#star trek does things that star wars never would or could

[genderentvy]

I was so ready to get lost in the sauce about star wars, but here I am mentally rotating all of star trek in the rotisserie chicken oven

#i wont lie to you #i tried #i was like why am i fighting my love of star wars be free #and i successfully was hyperfocused on it for about two days before my brain switched gears entirely #star trek just speaks to my nonexistent soul #star trek does things that star wars never would or could #this isnt necessarily a criticism #theyre just two wildly different media franchises that i happen to love unequally #but! i will say that the clone wars series is great to have on while im doing stuff because i havent gotten emotionally invested in it yet

[ravenclawerised]

Rewatching DS9 again and I am just so interested at how an average Bajoran would view Kira by the end of the series. How an average Cardassian would? We know that a lot of what she does is known to the Bajoran people. Shakaar mentions Furel and Lupaza bragging about her whenever they get news of the station. But lets actually take a look at this:

She is the highest ranking Bajoran on DS9 outranked only by the Emissary

Most times Sisko did anything in the capacity as the Emissary, Kira was one step behind and to the right

She was with Kai Opaka, the most widely loved and respected Bajoran, when she made her journey through the Celestial Temple and “answered the call of the prophets”

She was highly respected (and loved) by Vedek Bareil who was hugely popular on Bajor (he could very well have been Kai if he hadn’t taken the blame for Kai Opaka’s actions during the Occupation)

She and Kai Winn had a well known feud and after Kai Winn’s fall from grace at the end of the show, Kira must come out pretty great to everyone else

She is the one who found and saved the great Bajoran hero, Li Nalas, from a Cardassian work camp and then within a week saved Bajor from a civil war that had been encouraged by Cardassians.

Between her saving Li Nalas and his fellow prisoners AND finding the Ravinok and saving the Bajorans (and Cardassians and Ziyal) from the Breen mines, was she the person Bajorans turned to when searching for their lost love ones? Was she a symbol to those who kept looking for their loved ones because Kira Nerys found those thought to be lost?

She prevented ANOTHER Bajoran Civil War and helped elect Shakaar as the First Minister of Bajor. Again being associated with a widely loved and respected member of Bajoran society.

Kira was in charge of DS9 during Dominion Occupation and started up the station’s resistance cell

She was permitted to use the Orb of Time, one of Bajor’s most sacred objects

She was the chosen by a Prophet to be their vessel during the Reckoning with the Pah-Wraith...and the KAI was on the same station. But it was KIRA who was chosen

She plays chicken with a Romulan fleet...and wins!

She was a key figure in the Dominion War. She started as a resistance fighter who was assigned to a falling apart, unimportant old Cardassain station and becomes the Colonel of the single most important port in the Alpha Quadrant. She is the right hand of the Emissary. She is widely respected by many beloved figures in Bajoran society.

And this list is just the most public things that have happened to her. This doesn’t even take into account any of the stories about her that involve her dealing with whatever BS the Star Trek universe decides to throw at the characters that week. Klingons beam in and fight? Gets stabbed and keeps fighting. Emissary is transported to 2024? Kira is on the team that pulls him out.

By the end of season seven, do politicians on Bajor hold their breath or breathe a sigh of relief if Kira gets involved? Do Vedeks seek her out to ask her about being possessed by a prophet? About her experiences with the Orbs? About Kai Opaka’s last words? Do families still grieving those missing from the Occupation petition her to look for the lost?

And how about the Cardassians?

The Cardassian government would probably never publicly admit to any time she foiled their plans, but Tekeny Ghemor tells her that she has her own section in the Cardassian Central Archives and is a public figure on Cardassia

Would the Cardassians in the Breen mine whisper their thanks among their family that Kira Nerys found them?

Tekeny Ghemor, someone who was respected enough to be considered as the face for the Cardassian resistance against the Dominion controlled Cardassian puppet government, publicly considered her his daughter/family by asking her to participate in the Shri-tal ritual and give her all of his secrets prior to his death (something highly valued in Cardassian society)

She was a part of Damar’s resistance. She helped them fight the Dominion and was with Damar when he died for Cardassia. In the story of how Damar was martyred for Cardassia’s freedom from the Dominion, Kira Nerys, a Bajoran, is heavily featured.

In all Bajoran/Cardassian relations, do Cardassians seek to involve Kira as a woman of her word who will treat in good faith or do they cross their fingers and hope she is nowhere near their business?

Can you tell I think about Kira Nerys a lot?

#DS9 #Deep Space Nine #Kira Nerys #I love Kira so very very much #Her character development over all seven seasons is beautiful to watch #And I think everyone should love her #Everyone on DS9 must have a reputation on Bajor just #by proximity to The Plot #And obviously Sisko is probably the most prominent figure between Bajoran Cardassian Federation and Maquis society #But I argue that Kira is the next well known with her own mini following on Bajor and maybe even Cardassia

[ravenshavenn]

Modern day muggle Snape headcanon

He would teach chemistry if he still needed to be a teacher but if not then I feel as though he would run a bookstore or work in a library while doing some strange science projects on the side

He'd prefer reading from books rather than technology like a kindle or his phone

All of the technology that he did own would be outdated as he simply doesn't care and prefers items the he knows the function of rather than the latest updates, he'd still be incredibly interested in all the latest advancements but wouldn't bother to purchase many himself

If he owned a car it'd be similar to his phone, computer, TV, ect with the fact that its old, dusty and kept to the bare minimum of cleanliness, he wouldn't leave rubbish in it and would tidy up after himself but it would still need a good hoover, dust and wash in order to be considered clean

Because of the modern day being relatively accepting of receiving help for mental health I'd like to think that as the smart man we know he is Severus would realize he needs help and with some encouragement from friends and family try and help himself

I personally think that he'd at least see a therapist or go to some form of grief support group as he feels more able to now that talks around mental health are more common and seen (by most) as a valid form of treatment

He's fascinated by YouTube videos discussing theoretical nerdy topics such as aliens, conspiracy theories and natural phenomenon not that he believes anything irrational, all his thinking is purely logic based but he still enjoys watching them regardless purely to think about the concepts

Along with this he'd also enjoy works of fiction like Sci-fi shows such as star trek, star wars or anything else that's typically considered "nerdy" but he prefers not to discuss it as is worried he'll be made fun of

There would also be an incredibly grumpy pet that he'd care for maybe a cat, lizard or some sort of bird, he'd have a sort of roommate relationship with it but when he gets tired he'd want to sit down and watch TV with it or it'd just sit on his lap while he reads

I feel as though with mental health support like therapy becoming more normalised Severus may choose to get help, as personally I think he's a smart person and in a

If there's one thing he hates its the concept of dating apps, how are you meant to trust someone you met online? They could be a murderer or the dark lord himself and you'd never know!?

He's also not a big fan of social media, he enjoys keeping up with all of his current fandoms and interests but rarely posts anything if at all, maybe just a few blurry photos of something he found funny like a strange looking cat or a picture of a cool science project he finished once and then he'd never post again

Music isn't something he's particularly interested in but when he does listen to it its normally rock, metal or something gothic but occasionally the odd bit of classical music if he wants to feel high status or is working on a project and wants music on in the background that won't distract him while he works

#snape #severus snape #pro snape #snape fandom #pro severus snape #professor severus snape #snape au #snape community #professor snape #snape content #snape fic #severitus #snapedom #pro severus #severus #snape headcanon #severus snape headcanon

[siempre-bucky]

I don’t remember who I was before you with Coyote or Mickey, please!!

Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia x Reader

summary: Fanboy always thought he had to keep his interest a secret... till he met you.

wc: 751

a/n: I haven't written for mickey in so longI hope you like it

Join my blurb weekend!

Mickey learned from early on that no one gave a shit about his interests. He was an adult, he shouldn’t have liked comic book movies or sci-fi epics that provided him so much comfort as a kid. In high school, he got picked on for the Tie Fighter keychain on his backpack and teased when he talked about the newest comic book he read. In college, he felt like he could finally be himself, so on the first day he placed his Millennium Falcon figurine on his desk in his college dorm room but earned a scathing glance from his new roommate “Keep that kiddie shit locked away, man,” he told him. 

He learned to be almost silent on dates, hiding away the things that he loved for the opportunity to be loved. Mickey went on a date once with a girl who wore a Star Trek shirt to their arcade date, and for once he felt like he could be himself. “I really loved the show from back in the day!” he rambled on and on about one of his favorite shows, and his smile never seemed to fade. Until he saw the grimace on the girl's face in the colorful lights of the arcade. The rant came to a stop and his bright smile faded.  “D-do you have a favorite?” 

“I’ve never seen it. I just liked the design of the shirt. I think all that nerdy shit is weird, to be honest,” she replied nonchalantly. 

It was no surprise that the date was the first and last. But he learned to talk about other things like the weather and current events, shoving his true interests deep down inside his mind. He didn’t want to be labeled the loser in flight school so he made a vow to never let them know even if it meant dimming his light. 

Mickey kept his head low while he was there, only talking when spoken to or when he felt like he could be included. “I like your keychain,” you complimented as you sat across from him in the cafeteria, his star wars keychain hanging from the keychain around his neck. 

Fuck, he thought. He forgot to take it off after spending the weekend with his family. “Oh, it’s alright. It’s my sisters,” he deflected, but you could see the glint in his pretty brown eyes. You smiled knowingly and picked up your fork. 

“Well,” you sighed, “she has really good taste.” 

All he did was nod, perfect teeth biting down on his lower lip to prevent him from saying something stupid or something that would scare you off. “She does,” he said in between bites. 

The way he acted amused you, just squirming in his seat and you instantly thought he was the cutest thing. “Jar Jar’s my favorite character,” you prodded, smirking. 

Mickey’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. “You’re wrong!” he gasped, pointing his finger. Hook, line, and sinker. You cocked your head and grinned in triumph as he went on an uncontrollable rant–not that you wanted him to stop. 

“My name is Y/N,” you introduced, cutting him off. 

“Mickey, Mickey Garcia.” 

A few years passed, and you and Mickey climbed the ranks and created a little life together after your time at Top Gun. He sat out on your balcony, the ocean peeking through the surrounding tall buildings. “Are you coming back in?” you asked, sliding open the door, “Hangman’s threatening to take the Death Star set home with him.” 

“I’ll hurt him,” he gasped, turning around and putting his arm around your waist, “he knows how long that took me to build.” You giggled and put your head on his shoulder, looking into the living room. There stood his friends, laughing and enjoying their time together in your little place filled with the thing you and Mickey loved. 

A silence quickly fell at the thought of how he got so lucky? “You still with me?” you asked softly. 

“Yeah, mi amor,” he sighed, kissing your forehead, “Jus’ thinking.” 

“About?” 

He swept his tongue along his lower lip before speaking, “I don’t—I don’t remember who I was before I met you,” he admitted, his fingers tapping against your waist. You do, he was quiet and almost shy, he wasn’t Fanboy. He wasn’t the real Mickey. 

“Well,” you started, turning to wrap your arms around his neck and bringing him close, “I love this Mickey.” 

He smiled and pecked your lips, “Good. I love you too, baby.”

#siempre buckys blurb night #mickey garcia #mickey garcia x reader #mickey garcia x you #mickey garcia fluff #mickey garcia imagine #fanboy x reader #fanboy x you #fanboy imagine #top gun maverick #top gun

[t0ast-ghost]

Hiya, have some episode 8 (What Are Little Girls Made Of) of Star Trek TOS thoughts:

- I dunno this sounds like… A TRAP! (I never thought I’d actually quote Star Wars and I’m quite frankly ashamed of myself)

- The most terrifying thing of all.. A DRAMA STUDENT (I am referring to Brown)

- wait- who? Who was that? No no go back why’d he sneak away like that? stop sneaking around you creepy ass fu- oh he killed a redshirt

- okay but Browns fit is kinda slaying (I’m a drama student)

- why does Brown kinda sound like the bad guy from cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2

- Kirk is so fucking dramatic.. bbygirl you did not need to roll out of danger

- HE GOT YOINKED!

- damned outpost scientists

- what in the German expressionism is this creature

- please don’t tell me Andrea is an android t- oh she admitted to it

- “do you think I could love a machine?” “Did you?” CHRISTINE IS NOT HAPPY

- sooo Korby is an android, ain’t he?

- Spain without the a

- why don’t they bring this machine back into the new series? It spins and it’s funny (put it in lower decks or smt)

- Kirk clone count: 2

- what in the blocky play mobile kind of food is that

- okay I love chapel “I’d rather you push me off the same precipice that the crewman fell from”

- why do I always like the science officers (my best friend is a biomed student so that may explain it…)

- Kirk is holding a dick rock… thank you for coming to my ted talk

- goddamn those boots are slutty

- DONT YELL AT SPOCK (he knows his boyfriend would never)

- I have a feeling Kirk just really hated Ruk

- I like that both the main medical officers have to go through the “my loved one died and now has been cloned” trauma

- I’d like to see something where the person grieving their loved one makes a robot of them and is originally just happy with the pieces that they’ve gathered of this person… but then it goes horribly wrong

- POOR NURSE CHAPEL HOLY SHIT

- like imagine seeing the person you love again only for it to be a pale imitation that could only want to be as passionate or loving or caring as the person you knew and then for the last image of them you see is them kissing another woman

- SPOCK SMILING AT KIRK! I REPEAT SPOCK IS SMILING AT KIRK

Okie dokie that’s pretty much it. Really love Christine Chapel now so…

I don’t think I remember episode 7 (Mudd’s Women) enough to have anything to say about it. I disliked the episode, if I ever have reason to watch it again I’ll maybe write something but for now I’m skipping it. Thanks :)

EP1 | EP2/3 | EP4/5 | EP6 | EP9 | Masterpost

#Star Trek #star trek the original series #star trek tos #star trek kirk #tos kirk #captain james kirk #star trek spock #tos spock #spock #christine chapel #tos chapel #Star Trek chapel

[paperstorm]

I was tagged by @thisbuildinghasfeelings @carlos-in-glasses @whatsintheboxmh @heartstringsduet and @lemonlyman-dotcom thanks buds you are in the queue!

I need to stop with Hallmark fic teases or you're gonna have the whole fic before I even post it but I can't get enough lately of writing it.

-

“You know, I’ve spent two years listening to Andrea talk about her son,” Owen begins. He rearranges slightly on the couch, reclining further against the pillows and accepting the drink TK hands him.

TK sits in the chair across from him, tucking his legs up underneath him and leaning on the arm.

Owen takes a sip and then sets the fizzing glass down on the coffee table. He looks at TK with a weary smile on his face and says, “I’ve only met him a few times. He was polite, a little shy, seemed nice enough. Insisted on calling me Captain Strand.”

“Is that what that was, back at the hospital?”

“Mhm,” Owen hums. “But the thing is, all good mothers rave about their children.”

“I guess so,” TK agrees, unsure where his dad is going with this.

“Yours did,” Owen tells him, his smile briefly widening. “We had friends in New York who were so sick of it. Gwyn would go on and on, showing pictures, bragging about a goal you’d scored on your peewee hockey team or an A you’d gotten on a spelling test, as if it was as big an accomplishment as being the first man on the moon.”

TK smiles and looks down at his own knees. The thought puts a tug of sadness in his chest, but it’s a warm sort of sadness. The kind that’s tinged as much with melancholy as it is with cozy nostalgia.

“So I figured,” Owen continues, “that Andrea was just being a good mother. That her infamous Carlitos was just as good as any other kid, but not some kind of superhero.”

TK looks back at his dad.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you smile the way you just did, when he kissed your cheek.” Owen’s eyes are a little bit liquid. “I think maybe I was wrong. Maybe he is a superhero.”

Caught off guard by the way his skin prickles, TK clenches his jaw and re-averts his gaze. As a deflection, he crudely says, “Maybe the dick is just really good, have you ever thought of that?”

Owen laughs in surprise, and laughing makes him cough. He thumps twice on his own chest, and in a voice that catches on a word or two, says, “I’m so happy for you.”

TK huffs and doesn’t answer.

“He means something to you.”

“Dad.”

“Come on, don’t deny it. A stranger could see it from a mile away.”

TK leans his head down, propping his temple up on a closed fist. “I barely know him.”

“Sometimes the heart gets there first, and the brain needs some time to catch up. And the details are just … details.”

Sighing, TK points out, “Except one of the just details is that he lives here and I live in New York. That’s a little bit more complicated than – he likes Star Trek and I like Star Wars and we’ll learn to compromise.”

Owen laughs softly. “Come on.”

“No, you come on.” TK shares his laugh, but the point he’s making still feels important. “We’re having a good time. It doesn’t need to be more than that.”

“If you say so.” Owen shifts again, letting his head turn to one side and closing his eyes.

“What?” TK pushes.

“Nothing.”

TK rolls his eyes. “Would you just say it?”

Owen squints one eye open and looks at him. “I just know you, kiddo. That’s all.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I know you’ve had a rough time. And I know you keep yourself pretty locked up because of it. But it seems like maybe you let this guy in, even if you didn’t intend to. And maybe that means more than you wanna admit.”

Tagging @theghostofashton @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @birdclowns @strandnreyes @reyesstrand @orchidscript @goodways @alrightbuckaroo @lightningboltreader @mooshkat @liminalmemories21 @inkweedandlizards @bonheur-cafe @reasonandfaithinharmony @thebumblecee @never-blooms @freneticfloetry @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @jesuisici33 @tarlosluvr

#911ls fanfic #wip wednesday #paperstorm writes #ask me to add you to my tag list if you want as always

[40cleverways]

Something that emotionally devastated me more than it should have in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, was that C3PO had his memory erased for the second time. And even though this time Artoo was able to give him most of them back, he still missed so much. And Artoo remembers it all, he keeps watching his friend forget himself over and over.

When C3PO said, “if I don’t come back, you were my best friend” he was right, because he didn’t come back. C3PO died on that planet when they took his memories away, they killed him. And when Artoo gave him back his memories  it was only to before the mission began, so he still didn’t know that the woman he had served for decades was dead... He’ll never remember Padme, or any of his friends who are now long gone. And the only reason Artoo started backing up C3PO’s memories was because he didn’t want his friend to forget him again.

It just made me really sad that his life is so less meaningful than the humans or even the other droids, especially after coming from Star Trek where there are multiple episodes dedicated to how the androids should be just as valued because they are alive too, they have thoughts and feelings and they make connections, and to then go to Star Wars where a beloved character sacrificed himself for everything and everyone he loves, after being so afraid for so long he’s grown brave overtime and and he does the bravest thing imaginable, and it’s played as comedic? They didn’t know Artoo’s memory backup was reliable; they really thought that he would die. Sure he could have made new memories, but... still.

They killed him that day, and I’m just so sad. And the real kicker is that he still doesn’t know that someone forcibly took his memories, he thinks that he was programmed to serve the royal family on Alderaan, not forged with so much dedication by a slave boy trying to help his mother. And he’ll probably never know…

#i have a lot of feelings #yes this movie is old but my feelings are fresh #c3p0 #star wars r2d2 #star wars #star wars the rise of skywalker #r2d2 and c3po #droid husbands

[ciaossu-imagines]

Random + Mikoto

Of course, anon dear! Thank you so much for sending in the request and I hope you’ll enjoy the headcanons!

Mikoto is actually very athletic but he’s not really all that into joining clubs, so he didn’t actually belong to any of the athletic clubs during his school days. At points, the soccer team, the baseball team, the basketball team, and the track and field club all tried recruiting him though. They all failed even though Mikoto enjoys playing all those sports…he’d just rather play around with his friends doing those things than have to play on a competitive team. He has zero interest in the pressure, the schedules, or all the things that come along with that.

Mikoto really loves the look of traditional Yazuka related tattoos. He is someone who would have thought about getting tattoos of his own more times than anyone could count but never followed through on it because he really couldn’t decide on what he wanted. He loves looking at other people’s tattoos though.

Mikoto wears only real leather. It might be considered animal cruelty, yeah, but he just really hates the way pleather feels. He’s that way with a lot of clothing actually – how something feels on his body is just a smidge more important to him than how it looks, though he does have certain tastes in how clothing looks as well.

Mikoto doesn’t own actual pyjamas and tends to fall asleep in whatever he was wearing that day.

Mikoto can and will smoke and eat at the same time, despite it making the food have less flavour.

In terms of food, again, texture is a huge thing to him. There are certain foods he just cannot eat due to the texture of it and oatmeal is high up on that list. It’s not that he dislikes the taste, but rather the way it feels in his mouth.

Mikoto prefers the night sky to daytime. He finds the stars really pretty to look at and he can pick out one or two constellations that he remembers being taught by Tatara when Tatara was going through an astronomy phase.

While he doesn’t appear to be someone who would be sentimental, Mikoto uses or saves any gifts that he receives from his friends.

Mikoto doesn’t have a super close relationship with his family and barely talks to his parents.

His mundane superpower is the ability to literally fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

He’s not someone who really ever found an interest in pop culture. There are so many references he will not get, he doesn’t know the names of most celebrities, he doesn’t watch a lot of television, and has definitely not seen a lot of the really popular movies.

I mean that Mikoto has never seen the following:

Star Wars

Star Trek

Any Ghibli movie

Any K-drama that would have been popular

Any of the Big 3 anime of that time period

Basically, even if it was huge and insanely popular, Mikoto has probably never watched it just because television and movies can’t really keep his interest.

He knows the basics of how to drive but definitely doesn’t have a license.

He prefers his liquor straight, on the rocks.

#event asks #k project #project k #mikoto suoh #homra #headcanons

[itsmyfandomandilikeit]

An episode of Star Trek Prodigy that I have to assume won't exist

So I've been thinking about how the story could "end". My understanding from official announcements is that season 2 will be the end of this part of the story, and that if the series continues after that, a new arc will start.

So of course I've been trying to figure out how "this part of the story" ends, and I keep getting stuck because the way time travel works in Star Trek is really inconsistent, so it's hard to nail down what's possible. So here's a possible season 2 finale that would get chucked in the writer's room garbage and replaced with something more thematically coherent:

So since I finished season 1 I've been paranoid about what happens to Gwyn if she actually does save Solum from itself. In the 2009 movies, Spock is able to live freely in the Kelvin timeline despite being from somewhere else, but in ENT S3 "E Squared", for example, the main characters meet their grandkids who got thrown back in time to save them, and after the rescue mission is complete, the descendant ship disappears and everyone forgets this happened. It's my understanding that the second type of time travel is more common in TNG than the former.

This concerns me because it could happen to Gwyn.

I mean, she's literally going back in time to stop the thing that caused her to be born. There's two timeline branches, and in one of them, nearly everyone is dead or about to be rescued from it. As far as I can tell, they could evacuate the other timeline and if it collapses on the way out, literally the only casualty would be Gwyn. (other than Ascencia, whom I assume will not be around by the end of the story for other reasons.)

So let's say she does it. She goes to Solum and makes first contact on behalf of the Federation and influences them to make the right choices and there's no civil war!! Good job!! Solum joins the Federation, everyone is happy, and the morning after the papers are signed Dal wakes up in the hammock under the engine of Nandi's ship like nothing ever happened.

He's older than he was the last time he was here, but Nandi doesn't seem to think he ever left. Apparently he's been doing bigger and bigger jobs and has amassed an impressive pile of crap in his corner made of things he took from people some way or another. Behind a panel somewhere he even finds a hidden pile of money, presumably so he could eventually buy his own ship.

He starts to wonder if he dreamed the whole thing, but eventually is able to get to the edge of the quadrant and pick up news from the Federation. Around this time, the Protostar has returned home from its first excursion and Chakotay is about to go right back out. He says he's had all sorts of adventures, including a mention of going through a wormhole and having to find his way back, having met a Federation society from some point in the future.

So, Dal realizes that this is the world in which Solum never goes back in time to save itself because it doesn't need saving. Chakotay is fine, Nandi didn't sell Dal as an "unwanted", Dal became a better con artist and thief. With some heavy research, he's able to find the show where Rok-Tahk used to perform, and ask where she was sold if not to the Diviner. Another mining colony. He doesn't really have enough information to find anybody else, but has to assume they were sold elsewhere, slaves on other colonies throughout the Delta quadrant.

So he goes to Janeway. Explains to her that he's from a timeline where some things were different. Everyone else has forgotten, but because his brain is DNA soup, he's immune to some complicated temporal effects. He has to give Chakotay's command codes to prove he is who he says he is.

The thing is, at this point in the story, Dal knows where Solum is. Season 2 has already happened, Chakotay has been found and rescued, but the Federation hasn't made first contact with them. Dal has a choice.

He isn't trusted, but he could regain the trust he once had. Janeway believes him. He knows an awful lot about her and he's familiar with all the Starfleet regulations a cadet would have had to memorize. He knows the advice she tends to give. Dal could make contact with Solum on behalf of the Federation. He knows where it is. He's the only one.

But how he does it determines how well it goes. He could ensure everything goes over perfectly, and proceed with his life as planned - fighting to get into Starfleet Academy so he can be the captain of a starship, armed with the knowledge of a failed alternate timeline other cadets can't learn from. He might even be able to bring Rok-Tahk with him. Maybe she doesn't like science in this timeline but he can make sure she's okay.

Or, he could screw it up. On purpose. Tell them that the Federation wants them for their superior technology, and that they have to change their ways to fit in. Stoke the fires of civil war, and leave. If he does this, everything goes back to the way it was. Maybe even enter a stable time loop where Gwyn fixes things and Dal screws them up over and over.

I think this is a fun concept to think about but I am 95% sure I'm off the mark about this having anything to do with where the story is going.

See, if Gwyn gets erased from the timeline, she's basically died for her abusive slave-owning father's sins, and while I don't think it's impossible to make that work narratively, I think it would be really difficult. I think what would be most empowering as a story is if she takes up the mantle of saving Solum in a peaceful way and gets to move on with her own life.

Which is why I came across the question of how to save her. I think if given the choice she'd sacrifice herself for Solum. Needs of the many, etc. The show demonstrates that the reason she likes Dal is that he puts her first when no one else does. So it's... workable that Dal would have a hand in figuring out how to keep her from being lost conceptually to the timeline. At the same time, Dal is supposed to be getting better, not worse. Siccing him with the choice of saving his love interest's life / saving his teammates from slavery against upholding Starfleet values is, again, not impossible to make work but really hard without breaking the bounds of moral grayness Dal himself tends to be subjected to.

Finally there's the complicated case of writing about slavery overall. In this story, you would have to do some onscreen math about whether the Delta quadrant is better or worse without the influence of the Diviner. Realistically, everyone would have been sold to a different slaver, but a decrease in the number of penal operations has to mathematically be a good thing. Dal choosing between the two timelines ultimately chooses whether to give the Diviner a pass for his many, many crimes, which is, again, probably out of the scope of this series.

Still, I'm enjoying parts of it as an AU. What would an older Dal look like if he'd eventually become more successful as a protege of Nandi? What would Janeway and Chakotay do in the absence of his capture? How can the story avoid the problem of erasing Gwyn?

Ultimately I think they're going to have to go with the explanation of Spock from the 2009 movies. She exists here, she just does, matter can't be created or destroyed and her matter is standing on the bridge with us.

Still, I'm not sure.

#star trek prodigy

[morlock-holmes]

You guys remember this bit from The Simpsons?

I spent my whole life assuming that this would happen to me, partly because I wasn't even with it at the time.

What was I with 20 or 30 years ago?

Gender Non-Conformity

Gay acceptance

Liking My Little Pony even though I was a boy

Superhero Comics

Star Wars and Star Trek

Earthbound

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Anime

Watching cartoons even though I was "too old"

And now all that stuff is considered super outdated and- Wait, I'm getting a breaking news bulletin, apparently the shit I was into as a teen has actually been the entire basis of pop culture for the last 15 years.

So that's already thrown me for a loop. The stuff I was into as a kid was supposed to be as outdated today as Donna Summers and Leisure suits were in the 90s.

And what's really throwing me as we go into the raging 20s is that there seems to be this society-wide effort to just pretend that the generation gap is just as big as it was in the 60s. It makes me feel like society is just gaslighting me.

Look, I don't know shit about Soundcloud Rap and I can't do any TikTok dances, I will admit that right upfront, but, like, what kids have to understand is that from about roughly 1950 to 2000, ignorance of youth trends wasn't an option.

Yeah, older conservatives didn't understand or like the hippie movement, but they sure as hell knew about them, that movement was so important that mainstream pop culture had to react. You could misunderstand them, but it would have taken a tremendous amount of work to not know about them. It would have been the equivalent of someone today saying "What are these 'Marvel' movies you speak of? I've never heard of those!"

So even if there is some hidden, underground part of youth culture that would blow my square, button down mind if I ever saw it the very fact that I haven't seen or heard of it is a major change from how things worked for the second half of the 20th century.

And as for the things I have heard of, oh no, kids today listen to BTS, that's so totally different from the Backstreet Boys how will the generations ever understand each other when they grew up in such completely different contexts?

I really will die on this hill. It makes me feel like I'm taking crazy pills, every time I hear about some kind of unrelatable thing the younger generation does it's like, yeah, that's almost exactly what I was doing 20 years ago but I'm supposed to pretend that I'm the guy in Pleasantville seeing a hippie for the first time.

#pet peeve #the generation gap #Millenials and Gen Z are exactly the same change my mind #Youtube

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: “Droids In Distress”

Wacky droid hijinks and nostalgia abound, let’s get into it.

Now, this is an episode that for a different show would have been used as the pilot.  It’s got all the earmarks of a weekly serial testing out its tone and character dynamics, while acting with confidence like those are already established.

Note that this isn’t a bad thing.  It reminds me most of Teen Titans’s early Season One, there’s a certain kind of charm and innocence and an earnest attempt at convincing you, “Don’t worry, this will be a FUN show! :D”

Frankly starting off lighter eases you better into the world and characters so when things do get more serious and dramatic later you’re more invested because you’ve had more time to get endeared to the characters.

See also, Star Trek: Lower Decks, which had the audacity to end its Season Two on a cliffhanger, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY SILLY COMFORT SHOW, YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE STAKES!

Anyway we open rather appropriately In Media Res with the notes of the TIE Fighter Attack track from A New Hope, which auditorily puts us right into that OT headspace. :)

Once again the tight writing very quickly establishes the situation: The Ghost is on the run from the Empire, in need of cash flow and supplies, they have to occasionally run weapons for someone shady, Ezra is Force Sensitive, and--perhaps most importantly for the later story arc--Kanan has been avoiding training him.

Boy I miss concise exposition like this.  So much story is already set up in some densely-worded dialogue.  (Not just Kanan’s reluctance to teach Ezra but also Zeb’s misgivings with working for Vizago given the uncertain nature of the weapons he deals in.)

Also don’t think I missed Ezra being most concerned with the fact that they are running out of food.

RIGHT SO I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW GIDDY I WAS THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED THIS BECAUSE ICKLE MINI TARI LOVED THE STAR TOURS RIDE AT DISNEYWORLD.  Seriously it was one of my top favorites.  Never rode the updated version (haven’t been back to DW in years) but the classic version was iconic for me.

And this is a cameo/Easter Egg that actually works in context because you don’t need to know anything about this droid pilot, he works organically in the story as he is without any background knowledge required.

Unlike many of the other cameos we could name in certain other Star Wars shows *COUGH*.

Threepio and Artoo on the flipside... Okay, I’m not quite sure how to articulate that it still works better than in aforementioned other shows but it does.  Again Imma chalk it up to, they just fit more organically into the plot and around these characters and also advance the bigger plot by introducing a thread that suggests the crew is going to be connected to the larger Rebellion, which pays off this Season Finale... instead of being a sideshow diversion disconnected from the main characters that may or may not make another appearance down the line sometime.  Maybe.

Side note of appreciation for Chopper gleefully taking right to his role of Public Nuisance Annoying Everyone (But Especially Ezra).  I don’t think there was much acting involved for either of them lol.

XD

Still love how bouncy and dynamic the character animation was these early episodes.

Has that fun kid-friendly feel that lures you into a false sense of security lol.

Our first hint at Sabine’s backstory, cleverly hidden as part of her cover story.

I kinda like that Garel is close enough to Lothal that a very small shuttle is able to just ferry people back and forth in like twenty minutes.

Lol Zeb whapping Sabine because she’s laying it on too much.

One of the nice things about having low-stakes plots in the beginning is it allows room for lovely little breathing scenes like this one with Ezra leaping across the rooftops.  It’s not plot necessary, we could have easily just cut to him arriving at the other hanger, but it’s just... pleasant.

There’s some nice mood music (a very slowed down mellow Main Titles theme), some very mild action, and we feel a satisfied little thrill along with Ezra seeing just what he’s capable of already just knowing that he’s Force Sensitive.  This is the first time he’s consciously tapped into the Force and it’s just a little bit exciting.

Just look at his face gkjhgkjh I’m so proud of him and all he did was some parkour.

Subtle animation detail appreciation: Zeb visibly shudders backing away from the crates.

I love Threepio throwing some indignant shade Sabine’s way with his “[...] if she is an amateur.” line.

We know Zeb is the muscle  of the group, that’s already established, but it’s still obvious in the voice acting and Zeb’s intense tossing of the Stormtroopers that he’s more agitated than normal.

Threepio being oblivious and fussy as per usual.

Please enjoy the Fridge Horror of knowing that the Empire was planning to mass-produce T7 ion disruptors and probably not for their starship-crippling properties. :)

Ezra immediately backing off the hostility once he knows why Zeb’s upset. <333  He’s such an empath I love him.

See this is why I don’t understand people who hate Ezra.  Was he a little bratty this episode?  Sure, but also see how he lets that drop out of compassion once he understands the situation.

Also Ahsoka came onto the stage waaaaaaaaay brattier and a smug know-it-all to boot, just admit y’all hate the kid-appeal characters and refuse to let them be stupid and dumb in order to have some character growth.

Hera’s frustration when she hears that Kanan hasn’t been training Ezra. <333

Lol and love how there’s an immediate follow-up in the next scene.  I want to see the beginning of that conversation.

Pryce gets name-dropped here for the first time.  Predictably Threepio is making a muck of things.  See, this is why no one tells you anything or trusts you with the mission Threepio.

Ezra has clearly dealt with underworld figures like Vizago before lol.

I do wonder if all of this is just a massive Batman Gambit by Artoo, because he seems to be completely unfazed by anything that’s happening.

The AT-DPs get quite a bit of focus in this series and I think their ubiquitous presence in the first season preps us mentally for the heavy upgrade that is the AT-ATs.

Love this shot tracking Hera as she shoots at the AT-DP, very frenetic with the blocking and the camera movements.

The duel between Kallus and Zeb is honestly better than some of the lightsaber fights don’t @ me you know it’s true.

This music cue when they launch the disruptors is a unique one, particular to only this moment I think, but I like it.

Aaaaaaand the first of many times Kallus gets yeeted with the Force.  Lol.

See Sequel Trilogy, this is the general powerset of someone who only just learned they were Force Sensitive and hasn’t had any training. /salt

Kanan seems very surprised and amazed by what Ezra can already do without any formal guidance.  This’ll play into his insecurities later, his whole thing about how Ezra’s powers are growing faster than he can teach.

I think it’s safe to assume Ezra had a lot of latent natural talent that he’d been unconsciously using this whole time that just needed a tiny push to begin manifesting in earnest.

Again, though, Sequel Trilogy, all we unlock is basic shit like Force Sense, Force Jump, and Force Push.

Not surprising Kanan went to fetch Zeb, he’s about the only one even close to Zeb’s height lol.

Kanan looks so proud of Ezra, aww.

More lovely work with the subtle expressions; Kanan’s smile fades and his eyes drop a bit.  Like he realizes, “Oh boy, now I gotta face all my inadequacies and problems.”  Love it.  Love that it’s episode two and we’ve already established so many of the upcoming character arcs.

Hi Bail!

Luke’s theme closing us out once again, apropos given where we are and who we’re with.

For our first “official” non-pilot episode, this is a solid entry.  As I said, establishes a whole bunch about the characters and their relationship dynamics and upcoming arcs and plot points.  It’s also very fun, sets the general early tone of “Adventure and excitement but not too much... yet.” and the animation continues to impress in small ways, mostly the dynamic shot choices, camera angles and movements and the subtlety of emotion displayed on faces.

Coming back to this one always just leaves me with a warm feeling like, “Aahhh yes, back when everything was innocent.”  It definitely plays up the nostalgic feeling of the OT, which was always one of Rebels’ strengths as a show.

Next time, one of the many “filler” episodes that come back in an important and unexpected way in the finale.  You’d think, given the number of Avatar: The Last Airbender alums on the project, fandom would know better than to discount the seemingly light-hearted low-stakes disconnected episodes. XD

#star wars #star wars rebels #rebels rewatch #liveblog #ezra bridger #space dad and his precious pumpkin child #agent kallus #soundtracks #music

[singlecrow]

I'm going to treat myself and do that thing where you write about your five favourite stories of your own (of the moment). why the hell not.

everything we do is sewn with this colour [DS9] A late-seasons DS9 Julian/Garak story with a very simple premise: Garak teaches Julian to sew. It takes time for Julian to learn, and during that time, the two of them go from being awkward and unhappy friends with benefits to being in a functional romantic partnership. The idea, of course, is that Garak can sew - he's a tailor, he runs a tailoring business, people get married in the dresses he makes - and in a way, this is the only way Julian can be sure Garak isn't lying to him. If Garak teaches him to sew, then it's because Garak really knows how to teach him. It's my only real Julian/Garak, and honestly I don't think I need any more: this is how I see it going. It's also got Miles, Keiko and Kira as a functional triad in the background, because I know what I like. My one grief about this story is that I don't think Phoebe, purplefringe, my beloved Julian Bashir superfan, ever read it.

some things you just can't speak about (wherever they come from, they'll never run out) [DS9/MASH] This is the most fun I've ever had writing anything, ever. Like, somehow I'd never done a MASH Star Trek AU (I have Star Trek AUs for nearly every non-SFF fandom I've ever done, including Sports Night and Master and Commander), but it didn't click until I realised it was a story about the Dominion War, and then suddenly it's a DS9 AU and it's my two favourite things mashed (lol) together. So this! Hawkeye, though not the protagonist, is very much the main character: they're a nonbinary half-Betazoid, still bipolar, still brilliant, still a walking fuck-you to authority. I made no changes at all to the canon version to make them nonbinary, or an actually-psychic empath. (The screaming! I think some ppl thought I had made up the scene where Hawkeye screams in their sleep enough to wake up everyone in the habitat. Nope, the tv one does that, and he isn't psychic.) The only real change to this Hawkeye is that they're ship's CMO - so they do, sometimes, have to give orders. They don't like it, but they do, and in so doing have to betray their competence (love ppl being competent). And also, they wear the Starfleet uniform dresses, because I could not with how cute that would be. I never said in the story that they were afab, but I assume they were just so they'd be shorter than Margaret.

The other thing here is, the tension between Hawk and Margaret in the show is gender. Margaret would thrive, if she could do what Hawkeye can do - if she could be a soft-edged man who gets respect from nearly everyone for his ability and competence, who sleeps around nd never has it damage his reputation. But he can do that, and she, a woman in the 1950s, can't. Instead, she gets harassed and socially punished every time she steps out of line, though fundamentally she's nothing different from him. But Star Trek doesn't have that gender tension, so instead we have Margaret as Bajoran, who doesn't have Hawkeye's privileges as a Federation citizen. And it's the one rift in their otherwise extremely loving best-friends-with-benefits relationship. (my fave! their canon relationship, my favourite in fiction, probably).

BJ, bless him, is exactly unchanged: his role in the story is to observe the others. Even Potter, a female half-Vulcan who tolerates no crap who I enjoyed enormously. Anyway this story is 40k! longer than any other fanfic of mine and probably always will be because I can't imagine anything else being as fun.

a girl wild and unwished for [MASH] Ah. So, it's 1957 and it's not fun. Hawkeye is in his mid-thirties, and he's fine, except one night he's not: following an intense depression, he tries to commit suicide and is stopped barely in time.

Which is a hell of a beginning to a story, and honestly I feel a bit conflicted about it; I've been unhappy for years about how (some bits of) fandom went from to "you should content-note this content" to "you shouldn't make this content". When this sort of thing is so often my subject matter, it often does feel like fandom doesn't want my fiction and it legit was part of the reason I shifted towards pro. But that's by the bye, and I'm trying to write what I want to again. So in this story, Sidney is so worried about Hawkeye's mental state that he persuades him to try psychoactive medication for the first time. And the story becomes, in its way, a retelling of The Bell Jar with Hawkeye in place of Esther Greenwood: so about life and friendship, about New York in summer, about Hawkeye's work and place in the world, all muted and sharpened and modulated by the effect of the drug. Of course it's about Hawkeye's manic depression, but it's also about who he is; about what he can concede of his mind and personality, and what he can't. I was really pleased with this one. Despite the description, it does have jokes in it.

who were captured, who would not yield [Good Omens] A Good Omens story written just after s1, in the summer of 2019. That feral Good Omens summer! That summer where everything was still perfect and beautiful! I remember writing this by hand on the train to Cardiff to Vidukon, to P's endless amusement. The story isn't a romance - Aziraphale and Crowley have sex in it, for purely pragmatic reasons - but a story about what they do now they're not on opposite sides or on sides at all. Like in all my GO stories, they go to Waitrose, as follows:

Everything is fine. Crowley is definitely not having a breakdown in Waitrose.

“Crowley,” Aziraphale says, by the self-service checkouts. “You were supposed to get an avocado pear.”

“Damn your avocado, angel,” Crowley says, trying not be actively diabolical in all directions. The next customer is buying strawberries, whipped cream and WD-40 – it’s a Friday night – and Crowley can make out the scent of unhappy dairy. Everything’s fine. He’s definitely not having a breakdown. Much more of this and there’s going to be an unexpected fire in the bagging area.

in the chillest land on the sea [the Magnus Archives] Until recently this was my longest story on the AO3, because it was co-written with dearthoughthenightisgone (imperfectcircle on the AO3 because of their godawful brand management). It's a very complex Magnus Archives story, where the basic premise is that all the while Jon is accumulating the statements belonging to the fears to go into the Archive, there is one additional power that we don't see: hope, at the bottom of Pandora's box. So every so often he gets a hopeful, happy statement, and eventually - the day in the Scottish cabin where it all goes wrong - the assistance of the hope power makes things go a little differently. I love this story. We had to write the statements! There are five of them and each one is a little standalone work of original fiction. And the two of us are pretty good at jamming together our disparate styles and themes and doing something good with them, but this one was hard - they wanted a happy ending, I wanted a bleak ending, we had to thread that needle. But I think we did it well, because this is the story where I get the most consistently overwhelming and sweet comments, people who read the story while a beloved family member was ill, or when locked down with covid, and took a little comfort from it. There was fanart! It was something special.

meditations ex post facto [Guardian] This is allegedly a Guardian AU. (Guardian is a fantasy cdrama about a guy called Zhao Yunlan who runs a paranormal investigatory agency, and his lovely boyfriend, who is both a local academic and, uh, a mysterious ancient ghost king.) What this is actually is a romantic comedy with lawyers. It's all I want in life. I wrote the entire first half of it in the Apple store in Covent Garden waiting for my updates to install. This is the best bit in it.

Zhao Yunlan can’t actually blame her, because he’s never been any good at hiding his feelings and he’s kind of composing an email to Shen Wei in another window. Deaaaaar Professsssor Sssshen, he writes. The spilled latte from the other day has made itself at home in his keyboard. Zhao Yunlan painstakingly scrolls back and deletes all the extra letters. I reaaaaally want to see you again pleaaaaaaassse come to dinner with me.

Not at all weird. 

Shen Wei, I was planning to go for noodles tonight. Perhaps you’d like to accompany me.

Weirdly formal, but better. He presses send before he realises that “planning” still has two extra As and a stray Z.

#mash #deep space nine #good omens #guardian #the magnus archives

[friendly-neighborhood-kinnie]

The Last of Us-Headcanons

Ellie and Jesse became friends when he accidentally scared her once, and she punched him in the face and broke his nose. When she apologized he waved her off and introduced himself.

Because of david, Ellie will sometimes have days where hearing her name said a certain way will set her off. Her friends start calling her every nickname they can.

Jesse likes Shakespeare.

Jesse, Dina, Cat, and Ellie used to be really affectionate with each other when they were younger. Cat stopped being affectionate with them when she and Ellie broke up as she felt she wasn't allowed to be.

Jesse and Dina first started hugging/wrapping an arm around Ellie whenever they could when they noticed she leaned into touch the same way a cat does.

Cat is an affectionate person.

Dina loves carrying Ellie and Ellie loves carrying Dina. They started carrying each other randomly as kids and just kept doing it.

Jesse and Ellie give each other piggyback rides.

Once when Ellie kept forgetting to talk to Joel about getting her haircut she ended up getting so mad about it touching her neck as much as it did that she went to the kitchen took the scissors and cut it. right in the middle of the kitchen. Joel walked in and gently took the scissors out of her hand. He hugged her and a few days later asked Maria to fix her hair.

Ellie likes both Star Wars and Star Trek.

Ellie has claustrophobia, but she didn't realize it until she and Joel were settled in Jackson and some kids that bullied her on occasion thought it would be funny to lock her in an empty supply closet. Joel found her a few hours later hitting her head lightly against the wall in the corner, face red and blotchy from a panic attack that made her cry. they assume the fear is caused by the hole FEDRA used to put her in.

Ellie relies on routine a lot. So when she and Joel move to Jackson permanently Joel quickly finds this out and does his best to make a routine for them both.

Joel has read Anne of Green Gables. He thought it was sweet and read it a few more times throughout the years.

Joel stopped speaking Spanish when Tommy left, sticking solely on English except for the few times that he would mix an English word up with the Spanish translation of the word he was looking for. He somehow never mixed the languages up when on the road with Ellie so the first time she hears him speak Spanish he's having a conversation with Tommy and she just stares at him baffled before saying loudly "You speak fucking Spanish?"

Jesse, Dina, and Ellie have no sense of personal space with each other. Ex. Dina hangs on Ellie a lot, choosing to drape herself over the girl's shoulders. Jesse will just pick Ellie up with one arm wrapped around her waist if he needs her or he's the only one there to stop Ellie from getting into a fight that'll get her in a lot of trouble. Ellie herself will just flop against Dina, whether Dina is standing and Ellie just randomly sits against her legs or she lays her entire upper body in Dina's lap Ellie will just kinda flop there.

The only time they pay more attention to each other's personal space is when Ellie is having a bad day and flinches away from touch entirely. When these days happen the three will watch kids movies they deem stupid. (Toy Story, Spy Kids, Air Bud, etc.)

Hope you all enjoyed these, while these headcanons popped up in my head I tried to think if these things would be in character for these characters I don't know if I succeeded. I plan on putting quite a few of these to use in fics, I already have with one of my fics.

Let me know if there is any way for me to make the characters more like themselves in my writing! Give me your thoughts.

#the last of us #joel miller #joel the last of us #joel tlou #ellie the last of us #ellie tlou #ellie williams #jesse tlou #jesse the last of us #dina tlou #dina the last of us #the last of us game #the last of us hbo #tlou game #tlou show #tlou hbo #tlou #the last of us headcanons

[leighsartworks216]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Game

Tagged by @shenanigans-and-imagines! I don't usually do these, but hell why not

1 - How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 56 individual "works", but that doesn't count how many chapters/actual fics I have posted there

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2 - What's your total AO3 word count?

373,417

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3 - What fandoms do you write for?

So many, oh god. Markiplier Egos, Marvel, The Witcher, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, NCIS, Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, The Arcana, For The Love Of The Gods, Ace Attorney, Indiana Jones, Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom, Howl's Moving Castle, Enola Holmes, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Baldur's Gate 3. These are just all the fandoms I have characters I will write for in, so even though I don't have fics for all these fandoms, I will write for them

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4 - What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

You Have A Type, Don't You? - Astarion x gn!Tav/Reader

I Come With Knives (series) - Astarion x gn!Tav/Reader

Designated Lockpicker - Astarion x gn!Tav/Reader

Astarion Drabbles - Astarion x Tav/Reader ficlets

You Hate Me - Astarion x gn!Tav/Reader

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5 - Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

It depends on the comment, but I don't respond all the time. If someone has a question, or I feel I need to correct them/steer them in the right direction, I'll answer, but I don't respond to most of the ones gushing/aweing over the fic, not to say I don't still appreciate them all immensely.

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6 - What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Rom, My Beloved is my saddest/angstiest from my individual works, but there are some really angsty fics in my Loki and Markiplier Ego compiled works. I wrote it because Rom is my favorite Bloodborne boss and I just loved her lore, but tragedy abounds when you talk about a Soulsborne game

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7 -What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

A lot of my fics nowadays have happy endings, but my favorite of my completed individual works is probably The Rescue of Magistrate Ancunin, because it's open-ended as to what could happen next but it takes a devastating moment from Astarion's life and makes it nice and a little silly

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8 - Do you get hate on fics?

In recent memory, no, but I'm sure I have at some point. I usually delete it and move on

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9 - Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Very vanilla but very emotionally-charged. I have a tendency to focus more on the emotions of those involved and how they feel about their partner over how the sex feels

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10 - Do you write crossovers?

No, but I have thought about doing a Witcher and Bloodborne crossover, because I think it would be very interesting

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11 - Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I did check through the major sites when AI bots started scraping fics off AO3, but I didn't see anything then. If anything does come up though, absolutely let me know

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12 - Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but! Back when I wrote on Wattpad, I had some very lovely person ask to read my fic on Youtube. I agreed and I wish I could find it, because I just remember being so elated by it

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13 - Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. I don't really know how to approach co-writing, and it's just not something I'm too interested in rn

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14 - What's your all time favorite ship?

Uh uhm pass (I can't think of any 💀)

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15 - What's a WIP that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have a Breath of the Wild fic planned out, with notes and even a first chapter written out and future ones with little bits drabbled out, but when I tried revisiting it again, I was just so lost in what I had planned. I hope one day I can finish it, but it's not gonna be soon

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16 - What are your writing strengths?

I've been told that it's the little details I add that ground it more into reality, ie hair getting caught on earrings or a voice cracking while trying to sing

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17 - What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel like I don't describe things complex enough. I can describe emotions or scenery and dip in a little bit, but I can never get it deep *enough*, but I know that comes mostly with neurodivergences and comparing myself to others

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18 - Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I hate when writers have foreign words/phrases in the middle of a fic and don't translate them until the very very end. That means I have so pick up the context clues around it, translate it myself, or risk getting spoiled trying to find the translation

Also, if your character uses sign language, don't put it in italics or ' ', just write it out like if it was verbal dialogue. "They signed, '[fill in the blank]'" Describe the way the gestures are formed (sloppy, sharp, indecipherable, fast) to get across emotion, and also the expressions on their face, since sign languages are very heavily reliant on facial emotions to ass meaning to the signs themselves

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19 - First fandom you wrote for?

Hard to say. I first started my writing on Wattpad, and have since been locked out of that account, but it was probably Doctor Who, knowing me

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20 - Favorite fic you've written?

I have a hard time picking favorites! And I like a bunch of them for a variety of different reasons, and always have things to nitpick about them

I will say I am really really enjoying my work on I Come With Knives so far. It's a passion project and I have some very big, angsty things planned for the future that I can't wait to get to >:3

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I don't really know who to tag for these things ever, so if you want to do it, go for it :)

#fanfic #fanfiction #20 questions

[depizan]

I do have two last thoughts on Shadows of the Empire. I realized I should address the…it’s not really big enough to call a plot…uh… the side plotlet Dash has, since I picked up the book to answer the question of what he was like when written by someone other than the guy who wrote Shadow Games. Also, I’m not quite done being irritated about Roofie Lizards.

Dash Rendar’s crisis of confidence.

During one of the assorted plots that fade out over the course of the book there’s a space dogfight in which several Bothan pilots are killed by a missile that Dash failed to destroy. That he failed for the first time ever and people died gives him a Heroc BSoD for a bit.

*massages forehead*

Okay, two thirds of that is fine, but the middle third just destroys the entire thing. No one gets to the age of…okay, I don’t know how old Dash is, but I’m pretty sure he’s older than, like ten…without failing. I don’t care how hot shit he’s supposed to be, this cannot be the first time in his life that he failed. Or missed a target. Also, given his line of work, this can’t be the first time people he’s working with have died. His plotlet would be more appropriate for someone Luke’s age. Or younger. Not for a seasoned criminal who routinely gets in space battles.

That said, characters are allowed to be upset by things. I’d absolutely have given an “I failed and people died!” BSoD a pass. Maybe it hasn’t happened that often. Maybe it just hits him hard every time. That could actually be a hint of him as an actual person not a random assortment of one liners and ludicrous skills. But it’s written like somewhere between 50% and 75% of his BSoD is because he never fails.

No one never fails. No one. That’s not how anything works!

(Also, his focus on “how could I, the man who never misses, miss!?” makes it all about him and not the people who died, which isn’t a good look. Nor is Luke kind of being glad he was taken down a peg, well, wanting to be glad he was taken down a peg, if not for the loss of life.

I swear to god, Dash has an asshole aura the way Taris has a bad idea aura and Joruus C'baoth has a wisdom and intellect drain aura.)

Anyway, the point is: it’s a plotlet for someone just starting out in life. “Oh no, I can fail.” is not something that an experienced adult should be struggling with. (Again, “oh no, my failure had bad consequences” is something anyone can struggle with. It’s the emphasis that’s fucking the plotlet up, not the events themselves.) Worse, Dash is a character whose brother died and family was destroyed because of bad luck. He shouldn’t be having this struggle with the concept of failure! Bad shit happens! He knows that.

It doesn’t help my irritation that later, after Dash is “dead”*, it turns out that it was a specially shielded missile, so he didn’t actually fail. Or at least, he didn’t actually miss. There was just nothing he could’ve done.

Look, Star Wars writers, the reason people like Han Solo is because he does fuck up. He’s not perfect. It makes him human and relatable and likable. He’s very good at what he does, but he’s not The Best™. Sometimes he encounters someone better than him. And sometimes he just messes up. Because people do.

Han Solo but cooler and edgier doesn’t make for an interesting character. It doesn’t even make for a character at all.

*I don’t know if he’s genuinely supposed to be dead in the book, but I do know from Wookieepedia that he faked his death.

Roofie Lizards

Roofie Lizards irritate me. Quite a lot, actually. They’re also a good example of how I can be a bit inconsistent in what violates my suspension of disbelief. Generally, I’m pretty willing to accept all manner of ludicrous things in the softer end of the fantasy and sci-fi spectrum. I don’t expect actual science in Star Wars. (Or Star Trek or Doctor Who or Stargate or…) I don’t object to people throwing in a bit of actual science, but I fully expect my soft sci-fi/space adventure to run on handwavium. Except when that handwavium only exists to fuel a plot that should be flushed down the galactic toilet.

See, Falleen annoy me. Zeltrons don’t. And that hinges entirely on why the two species exist.

Zeltrons are hot pink near-humans with potent pheromones and telepathic powers that fall on the empathy end of things. They can’t read minds, but they read and influence emotions. They were introduced in the now practically ancient Marvel comics run of Star Wars back in the 80s as, well, Space Hippie Party Kids. They’re big on free love and happiness and having a good time and dress a bit like they wandered out of a rave.

They’ve also been expanded on by a number of authors since then, and were even fleshed out beyond that introduction in the comics. You’ll find Zeltron heroes, rogues, and villains scattered through all manner of Star Wars works. I think they’ve even been recanonized by Disney.

I have never once thought to myself with irritation “I’m pretty sure pheromones are species specific” when reading about Zeltrons. Yes, it helps that humans and near-humans can be assumed to at least be the same class, taxonomically speaking, but it also helps that they never felt like they were designed to be walking Roofies. Or if they were it was a HELL of a lot more subtly.

Falleen are green roofie lizards with insanely potent pheromones who were invented so Xizor could try to “seduce” (consider those the largest quote marks ever) Princess Leia. Also so Xizor could be just that much more Most Special and go on about how his reptilian ancestry meant he was cool and not ruled by his emotions. (Even though he 100% was.)

Why do your pheromones even work on mammals you overgrown iguana!?

Hem.

As I was saying, my suspension of disbelief has a hell of a lot more trouble with Falleen. I mean, I’d find Xizor a Villain Sue and the whole plotline with him becoming enamored of Leia awful even if he’d been a Zeltron. But you created an entire fictional species just to make your character more special and to be a walking date rape drug? Really?

It just underlines Xizor’s Villain Sue-ness, or DMNPC-ness or That Guy’s character-ness. It doesn’t feel like a case of “oh, I had this fun idea for a new species” it feels like the species was designed because Xizor needed to be special.

Also, like…it’s unnecessary, in a sense. It’s just background set dressing. And a way to threaten a female character with rape that it isn’t clear the author realizes would be rape. It’s just so…weird. And requires jumping through more mental hoops than Zeltrons do.

Which feels more implausible? Magic pheromones that work across species barriers regardless of gender or magic pheromones that work across species barriers (larger species barriers even!) but only work on the opposite sex? It’s not just me, right? Adding in that Only Heterosexual bit just begs one to ask questions about how it’s working at all. (Also whether the author realizes that there’s a larger difference between species, much less classes, than between sexes.)

Also, Xizor is a really weird villain. He feels like he should be a buffoon. The kind of villain you’d class with Rich Biff from Back to the Future 2 or the guy in Making Money (Discworld) who wanted to become Vetenari. Granted, this could just be because real life has an over abundance of buffoon rich guy villains at present, but he’s over the top in a way that interferes with him being an impressive villain. Except I think we are supposed to find him an impressive villain. He’s rubbing elbows with the Emperor. He’s treated as an equal to Vader. He’s been wildly successful. (He didn’t just inherit daddy’s money.) I’m pretty sure he’s supposed to be a cool, sexy villain, not a green Biff Tannen.

I can’t tell if the fact that all I see is green Biff Tannen is a me problem or a writing problem.

#Mac vs fandom blue #Mac reads things #last thoughts on Shadows of the Empire #okay it might be more that Xizor reminds me of a real life rich villain whose last name rhymes with husk... #brief discussion of authors not understanding rape

[direwolfrules]

Star Trek: Voyager But The Caretaker Also Grabbed Ships From A Galaxy Far Far Away

I don't know, maybe the Star Wars Galaxy is in the same direction as the Alpha Quadrant anyway. So, joining Voyager it is!

Aaannnd I've decided in the five seconds I stepped away that Season 4 Ghost Crew + Rex and Kallus is the most interesting.

Hera would tell the rest of her crew that since the Ghost is toast, they're kinda dependent on the Voyager crew to get even somewhat closer to their home, so if the strange people want you to wear their weird uniforms and answer up a chain of command, you go do it. Space mom's orders are to be followed.

I don't think any of them actually become temporary Starfleet personnel, just Civilians like Neelix and Kes. At least at first, they could potentially join down the line. Part of this is they're already part of a command structure, one they'd very much like to get back to, and part of it is they don't know how anything works?

Star Wars and Star Trek technology are very different. Like, warp drives must seem ridiculous from the perspective of people raised on hyperdrives, but replicators are almost more magical than Force powers. Universal translators instead of super annoying protocol droids providing a running commentary? Insane. Wait, what do you mean the murder droid technically qualifies as sentient by your laws, and therefore we aren't allowed to turn him off? That's the only thing that gets him to stop threatening our lives!

Intake physicals reveal, in no particular order: Hera's pregnant (to the surprise of everyone but Kanan), Federation medical technology can restore Kanan's vision (he jumps on the chance to see his family again like a Corellian jumps on a freighter), and the EMH has several potential therapies that could not only stop Rex's rapid aging, but also reverse it (Starfleet ships keep getting hit by aging diseases, temporal anomalies, and weird transporter accidents, they've learned a thing or two after a few centuries).

Janeway's dealing with an internal debate over whether letting the Ghost crew join up is a violation of the Prime Directive or not. They don't have warp capability but their hyperdrives seem to be even better? Does it count when they seem to have bypassed warp tech entirely and instead developed dimension-shifting FTL tech? If the answer is no can she make an exception anyway because the Space Wizards seem useful?

Anyway, I think the Rebels would try to make themselves as useful as possible in order to get home.

Hera has them all studying Federation education modules in their downtime so they can better understand all the new tech. Hera's also practicing flight simulators in the holodeck, because she's never met a ship she couldn't fly and she's not going to let a helm console hold her back.

Her and Tom have a mini feud over who's the best pilot on the ship. If we go by Federation controls, Tom is, but only because he has more experience with them. When Tom builds the Delta Flyer with the classic flight controls, Hera beats him in a race. Easily. He winds up crying on B'Elanna's couch. Then after B'Elanna kicks him out he winds up crying on Harry's couch.

Sabine's basically a tech prodigy, so I don't think she'll have too much trouble understanding the engineering principles behind things. It's more convenient plot wise anyway. Hera has to negotiate with Janeway on her behalf to get permission to paint in certain areas of the ship. Personal quarters, the mess hall, etc., she can paint as long as it's appropriate and not interfering in ship operations.

Sabine, once she gains a sufficient understanding of Federation technology, starts volunteering for shifts in Engineering. It starts with her doing basic maintenance and later as she grows more proficient she starts helping with things like warp core refits. She also starts experimenting with various pieces of equipment, and at one point figures out how to replicate beskar. This is important for later plot points.

Ezra basically gets kidnapped by Samantha Wildman. His whole "connecting to animals" thing? Yeah, the ship's Xenobiologist isn't going to pass up the walking, talking research tool. Also, Ezra could always use more Space Moms. This one just happens to lack protagonist energy.

When he's not helping keep the feral creature of the week from killing the entire crew of the ship, he's joining away missions because having a Space Wizard with a laser sword on your team should just be standard protocol.

Ezra's also the one to figure out there's something wrong with Seska. She always feels slimy in the Force, and cold. She reminds him of several Imperial officers he'd come up against, a sense of viciousness-ambition-hunger that makes the very air in the room feel like poison. His danger sense never seems to stop going off when she's nearby.

He reports the bad feeling to Chakotay, and while a note is made to keep a closer eye on her, it's not like they can really do anything. Until Seska takes an action that endangers the ship and its crew, they cannot take action. How would it look to the Maquis crew if one of their own was locked in the brig thanks to the Wizard Boy's feelings? They'd have a ship-wide mutiny in less than two hours.

Sometimes Tom and Harry kidnap him for shenanigans related purposes, including but not limited to Captain Proton holodeck adventures. Sometimes they include Sabine and her and Tom bond over the crushing weight of parental expectations. Sabine hates the lack of color in the Captain Proton holoprogram, and has taken to programing "color bombs" into it with Ezra's help.

Kanan is Hera's house husband that watches Jacen and tries to stop his space children from having a mental breakdown. (They're all halfway to a breakdown, that's an undercurrent of this whole AU, they just do a semi-decent job of hiding it until it all bursts forth at once, usually at a highly inconvenient time. Except Ezra, he gets mega angsty for a bit.)

Kanan occasionally joins away missions as well. Him and Tuvok kinda bond in a "we're both Space Dads" way. They also kinda low-key hate each other. Tuvok's all about that Vulcan logic and Kanan believes in following the Force. The Force makes no logical sense, and half the time you're relying on your own potentially faulty interpretation of its warnings. They're frenemies. It's fun until Neelix tries to force them to bond.

Zeb helps out in Security. He's also Naomi and Jacen's second favorite babysitter. Him and Neelix have a small rivalry over this.

Also, Zeb's basically Neelix's biggest supporter when Dr. Jarel shows up. Threatens to throw the guy out an airlock if he so much as scans Neelix. (Listen, I'm not saying Zeb and Neelix get drunk one night and cry on each others' shoulders about the Purging of Lasan and the Metreon Cascade's effect on Rinax, but I'm also not not saying it.)

Also, I think it would be funny if leola root tasted exactly like a common ingredient in some traditional Lasat dishes. Zeb basically never uses his replicator rations because his Lasat taste buds find so much of Neelix's fare to be downright pleasant. Basically Zeb in this AU is a giant murder machine who enjoys Neelix's cooking and always has a stockpile of one of the most valuable currencies on the ship. The crew views him as some sort of mythical deity because of this.

Kallus helps Tuvok with threat assessments and the like. Janeway also drafts him to investigate the Maquis crew, sniff out potential bad actors so that a closer eye can be kept on them. It's thanks to this Lon Sudar is caught and given psychiatric help before he can go full Lon Sudar.

Once Kes sets up the Aeroponics Bay Kallus starts to basically live in there. Neelix does a whole segment on it for his morning show, "Stressed City Boy Learns Joy Of Gardening". It's a big hit for the audience of two (Samantha and Zeb).

Rex is everyone's grandpa. Seriously, he just is. Before his aging is fixed to what it should be, he's like an armored Santa Claus. Even after it's fixed most of the crew can't really get the image of Grandpa Rex out of their heads. He tells the best stories about his brothers, and about his Jedi General and Commander.

Over drinks one night in the holographic bar though, Rex's stories...morph.

Halfway through a story about when Fives and Echo tried to explain to a shiny why you shouldn't enter any room the General and Senator Amidala were in alone without knocking, he just breaks down and starts crying about how Fives had been shot by a brother. How Fives had tried to save them all, and how he'd paid for it with his own life.

A story about General Skywalker getting ambushed with glitter by an Initiate Clan is interrupted by a tear-filled rendition of the March on the Temple. It's awful and heartbreaking and it's only made worse when Rex reveals he heard the story from a freshly dechipped brother, one who'd only been a shiny at the time of Order 66. A brother who after a single day without the endless drone of "Good soldiers follow orders" buzzing around his skull decided to eat his own blaster. The kid hadn't even picked out a name yet.

After that, people tend to tread on eggshells around him for a bit. It's just, it's a lot. For what feels like the millionth time since they first got stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway curses whoever at Starfleet Command decided the original mission was too short to justify a ship's counselor.

Chopper, he likes exactly three members of Voyager's crew and they are Samantha Wildman, Naomi Wildman, and Seven of Nine when she shows up. Chopper finds himself unable to hate Samantha because she's simply too nice, and Hera seems to like her (they're pregnancy buddies). Then she produces her offspring, and Naomi's a good child who helps Chopper and Jacen pull pranks on the crew.

Then there's Seven. Seven, who post-Borg happens to agree with Chopper on a lot of things. At least until she learns about morals and stuff, and gets in touch with her human side. But by then the murder-bonding has been completed, and Chopper counts her as one of the "do not murder" organics.

Also, the Universal Translator is able to translate Binary, which is...just fantastic. Chopper hates it, because now he can't slyly insult people in a language they don't understand. Eventually someone, possibly B'Elanna, takes pity on the children and Harry and shuts down translation of anything Chopper says.

#star wars #star wars crossover #star trek voyager #star trek crossover #au #star wars au #sabine wren #captain janeway #hera syndulla #kanan jarrus #ezra bridger #alexsander kallus #garazeb orrelios #captain rex #chopper #neelix #kes #chakotay #seska #b'elanna torres #samantha wildman #naomi wildman #seven of nine #jacen syndulla #tuvok #tom paris #harry kim #To boldly rebel AU