#why did they add him to voyager

[fullmetal-angelgrace]

THE DOCTOR DIDNT EVEN GET TO SAY GOODBYE TO KES :(((((( WTF WRITERS

she sent them 10 years closer to home though!! that was so sweet, I'm sure the writers were rushed to write a last episode for kes, but come on, she spent most of her screen time with the doctor and neelix, she got a goodbye scene with neelix (sorta) but nothing with the doctor :(((( it was really just one goodbye scene with janeway (who honestly didn't spend a lot of screen time with her, I loved the scene but it was all so sudden in the last few minutes of the episode, she didn't get any real formal goodbyes. blah)

and we got a scene after she left, with tuvok doing a ritual for her, but again, nothing with the doctor.

[bimb0fy]

test your worth; part two of perfect girlfriend

parings; monkey d luffy x reader, sanji & reader (platonic)

warnings; violence, blood, swords, kinda suggestive in the beginning.

summary; the crew, even after meeting you, had still refused to believe luffy's claims, that you were a fanastic cook and sword fighter, yet they had to be proven wrong now, don't they?

Requested by: @royaltysuite @avitute @ashers-bakery

ᵐᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡⁱˢᵗ!! | ⁿᵃᵛⁱᵍᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ!!

— You woke up to Luffy, snuggling you close after the exciting night you had, you stirred to the side, picking up Luffy's shirt that was lazily discarded onto the germ infested floors, grabbing your shorts from the other side as you took your bandana. You tied your hair before walking out to the kitchen.

It was a habit of yours to cook breakfast every morning, a routine you were not to break so easily. It kept you alert and in the repetition of the mornings, it gave you comfort. Waking up everyday to do the thing you enjoyed. You hummed to the song playing on the radio as you walked into the kitchen to find a black-eyed Sanji. You giggled causing him to turn around.

"Why hello there, I must say, its nice having company this early in the morning." Sanji smiled as he prepped the ingredients, flour, eggs, sugar, butter. He's making pancakes.

"Pancakes huh?" You smiled at the boy who laughed. You walked towards the island, grabbing a bowl as you cracked the eggs into them, beating them as you added the other ingredients.

"A cooker huh, guess Luffy was right." Sanji nodded as he stared at your methods, it wasn't at a beginners level, in fact, rather professional, he smiled as he found a new partner in crime, someone to assist in his duties. It was comforting knowing he didn't have to wake up everyday at 5 AM alone to cook for his crew.

"Yeah, I used to help cook for my dad's crew." You answered as he smiled, dealing with the dry ingredients. The two of you spent the next two hours, sharing stories and laughs as you occasionally threw flour at him as you baked the goods. As he looked away, you added your secret, ingredients to the batch. Cocoa powder and maple syrup, it always took the pancakes to another level. You turned to the clock, it was 8 AM. "Oh shit, I gotta go get my stuff!"

"I'll save some for you!" Sanji yelled as you smiled at him as you walked down the ramp in Luffy's shirt. You could see some of the dirty looks a few new villagers gave you. A devil fruit eater, what a waste. That's what they all thought, but Luffy was different and you knew it.

You walked into your house, walking into your bedroom as you collected your belongings in two travel bags. One for your outfits and another for your special belongings and gifts from Luffy you hold onto. You grabbed a photo of you and Luffy as children with your father in the back. I miss you dad. For a while, you regretted not joining him on his last voyage, but also felt some sort of relief. It was always dangerous, you were 8 and knew how to wield a sword like the great Mihawk.

It wasn't the life you'd expect as a child, it never was with your father, you smiled at the picture, placing it carefully into the bag before closing it. It was time, you were going back to your old life.

Just this time with new people.

— Luffy yawned as he turned around to find the other side of the bed cold. She must have gone to get her stuff. He sighed as he walked to find the shirt he had worn yesterday, only to find it gone. He smiled before walking to his drawer, he always let an empty drawer in hopes of this day, he grabbed his flower shirt as he walked to the kitchen where both Nami and Ussop stood. Zoro soon emerged after Luffy staring at the pancakes that were made.

"I had a little help from a new friend." Sanji smiled as Luffy smile grew wider, he quickly sat down, taking a few from to his plate as he took a bite, the familiarity exploring his mouth. Her secret recipe.

"Whoa, what did you add?" Nami asked the boy who seemed confused. "I guess she added it didn't she."

"It's Y/N's secret recipe, I recognise the taste." Luffy nodded as Nami and Ussop looked at eachother. "I told you, she was a better cook than Sanji."

"I actually believe that now." Sanji smiled as you walked in, your bags left on the floor as Luffy stood up, he placed a kiss on youe cheek before smiling at you. He carried your bag as you sat down, taking one of your pancakes.

"I'm sorry I changed your recipe." You apologized to the boy who shook his head, he smiled at you as he took another bite, the flavourful pancake made him explode, he was sl curious. "I could teach it to you."

"That'll ruin the surprise." Sanji winked as you as you rolled your eyes, Luffy joined you as he sat down beside you, a smile evading his face as he kissed your cheek, placing his arm around you as he fed you your meal.

"I'm gonna go practice." Zoro announced as he stood up, grabbing his swords as he walked out, only to be stopped by Luffy.

"Well, Y/n could help you out!" Luffy smiled as you shrugged. He looked you up and down before nodding. You stood up, grabbing your sword as you walked with him towards the deck.

You noticed the crew watching the two of you to see if Luffys tales were a reality. You sighed as you got into position, closing your eyes. You often found yourself using sound to your advantage. You heard Zoros scoff as he yielded his sword, waiting for you to attack.

You ducked down, going behind him before kicking him, successfully taking him aback as you attacked, he raised his sword, it colliding with yours before you back flipped and slid across, kicking his legs down as you continue to collid swords.

He stood up, sliding to the other side as he tried to attack you with the back of his sword, only for you to touch the blade with your hand before kicking him in the stomach. Luffy quickly jumped down, examining the small cut on your hand.

"Shit, you okay?" Zoro asked you as you nodded.

"I held the blade, it's my fault anyways, you're not to bad tho." You smiled at the boy who nodded. Winking at you as in a 'your not bad yourself' manner before walking off to get the medkit as Luffy held onto the small cut.

"That was stupid." Luffy scolded you as you rolled your eyes, bandaging the wound before walking to the figure head with Luffy, placing your head on his as you stared at the ocean. "I'm happy you're here."

"I'm happy I'm here too."

[zoe-oneesama]

I know it's not really the right chapter for me to be asking this but:

I get you keeping a third of the secondary heroes since their powers really click with the personalities, but what made you decide to keep Max as the horse and change everybody else? I feel like out of the ones you kept he's the one that fits the least-

To start, I assigned Max the Horse Miraculous back before I was planning on having all the Miraculouses in the field. At that point, the only "extras" beyond the main 5 I was going to have were Luka/Viperion, Kagami/Ryuko, and Max/Pegasus.

This three way kwami swap wouldn't really work, because the Snake was pivotal in defeating Desperada, which as an akuma after Jagged Stone and guitarists, it made the most sense for the center character to be Luka. While other Miraculouses could've finished off Ikari Gozen, I knew it had to be Kagami's debut episode, and I knew Max would be the hero in "Robostus" to deal with Markov. While Kagami probably could've used the horse (since Marigold had Venom to stop Ikari Gozen), I had a set way for Max to deal with Markov as Pegasus, so everything just slid into the three keeping their Miraculouses.

Maybe I could've thought a little longer to make it work, but at the time, the idea of Kagami and Max having a kwami swap never even crossed my mind, and if it did, I probably would've dismissed it because then it would've left Luka as the only one not to swap (besides Adrien). Personally, I would've felt off balanced. I especially didn't even consider swapping out the Snake, Dragon, or Horse for one of the zodiacs that, at the time, I had no intention of using. Idk why but it's like a wall was there preventing me from even thinking in that direction.

By the time I decided to add the rest of the zodiac, I had JUST FINISHED "ROBOSTUS". So kinda too little too late lol.

I'm not sure what Miraculous I'd give him if I had absolute free range. Maybe the snake, ignoring how essential it was in "Desperada". "StarTrain" did try to imply that the user of the Horse Miraculous needed a good grasp on geography, which is "why" it's suited for someone smart like Max:

But then it also implied that Max messed it up lol.

I think they kinda dropped that idea once other people started using it (like, how would Monarch even know the exact longitude and latitude of his akuma victims to use Voyage to teleport his akumas?).

I do kinda want to draw the Kept Their Canon Miraculous Club kids in each other's Miraculouses though. That is a six way kwami swap (seven if I add in poor Alix).

[captainhattersvoyagerstuff]

Why I Still Love J/C

Okay, I just really have to get this off my chest. There are people who don't like Chakotay, or won't ship him with Janeway because of the actor or the bad way Native American representation is shown. Now if you just plain don't want to mess with the character, don't like him, whatever, fine. But please don't let something an actor said or did keep you from loving a character or a work he was in. And don't ignore bad representation - try to improve on it.

I love J/C because I look at what is on screen. Their chemistry and caring relationship is incredible and inspiring to me. Everyone is welcome to their own ships, but that's the only one I have because it just seems so obvious to me. But I keep hearing people gripe about Beltran, or the representation. You can fix that, or read work that is fixed. It's called fanfic. If you're into the fandom at all you can see that fanfic Chakotay is not just like Chakotay on screen and definitely nothing like the actor.

The actor who played Icheb did some very bad stuff, but I hardly hear anyone say they won't use Icheb in a story because of this. So why Beltran? Why can't we just ignore these people instead of calling attention to them over and over? I'm not saying justify what they did, but remember they are real people with their own faults. They played a role, and even the most enthusiastic Star Trek actors are not as in love with the show as its fans are. It's hard to understand it, but it's true. I've watched podcasts with Tom and Harry's actors. They had forgotten many episodes, and didn't even know people didn't like Threshold. Why? Because this was a job for them. Maybe they enjoyed it, but it was still a job.

As far as representation goes, yeah they did an unbelievably horrible job, it's there from the beginning when Paris says racist stuff about "Indians". So I try to research, find stuff that is more accurate hopefully, or at least more respectful. It's a challenge, but worth it because there isn't enough good literature about Native Americans. And as far as Chakotay's character goes, there was, like so much of Voyager, wasted potential. So I try to add in that potential. Many fanfic writers do this wonderfully. I can recommend so many. His background in the Maquis, his faith, etc. We have that power.

TL;DR: If there is a ship you love, or a character, I really hope you don't let actors or bad writing turn you away.

[nova--spark]

Okay so I remember you saying you wanted to add Elita to the Timeskip AU. Not sure how you plan on adding her in but if I may make a suggestion.

Maybe Optimus only thought Elita was dead. Maybe she managed to survive and found a way off the planet.

Maybe she manages to crash land on earth. The Jasper Trio finds her (Sometime after they managed to re-establish contact with the Autobots) and Elita immediately endears herself to them.

I imagine the call to Cybertron went a little something like this.

Optimus: Jack, Miko, Raf why have you called the emergency line? Is everything alright?

Jack: First the most part, but I think we found one of your friends. Raf patched her up as best he could but you and Ratchet should probably get over here as soon as possible

Miko: HEY OP! WE MET YOUR WIFE AND SHE’S AMAZING!

Optimus *Probably Bluescreening*: My… What.

Meanwhile Elita is panicking trying to figure out how she’s going to explain all of this to Optimus (or for Bonus points maybe Elita also thought Optimus was dead)

First off:

Second:

Ok my ugly mess sobbing out of the way, ABSOLUTELY Y E S . Going off of how Elita-One's G1 portrayal was, and a bit of my own ideas here and there.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

WARNING, MUN'S OPLITA BUTTON WAS SMASHED WITH FEROCITY

Credit: JPL-Animation on DeviantArt

TFP!Timeskip Elita was one of Optimus' closest commanders, and was indeed romantically involved with him. She was there for many things, was one to dote on Bee behind her beloved's back, sass back Ratchet when he got too wound up, and be a source for comfort when Optimus needed just a moment of escape from the war. But not even good things last forever When securing the escape off Cybertron, she and Optimus were separated, and though both made it off world, it was not on the same vessels.

Both thought that would be the last time they would ever see each other.

Elita managed to secure a solo ride, but it came at a cost as she unfortunately became an easy target. In a ship with little to no defensive or combative measures, she put herself into a cryo stasis pod, in the hopes that her damaged ship would be found and rescued.

Entering the coordinates for Earth, which had been one of the last things Optimus had given her in case they did not make it together, Elita entered cryo stasis.

Sadly for her, the course was not a steady one, and being the only passenger but in stasis meant her voyage to Earth took longer than desired.

Arriving to Earth a few months after the end of RiD15, Elita was stirred from her cryo stasis due to the further damage sustained in her ship, and came online for the first time in many many years.

She wandered Earth solo for a while, regaining her bearings, and for a time didn'd leave her ship as she tried to contact Optimus, or find any nearby Autobot frequencies to tune into.

Luck would have it, she found that of Jasper's Hangar E.

Finding a vehicle mode after a few weeks, Elita set off but with low Energon levels, she didn't make it that far out before having to hide out in a discarded Energon mine, from 3 years ago.

Thankfully, she didn't need to go further to find help.

Having picked up the signals of an Autobot on Earth, one that did not fit any profile from any prior visitors, Raf and Jack set out with Miko in the armor, and a truck driven by Fowler, a smart move when they realized just what they had found.

After a brief scare and minor altercation, wherein the children made it known they knew Optimus, Elita seemed immensely relieved to know she'd made it, and help was here.

Loaded up onto the truck in her vehicle form, they hauled her back to the base, where Raf got to work putting into practice everything Ratchet had ever taught him. How proud his mentor would have been if he'd seen how well he repaired Elita.

It took just a day for Elita to bond to these young ones, making her proud of how Optimus had trained them, especially as they handled everything on their own, despite their size.

Jack was the one to contact Cybertron, while Elita rested and worked on her recovery, as well as got up to speed with Miko and Raf's help about the end of the war, and Cybertron being restored.

The above conversation happened, and they were all quite surprised to see how fast the space bridge booted up, and through it came Optimus, who was followed by Ratchet and Bee, all almost falling over each other.

When Elita finally saw Optimus for the first time in centuries, she couldn't help the silent tears flowing as she tried to limp over, but he did not let her get far before rushing over and holding her in his arms protectively, yet gently, as if this was yet another vision from the Primes that would be ripped from him in an instant if he closed his eyes.

Ratchet took over the medical aspects, while Optimus and Elita finally spoke, after thinking that for centuries, one another had been gone, one with the AllSpark and never to be seen again.

Well, Optimus had been, and Elita gave him an earful about it, but...that could wait, as she had a lot of catching up to do, and many a story to hear now that she was back online.

Bee and the kids all shared stories with each other while they waited for their turn with the rose colored war maiden, which would be quite a while, but...

It was good to be back.

Good to be with friends, loved ones, and some new sparklings, both of metal and flesh, to care for, with the war gone.

...

Though now they certainly had explaining to do , especially after Miko called her Optimus' wife.

[mylittleredgirl]

Least favorite Star Trek character in each series?

i love all my children equally how could you do this to me!!!!

slightly more rational answer: i have been thinking about this since yesterday when i got the ask and it's like every time i think i have an answer i immediately go "oh but i love them for XYZ" and they move up in the ranks. ultimately most treks are ensemble shows and removing anybody from the ensemble makes it all fall apart!

gun to my head, though, bearing in mind that i love all of them:

tos: gun to my head it's chapel i'm afraid and i feel bad about it. she doesn't really get to grow much and the other most-static character is probably chekov and i had a massive crush on him. in 1967 when they went "you know this show should add a mop top for the teenyboppers out there" they were talking specifically about me 30 years later.

tng: i would take the bullet for real.

ds9: man i'm going through main characters and then secondary characters and then tertiary characters and how are they all so essential and good????? literally i have gone thru a list of characters and a list of episodes and am coming up blank. even the villains are fantastic. eddington is annoying but he's supposed to be and his episodes are all great. sloan himself is fun it's just what section 31 did to star trek in general that sucks. like????? there's not a single name that shows up in the credits that doesn't make me go YEAHHHHHH.

voy: if we can count recurring characters i'm saying barclay. i liked him a lot as a character in tng and but go "for fuck's sake" whenever i see "guest star dwight schultz" on the voyager credits. i dislike pretty much every earth-contact episode after "message in a bottle" so maybe i don't like voyager-barclay because he just happens to be there?? for main cast it'd be neelix shut up shut up i love him in the ensemble but sometimes when they give him his own episode it's too much.

ent: sorry malcolm lovers this was the only show that was an easy choice. like we SHOULD dig into the fact that essentially his greatest wish is to sacrifice himself and he won't be happy until he dies on the job. klingon behavior but not at all for the fun and glory of it just because he kind of just doesn't enjoy being alive???? archer is terrible in so many ways but he's also much more enjoyable to watch being terrible.

disco: this is actually a very weird show to even know who to choose from. the cast changes every year! we barely even know the bridge crew! who is interesting enough to count as a main character?? of the main title cast i'm kind of hot and cold with adira. i like them but the sheer amount of anxiety radiating off them at all times makes me tense up whenever they come on screen. (i just realized it's kind of ironic to say adira because they're basically a mix of wesley and ezri, who would probably make this list for most other trekkies but are two of my absolute faves.) (i will think long and hard about this)

snw: i don't know that i have enough of a read on any of them? i still haven't finished it. chapel (again?? oh no) is the one i had the hardest time warming up to early on because she seemed the most wink-y and out of place in a franchise that usually takes silly things very seriously, but i did warm up to her!

lower decks: if we can go with guest characters i hate badgey (only one on here that gathers the "hate" rating!!). i don't find him (it??) funny and i know i SHOULD find it funny which means whenever it shows up i am both not having a good time and feel bad about not having a good time. the main characters are all brilliant. gun to my head it's boims but it's a close one i love them all.

i don't even know what other shows we have i've run out of steam???

oh right picard. captain shaw??? why is such a large subset of fandom so horny for him??? and shipping him with seven of nine of all things???? is it just White Guy With Trauma because there are like. a lot of other white guys with trauma in this franchise to choose from.

[letsdeerintheheadlightsuniverse]

<<Previous Chapter <<

**Masterlist**

>>Next Chapter>>

Pairing: Izzy Hands x gn!reader

Synopsis: Will Izzy's guilt continue to drive him away from being by your side or will he finally accept the light and free himself from the brewing darkness within?

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who voted. I hope this is everything you want! This chapter follows the events of the Bonus Anti-Hero chapter, so if you haven't read it, you can follow the 'previous chapter' link above.

Content Warning: Knives, mention of injuries, trauma, vomiting, mentions of drowning, blood, begging for death and angst. I think that's everything. This series is 18+, so minors dni. Go away (politely).

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, REPUBLISH, OR TRANSLATE MY WORK ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT PERMISSION. I DO NOT OWN OFMD OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

=============================

"I can't do this, Captain." you admitted through gritted teeth, as you leaned heavily onto the bucket you cradled between your legs.

You were in Hell. Actually Hell. So sure you had died upon the treacherous waves and were now bring subjected to the worst of tortures. Perhaps that was why you were yet to see Izzy yet. Despite his own harsh opinions of himself, you truly believed that Israel Hands was a good man. Maybe even one of the best you had had the good fortune of meeting, during your travels across the seven seas. No, someone as loyal- albeit, sometimes misguided and stubborn in their decisions- would be in Hell alongside you.

The co-captain could tell you were struggling and damn it, he felt completely powerless to ease your suffering. He himself was no stranger to infected wounds and all the delightful symptoms that entailed. The fever, the shivers, the nausea- all played a part in the general unpleasantness that came with an injury. "You have to, okay? I know you want to give up right now but you can't. Just be brave for me a little bit longer, yeah?" not a wordsmith by nature, he was doing his best to comfort you. Was that not what Edward had always craved when he had fallen ill on Hornigold's ship? Just someone to hold his hand and tell him it was going to be alright. Such a simple request that had been denied to him time and time again. Of course, then he had met Izzy but that was a walk down memory lane for another time. "That's it, there you go. You're okay." the small circles he rubbed into your back, were most welcome, while to once again coughed your guts up into the bucket. "What's the diagnosis, doc?" Edward focused his attention upon the other man present in the room.

"The wounds infected. Looks like there's pus gathering. Probably going to have to drain it. Truthfully," there was a pause as the medical professional chose his words carefully. "things are going to get a lot worse before it gets better." he had seen wounds worse than the one inflicted upon your body. Though certain you would live to see your next voyage, the gentleman was still exercising extreme caution when it came to treating you. One small mistake or negligence on his part and it would be lights out for you. "I'm also concerned about the fever and vomiting but let's focus on one thing at a time."

"Captain, it'd be quicker just run me through with a sword."

"And probably less painful." the doctor joked, hoping to add some lightness to the dire situation but his quip did not garner the jovial response he had been hoping for. Instead, Ed glared daggers at him. Oh, if looks could kill, the sliver of a men would have been dead a thousand times over. "Ahem, anyway. I'll go an prepare my tools. I won't be long." he excused himself, wanting to make a hasty retreat. Ed's reputation preceeded him and the doctor just prayed that he made it out of this house all with all of his bones intact and fingers still attached to his body.

Upon his exit, you heard a murmured exchange between him and another in the hallway but your focus was on the raging fire that engulfed your entire being and the churning in your stomach, that threatened to provoke another round of coughing up your guts.

"How're ya hanging in there, kid?" though his words were good-humoured, there was a undeniable tenderness in your Captain's actions, as he brought a cool wash cloth to your fash, washing away any rogue spittle from around your mouth. It felt almost perverse to have the legendary Blackbeard dote upon you in your time of need but hey, you were not going to start counting chickens. You were just grateful to be a part of a misfit crew, who cared about one another and that you could call family.

"Just fucking kill me already, Captain." you all but begged, already struggling under the immense physical exertions of your current symptoms. Though not known to be a coward by nature, you were fully prepared to be removed from the rotation of existence, if it meant forgoing the experience of more afflictions upon your persons.

Oh, how the pirate knew the wanting of death well. How many times had he begged Izzy to out him out of his misery, during their time together on the Queen Anne? Hell, Ed had literally handed the First Mate a gun and giaded the man to shoot him right there and then, when he had been in the wicked grasps of the Kraken. "Mmm, can't do that. Sorry." he replied almost playfully, trying to lighten the mood slightly, as he aimed to pull your thought process away from such dark desires.

"Fuck you, then. I guess." you grumbled miserably, wondering if Izzy had been by your side, would he have relented to your request? Perhaps if you annoyed him enough, he may have run you through with his sword.

"You heard the doc, it'll 'get worse before it gets better'. Just gotta weather this storm and then it'll be...fuck, what's the metaphor Stede uses? Oh, yeah! Sunny skies!"

"Yeah, no offence but Captain Stede isn't the one who's about to have his arm fucking-"

====

"Drained? Oh...that doesn't sound very pleasant." Stede grimaced, nose and mouth scruching in that irritating way, that never failed to irk the First Mate, whom stood diligently beside him.

"It's not. It's incredibly painful. I'll try and administer some kind of mild sedative to help lower the pain levels but really, some decent rum will probably take the edge off better." the doctor further explained, his gaze shifting between the two men. There was something incredibly unnerving about the way the silver-haired pirate continued to stare daggers at him. What was it with this crew and having murderous expressions?

"Izzy's got a bottle of rum. Haven't you, Iz? It looked unopened too, right?" of course Stede fucking Bonnet had noticed such a minor detail. Man was a total idiot when it came to things about piracy but give him a brief insight into your lodgings and suddenly, the twat had a photographic memory. Upon hearing the doctor's prognosis, Izzy wished he was black out drunk right about now.

This was his fault. Everything you were about to experience. Every second of pain, any blood you had needlessly shed, whatever horrors you were about to face at the hands of this twatty doctor- it was all Izzy's fault, he decided.

"Get the patient to drink some. In the meantime, I'm going to go and prepare my tools and-"

"(Y/N)." Izzy's sharp tone cut across the doctor's explanation like the knife he was about to go sterilise.

"Pardon?"

Stede almost smirked at the unwarranted hostility. Izzy might have thought his was covert in concealing his feelings for you, but in reality, the man was an open book. Who else would the silver-haired pirate borderline snarl a warning at for forgoing the usage of someone's name? Well, that just proved that you were not a mere 'someone' to the First Mate.

"Their name is (Y/N), not 'patient'."

====

"Hey...hey, C-Captain?" you gasped between another round of vomiting. How was it even still possible for you to be emptying the contents of your stomach? Surely, there was nothing left to generate into...

Edward winced as you bent over the bucket once more, this time merely dry heaving. A sheen of sweat covered your body and soaked through your flimsy shirt and linen trousers- all hand-me-downs from the crew, after you had already perspired through your own attire. Though you felt warm to the touch, you shivered as if you were made of ice. In conclusion, you looked like shit. "Yeah, kid?"

Under normal circumstances, you would have been hesitant to make any kind of request to the Captain but desperate times called for desperate measures. Having been stripped of your pride and dignity, you had no inhibitions when you beseeched the silver-haired pirate to fulfil your only desire. "Can...can you get Izzy, please? I..."

====

"I'm not going." it had to be said that Israel Hands was many things but never would have Stede labelled the great swordsman to be a coward, especially when it came to matters involving you. Sure, he often- okay, always- shied away from divulging his true feelings to you but that did not make him a coward, so to speak. The co-captain understood how difficult it was to admit your innermost desires to the one you so adored. Goodness knew he had literally fled back to his wife and kids, just to hide away from how he truly felt about one, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.

However, repressed feelings or not, there was absolutely no need for Izzy to be digging in his heels now. Especially when Stede had asked the silver-haired pirate so nicely to accompany him to your room. "Oh really? And why's that exactly?" he huffed. Whatever the excuse, Stede was not going to let Izzy off the hook so easily. His presence was required and by he'll or by highwater, Stede was going to deliver the First Mate to your bedside. Maybe he could ask Fang to carry Izzy down the hallway?

Even Izzy had to admit, his wanting to remain locked away in his lodgings was a weak excuse at best. Truthfully, he had no real reason for wanting to stay away, other than to wallow in his own brooding. The guilt of knowing that your injuries were the culmination of his past actions and the ill-judged decisions during the storm, was eating away at him. Carving a hollowed space within his chest, where the darkness liked to dwell. That obsidian black, bitter thing. Nothing good was ever born from that corrupted gloom. With each passing moment, it threatened to consume him in his entirety and honestly? Izzy was more than ready to embrace the darkness. When had men like him ever been able to freely enjoy the light? The warmth of innocence was for people like yourself. Fundamentally good and beautifully flawed, not jaded and wicked as him. He had fed another's darkness once, it was time to nurture his own.

Knowing you were alive was enough for Izzy. To see you suffering from the aftermath of your knife wound was a sight he did not need to witness. The image would surely become seared into his retinas. "What use am I going to be, Bonnet? Do I look like a fucking doctor to you?"

There was some truth to his words. What was the point exactly of him playing witness to your agony? He could hardly relieve you of whatever symptoms plagued at current and let's face it, Izzy was not exactly known to be the most...in tune with his feelings. If it was comfort you needed, you were better off with someone like Stede fucking Bonnet or even Fang. Gods, Fang knew how to comfort a person like it was nobody's business. Had the pirate not been the one to hold Izzy in his time of vulnerability? And if Frenchie had not been fighting for his life in the room adjacent to yours, well, he would surely have been first in line to offer a hand to hold.

At the vocalisation of the First Mate's harsh response, Stede's facial expression soften ever so slightly. Maybe that was it, then. He concluded, realising that Izzy's reluctance to be by your side, steamed from his inability to provide you with the level of care he believed you needed. No, deserved. The silver-haired pirate was so overly critical of his own skillset that, he truly did not see all that he could offer to the situation. Give the man a sword and he became a soldier. Ask him to be in attend the bedside of the person he loved most? The man was a bloody mouse.

And it was not as if the feelings were not reciprocated! You were so clearly besotted with the man too. In fact, Stede was in no doubt that Izzy's companionship alone, would bring some joy to your otherwise currently very bleak existence. Perhaps a smile would even be on the cards, if only he could just find a way to lure Izzy down the hallway.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. "FANG!" the Gentleman Pirate called out, much to the confusion of the First Mate. What on earth was he up to now?

====

"Okay, okay, try not to talk, yeah? I hear you, kid. Loud and clear. If it's Iz you want-" a knock at the door interrupted Ed's assurance. Hell, the co-captain was prepared to drag the First Mate by the scruff of his neck if he had to. Anything to get him to darken your door way and finally put an end to his unceasing cycle of guilt. "come in!" his focus was torn away from whoever tentatively opened the door, as your body was wracked with another gagging fit.

The circles rubbing your back in soothing circles faltered momentarily and you found yourself craving the comforting gesture. "Can...can you just get him, please?" you cried, tears streaming down your face, as you sobbed. Damn it, Israel Hands, why were you always so far out of reach, you thought, anguished. "I don't-I don't think I can do this without him. I need him. I fucking need him like I need oxygen. It's easier to breathe when he's around." you doubted your words made any sense but still, you rambled on. Needing Ed to understand just how serious you were in your appeal. If you could have left the room and retrieved the First Mate yourself, you woukd have been down that hallway in a blink of an eye but you were now reliant on the goodwill of another. "He's my Stede." you murmured, hoping the comparison would truly articulate just how important Izzy was to you. "He's my lighthouse. So, please. Please just go get him. Even if he doesnt want to see me. Even if he thinks it's pathetic how much I need him, just go get him. Can you do that, Cap-" you lifted your gaze to finally face your Captain but gone were the familiar brown eyes. Instead, replaced with cerulean blue. A oceanic gaze you had wished to drown in a thousand times over. "Izzy." you murmured between sniffles.

Countless nights had been whiled away, as you fantasised about the seemingly unobtainable opportunity to share a bed with one, Israel Hands. The scenario and setting had always changed depending on your nocturnal preference, but one element was always certain- the First Mate of the Revenge was always, always your bedfellow. Just how Not Safe For Ship the daydream was, depended purely upon how riled up the mere sight of the silver-haired pirate had made you feel throughout your morning duties. Oh Calypso, the things you had imagined doing to that man. Never had you imagined him sitting beside you, playing nurse while you were plagued with fever.

However, there was absolutely nothing alluring or desirable about your current predicament. His hands may have been upon you, but there were no burning touches that sparked a flame of yearning. The only rising temperature was your fever, which continued to climb in numbers and refused to break any time soon. Gods, you felt disgusting. Absolutely putrid. Down right dreadful. To add salt to injury, you looked equally wonderful, too. There was a delightful touch of corpse about your appearance.

You did not have much time to dedicate to your self-deprecating thoughts, as you felt another unpleasant wave of nausea take hold of your senses, forcing you to heave whatever was left within the containment of your stomach. Long gone was the clear broth and crackers. There was no sipped at water left in your system. Hell, even the bile seemed to be running thin now. Soon, you would be gagging on nothing but air and your own tears.

Still, the hand rubbing your back was nice at least.

The wretching gave away to exhaustion. With your body unable to expell any further contents from your stomach, you indulged yourself a little and leaned into your companion's hold. "You're here." you breathed incredulously and despite the agony and torment, you smiled for the first time in...goodness, how many days had you even been occupying the inn? Keeping time had seemed so irrelevant in the grand scheme of simply trying to survive. Nonetheless, you smiled at the pirate. Genuinely thankful that he was now with you. Your beacon of hope, of light. Here to guide you through your darkest hour.

"I..." though being by your side felt as natural as breathing, the truth was a little less romantic. In failing to drag the First Mate to your room himself, Stede fucking Bonnet had enlisted the help of Fang, whom had- quite unceremoniously- carried Izzy down th hallway. All while that twat of a Captain had demanded that the First Mate stop being so stubborn and for once in his life, listen to his heart instead of his head.

Seeing you now, a former shadow of your usually vibrant self, was a difficult sight to process. He had been correct in his earlier reluctance, the image of your chapped, bloody lips and bruised eyes would surely haunt him every time he closed his eyes.

Upon hearing your heartfelt admission, Izzy's mind was in a tailspin. His insticts were telling him to flee, that he should not have been here but maybe, by your beside was the only place for him to be right now. No, Izzy knew in his heart of hearts that, he should have been by your side sooner. Much, much sooner. Except extreme guilt had kept him away. That same guilt was still present, gnawing away at his subconscious like a fiendish creature of insatiable appetites. However, upon hearing you say you needed him- you needed him!- the man had experienced a perspective shift. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"It's okay." you smiled at him. Genuinely smiled at him. There was not disappointment in resent in you tone. Just pure relief that he had finally made it way to your side. Bless the gods, for answering your prayers. The road ahead was going to be one full of pain and distress but with Izzy holding your hand, maybe- just maybe- you would be able to weather the storm and survive long enough to witness those 'sunny skies'. "Just don't leave me again this time, yeah?"

As much as Izzy wanted to address your labelling of him as your 'Stede', the pirate rationalised that there were more important matters at hand. For starters, he realised it would be more productive to seek atonement for his sins, rather than allow himself to be consumed by the darkness, that threatened to drag him down into a never-ending spiral of despair. After all, how could he possibly deny such a heartfelt request from the one he was now eternally indebted to. Gods, you had called him a 'lighthouse', for fucks sake. You bewitching creature, you. In that moment, the First Mate knew, he would follow you to end of the earth, should you ask him so.

He loved you. He loved you, he loved you, he loved you!

The past was unchangeable but Izzy did have some say on how the future could play out. You had needed him that night on the ship and you needed him now. Like hell was he going to let you down a second time. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

[beyonddarkness]

Sauron Unchained

Remember when Sauron mentioned "THAT first sunrise," on the raft in the Vision? (Not THE first sunrise. The sun already existed. He's talking about THAT first sunrise, after Morgoth was defeated.)

"When Morgoth was defeated, it was as if a great, clenched fist had released its grasp from my neck. And in the stillness of that first sunrise, at last! I felt the light of The One again. And I knew, if ever I was to be forgiven, then I had to heal everything that I had helped ruin" (1x08).

That sunrise was a pretty big deal.

Let's review this moment Sauron describes from The Silmarillion.

(Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath.)

Before the rising of the sun Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragon-host, and cast him from the sky; and he fell upon the towers of Thangorodrim, and they were broken in his ruin. Then the sun rose, and the host of the Valar prevailed, and well-nigh all the dragons were destroyed; and all the pits of Morgoth were broken and unroofed, and the might of the Valar descended into the deeps of the earth. [...]

Then Morgoth was bound.

[...] Thus an end was made of the power of Angband in the North, and the evil realm was brought to naught; and out of the deep prisons a multitude of slaves came forth beyond all hope into the light of day, and they looked upon a world that was changed.

Those slaves who emerged were not the servants of Morgoth (like Orcs, Balrogs, etc.), but rather Elves, the likes of Gwindor, who were captured, imprisoned and enslaved, sent deep into the mines to dig.

But Sauron described his experience from their perspective.

Sooo... why?

"When Morgoth was defeated, it was as if a great, clenched fist had released its grasp from my neck. And in the stillness of THAT first sunrise, at last! I felt the light of The One again."

Some complain:

Why did the writers make it seem like Morgoth made Sauron evil, against his will?

-----They didn't.-----

Why did they change Sauron's character from liking Morgoth because of efficiency, to loathing him?

-----They didn't.-----

Why did they make it so Sauron only allied himself with Morgoth in order to survive?

-----They didn't.-----

They didn't change anything. They didn't even have to add anything. None of this came out of the clear blue just for fun. It's not even just for the sake of making the show.

Sauron manipulated Galadriel, but he did so with the TRUTH, making it easier for her to pity him than if he flat-out lied.

["And in the stillness of that first sunrise..."]

(Meanwhile, he talks about forgiveness.)

Galadriel: "No penance could ever erase the evil you have done."

Sauron: "That is not what you believe." [...] After our victory, you said that whatever I'd done before, I could be free of it now. [...] I told you the truth! I told you that I had done evil, and you did not care! Because you knew that our past meant nothing, weighed against our future. :D"

What is this 'trauma' he allegedly experienced? Sure, he was wary of the consequences of crossing Morgoth, but I mean ... he was the guy--Morgoth's #1--his right hand Maia--his most devoted servant. He would never do anything in disobedience or rebellion. Else how would he achieve such a status?

The implication of his tale is not that he was FORCED to Morgoth's allegiance, giving him this general fear that was finally lifted when Morgoth fell.

Something happened.

He made ONE mistake.

(And since Patrick said they're not in the business of pure Easter eggs, there's a REASON they showed this.)

In Sauron's most humiliating moment, being in the jaws of Huan, Lúthien told him "that he should be stripped of his raiment of flesh, and his ghost be sent quaking back to Morgoth; and she said: 'There everlastingly thy naked self shall endure the torment of his scorn, pierced by his eyes, unless thou yield to me the mastery of thy tower.' (The Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien).

Before that, Sauron had it all. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he already had Beren (who had a price put on his head by Morgoth) IN HIS PRISON. But hearing Lúthien sing to Beren in the hour of Finrod's death, he sought great reward for bringing her to Morgoth. When his dying servant told him that Huan was there, he was like, Oh. I got this.

Things went sideways, and he had no choice but to yield to Huan, or face Morgoth's wrath... so he let them go.

As a result, Beren and Lúthien waltzed their way into Angband, stole a Silmaril (eventually) and escaped.

So, um...?

Charlie referenced what Lúthien told Sauron, when speaking about the 'clenched fist' line. His paraphrasing is quite unnerving, given that he knows what backstory we are going to see next season... and I don't know... but I would like to... and it makes me wonder.

"You can go whimpering back to your master and tell him that you've let me in. You've failed. You haven’t defended your kingdom." [...] I read from that this thing that Morgoth is so powerful and so scary, that it would've meant consequences for Sauron. - Charlie Vickers

Where exactly was Sauron after his failure? He dwelt in Taur-nu-Fuin for a while, but a lot of time passed between then and the end of the War. So...WHERE DID HE GO? Wouldn't the most devoted and powerful of all the servants of Morgoth be actively involved in the defense against the host of the Valar?? One might say things were trending upward for him...

...until Finrod, Beren, Lúthien, and Huan came along.

How long would it have taken Morgoth to find out that everything was Sauron's fault? How long would it have taken to hunt Sauron down, as he fled?

Not very long, I reckon.

[...] there must have been an element to their relationship where Morgoth was someone he feared at times, or someone that would punish him when he failed. [...] there must have been some truth in [the clenched fist] line. - Charlie Vickers

No wonder he described the end of the War as if he had been among the slaves who emerged from the deep prisons..."beyond all hope into the light of day"...reminiscing the first sunrise after the overthrow of Thangorodrim, and the great, clenched fist that released its grasp from his neck as a result.

In the Great War, he wasn't just sitting in a tree, or even in a back-up tower, watching from the side-lines.

He failed Morgoth.

Miserably.

And was punished for it.

No wonder he was missing during the War of Wrath.

"What do you know of darkness?"

[trillscienceofficer]

I feel like apart from what you said about B'elanna being interested in men only under some dubious consent scenario, whatever she had going in previously to Voyager and being in DQ was trying to be as normal as possible for her father's validation, whether she realized she was doing it or not. And besides, she only ever had a good relationship with people who didn't seem to ever be a possible partner for whatever reason. She's very lesbian coded to me for that.

(In reference to this post)

Man, you're so right. B'Elanna doing things with the perspective of pleasing (the imaginary perfect version that can do no wrong of) her father is a really good observation here. Her stint at Starfleet Academy comes to mind (John Torres was supposed to be a Starfleet officer, according to a deleted line from “Barge of the Dead”), but it's definitely not the only example of this tendency. So much of B'Elanna's life is conditioned by what she thinks he would do, even if I don't think she realizes it (she only starts having dreams of her childhood after discovering that she's pregnant etc); in a way B'Elanna has always been trying to recreate a version of her family where through her hard work and determination things won't end the way they did for her and her mother. I totally agree that her sticking with Tom for so long, despite his behavior and despite so many examples of their early attraction being due to alien crap and/or that declaration of love extracted in a near-death situation, is a symptom of that abandonment trauma as well. I think this is true even outside of a lesbian B'Elanna reading, but it certainly adds some weight to the argument as well. I mean, I know that "lesbian with daddy issues" (hate the term) is kind of a cliché but then again it's not like this was in any way intentional, and as I mentioned reading B'Elanna as a lesbian makes everything that happens to her on Voyager even more brutally heartwrenching.

And you're again right about her choice of potential partners, even the fact that she and Tom started flirting a little when they already disagreed on a lot... can be very easily read as 'I find this guy irritating so I must be secretly attracted to him' which, well. I know from personal experience it's one hell of a mind-trick for closeted lesbians. Her supposedly 'Klingon' attitude towards romance is very significant here imho. Why would B'Elanna lean into her Klingon cultural roots in just this one case, when more often than not she's ashamed of them (and I'm not saying this shame is 'good' by any means), if not because it gives her the perfect excuse to realign her feelings with heterosexual expectations?

Truly the more I look at it the more I can read reluctance and coercion and trauma in B'Elanna when it comes to her sexual relationship with men in general and Tom in particular. There's nothing intentional here of course (just the usual trouble Trek has with answering the question 'are women people?', compounded with and made worse by racism in B'Elanna's case) but the show lends itself well for a lesbian B'Elanna interpretation. And again, the thought that she might be a lesbian... makes all that happened to her on Voyager even more transparently horrifying.

[bluberriemuffin]

ties

dazai x reader, 1.2k words

warnings: pm! dazai, illegal gambling, it’s suggestive for like. a second, bagel knows nothing about gambling, no capitalization, it’s actually super soft so the only real warning is bagel’s maiden voyage into posting bsd fanfiction, @seisitive is the only reason this exists so thank her. or blame her idk

synopsis: you are very frazzled with work and dazai finds this endlessly endearing. happy birthday dazai :)

a day that had you pacing the length of your office before noon was infrequent, considering your profession. infrequency, however, seemed to be a theme as you looked over the documents you’d laid out around your office. the room, containing your desk and the armchair it really shouldn’t fit, starts to spin slowly as you shed your sweater. the room seems smaller than before, and the armchair taunts you as a certain someone- the person who’d gifted you said chair- swings his feet from where he’s perched on your desk. why the hell did he bother, then, you muse.

you contemplate the scene before you as you throw the sweater onto the empty seat. the heat from your constant movement and the stress of the situation is dizzying as you heave a sigh and fix the sleeves of your button down, placing a hand over your face as you shake your head, trying to activate the thoughts like using an aerosol can.

the problem with the records you’d been having was consistent enough to no longer be a mistake, at least a sure marker of incompetence if not malintent. your colleagues couldn’t seem to care enough about the numbers that didn’t add up or the payouts for odds that shouldn’t have been set. for you however, this was another fire to put out.

“the odds were 37 to 1,” you huffed out. “and no one’s told me who’s set them that way.”

“mm,” dazai hums, merely letting you know he’s listening.

you pace back toward him, noticing his tie is crooked. veering off course, you put a hand on his shoulder before buttoning up the top button and readjusting his tie tight to his neck. his hands come up to rest against your hips as his face tilts up to catch yours. noses brushing, you stare at his sole eye, softened only for you, as you let go of his tie and walk out of his arms before turning on your heel to move back toward the desk.

you make it past the desk another time before returning to dazai’s side, hand curling around the tie once more and tugging it back from its loosened state. pausing to sigh, your eyes seem to see through dazai, instead focused somewhere else. dazai pulls on your sleeve. eyes snapping down, you kiss his pout away, practically reflexive as he smiles again.

“they don’t seem concerned at all,” you breathe, dejected. “i’m the only one.”

dazai is uninterested as he leans into your hand and face like a cat waiting to be pet. he makes another noncommittal sound.

tearing yourself away from him, a louder whine from dazai sounds as you walk around the desk to shift through the various papers. you see him move and in the corner of your eye and hear a rustle of fabric before he turns to you, eye focused on your face.

“y/n,” he tries, voice drawing out the sound to catch your attention. he’d been unhelpful so far, the way he knew you preferred. he had strict instruction from you to keep well out of your business unless it pertained to his work as well. “how much longer are you gonna be?”

your eye twitched. “i’ve only been at this an hour or so,” you looked up at him, hands reaching out to rebutton his shirt. “i’m looking at these until they make sense.” you say under your breath, finishing tying his tie from where it had laid undone on his shoulders.

you looked at your hands. hadn’t you just tied his tie? shaking your head once more, you walk back out into the small space between your desk and the door, taking notes of what transactions were logged with what dates in accordance to the accounts.

dazai laid out on your desk, pushing papers out of the way. he sighed, loudly, which you pointedly ignored. he sighed again, more of a huff as you bent and started sorting pages into subsections of employee and event.

“do you think i’m missing documents?” you asked, brows furrowed in genuine concern. dazai poked his head up to look at you, seemingly assessing the nature of your question; if you wanted a response. he sat up, kicking his legs once more before popping off the desk and kneeling next to you.

hand over your chin, you rearrange the piles. reaching out again, dazai intercepts your hands and brings it to his tie, where you absentmindedly tighten it, still looking at the values on the slips in front of you. he puts your hand on his cheek, holding it to his face as he kisses your palm. with this, you turn your head to him, finding him looking at you. he brings his hand down to his tie, tugging it down and-

“hey!” you startle. “have you- have you been doing that the whole time?”

he laughs, nuzzling into your hand more. “it took you forever to notice,” he says into your palm. “i was wondering if you were going to let me die from deprivation.”

“dramatic,” you complain, taking his collar in your free hand and pulling him into a kiss. he makes a happy noise against your lips and lets go of your hand to pull you closer to him by the waist. he guides you onto his lap, taking your hand and beginning to lead it down. you start to pull back until he veers it to the side, into a blazer pocket, where your hand closes around folded sheets of printer paper.

pulling back, you stare into his eye. he looks rather content for someone who’d just taken years off your life. you push his chest away, getting up and dusting yourself off, wiping your lips while you’re at it to hear his indignant whine. you mutter under your breath that you wished you couldn’t believe this. gathering all the documents and sitting at your desk, you start to piece everything together correctly.

he’s still sitting happily on the floor, waiting for you as you confirm everything was there.

“get out,” your voice is flat and pointed.

“i’ll meet you at the usual place for lunch?” he was gleeful as he got to his feet, taking his coat from underneath your sweater on the chair.

“no, get out,” you repeated, head turned though he could surely hear the smile in your voice.

“too cruel!” he mopes, opening the door. “i’ll see you later, my love.”

the room is quiet again. running your hand over the back of your neck, you come into contact with the silky fabric of his tie. you heave one last sigh, wrapping the tie around your hand. finally, you abandon the documents, picking up your sweater as you follow him, locking the door on your way out.

[nnnneeev]

confused solomon rant incoming:

you're telling me that during the "Bon Voyage!" solomon -- SOLOMON drove a fucking CAR and NO ONE BATTED AN EYE?! HOW TF DOES THIS MAN KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? SCREW THAT, WHY DOES HE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? this entire time, with such string conviction i believed that there is no way he can drive and i just felt like a fool when that so casually happened. like, fine, there are many justifications to that (magic, it eas a dream etc.), but assuming with the way it was shown he was manually driving the car himself, it means he has done it before. and for him to have done it before he needs a car. why does he need a car. and how did he get a car. to drive a car legally you need a driving license. how does he have a license. what is recorded in it. at this point he ain't even in the fcking existence documents of humanity then how did he get a license, that means he lied? i have so many questions please help.

AAAAAHHHH HE ABSOLUTELY DID!!!! i was going to make a post about that event but i got too busy and forgot to do it. BUT ANYWAY!! the way i SCREAMED internally when i learned that solomon can fucking drive because the mental image of him. and a car. and he's driving the said car. the only words that i have in mind that moment was "that's so sexy of him," in all caps.

i wrote a headcanon before that he cannot drive because of the same reason. good sir, you use magic on a daily basis. there's no need for him to know how to drive. heck, there's even a devilgram that says he never had the need to fly around on a broomstick since he already mastered teleportation magic. maybe he picked up the basics of driving by watching a movie or idk. license? who needs it when youre a sorcerer to begin with

im also a bit conflicted because the idea of solomon not knowing how to drive is so entertaining to me, BUT solomon knowing how to drive just adds to the list of things that make him more attractive

[mrs-monaghan]

Look. The difference is that everyone can agree on what tae said but not everyone can agree on what jk said. So tkkrs are happy because taekook will be together soon and tae confirmed that, and jkkrs are happy because of "unclear" words said by jk. So it's clear what ship is real and what ship is just a fantasy. Just saying.

First of all, staykooker, its not unclear. Just because ONE Karmy homophobic JK solo hates Kjikookers, doesn't mean that Kjikookers are wrong. Even the JK solos who came to correct the translation agreed JK was talking about Jimin.

At the end of the day, JK said while adjusting the lamp, that Jimin is the one who changed the position of said lamp, before going to England. First wrong translation suggested JK brought Bam home to see Jimin before he went to England.

You're coming here to gloat about V saying something unsubstantiated. Because we dk if they did meet up at all in the end. You, are counting your chicks before they hatch.

We, on the other hand have CONFIRMATION that Jikook were together the night before Jimin went to England. Thats a fact 💯 First inaccurate translation and the second translation corrected by other Kjikookers and Karmy JK solos, both state that Jikook were together. Period.

So when I weigh what I have and when I weigh what you have which is essentially nothing, I'm sorry but my load is heavier 🤷🏽‍♀️

But dw. I know why you're here. Y'all just can't get enough of Jikook moments so, I'll share with you one of my favourites involving our president himself.

See, Jhope loves Jikook and he is very invested in their relationship. Maybe even more than we are. Why do I say this you ask? Sure. Let's take a look.

Bon voyage season 3 episode 6. We know all about V sleeping upside down and cuddling JK's feet in his sleep.

Jhope walks in and he is shocked to say the least. He wonders why they're sleeping the way that they are.

I think its safe to say its not the skinship that shocked him since the Tannies are always all over eo anyway. So it's the cuddling 'gesture' that he was less than okay with. We know this because he couldn't wait to tattle on JK. He really couldn't wait to bring this up.

He continues to add fuel to the fire about the cuddling.

He wants to make sure Jimin knows exactly what was going on 😂

Now Jimin who's attention has been peaked is kinda shook now and he asks; "what?" And Jhope happily clarifies that yeah, they were cuddling.

But thats not it. He needs to make sure he understands the situation exactly as it happened. Mimi is proper invested now, guys.

His face after this revelation;

One more time the face of the culprit

🤣🤣😂😂 I think its safe to say Jimin doesn't like when JK cuddles other people in his sleep. Which tracks because JK only ever cuddles Jhope (makes sense that the best friend that Jimin trusts explicitly, JK has the green light) and when other members cuddle him u will find JK keeps his hands to himself. Even with Jhope sometimes.

But not to worry. Jimin didn't have an issue once he found out JK wasn't the one doing the cuddling. And they lived happily ever after!

So I'd say this moment goes hand in hand with this post. And I guess Jimin standing and watching Hopekook here makes a little bit more sense? Idk. U judge. It will forever be funny though how JK pretended he wasn't even there. Pretended to be busy and refused to look at Jimin 🤭🤭

Speaking of Jhope being invested in Jikook. Here is a moment I noticed when watching Burn the Stage. Jimin stopped to talk to a member of staff and Jhope stood there watching him.

As u can see V is also talking to them but Jhope doesn't take his eyes off Jimin once

If you have YT premium its here

I've also seen Jhope look at what Jimin is doing when he's talking to other IDOLS or other men/people. Like that popular Jeonlous Taemin moment, if u go rewatch u will notice Jhope also keeping an eye on Jimin and Taemin. And I've seen several times when something is happening with Jimin and some dude, Jhope will turn to look at JK. Like when Jimin was shooting Wonho finger guns. It wasn't just JK watching keenly but Jhope too. So when I watched that part on Burn the Stage it reminded me of those instances.

It's like when you love your bestfriend's boyfriend and u always have to keep an eye when your bestfriend is talking to other people who are not their boyfriend type of thing. Like I said, Jhope is invested in Jikook and he tries to make sure they don't mess up what they've got.

I also mentioned here about Jhope and the way he hugs Jimin; almost like he's preventing their crotches from touching. Also their hugs don't last long at all.

And I show here JK signaling Jimin to get off Jhope and come to him. U can see Jhope noticed 🤭🤭

So to me Jhope knows how JK can be. How many times have we seen JK displace Jhope to be next to Jimin? Latest being the Vminhopekook LV live. JK walked in and made Jhope get off the chair so he could sit next to his man. So yeah, Jhope knows JK very, very well so he's always keeping an eye out for fuckery.

There. Jihope jealous moments explained 😁😁

[isagrimorie]

I love Star Trek but sometimes they do storylines that even for their time was really terrible. Or done at cross purposes like Voyager’s “Retrospect” it ends up being a terrible “don’t believe the victims” type of storyline.

Lisa Klink, one of the writers of the episode tried to clarify that it was supposed to be about false and implanted memories that were infamous during the ‘90s. About a family accused of doing that and basically ruining their lives.

Unfortunately, Bryan Fuller revealed as noble the goal was, to his shock and horror, the moment Jeri Taylor and the other women in the writer’s room left the men in the room started sharing stories about “punishing bitches”. He was just a new writer back then and couldn’t do anything nor say anything.

TLDR— instead of being a story about implanted false memories it became a “don’t believe the victims” story. (The first mistake, I think was using Seven of Nine for this— if they used as Garret Want proposed, Harry or Tom instead, it would probably play differently. Or maybe even the Doctor).

In DS9, its the fact that Sisko was conceived from Sarah, a woman who was basically possessed by a Prophet and forced to conceive and give birth to Sisko.

The moment Sarah came back to herself she ran away and when Ben’s dad contacted her she supposedly was in an accident before they got to meet again.

I completely forgot this happened until I rewatched again— and I was flabbergasted to find out up to this day there are many who don’t consider it rape and even excuse the Prophets.

(The writers were obviously trying to recreate the Immaculate Conception of Mary with Sisko’s mother. And yet, the 90s version is more horrific.)

Edited to add: What the Prophets did is akin to what the Goa’uld to people they possess, except the only good thing maybe is Sarah was not aware of what’s happening. It’s still terrible waking up months or even a year later married with a child she doesn’t remember having.

But in Stargate SG-1 this was why Goa’uld were considered villains…

And then what happened to Kurn, Worf’s brother— they basically mind wiped him. Instead of trying to convince Kurn to live and find a way back to honor, they just mind wipe him and pretend he was from another House.

And then, a season or two later, Worf is adopted into another House and restored honor. The very thing that Kurn yearned for, but Kurn would never have that because they wiped his mind.

I’m sure there are more egregious examples but those are the ones that come to mind.

I just wanted to write it down because it’s been on my mind lately. Star Trek has some of the best and high minded concepts, and a hopeful future but as a consequence of being written in their time or by people in our era…

Starfleet also has, in-universe, I think a problem addressing mental health of their traumatized people.

[steviestits]

pirates-predator/prey

Thank you for the MerMay prompt!

Warning! This has a dark happy ending! If you don't like dark happy endings then don't read any further than this!

Steve is a part of a crew of pirates who are searching for a merfolk because it's rumored that they shed tears of pearls when they cry, making them all a hefty sum. They set out from port with their navigation chart being an ancient map that the captain won in a game of cards. Half the crew think he's crazy, the other half think it's a fool's venture, but they swore their loyalty to their captain, so they set sails despite their nerves.

Surprisingly, the voyage to their destination is smooth without encountering any rough seas or rival ships. They arrive quicker than expected to an uninhabited group of islands that are too small to properly house any human villages. They drop their anchor and get into the row boats, scouring the waters for any sign of merfolk, all armed with nets primed to capture their prize.

A day passes. Then two. Then a week. Two weeks. The crew is starting to get antsy after so many days of not seeing a merfolk. They were already against this venture from the start, and the lack of anything in the area is pointing to the captain leading them on a wild goose chase for a creature that doesn't exist. After the third week, they start to plot a mutiny.

Steve was never close with the crew. It was more that they ran in the same circles growing up, and he ended up joining them once they abandoned the royal navy to turn to piracy. It was either become a pirate or die at the hands of his, at the time, closest friends. So while he did know about the mutiny, Steve had no role in it.

Instead of joining the crew, Steve instead went out in a row boat, using the excuse of continuing the search as an excuse to not be on the ship at the time of the attack. He had made it halfway to the nearest island when a flash of scales along the surface of the water caught his attention. Then he saw it again and realized that whatever it was, was circling his row boat.

Merfolk weren't real. Steve firmly believed this, but he readied his net anyway in hopes that it was close enough to a merfolk that maybe he could stop the fighting and show that their hunt wasn't fruitless. He waited until he had the perfect shot and threw the net, certain that he had caught whatever it was that was circling him.

Except, in the next moment, the net was flung back at him, and Steve ended up caught in the net instead. It turned out that merfolk really did exist. The one before him introduced himself as Eddie. He had originally planned to slaughter everyone in the crew on the first day, but then he saw Steve and knew he had to add him to his collection of treasures. Eddie had been spying on them, trying to think of a way to separate Steve from the rest of the crew, but Steve did that himself, delivering himself on a silver platter to the merman.

Eddie left Steve on the row boat then swam towards the ship. He hadn't been lying as Steve watched him slaughter everyone aboard with his bare hands. It made sense now why merfolk remained a myth if everyone who came across them ended up as their dinner.

After eating his fill, Eddie returned to Steve and brought his new treasure down to his undersea home. He took care of Steve, making certain that the other's needs were met in every single way possible. Though Steve was against being Eddie's treasure at first, he eventually fell in love with the doting merman. He even helped him lure ships to their section of the sea, making certain that he took care of Eddie, too.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e73

Day 1 of Travel

(a very important update: Marisha's preferred coffee is a flat white with vanilla.)

FCG and Fearne try to scry on Caleb and Beau, and both of them seem to have amulets of proof against detection and location attuned. This means that they are definitely alive, because their scry did not fizzle as it would have if they were dead but was started and then pushed away.

FCG scries on D instead. He's still on the Menagerie Coast, in a large city — presumably either Nicodranas, Port Damali, or Port Zoon.

Meanwhile, Ashton heads below deck to find the skeleton tattoo artist. They convince him to give them a full back piece over the course of the voyage; and Orym asks them all to get a group tattoo. "I mean, no one's said it out loud yet, but... but we're all family now, right?"

Laudna is finally talking about everything that's happened with the entire group! Especially with Delilah, but the gnarlrock, her and Imogen's fight, Bor'dor, and the hunger of the shadow ability, too. FCG suggests she embrace Delilah, continue using the ability, allowing her to grow stronger — but one of the skeletons comes up to her and compares Laudna's situation to an alcohol addiction (which doesn't have as much of an impact because Laudna didn't choose to have or keep Delilah in her head, but is still applicable in some ways).

They ask the skeleton about the captain's trustworthiness, but with a 32 insight check, Fearne determines that although he does mean it when he says the captain is trustworthy and has always followed through on his promises, this particular skeleton is lonely and a little afraid. Syrilia, the navigator, watches him like a hawk.

Laudna: "I don't know if I'm just collecting these souls, like a phylactery, or—" Travis, immediately: *looks up the stat block for a lich while staring daggers at Marisha and Matt because he fuckin knows*

Ashton knows that they're all fighting for each other, and that they won't ever leave anyone behind. They will all have to sacrifice so much, they already have — but sacrifices do not mean casualties.

They go below decks and get their tattoos! Ashton gets an upper back/shoulder, punkish, in-style pair of wings, embossed with a transcription in Primordial: "of the earth, by the earth, for the earth." Everyone else gets a bell with flames around it in varying places.

FCG attempts to scry on Delilah. The ritual fails because she's not on the same plane of existence as FCG. Instead, they try to find her in Laudna's dreams: as Laudna focuses, it's like she has a hard time remembering what Delilah looks like, she's just an outline, a shadow, perpetually back-lit. FCG, meanwhile, sees Laudna stepping through a field of purple orchids and funerary flowers. The distant shadow of Whitestone, unfocused. As Laudna walks, Delilah walks in front of her, as if leading.

Fearne's flirting with the captain!

The combination of her fey irreverence, complete nonchalance, abysmal sleight of hand, and incredible (+13) insight is so fucking good already, but then you add her damn good charisma bonuses on top of all that?

Syrilia goes up to Fearne. "Don't sleep with the captain." "Why, because it's not good?" FEARNE—

The captain's quarters are lit with blue-white fire lanterns, sparsely decorated, with a canopy bed and a fainting couch. She takes the bed, and converses. The captain made a deal with Bane (or a servant of it): he gets his life, his crew, and his ship, in exchange for getting vengeance and all of his belongings, and then the deal is complete and he's free.

She lies down. After a minute — "You're very warm." "You can lie next to me for warmth, if you want." "Are you offering your warmth?" "That sounds ominous." "I'm sorry, everything I say sounds ominous — it sort of comes with the territory." He sits. In that little moment, he doesn't seem scary — he seems sheepish, careful. She convinces him to let her say goodbye to the blade they traded away — "you! Lass of the fey realm! Together, we can do a great many things!" — and she asks the captain, "did it say something to you?" "No." "Fine. Get in the bed. Just — get. in the bed." He looks nervous for a skeleton — "it's been a long time since I, uh..." "SPOONED?"

She can almost see breath as he sighs, content, warm. She looks around the room. Notably, she sees a ring on a wood-carved hand; a porcelain statue of a baby elephant; a chest in the corner with a heavy lock and a mildewed blanket over it; an eclectic collection of things.

All the while, for an hour or two, Fearne grows cold. On a successful saving throw, she reduces the stakes from a certainty to a choice: "do you relinquish the promised warmth?" "Yes." She feels a sliver of warmth leave her, and for just a moment, the captain's bones aren't blanched gray — they glow as if hit by morning sunlight. Fearne's hit points are permanently reduced by 5, and she gains a secret thing (probably a benefit, based on track record) that Matt will tell her at the break.

We skip back to when Fearne entered the chamber. Orym notices Syrilia become frantic at the captain's absence; she clambers down the crow's nest and onto the side of the boat. Taking advantage of the absence, Orym climbs up there, finds her spyglass, takes it, and leaves.

As soon as Fearne exits the captain's chambers, Syrilia is right there, the heat from her smoldering bones almost burning away the hair on Fearne's face. "Don't. ever. touch. the captain... I. will. end. you. If you touch him again. I have to protect him." Oh, she's fucking pissed. Fearne tells them they cuddled, and her bones heat up even more — in an instant, the freezing cold of the lower decks becomes a sauna, steam rises from the upper deck.

Imogen casts calm emotions, it doesn't work, and Fearne convinces her that the captain only talked about her — "you just need to go knock on the door at night. You just need a bit more confidence." and it almost works, but she does step back with a glare and a knocked crossbow.

In the morning, on the last day, the captain asks for more of Fearne's warmth. "I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of this!" "Well, you were kind, to offer a bit of your warmth. Perhaps we could make another deal." "I don't know if I'm being kind anymore!" "I'm, uh... not used to this. I'll be in my quarters, if you decide."

Imogen speaks into Syrilia's head. "I mean... you are warm... offer him your warmth." She walks, confidently, down the hall, up to the door, and raps on the door — her hand goes to the front of the captain's coat, where flames erupt, and the captain goes, "oh." "Word is, you're looking for warmth?"

Laudna sends Pate to spy on them, and it's like a sauna. The room is full of steam. A skeletal hand scrapes across a window, Kate Winslet-style.

Every lantern light on the ship turns from an icy blue to a warm orange-red. "The captain's gettin' peg-legged right now." "Yo ho ho!"

They arrive at their destination. "It's been terrible having you on board! Glad to be rid of you!" The captain's flaming eye winks.

Oh, the Bells Hells are planning something -- "we have a surprise for you!" "I don't like surprises." "Well, put that blade away, 'cause I'm not gonna tell you what it is." "...everyone below decks!"

They decorate the top deck with banners and all manner of things to celebrate the pirate crew.

Orym sets up a limbo vine. Chetney has a caricature portrait station. Laudna does face-painting. Imogen does fortune telling. Fearne runs games for prizes. Fearne plays the pan-flute with FCG as her pedalboard. Ashton finds their most noxious, strong-smelling whiskey and sets it out so they can remember the good times.

The skeleton pirates dance, they limbo, they don't eat -- they make fun of Kyle, but the Hells make a gift for him: a nametag ("my name's Kyle, you fucks!"), a drawing, and a defense against his bullies.

FCG and Fearne both quietly, unacknowledged, remark that they truly made a difference because of this. (Quick, someone write an analysis about how the Bells Hells constantly treat any difference made to the minority as a victory for the majority, and about how their constant defense of the minority is Not A Good Thing Actually when the majority consists of the majority of the fucking planet--)

Imogen takes Laudna's hands and starts the dance. The skeletons start to dance, their bones make the percussion section, Sanjay plays his violin. (The only thing I can imagine here is the elecroswing remix of Spooky Scary Skeletons)

When the captain announces landfall, the music immediately stops, and the entire crew encircles the Bells Hells. "If any of you tells a single soul that you've danced with the crew of the Crimson Abyss, your bloodlines will be on my list, as well. There was no dancin', there was no laughter, there was no limbo."

The captain gives them a list of some of his belongings, just to keep an eye and ear out for on their travels. Then, the jump into the water and begin to swim to shore, without the inhabitants of the island ever having seen the skeleton crew.

Their first look at the island of Kalutha is of a lagoon leading into a steep basalt cliff-face. The entire thing seems to be composed of columnar basalt, which breaks naturally into hexagonal pillars. The bright teal ocean contrasts with yellow and greenish flora.

There are ruins, remnants of what might've been a campsite -- Orym identifies them as being a few years old, but not ancient. He also spots two caverns, one at beach level and another 40 feet up the cliff.

Ashton sits, digs their hand into the black pebble beach, and just breathes. They sense their essence -- "both of their essences, really, as they are a being of conflict at all times..." a buzzing in their head of the Luxon, the drumming in their chest of their elemental nature. This place is unfamiliar, they know they've never seen it, but they still feel familiarly compelled by it, and they don't know why. They know they're in the right place, but nothing more.

They walk unto the ground-level cave and puts their hand against the wall. In Primordial -- "I'm here. I'm looking for you." But it's just the end of a cave.

Eventually, everyone makes it to the spherical chamber where the upper cave forks. Chetney runs alone to the right, where Pate hasn't scouted, following this citrine putrescence -- and here, he hears the sound of a thousand scales sliding against rock. He goes invisible, but snakes sense by smell -- out of the corner of his eye, something slithers past him, five feet in diameter. At the front, it looks like a thick-hided worm, and it's encircling him, this two-headed creature that's trying to pinpoint Chet's location but is unsure -- he takes out the horn of silent alarm, targeting Imogen.

and we enter initiative!

They're talking about the creatonotos gangis moth! It's that weird moth with extrusions that look like an eldritch horror that was circulating on Tumblr for a while.

No new combat updates :(

Farther down the cave, Chetney finds a lightless, underground chasm where seawater rushes through beneath the island. (Hey. Hey, y'all remember how the land around Cathmoira was shattered when the titans were expelled from it?)

In the creature's nest, they find some sundered weapons and armor. With a history check, Orym has heard of the material these are made of: woe-steel, a material that can only be found within the Shattered Teeth and that was created when Asmodeus shattered Domunas. The steel is sacred to the Ostended Host, and though it is magical (a natural +1 to material made with it), it can be destroyed by thunder damage.

They also find a unique charm on a broken chain: a woe-steel cage, palm-sized, encasing a smooth reddish-brown stone that has an unfamiliar language carved across it. FCG identifies it and finds that it is a raito charm, and has a deep cultural importance to the Aishio people (who inhabit the island of Kolutha and are part of the Ostended Host). It radiates abjuration magic, but the spell doesn't give FCG exactly what it is, and it is attunable only by a specific person, implying that the information of its existence is not accessible to FCG in the same way that information about other magical items has been.

Chetney uses grim psychometry on it. In the red vision, he sees an older man in his 50s, long salt and pepper hair in a bun, trekking through the jungle, leading a hunting party; he wears the charm around his neck, and in seconds was taken by the creature they just killed. Chetney has no sense of how long ago this happened, but because it's a magical item, it wouldn't have aged.

Traversing the other cavern path, they emerge into the creeping, vine-filled jungle that takes this valley. It's almost autumnal in color, and these pieces of columnar basalt are scattered about, some arcing for hundreds of feet in what look almost like broken bridges. But they can see the shadow of three massive mountain peaks that mark the center of this island, and somewhere near the base of those mountains lies the Great Tree of Atrophy.

[shadowmaat]

Small god of engineering miracles

There's a scene in S2 of Good Omens where Aziraphale borrows someone's mobile to make a call and does so by asking the phone nicely to do it.

All I could think of is the scene in Star Trek IV where Scotty tries to talk to an "ancient" computer by picking up the mouse and going "hello, computer!"

Obviously it didn't work. But imagine if it did. Imagine the reaction of the salesguy when some random weirdo comes in and talks to a computer and it answers him.

That alone would be funny enough, but then the hamster wheel in my head started spinning.

So now imagine that in some future time, Scotty is Known to some machine consciousness. He's considered a Friend of Machines. Maybe even factor in all that time he spent trapped in the transporter buffer for how this came to be. Add in some "quantum computing" thingamajig that sends ripples up and down the timeline. 99% of the time it isn't relevant because Scotty, as he's "known" in the future, doesn't exist yet.

But then you send that Scotty back in time to 1986. He walks into a computer store, picks up a mouse, and says "hello, computer!"

A lot of handwavy stuff happens and this desktop computer, existing centuries before Scotty was even born, suddenly gains enough quantum contamination (wave your hands harder) and realizes this is Montgomery Scott. I need to help him. And so the words appear on the screen:

Hello, Mr. Scott. How may I help you?

Cue the salesguy's jaw hitting the floor as Scotty happily chats with the computer that absolutely should not work that way.

Anyway, I know there's a billion reasons why it couldn't work (and I understand it was important for things to play out the way they did in Voyage Home) but I still find the idea vastly amusing.