#And I still miss the way that as a fandom we'd come together

[portinastorm]

I'm doing a bit of a robron rewatch (not the whole story, just some episodes that I really liked) and I just finished SSW 2016, and the first wedding. They were truly Good Times. I feel like (and I'm obviously completely wrong in these thoughts!) that we as a fandom were pandered to in a way that hasn't happened before or since. Obviously all the Soap Stuff happened (the car crash, the wedding crash, later the marriage crash), but it feels like all the things we wanted for Robert and Aaron happened. And of course, that wasn't the case at all: this award winning, national soap did not see that the robron fandom needed feeding and delivered us a sheer smorgasbord of treats, but for a little while it felt that way. And it wasn't like it made us feel entitled or powerful, it just made us feel happy. And it made us feel connected with each other, because we were sharing all these highs and lows with each other, and feeding off each others excitement. It really was the best of times (and at times the worst of times), and I feel so... is grateful too strong a word? Possibly, but heck I'm gonna use it anyway. I'm grateful to have gone through all of that, and to have gone through it with you guys.

#this didn't go the way that I intended! Lol #But it's there now and I like it #I'm reminiscing on the good times #And there were a lot of them #It's been 2 years since I stopped watching emmerdale #And I still miss the way that as a fandom we'd come together #Whether to watch it together across the miles #Or to rant rave scream about it later #It feels like an era you know #Times that we can never get back #Like when the main character of a teen movie is looking back at their high school days #And the voice over says things changed after that #So and so moved away and such and such got married #But for those few years it felt like we were on top of the world #Robron #Robron fandom

[banavalope]

Hello, I'm a Homestuck and Good Omens fan and just saw your post about coffee. I came to the Homestuck fandom way late, though, and don't know what the coffee theory was. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share that story from the trenches if it's not too traumatic :)

I'll preface by saying, this all happened near about the time I began to step away from Homestuck, as this was late 2011 to early 2012. My recollection could very well be missing some juicier deets, because I always managed to avoid the worst of it. In all I had a pretty benign time floating about the Homestuck fandom, I'll say that. My knowledge is as a fly's.

If you want the short version: once upon a time, the Homestuck fandom was so stupid it had discourse over the way coffee was drawn in a single panel, because the stylistic choice used to show the way cheap potted coffee has that oil slick sheen on the top Really got the gamerz thinking Gamzee was putting troll blood in the coffee.

The long version is this: this Act was annoying. All the Acts had been annoying, there'd been rather more than six of them so far. The fandom's toxicity was at its most potent, and the main fandom exodus hadn't happened yet. But the stylistic choice brewing on page 4702 of A6I2 suggested a discourse was on the horizon, and it was the size of planet fucking Jupiter.

To understand the affairs of 2011/12 Homestucks, a few things are important to mention: first, nobody enjoyed Act 6. Ask anyone from the tumblr era First Wave, we all agreed that Cascade would have been a better place to start wrapping up the comic as a whole. When Act 6 opened introducing the alpha kids, a whole new plot derivative, and we all realized we'd have to go through the same slog again, that the story wasn't over, the collective exhaustion was palpable. SWATHS left unhappy; worse yet (for some), the alpha kids brought us away from the game of SBURB and the over-aching plot, to instead place our focus on their interpersonal relationships. It was a bad time to take your audience away from a well crafted climax.

Reading it now as a completed work makes this not so bad, because the book is wrote. You can consume it as a finished piece and clearly interpret a through line for yourself, start to finish. Skip it even, if you want. When you've no idea at what time the next update will come, while all the pieces remain necessary to tell the story, any pacing is bad pacing.

Second, while Homestucks are known for many things - all of them cringe - the one that goes overlooked most, in spite of the ripple effect we still feel from it today in every corner, is the sheer amount of over analyzing done to the story itself. Every panel, every inch of every pixel, was a part of a puzzle we all collectively made up. Theorizing was an integral part to the Update Culture era of Homestuck's fandom, that we Figure Out the Story, you had to be the one who predicted what came next. Impressive how none of us came up with some kind of fandom Nobel Peace Prize, for how much we lauded it as a lifetime achievement.

I'll give you, Homestuck does have a very rich narrative. Much of it, I'll favor, is even intentional. It made worldbuilding choices captivating enough to get people painting themselves grey, for fun, so surely it had a few right ideas in some places. And there's nothing wrong about analyzing your media, picking apart its references to tie together a background story, even if it's just one you make up based on how you experienced reading it. That's kind of the whole point of consuming art. It's to be discussed, share your personal conclusions on. Theory is the breath of creativity.

It's the whole part about wanting to be right, where Homestucks as a collective force wanted to start eating each other alive on the spot. We were fucking OBNOXIOUS with theory posting. I'll be honest with you, I really ate that kind of thing up, and even I was getting annoyed. People were beginning to stretch, likely to cope with becoming bored.

Finally, the sober Gamzee controversy. This came about a while before coffeegate, but the effect the inciting update had on Homestucks is comparable to a haunting. It was fucking chernobyl, and a bad day to be a nuclear scientist because now it was your problem. Vriska fans - equally insufferable, as we all were by some respect[1] - and Gamzee fans fought with each other VEHEMENTLY, just to see whos gang was better. Keep that in the background of your mind as the theme music to what's playing. Everyone was anxiously wondering what had happened to Gamzee, because for the last several some-odd panels, we'd lost the boy. He was full of murderous intent, we were down to precious few characters on the meteor left, and we'd lost the boy.

So here we are. It's 2011. We're standing now at the end of the world, we've lost the boy for several panels, and finally the plot is trying to move along. We're all tired, and irritated, and divorced, doing this song and dance one more time but god willing the LAST TIME, when a joke about the look of shitty potted coffee gets made.

And some harbinger of the fucking apocalypse takes to tumblr dot com, drafting up a post about how Gamzee - living in the meteor walls - is putting troll blood into the coffee. Because, otherwise, how is Kanaya as a rainbow drinker doing so fine? Dave called the taste metallic, like blood. Something something long forgotten theories about trolls blood here something something. People would chime in to say "that's just how coffee looks", somehow it dissolved into actual discourse of people violently discussing back and forth how it could ONLY BE BLOOD, because coffee drawn in a prior panel UPDATES AGO didn't have the film on top, only now AFTER SOBER GAMZEE. Etcetera. It was just the worst case of reading too hard into something that you done ever did see.

Shortly following this, many people who were already growing exhausted with Homestuck's narrative direction at this point decided to take this coffee theory as their sign the flood was coming and to board the ark or learn how to swim. Anyone who learned to swim subsequently left during the exodus of 2015.

Again, my memory is pretty hazy. Thanks to Requiem Cafe, surprisingly difficult to google these days. Certainly another old still following me will have something more to add that I'm forgetting, as your handy dandy unreliable narrator.

[1] Said the Eridan fan.

#bana stop talking #homestuck #doddleys #i shouldnt tag this as good omens but theres an evil part of me that wants to

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

You may not be interested in this but i just don’t understand who to share with, I’ve been a larrie for more than 4 years now & in the fandom and truly believed HL are together and everything else was smoke and mirrors to closet HL.. but since beginning of 2023 I’ve started observing the pattern instead of considering what was being said in the fandom and could see that HL cannot be together and all that being said was just the way of convincing themselves and others that they’re together.. it took me a year of going back and forth that may be there is a slight chance that they’re together still, may be it sound too much but its actually hurting to finally trying to grasp that is not the case.. I’ve very close person in my life since my childhood and we’ve been so close my entire life and because of family feuds which i thought wouldn’t phase our relationship has done just that.. she is choosing other people to spend time with and go on vacations which we both planned and it broke my heart multiple times.. am saying this because for quite sometime fandom was giving me peace but seeing harry moving on(not with what is showing with TR) and living a life without single care is hurting too.. i know you think louis does not care but this is what i saw and to think even last year or even in 2015 when harry tried to put on show and move from band and louis, i cannot even begin to think of what louis might’ve gone through.. with all the tough facade he seems emotionally very fragile guy.. friendships are equally important as relationships i know but relationships drain us emotionally more, to think that louis felt the heartbreak, to see his once loved one put all of this in louis face and he has to go through all of this is making me sad.. I’ve tried deactivating socials multiple times but i come back and it is still the same.. why it is always one person gets to hurt more than the other over and over..

I remember louis saying why it is always me and when would I win, i remember it suddenly and it just breaks my heart..

Am so sorry to say all this here!

Hi,

Thank you for your candor and sensitivity. I read this ask a couple of times to take it all in. I’m grateful that you trust in my blog enough to send it.

Often, I see that fans relate to the Larrie story because of our own circumstances. It is incredibly romantic to imagine that two very beautiful, very charismatic people are united in fighting for love, and for us, for our own desires and our sense of resolution or justice. Then you see all the fandom lore and it seems amazing that it all comes together, even the bits that seem like… well, improbable, maybe a bit of a reach… almost too good to be true.

What I’ve realized after a long time, is that none of what you see is unbiased. I have changed my opinion even in the last year, because as more information comes to light, we have to change our assumptions. Not to question you, but you assume that Louis is sensitive, and has been hurt by his “once loved one throwing it back in his face.” Maybe it feels hurtful and intense because you’ve only started to question the truthfulness of Larry. But maybe these events took place ten years ago. Maybe six years ago. It’s true that since 2018, Harry and Louis have barely spent any time in the same country. They don’t share acquaintances or friends or professional contacts. Harry is besties with James Corden and Ben Winston, who teased Louis in 2019 that they don’t even have his telephone number. Why wouldn’t they just ask Harry?

Maybe it’s been so long that Louis has already worked it out of his system. He wrote a whole album of personal disappointments and betrayals. He wrote Back To You and Miss You, and Walls and Habit and Defenceless. And there aren’t any such songs on FITF.

“You never told me never, I guess I never knew we'd have the shortest forever”

“Maybe if you'd taken more time/ I'd still be the one you wanna talk to every night.”

“I was lucky once, I could be lucky again.”

Assuming that there was anything to Larry at all, Louis isn’t sad about his past relationships. He’s moved on from blaming himself.

“Spent my whole life just thinking I had to change.”

And the whole concept, the title of his album is Faith In The Future. The Australia merch was so much fun because we finally saw that the couple on the merch graphics were not in a dystopian story. They find each other, they find love. (And the funny 369 manifestation on the clocks!)

“Love is only for the brave.” This was a difficult thing to say in Walls, and as if to illustrate it, the song was as short as we could bear. The church of romance had been burned, sacrificed— destroyed in the most dramatic way. Louis felt excommunicated, a lonely shadow.

Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy was a transition song, from broken beaks and dead birds to finding community and hope.

Heartbreak is the human condition. Despite it all, Louis opens his heart. He cries. He loves. Sometimes he loses. But to engage in love authentically means to take a real risk — not to be certain that you’ll be loved back or that things won’t head south, or that you won’t be betrayed, because we all know Louis’ history. Still, Louis “keeps his heart open.” That’s something to applaud and not pity.

#louis tomlinson

[bookish-bogwitch]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thank you @artsyunderstudy, @alleycat0306, @cutestkilla, and @ileadacharmedlife for tagging me in this game!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 22, but I think of only 16 of them as "real" fics. The others are podfics, the pornbot meta, random stuff I could've just left on tumblr, etc.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

108,039. If you subtract the words I didn't write (like 97% of Birthday Man and add words the AO3 didn't capture because they're in screen shots (like Impulse Shopping with Simon Snow), it's more like 75k.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Carry On exclusively. I did set out to write a Buddy Daddies fix-it fic right after the series finale but abandoned it because (1) I actually just wanted to read BD fic, not write it, and (2) omg, it is so much harder to write for a TV show where there's not an existing written author voice to imitate.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ready or Not (20,698 words) Kudos: 460

Missing (8,823 words) Kudos: 422 (co-written with @oxi-is-a-moron)

Impulse Shopping with Simon Snow (12 words that AO3 can count, more like 5k in the screenshots) Kudos: 328

Birthday Man (39,132 words, of which about 1k are mine) Kudos: 178

Size You Up (6,850 words) Kudos 133

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

I do! I love getting comment responses and engaging with writers that way.

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

That has to be What Eats You, but it wasn't angsty for Snowbaz, only for Lamb. 😂 Ooh, and the ending of Missing was sort of angsty--though again, not really for Snowbaz--but I didn't write that part, @oxi-is-a-moron did. (So it's not boasting to say that it's beautiful 🥺.) I have a WIP idea that's still just a summary paragraph. It's extremely angsty with a bittersweet-at-best ending, and I will only ever write it if I decide it hurts more to keep it in my head than to let it out.

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

Everything's a Story. Because the ending is Baz pandering to ME.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet, but it's been less than a week since I posted the fandom's first bestiality fic, so we'll see.

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

Yes--about half my "real" fics are mature or explicit. I find it very very challenging to write, it takes a lot longer than other writing, I think because my discomfort makes me very self-critical. I've come to realize that the sex has to have emotional / narrative significance for me to want to write it--the one time I wrote a sex scene where the whole point of it was sex, I cringed afterward. (Tbf to baby me, it was my first explicit fic and second fic ever and unbetaed, so whatever.) I guess I can deal with writing smut a little better if it's super cracky but even then, I'd want to keep it brief.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope, probably wouldn't. I've thought about "what if Snowbaz time traveled and met Kim and Will from the Will Darling Adventures" but it would be pretty boring my only thought is "they're the same, huh?" (For the record I would read the hell out of that crossover.)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of.

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

Yes! I love collaborating. For WIPfest I finished @facewithoutheart's WIP, What Eats You?. And @oxi-is-a-moron finished my WIP, Missing. And there was Birthday Man, the Simon's b-day round robin with probably most of you reading this. AND @ic3-que3n and I wrote our bizarre tell-all confessional about the pornbots together. And this spring @ivelovedhimthroughworse and I spent a lovely spring day writing to prompts and thought we'd memorialize it. Honorable mention to @ic3-que3n's art in Behind the Magic. Technically I wrote the words (it was CORBB) but the concept was their idea and we did so much scheming and giggling that it felt like co-writing.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Malmage.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

None. I have a long google doc of ideas but don't really think of something as a WIP until it gets is own file and I start writing. I tend to only have 1-2 WIPs going at a time, and right now there's only one, Basil Pitch's Diary. (Of which ~ 200 words are posted but I have 20k+ and plan to start posting after COC.) So, none. If I ever start the aforementioned angst fest there's a good chance I'll bail partway through.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm funny. I'm told I am good at mixing humor and sex and angst. I have come up with some original concepts. I commit to the bit.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

While I might have original concept ideas, I'm weak on worldbuilding. I tend to stick squarely within the canon-verse. I've never written an AU. My only OC was a sentient mop. I've never even written a villain, I don't think. I struggle with making the MCs do things that I wouldn't do myself, for good or bad. (For instance, I've written almost zero love confessions and tend to write around them because I've never love-confessed to anyone I wasn't already dating and even imagining it makes me want to vanish in a puff of smoke.) I am a very slow writer--I'm in awe of people who can bang out thousands of words in a day, or go from idea to execution in hours. If I can manage a steady 200 words a day, not including editing, that's pretty fast. This pace makes it hard to picture writing a really long fic, ever.

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

I've never really thought about it. It could be nice for scene-setting; I love all the Norwegian in @scone-lover's Northern Downpour, it really adds to the atmosphere, and the German in @spockzilla's Twelve Days of Christmas cracked me up. The lack of translations made it that much funnier when I finally looked it up myself, or when the meaning was obvious. (Guten Abend, meine kleinen Twinks!) So--maybe someday?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Carry On

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Ready or Not. It's the only thing I've written that I've also read for my own entertainment.

Tagging everyone mentioned above, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @skee3000, @thewholelemon, @facewithoutheart, @hushed-chorus, @captain-aralias, and @nightimedreamersworld.

#tag game #self-indulgent #shameless self-promotion #writing about writing

[mdhwrites]

I believe Vee was created because the writers didn’t want to explore Camilia worrying and grieving over possibly losing Luz, the only family she had left. We didn’t witness Camilia spend months wondering what happened to her daughter since Vee pretended to be her. Even after Camilia discovered she wasn’t her child, she kept her and formed a familial relationship. Another issue is that Luz didn’t have any questions surrounding her disappearance, nor did she have to repeat a grade since Vee had taken her place, leaving others none the wiser. Vee was a copout by the writers, who didn’t want to have Luz face consequences for going missing.

Here's my rebuttal: What place did that have in this story?

Especially by the time of Yesterday's Lie, TOH is still a kid's show. It's still the story of a girl escaping to a fantasy realm and getting to live the dream of being a witch that she always wanted. While S2B will get more dramatic, it never gets truly dark frankly. All of its water works are pretty basic and bare bones for the fantasy genre frankly. I mean, the darkest it gets is "I'm a clone and Belos has murdered me untold amounts of times" and they don't explore that either because that'd mean following through on the plot point and one dark plot point does not a drama make. It's part of why the fandom constantly shouting trauma never rang true because these are the first actually bad things to ever happen to these characters and they never respond quite properly to them.

All that you want is befitting for a genuinely dramatic story. One that is trying to face the consequences of EVERYTHING. It'd actually be a really bad, really brutal gut punch to a story that is already exploring the genuine effects of being an isekai protagonist, already exploring how much that would already suck, and that's the exact OPPOSITE of what TOH was interested in doing. It never properly faces consequences for anything that happens in the show and actively shoots possible consequences in the face much of the time so they can move on to the next moment the writers actually care about.

Instead, Vee is a genuinely brilliant work around the problems of the isekai genre while not pretending they just don't exist. Does she fully function? Not entirely, you still have to suspend your disbelief that this lab grown creation who never had any schooling or social interactions can FUNCTION in society but that's pretty normal suspension of disbelief for this sort of thing frankly. It would have started straining more if they'd gotten a full S3 and so actually had to spend time with Vee and dealing with the twin identities but at this point I hope I've pointed out enough in the rest of my blogs that this show just wouldn't properly explore any of that really. We'd maybe get one episode that ends up on Luz's side in the end and that'd be it.

But as I've talked before with Vee, her main goal wasn't even just to wave away tonal issues. She was meant to directly be able to show that Luz could have had friends. Could have been happy. That, as Vee states, "She had it good." Which, you know, was a GIANT mistake since they never backed up Luz being bullied or an outcast or having social anxiety or anything like that so it just makes Luz like a lying bitch and recontextualizes her entire introduction in terrible ways. It WAS the intended goal with Vee though to do that.

That's honestly part of the tragedy of TOH and why it's hard to defend the writers as writers. There's almost ALWAYS an explicit point to most of the elements included in the story for a short term gain or statement but there's no thought to the overall effect of it. It could NEVER have been serialized because these writers don't think about the big picture. Instead, they sloppily put together a Jenga tower and the longer the game goes on...

Well, eventually a good base is eroded until it all comes crashing down.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh vee

[weirwitch]

thank u for the tags @thenns & @huramuna!

1. How many works do you have on ao3 (or masterlist)? - none currently, but i’ve been focusing on two wips as of late!! i’ll be cross-posting them on archive of our own, wattpad, fanfiction.net, and here sometime soon.

2. What’s your total ao3 word count? - ^

3. What fandoms do you write for? - mainly a song of ice and fire/game of thrones/house of the dragon. i have some ideas floating around my noggin for star wars and harry potter, but i’m doubtful they’ll ever be posted

4. Top five fics by kudos - none until i get off my procrastinating tushie and excavate my fics from the drafts

5. Do you respond to comments? - every single one bc i fear my body yearns for validation like water...

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? - definitely my wip set during the dance of the dragons, very tentatively named moth to a flame 🤭

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? - i’d refer to it as bittersweet > happy, but i’d say my agot wip, witching hour

8. Do you get hate on fics? - i have not and i pray i never do

9. Do you write smut? - i have not... yet 😈

10. Craziest crossover? - feeling so vanilla rn saying no to all of these questions, but i have not partaken

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? - unfortunately 😵‍💫

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? - i haven’t, but i’m definitely open to that once i’ve posted!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? - not for one singular fic, but i am working on an asoiaf series of connected fics with my bffie @thenns! it's called the dream for dawn 🌄

14. All time favorite ship? - definitely maerwynn/pate/jon, aka the main ship of witching hour 🤭 they’re poly (bc jon snow is a bi king) and my fun way of subverting the love triangle trope!

5. What’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? - probably my jedi: fallen order wip, sol invictus ☀️ the main oc is a force-sensitive bounty hunter whose name is jeska sol, and she’s paired with inquisitor au!cal kestis bc that has always been very sexy to me

16. What are your writing strengths? - felt too Cocky to answer this myself, so i relied on @thenns (as per usual)... according to miss dani, my ocs and lore changes/additions feel unique but still merge well with canon, and i tone-match grrm’s writing style very well (“u could ghostwrite twow and ados and no one would notice”). she also says house weir is easily her favourite original house. yes i have tears in my eyes, next question please

17. What are your writing weaknesses? - dani says my downfall is continuously writing the same 10 chapters over and over again bc i think they’re no good. and she would be right

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? - all good, as long as a translation is included!!

19. First fandom you wrote in? - this just unlocked the deepest, darkest memory... my friends and i used to write pokémon fics together in the first grade. we'd even print them off using the school printer and disperse them to the class. i wish i could read them 🥲i can still see the stapled pages and the comic sans font in my mind's eye, and i KNOW there was a dramatic arc of ash cheating on misty with may

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? - definitely witching hour, coming soon to a tumblr near you 😝

tagging: @starkladies @vecnacreels @cardeegans @jennyofoldflowers @sainteda

#my musings #tag game

[lorettapetrichor]

a jumble of the things i feel about amphibia, both the show and fandom experience, now that it's ending:

the way amphibia is just this soft story of friendship and survival and growth. yes, it's dark sometimes. yes, the characters face so much. and yet it's okay in the end. no matter what.

the way the first season kept anne in wartwood, ending each time with a quiet night under the stars, and she just grew and changed for the better because the mountain pass was blocked and there was nowhere to go.

the way marcy thought she did everything for them, was so in love with them (platonically or romantically is up to interpretation) that she wanted to be with them forever, the way it was selfish but she died for them in the end and now they're together.

the summer after true colors when we had no idea what would happen, and we thought and created so, so much while waiting for the show to come back, and felt so together. when we knew about marcy's fate but not where it would lead her, and so we wondered if she'd be saved, how anne would cope back home. the growth of this imagined aftermath.

the months staying up all night each friday to watch episodes all together, theorizing and reacting, giddy in the hours leading up to it. the nights when episodes like olivia & yunan would air and we'd spend the whole day drowning in art and wondering how things would go.

the way it's always turned tropes on their head. the way anne's return to earth wasn't permanent. the way marcy was, in the end, so deeply tragic.

the way leif's letter is what stopped andrias in the end. after a thousand years of hatred, love is what reminded him to let his guard down. and the way he knew what he did, admitted what he'd caused, and still knew there was no redemption awaiting him.

the fics in this fandom that expand the world, let the darkness and fog of amphibia rise around the characters, and the sense of survival there always is. even if it's only barely, even if it's after facing too much for a few teenagers to fight, even if they're thrown into war, or the wilderness, or endless grief, or things too difficult to describe, let along go through.

the way it's ending here, tonight. with the moon, ever-watching in the sky, crashing towards amphibia. with so much payoff after all this waiting. after every theory and fanfic building up to this end. we'll see how it really goes.

and i say we, because we are. amphibia is the most connected, supportive, wonderful fandom i've ever been in. we watch it together when we can. we know the fandom's jokes. we theorize, lend ideas, build as a community.

i wonder how much of that we learned from the show. we know what it asked of us, with community and support.

we should say goodbye together, too.

thank you. all of you.

@true-colours @ineffabill-gallimaufry @kaseyskat @mothicalspoken @maldito-arbol @yourpersonaltimebomb @camomile-t @candydos @luna--dragon @mythicandco @natikoko @your-local-hurt-comfort-junkie-1 @arcadiii @mira-blue @calamity-unlocked @borkthemork @hereforthehurts and to anyone else out there who writes, or draws, or even just rambles about this show. i'm gonna miss it here.

#lore talks #my writing #amphibia #goodbye amphibia

[idabbleincrazy]

One Last Kiss

Fandom: Bones

Rating: T

Pairing: Sweetooth (mentions of polyamory)

Word Count: 975

Warnings: angst, set during 10x01, kissage, pre-existing poly, Sweets p.o.v., set in my poly verse

Summary: Sweets and Booth after Daisy drops by.

A/N: technically this is a sequel to my unfinished Sweets/Booth/Bones fic, but it wouldn't leave me alone and I don't want it sitting in my docs forever. Just know that the three of them were in a polyamorous relationship during his stay with them in s8 and they still had sporadic sex throughout s8&9. Title is from the song from Bye Bye Birdie (the lyrics are actually rather fitting considering how the episode goes)

Lance watched Daisy shut the door behind her as she left the apartment, chewing his lip nervously. He heard Booth shift behind him and turned to face him with a smile he hoped wasn't too guilty-looking.

"So, a baby, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. Look, Booth, I'm sorry I never said anything. I only found out about a month before all this started and we were waiting for the right moment, but…"

Booth closed the space between them and clasped his hands on Sweets' shoulders, his gaze softening as it locked with the psychologist's.

"Sweets, hey, no, I get it, alright. I'm not…I'm not mad at you about this. Hell, I'm happy for you, really. What did Bones and I tell you when you moved out, huh?"

"That even though we weren't living together anymore, it didn't mean we'd stop being a family."

"Exactly. We're a family, Sweets, and Daisy, and little Lance Jr., they're gonna be a part of that family now, too. You have nothing to be sorry about, okay? Me and Bones, we're always gonna love you, and we'll always be here for you, kid."

Sweets nodded, the guilt about Booth finding out about Daisy's pregnancy this way now shifting into guilt about the focus suddenly being on his life rather than the real problems Booth had come here to discuss.

"God, Booth, you came here to work on what's happening with the investigation and I've gone and made it all about me."

"Don't be. Seriously. There's really not much more to talk about anyways, until Bones and the team find more evidence. I'm sorry for the blow up over it when you stopped by the house, I'm just…laser-focused right now."

Sweets pulled away and sat on the couch, gesturing for Booth to do the same.

"I've missed you, Booth. I hate that I couldn't come see you, but Bones told me you said it might compromise the investigation."

"Yeah. I didn't want them tailing you. You don't need that. Visiting me in there, the guys at the Bureau would've stopped trusting you; you needed all avenues open in case something popped up, you know?"

"I understand. It was just hard." Sweets turned to face Booth, not quite able to meet his gaze. "I told Daisy about us, about our situation."

"Oh? Oh…um, does Bones know you told her?"

"Dr. Brennan was the one who suggested it." Sweets looked at Booth, breathing out a sign of relief when he saw that he wasn't angry, just slightly worried. "She said she thought Daisy was the type of person who would understand, and that it was important for her to hear it from me, as early as possible, rather than finding out down the road. And, she was right. Daisy was, is, perfectly accepting of it."

"Is?"

"We've discussed it, and included Bones in the discussion, and she's okay with it if we continue on the way we have been. Actually, she's expressed interest in maybe being included in our dynamic, if you're okay with it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They haven't done anything, because Dr. Brennan wasn't able to discuss it with you, but it's obvious she and Daisy have a connection that goes deeper than just working together at the Jeffersonian. And, Daisy has admitted she thinks you're appealing."

Booth chuckled lightly, the worry disappearing from his face. He gave Sweets a cocky grin.

"She thinks I'm hot, huh?"

Lance rolled his eyes and grinned back.

"Well, you do have that ruggedly handsome thing going for you. Especially with that stubble." Sweets huffed out a breath. "Booth, can I just kiss you already? Can we just…can I just have that, and we save all the complicated talk for later? I-I know you just got out of that place, and you probably have a shit load of stuff running through your head, but I just need-"

Sweets' babble was cut off by the press of Booth's lips against his, and he let himself just melt into the kiss as an arm wrapped around him, pulling him closer. This was what he had needed, what he had been missing the last three months. Booth's all-encompassing passion as he took the lead. It was present in everything the older man did, and no less evident in this moment as he deepened the kiss, urging Sweets' lips to part. He moaned into Booth's mouth as their tongues met, and fisted a hand into his shirt, clutching him close as the kiss lingered on.

Booth was the one to break away, just as Sweets' other hand crept its way towards his lap, pressing his forehead to the younger's, breath coming out in ragged pants.

"I can't, Sweets, not now."

Sweets swallowed down the whimper of regret, the sting of rejection pushed aside by logic. Booth had only been out of prison for such a short time, of course he would need more time to readjust. He'd barely even had enough time to be with Dr. Brennan and Christine before he came here, it was unreasonable to expect him to be in a place, mentally or emotionally, to want the kind of intimacy the kiss was leading towards.

"It's okay, Booth, I understand, really."

"Thanks." Booth released his hold on Sweets and stood up. "Look, I gotta check in with Bones and see if the team has made any progress. And keep this new guy Aubrey from looking too closely. Man, he gets on my nerves."

"Alright. You'll keep me informed, right? And, you'll call me if you need anything? Anything at all. I'm here for you and Dr. Brennan. So's Daisy."

"Yeah, I know, kid. I'll let you know if something comes up. And..thanks. For this, for everything."

Lance smiled that 'don't mention it' smile of his and watched Booth walk out the door, lips faltering into a worried frown.

#booth/sweets #bones fanfiction

[sarsaparillaswords]

👍 and 🥰 for the fic rec meme!

(for the fic rec meme)

👍A fic you bookmarked recently

(Well, my most recent bookmarks are the ones you just recomended to me but skipping those...)

Here's the thing: this one is tricky because while I've been trying to keep multiple interests on my dash, when it comes to my fic reading I've been fixated on the Locked Tomb books to an alarming degree and before that I spent a couple of years away from fandom.

This means that all my recent bookmarks are either Locked Tomb fics or, like, writing advice for my wip. To find something else we'd have to go back to 2017 which I don't think counts as "recent" by any definition of the word.

But fortunately, right at the top of my bookmarks I've got something that can be read fandom-blind!

Mors Vincit Omnia

Working security at an architectural firm isn't the thrilling career Gideon had seen for herself, but it pays the bills. When a series of gruesome murders take place, she finds herself dragged into the path of her childhood tormentor, now a well-respected forensic anthropologist. Together they get pulled under by the current of desecration and accusation, fighting for truth as unlikely allies.

The great thing about this one is that it functions as a mystery/thriller featuring some artistically nasty corpse descriptions and an enemies-to-lovers romance. It's a modern AU and enough of the backstory is baked in that you won't need to consult a fan wiki. The legal and scientific aspects are a bit hand-wavey, but the plot is tight, the characterizations are great and the story, dare I say it, has great bones.

Unfortunately, it's a WIP and right in the middle of a cliffhanger but it updates regularly, so there should be a new chapter soon.

🥰 A fic that gives you warm fuzzy feelings

I definitely have to pick one of my favorite old-school SamSteve fics:

how to

Sam Wilson was the Picasso of flirting, which was why it was such a shame that Steve could probably get slapped in the face with a dick and still misinterpret a sexual advance as an honest mistake. Oh God, I’m sorry, I accidentally hit your dick with my face. I apologize. I can pay for that. I’m so sorry.

How to describe this in a way that does it justice? It's heartwarming. It's hilarious. Sam offers to help Steve navigate 21st century romance with a series of "practice dates". Sam thinks that Steve isn't picking up on his attempts to flirt; in fact, Sam is missing all of Steve's many, many attempts to flirt and/or pick Sam up.

Although the author mentions a planned 14th chapter that never happened, the story is functionally complete with no cliffhanger and nothing important is missing.

#Every now and then I remember the words Picasso of Flirting and start to giggle #SamSteve #griddlehark #the locked tomb #marvel #fic recs

[kittyandco]

📝❤️💘 w hans <3

OHHG LET'S GOOO (i have put so much thought into this) THANK YOU

📝: How would your story in canon go? How would you influence the events of the original story?

SO. i thought of my story prior to reading "a frozen heart," but it helped me contextualize some things. it basically made my s/i "purposeful" (for lack of a better term, all our s/is have purpose). in passing, hans laments that he hasn't courted anyone (this is approximately 3 years before he goes to arendelle); meanwhile, his brothers are married, engaged, or courting, and his family didn't seem to plan to set him up with anyone. (probably to keep him fully indebted to them forever i'd fight them if i had the chance)

THAT'S WHERE I COME IN! hans and my s/i actually have a long history, because our families want us together for political reasons. we didn't really understand at first... but as i got to know hans & his family, i began to resent it. i hated them for many reasons, but especially because of how they treated him. and i eventually realized that our joining would only be for their benefit, not ours. i didn't want to live in servitude to them, and i didn't want hans to live like that anymore either.

narratively it just made more sense, because at least for appearance's sake, he would have a betrothed. the westergaards are all about appearance, so this way no one raises questions about hans. not a single one. they've kept their secrets very well, and i believe that they wouldn't risk it by leaving him single. AND it gives them another outlet to use him for their gain. like always.

anyway, his love for me changes his motivations a bit. it isn't only to unduly seize power, or only to prove himself to his family, it's also his last-ditch effort to keep me with him. to escape. with me. one of my grievances for a long time was that we would never be free so long as we went through with our arrangement. but it hurt terribly... because i love him. i wanted to be with him, but i couldn't bring myself to. this way, we'll have everything all to ourselves.

also it simultaneously humanizes him more and makes him seem Worse because on the one hand, aww he's doing this for love (partially)! on the other hand, he led another girl on while engaged 😭

❤️: How popular is you x your f/o? Are you a rarepair?

in the larger fandom, i still don't think we'd be very popular. the frozen fandom essentially excises hans fans to our own space, so... meh. i'm used to it. among hans fans tho, i think it would be kind of an even split between people who ship us and people who ship him with anna (which i totally get, i love them too 🥴)

💘: Why would people love your ship? Why would people dislike your ship? How might it start debates?

THE UNDYING DEVOTION AND ANGST AND THE SHARED TRAUMA AND THE LOVE THAT IS SO CLEARLY THERE BUT TOO MANY THINGS HOLDING IT BACK IT'S PERFECT...

on the other hand. the rest of the fandom (those who don't rlly associate with us) probably wouldn't love it because they would either feel bad for me or think that i should have left him after what he did (because i didn't. our story ends very differently from canon, but assume it was the real canon: i break him out of jail and it's kind of up to interpretation what happened after that but it's clear that i still want him)

they'd probably be the types to say that i'm "enabling" and that i "don't know better" (i.e. trying to give progressive critique while actually undermining my s/i's autonomy and Completely Missing The Point), and that i shouldn't be so soft on him. but that's TOO BAD

not to mention the ab*ser discourse surrounding him like ugughhh give it a REST

so yeah it'd probably be the hansanna discourse but Worse. <3

‘Imagine Your S/I Was Canon…’ Self-Ship Asks

#me? going off about frozen? it's more likely than you think! #extremely likely. guaranteed or your money back #asks #💕 love is an open door

[nickjunesource]

Is it just me or are most of the Nick/June scenes repetitive? They’re almost always the same. Very short, minimal contact, not a lot of new info and another “goodbye”. I feel like the writers have given up on them.

Hmm... we can see what you mean. While every moment of them is beautiful and exquisitely painful and is so well done with oodles of chemistry, the general themes of their scenes in the last three seasons tend to be very similar. Nowadays their scenes are some variation of "goodbye", "I need your help", "I wish we could run away", "stay safe", and "try and be happy". "Goodbye" is a particularly overused scene type for them. In the last three seasons, we've had 9 episodes with Osblaine scenes where they're together. 8 of those episodes featured some kind of "goodbye". There's a lot left that could be explored further, like what happiness could look like, resistance/rebellion together, and parenting. One scene we've really been aching for is Nick having an emotional breakdown and being comforted by June. Further, we'd love to see Nick and especially June talking about the other with someone else. It's really a shame that the show declines to explore them more.

We agree that their scenes are far too brief nowadays. It comes across particularly badly because we only get a handful each season and often these moments are spaced very far apart, making each moment feel all the briefer. Some scenes go by so quickly that if you blink you feel like you miss something. It feels particularly stark when reflecting on seasons 1&2 and comparing that to seasons 3-5. While there's something to be said about leaving the audience wanting more, the show goes way too far and makes people feel like they're missing something. There's nowhere near enough scenes nor time spent on them. That needs to change.

As for the writers giving up on Osblaine, we don't think that that's the case. Rather we think that the show is focusing on what gets them awards and nominations and money rather than telling a good story. Hence all the focus on Serena year after year, the extensive Joseph plots, and the torture porn for June. OT has also been getting buzz since s3, so all this extra focus on him also aligns with that. Nick, Max, and Osblaine, as great as they are, are not going to do that for the show despite Max netting an Emmy nomination for s4. Hollywood rarely rewards love stories. (Though we sometimes wonder if the writers and producers resent all the attention and love Nick and Osblaine get, and have thus "punished" the fandom as a result by significantly reducing their screen time. But this is just a conspiracy theory, haha.)

When the show does focus on Osblaine, you can see the amount of attention and devotion that is placed into that plot. The scenes are so rich with emotion, love, and complexities. It's often the strongest part of the show. That to us is good proof that the writers, producers, and actors still care about Osblaine.

#the handmaid's tale #osblaine #nick x june #tht s5 spoilers #asks

[solradguy]

Might be an odd question, and I'm sorry if it's already been asked, but how did you come up with your fursona?

Not odd at all!! But it's a long story hahah I gotta start from the very absolute beginning. Minor warning for a mention of animal death.

So the first one was an orange and white cat with an olive green trench coat, glowing neon green eyes, a red bandanna (pirate-style, not ninja-style), and they had 7 stripes on their tail. They happened sort of on accident because I was actually 12 years old and couldn't draw humans in a way I was satisfied with and just drew people with cat heads instead. Idk where I got that idea from, probably Thundercats or Swat Katz or something lol. Eventually this character evolved from being based on my actual cat, Toby, to being a character I used to represent myself, 7oby. This fursona is what I refer to as 7oby v.1. They had a sword too, Excalon, that made a blade of frozen ice that was powered by the radiation that my fursona absorbed. I wanted to write a comic with them at once point and had a whole setting and cast fleshed out but this was right around when I entered a very dark period and self-criticism kept it from ever happening.

Unfortunately, Toby, the cat 7oby v.1 was based on, passed away in early 2013. I was really close to this cat, we'd been through a lot together. Around this time I was kind of falling out with the idea of having a fursona too and Toby's death made drawing 7oby v.1 feel... depressing. I tried mixing up their design a little around this time and decided it would be best to just retire them entirely.

This led to 7oby v.2, which was an android with a powerplug tail and 4 motorcycle exhaust pipes on his head lol. I was going through a lot of identity changes around this time (2013-2014) and had a falling out with a friend where they called me a robot and I got a little spiteful about it. I still kind of like 7oby v.2's design but he was a pain in the ass to draw. He didn't last long.

In 2015 I started missing having an actual fursona. I'd gotten a little back into the fandom and having a fuzzy guy I could draw hanging out with my friends' fuzzy guys is a lot of fun. But I needed to design a fuzzy guy again. I didn't know what species to go with and I didn't want to go with a house cat again so I asked my biologist friend for ideas and he suggested a spotted hyena. This was around the time I started realizing I was probably trans so I thought female hyena biology was especially humorous. 7oby v.3 was to be a hyena.

7oby v.3 has gone through a lot of changes haha

7oby v.3 from 2015 through 2017 was just a normal spotted hyena.

From 2018 on he had a robotic endoskeleton like a Terminator and could also make super heated holographic claws and stuff.

In early 2019 I got REALLY into Legend of Zelda and Ganondorf and was like "7oby v.3 is going to be a hyena/boar hybrid now." He still had the Terminator skeleton and laser hands but now he had tusks too. I think this was around the time I gave him lightning/fire magic and decided to combine him with my art mascot, the Somnivagrant, too. Somni's a genderless, amorphous, eyeless, dream demon. It kind of looks like a white dog/wolf and has a sun orb between its ears. The Somnivagrant hitches a ride on my fursona (like a ghost) for fun.

2021 7oby v.3 (the last redesign I've done) is pretty much the same as 2019 but I cleaned up his general anatomy a little and brought back 7oby v.1's Excalon as a giant laser gunsword. Of course.

I think v.3 has gone through more changes than the other two because I've also changed an incredible amount between 2015 to now, but I think, too, that on some level I just don't entirely vibe with v.3. Like v.1 was absolutely me, v.2 was honestly just a stepping stone, and v.3's just kinda... I dunno. I think it might be time for v.4.

#asks #v.3's been my fursona longer than the other two combined but I drew v.1 more by FAR #I redo my reference sheet every couple years and it's funny tracking my interests over time with them lol #I can post them all if anyone wants to see them

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H's Book Reactions

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Percy joins a dangerous quest to find the missing Annabeth and goddess Artemis only to discover the end of the world may be sooner than he thought.

I was totally sane yesterday, why do these books make me so insane

I was wondering why exactly we all love Percy so much. And maybe part of it is that he feels so real. He's an underdog always fighting to be valued, his flaws are on full display. He acts the way we would in the situation. Yeah, he's funny and can be goofy, but he's also someone who's been through shit and is very serious and grounded and is just trying to find his place in the world...like a lot of kids feel. AND THEN, there's the fact he's just such a genuinely good person. Like he always befriends the loner kids, does nice things for people because they ask him to, sacrifices himself over and over his friends. He has such a good heart, he's someone I think we'd all want to be friends with

The fandom is also right in that he's also a sarcastic shit who really does just talk back to the gods

I'm thinking about Percy's fatal flaw (which is identified for the first time in this book) vs Bianca's death. Like, Nico telling him he broke his promise to protect her is about the worst thing you could ever tell Percy. Did I want him to put up more of fight against her taking down Talos? Would he have if they were closer? Does this decision effect later decisions? Idk, I'm just thinking thoughts.

Continuing my point about Percy's Hero's Journey, this book obviously reflects Hercule's story with the Nemean Lion, Erymanthian Boar, Ladon and the Golden Apples, and Atlas. Hercules is THE Greek hero, and that's why it's important in Percy's journey that he rejects Hercule's path (and the path of previous heroes in general) and decide to forge a path of his own

Which leads me to my next point. This book's themes is about how being a hero is not about doing it on your own, your own ego, or your own needs. It's about love and friendship and family and that is what is going to save the world. At the beginning fo the book, Percy is failing a lot, trying to do things on his own. He's jealous of Thalia and the others. But what Percy excels at is saving his friends, working together, leading. He becomes the bait for the skeleton soldiers to save his friends. He puts himself in danger constantly and comes up with solutions to protect his friends. He cares for his friends' feelings. He protects Bessie. He sacrifices himself and chooses to be the child of the prophecy to protect Nico. This is what Percy is best at. This is the kind of hero he is

Perceabeth has a fanatastic explanation on how this book is about love (Sally and Paul, Annabeth and Percy, Dionysus and Ariadne, Zoe and Hercules) and I love it so very much and agree

Continuing my point about the five-book arc: This book is definitely the turning point. Percy's comfortable with the mythical world, his skills, his powers now, and now he has to push himself in new ways, esp emotionally and mentally, to level up. We also see the pieces on the chessboard, Thalia, Nico, Bessie, Mount Tam are clashing together for the first time and creating repercussions. We're still a bit away from the final showdown, but we can see the battle on the horizon. This book is so much more serious and signals what's to come next

I really love how Aphrodite is used here to explore Percy and Ananbeth's growing relationship. Like Percy/the writing are not the type to sit and wax about feelings. Instead we see the Hunters representing the anxiety about their relationship as they grow up. The scarf of Aphrodite showing how much Annabeth thinks about him as he does her. Aphrodite interrupting the quest to call out Percy on why he's really doing this. Aphrodite calling it what it is, a love story.

I mean, Bianca's death is devastating, but I do really like how it's because of an act of love, you know? Like even if she doesn't want the responsibilities of taking care of Nico, she of course loves him . She takes the Hades figurine, knowing she shouldn't, because she loves him and wants him to be happy. I just...I can't fault her

So, I'm not sure how much we talk about this, but I think prophecies will always be fulfilled but they can be fulfilled in multiple ways. Like, there's different ways the "land without rain" gets applied and there's different people who's parent tries to kill them, and it's because of them trying to reason with the prophecy, even prevent it, that the events happen the way they do

In other news, I think this book has the most Olympians introduced to us? Apollo, Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite

My favorite cover of the series (maybe along w/ TLT). It's an understated scene, but it's the scene directly tying to the theme of the book. Mr. D is calling Percy out for being like all the other heroes, and Percy must now decide if he will be or won't

My current ranking of the series: TLO>TTC>TLT>BOTL (I decided I should be nicer to it)>SOM

The battle at Camp Half Blood is foreshadowed here, and I never caught that!! They said the first step was to take out the heroes!!!

In terms of awe factor, these books have held up over the years very well. However, as a kid, having the cabin counselor meeting in the Big House around the ping pong table was so cool and all, and now as an adult, I'm like...someone get these kids a decent table and snacks lol

To answer my previous post's question, Tyson's shield does come back into play! And there's a reason I don't remember it here!

Book 2 has so many iconic scenes, but I think a lot of personal favorites are in this one, including: the Erymanthian Boar, Nereus, Hoover Dam, Smithsonian

My personal favorite scene is him choosing the prophecy for himself (imo, the book should've ended with that as the cliffhanger but I digress) because the amount of courage and love Percy has to do that is incredible. Close second is the reveal of Nico as the son of Hades. Like, I think I'm so used to him being the son of Hades now, that I forgot HOW BATSHIT INSANE THIS REVEAL WAS

I know we learn what Clarisse found on her secret mission, but I don't remember what it is (Also shoutout to PJO Riordan bc I have so much faith that the little references he drops do matter, whereas in the latter series I read, I don't have that same confidence)

Speaking of reference, Nico talks about resurrecting the dead early on, ooohhh~

Percy Jackson bought a toy rat from a rundown store in a rundown town in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a very dangerous quest just because he felt bad for the store clerk, and that is why he is better than all of us

#pjo #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #the titan's curse #ttc #agent book reactions #agent h #book review #ya book review #the only reason I am not more insane about bts is bc I’m already insane about my number one boy Percy Jackson #I accurately spotted BOTL in 2-second bg shot of Abbott Elementary (Zoo Balloon) that's how insane I am

[shy-magpie]

RQG 166

Where in there is shipping, talk of strange magics, and preparations are made

"Smooth Sailing" is not quite up there with "everything is fine" but its ominous.

So is this strictly to annoy Alex or did they notice fandom commenting on how fast they spoke?

No sexy Jesus then it can't be Grant

I love Hamid made them all cold weather gear

Tension for long periods sucks. Azu is going to find Kiko!

Cel points out that Azu asking if Kiko wants "take a break together"!

Hamid is also a shipper on deck!

Kiko sees Hamid & Cel sharing thumbs up A love nest?

Azu is nervous!

Azu refuses because she doesn't want to risk it while they are in danger; Kiko doesn't want to die sober

Kiko hangs out in the nest because it beats throttling Carter.

Kiko takes control of the conversation, since Azu is jumping quite a bit ahead; asks what Azu is doing in Japan on her way to Svalbard. Azu starts to say "save the world" when Ben points out infosec, panics and says "nothing".

Oh Earhardt is the captain of Kiko's adopted father, a gnome named Elbert. Azu goes pretty vague, says she want to be high priestess of Aphrodite which means good works like healing people. At this point Kiko asks if she could do anything about the crick in her neck. Which seems a bit "lay your hands on me".

Alex draws a vail there beyond asking Helen if Azu kisses on the first date (yes a little one).

Hamid & Cel notice Azu coming back up alone. Azu tells them she had a kiss: Hamid claps, Cel squeals.

Oh the bears climbed to the top of real mountains to die.

Earhardt asks Zolf if he thinks something killed the bears. Zolf basically says we'd see it coming.

Earhardt is more worried about the effects of the borealis on the ship.

Zolf says to take it to a vote. Earhardt tries to tell Zolf to handle it, Zolf tells her it should be her

Zolf gathers them all, giving Azu an approving pat on the arm.

Earhardt isn't actually bad at this. Lore time!

Hamid is trying to share his magic knowledge again, but he still sounds nervous.

Cel asks if something like the antimagic cell would help, but I don't know if they can persue that? Yeah spells and material.

Zolf points out that they have magic types fairly covered.

Oh so this is explicitly not like Rome.

Hamid figures its mostly safe.

Zolf asks how the Kobolds feel!

They get that its dangerous and ask it they can kill it. They ask if they can make a lightning rod! Clever Kobolds. Cel follows up the idea.

The lightning rod would protect a room below decks but it would send the danger elsewhere.

Oh Hamid wants to transfer the magic into spells rather than just vented dangerously.

The Cohort looks to Hamid before voting. Earhardt voted nay because the detour would take them someplace useful; but takes being out voted with grace.

Wilde offers to drive or give the anklets to Zolf since they offer protection. Zolf doesn't want him taking either risk but agrees to teach him in case Zolf can't fly. The rolls for the lightning rod are so very low. Only Cel knows that its "a bit sketch" but the others think its fine. Earhardt wants to head to enemy territory and the party knows it.

Sussura is a lovely name for a Kobold. Skraak & Sussura are arguing about something. Sussura tells them that unless they can do better they should take what Cel is offering. They take Cels hand leads them inside and turns around makes a rude gesture then asks if they want inside or outside!

Cel offers Sussura the fang. Cel misses that Sussura looks at them with even more respect or adoration than they look at Hamid. Azu catches it.

Helen tells Cel they all trust them. Which makes it so much worse.

Alex doesn't tell us how well Wilde learns. The safe room is actually a modification of the living area.

Zolf makes the usual vague catch you on the flip side noises. Earhardt tells him this risk is only worth it while the borealis is near and to get them asap.

Hamid asks to cast a spell on Zolf. Its called "Heroism" and gives +2 on a bunch of things for 90 minutes.

Cel reminds them there is still an element of risk but is more cheery than they were. We fade out on the image of Zolf sailing into danger.

#rusty quill gaming #rqg 166 #rqg spoilers #live blog thingy

[counterspelling]

*rolls up sleeves* 001 - ACOFAF, 002 - PGSM Reinako for a throwback, 003 - Wedge Antilles (I'm joking, Jaina Solo)

This is so long because I love them all too much

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Chirp! You know Emily is my favorite in every season lmao. But really every single character was so good, I cannot get over how perfect this season was

Least Favorite character: Suntar

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Rue/Hob and Binx/Andhera were incredible. We missed out on Grandfather/Grabalba and Squak/Jeremy Renner. The audacity of Lou to send the most romantic letter ever written to the baroness and then send a "you up" text to Theodore

Character I find most attractive: All of them???

Character I would marry: Binx

Character I would be best friends with: Andhera

A random thought: I so deeply wish we'd gotten to see more of Chirp with Esme and Peep. I know we didn't have the time but I wanted it!!

An unpopular opinion: I think a misfits and magic style special reunion would be perfect, but I don't want a second season with these characters. I think all their endings were perfect. A second season with the same cast and universe but all new characters would be ideal for me

My Canon OTP: The canon ones are so good!

My Non-canon OTP: The universe where we got Rue/Wuvvy and Andhera/Hob is very interesting. Also all the npcs Aabria made to romance everyone!! I would like to see them!!

Most Badass Character: Every time Andhera stood up for himself ;_; Hob finally realizing his worth and leaving his court, Rue's reveal of their true self, Binx coming to the bloom as the sole survivor of her court…. they're all amazing and badass

Most Epic Villain: Grandfather?????

Pairing I am not a fan of: I think any combination of these characters would have been good

Favourite Friendship: Chirp and Squak!! I will miss these bird cousins so dearly!! "Cousin, you can do no wrong in my eyes" they are so messy but love each other so much and then the found family of coming together with everyone else is so incredible

Character I most identify with: I think one of the things that make this season so great for me is I can relate to most of them in some way. Some combination of Rue and Andhera and Binx

Character I wish I could be: Binx

002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you:

When I started shipping them: 2003!!! I am taking psychic damage thinking about the fact that it's been 19 years since this show premiered….

My thoughts: They are perfect! Peak romance! Mina teasing Rei into opening up more! Rei showing her that her life is worth fighting for beyond just being a senshi! The rage and despair Keiko brought as a 15 year old girl when Mina died! She still blows me away as an actress

What makes me happy about them: Fighting over dog food and idol nicknames and their devotion to Usagi and their duty and working together to find a balance for it all

What makes me sad about them: Mina's weapon going to Rei after her death, the look on Rei's face as she reads the letter Mina left, her powers manifesting wordlessly as she's wreathed in flames in battle immediately after………… this ship has everything

My wishlist: That the show had gotten to adapt every arc of the manga and we'd seen them actually get together instead of ending with them bumping into each other awkwardly during the wedding bouquet toss and then immediately looking away from each other as their friends watch and smirk. Obviously the most platonic of reactions

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: In pgsm universe, nobody, but Usa/Mina otherwise. And senshi/shitennou

My happily ever after for them: Just being together!

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you:

How I feel about this character: My beloved!! Gone from canon but never gone from my heart

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Just Jag. Love them meeting after flying together and having him walk past all the people he's supposed to greet and his newly met uncle to complisult her flying lmao. Her other love interests were so terrible. Why did we have to spend 15 years stuck in love square hell (oh, because she's the only girl in the next gen and so that was of course her fate)

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Her relationships with Jacen and Anakin, looking over them as the oldest, the despair and grief watching Anakin sacrifice himself, her twin bond with Jacen and their constant awareness of each other and their push and pull during the war but also the support they gave each other until, y'know, Caedus

My unpopular opinion about this character: She never got her due. She constantly took a backseat to her brothers, until they were both dead, and then to Ben, and then when she was FINALLY getting her own trilogy, fucking disney happened. We can't have nice things! And yet despite it all she was so incredible! So dedicated to protecting people! Just as talented as her uncle and twin! The best pilot in a generation! An incredible lightsaber combatant! In tune with the Force! I LOVE her

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: The sword of the jedi trilogy!! More of her relationships with Leia and Mara and Tenel ka and Tahiri and Mirta and Winter. More of her happiness with Jag. Not spending like two years brainwashed by bugs. More of a throughline over the series to chart her grief and responsibility over watching her youngest brother die and killing her twin and fighting a war from the age of 15 and being handed a prophecy at 17 telling her she'll always be alone but she'll take comfort in the safety she brings to others. We should have gotten eight movies adapting the new jedi order and legacy of the force series with a clone wars style cartoon about her during the vong war, dammit

Favorite friendship for this character: Lowie, Jag, her bond with her brothers, would have been nice if the authors cared to do more with her female friendships. We hardly ever saw her team up with any of them

#counterspelling asks #ezrisdax

[the-messenger-hawk]

Tower of God

Favorite character: Wangnan my beloved (haha, no come back king, i miss you) Least Favorite character: I feel its too easy with this series' large cast, so I gotta name a reoccurring one. I mean, probably Buelsar? He's one of Yama's Mad Dogs, but he didn't give off much of an impression, design or personality-wise. Baragav was way more memorable. 5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):

Wangnan+Bam or Khun (or both) -I like both dynamics equally but for wildly different reasons

Edorsi+Ehwa (literal hot girl summer)

Goseng+Horyang (technically the only canon one)

Karaka+Yuri (enemies to rivals vibes) -a bit more now that Karaka's getting more of a conscience from hanging with the heroes

Khun+Shibisu ("khun my love") -a holdover from previous fandoms. I do often go for the dual strategists juice

Character I find most attractive: Yuri Ha Zahard, the berserker fighting style combined with the rose aesthetic really is quite the combo. Character I would marry: Lero-Ro. He's attractive, powerful, and a reasonable/loyal mentor figure--an absolute win! (He's also Wolhaiksong now, which is the only organization in the Tower that I actually trust not to be bastards.) Also, that voice... Character(s) I would be best friends with: Probably Shibisu. He's the most down to earth, and we'd have the most in common.

a random thought: it think that--out of all the unshown Family Heads, the one I want to see most right now is Tperie, the wielder of the Eyes of God. He's the one who created the Opera Lighthouses, that can observe anywhere in the Tower, and I have to assume that he's also deeply in the know about the situation. I'm also very curious about why Repellista has one of them (I've been wondering about this since I found out what the Opera was). An unpopular opinion: Idk what of my opinions in the this fandom would be considered unpopular? My Canon OTP: Goseng and Horyang being super cute together is all that I desire to fill this hole in my heart My Non-canon OTP: The Checks-and-Balances trio Most Badass Character: Ha Jinsung. Up until Part 3, he felt like the dragon that everyone was too afraid to start poking. (Except S&S apparently...) Most Epic Villain: King Zahard stole this spot the moment his current self appeared and no-selled everything that was thrown at him. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding him and I want to know everything. Pairing I am not a fan of: As much as I like their teamwork and teasing dynamic, I think I'd rather the relationship between Wangnan and Ehwa remained platonic. Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I can't really say anything at this stage. Favourite Friendship:

Them :')

Character I most identify with: Shibisu for sure. (tbh with his relative strength and involvement in current events, I'm on constant pins-and-needles for his safety.) Character I wish I could be: Eduan. Give me your kids, drunk, you don't deserve them.

#tower of god #tower of god spoilers #tog spoilers #sort of #fandom ask #thank you!