#5) very much very terrible family tragedy

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm All Over the Place, and so are the shows

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Nov 2023 Wk 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - The Jasmine flirting thing was so darn cute, I can’t. I love these two so much. 

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 2 of 10 - Oh it’s great. Flirting. Fighting. Fate. Murder. Eventually we’ll add fucking. A trifffecta. I could do with a bit less training but whatever. And we have learned our boys are laboring under a geis. NO SINGING. Otherwise this ep was actually pretty flipping great. 

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 - Ooo kidnapping and the sides are suffering betrayal. Also Tew kills again. I like that they don’t shy away from the fact that he’s a killer and Guy was genuinely scared.  And then Tew had to break up with Guy to protect him in Noble Sacrifice (tm). How Cdrama of him. Rough ep all round. 

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - It’s not exactly good, but it’s better than I was expecting, and I tend to cut pulps a lot of slack out the gate. The plot is more interesting, Him is a sweetie (I like that in a seme) and our uke has both game and pluck. He’s a femme bitch, I LOVE that in a boy + we never get it femme in the lead. The acting is not great, sound all over the place, but there are no terrible sound effects, the soundtrack is okay, and our high heat came with a side of BJ + condoms, and no one has sung (yet), so I think I like it. It’s giving me Big Dragon vibes.

Linguistic moment: 

Him used Him/ter for pronouns & ha. Very flirty. Nail used rao back a little bit of a challenge. (No pom and didn’t use his own name either.) Gauntlet thrown. Our baby ends up with rao/kao but I don’t think that’ll stick. Him is getting Phi out of him if it's the last thing he does.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 2 of 6 - The characters’ shared backstory is no surprise but I do like this show. Those little private smiles as they find family. Those lingering gazes as they find romance. Lovely. Also Shin wants to marry into Peach's family so bad, I’m reminded of Laurie in Little Women. All that said, it’s never the top of my list to watch for some reason. 

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - How could I have forgotten how stunning Off is? Meanwhile… I love Gun’s character, he's so cute. But this show is a bit too comedic for me. I wish GMMTV were taking this script seriously. Sorry Neo et al I’m not sold on the sides. In general? I don’t love it. I don’t hate it either. In other news, I think I'll go make toast.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 14 - I love the sides and unholy amount and in general it was fine this week probably because I decided to do a trash watch.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 5 of 10 - I’m getting fatigued. Also holy random sex Batman. Where did these extra sides come from? I’m confused. Tonal pingpong going on, and not just in the shower.  

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 4 of 8 - Finally a direct confession Jade can’t avoid. Will things get a bit more serious?

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - I don’t know why I watch this show, the acting is great, but it just makes me cry.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 3 of 14 eps - What a bonkers thing this is. Very kinky and also just odd. I do keep thinking about the pinks with it. Similarly, there doesn’t seem much glue holding this thing together, dried cum of course but not glue. And despite what some kinksters say, the one cannot replace the other.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Fake Love ep 15 of 24 - This is a weird installment. Too stalker and random blackmail for me. But not as bad as abuse and death, I guess? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - Not much of a love triangle in the end (you just found out he is actually gay and broken hearted = an opportunity not a tragedy). Meanwhile I like that the high school break up was just mr insomniac's fault. He got jealous and angry and petty. No miscommunication just an asshole kid. I did find this show a little slow, even though it was your standard length KBL. Odd that. They are very cute boyfriends tho. 

All in all:

Tsundere insomniac grump reunited with his sunshine jock ex (human sleeping pill) who now hates him. Basketball is also involved. While the simplicity of a reunion plot makes this more cohesive than most KBLs, it is a tad stiff and slow, never managing to lift itself out of "pretty and pretty enjoyable" - I liked it but I don’t think I’m going to remember much about it. 8/10

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - It has the feel of a one act, with such a limited cast and location, which reminds me of KBL. Still watching these two quietly fall in love and process affection through their own art forms is sweet. This is a very soft gentle show. 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) - Toki, a delinquent but pure-hearted kid falls in love with his handsome phys-ed teacher, Sahara. This is very much my trope but very manga campy, which I don’t love. I’m quite torn. Toki is an idiot but a lovable one. But do I like it?

It's Airing But...

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even dimples can motivate me to watch. You can tell me how this goes if you can find it.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off. If told it's good, I'll binge.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes, so I'm waiting to binge if told it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

In case you missed it

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) finished. Adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who (nearly) dies and ends up cohabitating with an angel. I was warned that the ending would not work for me so I decided not to bother.

My Biker BL short movie from Wayu supposedly premiered Nov 27 on their YouTube Channel for Members to watch. I couldn't find anything further. The MDL description makes me think it's not for me so I bother.

Next Week Looks Like This

Short list of the December offerings.

12/9 Cherry Magic (Thai remake) YouTube 10 eps

12/9 Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) ??

12/14 Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) ??

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love these dudes so much, and make no mistake they def dudes. On point banter, my dudes. (Sign)

Yes they are cute but so far that's all this show has going for it. (Middleman's Love)

I'm a simple human, I just like seeing Off kneeing. (Cooking Crush)

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #A Breeze of Love reviewed #bl review #a breeze of love #korean bl #Last Twilight #Thai BL #My Dear Gangster Oppa #for him the series #gmmtv #cooking crush #offgun #off jumpol #Pit Babe the series #middleman's love #the sign the series

[rathologic]

P1 Saburov and Viktor are so terribly underrated and it's such a shame because their characters are immensely interesting and way more developed beyond "evil corrupt politician" and "isolated and rich single father with much children cooler than him", which is how I've seen some people halk about them. You are doing god's work

Oh deeply... I do think there's an effect where an important part of both of their arcs as rulers is that they're rendered obsolete halfway through the game, as soon as the Inquisitor shows up and overtakes their authority. from that point on only their associated healer gets to interact with them at any depth, but both of them are also planning to die (...normal reaction to being rendered obsolete) so it's harder for their dialogue to stick outside what's most vital for quests. also since nobody plays changeling route :-(

I see victor reduced to 'wifeguy' more than 'guy with important kids' more often (and enjoy it, even partake!) but he stands out to me as having the most personal, even self-centered wants in the cast- repairing his relationships with (living) family, the wish to leave and finish his university degree; in fact I'd say victor is someone who's been deprived of the things most important to him for a long time, and is in a position where he could get them back, if he only abandoned the project of leading the Town towards utopia which the kains have devoted themselves to for the past 5 years / forever. and nina's soul is present in and tied to that project, but there is some level on which only victor remembers her as a person instead of a divine instrument- and that lends itself to the ability to grieve and move on. if victor kain walked out of pathologic I think he'd ultimately be happy, and I think he's unique among the rulers for that. but the tragedy of all of the families is that they're embedded in a town and traditions that Will Not Let Them Out

whereas saburov is like. he grew up in this town, his mother would've been a Mistress herself, the town's needs and impositions as a structure are so ingrained to him that he doesn't conceive of any selfhood or duty that Doesn't involve his role as The Saburov, putting himself on the line for everything that might befall the town. and the patterns are also so ingrained to him that he starts to think he can change or at least outsmart them. come to think of it, the whole first half of changeling route is his trying to find someone responsible for the plague, and ultimately when there is no such person he takes that responsibility onto himself but He Tries so hard first... clara's presence disrupts the balance and therefore taking her in might allow him to control the balance (and per recent discussion there's a masculinity in his need for control), except the conjectures he makes don't really apply to something completely new and unknown. and to his credit saburov loves changing his mind when presented with new information and there's a lot of guilt accumulating because of it and ultimately he gives up that control to clara, being one of few characters to genuinely grow over the course of the game. But in a way that's still symbolically equivalent with death 🙂

So they're two self-abnegating people who are the "less important" member of their ruling family and become surpassed by their daughters in the town to come, but from totally perpendicular backgrounds that cross just at this point... it's very fun that they don't get along as administrators when rulerhood is the one thing they kind of share

#SALUTING_FACE. you may be able to tell that I like the rulers b/c it's cool when a place eats people. #victor kain #alexander saburov #pathologic #asks #anonymous

[gentrychild]

MHA AU where when Touya attacked baby Shouto he managed to kill him

You are very cruel but you're not the only one who decided to kill Shouto through the ask game.

1 - While Endeavor intercepted Touya like he did in canon, Touya still flooded the entire hallway with fire. Rei managed to survive thanks to her ice but the heat and the sudden lack of oxygen was still too much for baby Shouto, who died.

2 - Rei is rushed to the hospital, along with baby Shouto (even though it's not necessary anymore in his case). She survives her wounds but she is heavily injured and will have to spend several years hospitalized to recover.

3 - Shouto's body is whisked away by a certain scientist who doesn't believe in letting potentially powerful quirks go to waste and who is good at pulling frankenstein-like-miracles but that's a story for another day.

4 - Even though Endeavor tries to prevent it because he doesn't want to lose another son along with his wife, Touya is sent to juvie. He plays the "accident" as him losing control of his quirk in a moment of anger. He is very good at pretending he regrets what he did and a few years later, he is allowed to go back home. His record is sealed because he is a young man with a brilliant quirk who has his life ahead of him, most of his family learns to buy in the "This was a terrible tragedy caused by the stress of quirk marriage + Touya's quirk problem + Endeavor in general", and he gets to go to a hero school. The family is still fractured, with Fuyumi and Natsuo booking it out of the house as soon as they are 18 and Rei never setting a foot back there.

5 - Years later, Touya starts to get haunted by a teenager that reminds me of the rival he eliminated years ago. That's not a problem, though. He got rid of Shouto, he would get rid of this creepy kid if he crosses the line. He just needs not to get caught.

#child death #but not really #5 headcanons game #closed ask game

[alisonthedeluluisback]

Rating movies about nazi germany I have watched

First of all, I want to make it clear that this isn't a professional review, it's only my opinion

I liked the proposal of the story being centered around a nazi family and the younger boy befriending a jew, but all of that goes down the drain due to the multiple historical inaccuracies: the children learned about nazism very early, so there is no way bruno would have been that innocent. Also, concentration camps wasn't of that much easy access. The appeal to emotion instead of actually building a deep plot also sucks. 5/10

I absolutely adored this movie, the plot is so deep, the construction around the persecution of Liesel's parents, her relationship with her adoptive parents, the brotherhood she had with the jew hiding in their house, her tough but sweet personality, her desire for knowledge. It was all so beautifully orchestrated, and also the historical accuracy>>>>>> 10/10

This movie will always be a classic for me. The way they portrayed nazis as they were, human, vulnerable, with a distorted view of the world but still seeking what they thought was the best. How they went deep down into the life in the bunker, the despair and hopelessness they felt. Also, the way they portrayed Eva Braun>>>> how she tried to sugarcoat everything not to suffer, how she threw parties in the hallway of death, how even in a desperate situation the greatest joy of her life was to marry the terrible man she fell in love with and was blindly loyal too. Everything is so heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. Also, the historical accuracy is just a delight. 1000/10

This is a true punch in the gut. The terrible way he lost his family, the inhuman life he lived in the guetto, his part in the warsaw guetto riot, how he kept his beautiful talent immaculate till the end, when he lost the love of his life and had to see her married, the hunger, mistreating and fear that were a part of his daily life, his brave survival. Everything about this movie is truly sad. 9/10

I won't even talk much about this one. I start it laughing and finished it on the verge of crying. It is funny, heartbreaking, the perfect mix between comedy and tragedy, the true definition of bittersweetness. 100/10

Following the same road of the last one, there's this piece of art. It had everything to go wrong, but it went beautifully. They made something outrageous turn out funny without being offensive, and yet made a deep, tragic and beautiful story. The underlying romance between that ex-soldier and his assistant, the way jojo changed his mentality gradually, and his absurd view of hitler. It was surprisingly very historically accurate, but Im still confused about: how was jojo not sent to an orphanage after his mother died? How did he survive on his own? Anyways, this was a negative point for me, but still love it. 50/10

Okay, I absolutely love this one, but hate to death how they slipped over such simple aspects, like Hitler's personality. They made him hit a dog when in fact he defended animal's rights, they made him not give a shit about his mom being ill when in fact he loved her dearly. They changed his personality to make him seem even more evil. But, I also have plenty of positive points to talk about. I rarely see movies portraying Hitler's early life the way this one did, and how he ascended gradually to power. I love this miniseries deeply for getting into details about his whole life. They even aborded his abusive relationship with his niece. I can almost forgive the outrageous innacuracy with the characters and the altering of some details (how he earned his iron cross, how he met eva braun, how he treated fuschl), and I love it despite its defects. It also has some iconic scene: the bar fight, the munich beer hall putch, the trial. I wish I could give a 1000/10, but because of its innacuracies im giving it a 500/10

Nazis getting brutally slaughtered. Do I really have to say anything else? Also, Hans Landa>>>>>>>> ∞/10

#ww2 germany #austrian painter #eva braun #geli raubal #ww2 #reichblr #world war 2 #germany #the boy in the striped pajamas #the book thief #the pianist #inglorious basterds #the rise of evil #downfall #jojo rabbit

[fluttershyweed757]

***one of my dear friends has had a tragedy happen to them this new years please help in any way you can***

“Housefire Relief Fund

Why I'm fundraising

- My family and I were celebrating New Years. After it hit 12am, a multitude of fireworks could be heard outside, nothing alarming but we were absolutely joyous to be able to see the sky light up, not knowing it would ruin our house moments later.

- 10 minutes after, I heard a loud explosion directly outside my window, as if someone had aimed it towards our house. When I looked outside, the front of our yard was set on fire and 5 teenagers were spotted running away after the incident. We also found the packaging of the firework in our front garden confirming that someone had done it on our property. It’s ambiguous whether the intention was to harm us or not, but the police have not been able to find the culprits.

- The impact of your support

Although my family aren’t in such a terrible position and we can make do with what we have, even a little of money could help with the financial strain this has put on my dad as renovating the house can be very pricey. I feel helpless that I’m unable to support him and this is the most I can do. Anything helps, thank you so much!”

Paypal:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ad1tigrg

[transgenderfivepebbles]

please talk about the ancients mask-wearing traditions and their effect on their society

EVILLY SMILES AND RUBS MY HANDS..

i was discussing this with the bestie last night (and lost a bit of sleep as a result (worth)) and ohhhh boy!! it’s so cool and so tragic and!!! slams my hands on the table let’s go

terribly long post underneath because i'm so normal

so masks right? intended to symbolically abate the self, later became articles of clothing and similarly methods of expressing the self they were meant to suppress

they weren’t always so common, as evidenced by the fact that the old sign language used facial expressions along with gestures. mask-wearing probably began as a spiritual practice, done by monks to subdue the fifth, and likely last, natural urge to eliminate. it was heavily associated with the hand wrappings/coverings seen on the pebbles murals, both ways to suppress the corporeal self. i made that phrase up, i'm not sure what it means.

eventually, as ascension-seeking ideals integrated themselves into the culture as a whole, it became a tradition. younger children, for whom a full mask would be too heavy, wore veils instead, often custom-made by their parents and given to them in a ceremony at an age roughly equivalent to 4-5 human years. a second ceremony, a sort of coming of age, occurred at about 14-16 human years, where they would receive a complete mask. the veil would be kept by the family as a memento; some even attached it to the new mask :)

of course some children and youth were very averse to this, not understanding why they had to hide who they were [:(]. i don't know how exactly they dealt with that, but it probably involved a lot of religious propaganda. you know how it is

and this is where the tragedy comes in!! it must have sucked being a young ancient living under so many absurd rules having to hide so much of yourself (well, until you realized that no one really followed them) and being convinced all your little wants and longings are undesirable urges to be shunned and abandoned,,, your very birth being the product of those natural-yet-unwanted desires,, what a toll that would take on someone

and that suffering.. the depression that would inevitably come from suppressing yourself so much for so long.. they were probably told it was a good thing!!! told their lack of pleasure, the loneliness and disconnection from the world, was what would lead them to ascension!!! which was the end goal of life whether they liked it or not!!!

and of course that belief would become ingrained in them and if they chose to have children it would continue and it's all a cautionary tale about the cycle of abuse,,,,,, not just with the iterators but with each other too,,, it's all about cycles,,

↑ me @ all the ancients

#asks #ancients rain world #this all came from the rainworld ancient boyfriend post btw #NOT sorry for this there is SO MUCH in my brain and you WILL see it #im exploding like artificer rn #thank you for letting me go wild tumblr dot com user silkysong

[k-s-morgan]

Just wanted to let you know how amazing your stories are and I hope you're doing well

Thank you so much! This means a lot to me, and I hope you don't mind if I use your lovely ask as an opportunity to make my monthly post.

I understand that many people stopped following the news about Ukraine the way they were at the beginning - it's natural, considering that this war has been happening for over a year now. But every day here is a survival; every day brings death to people, animals and birds because of Ruzzian greed, mindlessness, and cruel indifference.

This is one tiny example.

Just one puppy who lost its owners - 5 civilians died in the aimless missile attack by Russia on March 9 in Lvivska oblast alone. This puppy got hurt and survived by a miracle. It refused to move, clinging to the ruins of the bed of its now-dead owner.

This little puppy got treatment and there are families willing to take it in, so at least not everything is lost. I hope it manages to overcome its trauma and have a bright future ahead.

But there are tens of thousands of stories like this, many of which end even more tragically. This is just one among the million faces of the tragedy that Ruzzian aggression is causing. So many families torn apart; so many people dead; so many pets abandoned, burned, shot, starved or frozen to death. There won't be any forgiveness for Russia for decades to come. I hope every Ruzzian person who's responsible and who supports the war will pay and keep paying for the rest of their lives and beyond.

I got a scare of my own on the terrible night of March 9 because the missile hit close enough for the sound to deafen and terrify me. But I remained safe, just as my loved ones.

Beauty and kindness still exist, and all of you keep reminding me of it, for which I am grateful. Thank you so much for your support - emotional, financial, psychological, even silent one. It means the world to me.

My Mom and I got a chance to spend one day in a very beautiful place near Kyiv. I took my daughter-pigeon with me. It was just at the beach of Kyiv sea, and it was breathtaking, like something out of dreams.

I hope that Ukraine will have more beauty like this in the future: calm, happy, peaceful. I have faith in it, and it's much more than what I could say a year ago, so it's something.

#personal #ukraine #kyiv #kiev #russia is a terrorist state

[kazz-brekker]

hotd episode 8 thoughts

boy! this family really never can have a funky good time together without something happening, can they? (i say as a distraction from my immense emotional pain)

rhaenys you may never have been queen of westeros but you are queen to ME.

really liked the bits of daemon and rhaenyra’s life married that we got to see and how comfortable they were with each other. hbo, i’m just saying, but it’s not too late to abandon this whole “adapting the dance of the dragons” idea and just do a 5 season sitcom about the dragonstone household.

wow alicent really has become the westerosi equivalent of a christian housewife but also with girlboss ambitions.

the scenes with the dying viserys made me so sad. rhaenyra trying to talk to her father but he’s too incoherent to understand … introducing him to the grandkids … daemon helping him climb the iron throne … god it really got to me see how much they care about him and how much he was hurting :(

baby aegon iii and viserys ii were really cute though!

no … alicent … please don’t uphold the patriarchy and become complicity in the oppression of women … don’t continue the cycle of abuse begun by others that you now perpetuate…

i am impressed by how quickly this show made my opinion on aegon ii go from “annoying yet entertaining” to “die in a hole you rat bastard.”

congrats to daemon and rhaenyra (and rhaenys!) for raising some much better-adjusted teenagers, definitely liked what we saw of the older versions of the kids.

adult aemond is an absolute menace and i am going to enjoy every single second of his screen time.

jesus christ rhaenyra it’s been SIX YEARS and you still haven’t told rhaenys and corlys their son isn’t dead? please get on that! did love that those two had another scene together at last, though.

the scene where viserys dragged himself to court to sit judgement over the inheritance case was pretty powerful.

damn vaemond velaryon was kind of an ambitious asshole but he really didn’t deserve to die like that. kind of love that daemon was like “talk shit about my wife and you get a sword to the face” though, very in character.

those 30 seconds at the dinner party where everyone was getting along were so bittersweet, it did such a good job of establishing that the whole impending tragedy COULD have been averted if things went differently.

viserys really did need to put his foot down more often and be a stronger king, but it’s also so sad that he just wants his family to get along and love each other and it’s just not going to happen.

helaena honey i am going to rescue you and your ominous prophecies from your terrible husband, you deserve so much better.

the fact that viserys left the room and things immediately went to shit and the younger generation got into a fistfight was peak black comedy, not gonna lie.

the dramatic pause before aemond finished his “strong boys” toast … yeah i love him.

mentally chanting kiss! kiss! kiss! at rhaenyra and alicent as if this could someone how avert all the impending doom.

god, that last scene with alicent and viserys was so good and i am obsessed with how viserys’s obsession with prophecy and the future of his house is actually what dooms it.

PEAK asoiaf vibes to have the prophecy that was supposed to be the duty of the house instead lead to its downfall!

i’m really going to miss paddy considine as viserys, he brought so much depth and complexity to a character who was pretty flat in the book.

i know this whole show has been building up to the dance of the dragons but ohhhhh man am i not ready to see things actually begin in earnest now that the king is dead.

if anyone needs me i will be sitting here trying to process the hour of television i just watched!

#pie says stuff #pie watches hotd #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd spoilers #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #viserys targaryen #alicent hightower #aegon ii targaryen #aemond targaryen #rhaenys targaryen #vaemond velaryon #helaena targaryen

[lorenzobane]

Happy Evil Author's Day to me :) This one is called "Federation Viewpoint," and I do hope to finish it one day. Basically, this one takes the framing device of the 5 things Garak learned about the Federation prior to his exile.

--

Prologue

“Welcome,” Grentak says, “to A Federation Overview for Non-Federation Specialists. If you were looking for “An Overview of Causeway Nations for Federation Specialists,” that is down the hall.” 

Garak hears a few muffled footsteps and curses as a few other Order agents shuffle out of the room. Internally, he can’t help but think this is a profound waste of time. He specializes in what the Order terms “Causeway Nations.” Or, Non-Federation worlds that, while usually not allies of Cardassia, do tend to share a general antipathy for the tendencies of Starfleet. He’s learned Klingon, Romulan, Tzenkath, and a few others and considers himself an expert on their culture. 

Why he also needs to receive an overview of an empire he never intends to see is beyond him. 

The presenter, Grentak, starts talking again after the shuffle is complete. “I’m sure several of you are wondering about the wisdom of this course. It must seem highly inefficient and hardly furthering the Cardassian empire. However, we have found that this type of broad basis of understanding of overall Alpha Quadrant politics greatly improves the overall efficacy of our agents.”

What follows is a somewhat tedious history lesson that Garak is aware of; the Federation was founded out of a mixture of Vulcan, Andorian, Tellurite, and Earth cultures and represented a “Federation” of planets, not a nation the way the Cardassian Empire might understand it. To Garak it sounds horrendously divided and weak because of it. 

Nonetheless, he pulls out his PADD and begins taking notes. 

—-----------

Chapter 1 

“One of the most striking tendencies of humans, specifically, is an almost unbearable urge to pack bond,” Grentak begins. “Pack bonding, as you may be aware, refers to the tendency of social animals to group together to form strong social bonds that allow for greater problem-solving. A great many cultures are prone to it, Cardassia very much included. However, humans take this tendency to a remarkable extreme. They can form deep, intense, and lasting bonds with creatures of nearly any species.” 

Garak scoffs internally.

“As a result, we often tell our agents if you want information from a human, it makes very little sense to cause pain. It makes them lie. If, however, you are able to gain their trust and convince them that you are one of their ever-expanding pack, then they will give you information without you even having to ask. This technique was used to great effect by–” 

“Well, if you ask me,” Bashir says, gesturing with one hand, “the book was a terrible tragedy.” 

Garak’s eyebrows shoot up. He had given Bashir a reasonably famous comedy from the Cardassian Empire, Sanctions of Destruction. Written in the late Shri-Ep dynasty, the book has many of the staples that would eventually become commonplace in the literature of the state. 

“Tragedy, Doctor? I think you’ll find that you are actually reading one of the most famous comedies of all time.” 

Bashir takes a beat and then laughs. Garak raises an eyebrow ridge. 

“Nothing, it's just… There is a famous human playwright, Shakespeare, and people often say that his tragedies can be as funny as his comedies, and his comedies can be as sad as his tragedies.” 

“What is it that you found so tragic, Doctor?” 

“Well,” Bashir starts before taking a long drag of his tea, “you can’t help but feel bad for poor Mila.” 

Garak withholds the wince. Mila, one of the main characters, marries a man who she strongly dislikes at the urging of her father. The name of the titular character is a coincidence, he assures himself. 

“Of course, but the comedy comes from her resistance. Ultimately, a good Cardassian knows that we all must serve the state first but our family second. Her hesitation and attempts at obfuscation and delay create circumstances that need to be frantically dealt with instead of the calm leisure of discipline and service.” 

“I suppose I thought she would be happy in the end; you told me it was a light-hearted comedy. I agree that our loved ones are important, and their considerations should be valued, but surely you know people can be wrong just as Cardassians can be wrong. Who is to say that this man her father chose for her would be compatible?” 

“He’s from a good family,” Garak counters. “He was raised with good values. Her father likes his parents. These traits indicate that they are likely to share a world view that will eventually lead to a prosperous union and many children.” 

“Fat Cardassian babies,” Bashir says with an amused twinkle in his eye. “In any case, I can’t imagine being happy with something like that.” 

“Of course not, Doctor. You are entirely too self-motivated.”

“Are you calling me selfish?” 

Garak held up a hand peaceably. “Surely no one could accuse such a dedicated doctor of selfishness. And if I understand correctly, humans are allowed to reap the benefits of the empire without contributing to it unless they are personally interested.” 

“First of all,” Bashir laughs, “thank you for the compliment. Second, the Federation isn’t an Empire.” 

“We can get into that particular bit of sophistry later. For now, I am afraid I have to go- Morn has made an appointment for yet another pair of custom lingerie. I certainly appreciate the value of a variable wardrobe, but that man should learn to repurpose.”

“You really ought to hire someone, you know.” 

Garak gave him a customer service smile. “Such excellent advice, Doctor. I’ll be sure to take it under advisement.” 

Julian raised both of his hands in a human gesture for surrender. “Fine, then. Be that way. Don’t work yourself too hard, though; I hate when my friends end up in my sickbay.” 

Garak’s brain spirals for a moment, but Bashir keeps chattering about how he wishes he could impress upon everyone in the station the importance of thinking through the consequences of interspecies mating before they take their pants off. A friend. Was it really so simple for humans? Julian had, only recently, saved him from certain death, but Garak had been under no illusions. The Doctor helped because he was helpful, and the doctor was kind to him because the doctor is kind. But here they are. He had been cruel, difficult, and insulting, and yet– 

Humans will pack bond with anything. A voice haunts his mind. It appears that Garak, of all people, might be considered, by a particularly stunning and accomplished human, to be worth forming a bond with. To be worth knowing and trusting deeply. The Order agent in him crows; how much could he make the good Doctor give him now that they have established trust? Could he get enough information to go back to Cardassia?

Garak shakes his head at his own foolishness. Tain is the only one who can end his exile, and if there were information that Bashir had that Tain wanted, he never would have been let off the planet. 

Which means… Which means… 

Garak has simply… Made a friend. 

As he walks away, he can’t help but remember the warmth, the joy in Bashir’s eyes, the way his mouth twisted along the edge of his dessert spoon, and think that Federation's insidiousness goes much further than he realized. 

#my writing #evil authors day #garashir

[class1akids]

it's so interesting to go onto the subreddit and see so many people preparing for the todofam plotline to end "horribly" which just means dabi surviving and the family getting a happy ending (the ppl who genuinely think the family can be happy is touya dies are on something else lol). maybe i'm just built differently but i think in a story built off bullshit magical powers i'd like the one family that's suffered so much and had so much tragedy to get a happy ending.

I'm exhausted with the sub-reddit Todoroki family discussion. The dudebros kin so hard Endeavor that it's painful.

They relentlessly glorify his flashy violence (like as if beating Hood or AFO-disabled senior form was some form of atonement) and his internal man-pain (ignoring that he did not communicate this to his family).

They have ZERO compassion for Touya or the rest of the family and go as far as to blame Shouto for Endeavor refusing to face Touya.

It's really awful and scary how these people viscerally attack anyone who criticizes Endeavor in any way and the lengths they go into to excuse every single decision he makes.

It's the same 5-10 toxic dudebros and it makes no sense to try to argue with them because they very obviously do not listen or read just spout their own terrible views. Everyone halfway normal avoids those threads like a plague because of how toxic they are and how pointless it is. Also, just the tone of Reddit overall is absolutely awful and uncivil.

#c1a asks #i hate being dragged into the todoroki threads on reddit #it's bad for my mental health

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Umm, do you have any headcanon on how Isaac Alesia, Jadu or Lance, or any bachelor/ettes from SVE or RSV, if they found a lost child? How do you think they would handle the situation? Honestly, I'd ask a lot of Isaac headcanons from you (because I need some and you always have the most interesting headcanons for him! And I love that a lot!! ♥︎), but I don't want to end up being an Isaac simp 😂 (or maybe I already am his simp lol)

This is hard, haha XD

First of all, thank you 🫶🫶🫶

Second of all, don't deny it, dear anon. Sooner or later, we'll all be Isaac's simps. Just like with Lance, you just have to give up 😅 I will make headcanons about three characters, because writing turned out to be much longer than I originally planned. Sweet Jesus, it's like a whole fanfic. If you like it and want to continue with other characters, feel free to ask again, I have so much with this ask ❤️

⚠️Warning: Mention of death, blood (this is all in Isaac's HC, so I warn you, it may be unpleasant for someone to read).

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

Isaac:

Maybe on first impression Isaac will show himself as a person who is not too tolerant of people, but he is the leader of the rescue expedition in Crimson Baldlans. A seasoned adventurer is constantly angry when he is given the next task to save a lost group of people or an entire caravan in the cursed sands. But he is angry not at the work itself, but at stupid and careless people who, because of their own greed or stupidity, lead not only themselves to certain death, but also others, sometimes their own family. Even an experienced monster hunter can hardly cope with corrupt mummies and slimes, then what can we say for ordinary merchants!

So, Isaac and two wizards went to Crimson Baldlans in search of the missing group. The magic signal for help was short-lived, but Camilla caught it somewhere to the west of the main entrance to Castle Village. Although the sandstorm was merciless, even this did not have time to cover up fresh traces of blood. Just a kilometer away, Isaac discovered bloody corpses: two young men, one middle-aged man (most likely the same unfortunate guide) and a young woman. The scarred adventurer had accumulated a couple of impolite words about them all, but he still decided that either good things were said about the dead or nothing. Therefore, he and his colleagues approached the bodies in order to move them to the village, identify them and bury them properly. What was Isaac's surprise when he found a child under the mother's body. And kid is alive! The little boy's tear-stained eyes looked at the adventurer with no less surprise, but he didn't make a sound. Apparently, this saved the life of the child, since the monsters simply did not notice him. Isaac shouted in the direction of two magicians to teleport the corpses, while he took the boy in his arms. A thin, quiet, frightened, but almost completely fine and lively child, he looks like a 4 or 5 year old...

Camilla, learning about what had happened, was terribly out of sorts. She didn’t even joke in her usual manner - she was so struck by this tragedy. While she was figuring out the details of what happened and who these people were, the child who was the only survivor was already snoring softly in Isaac's arms. The poor child fell asleep after the shock, and Isaac behaved very carefully, as if he was holding a crystal vase in his hands. He... was sad that the boy became a victim of careless adults (as it turned out, his parents and relatives, whom he now lost). Isaac didn't let anyone close to him and the baby for a meter, and asked Camilla where Sabrina, their local doctor, was now, so that she could examine the boy. The witch of the Castle Village just smiled softly and said where their healer was now.

Jadu:

In general, Jadu was a very rare visitor to Magnus's tower, but sometimes some issues required the personal presence of a wizard or adventurer. It's not that Jadu isn't happy with his colleagues, it's just that he still has a lot of work waiting for him in Castle Village, and he is in another part of the world, listening to Magnus' angry comments towards the amused Camilla (Jadu could guess this, because their meetings sooner or later move into the mainstream a la "Camilla's Entertainment"). Therefore, the young wizard went out into the fresh air when Magnus announced a short break. The rustling golden fallen leaves, the smell of mushrooms and wood, small squirrels and chipmunks hurrying to collect nuts before hibernation - it's so... memorizing. Time in Castle Village felt different, and even the evergreen part of the village could not convey the unusual beauty of the autumn forest. The people of Stardew Valley are very lucky to live in this place...

But Jadu's dreamy thoughts were interrupted by a child's cry somewhere in the depths of the forest. Curiosity got the better of him, and young Jadu went to investigate the source of the sound. Before the wizard had gone far into the forest, two small figures bumped into his legs, scattering a basket of nuts and a plucked clover, and knocking Jadu down. Jas and Vincent, too, at first did not understand who they crashed into, but behind the three of them a creature began to make sounds, from which the children ran away. A huge capercaillie, having lost fear and vigilance during the mating season, took the children as rivals, and began to pursue them furiously. As soon as the bird wanted to give a beating to all three lying people, Jadu quickly cast a spell in a unknown language, and the impudent bird ran away, hiding among the trees. Vincent, forgetting about the danger, began to ask "man in a funny hat" about this spell (" You can do magic!? Sooo cool!"). Jas told Jadu that they went into the forest (a little further from their home than usual) to collect the gifts of nature and surprise Miss Penny. But the bird noticed the children and began to drive even further into the forest where they lost theirs way, until they met Jadu.

The young wizard sighed tiredly and led the kids out of the thicket of the forest to the Magnus' tower, where the inhabitant of the tower himself was standing along with Camilla and a worried Penny. The young teacher immediately rushed to the children, listened to their and Jadu's story, thanked the young and brave man and left with two children in the direction of Pelican Town.

Jadu felt warm at the young (and attractive) teacher's praise. And, besides that, grateful Jas and Vincent left him some collected nuts and clover as a token of gratitude. Well, maybe meetings in Stardew Valley aren't so bad after all, and even Camilla with her biting comments won't ruin Jadu's day.

Jio:

Like in Pelican Town, tourists in Ridgeside Village is a fairly common sight, as village on the side of the ridge (Lenny is still thinking about the slogan, don't judge too harshly) has many things that attract a lot of people from big cities. And of course, many come with their families in order to arrange a family vacation. Sometimes the influx of tourists can be so large that half a minute is enough for a distracted parent to lose sight of their hyperactive child.

There was a similar case when one girl, who was chasing a beautiful butterfly and not noticing anything around, ended up in the Ridge Forest. The poor girl realized what a dangerous place she was in when she heard a bone-chilling howl from a ghost, a lost wandering soul. But before the ghost had time to fly up and harm the child, the evil spirit was dissolved in the air from one swing of the sword. The frightened girl saw a figure in front of her, whose body was shrouded in light smoke, and whose face was wrapped in a red scarf, only eyes and brown hair were visible. The figure looked at the child, who was about to cry. Jio sighed wearily.

"Children don't belong here, it's a dangerous place full of monsters. You could die." But the pointed-eared ninja stop lecture the girl, realizing that she was now too scared to listen to his words. "Hold my hand, I'll take you to your parents."

The girl hesitated for a moment, but still squeezed Jio's hand, and in the blink of an eye, she teleported near the Heaps store. Jio, however, was nowhere to be found. But the worried parents of the girl and Lenny appeared in the field of view. Lewis's sister, having learned about the missing girl, already wanted to call the locals for searching lost child, but breathed a sigh of relief when the parents saw their beloved daughter, hugged and kissed their little treasure. The girl was a little shocked, so she didn't tell right away about the stranger who saved her.

And Jio, meanwhile, was sitting on the roof of the Ridgeside Village Office, watching the family reunion for a little longer, sighed in relief and disappeared into the air. In the depths of his soul, he is very glad that he managed to save this child, because sometimes, such stories don't always have a happy ending...

#stardew valley #sdv #sve #stardew valley expanded #rsv #ridgeside village #rsv jio #sve jadu #sve isaac #sve headcanons #rsv headcanons

[galactic-pirates]

@ussjellyfish and @purlturtle 🤗🤗 two tags, I feel so wanted. Thank you guys!! ❤️

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

82. More than half are Once Upon a Time as that was the fandom I started writing with my AO3.

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

942,705 which is annoying. I have quit fanfic for the time being and not having made the million is disappointing. I mean I have written more than a million I am sure as I never cross posted anything from my fanfic.net account and I have some on my HD I never posted.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

None at the moment. I still have much affection for Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, The Librarians and Star Trek. There were a number of ideas on my list that I never got round to writing. I feel nostalgia for it but with my spoons (or lack thereof lately) I have to choose. I can’t write original and fanfic, and for now I am wanting to write original.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Fall All Over Again (Once Upon a Time) - 181

Before the first Dark Curse the Evil Queen had a paranoid moment, which meant in cursed Storybrooke, Gold and Lacey were married. Therefore when Belle falls over the town line - Lacey returns. Everyone is shouting at her, and everything is wrong, so Lacey does something she never did once in 28 years of marriage, she turns to Gold for protection. In turn Rumplestiltskin does something that Gold never did in 28 years of marriage - he tells Lacey that he loves her. Belle loved him, so can Lacey fall for him all over again or will the curse mask true love forever?

and the Brighter side of Life (The Librarians) - 150

When Eve takes Flynn home, to meet her parents, she realises with dawning horror that he’s the first serious boyfriend they’ve ever met. The secrets of the library mean her parents know so little about her life, and her new status as an immortal threatens to create a gulf between them. But for now she still has her parents, and it seems if her mom has anything to say about it, the entire annex has gained her parents too.

Painting Layers of Love (Once Upon a Time) - 137 [Abandoned/Incomplete]

Belle French lives alone and she likes it that way. She’s lived alone ever since the terrible car accident which killed her mother and claimed her eyesight. Belle spends her days painting, in complete solitude, until one day she wakes up and hears movement outside. Somebody has moved into the cottage next door. She had grown comfortable in her solitary existence until Mr Gold crashes into her life. Now her future is uncertain, like a blank canvas, waiting for her to apply the paint and decide what kind of story she is creating.

All I Needed (Once Upon a Time) - 129

When Emma told her high school sweetheart Neal, that she was pregnant a month before graduation, she didn’t know what to expect. The last thing she expected to find was a family, and a place to call home.

Transposing Digits (Once Upon a Time) - 122

The phone in the library had always been silent, until one day it started ringing. Belle French answers it and discovers that life really can turn on a dime - or in this case a wrong number.

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

Yes mostly. AO3 has stopped emailing me even though my profile says I should get them (I have checked and they aren’t in spam) and if I delay too long I feel awkward about replying. Also sometimes I don’t if I am unsure what to say. But mostly yes I do reply because every comment I receive is treasured, and I want them to know I am grateful.

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

I don’t really do angst - I am Team Happy Ending all the way. My first thought was “The Beauty and the Tragedy” (Once Upon a Time) because the original ending was totally angsty. But I felt bad as even though it was poetic it was sad, so I added an alternate ending happy ending the very day I posted. So I think probably “Ghost of a Memory” (Timeless) as that was just pure pain. Both of these were character death, so not like me.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh man I have quite a few pure fluff. The most sickly sweet zero angst, zero anything but sugar though is probably the amusing (for the question) titled “Happy Ending” (Sanctuary). My OT3 got married.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Fortunately I don’t think I have. I don’t think I am popular enough to have attracted it. I did once get two commenters arguing with each other which didn’t feel good.

9. Do you write smut?

Not anymore really. I did for a time. It was a very big thing in the Rumbelle fandom and I wanted to fit in. I don’t regret it as it was a good writing exercise, and it allowed me to explore a wider range of ideas. However, once I started to drift from the fandom I lost the urge to write it. I wrote mild smut (more feelings) in my Time Will Tell (Sanctuary) fic as it was an important part of the character development/plot. I think if I ever write it again it will be along those lines.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yes. I have written a couple. They are always the most fun. It’s great to put certain characters together like I loved having Nikola Tesla (Sanctuary) and Claudia (Warehouse 13) meet. I regret that in that crossover I didn’t manage to get HG and Helen ‘on screen’ together. The name clash aside, they are two fascinating women who have a lot in common. I did have on my ideas list more of a Warehouse 12/Sanctuary crossover (with time travelling Myka) but I never got round to writing it. My problem is my fics are so long and writing basically novels is time consuming. Anyway one of the easiest ways to crossover is I have something of a hobby of basically taking the Ancients (Stargate precursors) and seeing how many universes I can crossover with them as a backdrop. Such fun.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not of which I am aware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Don’t believe so.

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

You may laugh as this but I am 99% sure the answer is no, and yet I have some weird paranoia that says maybe? It’s like I think I have forgotten something. Yet I am sure the answer is no. Stupid brain.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

When I’m obsessed I am really obsessed. Like I go all in super hard. But like a flame the hotter I burn, the shorter it tends to live. Afterwards it’s not that I don’t like it anymore, it’s just that it’s not an all consuming thing, and then I find something else to go crazy about.

But that being said if I have to pick one then I will probably say Bering and Wells (Warehouse 13) as it seems to have the most sticking power thus far. I do wonder if that’s because I fell into it when I wasn’t writing, so my obsession (like a fire) was banked and therefore has lingered long term. I still like to take part in the gift exchange every year. And next year if I have the spoons I would like to put together a Bingo for the fandom. With having given up fanfic I’m not really active in any other fandom at the moment. I would like to do some more fanart but aforementioned spoon shortage - it’s a problem.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

Beyond the Lake. It was a Rashoman Job inspired Librarians fic, crazy complicated which is why it didn’t get done but the concept compels me. I can call this a WIP as I did write a couple of chapters. There was also my Noir Warehouse 13, I had I don’t know 10 pages or so starting on that? But alas never to see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

95% or so of the time I finish what I start. I have a couple of abandoned fics on AO3 (guilt, guilt) and yeah there’s a few on my HD. But I have written several long novel length fics, and they did get done. So I think I have reasonable discipline.

I’m also never short of ideas. I can come up with something for any prompt if required (probably), and I do like my ideas. I mean I suppose I would (they are mine) but yeah I think the ideas are good. I sometimes doubt my ability to realise them but the ideas themselves, solid.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Many.

I used to think my biggest issue was description but while that does need serious work, I have a far bigger problem - my characters think too much. They don’t talk to one another. When they have a problem they think about it, no conversation. It makes it very static and not much action or banter.

Truthfully I think it’s because I personally think about everything far too much. I don’t talk to people with speaking (I type on discord a lot) but actual conversations? Barely ever. Mum checks in on FaceTime with me almost every day but if it wasn’t for that I would go literal weeks without talking to a soul probably. So anything that happens I am hardwired to think about it - not talk about it - ergo I have absolutely no idea how to craft conversations. What do people talk about?

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

You know it’s funny I have been contemplating this in my serial recently This particular case is set in France and so a lot of people should be speaking French. In the end I decided not to worry about it for the first draft. I think in revision I will sprinkle in some flavour words (like please, thank you etc.) and then keep the dialogue in English but try and make it sound like a plausible speech pattern for them. Maybe say it’s in French but if my character speaks French, then they understand so it’s written in English. I don’t know. It’s like when I try and write Sanctuary with The Five from the 19th century, they sound very different from someone like Claudia who is all pop culture references. I want it to feel accurate but also the reader needs to understand and in novels having a variant of subtitles might be annoying.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This says wrote for, not published. I am relatively sure I wrote some self-insert Famous Five adventures when I was about six (long before I knew fanfic existed). I definitely messed around with some Diagnosis Murder when I was 9 (again before I knew fanfic existed). Obviously, when I was 11, The Royal/Heartbeat was the first actual fandom, with the posting and everything. I explained how that came to be before.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Ooof. I think… I really liked and the Sins of Atlantis the Librarians/Sanctuary crossover. It was entirely self-indulgent and a lot of fun. I also had fun with the Odyssey: Future’s Legacy (Warehouse 13/Sanctuary) crossover. The Star Wars fusion Across the Stars I did for Once Upon a Time was also cool. Sometimes I have these ideas and they just work for me, they like click something in my brain and unroll and mesh together, and just yes. The Beauty and the Tragedy doesn’t even read to me like I wrote it, there’s a clever poetic twist that is so unlike me. I have a soft spot for quite a few fics. It’s not that I think I wrote them well (I didn’t) but the ideas sing to me. I am my own audience in this respect.

But I think ultimately my answer has to be Between Two Fires, a Once Upon a Time fic. Set on a made-up sci-fi world. I could picture it clearly and it riffs off the Jack and Irina relationship in Alias. It was quite a short fic but there is so so much more of it in my mind. Truthfully one day that will probably get expanded and changed to be an original novel trilogy. I have notes. That fic just stuck with me, there is something there to be developed.

Tagging: @tinknevertalks, @ladyelysandra, @enterprise-come-in, @sarcasticsciencefictionwriter, @urban-trek-thru-middle-earth

The questions!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

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

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

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fic?

9. Do you write smut?

10. Do you write crossovers?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

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

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

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

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

#Sam talks writing

[polina-tvorozhok]

RP Headcanons p2

POLI

Since I cannot leave you without any content while working on my au, have some more headcanons 😜

PAST

Poli used to live with his two fathers, who were humans + creators of his design and his younger brother. Unfortunately, both of his parents were in pretty toxic relationship. They were always either busy with work (both of them were officers) or they were fighting, so they didn't really pay much attention to the kids.

Both Poli and his brother lived and trained in a police department, where his parents worked.

When Poli was 10 and his brother 9 an "accident" happened. One of the workers began to attack everyone. The imposter ran away while 5 workers were killed, including Poli's brother.

After the tragedy, the family's relationship got just worse. The two men would fight all the time and wouldn't pay any attention to their only son at all.

Although Poli was feeling terrible, he tried to show his parents some empathy and help them (somehow), yet, no matter the effort the young car would make, his parents did not listen to him.

Six months after the tragedy, the young car ran away from home 'cause he could not bare the situation anymore.

No matter the difficulties, Poli actually made it to another police department. He also started seeing a therapist, he moved on pretty quickly, unlike his parents. This man asked for no trauma!

Despite the childhood trauma and him not wanting to have anything in common with his two fathers, Poli kept trying to help them (or at least contact them) throughout his entire life, yet no progress has been made.

PRESENT

Although Poli was seeing a therapist, he fully recovered after participating in Broomstown Rescue Team.

He sees all of his friends as an actual family where he belongs.

Due to this every time someone of them get hurt, Poli tends to overworry.

Out of all the rescuers Poli and Roy has the strongest bonds.

Sometimes after a long day full of work, all the squad will gather somewhere and just cuddle.

Poli is a MASTER of roasting people. He doesn't do that very often but when he does... Oh...

He ESPECIALLY likes to roast those who poss him off. It's not easy to do it (he prefers to keep his cool + the role of leader requires calmness) so it only hits harder.

One day Poli and Helly decided to make a joke competition. The goal was to make the opponent to laugh without laughing at the opponent's jokes. Boy I promise, the rest of the team was laughing so hard that they were almost crying.

He did not win the competition.

After the competition he's been tickling Helly for at least 15 minutes straight.

He is the second after Helly who has to listen to Jin's lectures.

Poli's the one to overwork himself the most often out of all the squad.

That's all for today! Have a wonderful day/night💗💗💗

#robocar poli #art

[saintlethanavir]

LEV I NEED TZIPPORAH KNOWLEDGE IMMEDIATELY. GIVE IT TO ME. ANSWER 5 QUESTIONS OF YOUR CHOICE FROM THE LIST.

LMAO I LOVE YOU ASH BLESS YOU

Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision?

Lord Tzipporah 'Tzippy' Frostmoon, Storm Sorcerer, Tiefling (Undead), They/Any. They're from a noble family in Baldurs Gate that was cursed to be without magical abilities in their lineage for centuries due to a terrible unspeakable sin committed by a necromancer in their bloodline. That unspeakable sin was born of tragedy in the wake of an attack on a small town by a group of Red Wizards. The Red Wizards had killed a farmers partner and son, so in a desperate attempt to revive them the farmer -- and origin of the Frostmoon bloodline -- they made a pact with Caiphon. It wasn't the revival that was considered a sin though. The farmer kept his farm and family well, amassing wealth and respectfully abiding by Caiphons wishes. It was his great grand son that brought ruin to the homestead by attempting to make a spectacle out of their pact and draw upon a power that wasn't for him. A terrible disease descended upon the farm, the crops died, and the grand son ran from his dying family with all their gold and riches. He started a whole new family in Baldurs Gate and managed to lie his way into a place of nobility. Without gifts and worship given, or even a thank you, Caiphon cursed his lineage just as his daughter was about to be born. Magic would be erased from them until a certain time in the future when a child would be born with Caiphons eldritch blood flowing through them. That would be Tzipporah who was born with the tell tale eldritch sign in their left eye that glowed bright, radiant purple. Their family sought to marry them to an influential wizard from Waterdeep (yes I am talking about Gale lol) but they ran off with their boyfriend Marith when they found this out (Marith is an asshole do not route for Marith).

The undead part would come later. It was hard not choosing the Dark Urge again LMAO but I'm having fun with their background for sure!

2. Was there something about the character creator that just couldn't capture your Character? Please tell us about their hair, facial hair, tattoos, piercings, disabilities, their trans or intersex body, or anything else you're comfortable sharing.

Much like me, Tzipporah has issues with chronic pain! Specifically in their legs. They use a cane to help with this and braces as well. They also should have some piercings in their ears but for some reason it didn't register in the CC LOL. They're also supposed to have top surgery done but the mod I was using wasn't working I guess? RIP

19. Did your Character spend a night with a companion either the night of the party or earlier? Is it someone they have a continued interest in?

I fully intend on romancing Astarion again LOL. They're going to spend a night with him, and definitely will have a continued interest in him as well. If I can make it work they'll be in a polyam romance with Gale and Astarion, though they did not intend at first to be with Gale considering he's someone they were engaged to before. I think there's something spicy about an unintended and assumed unrequited love that way that blossoms into something very sweet.

23. What are your Character's thoughts on the dream visitor?

At first Tzipporah is interested in what they have to say and knows they look like Marith, who they don't remember too well (due to the whole dying thing). It isn't until their memories start to solidify again that they begin associating the dream visitor with manipulation and they actively don't want to talk to them, and develop insomnia because of this.

30. Do you have other pets as a ranger or in headcanon?

Tzipporah will eventually have a cat familiar! I'm not sure what their name will be but I really want them to have an emotional support animal of the cat variety, probably a main coon!

#tzipporah frostmoon #bg3 #answered #thank you ash!!!

[bookthroneking]

Book review: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Did a book ever make you cry to the point that you could barely read from the tears in your eyes?

Mary Doria Russell's sci-fi novel is the first part of a duology, but it works perfectly on its own as a story of friendship, love, faith... and of trauma and devastating tragedy. When an alien transmission is detected on Earth, the Society of Jesus sends a priest and his closest friends to make contact. And it all goes wrong.

The first and best virtue of this book to me is the character writing. The dialogue is always snappy and lively, sometimes laugh-out-loud and other times incredibly emotional; every character feels like a real person, and they're all very smart, very witty and incredibly likeable. I'm kind of tired of the 'found family' trope because it's so easy to oversimplify, but this book does it right because the love and care always feel genuine, and the relationships all develop naturally, with room to breathe. Which, of course, makes the tragic parts hit just so much harder.

The second amazing aspect is the author's skill with words: the descriptions are fairly straightforward and not too metaphor-laden, but every moment is captured perfectly in a crystal-clear way with attention to detail. The alien society is very well-developed, from their physical characteristics to their everyday life, social structures and art. It's just a tremendously well-written novel.

Third: the philosophy of this book is beautiful. Religion and faith are a very important angle throughout the story: the nature of faith in the face of tragedy, the dilemma of celibacy, the inherent unknowability of God, these are all major questions raised again and again, but not in a didactic way. I'm not a Christian myself and I'm not terribly fond of the ideology, but Mary Doria Russell handles the topic of faith and loss of faith with incredible grace and tact, and even if the answers aren't always straightforward, that just adds to the value of asking the questions. When I finally understood what the title meant, I cried. A lot.

Read this book with attention to content warnings, because it goes to some very, very dark places. But it always does so with grace, intelligence and so much heart.

StoryGraph rating: 5

#book review #science fiction #2023 reads #favorite books #mary doria russell #bookblr #bookworm #my posts

[doingproblematicmedia]

Velma Week 3

Interestingly enough, this show is actually getting better.

And a great deal of laughter is induced by fear. I was working on a funny television series years ago. We were trying to put a show together that, as a basic principle, mentioned death in every episode and that this ingredient would make any laughter deeper without the audience's realizing how we were inducing belly laughs.

There is a superficial sort of laughter. Bob Hope, for example, was not really a humorist. He was a comedian with very thin stuff, never mentioning anything troubling. I used to laugh my head off at Laurel and Hardy. There is terrible tragedy there somehow. These men are too sweet to survive in this world and are in terrible danger all the time. They could be so easily killed.

--Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

Since Doug Walker hit me over the head with his line about Velma hiding behind ‘a wall of protective bullshit’, I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of comedy. So much comedy is based on vulnerability, and Velma’s writers up until now have been afraid to be vulnerable with the audience. Jokes land like porcupine spikes, coming from a place of defensiveness, almost like they’re daring the audience to do anything but laugh. And in this situation, instead of opening up, laughing deeply and with our whole heart, we wince. Cringe away. Clam up. So many people have said this show is difficult to watch because of the painful attempts at humor. 

Not pain as in pathos. Pain as in stubbing our toe and being frustrated at the lack of meaning behind it.

But this week, we actually got a bit of opening up and vulnerability. And eps 5 and 6 weren’t absolutely dreadful.

Of course, like any story revolving around high school kids, this vulnerability comes in the form of family.

If there’s one thing teen dramas get right, it’s that nothing is ever actually a teenager’s fault. We’re all really just paying for the sins of our parents. They’re either lying to us - or trying to change us - or hiding some dark family secret. But when it comes to truly crappy parents, no one beats my dad. 

--Episode 6 opening

Episode 6 deals greatly with parents. Velma begins spending time with her father and having fun, after realizing that she does actually want his approval. Fred fights against his father’s attempts to mold him. Norville [proto-Shaggy] starts rebelling against his parents for the first time in his life. And Daphne meets her birth parents.

And the writers lean into this! They give the characters time to express their feelings without leaning on snark. We see these relationships develop and change over the course of the episodes. And as a result of this emotional opening? The jokes start landing. I definitely laughed more tonight than the past two episode drops combined. 

Episode 5 had a similar emotional opening, but with the relationships between the kids. Norville and Velma grapple with the boundaries (and lack thereof) in their friendship, and Fred goes on a character arc that’s self-motivated (instead of previous ones where he reacts to things happening). Velma has a major growth moment where she gives herself up to the cops after curfew to let the other kids get home with the food. The episode ends on a really sweet note, when Norville takes it upon himself to make sure Velma won’t get in trouble.

Plus, these episodes do so much to further the mystery plot. Episodes 3 and 4 really let it drop, so it’s nice to get back to the overarching mystery. Of a mystery show.

Are two good episodes enough to redeem the show? No. There’s still plenty of the bullshit that I’m not happy with (especially with Velma’s appearance being mocked), but we definitely made some steps in a good direction. 

I don’t think this is going to evolve into a good show in the remaining episodes, but it definitely could get to be a less-bad one.

#doing velma