has a bit of an attitude problem, which some fans frankly don’t care for. If you look closely, you’ll notice that her pom-poming needs some work, too. But maybe that’s part of her charm. Note, Secret Inputs: Information for a secret input in Report 4 (see 114).

059: Space Cheerleader 5: Satsuki Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile:A bright girl with excellent announcer skills. She brings smiles to all those around her, and has fans young and old. Rumor has it that she’s received offers to become a cheerleading comedienne through her agency. Note:

060: Space Cheerleader 6: Moonie Recording Location: Report 4: Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A Profile: Only appears on Thursday editions of “Go! Go! Channel 5!” She claims to be very busy, but in reality, she keeps her TV appearances to a min. due to an extreme case of stage fright. She adores squishy things, always fiddling with a water balloon in her hand behind the dressing room door. Note, Game Hints: Open OPTIONS and select KEY ASSIGNMENT, and assign CHU, HEY, and UP all to the same button. It'll make the game a bit easier!

- Perfect! 197

Up Right Left Down Toyota Toyota Toyota

p. 203

061: Space Dog 1 Recording Location: World 2, Report 2: Space Park · Fountain Square B Profile: A super robot dog called Funny who hates walks. When his Angry gauge is maxed out, he refuses to walk, spending the rest of the trip on his belly being dragged around. Prefers monkeys to dogs. Note:

062: Space Dog 2 Recording Location: World 2, Report 2: Space Park · Fountain Square B Profile: Temjin is so snarly that you’d think he came from a bad-attitude parallel universe to spread his evil rudeness across our reality. Won't budge his tail for anyone except his sweetie, Alumi. When he's dancing with her, it's wagging a mile a minute. Note:

063: Space Dog 3 Recording Location: World 2, Report 2: Space Park · Fountain Square B Profile: Before being adopted by goth girl Mihoko, Rug was a stray fighting dog. Now, Rug and her owner fight together in search of the true meaning of happiness! She was planning to take on the Rhythm Rogues but was tricked into dancing instead. Note:

- Perfect! 198

Up Right Left Down Toyota Toyota

p. 204

064: Space Dog 4 Recording Location: World 2, Report 2: Space Park · Fountain Square B Profile: Tabi, an old dog whose walking pace has slowed down in recent times. He’s terribly frightened by dog-house-shaking storms, begs to be let inside during them. On the flip side, he loves afternoon naps and generous snack-givers (so long as said snack meet his standards). Note:

065: Space Dog 5 Recording Location: World 2, Report 2: Space Park · Fountain Square B Profile: Alumi, the dangerously carefree dog. Dances with the expectation that her efforts will be rewarded with some jerky. She’s so upset about the rumor that she’s in love with Space Dog 2 that she bites the next-door neighbors. Note:

066: Couple (man) Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: Newly married and already under his wife’s thumb. But that’s just the kind of guy he is; he thinks being obsequious is cute. His dream is to have his wife increase his monthly pocket money to 48 Space Dollars. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 018 if a mistake is made during set 017.

- Perfect! 199

Up Right Left Down Toyota Toyota

p. 205

067: Couple (woman) Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: Newly married woman. For her, every weekend is a shopping spree and a chance to be on the verge of bankruptcy. She feigns guilt like clockwork, telling her hubby, "Sorry, I didn't think I'd spend so much again today." Don’t worry though, according to other women in their neighborhood, he loves it. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 019 if mistakes are made during sets 017 and 018.

068: Green Circle Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: A nice young man who looks outstanding in the ancient garment "Kimono." His parents are the headmasters of the honorable Venus School of Space Tea Ceremony. He ran away from home to escape taking over said family business. Too much pressure for his nervous heart. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 018 if a mistake is made during set 017.

069: Black Square Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: Former Space Civil Servant leading a comfortable life thanks to his hefty savings. He enjoys nothing better than a good space muffin along with some galactic tea at the Open Café. He's very soft-spoken. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 019 if mistakes are made during sets 017 and 018.

- Perfect! 200 Up Right Left Down Up Right Left Down Up Right Left Down Honda

p. 206

070: Spaceship Lounge Girl Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: The subtle care she gives customers makes her the favorite waitress on the Space Symphony. She currently devotes her nights and days to the perfection of her space manners. That said, she also holds the record for the highest amount of broken glass cups in one day at 485 glass cups (apparently she crashed into the party table). Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 021 if at least one mistake is made during sets 017 through 020.

071: Space Tour Conductor Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: A tour conductor for Super Galactic Travel Agency. Single. After she was captured by the Rhythm Rogues and met their leader, she often daydreams about falling into a romantic relationship with him. She'd like to keep her current job, even after getting married. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 022 if at least one mistake is made during sets 017 through 020, and if a mistake is made during set 021.

072: White & Yellow Woman Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: A world-class neatness freak that always carries a portable disinfectant on her person. Refuses to hold her boyfriend’s hand until it is sterilized. Frustrates her to no end that she can't disinfect his personal mess. "Oh, if only I could clean your heart too." Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 019 if a mistake is made during set 017 or 018.

Think all the hard work is over? Think again, moro!

p. 207

073: Woman in Black Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: Space Fashion Designer. Said to have icy eyes with an astute aesthetic sense and devil’s fingers with a heightened sense of touch. Performs hands-on examinations of passersby’s clothing whenever the opportunity arises. Why? Because she’s always on the hunt for new fabrics. If you spot her, watch out for those eyes and fingers! Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 022 if at least one mistake is made during sets 017 through 020, in addition to making a mistake on set 021.

074: Woman in White Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: A newlywed housewife who loves her dear hubby. Hobbies include shopping and cooking. She’s taken up a Space Yoga diet to lose the weight gained from her baked sweets addiction. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 019 if a mistake is made during set 017 or 018.

075: Woman in Yellow Recording Location: World 2, Report 1: Space Symphony · Lounge B Profile: Leader of Team Pheromone and owner of the space bar "Honey Pod." Her bar is the lead source of the galaxy’s pheromones. Her contrasting personas as leader and owner have created a mystifying beauty whispered to be the best in the galaxy. She has many fans that can be seen as her followers. Note: Only appears during the Space Symphony · Lounge B segment in World 2, Report 1 on set 022 if at least one mistake is made during sets 017 through 018, in addition to making no mistakes on set 021.

Ulala's Dance fever never stops, moro.

p. 208

076: Reporter: Mr. 88 Recording Location: Report 2: After clearing the report Profile: A robot reporter for Channel 88. He’s equipped with the latest advanced AI technology. With his steel alloy body, he can report anywhere. He may be mechanical, but he still understands intense emotions (apparently)! He even had an upgrade to his emotional regulation processor recently. Note, Secret Inputs: Information for a secret input in Report 3 (see 113).

077: Cameraman (Channel 88) Recording Location: Report 2: After clearing the report Profile: A super cameraman whose aim is to use his lens to capture the truth. He never misses his mark, no matter the environment, thanks his adaptive, agile body. Zero-gravity, hyper speed, underwater, if you can think it he can handle it. Presently lives with Space Dog Temjin. Note, Secret Inputs: Information for two secret inputs in Report 2 (see 112).

078: Reporter: Tachibana Recording Location: Report 2: After clearing the report Profile: Works for Channel 01. Full name: Tachibana Shinichiro. He's a veteran reporter with both excellent common and keen senses. Previously hosted "Space Children News," which Ulala used to watch when she was little. Note:

p. 209

First, put the Morolian Suit, then let's play! Go for it, moro!

079: Cameraman (Channel 01) Recording Location: Report 2: After clearing the report Profile: Has known Reporter Tachibana for two decades, and they're known as the most dependable team in the station. His preferred mode of transporting equipment is his large Starbike; it lets him rush onto the field faster than any other reporter. He’s an 8th degree archer. Note, Secret Inputs: Information for two secret inputs in Report 2 (see 112).

080: Space Park Staff Worker Recording Location: Report 2: Space Park · Fountain Square B Profile: The gardeners who take care of the greenery in Space Park. They're second to none in their use of the shovel and watering can. They’re often heard shouting, "It’s time to photosynthesize!" Note:

081: Pudding Bodyguards Recording Location: Report 2: After clearing the report Profile: Boys who have devoted their lives to the Channel 42 reporter, Pudding (who they’ve been fans of ever since her idol days). Treated as official employees of the station, if Pudding is reporting, then they’ll be always there to act as her back-up dancers. Unfortunately, membership has been on the down-turn (sobs). Note, Secret Inputs: Information for a secret input in Report 2 (see 112).

You can get lots of costumes from clearing stages in "Ulala's Dance", moro.

#space channel 5 #translations #Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book #space channel 5 part 2 #//Soooo sorry about the 5 month gap

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electronickingdomfox · 6 months

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"The Wounded Sky" review

Novel from 1983, by Diane Duane (I had read some TOS comics, and even played a text adventure by this same author, but this is the first novel I read). Very bizarre, very imaginative. You'd probably have to go back to "Planet of Judgment" (1977) to find a similarly unusual TOS novel. Most of the "action" unfolds inside mental landscapes (and that's not even a proper description; the situation is actually far more complex than that). At times poetic, at times metaphysical, it's a more difficult novel than the standard TOS light literature, though there are also many humorous moments.

The aliens are remarkable for how truly "alien" they are, which produces lots of absurd (from a human viewpoint) situations. There's a species who only see in infrared, and needs properly heated cards to play poker. A feline alien that doesn't have language to express the passage of time. Another species with twelve sexes, all of them male (specially the ones who bear children). And glass spiders with an altogether different understanding of physics, who spend a lifetime building a nest of memories to pass to their offspring, and then die at the time of mating. I haven't read any novels by Terry Pratchett, though I know about Discworld from the videogames, but may I say there's something "pratchean" in all this?

In many ways, this is a fascinating novel. But is it a good representative of a Trek novel? I'm not sure. I feel the scope and the depth of this story is a bit constrained by the Trek frame. The TOS series, and even the movies, had a smaller scope: interpersonal problems, specially among the big three, or political conflicts. The aliens were usually very human, and represented different human societies/worldviews. Even when more alien creatures appeared, like the gas cloud from "Obsession", the story was really about Kirk's very personal demons. So maybe this novel would have benefitted if it was set in its own, independent sci-fi world, that provided the needed freedom to explore the larger cast and variety the story strives for.

I'll try to summarize the plot, though this is over-simplifying, since "themes" are more important here than "action". Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise is tasked with testing a new revolutionary invention, that will allow ships to travel instantly as far as they want, even outside the galaxy. The artifact in question works by "inversion", sending the starship to a different dimension where time doesn't exist, and popping it up again at the desired coordinates. Since there's no time involved, there's no damage done to ship and crew. Theoretically. Well, what could possibly go wrong?

They take aboard the artifact, along with its Hamalki inventor: K't'lk (pronounced "ketelk", I think). She's the glass spider from the cover, and thus far, takes the prize for most unusual "lady of the week". K't'lk soon becomes best friends with Scotty, though the engineer struggles to understand the nutty physics of the Hamalki. For his part, Kirk has a conversation with her about the reproductive habits of her species, during which K't'lk weaves a strange crystal sculpture, and gifts it to him. She also makes a demonstration of the inversion process, without changing the ship's coordinates. But Kirk can't feel anything, except a vague dizziness.

However, soon after leaving the starbase, the Enterprise is attacked by Klingon ships which desire the inversion apparatus. Sulu manages to outmaneuver them, sending the Klingons into a nearby star, which becomes nova right then. The Enterprise escapes the explosion in the nick of time, by activating inversion and leaving the normal plane of existence. And this time, the crew has indeed strange (but blissful) experiences during inversion. For example, Kirk finds himself living as if he was the starship itself, and this had a conscience of its own.

Upon reappearing in the normal universe, they find out the explosion somehow messed up the coordinates, so they're not anywhere near the Lesser Magellanic, which it was their mission to investigate. Also, the nearby star is going nova too. Coincidence again? Activating inversion once more, this time they're placed in the correct coordinates. But with each subsequent, longer jump, the inversion experiences are becoming weirder, and individuals start merging with other crewmembers, and seeing things from their viewpoint.

Finally, things get more sinister once Kirk reappears with real wounds, that he thought were just the product of his mind. And even worse, the Lesser Magellanic, now nearby, is showing the most disturbing anomalies. Entropy has simply ceased to exist at some points. And it seems the longer jumps with the inversion apparatus have caused this, by ripping the fabric of the universe. Thus, a new universe without entropy is sipping through the tear, and threatens to destroy everything. (It's funny how the problem in "The Entropy Effect" was that they had too much entropy, while here they have too little. If they just left it alone...).

K't'lk is sure she can close the rip between both universes, but to do so, they'll need to make a final jump right at the center of the anomaly. The climax of the story happens entirely inside the mental world of inversion. Which is highly malleable by thought, given the progressive rupture of natural laws. Also, the flux in entropy is represented by ascencing and descending slopes in the landscape. However, they can't close the rip immediately, since they discover a living, god-like being (called simply "the Others"), who would be destroyed in the process. Before that, Spock must join in a group mind-meld with other crewmembers, to give the Others self-awareness, and explain the situation. K't'lk must also stay behind with the god, to weave new natural laws for Them to live in. And she puts forth this universe by singing (echoes from Tolkien's "Silmarillion"? might be, since a forest called "Lorien" appears at one point).

Once everything's fixed, and the Enterprise is back in Federation space via smaller jumps (that won't mess up the universe too much), Starfleet decides that the inversion apparatus is way too dangerous in its present state, and must not be used. Meanwhile, everyone misses K't'lk. But when Kirk accidentally breaks the crystal sculpture that she gave to him, he discovers it was actually an egg. A new, small K't'lk emerges from it, and quickly runs to greet Scotty.

Spirk Meter (or rather McSpirk): 5/10*. During inversion, Kirk gets to see Spock and McCoy's true, deepest natures, and he's in awe with what he finds. First, he's blinded by McCoy's compassion, and the doctor's touch on his arm both reassures and bewilders him. Then Kirk is humbled by Spock's desire of knowledge and his superior mind. The three of them are relieved to find such good qualities in the others' souls. However, the scene is quite abstract, and seems to be dealing more with the characters as ideas, rather than as specific persons. So I don't find it all that slashy really.

As for Spones as such, there's the moment when Kirk finds them walking together, while inside the anomaly, and Spock looks at McCoy with "nearly unalloyed affection". Kirk also considers that McCoy is more geared towards receiving, in contrast to Spock's inclination for giving... How convenient for them!

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #spones #mcspirk

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marymary-diva17 · 1 year

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Not so serious troopers

Star Wars master list

When it came to dating two clone troopers, there were some stuff that came to having a relationship with clones. Even when it came to how they were ranked in the army, as some of them could be laid back and others were very serious. You had won the hearts of two serious clones in the military, they are Cody and Rex. A relationship that had started off as friendship and natural respect, had soon lead to a whole romantic relationship. When it came to dating them both there were more times when they were serious around you, on working base and romantic base as well. It had soon came to times were you had even seen them relax when they were with you.

Y/n " come in" you were doing some senate work when your office door had beeped, you soon saw 3cpo entered your office.

3cpo " mistress y/n captain rex and commander Cody are here"

y/n " oh please let them in 3cpo"

3cpo " yes mistress the lady said you two can come in" soon rex and Cody had entered your office.

y/n " you are free to go 3cpo and please bring some refreshments for our guest" 3cpo had nod his head and soon walked off, he knew of the relationship between you and the two troopers. It was the same for your brother and some of the closest people to you as well.

rex " hello lady y/n"

y/n " you know it just us three in there you don't have to call me lady y/n or ma'am"

cody " sure" soon Cody and rex had removed their helmets and soon looked at down as they place their helmets and place them down on the coffee table.

y/n " so what do I owe this wonderful visit from my handsome troopers" you soon moved closer to the two as they looked at you, as you gave them each a kiss on their lips.

rex " well we got home last night and came to see you after being gone for so long, after we were given shore leave"

y/n " well I'm happy you two came to see me I really missed you both when you two were gone and my brother along with ashoka and obi-wan"

cody " well you have nothing to worry about as we are both here safe and sound"

y/n " so tell me how was the mission this time" you sat with the two on the couch as 3po had come back with some drinks and some snacks as well.

rex " it was good but took alot of man power to overcome the separatist"

y/n " well I'm happy to have you both home I was worried that many lives were going to be lost on both sides, due the conflict on the planet"

cody " yes there was the worry of lives being lost but thanks to generals and commander we came out good, but there were many who were injured on this conflict soldiers and civilians"

y/n " yes the senate had pass some deals that will help with medical treatment and supplies for the troopers and civilians"

rex " we heard you and padme are to thanked for that along with your friends"

y/n " we all did out work to help make this deal happen as we need to be there for our people and troopers" rex and cody smile toward you as you soon lean back in your seat, rest you head on rex shoulder while holding cody hand in your free hand.

cody " we loving coming to see you"

y/n " why may I ask"

cody " because being with you allow us to find some peace of mind, and allows us to somewhat relax you will listen to our problems and give us love and support"

rex " we always know whatever happens we can come to you, and you will be here for us no doubt in the galaxy we know that is true" you soon smiled at the two troopers as you look at them rex soon kissed you on the lips, and cody kissed you on the forehead.

cody " look we know we are serious doing most of our relationship, but when we are with you we don't feel like we always have to be very serious and can be ourselves"

y/n " aww I love you two and I don't care if you are very serious that what makes something so special about you tow, and I love that truly"

cody " yes beautiful" soon the doors of your office side open very fast, and you soon moved away a bit away from rex and cody. You soon looked up and saw it was your brother, padme, and Ashoka standing there with 3po as well.

y/n " hello everyone"

anakin " hello little sister I came to see you but now I know how, captain rex is speeding his free time"

ashoka " so you are rex and cody special someone"

cody " yes"

rex " well yes kid I'm dating y/n and we have been dating for a while"

Ashoka " don't worry I won't be telling anyone I'm happy for you three"

rex " thank you kid"

padme " well we came to see if you will like to join us for dinner, but knowing rex and cody are with you will they love to join us as well" you soon looked at rex and cody hoping to hear an answer from them.

rex " sure we will love too"

padme " good and don't worry the dinner will be host at my home so there no need to worry"

cody " thank you ma'am" the dinner was wonderful and fun watching cody and rex crack some jokes and tell some stories, with everyone it made you happy to see they were having a good time. The two troopers had spent the night at your place, the tiro was enjoying each other company before they will be separated again for a short or longer time due to the wars and everything else. So everyone cherish these moment knowing it will be longer until you are all back together again.

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shonenkun309 · 5 months

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A/N: Happy (belated) birthday to the most beautiful, compassionate, and most handsome oni ogre in the world- no...in the entire galaxy, the other surprise will be in the next post💖

Words count: (3270) now THIS is a lotta words 🫣💖

Tags: @the-bird-and-the-flute @kogasimp1 @colourless-hydrangeas @randomf2p @blackmond11 @girlinthetardis04 @lost-khione

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~~𝐴 𝐷𝑎𝑦 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑁𝑜 𝑂𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟~~

On May 7th, as the birthday of the beloved intrepid entrepreneur approaches, you start feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation. The day has grown even more meaningful to you, as you eagerly anticipate celebrating the birthday of someone who holds a special place in your heart.

You recalled the memory of celebrating your lover's birthday for the very first time with a small smile on your face. Since then, it has become a yearly milestone to look forward to, symbolizing your love and affection for him. As you run your hand over the red kimono that your father gave you, you couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the realization that it was actually Koga who had bought the kimono and given it to your father to give it to you. The thought of his foresight and thoughtfulness left you in awe, "I had my sources..." He says.

As the memory of your past self's naivety surfaced, you couldn't help but roll your eyes at your ignorance. Still, your affection for Koga remained unshaken, as his ability to avoid answering your questions while maintaining your love and admiration for him left you in awe. The thought of his personality and charm had you giggling.

Determining that it was time to set your plan in motion, you stepped away from the mirror, and with a deep breath, you marched forth, adorned in the majestic crimson kimono that you had chosen for the special occasion. Your gaze met your reflection as you walked past the mirror, and you allowed yourself a moment of pride at the stunning sight that you had become.

As he engaged the shopkeeper in casual conversation, it became clear that the offer of a bottle of sake at the end of the day had not fallen on deaf ears. Koga was not one to refuse such a generous gift, especially on the occasion of his birthday. As such, you knew that he would accept the offering with thanks and appreciation, likely storing it away for a later celebration.

Your voice, soft and sweet, called out to Koga, making his heart skip a beat with anticipation. As he turned to greet you, your stunning form came into view, causing his heart to skip yet again, this time with surprise. The warm and affectionate smile that he typically reserved for you vanished, and in its place, shock etched into his features as he struggled to comprehend the breathtaking sight before him.

The warmth of your voice, soft and sweet, rang out, drawing Koga's attention. As his gaze fell upon your elegant form, his heart skipped a beat, and he was struck by the realization that he was falling in love all over again.

But even as he lingered on the brink of that feeling, he received a nudge and a smirk from the shop owner, who jokingly urged him not to keep his lady friend waiting, lest she captivate the hearts of other men in the vicinity. Koga knew that the shop owner was joking, of course, but deep down, the idea of something like that ever happening was unacceptable. He would never allow anything to come between him and the person he held dearest.

You approached each other with cautious steps, the tension and anticipation tangible in the air. It seemed as though time had frozen around you, with everything else a blur in comparison to the moment. Your eyes met, and Koga's lips formed a teasing smile as he examined the crimson kimono that adorned your form. "This looks awfully familiar, don't you think?" he mused, and you couldn't help but blush at the compliment. Rubbing the back of your head, you managed to stammer out a response. "Well, I thought it would be appropriate since it's such a special day, after all." Koga chuckled, petting your hair in that usual, loving way of his. "You made a good choice."

As you stepped closer towards him, your hand firmly gripping his arm, Koga's eyes widened at your boldness. It was not often that you took such a direct approach, and especially not in public. And yet, there you were, standing before him, your body pressed against his own. Unable to find the words to express his surprise, Koga merely raised an eyebrow, his gaze searching yours. "Huh?" he finally managed, a slight chuckle escaping his lips as he realized the true intention behind your actions. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, offering you a reassuring squeeze. "L- let's go, shall we?" you said, your nervous energy palpable in your voice. "Lead the way," Koga replied, his tone warm, inviting. And so, you began to walk together, your hand firmly clasped in his as you navigated the bustling streets.

You could barely contain your excitement as you sat across from Koga at his favorite hot pot restaurant. "Did you really reserve this table yourself?" he asked in disbelief, his chin resting in his palm and his elbow propped up on the table. "Luckily, I managed to find one available for today," you said, looking up to meet Koga's eyes. His gaze was fixed on you, a teasing glint in his eye that sent a flutter of nervousness through your chest. "What a coincidence, eh?" he said, the slight change in his tone making you blush. As if on cue, the sound of the waitress's voice cut through the tension like a knife. "There you are!" she said, placing the food on the table. You took a deep breath and released the tension that had been building, grateful for the moment of reprieve.

"Let's dig in before it gets cold," you said, trying to keep the nervousness out of your voice as you looked up at Kouga, who was already eating with gusto. With a smile on his face, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and began to eat, clearly enjoying the flavors of his favorite food. You struggled to keep up, feeling self-conscious as you reached for the chopsticks, your hand shaking slightly as you grasped them. Finally, after taking a deep breath, you picked a piece of meat from your plate, your nerves still on edge.

As Koga savored the flavors of his meal, he noticed something unexpected at the corner of his eye. There you were, offering him a piece of meat on your chopsticks. His eyes widened in surprise as he watched you extend your hand toward him, the piece of meat between your fingers. He didn't say anything at first, still in shock, but as he looked at you, he realized what you were trying to do. Koga looked up at you, taking in the expression on your face and the shy glint in your eye. It was clear that you were trying to do something special for him, to express your affection in a way that was completely unique and unexpected.

He had never been fed a piece of food so intimately before, but he trusted you completely, and he knew that you meant well. With a slight smile on his face, he leaned in, his lips touching the meat in your fingers as he took a bite. As you watched him savor the taste, you couldn't help but feel a surge of happiness. You had shared something so intimate with him, something no one else had ever experienced. And you could see the joy on his face, his gratitude palpable just by the way he looked at you.

"How was it?" you asked, trying to keep your voice steady despite the rush of emotions coursing through you. To your surprise, he answered you with equal boldness, his voice clear and confident."It's always delicious, but it's even more delicious now that you're feeding it to me," he said, his voice low and intimate, sending a frisson of excitement through you. You blushed as he spoke, the realization that you had just fed him from your hand hitting you like a slap across the face. You had hoped to keep up with his boldness, but clearly, you failed.

As you and Koga walked into the shop, the owner, a gregarious and friendly figure, looked up at the sight of you and greeted you with a smile. "Well, well, if it isn't the infamous Kitamikado couple," he said, his tone teasing.

You felt a shiver run down your spine at the nickname, wondering if it was too early to be called that. But before you could dwell on it for too long, Koga had placed his arm around your shoulder, making you blush all over again. "Oh come on, you're making my sweetheart blush now," he said with a chuckle, and you felt a warmth spread through you at his words. You took a deep breath and hugged him closer, returning the gesture with an equally bold smile.

"We haven't become the Kitamikado couple...yet," you repeated, with a mischievous twinkle in your eye. Koga froze for a moment, his hand still covering his mouth, as if trying to hold back a smile. 'It's working!' you thought to yourself, feeling triumphant. Today was the day you would make your move, and it seemed to be going exactly as planned!

You decided to treat Koga to something special, and offered to buy whatever he wanted while shopping. At first, he hesitated, likely accustomed to being the one who treated you and making the decisions. As you gave him the freedom to choose, he felt a strange yet unfamiliar sensation stirring within him. This was a new experience for him, and he couldn't quite put his finger on what he was feeling. In a way, he felt grateful to you for offering to treat him, but at the same time, he was uncertain whether this was the right thing to do. Despite his reservations, he eventually decided to go ahead with the treat and took his time browsing the store, trying to find something that caught his eye. You admired his patience and were eager to see what he would pick out for himself.

Koga walked around the store, carefully examining each item on display before finally settling on a woolen doll the size of the palm of his hand. The moment he saw it, his heart skipped a beat. There was something about it that called out to him, and he knew immediately that this was the perfect item. You looked over at him and followed his gaze, your eyes landing on the same doll. "It's cute," you said, your voice carrying a hint of a smile. Koga looked at you, then back at the doll, and for a moment, you both said in unison, "Just like you." The two of you broke out into laughter, not realizing just how much of an effect this simple gesture would have on the shop owner.

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As the two of you walked out of the store, the sun was beginning to set, and the sky turned a beautiful shade of orange. Koga was still admiring the tiny wool doll in his hand, a sweet and affectionate smile on his face. You couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he hadn't chosen something bigger, but you tried to hide it. "Sorry to disappoint you, love. But I settled on this one, 'cause I know it's adjustable," he said, and you were a little surprised. "Adjustable? What do you mean?" you asked, and he responded, "I'm not a professional at knitting wool at all. Maybe I might ask Aoi to teach me how to do that, hahaha." That was when it hit you. An idea formed in your mind, and suddenly, you understood what Koga was trying to convey to you. "Do you intend to..." you didn't complete, feeling a flutter in your heart. His smile widened, and he nodded, "I want to knit it to look like you. I want to create a perfect resemblance of you, love," he said, and you couldn't help but feel touched by his words. The thought of having a miniature version of yourself, made with love and care by the person you cared about the most, filled you with excitement and joy.

You arrived at Koga's home after a long day, still holding him by the arm. He gave you a playful smile and said, "Hey, we're finally home." You looked around the house curiously, taking in all the sights and sounds. Then, you turned to him and asked, "Do you not like me holding your arm? Even here at home?" His expression turned shocked, and he stuttered, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant! I just... I-I..." He tried to come up with an excuse but failed, leading to a small laughter escaping from your lips.

You whispered under your breath, "No matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to keep up with you..." Your voice was gentle but your smile was warm, and Koga couldn't help but feel moved by the sentiment. "What was that?" he asked, but you only laughed and hugged his arm tighter. "No, nothing," you said with a chuckle, "Let's go. Our last stop awaits us." You took his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin against yours, and the two of you started walking together towards your final destination.

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As you looked around Koga's house, you couldn't help but wonder where Kuya was. "Where's Kuya?" you asked, and Koga shrugged. "He said he'd be with the old timer, you know how much he loves that guy's rice omelets. But he should have been back by now... Maybe he's taking a 'nap'?" The gears in your mind started turning, and a realization hit you like a bolt of lightning. Kuya should have been back by now, but he wasn't. That could only mean one thing - he wanted to give you and Koga more time together. You couldn't help but feel touched and grateful for Kuya's kindness. His generosity was an act of love, and you knew that it was his way of showing his care and affection for both you and Koga.

you couldn't help but let out a slight smile. You didn't seem to realize that Koga was observant enough to notice your subtle expressions, and he couldn't resist teasing you about it. He gently raised your chin, looking deep into your eyes, and said, "Glad we're alone now, huh?" Your heart raced at the intimate moment, but before you could respond, he started giggling mischievously. "I'll get us some cups!," you said, heading towards the kitchen, hoping to escape his taunts, but you could still hear him laughing from behind you. Your face turned bright pink as you realized just how easy it was for him to read you, and you couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Koga was definitely someone you would have to be careful around, but you couldn't help feeling a little captivated by his charm and wit.

As you placed the cup of sake in front of him, you couldn't help but admire his every move, your eyes glued to him. The way he held the cup, the way he looked at it, the smile on his face - everything about him made your heart flutter with affection.

But as you continued to stare at him, you suddenly realized you had been zoning out, lost in the moment. Koga noticed, and with a playful smirk on his face, he asked, "What are you looking at?" You felt a rush of boldness as you responded, "I was just staring at you... Do you mind?" Koga's gentle smile widened, and he replied, "No, not at all. You can stare at me as much as you want." With those words, you let out a deep sigh of content, your mind finally able to rest easy after a busy day. It was moments like these that you cherished, moments of quiet closeness with the man you loved.

"So, aren't you going to tell me what this was all about?" You raised a confused eyebrow and replied, "What are you talking about?" Koga gave you a sideways glance as if he knew exactly what you were thinking, making you feel a flush of embarrassment. You grabbed an empty sake cup, pouring a little sake into it and taking a sip, trying to avoid his gaze. He let out a light giggle and said, "And the fact that you're wearing that red kimono today of all days. It's been a long time since I gave it to you, don't you think?" You looked at him quickly and replied, "So you admit that you were the one who gave it to me through my father?" He nodded and added, "You should have known that from day one, right?" With a sly smile, he continued, "But really? You still look beautiful in it, no matter how many times you wear it, whether it's the first time or the tenth time."

As the day wore on, your nerves were on edge, and you drained your cup of sake, hoping to quell your growing anxiety. You felt Koga's hand gently grasp yours and lead it to the veranda floor as he asked, "Are you challenging me to a drinking contest?" You felt a wave of embarrassment wash over you as you replied, "N-no, of course not." Koga's handsome crimson eyes were fixed on yours, filled with curiosity and a hint of playfulness. You found yourself struggling to break away from his charm. "All of these actions today...are they part of your promise that you will pamper me a lot on my birthday?"

With a deep breath, you finally confessed, "Let me do one last bold thing if you want..." Without waiting for his response, you closed the distance between your lips and his, your eyes squeezed shut as your lips gently pressed together. When you finally broke apart, you took a deep breath and whispered, "Happy birthday, Koga-san..." As you opened your eyes, you witnessed a mixed array of emotions on Koga's features - he turned his head, clearly trying to hide his embarrassment and the blush that had spread across his cheeks. He was speechless, and you could sense his disbelief as he tried to process what had just happened.

Overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment, you couldn't help but let out a triumphant cry. "I did it!" you exclaimed, feeling your cheeks flush from the excitement. For a moment, you were taken aback by your own childish behavior, realizing that it was the first time you had ever acted so impulsively. "So, this was your plan from the beginning?" Koga said, his voice laced with a hint of playfulness but also a subtle note of surprise. "You want to get the upper hand?" Laughing softly, you replied, "Well, sometimes I'm just curious to see more of your facial expressions. Don't you think it would be interesting to discover something new about the both of us every day?" Koga shook his head, clearly entertained by your antics, and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a tight embrace. "You're a cunning girl," he said, his voice low and husky with affection. "Every day you make me fall in love with you, just like the first time." Feeling a rush of happiness, you hugged him back and replied, "I'll make sure you fall in love with me every day then, happy birthday..." The words were barely out of your mouth before you were pulled back into a deep kiss, the sound of Koga's laughter echoing in your ears as you both lost yourselves in the moment.

𝟎𝟕.𝟎𝟓.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

#Happy birthday love😭❤️‍🔥#ayakashi romance reborn #ayakashi koi meguri #ayakashi koga #ayakoi #koga kitamikado #ayakashi fanfic #ayakashi romance reborn fanfic #ayakashi rr #kitamikado koga #May 7th

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