#i say kira because i think she's just enough of a nerd that i can imagine her knowing what 40k is

[jupitermelichios]

while everyone is sad and in need of non-terrible sterek content, here's a minor headcanon I'm probably never going to get around to using in anything:

derek is a massive halo nerd, but hates all video games basically universally. he picked up one of the novels because he knows stiles likes the games, and he wanted to be able to contribute during stiles's periodic gamer info-dumps, but then got weirdly invested in the lore and now knows way more about the universe than any reasonable person should

stiles thinks this is adorable, obviously, but also hilarious, and spends a lot of times scheming ways to trick their friends into accidentally saying something that will activate derek's halo-heresy senses and trigger an angry rant. his crowning achievement was getting scott to read the drill 'masterchief's suit jacks him off' tweet out loud verbatim in derek's presence. neither of them have forgiven him for it, and he does not care because it was the funniest shit he's ever seen.

he's also started leaving 40k novels lying around derek's apartment. to date he has not taken the bait, but they both know it's only a matter of time before he caves.

#sterek #sterek fluff #stiles x derek #derek x stiles #join me in imagining derek earnestly explaining how the concept of heresy works in the 40k imperium #to an incredibly confused and mildly shellshocked kira #i say kira because i think she's just enough of a nerd that i can imagine her knowing what 40k is #but entirely the wrong flavour to actually know anything about the world beyond 'warhammer in space' #and therefore is the one person who consistently sets derek off without stiles's invervention #her solution has been to start ranting at him about anime no one else cares about as a kind of nerd cultural exchange #and because derek is derek he absorbs this information as well #you could not pay him to watch bleach but by god does he have opinions on it #he once spent an hour telling stiles why all the marriages in boruto make no sense #he has not and will not watch either boruto or naruto #but kira knows her audience and described naruto and sasuke as the class clown falling in love with the emo kid #and derek was immediately invested

[cybergrrl-sims]

Kira Kidd for @ladykendalsims Crimson’s Post-apocalypse Bachelor Challenge!

Name: Kira Kidd

Species: Human

Age: 27

Sexuality: Bisexual

Gender Identity/Pronouns: Trans woman (she/her/hers)

Traits: Geek, Maker, Loner

Aspiration: Nerd Brain

Skills: Handiness, Fabrication, Logic, Robotics, Programming

Bio under cut! (TW for death and blood mention in bio!)

Kira had a semester left in her computer engineering degree with a solid job lined up for after graduation, she (finally!) came out as trans to all her friends to acceptance and love, and her girlfriend, Millie, had even brought up the possibility of marriage. Everything was going Kira’s way and only the end of the world could screw it up.

So, the world ended.

Kira and Millie joined a gang comprising of a handful of other survivors from their college. Most weren’t cut out for the hard-living of a zombie apocalypse. Kira guessed most wouldn’t have survived middle-class if the world were still normal, though she never said this out loud. She, however, was good with her hands. It only took one electrical shock for her to figure out how to hotwire cars. She became the gang’s mechanic and electronics expert. She took apart everything she could get her hands on just to put it back together.

Guns she was hesitant with, however. They were necessary, Kira knew that, but they were... Well, they killed people. Regardless, she started learning to modify them. Sawed-off shotguns, makeshift silencers, haphazard magazine upgrades. These were things the gang needed.

The afternoon sun glared bright into Kira’s lean-to workshop. Millie, now her wife after a drunken campfire ceremony, listened intently to Kira’s instruction. Millie bugged Kira for a week to teach her how to modify her new pistol. Despite her hesitation, Kira caved. She unscrewed the outer casing, explaining along the way every single step necessary to avoid a dangerous mistake. “Never, ever handle an unfamiliar gun if you think it might be loaded.”

“I know, babe.”

“I’m just saying is all.” Kira put the pistol back together, tightening everything into place. She grabbed a magazine from her workbench and inserted it into her wife’s gun. “You gonna take it to the range?”

“Yep. Gotta get a feel for it. Can’t let those zombie freaks kill me out there because I don’t know how to use my gun.”

Kira held out the pistol to Millie. Millie smiled, reaching for the weapon.

It was less than a second, but Kira still remembers each horrible micro-moment in her nightmares. Millie’s hand landed on the gun. Kira knew she turned the safety on. She knew she didn’t cock it. Millie’s finger brushed the trigger. Kira knew she didn’t install a hair trigger.

BANG.

Millie didn’t scream. She didn’t actually make a noise, until the coughing welled in her throat. She fell forward, nearly knocking Kira over. Millie’s bleeding stomach was warm against her own.

Everything after that was clouded in adrenaline. The gang’s medic tried his best, but the bleeding kept coming. 19 minutes was how long Millie lasted with a bullet in her belly. Impressive, honestly.

Kira lingered with the gang long enough for them to find a place to burn Millie’s body. Kira took her ashes with her into the desert so she wouldn’t be alone. She didn’t bring much else: her laptop in case she could ever find a charge, her toolkit, a shotgun, and the motorcycle she drove away on. Maybe she’d find some new gang, or maybe she’d get eaten. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know.

***

She needs to find someone out here. Travelling alone has proved to be as reckless as she thought. She needs to heal her guilty, broken heart soon and let herself be around people again, or she’s going to wind up dead.

Maybe if she goes just a little deeper into the desert, past the city limits signs into Strangerville. Maybe she can find happiness there...

#my sims #crimson's post-apocalyptic bachelor challenge #sims 4 bachelor challenge #ladykendalsims #tw death #tw death mention #tw blood #this is a slightly different kira kidd from my cyberpunk oc kira kidd #its like #zombie au kira kidd #there we go #sim: kira kidd

[merinnan]

Fic Tag Game

Grabbed from @hils79, because it looked like fun.

Name: Merinnan, which I’ve gone by for... fifteen years now, I think? Prior to that, I mostly used Calicia (and sometimes Zoi).

Fandoms: Like Hils, I’m only going to list the fandoms I’ve actually written fic for.

Star Trek: My very first fandom, and the one I’ve written the most fics for (so far - I suspect that DMBJ will overtake it. It certainly already has in terms of word count). I was (and am still) primarily a DS9 fan, and was a huge Kira/Dukat and Garak/Bashir shipper back in the day. Most of my Trekfics are DS9 fics, but I also dabbled a little bit in TOS and TNG, and had one or two crackfic crossovers that involved Voyager characters. Discovery has tempted me with a few fic ideas, but I haven’t written anything for it yet.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon: aka, the show that first had me seriously questioning my sexuality. Look, Haruka and Michiru are #goals, don’t judge me. This is also where my Zoi name came from, after the first season villain Zoisite, whom I cosplayed several times. Unsurprisingly, my main ships are HaruMichi and KunZoi. Despite this fact, neither of my published Sailormoon fics are HaruMichi.

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040: A short-lived fandom, but one I still liked enough to write a fic for and get the OST CD.

World of Warcraft: I wouldn’t say I’m really part of the fandom, per se, but I’ve been playing since the dying days of Burning Crusade, am a huge lore nerd, and started writing a crossover fic that is currently on indefinite hiatus. I do plan to come back and finish it, but first RL got in the way, and now I have to try and remember where I’d actually been planning to go with it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses: That crossover fic I just mentioned? Yeah, this is what it’s a crossover with. ACoTaR fandom went sleepy for awhile, but it’s back up and kicking now that A Court of Silver Flames is out - if any of you are still following me, it’s great to see everyone active again! To the surprise of no-one who knows me, I’m a big Nessian shipper.

Mo Dao Zu Shi / Chen Qing Ling / The Untamed: I came to this fandom via ACoTaR, actually, after a certain person (hi, @rhysand-vs-fenrys!) wouldn’t stop gushing about it :-) This is the fandom that really and seriously got me back into regular fic writing again after 15-ish years. I’m a multishipper here, and have written / am writing WangXian, NieLan, XiCheng, XuanLi, and XiSang.

Guardian / Zhen Hun: MDZS fandom led me to Guardian, which, along with DMBJ, has devoured my life in a way that hasn’t happened since my Star Trek days, and I love it! WeiLan is my major ship, but I’m also quite fond of the DaMian life raft.

Zhu Yilong: Yes, I’m going to list a person as a fandom. Zhu Yilong is one of the stars of Guardian, and is both incredibly pretty and an incredibly talented actor. So much so that I have suffered through some truly terrible dramas just to watch him in them. I do not write Z1L-fic, since RPF of living people is a personal squick of mine, but I am working on a massive crossover fic of most of his characters.

Mo Du: Guardian led me along to more of Priest’s works, such as Mo Du, which is now officially my favourite book, and I adore the main WenZhou ship. The Mo Du fandom right now is pretty tiny, and I’m still working on my first fic for it, but I hope that it will grow with the donghua due out this year, and the drama having just started filming.

Daomu Biji / The Lost Tomb: I initially came into this fandom because of Zhu Yilong, who played Wu Xie in the Reboot / Reunion / Chongqi drama, and then I got sucked into the fandom pit of all of the books and dramas and spinoffs, and it’s wonderful and fantastic. I have written so much for it, and have so much more planned. PingXie and PingXieSang are my main ships here, but I’m also a HeiHua fan, and very much enjoying the RiSang pool noodle that @kholran created.

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort and crack are my major ones.

Fic I spent most time on: A toss-up between Endings and Beginnings and Reunion, both DS9 fics. Endings and Beginnings is an alternate ending to the show, while Reunion is a Gul Dukat-centric fic set around, oh, season 5ish? Both were written for and initially published in print fanzines, so in addition to time spent writing, there was a lot of back and forth for editing, etc.

Favourite fic(s) you’ve written: Look, I honestly couldn’t say. I like most of the fics I’ve written, and there are several that I’m really proud of and really like.

Fic I spent least time on: Silent Graves, a super angsty DMBJ/Lost Tomb Xiaoge fic. I think I wrote it in like 15 minutes.

Longest fic: Cat’s Paw, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang canon rewrite fic I co-wrote with @xantissa, at  247 826 words. For fics written by just me, not with a co-writer, then that would be Nevermore, my WIP MDZS/CQL XiCheng Pacific Rim AU, at 22 276 words and counting.

Shortest fic: Every entry in my DS9 Drabbles series, with each one at exactly 100 words. Although if you count them as a quintdrabble, then Indiscretion (a DS9 missing scene vignette about Gul Dukat, set during the episode of the same name) at 169 words.

Most hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks/subscriptions: The answer to all of these is either Cat’s Paw or Nevermore, so I’m going to give the next highest.

Hits:  Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie supernatural AU fic co-written with xantissa.

Since this fic also takes the highest kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions after Cat’s Paw/Nevermore, I’ll skip to the next fic along on each of those.

Kudos: Stars fall like diamonds, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie missing scene fic from Reboot/Reunion/Chongqi.

Bookmarks: A Knight in Bloody Armour, another DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang supernatural AU fic (but a different supernatural AU) co-written with xantissa.

Comments: Ears and Other Related Calamities, yet another DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang supernatural AU fic (of a different again supernatural AU) co-written with xantissa.

Subscriptions: The Rescue Job, a Guardian WeiLan Leverage AU, currently at one chapter complete and posted out of a planned five chapters.

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: We have plans for a prequel and a sequel to A Knight in Bloody Armour, and a spinoff fic for The Zhang Identity (a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie AU that is complete but not yet posted. It will be posted in April as part of the Small Fandoms Big Bang).

Share a bit of a WIP: This is from an as-yet-unnamed post-canon fix-it fic for the Guardian drama:

It was hurting again. Zhao Yunlan curled up into a tight ball under the hospital blankets, trying to ignore it enough to try to get back to sleep. He knew it wouldn't work, because he couldn't remember a time when it ever did, but it was always worth a shot, right? He squeezed his eyes shut and held himself tightly for a few...moments? Minutes?...before grabbing his stuffed cat and clutching it while he forced himself to breathe deep, slow breaths the way the doctors back in Spring City had taught him.

Eventually, the pain died back down to its usual dull ache, the one that was bearable and let him play, and watch TV, and do school lessons with his mother. One day, she said, they'd find a doctor who knew what was wrong, why he hurt all the time, and the doctor would give him medicine that would keep the worst pain away so that he could go to an actual school and meet more kids than the ones who lived in their apartment block or who frequented the same playground that he liked to go to.

Zhao Yunlan tried closing his eyes again, seeing if he could go back to sleep, but he was far too awake now. He sighed, sitting up in bed and looking around the room. Again. It was just like the hospital rooms in Spring City, and in Kiyota City. He figured that if the doctors here in Tomorrow Mountains couldn't help, his parents would take him to yet another city, and the hospital rooms there would probably look the same, too.

Then, over the faint beeping of hospital equipment, and the quiet murmurs further down the corridor of nurses at the nurse station or seeing to other patients, he heard a soft sniffling sound, like someone was trying not to cry too loudly. He picked up his stuffed cat and looked at it.

"What do you think, Dead Cat?" he asked it. "Should we go and find them?"

Dead Cat didn't answer, of course, but that didn't stop Zhao Yunlan from assuming that it agreed with him, and slipping out of bed. His feet touched the cold tile floor with barely a sound, and, still holding Dead Cat tightly, Zhao Yunlan padded over to the door. He looked up and down the corridor, then left his room to track down the sniffling noise.

He wasn't surprised that it came from the next room. He was surprised that it came from another kid, a boy who looked to be about his age, huddled in bed and wiping his eyes.

"Hi," Zhao Yunlan whispered. The other boy looked up in surprise, then stopped to clutch his chest as he began to cough. Once he'd finished coughing, Zhao Yunlan and Dead Cat were perched on the end of his bed.

"I'm Zhao Yunlan, and this is Dead Cat." He held up Dead Cat, moving one of the paws to wave hello. "What's your name?"

The boy wiped his eyes again. "Shen Ye."

I tag: ALL OF YOU! Are you a writer who hasn’t done this yet? Consider yourself tagged if you want to be.

#fanfic meme #dmbj #daomu biji #guardian #mo du #star trek #ds9 #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #sailor moon #mdzs #cql #acotar #bubblegum crisis #world of warcraft #zhu yilong

[thebibliomancer]

Song of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 25

Song of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because its all up to Kylan now!

Last times on book: Kylan discovered his surly pal Tavra was actually a spider and then turned the real Tavra into a spider. If that doesn’t make sense to you, that’s fine. It doesn’t make sense to Kylan either. Kylan, Tavra-spider, Naia, and Amri return to the Caves of Grot to save the Grottan from milllions of spiders and to try to make a magical flute out of an extinct bird. While going through the Tide Pass, Naia and Amri scout ahead but don’t come back so Kylan has to proceed without them. He’s discovered by skekLi the Satirist who assumes he’s the spider and drags him along with him.

Chapter 25

In disguise as a spider, Kylan has to come up with a plan to save his friends.

Kylan (pretending to be Krychk the angry spider) follows skekLi the Satirist down a passageway toward the Sanctuary. 

The Sanctuary is something far different from the caves Kylan has known so far.

It was a corrie, the remains of some ancient, dried-up mountain lake. It looked as if a big hand had reached down and scooped out the rock and lifted it away. Growing from the bottom of the open corrie were a dozen giant mushrooms, with pillar-like gray stems and wide flat caps. They were enormous enough that some had structures built on top, torch circles and dream-etched stone pillars. Between the mushroom caps were a network of rope bridges, so one might wander between the caps in a peaceful labyrinth of contemplation. At the very bottom of the corrie, Kylan could make out water flowing from a deep spring, perhaps the origin of the Black River that quenched the thirst of all the Skarith region. The air was thin and cold, and carried the sounds of bells, though none could be seen. The sounds were echoes from a distant past, and Kylan knew he had reached the Grottan Sanctuary.

Pretty cool place, although now absolutely lousy with spiders. Crawling all over the place, spinning webs, mostly just doing their spider thing.

Over time, the entire Sanctuary would become one huge spider nest. If Krychk was any indication of the spider folk’s feelings, it would mean complete exile for the Gelfling from this sacred place.

I mean, yeah, that does suck. But the Grottan apparently stole it first? Also, I’m still very concerned about the food chain. You put millions of spiders in this not-bug-infested area, what are they going to eat?

As Kylan followed skekLi across one of the rope bridges, he contemplates cutting the bridge to send the Skeksis plummeting. And then realizes he doesn’t actually know if Skeksis can die. And even if they could, killing skekLi would doom his counterpart, whoever he is, to an urLii death.

On top of one of the mushrooms, a bunch of mostly unconscious Gelfling are bound up in web. To Kylan’s shock, he spots Naia and Amri among them.

skekLi mocks the captured Gelfling for predictably running to the Sanctuary when Domrak was captured and then just busts a gut laughing and whirling around. Jovial guy, skekLi.

“Krychk, behold! The Drenchen girl. The Gelfling Sanctuary. All the wisdom of the ages!”

skekLi let out another round of laughter, taking huge strides across the cap while holding his staff high. After trine upon trine under the open sun, the mushroom’s surface was petrified and nearly stone, littered with chipped-off, fossilized fungus, and shards of what Kylan realized were giant eggshells.

“And who brought it to the Emperor? ME! skekLi! Not the Hunter. Not the General. Not even skekGra the Conqueror. No, it was skekLi. The clown, they said. The jester. Ha! See what this court clown has done that not even skekMal could do! We’ll see what Emperor skekSo thinks about that! HA! HA!”

HmmmMmmmm. skekLi has some Sil energy here. If you remember Chamberlain’s self-serving speech when he brought Kira back to the Castle to regain his position. skekLi has Chamberlain energy.

Kylan is struck with an odd understanding of skekLi. They’re not so different. Okay, they’re very different but Kylan can connect with his desire to be appreciated even though he’s a scrawny nerd.

Yeah, that’s right, maybe skekTek isn’t the biggest nerd anymore. Maybe its this guy.

And Kylan can use that understanding as a handhold in a situation he’s been feeling increasingly lost in.

“You succeed where others failed, my lord,”he said. He cursed at the quavering in his voice, pressing it out like he would wring water from a washcloth. “You did what the warriors could not do. You… you tricked them. Led them straight here. It was a genius plan.”

“Oh, wasn’t it? Yes. Yes, it was. Oh, bask in my glory, Krychk. A great victory for me means a great victory for you. Now, we must hurry. To finalize this conquest, with Rian and the other Drenchen. Ohh…. yes, soon…”

The bound Amri flicks his ear (body languuuage) and Kylan sneaks a look in that direction. Amri was gesturing at the nests of the extinct bell-birds that once lived in this Sanctuary over a thousand trine ago. The nests even still have feathers in them. Wow, they hold up well. The nests too. You’d think it all would have decayed away.

But Kylan is still stuck. He can’t run for the nests. He can’t try to free the Gelfling of their webprisonment. He can’t do anything that would reveal he wasn’t under Krychk’s control.

“So, my little spider friend. We promised your kind the Caves of Grot. Take them, and do not forget our great generosity despite your failure. Remember this moment, when we conquered the Gelfling who infested your domain. We will call upon you soon for later matters.”

Kylan realizes that skekLi only brought him here because he wanted someone to gloat to. Which fits with the pattern skekLi has been setting re: Aesthetic. He’s not the most extra Skeksis but he’s trying.

Kylan-pretending-to-be-Krychk asks a favor of skekLi since he’s being so magnanimous and all. He says that the Spriton body is not to his liking and asks if he can have the Grottan since it’s like the Vapra.

skekLi agrees, insofar as that it doesn’t matter one way or the other, although comments that the Grottan eyes may be more useful to Krychk what with all the living in these caves he’s about to do.

So Kylan goes and starts ripping the web binding Amri, doing an intentionally rough, bad job of it to jostle Naia awake so he can talk to her. He tells her to play dead and tells Amri to go with Tavra to look for one of those quest bones. BUT to cut the bridge he uses. Kylan has a plan/scheme.

Tavra transfers off of Kylan, who puts on an act as a scared weakling Spriton, and onto Amri.

Who has to then put on the Evil Spider act without much prep time.

“Ah, yes!” Amri said suddenly. He snatched one of the sharp eggshell pieces that were scattered about, pointing it at Kylan as if to silence him. “This Grottan body is much more appealing! Stay down, puny Spriton!”

It wasn’t perfect but it would have to do. skekLi didn’t seem to notice the change in attitude, much more interested in preening his robes. Amri brushed himself off and stepped toward the bridge. The motion was stitled, as if he was both reluctant to leave his friends while desperately wanting to run as far from the Skeksis as he could. It was a mixture of emotions Kylan knew well.

“Yes,” Amri said again. “Well, thank you, my lord. My lord, skekLi. I will now... go. Back to Domrak to claim the prize... Goodbye.”

Oh my god Amri, you are a bad actor! I’m actually impressed how well the bad acting is captured in text here.

Then after Amri-pretending-to-be-Krychk crosses the bridge, he cuts the ropes with the fossilized eggshell. skekLi doesn’t even notice until the sound of the bridge falling. And then he’s pissed.

Kylan pops up to his feet and runs off to the remaining bridge and dares the Skeksis to get him.

He lures skekLi to the adjacent mushroom and cuts the bridge on the far end before the Satirist can catch up to him.

“Wretched Gelfling!” he hissed. “Vile pest! How dare you run from me, your lord? I ought to make a puppet of you!”

“You’re just mad I fooled you,” Kylan said, backing away.

You’re cheeky, Kylan.

skekLi realizes that the only way off the mushroom is the bridge he crossed to get here and makes sure to keep between it and Kylan.

“Going to dash by again, cut that bridge, too? Eh, little pest?” skekLi chided. “Good luck. Try it and we will snatch you up and squeeze the essence out of you here and now.”

And then he tries to brain Kylan with his staff.

But it turns out that skekLi’s overconfidence was his weakness and Kylan’s faith in his friends wasn’t his.

Naia freed herself thanks to Kylan weakening her web bonds while he was freeing Amri and she freed the Grottan prisoners. Naia joins Kylan while the Grottan use rocks and eggshells and even their own teeth to cut the bridge, trapping Kylan, Naia, and skekLi on a mushroom together.

JUST AS PLANNED

GOOD JOB!

skekLi hissed, thrashing his claws and whirling toward them. His head jutted out and his eyes flashed, but he did not scream. He did not shriek like an uncontrolled beast, as skekMal had. Instead, he lowered his head and growled, his voice dropping low and poisonous.

“You will regret this,” he said.

Uhhh so what’s the follow-through here, Kylan?

Because this Skeksis is going to do a harm to you.

And if that weren’t bad enough, the MANY SPIDERS lining the walls start climbing down toward the floor on their way to climb the mushroom.

So whats the plan?

Apparently the plan is hope Amri and Tavra find a suitable bell-bird bone before Naia and Kylan get either spidered to death or thrown off the mushroom by the Satirist.

This isn’t a great plan!

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #Song of the Dark Crystal #liveblog #Kylan #Tavra #but she's a spider #Naia #Amri #skekLi #the Satirist #MILLIONS OF ANGRY SPIDERS

[chocymilkandchill]

𝘒𝘰𝘪 𝘕𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘯- (𝙣) 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 𝟭.𝟱𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝗖 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱.

“I just finished my book.” Katsumi entered Kira’s room unannounced. 

“That’s like the twentieth one this month.” Kira looked up from the show she had been watching. She was perched in front of a fan on her desk. She had a tank top on and jean shorts. For good reason too, it was 95 degrees outside. Kira had no intention of leaving her cool room, but she had a feeling she knew what was coming. It was the last week of summer vacation and Katsumi was adamant about making it the most fun she could. Well, Kira’s opinion about fun was a bit different than Katsumi’s.

“Guess what they did?” Kasumi bounced onto Kira’s unmade bed. 

“What did they do Katsumi?” Kira sighed, pausing the anime.

“They went to a carnival.” Katsumi hopped up and walked over to Kira’s closet.

“...Please tell me you did not spend last night finding a route to the nearest carnival by train.” Kira rolled her eyes knowing why Katsumi had snapped her a picture of her three iced coffees from this morning.

“Hell yeah. And we’re going, so find something cute to wear. I’ll be back at 12:30 and 

we can go get bubble tea and lunch before going.” Katsumi smiled sweetly, reminding Kira 

that she could not back out, before running home.

¸.*☪*.¸¸.*☆*.¸¸.*☪*¸.*☆*.¸.¸¸.*☪*.¸

“Kiri-chan open up.” Katsumi was pounding on Kira’s door.

“Kacchan you’re so annoying.” Kira laughed and opened the door.

“Let this adventure begin!” Katsumi pointed in the general direction of the nearest train station, skipping off. 

The train was quiet and hot, the soft hum of the wheels on the rails providing a metallic sound to fill the compartment. The vibrant green trees flashing by the windows. The train eventually rolled into the city, the trees being replaced with towering buildings. Once the train came to a stop, Kira looked over to her friend’s face that was sparkling with anticipation.

“Where are we?” Kira asked, once the girls stepped into the bustling train station.

“Shizuoka Prefecture.” Katsumi unconsciously grabbed the cuff of Kira’s sleeve, a habit she had when she was in crowded places with another person.

“Where’s that again?” Kira squinted in the bright sunlight as they stepped out of the station and into the city.

“Well, UA High School is here, for reference.” Katsumi recalled.

“Oh, I know where we are then.” Kira nodded.

“Let’s get the Boba?” Katsumi suggested and Kira nodded in agreement.

The streets were crowded and Kira only lost Katsumi twice before they made it to the tea shop. Once the teas were ordered and paid for, the girls hopped in the waiting area. 

“I hope we got everyone’s orders right.” A loud pink haired and skinned girl next to Kira caught her attention.

“Oh my.” Kira’s eyes widened.

“Kira?” The girl screeched.

“Mina!” Kira yelled back and hugged her friend.

“Kira! It’s been so long! Why are you in Shizuoka?” Mina laughed.

“Well, Kacchan planned to take us to the carnival here.” Kira stepped to the side and motioned to her friend.

“Kacchan?” Mina giggled and her friend beside her tensed.

“Hello.” Katsumi waved before having her attention stolen by their orders being called. “Kiri-chan c’mon out tea’s here.” Katsumi tugged on Kira’s sleeve, slightly annoyed that her friend wasn’t paying her any attention at the moment.

“Do you wanna hang out with us today? We can show you around before the carnival.” Mina suggested.

“That sounds like so much fun!” Kira smiled, grabbing her tea from a pouting Katsumi.

Once all the orders were collected, Mina and Kira led their other friends out of the shop.

Great, I’m stuck with this grumpy boy. Katsumi frowned lightly, peeking at the boy she 

was walking next to.

“What the hell are you looking at?” The spiky haired boy glowered at Katsumi and Katsumi raised her eyebrows.

“What’s your name? I’m Katsumi but I suppose you could call me Kacchan.” Katsumi smiled lightly, eyeing the large group of people they were slowly approaching. 

“No, that’s a dumb nickname I hate it.” The boy replied.

“Okay, but what’s your name.” Katsumi pressed.

“Bakugou. Why are you so eager to know?” Bakugou rolled his eyes.

“No reason.” Katsumi replied shakily. She had just met this boy but they were approaching a crowd and Kira was walking up ahead. Katsumi tried not to grab the hem of his shirt, but her hands just found their way there.

“Don’t touch me ugly shithead.” Bakugou shoved Katsumi away from him.

“Sorry-” Katsumi started, but lost balance from the shove and was immediately lost in the crowd. Bakugou paused, wide eyed. Kira and Mina were a few feet up ahead. Should he go tell them that their friend was lost? Or should he look for Katsumi on his own?

Bakugou decided on the former and jogged up to the two girls.

“Oi, dumbasses. Your friend fell and got lost in the crowd of people back there.” Bakugou trailed off at meeting Kira’s eyes. There was something so weird that came over him. Why was he staring? Bakugou pulled his eyes away from hers only to hear Kira curse. 

“How could you lose her? Aren’t you supposed to be a hero in training?” Kira’s words were angry and laced with venom. Bakugou looked up at her immediately. People don’t usually talk back to him. He smirked for a second at Kira, before remembering that he lost her best friend in a crowded city.

“I swear to god, boys are useless.” Kira nudged Mina while giggling.

“WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?” Bakugou yelled and shoved his face in front of Kira’s.

“I’m just kidding.” Kira lightly tapped her forehead against Bakugou’s before sighing and setting off to look for her friend.

¸.*☪*.¸¸.*☆*.¸¸.*☪*¸.*☆*.¸.¸¸.*☪*.¸

The night was cooler than the day had been, and there were blurs of colors flashing in all directions. For someone easily distracted like Katsumi, Kira was constantly checking up on her friend. Right now, the group was sitting on a bench, the three girls eating cotton candy and the boys making Bakugou angry. Kira and Katsumi met Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero after finding Katsumi when she got lost.

“It’s getting late.” Kirishima called out to his friends.

“You’re right.” Mina sighed, sadly.

“Can we go on the Ferris Wheel before we go?” Katsumi suggested.

“Sure! I’ll race you.” Mina giggled, and Katsumi, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero all started running after the giant ride. 

“You’re not gonna run?” Kira looked over at Bakugou.

“No, that’s stupid.” Bakugou glanced to the side at the girl next to him. “You’re not?”

“I’ve got this.” Kira held up the prize Bakugou had won earlier but insisted that he 

didn’t want it and Kira should have it.

A silence filled the space between the two, and Kira decided she liked it.

The air was even colder as they ascended into the sky. Bakugou and Kira ended up having to share a cart because they didn’t run over fast enough to partner with anyone else.

“Your phone number.” Kira broke the silence. “Can I have it?” 

“...no.” Bakugou decided.

“I know you wanna keep in touch.” Kira smiled, shaking the stuffed prized slightly.

“No I do not.” Bakugou crossed his arms. Of course he did, but he knew she would just be a distraction.

“Look at how high up we are.” Kira pointed down at the city below them.

“Wow, amazing.” Bakugou smirked at how excited she looked.

“I wish these bars weren’t here,” Kira grabbed the safety cage, “so I could push you and your horrible attitude out of the cart.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU DAMN NERD?” Bakugou shoved his face close to hers and Kira couldn’t help but smirk and say, 

“You can’t help but wanna be close to me, huh Darling?” Kira leaned forward so their noses touched, and then pulled back. Bakugou seemed to be malfunctioning, and sadly they had reached the end of the ride and Kira couldn’t admire how cute he was when he wasn’t talking.

¸.*☪*.¸¸.*☆*.¸¸.*☪*¸.*☆*.¸.¸¸.*☪*.¸

The train ride home was pretty. As they left the city, Kira stared at the stars that faded into view. The gilded sky brought her no clarity to how she felt about Bakugou. She just met him? How could she know how to feel? But she would probably never see him again, so she would be better off forgetting him. 

“Koi no yokan.” Katsumi glanced at her friend who was deep in thought.

“God bless you?” Kira raised an eyebrow.

“No, koi no yokan. It explains how I feel right now, and I think for you too.” Katsumi clarified.

“Well, how do you feel? How do I feel?” Kira furrowed her brows.

“It’s the feeling upon first meeting someone that you will inevitably fall in love with them, kiri-chan.” Katsumi touched her lips lightly with her fingers.

“Kacchan...who are you falling in love with?!” Kira’s eyes widened.

“It’s a secret.” Katsumi winked.

“You little-” Kira was cut off by a phone notification. She pulled out her device to see a text on her screen from an unsaved number.

 Unknown: 𝘖𝘪, 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.

#katsuki #katsuki fluff #bakugou katsuki #bakugou #bakugou fanfiction #bakugou fluff

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Let It Out

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27496237

L takes Light to an art show--as a test to see if he can take him off probation earlier than intended--but somehow ends up realizing he actually misses Light's Kira persona in doing this.

"When did you become an artist, Ryuzaki?" Light asked L, as the detective was showing off some of his work at an art show in Tokyo.

The Kira case had ended five years ago… and when Light had confessed—and seemed to actually feel repentant for what he’d done—L had been able to wave away the death sentence for him, as he instead put his mind to good use. But since there was always a chance of a relapse, L watched Light twenty-four/seven. And it was something he actually did not hate.

"A long time ago, Light-kun,” L answered now, as he used a crayon to dab the finishing touches on this piece of a baby in a basket. “I became an artist to try and remember the beauty I’ve seen in even my most painful cases... And I may have been a little inspired by Kyle XY."

L added the last part on kindly, thoughtfully, because he knew that Light would otherwise have asked if there had been any beauty in the Kira case. And L wasn’t quite ready to touch that topic yet, for a few different reasons.

Light laughed at L’s answer, just as the sun chose that moment to get away from the clouds and burn both of their skin. And somehow, despite everything, that sound was music to L's ears… and maybe he was glad that he had saved it. "I expected you to try to psycho-analyze me here, Ryuzaki. Like, I was certain that crime scenes, somehow, were your inspiration to start drawing… but that if I said so, you would use that as evidence to say I’m still Kira. I’m glad that I was proven wrong, and that really you’re just a nerd.”

This type of conversation that he and Light were having now, wasn’t unlike the types they’d had when Light had lost his memory. Or even since then. And though some of Light’s comments ticked him off—because he didn’t try to push Light into being Kira anymore, thank you very much—he was still mostly enjoying it. So he laughed himself some, as he handed his finished design to the proprietor just behind him, so she might put it in a frame.

"Of course I wouldn’t do that. You know I've already somehow forgiven Light-kun for being Kira."

And he had. For whatever reason, he had. Though the deaths of Raye Penber, Naomi Misora and the FBI agents still didn’t sit well with him… but L liked to believe that Light Yagami—honestly one of the most decent people he’d met—had been corrupted by the Notebook. Nothing more, nothing less.

And If L would have expected Light to say "thank you" for his letting things go, he would have been sourly disappointed. And frankly, L was almost glad that he didn’t… because despite everything, his rivalry with Light was one of the things he still held the dearest: something he thought allowed them to get meaningful work done, as Light made L look at things from an angle he would not have without him.

So, seeing that Light wasn’t going to carry on this conversation unless he spoke again, L changed the subject. "Light-kun should find a sketch pad and some writing utensils here to draw himself. We are at an art fair, after all. You might as well enjoy it." L certainly was. He’d been given a new canvas to draw on, and this time he thought he might be kinder and draw a child in less dire circumstances.

Light glowered at L here—perhaps because he thought he wouldn’t so simply be rewarded that, since he had a handcuff slapped onto his wrist, even though it was attached to nothing at the moment—but L knew that if he turned that frown upside down and turned the charm back on, he would surely get what he wanted. He still was Light Yagami, after all.

“…Fine,” Light allowed. And L watched from the corner of his eye, as Light became smiley and cheery and told Aki—the woman hosting this event—that he’d always wanted to try his hand at art, and would love to have that chance now. Less than two minutes after that, Light had procured his own easel, canvas and paints, and was right by L’s side again.

And like L thought he would… he wasn’t even remotely surprised that Light began drawing houses. The young man actually had an impeccable eye for floor plans and blueprints; and had expertly drawn many that they would need to know for a mission, after they’d hacked into a system.

By the time that Light was starting to paint a red, slanted roof onto the mansion he was creating, he seemed truly relaxed. And L couldn’t help feeling that maybe, long ago, he should have been doing this, rather than writing in a notebook… But he also didn’t mean that at all, did he?

"…Why are we here doing this, Ryuzaki?” Light asked at last, when the sun went behind the clouds once more to paint the square in patches of black. “Even if this somehow relaxes you, I know it’s not more important to you than your detective work. So clearly this pertains to it—and surely my case—somehow. So how?”

There was that deductive reasoning of Light's, that L loved so much. The truth was, of course, that he was seeing if he could take Light off the leash earlier than intended. But would it serve to tell him that?

Then again, L doubted that Light would buy anything else. So, the truth for once.

“I’m trying to decide if I should end your probation early,” L admitted, whilst he finished drawing the baby’s eyes, that were looking up at him innocently and full of wonder.

And just like that, Light was stepping away from his own drawing, walking in L’s direction, and picking him up by the collar of his shirt as he hissed, "What? Are you seeing if I'll snap and kill everyone here?"

L hadn’t been thinking that. But like all things in life, it was a possibility. And L found himself telling Light that truth—for this was like the game again—instead of keeping his mouth shut and saving some face.

"Well, there are certainly thieves at this outing. And before, Kira wanted to start killing people who he deemed to just be lazy. So, if Kira were still within you, you might want to enact vengeance on such a petty crime.”

And it was at this point, that Light punched L in the face, knocking his work of art to the ground as he did so… And yet the baby wasn’t marred even the slightest bit. And whatever the reason, L breathed a sigh of relief at that.

“How can you even get off saying that, when you just told me you don’t try to see Kira in me anymo-”

"Though it isn't simple as all that, is it Light-kun? Because even with my assurances that I'm all about justice, here I am: at a harmless event, drawing some of the horrific things that I’ve seen, like a child who had to be shunned away like Moses, even in this day and age. The mind can only take so much trauma, after all, and needs to find a way to let it out. So, let it out.”

And as Light pulled L in for a violent kiss then—something he hadn’t been planning, but also wasn’t wholly surprised by—he did.

Author’s Note: So, the last line is supposed to be about L actually realizing he misses Kira some, and wanting Light to be that again… oddly enough. But if you don’t want to interpret it that way, you don’t have to. It could be L telling him to let out his angry love for him or something.

Also, if you guys haven’t seen the kinds of drawings that Kyle and Jessi did on Kyle XY, I highly suggest looking them up. They were cool. And that’s how I imagine L to draw here.

Anyway, I wanted my first Lawlight fanfiction to be gritty and intense, but instead it ended up an art show… but maybe that’s for the best. Oh well.

#fanfiction #my work #mine #my writing #Shanna writes #lawlight #death note #I'm scared putting this in the tags because I'm new to writing for the fandom. but I want my friend who hasn't been spoiled #for death note to be able to blacklist it so here I am

[stephadoodles]

After doing the posts with the name meanings, I wanted to do some analysis of how the characters are named on the show, since there tends to be a lot of significance when it comes to what the characters’ names are. Some of the literal name meanings don’t really have any significance, but some do. And there is a lot that can be reflective of someone’s personality in names that they have chosen for themselves as well. 

Andi - It’s pointed out at one point that it’s not a nickname for anything, but just simply Andi. It’s a cute, original name that’s unique just like the character. Since Bex prefers to go by a nickname rather than her actual name, it makes sense that she would choose a unique name for her daughter (and can you actually see Bex naming her daughter ‘Andrea?’).

Buffy - Her name is pretty self explanatory. She’s named after a strong female character known for kicking butt. When we’re first introduced to her, just that bit of pop culture context gives you an idea of what her character is going to be like. It also suggests that at least one of her parents is a bit of a nerd, and it makes me sad that we never got to meet her dad for that reason. 

Cyrus - His name means ‘of the sun,’ and out of all the characters, his name meaning is probably the most relevant to him as a character and likely done on purpose. There are several other minor characters whose story lines directly relate to his, and their name meanings are very relevant, which leads me to believe that his name choice was deliberate as well. He generally has a sunny, cheerful disposition, is always trying to be positive, and is one of the only characters that is rarely portrayed in a bad light. 

Jonah - His name means ‘dove,’ and it’s actually pointed out in the context of the show, which I thought was interesting, since nobody else’s ever is. Doves are used throughout various cultures and religions, but generally are used to represent peace. Jonah is definitely a peaceful guy, and just wants everyone to get along. 

Bex - Her full name is Rebecca, but she makes it very clear that she doesn’t like it. Rebecca means ‘to tie or bind.’ It’s too much to get into here, but Bex is a driving force in the show and many of the major story lines happen as a result of her. In a sense, her presence ties a lot of characters and stories together.

Throughout the show, she reinforces that she wants to be called by her nickname, which is a more unique and unusual name than Rebecca, which is pretty reflective of her personality. She likes to stand out and be different and doesn’t like to conform. However, she will allow someone to call her Rebecca if it means she gets extra food, which also says a lot about her character.

Bowie - I wasn’t in the fandom when it was revealed that his real name is Steven, and it’s something that I think is kind of hilarious, and it isn’t talked about enough. Steven is such a typical guy’s name, and it doesn’t fit him as a person at all. Obviously, Bowie is a chosen nickname after a famous musician, and it’s definitely a unique and unusual name, which reflects his personality perfectly (and it just goes to show that he and Bex are perfect for each other in that regard). We never learn his dad’s name, but his mom also has an unusual nickname, so it clearly runs in the family.

Cece - Her name choice is relevant very early on in the series. When Andi can’t call her ‘Mom’ anymore, she has to choose something else and ‘Grandma’ is not an option. Celia is a more formal name, and definitely fits her character early on in the series. With her choosing to revert to her nickname when she was younger and lot more freewheeling (as is suggested with the bikini scene), it starts down the path of her character development where she goes from being uptight and even cold, to the goofy, fun loving character that we see dancing in the dinosaur costume during the finale (and now I want to do a whole character analysis on Cece).

Amber - Amber was a tough one. Her name is in reference to either the color or the gemstone, both of which are pretty self-explanatory but not really a reference to her character. There are a lot of different ways that amber is used in various cultures, with different meanings attached. One source suggested that the actual element itself helped to boost confidence. There are a lot of references to how it represents the sun. There wasn’t anything that really related to her character, and hers is the only name that I struggled to find a meaning for. 

Marty - I’m assuming that his full name is Martin, which means ‘warlike’ and originates from Mars, the Roman god of war. Considering how competitive he is, this is a pretty accurate name for him. Don’t know if it was deliberate, but it fits pretty well. Also, he’s another character that chooses his own nickname: Marty from the Party. This speaks more to his nature as a goofy, lighthearted kind of guy. 

TJ - Oh, boy. With the fandom speculation around what TJ stood for, his name is probably the most discussed out of everyone. And I need to know what Luke Mullen’s thought process was for this, and how much of TJ’s story line was planned in advance, because there’s a lot going on there and it all works together. So, obviously both parts of his name were after famous musicians. They were both unusual names, which is why TJ was embarrassed to tell anyone (and why it was such a big deal that he trusted Cyrus with it.) 

Since Luke got to pick, did they always have the idea that his parents were really into music and his mom was a piano teacher, and that TJ would one day reveal that he could play piano as well? Because Luke managed to pick a name that was a piano player with an unusual first name that was also somehow a Shrek reference. I need answers.

Also, Jagger, but I don’t know if there’s any deeper meaning to that one.

Iris - Her whole purpose on the show was to be Cyrus’ girlfriend and help him realize that he’s gay. She’s named the character from Greek mythology, who is the goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. In a sense, she’s there to send Cyrus the message that he’s not attracted to girls, and instead is attracted to guy. Also, rainbows.

Plus, she has a very sunny and upbeat personality, and is a little bit like a human rainbow. I can’t help but believe that her name choice was very deliberate. The fact that it also rhymes with Cyrus is pretty awesome too. 

Kira - Oh, boy again. Other people have pointed out that her name is the female variation of Cyrus. This is the other name that I believe was deliberately chosen. It’s just too big of a coincidence to be otherwise. When researching this, I also found that if you’re considering the Irish version of her name, it comes from their word for ‘black.’ In contrast to Cyrus’, ‘of the sun,’ they are literally complete opposites of one another, dark and light. Considering the fact that their personalities are also opposites, and TJ ultimately has to choose between them, it’s some pretty awesome symbolism. 

I just think it’s really cool how deep I was able to go with some of these name meanings. Some of them  (Cyrus, Iris, and Kira) seemed to be deliberately chosen with the name meanings in mind, in relation to the character’s personalities and even the story lines. Others, like Bex, Bowie, and Cece are names chosen by those characters that are a reflection of who they are as people and how they want to represent themselves to the world. A few of them I may have read more into than was intended, but it was still fun to do. It just goes to show how different Andi Mack is from other shows like it, since there’s so much meaning in the writing and creation of the characters.

Also, I need Luke to explain everything. 

#andi mack #cyrus goodman #buffy driscoll #jonah beck #tj kippen #bex mack #bowie mack #cece mack #names #my analysis

[system-of-a-feather]

System Tag Meme

I was tagged by @thepeanutsystem. Imma tag uh.... @thedoesystem​, @persecutor-recovery​, @bolderwords​, @reveriesystem​, @aqua---regia​, @that-one-system​, @unoriginal-hostess​, @the-dissociated-bones​, @lemon-system​, and anyone else that really wants to do this~

Ignore my weird bullet point method of answering these because like XD It looked nice for whatever reason

If your system has a name, what is it called?

We go by both “System of a Feather” and “Feathery System” primarily. It is a double reference to the core aspect of loving birds / having bird like behaviors that some of the members in our system have by both having the “feather” part and because a weird way of describing a bird is a “System of Feathers”. 

It is also a reference to the saying / joke that I used to say to some of the system when talking about DID advocacy that “Systems of a Feather stick together” in reference to the “Birds of a feather flock together.” This is both to say that members of a system that belong to the same body / feather should work together and that individuals with DID are “systems of a feather” or “birds of a feather” and that it is best that we work together to change how DID is seen by many rather than working against one another.

How many alters are in your system? Do you have any subsystems?

Currently I think we have.... 10 alters? We had a few new discovered members that are dormant since Ray and another alter that isn’t on this blog have mentioned things. We thought we might have a subsystem within myself, Iris, and another alter - but I am starting to doubt that. Save for perhaps the theory that myself and the other alter might be a subsystem of 2.

Who’s the host (and co-host, if you have one?)

That would be me- mwuah. Name’s Riku.

If you’re in school/have a job, who gets stuck with doing the most work?

Both myself and Lucille depending on our mental health at the time and the topics that we are studying. Typically if we have any too heavy stem classes like Organic Chemistry (or really anything Chemistry related since I hate it and Lucille is good at it) then usually it sways more to Lucille where as if it is more psych or animal science based, it’s more in my grounds.

How many protectors do you have? What are their name(s)?

There are a lot that could be argued to be protectors. We typically branch protectors into more specified roles since most of us would be considered protectors if we didn’t - myself and our little included. But for the sake of this question, we have three *main* protectors that kind of serve as over arching protecting roles and they are Lucille, Ray, and Aderis. I think Kira might also count, but I haven’t caught up on his role lately.

Lucille primarily is an interpersonal, emotional, and like general life responsibility protector (finances, substitute host, academics, hygiene, cleaning, physical health, diet, injuries). Ray is a trauma, stress, and generally dangerous situation / extreme emotions and abuse focused protector. Aderis used to have Ray’s job and another job we won’t state that she has primarily retired from, but she still does pick up on a lot of internal protecting and motherly duties.

Alters have their separate interests, but there any interests that all of you share?

We all generally like birds to my knowledge and all of us have an affinity and preference to have music around us. I think all of us also generally do care about the well being of others.

What’s your favorite part of your headspace? Why is it your favorite?

Well back when I used to regularly enter it, I’d probably say a really weird zero-gravity forest in an area of the inner world that was focused on escapism. It was just a weird area that I found amusing to visit. To be honest though, may it be because its the only place I can currently regularly enter and maybe its because I got used to it being my home, but I really enjoy the void that makes up the front. Like I realize it might be really boring and scaring if someone were to randomly spawn here but I find it really relaxing to just chill in an empty void of white nothingness :v

What does everyone argue over the most?

We don’t really argue over anything specific? Everyone argues about different things depending on what combo, but nothing in specific is a constant argument. I’d need to see which pair to say what is the most common arguing point.

Which headmate do you get along with the best?

Ah shit that’s fucking hard XD Lucille is probably my best “bro” and best friend, our little is my precious child that I was split off to protect and care for so she’s close to my heart, Ray is my literal asshole of a brother, and Aderis is my ex that we go back so like.... I really don’t know XD I feel bad for say this but I still think Lucille is probably the one I get along with the best with the least arguments or tensions?

What’s the most annoying thing alters do when they front?

Okay I just complimented how well we get along, but I’m still mad that he did a lecture I wanted to do yesterday. Yeah we’re nerds and the asshole trolled me by completing a lecture when I told him explicitly not to since I wanted to multitask today but no, he wanted to learn about hormones and behavior smh. >:v I mean there is not a consistent most annoying thing. 

If I were to be serious, it would be this whole rebellious streak Ray started up within the system of everyone doing very small small minor annoying things to remind me that they exist, that I am not faking, and also just to make me mad. “Who listens to the host anyways smh” is this group meme he’s started in the system XD Its not actually a problem since everything they do is really small things I said not to do and cause I’m a bit of a control freak sometimes and its kind of humorous and a good self check - but yeah

Okay nevermind, that isn’t even a serious response since I kind of find it amusing. There are a lot of things that they do individually, but I don’t think I would call most of it “annoying” as much as inconvenient - at least at the place of communication that we’ve gotten to. Few alters act too out of line to really be annoying beyond like.... moving my shit to places I can’t find, eating my food, and similar. That is probably literally the only actually annoying thing

Who goes to bed the latest when they front?

FUCKING ADERIS. Ahem. I mean Aderis. I don’t know if it is because she tends to front somewhat late at night and has this “lol I am not going to sleep right when I front fuck that” nature, but I think like, most of the time if this body is up at 4 AM or 5 AM it is probably Aderis that was out.

Who has the best taste in music?

Yes.

To be honest I think Lucille and myself in my personal opinion, but I am pretty sure we all would argue otherwise.

Free space! Tell us a random fact about your system

We are all very extra in dressing / fashion internally, but due to my cheap ass nature and laziness, 85% of the time, this body wears whatever is convenient. Only recently with Ray and Aderis complaining have we gotten somewhat stylized clothing. The other 10% is days I randomly decide to dress up in formal / professional wear cos I love it, and the 5% is the days when someone else switches early enough to choose our clothes for the day.

-Riku (Host)

#alter: riku #ask #asks #about the system #system information #tag #tagging post #tag others post #alter: ray #alter: lucille #alter: aderis

[seraph-novak]

Talk to Me

Summary ~ TJ confides in his mom about Cyrus (based on the recent texts where Cyrus talks about meeting TJ’s mom).

As always, all likes/comments/reblogs are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! ♥

~~~~~

Coming home is like slipping into his own skin again. As soon as he steps through the front door, he’s greeted by a cloud of chicken-scented steam wafting from the kitchen, where his mom is busy dicing onions and humming to an old jazz song playing on the radio. Just the sight of her is enough to put him at ease; he can already feel his anxiety-riddled thoughts retreating to the back of his mind as he joins her at the kitchen counter, instinctively picking up a clean knife and starting to slice the carrots she’s laid out for him.

“You’re home late,” his mom muses, flicking him a brief, questioning smile. “Hanging out with friends again?”

TJ shrugs. He isn’t exactly sure where Kira falls on the friend spectrum, given the fact that all they really have in common is basketball, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s been hanging out with her a lot lately. That’s what Cyrus seems to think, anyway. Ever since their conversation in the park a few days ago, he hasn’t been able to shake off the feeling that something has changed between him and Cyrus, and just thinking about it is enough to give him a stomachache.   

“Alright,” his mom says, thankfully taking the hint. She tucks a strand of dirty-blonde hair behind her ear and passes him a bowl of potatoes to peel. “There was a boy here to see you, by the way. Didn’t give me his name though.”

All at once, TJ’s brain short-circuits, his fingers almost snagging on the peeler as he slams it down on the counter. His hands are shaking as he turns to his mom, a bright blush staining his cheeks. Just the mere possibility of Cyrus coming to his house to see him is enough to make him giddy with newfound hope for the future of their relationship.

“What did he look like?” he asks, not even trying to mask the eagerness in his voice.

His mom huffs a bemused laugh. “Um… Dark hair, dark eyes? A little on the awkward side, but in a sweet way.” She chuckles. “He accidentally told me to ‘get home safe’. Poor kid turned redder than a tomato.”     

TJ grins, absently rubbing the back of his neck as the scenes plays perfectly in his mind. “That definitely sounds like Cyrus,” he says dreamily.

“Wait a second!” His mom throws her hands in the air. “I didn’t realise I’d been talking to the famous Cyrus Goodman.”

“Mom…”

“How does he know where we live, pray tell?”

She’s got her hands on her hips, a knowing smirk playing on her lips as she waits for him to explain. It’s such a typical, motherly sight, and TJ can feel his chest flooding with warmth, despite the blush creeping up his neck. His mom is such a dork, and he loves her for it.

“He might’ve come over a couple times,” he mumbles.

“Might’ve, or has?”

“Has, okay?”

“And why wasn’t I made aware of this?”

“Because I didn’t want you to attack him with a bunch of weird, overly-personal questions?”

His mom gasps, feigning offense as she slaps a hand over her heart. “I would never!”

“Sure.” TJ rolls his eyes.

“And what is that supposed to mean, young man?”

“It means I know you. And I know that you love to wiggle your way into my friends’ lives and make it your personal mission to not let them get bored of me and ditch me, like everyone else does.”

At that, his mom winces slightly, her features softening with a thin layer of guilt. “Oh, baby… That’s not true.”

“No point pretending otherwise.”

“You have friends.”

“I have Cyrus.”

“Is that who you were hanging out with today?”

TJ grits his teeth, those anxiety-riddled thoughts burrowing their way back to the surface of his mind. If he could have it his way, he’d hang out with Cyrus every day for the rest of his life. But lately, there seems to be an invisible wedge between them, keeping them apart at all times. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think they’d had some kind of argument. But, other than the awkward mishap on costume day, which Cyrus has insisted he’s fine about, TJ can’t recall any recent bumps in their relationship.

“No,” he says, pointedly focussing on the potato in his hand. “That was Kira. She’s just some girl I met a few weeks ago.”

His mom pauses, her interest freshly perked. “A girl, huh?”

“Don’t even go there.”

“What? I was just –”

“It isn’t like that, okay? We’re just friends!” He tosses the peeler back into the bowl, tearing a hand through his hair with a grunt of frustration. “Why does everyone automatically assume we’re a couple or something? Like a guy and a girl can’t be friends without there being some weird, ulterior motive…”

“Woah, there,” his mom says, raising her hands in mock surrender. “Can I have my head back, please?”

TJ deflates. “Sorry.”

“Who else assumed you were a couple, anyway?”

“Cyrus.”

“Ah…”

“He keeps telling me he’s happy for me and stuff, like Kira and I are in a serious relationship or something.” He shudders. “It’s like he’s not hearing me when I tell him we’re just friends.”

His mom nods, her hands neatly folded on the counter. She’s regarding him with narrowed eyes, her lips slightly pursed, and TJ can tell she’s about to say something deep and profound. His mom always gets this strange, faraway look on her face whenever they’re about to have a ‘big talk’.  

“Why do you not want Cyrus to think you’re a couple so badly?” she asks, sounding genuinely intrigued.

TJ shrugs impatiently. “Because we’re not?”

“Is that really the only reason?”

“I dunno…”

“C’mon, baby. Don’t think I can’t read you like a book.”

It’s the look in her eyes that finally breaks him, the gentle, imploring look that’s begging him to open up and be honest with her. No one can chip away at his walls like his mom can. Not even Cyrus, and that’s saying something.

“Everything’s so confusing,” he says, relenting with a sigh. He pushes the bowl of potatoes away and turns to face his mom, letting her know he’s about to dive into some pretty big stuff. “Ever since I started hanging out with Kira, things with Cyrus have been… off. At first I thought it had something to do with the bad blood between Kira and Buffy – that’s Cyrus’ best friend – but now I’m thinking maybe it’s something different.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well, the stuff with Buffy and Kira happened a while ago. And Cyrus isn’t the kind to hold a grudge.” He presses his lips together, recalling the sight of Cyrus walking away from him and Kira without so much as a second glance. “But if there’s something going on, why would he come to my house?”

His mom lifts a shoulder. “Maybe he wanted to hang out, just the two of you?”

“But I text him to meet me in the park the other day, and he completely ignored me! How am I supposed to keep up with all these mixed signals?”

“Were you alone in the park?”

“I –” He freezes, an image of him and Kira laughing on the swings flashing before his eyes. For some reason, it makes him feel dirty, like he’d somehow cheated on Cyrus by going on the swings with anyone but him. “I was with Kira.”

His mom tilts her head forward, shooting him a withering look. “Well, there you go.”

“But… I don’t understand what he has against her?”

“Have you considered the possibility that he might be a little bit jealous?”

TJ wrinkles his nose, practically giving his mom a double take. “Why would Cyrus be jealous of Kira? He’s my best friend. She’s just some girl I hang out with sometimes. They don’t even compare!” He huffs, feeling his frustration quickly rising. “He has absolutely nothing to be jealous of.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know that?”

“What? How could he not know that?” He scoffs, his thoughts turning cloudy with confusion. He���s stuck on the insane idea that Cyrus possibly doesn’t understand how important he is to him, or how he cares about him more than anyone (besides his mom, of course) on the entire planet. “Cyrus is… I mean, he’s… God, mom, he’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met! He’s kind and funny and a total nerd and –” He cuts himself off, a furious blush burning his cheeks as he realises what he’s saying. Out loud. To his mom.

“He’s my best friend,” he concludes quietly, turning away from his mom’s penetrating smile.

A moment of silence passes, the ghost of his words still fluttering in the air. TJ deliberately clears his throat and goes back to peeling potatoes. He can feel his mom’s eyes on the side of his face, quietly studying his profile with that wise, all-knowing expression she wears sometimes, usually when she’s sussing him out. She really was right about the whole ‘reading him like a book’ thing; he’s never been able to keep stuff from her for too long.

“He sounds like a very good friend,” she says eventually, her words incredibly soft.

TJ exhales a long, shaky breath, letting a potato roll out of his hand as he slumps against the counter. “Yeah, he is,” he whispers numbly. It feels like a confession. “He’s the best.”

“Have you ever told him that?”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever told him how you feel?” At his responding flinch, she rewords the question. “Have you ever told him how important he is to you?”

TJ stares down at his hands, absently picking at a loose piece of skin on the pad of his thumb. He must’ve caught it on the peeler after all. He squeezes it until it stings, watching a bead of blood roll down his wrist, then drops his forehead against his arm. When did his life become so messy? He doesn’t feel equipped to deal with all of these perplexing emotions.

“I thought he already knew,” he says, lifting his head to meet his mom’s eyes. “How could he not?”

His mom reaches across the counter and grabs both of his hands in her own. Her messy ponytail is spraying wisps of straw-coloured hair all over her face, clinging to the corners of her mouth and falling across her ocean-green eyes. When it comes to his looks, TJ takes after his mom in every regard. From their soft colours, to their gangly limbs, to their lightly-freckled skin; there isn’t a speck of his absent father to be seen in him, and TJ wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Maybe he needs a little persuasion,” his mom suggests, giving his hands a quick squeeze. “It wouldn’t hurt to put your feelings into words, would it? Let him know how special he is to you.”

TJ swallows roughly. “Mom, I…”

“It’s okay, baby.”

“I’m scared.”

“Of course you are.”

“I feel stupid,” he says, laughing wetly as he wipes an arm across his eyes. “I don’t even know what’s wrong with me.”

“Nothing,” his mom says, not an ounce of reluctance in her words. She sounds exactly like Cyrus, which makes his heart clench with longing. “There is nothing wrong with you, do you hear me?”

He nods. “Yeah, mom. I hear you.”

“Good.”

“There’s stuff I wanna tell you, I just…” He trails off, his stomach doing that weird drop-in-the-elevator thing as he stares down at their joined hands. He knows his mom will love and support him no matter what, but now doesn’t feel like the right time for that particular conversation just yet. Maybe he needs to figure things out for himself first.

“Hey.” His mom taps the bottom of his chin, motioning for him to look back up at her. As soon as their eyes meet, he relaxes. “I know, baby. And when you’re ready, you can tell me all about it.”

TJ smiles. “Thanks, mom.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“But, what about Cyrus? How do I fix things?”

“You want my honest opinion?” she asks, quirking an eyebrow. “Talk to him. It may seem amateur, but that’s what you’ve gotta do. Talk to him, and tell him the truth. As much as you’re willing to give, at least.”

TJ considers this for a moment, mulling the possible outcomes over in his head. On the one hand, Cyrus could turn him down. He’d be undoubtedly nice about it; things would be awkward for a few weeks, then TJ would slowly start to move on, and they could go back to being friends again. Things could certainly be worse. But on the other hand…

“I don’t wanna lose him,” he says, giving his mom’s hands a desperate squeeze as a wave of raw panic washes over him. “I can’t, mom.”

“You won’t,” she tells him, sounding unshakeably sure of the fact.

“How do you know?”

“You care about each other. That much is clear. And as long as you stop running from those feelings, and start being open with each other, that’s never gonna change.” She leans forward and pinches the bridge of his nose, just like she always used to do when he was little. “Now… Go call him.”

TJ hesitates. “But, the cooking –”

“I’m giving you the night off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” She shakes her head fondly, her hands returned to their usual position on her hips. When she reaches up to kiss his cheek, TJ remembers how much taller he is than her now, and his heart pinches with a sad kind of nostalgia. It’s been just him and her for so long, but now things are slowly starting to change… And here she is, telling him it’s okay. Always putting him first.

“I love you, mom,” he says, not even caring how lame he sounds.

His mom beams up at him with wide, glistening eyes. “I love you too, baby. Now go make that damn call.”

TJ grins. “Okay.”

He’s halfway up the stairs when he hears the radio being turned up again, more of that tinny jazz music drifting down the hallway, carrying the soft hum of his mom’s voice all the way to his bedroom. Even when he’s sitting on his bed, his thumb hovering over Cyrus’ number on his phone, he can hear the staticky sound of Frank Sinatra gushing about the stars. He takes a deep breath, grounded by the sounds of normalcy slipping beneath his bedroom door, and makes the call.  

Cyrus answers on the first ring.  

The End.

#tyrus #tj kippen #cyrus goodman #andi mack #tyrus fics

[multimetaverse]

Andi Mack 3x18 Review

Something To Talk A-Boot was a pretty good ep that was surprisingly fillery and made apparent the cracks in the show’s writing. Let’s dig in!

We got some great Tyrus scenes that more than made up for the crappy writing we’ve seen the last two Tyrus eps. For once they got to end on a happy note which was much appreciated. We returned to the same fun and flirty dynamic we saw before costume day and it’s like that whole mess never happened (which I’ll discuss more in the negatives). 

We’re back to the confident and flirty TJ we had been seeing up until costume day and it’s good that the show has abandoned it’s incredibly ill advised and poorly done internalized homophobia story line which is necessary because Tyrus can’t canon in the finale if TJ and Cyrus aren’t both comfortable with themselves and with each other. Luckily for the show, most of the audience will never know what the hell was going on with TJ in eps 13 and 15 and will just ignore it as bad writing. 

Lot’s of completely unnecessary touching between Tyrus in this ep like holding on to each others shoulders after the verdict and TJ tapping Cyrus as he was putting his seat belt on. I was pleasantly surprised by the full on hug we got; I didn’t think Terri would get a hug approved in this ep and be able to get hand holding approved in the finale but looks like she pulled it off. It made for a rare rule of three for Cyrus as we saw three increasingly gay hugs between him and TJ this season. I loved the whole you’ll visit me on the inside bit, that’s the kind of thing only couples say. 

Man was that Tyrus golf cart scene ever romantic. Just pure flirty fluff and it was wonderful to see. Really the only reason TJ stole the golf cart again and drove off to find Cyrus was to flirt with him. It’s the closest a show with 14 year olds can get to a classic drive off into the sunset ending. Has there ever been a better nerd/jock ship? The golf cart scene was a perfect encapsulation of their dynamic and showed such growth on Cyrus’ part from the scared kid who couldn’t imagine breaking the rules to the more confident self TJ has helped him become. It’s a bittersweet thought but even though a good chunk if not most of the audience still thinks Tyrus is a friendship or one sided crush, everyone who ever starts the show after the finale will know that Tyrus is a romantic relationship and for them subtext will be text from the very start. 

I think it was very deliberate that all of TJ’s scenes were at the school, we needed to see him interacting like normal with Cyrus at the place they’ll spend most of their time. This ep really was in many ways a glimpse of what canon Tyrus will be like after they get together and come out to the world; supportive, flirty, comfortable.

They really took advantage of Luke being 17 and a good driver. I wonder if ‘leggo’’ was in the script or if that was a Luke ad lib.

This was the last confirmed ep they ever filmed at the school and there’s an extremely good chance that the very wholesome and very gay Tyrus golf cart scene was the last scene we’ll ever see at the school. Which is a hell of a way to say goodbye to the school. 

We got just under 5 minutes of Tyrus screen time and just over 5 and a half minutes of total TJ screen time this ep (excluding TJ cheering in the stands). This is the most he’s had since 3x06 and may actually be the most he’s had or will have all season. And this was more Tyrus screen time than we’ve had in 3x11, 3x13, and 3x15 combined which is a damning indictment of Disney’s censorship. Partly this was likely because the writers were trying to pad his screen time a bit since he was originally supposed to be gone for 3 eps in a row instead of 2. Funnily enough, because his story line was left intact even with the cut ep and re-shoots it now looks as though he may actually get a little more screen time in these final 7 eps than Marty does.

It’s impressive too because all of TJ’s scenes were filmed over two days; it makes such a difference when they’re actually allowed to have him on set for more than one day and that they let Luke and Josh actually have scenes together and took advantage of them being older and able to work longer hours.

This ep really built TJ’s character back up and it’s easy to see that the writers knew they had to get the audience back on TJ’s side and remind them of his and Cyrus’ dynamic especially since he was supposed to have been gone for 3 eps in a row instead of 2. 

Josh did a great job hamming it up at the trial. Loved the ‘’you’re showboating’’ ‘’thank you for noticing your honour’’ bit. And Cyrus adding ‘’sir’’ when he was pretending to respond to himself from the witness box was good too. Love that Cyrus took the time to change back into a suit before hearing the verdict.

It makes such a difference for Cyrus’ character is TJ is in an ep or not and I don’t even mean from a shipping perspective. In non TJ eps Cyrus is almost always reduced to therapist friend or comic relief, when TJ is an ep he usually gets to be an active character and actually get to do things. 

We had Buffy saying he used to be the worst and is now the best and Cyrus taking credit for seeing the good in him which was a nice reminder of the amazing growth TJ has had. And of course, there was no real reason to have TJ be the one to help Buffy get to class except to make him look good in the audience’s eyes.

I know a lot of people wanted to see more of Buffy and TJ’s friendship but I’m fine with their brief interactions. The only reason he had so much time with her in S2 and why the end of S2 set up a friendship between them was because Garren had left and they didn’t know they could get him back.

Such great growth on Buffy’s part from the girl who wouldn’t even pass the baton to her team mates back in S1. The Spikes have largely been treated as a joke but we really saw a great dynamic between them and Buffy tonight; they all felt like a real team for the first time ever. And it was interesting seeing Buffy’s room and seeing her doing normal teen stuff with people outside of the GHC. Glad the Spikes got a win and glad Buffy was able to bounce back from her injury and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 

Very sweet last scene between Jonah and Amber, it was a nice call back to 2x01 when Amber confided in Jonah about her family’s money problems. It was messy but they did help and support each other. I’m happy that Jonah will now be in a more secure place. 

This was also the last confirmed ep they filmed at the Spoon and Jonah watching Amber get him a milkshake is a sweet way to say goodbye to a location that was almost a character in and of itself. We also got to see one last glimpse of the ginger waitress who we’ve seen in a couple of eps.

I liked that Jonah pointed out how well the GHC know each other; he’s a part of the friend group but he’s always stood apart from the GHC itself. 

I also liked that Jonah didn’t know what an existential crisis was. Always funny when they lean into dumb Jonah. 

Jonah and Andi had a sweet scene; glad he’s self aware enough to know he’s not a good advice giver. Liked the callback to Jonah scaring Andi. 

Bex is doing her best. Andi is definitely reacting like a teen. 

No Kira this ep which was great.

Shout out to the FBI and SLPD for shrinking the gap between TJ’s appearances. As much as cutting Ham has ended up damaging the other story lines it will definitely make Cyrus’ story line age much better. Having TJ be gone for 3 eps in a row only to come back after the wedding and only being able to have this kind of screen time and nice scenes after the wedding is so transparent that even kids would have noticed why that was.

Negatives:

I plan to have a happy finale night so I’m going to get my criticism of Terri’s handling of Tyrus out of the way now. I’ve seen quite a few posts on different social media sites wondering if TJ was in the cut ep and that’s why Kira isn’t mentioned or if there were cut Tyrus scenes but the plain simple truth is that this is just bad writing, some of the worst Terri has done. It’s not a satisfying explanation but it’s reality. 

I’d like to hear Terri one day explain what she thought she was going to accomplish with this internalized homophobia plot line on a show with so many restrictions and with an audience that doesn’t know TJ is gay. I don’t think there is a good explanation but I would like to know what the hell she was thinking. She’s always shown such care with the gay story line and to just drop the ball so badly when the show is almost done is more sad than anything else. Thank god Disney let her have canon Tyrus in the finale.

It’s clear from the writing of S3 that they knew from the very start that Tyrus couldn’t canon until the finale, if at all. It’s been nothing but drama that keeps them apart up until now: Buffy is still kind of mad at TJ, Reed had a gun, Jonah is mad at TJ, Bubbe Rose dies, Kira comes in. TJ isn’t even involved with the Spikes after 3x04 and barely had any scenes with Buffy and he hasn’t had a single scene with Jonah since so it’s not like those plots were meant to have an impact. And Terri would have known that TJ could only be in 9 eps max this season and she was the one who cast a 14 year old to play Kira, knowing that Raquel just wouldn’t be able to be on set nearly as long as Luke which of course she did because she knew it didn’t matter how old she was because Kira and TJ would have limited screen time anyways. And she would have known that the look back had been edited to make it look like TJ was straight and yet she still went ahead. 

Honestly, Terri is lucky that most of the audience will never know that TJ was supposed to be struggling with his sexuality in 3x13-3x15 because if they did this story line would come off as much worse than it does for them. I can buy that she wouldn’t have known how far she could go with canon Tyrus until close to the finale itself but that just makes her decisions even more baffling. If she ends up being able to have a textual ending then she has to have TJ be confident or it just won’t make sense. But if Disney said no to canon Tyrus then there’s no way they would have let her properly explore an internalized homophobia arc anyways which makes it all pointless. 

Now that we’ve seen up until 18 we can see just how defensive Terri’s instagram post back in November about not complaining about Disney censorship or queerbaiting was. At the time all she had actually accomplished was Cyrus saying the word gay which was historic and wonderful but only one ep. There’s obvious censorship by Disney and it would have been even more apparent if it wasn’t for Stoney’s arrest. And up until now there’s really nothing differentiating  Tyrus from queerbaiting as Cyrus hasn’t even been able to say he has a crush on TJ. I know she’ll do a good job with Tyrus in the finale but I really hope she doesn’t do something egregiously bad with Kira’s ‘redemption’

It doesn’t make sense that no one would mention Kira. We had TJ scenes over 4 days in universe and no Kira in sight. So either she’s not clinging to him or he told her off. It’s all just so her appearance at the party can make Cyrus flee to the bench for one last bit of contrived drama. 

We finally ended the very poorly plotted Jamber arc. It’s clear that they first decided to get Jamber back together, likely to keep Jandi apart and as a shocking twist, and then worked backwards from there to figure out how to make it plausible and settled on Jonah also having financial issues. The problem being is that those financial problems were largely ignored and we never got an in depth exploration of Jonah or Amber’s psychology. It’s not like they didn’t have time for it since Amber set a new record for recurring characters, excepting S2 Bowie. It’s hard to say Amber has had a true arc over the series. She definitely got nicer but we’ve only really gotten character development from her these past couple of eps. She’s in the same place she was back in 2x01, newly broken up with Jonah, with parents who fight, and forced to work at the Spoon to help support her family. 

Loved that the Spikes were watching footage of their game with the Spartans, which hadn’t happened yet, at their sleep over. Back in the S2 finale when Buffy announced that she was founding a girls team I never imagined that they would be written as a joke and barely shown. I’d guess that was another casualty of them being able to get Marty back for S3.

Looking Ahead:

I’m a lot more content with the show ending after S3 after seeing these recent eps. There’s been way too much filler and a lot of bizarre decisions. Yes the cut ep and the re-shoots hurt a lot of plots but it doesn’t seem like the originals were all that much better. It’s clear that the Muffy plot in 3x17 ended after the bowling alley and Amber’s plot ended with her leaving Cyrus’ house which means that Marty went with Buffy as her date to the wedding in the original 3x18 only to friendzone her and tell her to get her foot checked. And Amber still went with Jonah even though she knew he had been lying to her and they only broke up at the wedding. I’m sure the Mack family A plot would have been great but the B and C plots look like they would have sucked. 

Terri’s never had a show that went beyond 2 seasons and I think in some ways she struggled with plotting out 21 eps worth of story lines. Better to end now when the show will go down as historic then drag it down in a potential S4. And better for Terri’s reputation as well, she gets to end the show as a visionary whereas if we got a S4 she’d likely end up with more of a Michael Jacob’s type reputation. 

Also this ep shows that any hope for seeing canon Tyrus in S4 was just a dream. Disney is clearly only willing to let things get textual in the finale itself. Even Mack Chat didn’t mention Cyrus once tonight despite him having a big role in the ep. An odd game Disney plays with showing the bench scene in promos but not letting Mack Chat get too gay. 

New finale promo sheds a little more light on things. Two Cyrus waving scenes, probably one is before the bench scene and one is after. Bench scene starts with some extras near the fire and once they leave is when things get textual. TJ and Marty will probably have an interaction after both Tyrus and Muffy canon. Looks like there doing something with Jandi but again I don’t think we get canon Jandi, just something ambiguous. Bowie and Bex dancing in the back ground, Bowie in his dad’s tux and Bex possibly in her wedding dress. Obviously they’re already married but it’s probably them re-creating the wedding they had planned for but didn’t end up having.

Next ep is one with a ton of re-shoots and should feature the new wedding. We’ll see how smooth it is. My one hope is that we get some word that Jonah has told his parents about his panic attacks, even if it’s off screen. 

#Andi Mack #Tyrus #TJ Kippen #Cyrus Goodman #Buffy Driscoll #Jonah Beck #Amber #Kaitlin #Bex Mack #Bowie Quinn #Andi Mack Reviews #Andi Mack Season 3 #Andi Mack Meta

[mikami]

So if Death Note were a dating sim what do you think that would be like? What archetypes/stock characters would the different characters be? What would the protagonist's flimsy excuse for interacting with them be? Would Misa be even more yandere?

I think about a Death Note dating sim every day of my entire life, though my thoughts are usually non-Kira AU crack thoughts more in the spirit of traditional stat-raising sims like Tokimeki Memorial rather than VN-style story-heavy dating games like Dramatical Murder and what have you. I guess you can adapt my idea into something more serious though.

It’d be set as an office-romance type game where you’re a junior detective joining the NPA all fresh. You’ll pursue a minor crime alongside other characters you meet along the way and your choices determine who becomes your main partner in catching the culprit - it’s a light-hearted game, so probably not homicide. Homicide would be more for a serious and darker VN.

Usually in dating simulators you’d only be able to date one gender and friendship the other, but this is my fantasy game, so we get to date either.

So here’s your cast! (Some of them with pictures, because I had those pre-made from an old post, but I don’t have that for all, sadly).

Light YagamiThe main route of the game, thus the character you meet first. Also a junior detective, your assigned partner at the precinct. A princely and athletic type who impresses at everything he tries. He’s popular with everyone and your challenge will be to earn more than his superficial affections. Prove yourself to him with work competence and earn the approval of his little sister! Those are key points to getting his ending.

LHead of Wammy’s Private Investigations, a private detective firm that is investigating the case as rivals to the police. He and Light clash a lot over investigation methods. I honestly don’t know about his route, he is the only character I found very difficult to fit into my concept, orz...

Misa AmaneAn idol working at a movie set that turned into a crime-scene. You meet her fairly early in the game because she’s a witness. She immediately takes a liking to Light and thus continues to show up to your investigations uninvited. If you’re on Light’s route, Misa will act as a rival character. To route Misa, you have to actively go out of your way to be protective of her and play the part of a perfect prince yourself. Some of her CG events involve her dramatic backstory and since this is a dating sim, her route will probably end up dealing with her difficulties letting people in after losing her family so brutally. A more vulnerable Misa overall. Though she has yandere tendencies, it mostly manifests in her sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong constantly. She WILL try to mess up your stats with other characters though, which can make it difficult to hit certain ending requirements.

More under the cut!

NearThe kuudere character. He works for Wammy’s Private Investigations and is on the case as a rival. You don’t tend to meet him at crime scenes as he prefers not to go out, so this is the route that works primarily through phonecalls and the occasional visiting events. His personality is very close to canon. Romancing him involves a lot of acting as his eyes outdoors and cooperating well with him.

MelloThe Bad Boy ™ of Wammy’s Private Investigations. Shows up at crime scenes on a motorbike and has a lot of dislike for the actual police and their methods. In his route you choose to cooperate with him in his more shady schemes to catch the culprit and thus his CG events involve some dramatic heart-pounding crime-drama situations! Getting too many affection points for Near blocks you from achieving Mello’s good ending, as Mello still feels strongly about rivalry.

Teru MikamiProsecutor assigned to the case. You’ll have to be careful to always keep some affection points with him because his disapproval will block your investigation. You need permissions from the man! He’s a nerd-type character, stick up his ass like in canon. Romancing him means sticking to the rules and being persistent - if you’re too passive and nod your head at all he says without taking initiative, you’ll miss actually getting on his route. 

Kiyomi TakadaThe closest thing this game has to an ojou-sama character, though she’s not over the top. She’s the newscaster following the case, so you have regular appointments with her to update her on the progress. It’s a balance act of revealing enough to make her find you nice and cooperative and not revealing TOO much - that would end up compromising your investigation. 

Tota MatsudaThe airheaded best buddy character. He’s been on the precinct for a while and has established himself as the comic relief of the group. To get on his route you’ve got to go on goofy events with him even if those choices might compromise your case some. Once you are on his route it turns more serious and starts dealing with themes of insecurity and proving yourself.

Naomi MisoraRetired FBI agent who returned to her homecountry of Japan and is now your neighbor. Though she doesn’t want to actively participate in criminal investigations anymore, she’ll always have a friendly word of advice for you. Her route is pretty hard to get onto since she appears to be only support cast at first, but choosing the right dialogue options gets you to reveal her frustration with the concepts of morality and passion. Re-ignite a fire in her!

Aiber & WedyCulprits and the secret routes of the game. Focusing solely on the crime instead of your social life allows you to meet one of them at the midway point and continue forbidden meetings through the rest of the game! Salacious! Who of them you meet depends on your seemingly meaningless answers in a personality quiz at the start of the game. The one who you can’t romance in the playthrough appears as a background character very few times.At the end you can elope with them or hand them over to justice! Both are unique exciting endings!!

There are a few different ways you can end the game:Bad End: you neither date anyone nor solve the caseNeutral End: you solve the case but date nobodyNeutral Relationship End: you don’t solve the case but you end up dating a character. You receive moderate happiness.Good End: you solve the case and date a character! GO YOU!...... or you elope on secret route I guess.

Each character has requirements to meet for affection points from the rest of the cast. For Mello, your Near affection can’t be high, for Light you need affection from everyone and be popular, etc.....

And yes, this is just a description of a game I’d love to play, orz.

#answers #death note #ref #bc i will want to find this again for sure bc i love it

[spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia]

SpongeGuy Reviews Every Disney Sitcom!: K.C. Undercover (1.1): “Pilot”

Yeah guys these have been really slow this week, I know. But hey, at least now we know that Zendaya’s back hurts from carrying this show!

K.C. Undercover is what you get when you want live action Kim Possible but you don’t want to actually try, and you also don’t understand that Kim Possible wasn’t just jokes and main character does awesome thing.

I guess the Kim Possible DTV movie is also what you get when you want live action Kim Possible but you do what I wrote above.

The show focuses on K.C. Cooper (played by the always great, even here, Zendaya) and her life as a spy, just like her parents (OH BOI WILL WE GET TO THEM) and after an episode her brother Ernie. There’s also a robot sister who’s annoying and is there for no real reason after episode 1 because OF COURSE.

But we are not talking about her, we are talking about the pilot for this show, and well... I am very disappointed. Let’s just get this over with.

SUMMERY:  During her first undercover assignment as a spy, K.C. Cooper gets ready for her first mission. Her parents, Kira and Craig Cooper, are also spies. However, her younger brother, Ernie Cooper, is unaware about K.C. and her parents being a spy, and her best friend Marisa is also unaware about her best friend's secret life. For her first assignment, K.C. is supposed to catch another teenage spy and crack down the code that is used for a dangerous virus. Unfortunately for her, K.C.'s first mission is also on the night of her high school dance, and she is challenged on whether to go through with her mission or go skip the mission and go to her school dance.

COMEDY: 1 Out of 5

It’s hard to find different ways to say “This wasn’t funny”, especially when such things are subjective. But I think a way to make it clear why this one isn’t funny is that for a spy sitcom, they barely make SPY JOKES.

This is a SPY SITCOM. CLEARLY inspired by KIM POSSIBLE. And they make almost no SPY JOKES. Sure, you have your disguises at one point, your mission impossible “sequence”, your weird gadget or two, but those are treated more as props than jokes.

No, the jokes here are, you guessed it: Stock sitcom jokes. With the added flair of ASSHOLES.

I’ll talk more about this in Characters, but suffice to say that most of the jokes in this show are about what assholes everyone but K.C. are. (I understood K.C. gets like this too, but so far she’s the only one I like here).

If you haven’t seen a joke before you’re just cringing at how mean the cast is to each other. And I think it’s best I just move to the next section to talk about that because that’s the main problem with this show.

CHARACTERS: 2 Out of 5

I guess it’s kinda funny that the main problem with this show has a point more than comedy, but whatever. K.C. Undercover is a family sitcom with a coat of spy paint over it, and the problems start when you realize what it’s trying to be and how it’s failing at it. Zendaya tweeted before the show’s release that she wanted K.C. Undercover to be like the Disney Channel of Old: That’s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, Kim Possible, Proud Family. Well, here’s the thing: those shows (that i’ve seen at least, or that I know enough about to be able to tell) had sass, had characters being jerks, and had sitcom type jokes and behaviors, but they had a premise and they stuck to it, AND those characters were likable in the end (even though Proud Family has some problems with that).

Unfortunately, K.C. Undercover is anything but. Every single character outside of K.C. is an unlikable douchbag who the moment you think for a second about their words and actions becomes terrifying.

Well, that’s unfair. See, there’s Ernie, K.C’s brother, and he’s not an asshole. His role, however, is one of the most tired cliche’s in the book: Punching bag. To an extent that’s truly depressing. We’ve covered some pretty bad parents so far in these reviews, and Davenport from “Lab Rats” still is my least favorite, but giving him stiff competition are Craig and Kira Cooper. Everything they do is either not funny, old hat, or absolutely horrible! Playing favorites is bad enough as a joke, but the extents the show goes to make this “funny” only heighten the horror! They forget to drive Ernie from school because they can’t recognize his number. They blatently declare K.C. to be their favorite. They wipe his mind so he won’t know the family are spies, which also wipes out the one time he’s ever felt good about himself. They are totally fine with sending their daughter into a dangerous mission, and when she understandably asks not to do it, they’re disappointed in her because they are the only ones who see her potential!

AND THAT’S WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT MARISSA, K.C.’S BEST FRIEND! While she is less horrible, she still sucks ball! Her whole role is to be the ditzy blonde who tries to turn K.C. into a “Real Woman”. Now, Zendaya is sort of typecast as a nerd/outcast, so I guess it makes sense that she would have a friend try to make her more... Outgoing. But hearing her say things like “She’s a girl!” when K.C. wants to go to the dance, or saying that she’s happy this antisocial loner is no longer the way she is makes you wonder: How the fuck are they best friends if all she wants to do is change her?

Thankfully K.C. doesn’t listen to her. In fact, K.C. (or should I say Zendaya) is the only one here with a shred of comedy (I pity Ernie, but he’s a meh character). Zendaya’s genuine reactions that feel real even when you know they are scripted (like laughing at a silent but deadly fart weapon she has or trying to be girly) add so much to the show. You can tell she’s trying her best, and you can tell she’s carrying the show on her own. The only one with acting chops, comedic talent, anything. Easily the one thing this show has.

So we have bullshit characters who are somehow worse than the usual disney channel stock characters, comedy that sucks, what else can go wrong?

STORY AND HEART: 1 Out of 5

Oh yeah, this can go wrong too. The pilot of the show is all about how K.C. became a spy, starting off with perhaps the only good scene in the show: A cold open showcasing K.C. kicking a bad guy’s ass and being a cool spy. That’s actually pretty great! It’s a homage to the genre, and it’s a good way to set the stage for a “K.C. should believe in herself” story.

But here’s the thing: The story shoots itself in the foot. Teens being superheroes and spies and stuff is a hard subject to dangle, especially in a post Steven Universe Future world which very rightly showed that a character this young would have SO MUCH trauma. Of course, some find ways to deal with it cleverly (Spider-Man stories never shy away from how fucked up Peter’s life is) and you don’t HAVE to deal with it to make a good show (i.e Kim Possible), but there’s ignoring it so that the show can be fun and then there’s maximizing on how bad it is and saying laugh, or worse, that’s it’s ok.

Look, the show repeatedly tells me K.C. is extraordinary, smart, tough. And she IS, don’t get me wrong. But seeing her parents, two people who surely want her safe, be disappointed that she doesn’t want to fail this mission, because well she’s not good enough is horrible! The show claims only a teen could get the phone in the dance, but that’s just bullshit. A custodian clearly spies for the “bad guys”, and adult chaperons exist. Heck, all this tech and no one has facial software to look like a kid? WHY AM I ASKING THESE QUESTIONS?

I normally LOVE Characters learning to be confident stories, and thankfully K.C. doesn’t need to change herself for that, but... Like... I shouldn’t be thinking of how horrible the implications are in a fun spy show for kids.

Add that absoulute hate for Ernie and just a totaly lag of a story that could be fun if it weren’t for everyone else, and the only point goes to K.C. again for keeping me sane while watching this.

FINAL SCORE: 4 Out of 15

Bunk’d and Dog With A Blog, with all their falings, were better than this. Think about that.

Next time we have The Buzz On Maggie, the long awaited New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh review and...

Hannah... Montana...

(”Megalovania” plays)

...Oh SHIT. (For the record, I used to hate it for how overexposed it was and I have no idea if I’ll love it or hate it)..

https://docs.google.com/document/d/100qHOP9aQ1AmKbrYuc--CQAP3LQnHfsS/edit

#disney #disney sitcoms #disney channel #zendaya #k.c. undercover #review every disney show #spongeguy

[amabiliaaa]

Tag game :)

thanks @extraisthmus​ for the tag! yall should look at their post :))

RULES:

A character has to answer 12 questions. 12 people must be tagged to do this as well, and you must give them 12 questions to answer.

Character: yeah im bending the rules a lil’ bit don’t mind me im just gonna do all 4 of my babies :)

Questions!

What is the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?

Dominic:  Nothin’. I made the rules, I can bend them to accommodate me. (behind him, Kira tries to speak but Gabriel shushes her)

Gabriel: Me? Um, w-well once I, uh, wait, this won’t get us in trouble, right? (the reporter shakes their head) Oh, ok. Good. So once one a Sunday, I found some dress shoes on the street. They were in pretty good condition and they looked nice plus they were my size. So I took them home with me and shined them at two o’clock. Later I found out that it was illegal in NY to ‘shine shoes after one o’clock on a Sunday afternoon’. (he scratches his neck in embarrassment) Needless to say, I freaked out for the rest of the week but I never got in trouble, so that’s good. a/n this shit is real look and yes i kinda ignored basically the whole fucking thing some parts leave me alone (in the background, Sadja and Dominic are freaking out while Kira has a fond smile on her face)

Sadja: Oh that’s easy. I stole a BUNCH of shit from one of my exes. Including his dog. He was a dick and a sleaze so I don’t really feel bad. Think...Henry the VIII and that was pretty much my ex but cuter, unfortunately. 

Kira: Hm, let me think. Oh once when I was younger, 18,000 or 19,000 years old maybe?  Around that time I was really reckless and had severe anger issues. That’s the understatement of the year, by the way. Anyway, let’s say that Pompeii may or may not have been my fault. So you could say arson is the most illegal thing I’ve ever done. (Behind her, Sadja and Gabriel look alarmed while Dominic cackles. “Oh shit,’’ he exclaims, “I remember that!”)

Describe yourself in three words

Dominic: Better Than You. Each word is capitalized, by the way.

Gabriel: Um, I don’t really know. Nice, quiet, and...patient?

Sadja: Fabulous, gorgeous, and fun!

Kira: Reserved, intelligent, straightforward.

Who would you really like to tell off?

Dominic: Sadja for being so annoying.

Gabriel: No one really. I don’t have a grudge against anyone, ha, ha.

Sadja: Dominic for being such a dick. Oh and my ex. For the same reason.

Kira. Dominic.

What would be your spirit animal?

Dominic: what type of stupid ass question is that?

Gabriel: I would say a baby penguin. They’re so soft and cute! (Dominic scoffs. “Nerd,” he says.)

Sadja: Phoenix. They’re so amazing. Like me.

Kira: Cat. 

Which person has had the most influence on your life and why?

Dominic: Me because I’m God.

Gabriel: Dominic! He’s such a good friend to me.

Sadja: Kira for teaching me how to be a better person.

Kira: Sadja for teaching me how to loosen up.

Do you have any siblings or pets? tell us about them!

Dominic: Nope. No siblings. Had a Rottweiler once. Named her Ripper. She was the baddest bitch in town. 

Gabriel: Well technically all angles are related. So...yes? And no, I don’t have any pets.

Sadja: Same as Gabriel’s answer. Just replace the word angels with demons.

Kira: No to both.  Though technically Dominic is my brother of sorts. But I don’t like to think about that. So I have no siblings.

What is your biggest fear?

Dominic: Don’t have any. Didn’t you hear me the first time? I’m fucking God.

Gabriel: Not living up to certain people’s standards and expectations.

Sadja: Spiders. 

Kira: Nothing, really. Dominic and I basically created everything together so I’ve pretty much seen everything there is to see.

Where are you most likely to be on a Saturday night?

Dominic: Out partying, drinking, getting laid. The usual.

Gabriel: Tagging along with Dominic.

Sadja: Out at the club or having a Netflix movie marathon in my room.

Kira: Babysitting Sadja at the club or reading.

How old were you when you had your first kiss? How was it?

Dominic: Fuck, I don’t remember how old I was. What I do know is that the chick I was kissing was shit at it. It felt like a fish was trying to survive in my mouth.

Gabriel: Oh, actually I haven’t had my first kiss yet. 

Sadja: I don’t remember either. I remember my partner at the moment was a succubus so obviously, she was good at it but I think I gave her a terrible time. Sorry, Sarryna.

Kira: Can’t remember but it was pretty ok.

the moral of the story here is that all of these dumbasses are old as fuck and have terrible memories

What type of music do you like?

Dominic: Pop, rap, y’know, good music.

Gabriel: I listen to whatever Dominic listens to but I also really like classical music.

Sadja: Anything that’s upbeat honestly.

Kira: Classical music. Beethoven is one of my favorite composers.

What is your biggest regret?

Dominic: Don’t have any.

Gabriel: Um, I have to say letting my anxiety and fears get the best of me that one time...

Sadja: A big chunk of my past to be honest. 

Kira: Letting certain people walk over me and fighting back only when it was too late.

What is your biggest insecurity?

Dominic: Get this through your thick skull. I’m God. I have no fucking weaknesses. 

Gabriel: I always wonder if I’m good enough.

Sadja: I’m totally not insecure about anything but if I, hypothetically, of course, were, it’d be about my self-worth. So Gaberonni and I would be on the same boat in this hypothetical. But it’s only a hypothetical. So I’m not insecure about anything. Honest. Stop giving me that look!

Kira: Sometimes I feel like my personality is too rude and standoffish. I don’t mean to drive people away and I feel like I do all the time.

Tags:

lmao bitch there’s no one to tag if ya wanna do it go for it!

My questions!

What is one thing people always get wrong about you? 

What would you want your legacy to be? 

What does the perfect day look like to you? 

Who’s your biggest hero? 

What makes you the happiest? 

If you had a superpower, what would it be? 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Do you believe in second chances? 

What’s on your bucket list? 

What is one thing you want to change about yourself? 

What makes you feel accomplished? 

How do you spend your free time?

#me when i post this shit after going awol: #it aint much but its honest work #kjsdlfsl ahhh im slowly coming out of my writing depression so thats good #school starts tomorrow so thats not good #im glad that i was able to pop something out before the break ends #i mean its not a chapter but hey #content is content amirite #tag game #writeblr tag game #writeblr #of devils and angels #odaa #sadja innocentes #kira satanas #dominic christus #gabriel nullius #mj 'writes' #now that i think about i wont be able to pop this out before school starts #big sigh #well i tried and it's coming out eventually so.. *3* #haha dont you love it when you have yet to bs your way through your sci fair project but your dumbass is over here at 12 am #hey uh if this is actual shit tell me a week after you see this #let me pretend i did something good for a while #long post

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.22, Supplemental: Missions Reviewed, “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River,” “Once More Unto the Breach,” “The Siege of AR-558,” “Covenant,” and “It’s Only Paper Moon.” (For Aron.)

“Treachery, Faith, and the Great River” begins with Odo receiving word from a Cardassian informant he thought was executed that they need to meet.  He informs Kira (while massaging out her sore muscles after spingball, godamighty) that he’s going alone, and take a Runabout to see if he can find the man. Meanwhile repairs are behind on the station and the Defiant, and Sisko demands O’Brien have them all completed when he gets back from a conference on Bajor. O’Brien is stymied, not having the parts he needs, when Nog offers to get them. 

He just needs Chief’s access codes to make the right trades to make it happen. Odo arrives at the rendezvous to find Weyoun, who wants to defect.  While they are heading back to DS9, they are hailed from Cardassia by…Weyoun and Damar. Turns out the Weyoun of the last couple of years died in an transporter accident. The Weyoun 6 clone is the defector, and Weyoun 7 wants him hunted down. Damar says they must destroy the ship, but Weyoung 7 knows the Jem’Hadar will never fire on Odo.  Damar mentions they don’t have to know he’s on board. Kira calls on O’Brien to explain why the Captain’s desk is missing, and Worf and Martok want to know why their bloodwine is gone. Confronting Nog, the Ferengi explains that the universe is governed by the Great Material Continuum, running like a river from places with too much of a thing to places with not enough of a thing.  He is counting on the river to get them their parts, with a little help from Ferengi trade practices. After one Jem’Hadar ship is defeated with Weyoun 6’s command, the Female Changeling confronts Weyoun 7 and Damar about what’s going on. Damar notices that the Changeling doesn’t look right, she looks dried out.  As soon as he mentions it, she changes and demands they get Weyoun 6. Six meanwhile, with Odo and cornered by Jem’Hadar reveals that the Founders are sick, all of them. He defected to make sure Odo was ok, and tell him that HE will be the last Founder, and de facto leader of the Dominion if the other die; and opportunity to reconstruct the Dominion as an organization of cooperation and peace. To Weyoun 7 to call off the attack, Six activates a built in suicide pill, and Seven is true to his word. Six asks Odo for his blessing as he dies, and indeed the clone dies in the arms of his God, his faith rewarded. 

On DS9, O’Brien expects to be derided when called to Sisko’s office, but Nog is there, as is the captain’s desk, and the repair parts are in the hanger. As they leave ops Worf and Martok appear. Somehow Nog as replaced their bloodwine with vintage 2309, far better quality than what they had before.  O’Brien is amazed, but Nog cites the Great Material River, HIS faith rewarded.

The A and B stories here almost get equal time, but there are a lot of great reveals here. The fact the Founders basically uplifted a group of timid tree apes to create the Vorta; the Vorta’s cloning practices; the fact the Founders are ill (there will be some more dire revelations about this later). All those heavy moments balance well with the Nog/O’Brien storyline.  Now, I have to tell you. This episode as a toy and nerd collector affected me deeply, and to this day, it is my policy that if someone really takes a shine to something in my collection, I pass it on to them. I like to call it, “casting it into the great material river.”  Whenever there is a hole on my shelf, something show up to take its place. I have faith my toys end up in the hands they should.

Kor comes to DS9 to ask Worf to help him go “Once More Unto the Breach.”  Kor has been marginalized in the war, and has not been able to seek glorious combat. Worf asks Martok if there is place for Kor, but Martok is incensed. Years before, Martok’s career was almost derailed before it could begin by Kor because the House of Kor was a great one, noble, and Martok was little more than a farm boy. Worf convinces him to allow Kor on as Third Officer in a mission to raid a Cardassian base. 

When Martok describes the plan, Kor states it was the same one he and Kang (last seen with Kor in “Blood Oath” way back in season 2, and before that on TOS) against the Federation in the previous century. The crew is overly respectful of Kor, D’Har Master, much to Martok’s chagrin. When the actual fight happens though, Martok and Worf are incapacitated, and Kor takes over, losing himself and thinking he is back in battle against the Federation and Kang is on his way to help. When Worf and Martok retake control, Kor is shamed and abashed, but their small fleet is also being pursued by ten Jem’Hadar ships. Worf devises a plan to stop them, but it will cost a ship. If that ship can stop even a few of the enemy ships, the others might escape.  Worf plans to take command, but Kor knocks him out with a hypo, beaming to the bird of prey that will face the Jem’Hadar. Martok monitors the battle, amazed at Worf’s bravery, but Worf appears on the bridge, informing him it is Kor in battle.

  They watch amazed, waiting for whatever ships Kor cannot stop to pursue them.  None do. Though it cost his life, Kor destroys all ten Jem’Hadar vessels, leaving Martok’s crew—and Martok himself—to drink and sing songs of Kor’s victory, knowing they will see him in Sto-Vo-Kor.

Another great Klingon episode, and a great end for the always entertaining, and slightly mad, Kor. This it turns out was also John Colicos’ final acting role, and what a note to go out on.  The heroic battle is pure Klingon here too. The tension between noble houses and minor houses on Qo’noS is interesting, as it will also factor heavily into “Discovery” in its first season, specifically with the House of Kor dealing with Voq, son of none. There are also a few nice moments between Kor and Ezri, who seems to immediately accept Dax as Dax. Perhaps he adapted better having already dealt with the change from Curzon to Jadzia, however even then he was rather quick to accept her.  An interesting quirk for someone so adherent to Klingon noble traditions.

“The Siege of AR-558” has the Defiant bringing supplies to a Starfleet outpost in the Chin’Toka system, which has not been easily held. The outpost has captured a Dominion communications array, and hope to crack it, but have been too busy defending it against repeated attacks. On the mission is Quark at the behest of the Nagus who wants a report on the state of the war. It isn’t good. These people have been defending this outpost for five months; two months longer than a tour is supposed to be.  They were 150 people, they are now down to about 40. They are constantly falling victim to “Houdini mines,” small floating explosives that hang in subspace and randomly appear and explode, perhaps somewhere you’ve walked a hundred times.

 Nog is impressed by the battle hardened humans here, but Quark warns him these are not the cuddly Earthers he knows.   “…take away their creature comforts… deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers… put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time… and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people will become as nasty and violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces, look at their eyes…" When the Dominion attacks the Defiant, Worf pulls back, leaving Sisko, Bashir, Nog, Dax, and Quark on the surface to help defend the base. Ezri befriends Kellin (played by Lost in Space and Babylon Five’s Bill Mumy) who is trying to crack the mine problem, and they start to work. Sisko sends Nog out on a scouting mission with two of the Soldiers here, and though they get a good look at the Jem’Hadar base, one is killed and Nog loses his leg. Bashir plays Vic Fontaine music as they await the attack, but when Ezri and Kellin get control of the mines, Sisko uses them on the Jem’Hadar, thinning their numbers before the attack. One of the Jem’Hadar makes it to where Nog lies wounded, Quark himself shoots him down. 

When all is said and done, Kellin is dead, but reinforcements and engineers arrive, allowing the one survivor of the original group to leave with the Defiant.

A grim and powerful episode that aims to look war right in the face.  Quark’s speech I quote here is really fantastic, but comes back to haunt him when he too, put in the corner, is willing to shoot to kill, to protect. Ezri questioning Sisko’s decision to turn the mines they were just condemning on the enemy calls into question what is fair in war, but also leaves you as a viewer to decide if it was the right decision or not. The Starfleet trooper with Jem’Hadar Ketracel White bottles, ripped from his enemies’ bodies, brings to mind the Klingon was saw in “Soldiers of the Empire” with Cardassian neck bones as a necklace.  At least it isn’t body parts, but DS9 does not flinch here, and it is a better story for it.  Nog losing his leg will come into play again very soon as well.  Back on TOS, Kirk would occasionally refer to himself and other Starfleet members as “Soldiers.” Here we see that’s true; makes you wonder if they plan to bring back the Marines we saw in STVI: The Undiscovered Country (the Colonel of course was played by Rene Auberjonois!).

Kira is visited by an old friend, Vedek Fala, in “Convenant.” He gives her a gift which turns out to be a transponder that allows her transport across the sector to the previously abandoned sister station to DS9, Empok Nor.  There she finds her Vedek is actually part if the cult of the Pah-Wraits, who feel the Prophets turned their back on Bajor. In charge of the cult, she finds Dukat, who feels since he once housed Kost Amojan that he now has been touched by the Pah-Wraiths, and chosen to lead their people.

 Fala shows her the Bajorans here are completely under Dukat’s sway. Indeed there is one pregnant woman, who with her husband have only been allowed to have kids because Dukat has allowed it. Kira is less than convinced, but Fala persists telling her the Prophets have lied about the Pah-Wraits and they are peaceful. Dukat meanwhile tells Kira he has changed, and he loves his people. She points out he has set up some weird simulation of what he lost, commanding a station like Terok Nor, with a horde of Bajorans who love him. This proves startlingly true when the pregnant mother gives birth to a half-Cardassian baby. Dukat claims it is a miracle and a sign, but there are some doubters. He meets with the woman, apologizing for the “weakness” that allowed him to father her child, but when she says no one else knows, he tries to flush her out an airlock. 

Kira and Fala come along and save her, but now Dukat must act. He locks Kira in her room and is going to take poison with all of his followers so they can “shed their bodies” to help the Pah-Wraiths enter the Celestial Temple. Kira breaks out and tackles Dukat just as he was going to take the first pill, knocking his from his hand. When Fala hands him just another one out of the box, Dukat won’t take it, and they all realize he was going to let them die and go on. He tells them it was what the Pah-Wraiths wanted, but they aren’t having it, and he has to beam away. Fala meanwhile takes his pill and dies in Kira’s arms, telling her it was because of “faith.”

Dukat going full blown cult-leader is right in line with his arrogance and his ego. It’s just another example to me though that one of the bets DS9 misses is having Kira kill Dukat at the end of the series.  Yes, this sets him to as a vessel of the Pah-Wraiths, an Anti-Emissary, but I thing all the personal grudges with Kira deserve a better resolution. And for those who freak out over Scotty building an interplanetary transporter in the Kelvin Timeline, here’s one at work with Dominion tech in 2374, 13 years BEFORE Spock will go back in time and teach KY Scotty how to finish his. For that matter, before the Voyager will show up in just a couple of years with Borg Transwarp tech too. The Kelvin Timeline works if you just look at the details.

Finally, fandom tonight watched “It’s Only a Paper Moon” as a tribute to Aron Eisenberg’s passing, so I made sure I got this far.  Nog returns to the station with his new bio-synthetic leg, but it hurts him and he must walk with a cane. All his medical checks show fine though, and he is interested in doing nothing but lying in bed and listening to Vic Fontaine sing “I’ll Be Seeing You,” the song Bashir played in “The Siege of AR-558.” When Jake can’t take more than three days of that song on repeat he confronts Nog, who leaves and goes to the Holosuite to hear Vic sing it.  Nog decides to stay and live in the holosuite for a while.  Ezri is skeptical, but Vic mentions he will take care of the kid. Indeed, Vic helps wean him off his cane, and gives him something to do by letting him do the casino’s “books.” Nog though seems so comfortable he won’t come out. Ezri asks Vic when he’s going to be done with him, and Vic seems to realize he too has become dependent on Nog; usually, he’s only on for a few hours at a time, but with Nog there 26 hours a day, he is now constant. 

 Realizing he’s putting his own needs first, Vic shuts down the program himself.  Nog tries to get it running again, but can’t, but Vic appears to ask him about it. Nog says he doesn’t want to go back to the real world because he’s afraid, as anything could happen. Vic tells him that’s life, and why you have to seize it when you can, and indeed why he was happy to have Nog there. It’s time though, time for Nog to seize it for real. Nog leaves without his cane, and reunites with his family. Later, back in uniform Nog visits and tells Vic he has a present for him. Nog has made a deal with Quark, and this holosuite will continue to run full time, allowing Vic a life. Nog knows it’s the least he can do since Vic helped him get his own life back.

Bittersweet to watch tonight, but a great episode that takes a long look at the trauma of war and the mental scars that can be far worse than the physical ones.  The continued development of Vic Fontaine as a sentient lifeform is interesting, able to control who does and does not use his program. Still self aware though that there are times he is “off.” Aron Eisenberg is of course terrific and this is an important episode for Nog, demonstrating why this was the episode his friends, fans, and family chose to commemorate him.  

NEXT VOYAGE: The Orion Syndicate has come back for O’Brien, and somehow the Tigan family is involved. The Tigans are Ezri’s family before she was joined; she comes home in “Prodigal Daughter.”

#Star Trek #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 Rewatch #aron eisenberg

[gloamingroamingfish]

I’ve got nowhere else to ramble about this really, so here, have my opinions and predictions about all the The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance characters revealed in this article from Newsweek., under a cut because it’ll be long. Uh, possible spoilers for a 40 year old movie? Or the series itself, on the off chance my theories are right? All photos can be seen in the article itself, this post is already long enough. Here we go.

Aughra

Can’t say I won’t miss her original voice, but Aughra’s new VA sounds like she’s going to do just as well, and might even be better suited to the miniseries than the voice from the original movie would be-- a short 80s fantasy flick is a different animal after all. This Aughra has a more complicated costume, which I like, she looks very scholarly, and she also a bit taller, or least less stooped. Yellow’s a good color for her. I just hope her trusty eye’s still removable.

Rian

I remember this character from back when the Henson Company threw a contest to find the author of a new Dark Crystal novel. He was the suggested protagonist, and it was around this time they fleshed out some things about the matriarchal Gelfling society, too. It looks like in this series he keeps his role as a Crystal Castle guard who discovers the Skeksis’ horrid secret and kicks off everything that happens next. He does resemble Jen a lot, which I think is a good thing. The designers knew their baseline. That is a quintessential Gelfling right there.

Gurjin

But of course with a whole Gelfling society to focus on instead of just two of them, they have to decide what variation in Gelflings looks like. This is a great start. I trust this guy. He looks level headed and capable. Probably lets Rian do most of the talking.

Maudra Fara

She looks kind of young for a Gelfling clan matriarch, but maybe there’s a reason for that. There will be a war in this show (that the Gelflings have to lose in order for the movie to happen). Maybe her mother was killed in battle. Fara gives me a “lost one or both parents” vibe.

Naia

Only says that she is Gurjin’s twin. Her name is ringing a bell, was she in another spinoff thing? TDC’s had a surprising amount of those.

Brea

I think I’ve seen her described as a “princess”. But one who can read, based on a photo that’s out! I can’t wait to see Gelfling books. I don’t have many solid impressions of her right now.

Deet

I can’t. She’s. Too cute. My gosh. She is just the right amount of fey and mop-topped and probably psychic. I love her and she reminds me of Kira, who was arguably a better Gelfling hero than Jen was (much love to Jen though).

I also appreciated hearing her speak in the trailer, because she used the same cadence as from the original film, same rhythms and word choices. It sounds like that’s a choice that’s been made across the script, which is a relief because it would have been really jarring to hear these characters speak the way modern screenwriters would make other fantasy tv characters speak, instead of that 80s puppet accent they need.

Tavra

Another weirdly familiar name. I don’t have any ideas about her role, really. I will say that on certain Gelfling ladies, you can see where the designers let the Gelfling baseline slip a bit. Some of them are just a bit too elfin and pretty for my tastes, I like them better when they sit further back in comfortably uncanny territory.

All-Maudra

Yes, this looks exactly like the Gelfing you’d expect Helena Bonham Carter to voice (I did think she was doing a Skeksis though!). Kind of puts me in the mind of a medieval noblewoman; from the info, it’s not clear if she’s literally the queen of all the clans, or just a figurehead, but she does function as a sort of diplomat to the Castle who specializes in dealing with the Skeksis... and from her clothes I’d say they’re rubbing off a little bit. (Is it just me, or does her crown sort of mirror the decorative spikes on the Emperor’s carapace?)

Oh no, what if she’s in cahoots? I can’t imagine consorting with Skeksis all the time is healthy for one’s morals...

Onica

Weirdly tricky to wrap my head around the idea of a Gelfling with curly hair and freckles, but Onica’s cute. Are they one of the sea sailing Gelflings?

Cadia

Gelfling with a beard. Alright. I guess that’s possible. I’ll bet he’s Onica’s uncle or dad or something. I like his face, I hope I like him. He looks like comic relief.

Rek’yr

No idea what to make of this guy. Why is his name different than the others? Is he a leader of an army or some kind of lone wolf?

You know, there are likely going to be Gelflings on both sides of this conflict. the Skeksan status quo is bound to be seductive to at least some of them. Because why not make this story crueler by letting some Gelfling be complicit in their own kind’s destruction?

Librarian

Ha. Nerd. I like his big hat. Which library are we visiting? The Scroll-Keeper’s? Or someone else’s?

Kylan

Okay, this one’s just straight inscrutable. What is that expression? Why are their clothes weirdly plain and red compared to everyone else’s? Red’s not really a Gelfling color. Am I just being paranoid or is there something up with this one?

They remind me of the Chamberlain and I have no idea why???

Seladon

No info here, either. Not listed as a Maudra, but is probably still powerful as Gelflings go. Perhaps connected to the All-Maudra? They seem related.

Ordon

Think I saw this guy in the trailer wielding a weapon. He has the look of an army man out to prove himself in battle only to valiantly sacrifice his life later. Suspiciously specific theory? Yeah, probably.

Mira

Another slightly too pretty Gelfling lady. I’m sure she’s fine. Next.

Maudra Argot

Utterly delightful grandma Gelf. This must be Deet’s Maudra; I adore her floppy hat and classy silver embroidery. She looks like she would offer her loved ones milk and cookies one second and kick Garthim beetle butt the next. I’m sure she speaks her mind, look at that defiant little chin jut. I love.

Hup

Podling!!! Yes I am most pleased this show will feature Potato People. Nothing bad had better happen to Hup.

Baffi

Dave Goelz returns to play a shrieking fluffball! We can’t not have a fizzgig. Fizzgigs all look the same so naturally the crew could only think to give Baffi here a sick eyepatch to set him apart. I approve!

Okay, here’s what I know you scrolled all the way down for! It’s time for our favorite decrepit decadent dinosaurs, starting with...

skekUng, the General

I almost hope this is not in fact skekUng, because this is frankly disappointing. Who is this??? It doesn’t resemble the guy from the original movie even a little bit. I know he would have lost weight in some places and gained it in others, I know it might just be a bad angle, but I can’t find anything in common between the two faces. His teeth are in the wrong place, his beak is the wrong shape, that’s not what his smug expression looks like--I remember him being slightly desperate even when he was winning--he doesn’t have his grizzled hair, or, more importantly, his expressive bushy eyebrows-- I refuse to accept that this is “just what he looked like when he was younger”. This is a totally different Skeksis! Who are you and what have you done with the General!

Even the armor is wrong! It’s supposed to be all bulky and beetle-like, like the Garthim, even with liftable wing-like parts, here it looks loosely ‘inspired’ but still flat and nondescript. Everyone else looks so good and almost just like themselves, crew, what went wrong here? Am I missing something?

Maybe I’m just upset because Ung’s the only one I’ve ever encountered in person. This isn’t even a bad Skeksis design, I’d actually like it quite a bit if it weren’t for the fact that it’s not him.

The Collector

Hello, who is this! I’d almost mistake this charming forest ogre for one of the “good guys” if their Skeksis-ness wasn’t so obvious. I love the silver and grey fabrics, the beaded hood and the mossy necklace of bottles, filled with...herbs? Did some kind of incident with forest plants cause that fungus-like growth/scarring on their face? It adds so much to their facial silhouette.

There was a character in the spinoff manga called skekLach the Collector, but he looked completely different from this Skeksis, much meaner and more imposing. I doubt this one is the same character or even that they have the same name; it would seem that the Henson Company has declared the manga Collector an AU version and retooled the character concept into someone different. I see this Collector as being like a sort of deadly apothecary, brewing potions and poisons from specimens they collect beyond the castle. 10/10 wicked-witchy birb.

skekAyuk, the Gourmand

Still the same old palace chef, sitting there looking like a Renaissance still life gone wrong; his clothes are in much, much better condition though, and you can see his quite unsettling lower teeth which remind me of a pig’s teeth, thanks a lot Henson Co. I know there’s no way you could have know I have a fear of pigs but now I’m all caught up in what I used to be scared the hog in the backyard would do if it caught me and moving on before I freak myself out, okay, very nice teeth there yes--

skekTek, the Scientist

Minus a few blood tubes, plus a few fangs, it’s nothing but a pleasure to see this guy back from his, uh... fate, in the movie. And given that the Skeksis’ precious vliya life fluid is looking like a huge plot point in the series, skekTek here is probably going to figure in the plot quite a lot himself, hooray! He’s going to be played by the inimitable Mark Hamill, who is probably enjoying getting to play slightly against type by being a subdued, schemy, sciencey villain rather than a loud hammy one, and it is going to be amazing.

The Hunter

Heard of this guy! skekMal, I think it was. Dresses in masks designed to frighten and confuse his prey--often Gelflings--during night hunting trips. The deep blue mixes well with the red to keep even his hunting outfit appropriately regal looking. The way I hear it, they have no idea he is in fact a Skeksis, and he has become the subject of terrifying stories told around the fire. Would not want to see this monster bearing down on me in the middle of the night, hellbent on claiming my skull as a hunting trophy.

skekSo, the Emperor

That is the most punchable face I have ever seen on a bird in my life.

But seriously, it’s great to see old skekSo somewhere other than his deathbed. Can’t wait to see what despicable things he gets up to in his prime. He kind of reminds me of a knight, the same way the All-Maudra reminds me of a medieval lady.

(That is totally the face of someone who scarred a generation of children for life by graphically crumbling into dust, and knows it.)

skekZok, the Ritual-Master

Well done resurrecting this particular design, this one’s not easy! I always liked how his head looked almost disembodied in the red velvet cupola of his carapace, and they nailed that penetrating icy blue stare of his, too. They even added to the skull-like effect by giving him a handful of brown, skeletal teeth. Brr.

Base on what I remember of skekZok’s voice, I wish Keegan-Michael Key good luck in reproducing it, although I trust him to bring his own flair to the character like Donna Kimball does with Aughra, too.

skekSil, the Chamberlain

Poor Chamberlain! You look as old and worn as you ever did, just slightly less bald. Oh, well, you’ll survive. You always do.

He’s got a specific vulture hook to his beak that I hope they remade accurately, I can’t tell at this angle, but he looks pretty much just like himself so far, almost like he wandered off the 1981 set and onto the 2019 one. The most important part of his face is his eyes, so I desperately hope the crew put in extra effort where it counts for him, expressionistically. I think we can expect to see plenty of this slimy, conniving old bureaucrat bird in the series, and his trademark skin-crawling whimper too, which it sounds like Simon Pegg’s been practicing in a mirror. I’ve seen Pegg voice act before, so I’m confident he’ll do a good job here. Have fun, Mr. Pegg!

The Heretic

Is that a huge nail through their...

...hey, wait a minute, I recognize this one!

They’re from an old piece of Froud concept art from early in production, when they were still nailing down a species look for Skeksis. It kind of puts me in the mind of a tropical fish. On the real puppet, though, it looks less like natural markings and more like face paint. Their clothes look un-Skeksis-like, too, more like urRu Mystic clothes than anything, although I doubt a Mystic would wear fur. That’s the sign of the Great Conjunction hanging on their chest. What is the source of this one’s heresy? Did they go try to live in the Valley of the Stones after rejecting the Emperor’s dominion over the Dark Crystal? Does it have anything to do with the nail in their head?

skekEkt, the Ornamentalist

And here’s the Castle’s resident fashionista and interior designer, looking pretty well, considering. Better kept clothes and better done makeup, at any rate. I kind of miss the caked on powder, the slathered on gold foil on his beak, and the awful and ashy clumped mascara. But I’m sure he appreciates knowing this prequel’s been very kind to him in the costuming department. Looking good, skekEkt.

skekOk, the Scroll-Keeper

skekOk didn’t have much to do or say in the movie, being just a shorter-than-average Skeksis who kept the records, when he remembered to. I’m glad to see they’ve updated his crocodilian face to be more expressive this time around, he was always one of my favorite designs.

Supposedly, Jim Henson once saw a children’s book in which a crocodile was taking a bath in an ornate bathtub. Something about seeing a hulking reptile in such fancy surroundings made the wheels in his head turn, and the earliest concepts for what would eventually become the Dark Crystal were born. skekOk in particular brings that story to mind.

(I love his sardonic “oh really?” expression in the article I’m looking at. These birds are going to have so much more room for their personalities.)

And then the article shows one single urRu Mystic:

The Archer

I believe their name is urVa. The Mystics tend to defend their Valley through song, but an extra line of defense can’t hurt, and archery can be a very meditative art. The Archer almost looks too active for a Mystic, his eyes just too wide and his fingers too nimble, but there must have been a time when the Mystics weren’t so ponderously slow and forgetful. Seeing the clear eyes and nostrils in their own beak (or beak-like mouth) really makes plain the connection between Skeksis and Mystics, when in the movie it came almost by surprise (but still made sense.) It will be interesting to meet a Mystic like this.

And that’s everyone in the revealed cast, leaving skekNa the Slave-Master and skekShod the Treasurer out of the original Skeksis, and all of the original Mystics, all un-accounted for in the article I read. The show will come out on August 30th. Fingers crossed it’ll be a unique but great experience!

#the dark crystal #age of resistance #dark crystal age of resistance #tdc aor theories

[eleanor-writes-stuff]

a language that i never knew existed before - Day 15

For @varksvader, who asked for a modern AU “ where Rey and Ben come out of the movie theater, and one of them is highly emotional after watching it”.

This ended up becoming three times Rey and Ben come out of the movie theater and it’s the longest prompt fill so far, but I hope you like it all the same. Thank you for the prompt, and happy holidays!

If anyone else would like a Reylo ficlet of their very own this holiday season, I’m still accepting prompts!

25 Days of Reylo Also available on AO3

It’s her fourth time watching the movie, but Rey finds herself just as overwhelmed as she was the first time around. The last minute of the end credits is still rolling, a slow score pouring out of the speakers as she and Rose get up to join the crowd filing out of the theater in the kind of zombie-like crawl that’s to be expected after a midnight showing.

It’s that one precious moment between fantasy and reality, that small window of time after two hours of escapism and before real life returns with a vengeance, and Rey is content to savor it in silence until–

“A total and utter waste of time,” a man boldly proclaims in a sharp accent as he and his friend join the line, exiting from the aisle just above her and Rose. “At least the originals had a proper villain instead of this wannabe–”

Before Rey can lunge forward and correct the shallow idiot, a hand wraps around her forearm and holds her back with surprising strength. “Don’t,” Rose mutters as her blunt fingernails dig into Rey’s skin. “Just… let it go, okay? They’re probably just casual viewers who don’t know what they’re talking about anyway–”

“I can’t believe they threw away decades of expanded universe lore for this bullshit,” the man’s companion agrees, his voice heavy with disdain. “Kylo Ren is probably just based off one of the writer’s Sith personas from when they were thirteen or something,” he scoffs dismissively just as the group of them step into the blinding lights of the outside world, and Rose wisely lets go of Rey’s arm with nothing more than a defeated sigh.

“Just don’t get us banned,” is her final request as Rey steps forward to tap the second man on his shoulder. He turns around without her having to speak up to get his attention, and regards her with a look that’s part wary, part weary as he crosses his arms over his surprisingly broad chest.

Rey should’ve seen that coming when she had to reach all the way up to tap his shoulder.

“Can I help you?” the man asks, and the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips is enough to snap Rey out of her observation of his dark locks and thick lips. She offers him a sickeningly sweet smile instead, one meant to unsettle rather than charm.

“Well, first of all, they didn’t throw away the whole EU,” Rey informs him, keeping her customer service smile on, “which you might’ve known if you had bothered to read the full announcement when it was released rather than skim the headlines and immediately head over to Reddit to whine with your fellow purists.”

The man’s hands fall to his side as his flame-haired friend with the grating, carefully affected accent continues to walk away, either not realizing that he’s leaving his companion behind or not caring.

“Second, Kylo Ren is nothing like Darth Vader because he’s not a Sith,” she points out a little smugly even as a part of her realizes she’s gaining steam a little too fast. “In fact, he’s not even fully Dark, which might be why he doesn’t check off all of your traditional, basic boxes of what a villain should look like. And by the way, hating Kylo Ren doesn’t make you a better fan than the rest of us; it just makes you one of the literal dozens of whiny gatekeeper fans I’ve had this conversation with in the last two weeks–”

“I don’t hate him,” the man cuts in quite unexpectedly. If anything, Rey had been prepared for a sneered dismissal of her as a fake fan; the explanation that follows instead is unlike any reaction she’s gotten over the past two weeks. “I think he’s an emotional mess and he makes for a weak villain, but as a character there’s obviously layers to uncover and room for him to grow so…” he trails off with a shrug that disturbs the hair resting on his shoulder and causes a thick lock of hair to flop into his face.

It’s… surprisingly adorable.

“Oh,” Rey mouths to herself, still trying to catch up to the fact that she’s no longer in attack mode. “Oh,” she repeats audibly, and then tentatively adds, “Actually, if you are interested in him, they released a pre-movie novel that covers his early childhood and some of the factors–”

“Solo!” the ginger friend snaps from down the hall, near the counter. “Please don’t tell me you’ve gotten into a debate with your fellow nerds, I simply don’t have the patience for this childishness–”

“Fuck off for one minute, Hux,” her unexpected stranger calls back with a dismissive wave of his hand before turning back to Rey. “So I, um, I’ve got to go but… would you maybe want to talk about this some other time? You seem like you actually know your shit, and believe it or not, the Reddit purist crowd gets kind of annoying after a while,” he grins, as if she hadn’t lumped him in with them just minutes ago.

Rey doesn’t usually like surprises – a childhood filled with instability and unexpected changes will do that to you – but something in her gut tells her that this man might just change that.

Gut feelings – now those she likes and trusts. So against all reason, Rey holds out her hand and says, “Give me your phone, I’ll give myself a call and we’ll see how I feel about this in the morning.”

She texts him a list of pre-movie reading material as soon as she gets home.

“I’m just saying,” Rey shrugs as they walk out of the second movie two years later, hand-in-hand like the touchy-feely couple they’ve been for the past eighteen months, “I called it right from the start. Rendemption, here we come!” she declares a little too loudly for the rest of the midnight crowd, judging by their glares.

Or maybe they’re just the kind of haters she would’ve gotten into a fight with two years ago, and it’s only her giant hulk of a boyfriend that’s keeping them from debating her now.

“Okay, so maybe he’s not as hopeless as I thought he was,” Ben concedes with a soft smile that doesn’t belong on the face of someone who’s just lost a long-standing disagreement with his gloating girlfriend. But then again, Rey’s always gotten the feeling that Ben has been rooting for Kylo to turn his life around just as much as she has; maybe even more, given the parallels he sees between them that he’d once confided in her about.

She stops short just outside of the doors, much to the displeasure of the other grumbling moviegoers, and pulls Ben aside. “Hey,” Rey says gently, reaches up with her free hand to cup Ben’s jaw. “No one’s hopeless. Not Kylo Ren,” she whispers, lets it linger for a beat before she works up the nerve to add, “and definitely not you.”

There’s a terrible beat of silence, a moment suspended in time as their lives fork out into two paths, and Rey has no way of knowing which one they’re taking until–

Ben smiles, turns to press his lips to her palm. “You’re my own personal Kira, aren’t you?” he murmurs gently, bringing his other hand to rest over hers. “The only one who believes in me no matter what.”

Rey nods and stretches up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Does that mean you’ll leave the past behind for me?” she paraphrases the movie, hiding her nerves behind a teasing note.

It’s been two months since he left Snoke’s company, two months of him trying to decide if he wants to keep going down the dark road he was on when they first met or if it’s time for him to reclaim old noble intentions which have been gathering dust ever since Snoke hired him right out of law school.

“It means I’d give you the whole galaxy if I could,” Ben promises her with that boyish smile of his that lights up her world and warms her from the inside.

“I don’t need the galaxy,” Rey tells him as she draws the hand still in hers around her waist instead and tucks herself against his side as they begin to walk again. “Just you.”

Ben laughs quietly, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear before he presses a kiss to her temple. “Sweetheart, you’ve had me since the very first moment.”

They linger in their seats long after the music ends and the screen goes dark, taking some time to process the end of the trilogy that’s come to mean so much to them.

“Ready?” Rey eventually asks when she notices that they’re the last ones left, and Ben merely replies with a nod and a squeeze of her hand as he helps her up and they begin to leave the darkened hall behind.

“God, that was perfect,” she sighs as they leave the theater, disposing of her empty extra-large popcorn bucket before she turns to Ben to see if he’s smiling as hard as she is now.

He’s not.

In fact, Ben’s the farthest thing from smiling right now, what with his bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“Baby!” Rey gasps in concern, doing her best to reach up and cup his face with both hands. “What is it, is something wrong–”

Ben turns into her touch, nuzzles her palm before he reaches up to take her hands in his and lower them back to their sides. “It’s okay,” he assures her after a beat, and Rey watches with slow-dawning relief as his lips curve into a smile. “It’s okay, I’m okay,” Ben says with a little laugh, a confusing note of wonder in his voice.

“Then why…?”

“I just… you were right, it was perfect,” Ben agrees with a sigh of his own. “And seeing Kylo at the end there, with Kira by his side and their whole lives ahead of them… I guess it just reminded me of how far we’ve come and how lucky I am,” he shrugs, still wearing that beatific smile that reminds her of the one he’d worn as he watched her walk down the aisle towards him.

“Oh, Ben,” Rey says softly, shakes her head with a fond smile before she tips her chin at him in a gesture he’s grown all too familiar with in the last few months of her pregnancy. At eight months, it’s gotten significantly harder for her to reach up on her tiptoes; any vertical kissing is only made possible by Ben bending all the way down to meet her.

It seems like a waste for all that effort on his part to result in a chaste peck, but they are still in public.

“Let’s get you home, Mrs. Solo,” Ben murmurs against her lips before he stands upright and wraps a protective arm around her.

Rey leans into him with a sigh, rests her head on his shoulder as Ben shuffles them forward. “I say this with all the love in my heart,” she prefaces as they step out into the chilly December night, “but I can’t believe I’m the pregnant one yet you’re the one who cried over a movie.”

Ben huffs as he pulls the keys out of his back pocket and unlocks the car parked just a few feet down the street; he’d waited nearly half an hour to get a spot right outside for her sake. “Hey now, you know better than anyone else that Star Wars isn’t just a movie to us.”

It really, really isn’t. They’d met because of these movies, bonded and fallen in love over them, used their understanding of these fictional characters as a shorthand to communicate their deepest fears and wildest dreams with each other. Every fiery defense of Kylo Ren that Rey has ever delivered was in part inspired by and meant for Ben, and it was his chance at redemption that helped Rey finally convince Ben that there’s no such thing as the point of return.

In a way, Star Wars is as real to them as anything they’ve actually lived through, as fundamental to their relationship and their life together as any other experience they’ve shared.

Hell, if it weren’t for these movies, they might never even have met.

Rey places a hand over her stomach, thinks of everything she’s been blessed with ever since a chance meeting at a midnight showing of a sci-fi movie about space and lasers and hope.

“Yeah,” she tells her husband as he helps her into the passenger seat and carefully secures the seat belt over their daughter. “Yeah, it’s definitely more than just a movie.”

This is more than two thousand words. I don’t even know what happened, you guys; I sat down to write two ficlets and ended up spending all my time on just one. This isn’t even a ficlet anymore, technically.

But... I’m kinda happy with it? It’s not perfect, far from my best work, but it ended up closer to my original outline than anything else I’ve written recently, so I’m okay with it. I hope you are too. Thanks for reading, and please don’t hesitate to like/reblog/comment!

#reylo #reyben #kylo ren/rey #rey/kylo ren #rey/ben solo #star wars #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #ficlet: language that i never knew #my fics