#please take off the shipping goggles and think critically

[weekend-conspiracy-theorist]

Watched the new Bond movie! I enjoyed it. The rest of this will be spoilers and also I'm posting from mobile so I can't read more, so just... scroll fast if you don't want to see anything

***

I liked Madeline (Madelyn?) a lot more in this movie than Spectre; she felt like more of an actual character than "here's who we think the perfect woman for Bond would be", which is funny since I think she may have actually had less total screentime? and the flashback scene that opened the movie had already been described in Spectre, but it felt much more relevant and impactful on her actions (and not just because it was, y'know, a significant plot development) in the present day scenes, and her motivations were altogether much more tangible throughout this one... I mean, obviously not to degrade a trauma narrative when it's successful, but Spectre simply was a bad movie where all of the characters were very flat, and she suffered most for it being her first introduction.

I thought No Time to Die was also, overall, a very fitting send off for Craig's Bond. Lashanna Lynch's 007 was compelling and fun-- she truly earned the moniker, and while obvs she didn't NEED Bond's approval, it was nice to see her get it; it WAS nonetheless fitting that she handed it back for the last mission, although I was annoyed they never established what 00 designation Bond was using beforehand (or that, presumably, she was using afterwards). With Madeline being more compelling in this one, the romance between her and Bond was as well, so I liked that Bond got that... closure, I suppose, even if it was so very bittersweet when things fell apart the way they did.

(Although I didn't buy the idea that Heracles was truly permanent and a solution to destroying the nanobots couldn't be found. I mean... c'mon. Why didn't his EMP work, for one thing? but whatever. I did see his death coming a mile away and also kind of appreciated it, so I won't quibble too hard. If for nothing else, Craig finally got to say a true goodbye to a character he hated playing 😂)

I liked that Bond's friendships were upheld-- Felix Leiter being the one man Bond evidently told how to find him (as it seemed at least to me that Naomi had followed Felix and thereby found Bond, not that MI6 knew where he was), Moneypenny and Q continuing to side with him over M, and even the first moment with him and Tanner was kind of cute.

(Tangential sidenote: Thanks for confirming Q is gay (or at least dating a dude, he could be bi); it would have been nice for it to be more than a passing line, but tbf it got about the same level of attention as Moneypenny's bf in Spectre. There's just not much room for secondary character's outside lives in these. And Q's an established and beloved character already, which makes it easier to swallow. I know it's going to be #controversial that they so thoroughly skewered 00Q despite both of them being canonically not-straight (well... a controversial take on my own part this time, but I think it's arguable whether or not Bond was bluffing to Silva in that scene in Skyfall, so arguably canon, anyway), and believe me, I have read a ton of 00Q fic and even written some that never quite saw the light of day. But I'm also begging anybody whose first instinct is ANGER to take a deep breath and look at the character arcs and admit that across all 5 Craig movies Bond's was pretty good.)

I am pissed about what happened to Felix, though; he's a great character in the novels and this version of him from Craig's movies has been superb. I would have liked to have seen him potentially stick around as Felix for whoever does the next Bond. Ana de Armas's CIA agent's name escapes me, but she was fun. Maybe she, at least, will stick around to be a CIA contact down the line-- assuming they keep any characters consistent, which I suppose is questionable. It's how they did it with previous M and Q's, maintaining those actors/actresses when possible despite reboots of Bond, but who the hell knows, I guess.

With both Armas's character and Lynch's Naomi (or was it Nomi? I'm so bad with character names), Craig's Bond did his grinny little "so delighted these new people are competent and interesting" thing that he did with Moneypenny and Q in Skyfall (and sort of Madeline in Spectre? but he was just so horny in that scene, idk), and I love that. Which also, notably, he didn't do with Ash (?); shoulda known the guy would turn out to be evil rather than incompetent.

I think Mallory's M was the most undercut by this movie; their mid-movie explanation of his motives re: Heracles made it... better, and I did like the callback to his words to C from Spectre, but it still didn't fully compute since like... if you can't even name your villains, how are you supposed to come up with their DNA? Bad plan, and quite obviously way too easily turned against... everyone. I also didn't care for how insistent they seemed to be through both Spectre and No Time to Die that Bond and M should just never get along, when Skyfall really did set things up for a whole new cooperative set of secondary characters.

Altogether, though, I thought it was a good movie, enjoyable to watch, and capped off the throughline of Craig's movies quite nicely. I was quite content with it.

#no time to die spoilers #bond spoilers #hate tagging spoilers because then it shows up in tags and people putside of my sphere see it but I also don't wanba be a dick so 🤷‍♀️ #00Q is a wonderful ship esp. post-skyfall and diverging from there #and I personally have always and will always adore the 00qpenny ot3 but like #please take off the shipping goggles and think critically #liking two characters' chemistry doesn't make anything that doesn't put them together a bad story

[seek--rest]

I see a promising fic summary.

I click the fic.

“There’s Peter Parker, my regular customer who has shown up for the past six months and seems to know everything about me.”

I click out of the fic.

Can we as a fandom please collectively move on from the normalization of stalking as Romantic?

Can we PLEASE stop pretending that Peter using information that he knows about MJ to get closer to her— ESPECIALLY in the context of post-NWH isn’t dub-con at the LEAST? Not even getting to the frankly triggering content out there passed off as identity reveals & “memory issues” when it’s just flat out non-consensual and dark as fuck if anyone actually had a critical thought about these things

Can we PLEASE stop making it so that MJ (& Ned who barely exists in fic for that matter) have so little agency that it’s only because Peter is manipulating or stalking them showing up constantly that THAT is what prompts them to realize their memories are missing?

Can we PLEASE acknowledge that even in the aftermath of Peter constantly showing up at MJ’s place of employment could be seen as not creepy, OOC or weird, that it’s NONSENSICAL for MJ to just completely take Peter’s lies and betrayal in stride because she “totally loves him” rather than idk, feeling creeped out and hurt that he strung her along for months?????? Not to mention NED??? His best friend??? WHY IS HE CONSTANTLY AN AFTER THOUGHT????

This is exactly why I didn’t want a canonical amnesia ending because I just KNEW fandom wouldn’t know how to act with it and HERE WE ARE.

And before some clown gets their feelings hurt or wants to be mad in my inbox, I have literally zero power to actually prevent anyone from writing whatever nonsense they want to. I can and WILL continue to write the kind of content I want to see. But I am Simply ASKING people to think beyond the shipping goggles for (1) moment and reconsider why the Default Fix-It involves creepy OOC behavior at best or abusive, manipulative, non-consensual characterization at worst.

People can write what they want and I can be just as upset that the kind of content that valued Peter, MJ and Ned as People with Depth and Life has dwindled in favor of OOC paper dolls to project people’s own sadness and fantasies on that barely resembles what little we have in canon to begin with.

No one has to Like canon or even Adhere to Canon but the Trend of these things is mildly infuriating at best.

Not when Peter and MJ and Ned deserve so much better— in canon AND in fandom.

#seek speaks #spideychelle #petermj #an absolute displeasure to know #when will this end #when will i know peace #you can be sad about NWH without making Peter creepy #you can write a fix it without making MJ an love struck idiot for a stranger who has ALL the power here #you can write a romance without completely excluding Ned #this is literally just the worst of irondad 2.0 and I cannot understand how people are not seeing this

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

#anti yashahime #anti sessrin #sesshomaru is rin's dad #papamaru #hogosha 💖 #the sequel may not be canon but sunrise can still burn in hell

[resonating-kitty]

Dreambur - Pirate AU fic requested by @peppsta

Using the sentence “You’re too distracting with your handsome face and… your… everything!” (Took a bit of creative liberty to make it work)

I am happy with how this turned out. I've been a bit too critical of my writing lately but I generally like this one. Peppsta I hope this fits what you had in mind with the prompt! :)

I hope you all enjoy!

-

Wilbur laughed, joyous, as the wind hit his face. The open sea was such a wonderful place! His love of its wonders and mysteries and melodies was endless. He was a traveling musician, a quite successful one at that. His music was known all across the world and many lords and kings requested his presence to perform at their castles. That’s what he was doing now, headed back to England, summoned by his Majesty’s request to perform at the annual ball.

“Mr. Soot please get down from there!” The Captain’s orders barked hastily at him had him turning with a grin. He was standing up on the bowspirit of the ship and the Captain of the vessel was standing just behind him, hands on his hip and a growing annoyance in his eyes.

Wilbur relented, his boots hitting the bed with a thud as he hopped down to stand beside the Captain. He fixed the older man with an innocent look and a charming smile, “I do apologize Captain. I love the sea so much that I sometimes cannot help myself.”

The Captain regarded him with a knowing look and sighed, “Just please refrain from doing it in the future. It makes the crew nervous. None of us want to report to his Majesty that his requested musician fell overboard.”

“Of course Captain!” Wilbur saluted, mockingly.

The Captain opened his mouth, no doubt to reprimand the action, but was stopped by a frantic call from above.

“Captain! Captain! Skull and crossbones on the horizon!”

The Captain whirled into action, turning full circle to run to the helm. Curious, Wilbur followed closely.

“Pirates?” He asked, excitedly but none around him seemed to share his enthusiasm.

The Captain shot him a sharp look, wordlessly taking the spyglass that was handed to him. He looked through it, curses falling from his lips.

“It’s the bloody Speedrunner!” The Captain announced, turning for the wheel. He started to bark orders. Raise the sails, all hands on deck. “Mr. Soot below deck!” was the Captain’s last order.

Wilbur protested but the Captain cut him off. “Sir, whether you like it or not, you are under my command until you reach shore and you will do as I say and I’m telling you to go below deck.”

Wilbur was escorted below deck, not before he got a peak at the fastly approaching vessel. The light vibrant green sails of the ship stood in stark contrast to the jolly roger waving above them. ‘Tacky’ Wilbur thought as he was ushered below deck.

-

Try as she might, the merchant vessel was no match for the speed of the pirate ship. The Captain gritted his teeth as soon, his crew and his ship was completely taken over by the ragtag group of pirates.

“Dream,” The Captain gritted out with annoyance, heedless of the gun and cutlasses that were pointed at him and his crew. Dream usually never spilt blood during his raids and the Captain had been at sea long enough, had met with the pirate in these exact situations enough times, to know that the show of aggression was all bluff.

The Pirate Captain wasn’t much. He was tall and slim and didn’t even look or dress like a Captain. He wore dirty ragged clothes, a lime green bandana tied around his head to keep his dirty blond hair pulled back. He also wore a mask over the lover portion of his face, hiding all but his emerald green eyes from view. No one had ever seen his face and if they had, rumors had it they never lived to tell about it.

The Captain had no intention of doing that. He just watched the cocky pirate as he sauntered up to him.

“Sparklez!” Dream greeted happily, throwing his hands out, “what a surprise that we ran into each other again while you were transporting goods!”

Captain Sparklez pinched the bridge of his nose, insisting tiredly, “Just get what you came to get and leave”

Dream was grinning under his mask as he laughed, “Glad we have an understanding Captain,” he turned to a couple of his crew, “Alright boys, you heard the Captain, go see what’s below deck for the taking!”

A couple of the crew, a slightly shorter man with dark hair and a white headband tied around his head, a thin man with glasses and wearing a black, red trimmed, cloak, and another pirate that appeared to be in a full reindeer costume, headed below deck.

Captain Sparklez hoped they didn’t discover Wilbur but his hopes were dashed when muffled shouting sounded from below.

“What the hell?” Dream demanded, going to the stairs to call down, “Everything okay!”

“Look what we found!” Came the replying yell moments before the pirates were reappearing and dragging Wilbur with them. “He was trying to hide behind the salmon.”

Wilbur was pushed before the pirate captain. Wilbur looked up with wide eyes. Dark brown met emerald green. Both seem to freeze.

“Got something you wanna tell us Captain Sparklez?” The pirate in the black cloak asked, suspiciously. He glanced at Wilbur then his own Captain, who was still frozen.

“The boy is headed to Britian. He’s but a musician who hired me to ferry him.” Captain Sparklez answered hastily. He also was looking at Wilbur and Dream. “He is an innocent bystander in all of this.”

The pirate opened his mouth, possibly to ask more questions but he was cut off by his Captain.

‘Who are you?” Dream asked Wilbur, his voice soft and held none of the cockiness it had before.

Both crews, pirate and merchant, looked at the two with raised eyebrows and some with shocked expressions.

“Wilbur. Wilbur Soot.” Wilbur answered earnestly and Captain Sparklez facepalmed and muttered, “Boy, don’t engage with the pirate.”

“Why?” Wilbur asked, glancing at Sparklez, “He’s interesting.”

Laughter erupted from Dream. “Yeah Sparklez,” He said, his voice playful and teasing as he looked at the merchant ship’s Captain, “I’m interesting.”

“Please don’t feed his ego.” One of the pirates, a man dressed in light blue with a pair of goggles covering his eyes, warned in exasperation and Dream whirled around to face him.

“Oh shut up George, he can feed my ego as much as he wants to.” Dream demanded though the grin was evident in his voice. George just rolled his eyes at his Captain. Dream turned back, winking at Wilbur, who’s cheeks colored pink.

“So Mr. Soot, you do music?” Dream asked, conversationally as he leant against the mast of the ship.

“Dream, what about the cargo?” The pirate with the white headband asked and Dream waved him off with an order, “Start loading it on the Speedrunner obviously.”

“Dumbass,” the pirate muttered before motioning to a few of the crew and they disappeared below deck.

“I… I uh… yeah.” Wilbur muttered, “I’m actually on my way right now to perform for his Majestic at the castle.”

Dream whistled, impressed, “You’re Mr. Popular then aren’t you?”

Wilbur laughed softly, shaking his head. His brown curls bouncing on top of his head, “Something like that”

“What are some of your songs? Perhaps I’ve heard some of them?” Dream questioned. A crash was heard and his attention snapped to his crew and the box of produce that was now spilling out over the deck, hollering, “Hey be careful with the goods. We need those!”

“Sorry Captain.”

Dream turned back to Wilbur, “Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Let’s see there’s Jubilee Line, Since I Saw Vienna, Soft Boy, Saline Solution, Maybe I was Boring.”

“I’ve heard that one!” Dream exclaimed, eyes shining, “Maybe I was Boring. It was being sung in one of the pirate owned taverns. The guy singing it was trying to pass it off as one of his own but he didn’t look smart enough to come up with something so beautiful.”

“Yes well, as I’m sure you are well aware, there are thieves in every trade I’m afraid,” Wilbur sighed before he seemed to catch the last part of the sentence, “Wait you think my song is beautiful?”

“That’s not the only thing I think is beautiful,” Dream’s voice dropped as he reached up and closed the space between them. They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Callahan was standing to the side, he looked apologetic.

“I do not mean to alarm anyone and I certainly hate to break up whatever is transpiring between the two of you, Captain but there is a ship on the horizon. Looks like the Navy.”

Wilbur was left at the mast as Dream stepped quickly to the side of the ship and took the spyglass from George. He looked through it, muttering out a curse before barking, “Everyone back to the ship!”

His crew reached instantly.

“What about this ship?” the pirate in the white headband asked almost eagerly as he headed for the ropes that connected the two ships together, “You said we could start sinking them.”

“What?!” Sparklez’s outraged voice rose up as panicked murmurs rose up from the crew. Wilbur’s breath caught in his throat.

“Not this one,” Dream said, his voice steeled with finality. Emerald eyes met dark brown once more, “Today this ship was saved by a distracting handsome face and everything else. So long for now and Mr. Soot? I’m sure you and I will meet again in the future”

Dream gave a little salute before joining his crew and soon the Speedrunner was just a speck in the distance as the Naval ship approached.

Wilbur stood at the bow of the ship, watching as the pirate ship disappeared in the distance. A soft smile on his lips and his whole body was warmed. The pirate captain certainly was charming wasn’t he.

“Charming?” Sparklez repeated with alarm as the Naval ship pulled up alongside them and Wilbur realized that he must’ve uttered the sentence out loud. A hand fell on his shoulder and the Captain leaned down to speak quietly, a warning, “Son let me tell you something, no matter how ‘charming’ he may be, at the end of the day he’s a pirate and you need to stay well away from him. He’s dangerous, not only in general, but also to your career.”

Wilbur tried to heed Captain Sparklez warning but he couldn’t get his mind off the oddly charming pirate. He hoped that Dream was being sincere when he said they would meet each other again because he was looking forward to it.

#dreambur #pirate au #writing prompt request #dream #wilbur soot #mcyt fanfiction #kitty writes

[ahsokasleftbicep]

Name and Soul: Chapter 3

AH! Here we go! Enjoy!

@mqgriett @darkangel4121 @thelambandthewolffe @maulscrosshair @trash-dino-5000

Crosshair x F! reader

Word Count: 2091

Warnings: SPOILERS for episode 3, Wrecker being best uncle, Sad Crosshair stuff, internal conflict, Tarkin being awful

“That doesn’t look very comfortable, kid.” You crouch down to Omega, who set herself up against Gonky and a wall.

“It’s okay, we’re fine.” The girl smiles up at you before looking back to her datapad.

You sit down next to her, patting the droid behind her. “How’s that diary coming along?”

Omega smiles and reaches next to her, opening the diary excitedly. “Really well! I can’t wait till we get him back. Do you think I could be as good of a shot as he is?”

“Oh I know you can,” You lean down to her ear, “And don’t ever tell him this, but I think you could be better.”

“No way, you’re lying.” Omega smiles and pushes your arm, laughing.

“Omega, I swear on my life, that I would never lie to you. You have talent and you're smart. You have a lot of opportunities out there.”

“Y/n! Can you give me a hand over here!” Echo pokes his head out from the cockpit.

“Yeah, one sec.” You rest your hand on the girl's shoulder, “I’ll be right back.”

“Y/n!”

“Alright alright, I’m coming!” You roll your eyes as you walk over to the man.

“The ship got hit hard when we left Saleucami. Everything has been glitching ever since. Things would go faster if I had some help.” Echo glares at Tech, who’s fiddling with… something.

“As soon as I finish this scanner.”

You lean on Tech’s chair. “But if the ship crashes, you won’t have the tools to finish your project.”

The man raises his eyebrow and glances at you. “If the scanner isn’t finished, we might have a repeat of Kamino’s events.” The three of you go silent before Tech changes the subject. “Besides, the ship's diagnostic report indicated no critical systems were compromised.”

The ship rumbles and you and Echo are thrown to the floor. When you look up again, you no longer see the blue of hyperspace.

“What were you saying about the ship being fine again?” Tech glares at you before grabbing the controls. The ship rumbles, nearly knocking you down again. “We’re crashing.”

You strap yourself in across from Wrecker and Omega. The internal lights start flashing red.

“We’re gonna die! We’re gonna die!” Wrecker grips his seat.

“Wrecker!” The man looks at you, following your eyes to Omega, who looks terrified. She frantically looks between the two of you.

“We’re gonna… be fine. We’re gonna be fine.”

--

“Is it over?” Omega looks at you, still shaken up.

You walk to her and squeeze her hand, “Yep, it’s all over. Are you okay?”

The girl nods hesitantly, “Y-yeah, I think.”

“... we have one spare capacitor onboard.” Tech states to the rest of you.

Omega walks over to a shelf and pulls out a box. Something you recognize.

“Omega…”

“Is it in here?” The girl looks at you all, stopping on your mute expression. “What?”

You straighten up, “That’s Crosshair’s weapons kit.”

Wrecker groans, “I’ll say it. I kinda miss him.”

Tech begins to describe what the inhibitor chip can do, but Hunter cuts in. You furrow your brows at his actions.

“Look, debating this won’t fix the ship.” Hunter glances at you before continuing. “We need to get off this rock.”

--

“Is it possible to implant a chip into a natural born?” Tarkin stares at the clone through the glass.

“It is.” Nala Se speaks quietly. “Why do you ask?”

“Private L/n is a very skilled soldier, those skills would be useful. Once she is caught, I need her unwavering loyalty.”

“Governor Tarkin.” Rampart walks into the room. “I have the report on Private L/n.”

“Very good, what did you find?” Tarkin turns his attention to the man for a split second.

“She’s as skilled as any clone, if not more. She graduated top of her class as a marksman at the Academy of Carida. If I may, L/n’s skills would be incredibly useful for Project War Mantle.”

“My thoughts exactly, Rampart.”

--

You stuck your hand out from the floor of the ship, Omega handed you a tool, curiously looking down at you.

“Where did you learn all this stuff?”

“Oh way before the war, this isn’t my first.”

“It’s not? Where were you before?”

You take off Tech’s spare goggles and sigh, “I think that’s a story for another time.”

Wrecker walks by, rubbing his head. “Ow! Ow”

You stand up and tap Wrecker’s leg. “What’s up with you?”

Wrecker winced again, “I must’ve hit my head in the crash. Ow.”

You hop up, setting down your tools. “I have an ice pack, that’ll help.”

“Thanks, Y/n.” Wrecker follows you back, “Y/n?”

“Hm?”

“My head doesn’t hurt that bad. But I wanted to ask you something.”

You turn around, confused. “Go ahead.”

“Well, you know how Omega has no room, like one of her own? What if we made her one? Make it a surprise.”

You smile widely, “I think that’s a great idea, Wrecker. We need to distract Omega though.”

“Guys, you need to come see this!” Hunter calls out.

As you walk out, you see a large shadow cross the window. “Woah! What the heck was that?”

Omega looks at you wide-eyed, “Some creature with a huge tail!”

Tech clears his throat, “Most likely an Ordo Moon Dragon, it took the part.”

A moment and some banter later, Hunter and Omega are getting ready to go after the creature. You look at Hunter, “Be careful.”

“Will do.”

You then look at Omega, “And you stay close to Hunter.”

“I promise! Cross my heart!” The girl responds happily.

You chuckle and wave as the two walkout. You glance at Echo and Tech arguing in the cockpit. You roll your eyes and walk to Wrecker. “Okay, let's get started! With Hunter’s senses, we don’t have a lot of time.”

--

Crosshair stands at the door, “Sir, you called me again.”

“Yes, you will have to abandon your search for Clone Force 99 for a moment. Onderonian insurgents have been found again, I will introduce you to your new squad. Find the insurgents and eliminate them. After you complete this, then you can continue your original task.”

“Yes sir, find Private L/n, terminate Clone Force 99.” The man walked out and back to his barracks. He sits on his bunk, grabbing the same necklace that he’s looked at more than a dozen times before.

Why do I care? I don’t know this woman. I love her… Wait, no. She’s a traitor. Don’t hurt her.

Crosshair lifts the ring into the light. He falls back onto his bed, clipping the necklace around his neck, completely unaware of what he did. I miss her. She betrayed the Empire. I miss my brothers. They left me. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.

--

“What’s this?” Wrecker picks up the diary from the floor. You look back from the blankets you tie up to the top of the ceiling.

“Omega is writing all the stuff that happens in there. She said it’s for when we get Crosshair back.” You turn back, looking out the window of the gunner room.

“You don’t believe her?” Wrecker places the diary on the gunner chair.

“I do. But every day we leave him there makes it feel like it’s impossible. And no one acknowledges what happened. Not even Hunter…”

Wrecker places his hand on your shoulder, “I know, but Hunter misses him. You know how he is, he can hide that stuff easy.”

“I know, but I wish he would talk about it.”

--

This man was pissing Crosshair off. He’s arrogant. And chatty.

“Hey clone, what’s that around your neck?”

“None of your business.” Crosshair glares at the blonde man.

He smirks, “A little lady, maybe?” He scoffs, “Why would someone go with a clone.”

The group steps out of the ship, sneaking through the woods. Crosshair straightens his back.

“Move out.”

--

“Wrecker, I think we need one more blanket, just to be safe. And do we have any lights?” You jump down from the room, waiting for Wrecker.

“We have lights.” The man lifts a string of them up. “I’ll get 'em.”

“I’ll go get another blanket.” You walk to your room, glancing at the bunk. Crosshairs blanket is folded at the end, just like you left it that morning. You pick it up and hold it to your face. You smell him. It’s comforting, warm, and very uniquely Crosshair.

“Here we go, one blanket.” You place the blanket with the others. “It looks great so far.”

--

“Where’s Gerrera?”

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t tell you anyway.” The insurgent sneers at the helmeted man.

Crosshair tilts his head, “I believe you.” He lifts his blaster. NO! He pulls the trigger and the woman falls to the ground.

He lifts his weapon to the civilians. STOP!

“What are you doing? Gerrera’s fighters are dead. We should bring civilians in.” The blonde man steps forward.

“Those weren’t our orders.”

“Forget it, this is wrong.”

Crosshair walked up to the man, stopping toe to toe.

“You want to know why they put me in charge?”, stop it… please. “It’s because I’m willing to do what needs to be done.” He pulls out his blaster and pulls the trigger. The man drops. No, no, NO! Good soldiers follow orders. “Finish the mission.”

--

You are finishing up the room when Wrecker comes up. He’s holding something. Lula?

“What’s Lula doing here?” You look at the large soldier, who rubs the back of his neck shyly.

“I thought that Omega would like it, something to hold onto.”

“I think that’s great, Wrecker. She’ll love it.” You hold the doll and place it on the bed… next to her diary.

--

Crosshair looks at what’s left of his “squad”.

“If any of you tell higher-ups about this,” He pulls the necklace from under his armor. “I will kill you all.”

The soldiers tense up and all nod at the same time.

“... good.” I- I killed them. Innocent people. The ship lands, he goes through another lengthy debrief, he goes back to his barracks. Ignoring the others, he sits on his bunk, completely silent. Images flash through his head… of you. This woman. Y/N! Your smile, your hair, everything about you. He looks at the ring around his neck. He was right. Why would she be with me… who could love me?

--

“Tech! Can we please leave?”

“Gladly.” The man flips a few switches and the ship starts moving.

“Y/n!” Omega runs up to you.

“Omega! I heard you completed the mission? How’d it feel?”

“Well, I was really scared at first, but then I was able to get the part by tricking the creature!” The girl smiles up at you.

“I knew you’d be fine! And you saved Hunter.” You put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Omega.”

The girl hugs you, “Thank you, y/n.”

Wrecker walks up behind you, “Hey kid. Come with me.”

Omega raises her eyebrow, looking at Wrecker, then you.

You and the man chuckled, “Just cover your eyes.”

Wrecker guides Omega to the back of the ship, you following behind. He stops in front of the gunner room.

“Okay, open ‘em.”

Omega gasps at the view, looking from the room to Wrecker, back to the room, then you.

You walk up with a smile. “Well, what do you think?”

“I- I love it. You guys did this?”

“Yep! Y/n picked out the lights. We put it together when you guys left.”

“It was Wrecker’s idea. A great one at that.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Omega jumps up and down before climbing up the ladder, sitting on the blankets. “I never had my own room before.” She picks up Lula, then sets the diary on her lap.

“You’re a part of this squad now too. You deserve your own room.”

--

You are lying in your bed, staring at the ceiling. The door swooshes open, revealing Omega, holding the diary loosely in her hand.

“Omega, it’s late. Why are you up?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She walks across the floor and crawls up onto your bed. “Can you tell me a story? Please?”

You look at the girl and nod. Omega scoots into your side and rests her head on your shoulder.

“Hmmm, how about another mission story?”

The girl nods, paying attention.

“So, we met with a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker…”

Hunter walks to your room the next morning, finding you asleep against your headboard, Omega asleep, snuggled into your side.

#name and soul #clone trooper crosshair #crosshair x reader #the bad batch #omega #tbb spoilers #star wars #if you want to be tagged in this story dm me

[whqtsername]

here are some snk hot takes that nobody asked for; no i don’t take criticism. 

- let’s start off easy: the main reason why people hate Gabi/Mikasa but not Falco/Eren is because of Mysoginy 

- if Erwin was alive, he wouldn’t support the rumbling lmao

- Guren no Yumiya is BY FAR the best op

- careful with shipping goggles, they may make you see things that aren’t actually in the text

- speaking of shipping, yes its really fun but you should never fucking send death threats to people over it??? and fighting over ships is fucking stupid.

- ok another one on ships: the only ships that are actually in the text, and are relevant to the plot of the story are: eremika, aruani, YUMIHISU (reciprocated), jeankasa, farugabi, beruani (one-sided)

- no im not saying you can’t ship non-canon things, i also do that and its one of the most fun parts, but god please don’t let the ships fog ur judgement of the series

-if you support GENOCIDAL EREN, i dont fucking trust you. I don’t care if its fictional, if you take a look at Eren’s actions and say “yeah thats justified i support the fact that he’s killing millions of civilians” you’re misinterpreting the whole fucking thing 

- Stop fucking saying eremika is incest, we’ve discussed this a million times. She lived with the Jaegers for one year after her parents were brutally murdered, she was never formally adopted. Besides, they both canonically have feelings for each other, and chapters 50 and 123 would not have fucking happened if they saw each other as siblings. It’s 2021, read the manga properly and get over yourself.

- Levi made the right choice when he decided to save Armin over Erwin

- Stop saying Mikasa should already be over the fact that they’re gonna kill Eren, he’s (along with Armin) the only one she has left, he’s the man she’s been in love with for YEARS, and it’s completely understandable that she’s having trouble coming to terms with the fact that hes gonna have to die. 

- Historia is a lesbian lol

- Connie is really fucking strong and he’s constantly underestimated i’m tired of it.

- please, take a chill pill. go outside. touch some grass. (this one applies to me too, i feel like we could all benefit from it)

 that’s it i think. i know the fandom is more visceral and rabid on twitter, but i wanted to share my opinions; feel free to disagree with me lol

#snk #i aint tagging anything else cause #id rather not receive death threats <3

[myinterestsvary-writes]

I've never stalked the Zutara tag ever, though I've stalked the anti-Kataang tag and went into the Kataang tag to cleanse my soul of those horrible misinterpretations afterwards. It's so frustrating seeing people trying so hard to invalidate and criticize Kataang's romantic development for sometimes shallow reasons of Aang being 12 and bald (with her being 14 which isn't even bad as their maturity levels is met in different instances often times ((yet maturity is subjective as well, which is the same situation for a lot of especially divisive topics)), plus they're both kids anyways and katara herself is obviously not a shallow person) and also with them having minor disagreements that contrary to popular belief, as a testament in showing how xxx is superior to it, is resolved between them civily (might I add since they've always loved and respected one another) or resolving the issue by themselves, alone and internally leading to a resolution lining up with each other's core values anyways - further showcasing their compatibility as even when separated they're compatible AND thinking of one another.

Why a lot of us ship Kataang is because we consider both Aang's and Katara's perspectives in the relationship in terms of how it fits into canon and how it relates to it overall, not in how we believe it could add to it, but by giving reason in justifying the canonization.

They had most of the series primarily focusing on their relationship...

No wonder so many Kataang shippers are so angry sometimes despite our ship having so called "won", it's because it's like people refuse to see things due to painfully obvious biases that won't be thoroughly admitted in a way similar to this, "I ship xxx because I just like it better but I guess I could see where the author was coming from when they made xxx happen."

Plenty people feel the need to tear down one ship in order to continuing shipping their own. Not because they genuinely believe it's because it's a bad ship which is fine, but not really when you aggressively vouch that xxx was robbed.

All I need to do is watch ATLA to see why they would get together and stay together instead of keeping on with twisted and bitter interpretations of why other characters should've gotten together instead. That, I'll repeat, further enables the need to dismantle canon aspects of the show for it to work, mind you...

If I can watch ATLA, see where fans of other ships are coming from on why they ship what they ship, yet still like my own ship just as much, so can you. The reason why this fandom sucks so bad is because a lot of us are narrowminded and don't remind ourselves that it all just comes down to personal taste.

What you see that isn't validated by the narrative isn't objective fact in terms of story, and that's okay. Please take off your shipping goggles.

P.S. even if I do acknowledge you Kataang shippers' anger, it doesn't mean you're allowed to "bully" or whatever other opposing shippers, namely Zutara fans, for what you deem bad takes. Even if they've been bullying you guys firstly and you believe it's only just to start standing up for yourself finally. (No one can bully you without your consent by the way.) Different opinions and interpretations are fine otherwise, so long as they don't result in horrible acts of harrassment toward anyone because of it.

Criticism shouldn't result in any hatred in a (objectively) harmless aspect of the story and full on rejection of it in favor of an entirely different idea but instead discussion on how to make that certain aspect better for you personally. I'm not even trying to be a hypocrite, invalidating this entire post, with this closing statement. I just believe it'll lead to healthier discussions.

#pro kataang #kataang defense squad #my fucking god #kataang is a good ship that has believably rough patches that are resolved #katara never had romantic feelings for aang headass #like aang wasn't the most plausible prson she'd develop feelings for since she's not a shallow person #atla #atla fandom #i hate you guys #kataang #it deserves more love #for the most part it was written well #you guys just like to hyperfocus on the few bad that was painted as bad too btw to jump on the anti kataang #and sometimes anti aang hate bandwagon #my posts

[ucsdhealthsciences]

How Long Can COVID-19 Live On Surfaces?

March 25, 2020, 12:15 p.m. — Handwashing and surface sanitization are a critical part of preventing the transmission of COVID-19, but how worried do you need to be that you’ll pick up the virus from a piece of mail, or an apple from the grocery store?

A study out last week by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the CDC, and colleagues looked at how long the COVID-19 virus survives on a variety of different surfaces. They found that it survives for:

In aerosols for up to 3 hours

On copper for up to 4 hours

On cardboard for up to 24 hours

On stainless steel and plastic for up to 3 days

It’s important to understand what aerosols mean in this context. Aerosols are particles that are smaller than 5 micrometers in diameter — one-twentieth of a millimeter. When a person coughs or sneezes, most of the particles are droplets, which are particles larger than 5 micrometers in diameter. These larger particles tend to settle very quickly. Aerosols can hang around in the air longer, but under most environmental conditions, they, too, tend to settle to the ground rapidly.  

Most experts think the primary route of infection for COVID-19 is via direct exposure from an infected person — that is, if someone with the virus coughs or sneezes while you’re in close proximity. For most people, this means that taking appropriate precautions, such as staying at least 6 feet away from other people, should be sufficient to prevent infection.

It’s also thought that touching a contaminated surface and touching your face could lead to an infection, which is why handwashing with soap and water or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers are effective against the virus.

So do you need to be sanitizing your mail before opening it? Probably not; the CDC says there’s a low risk of transmission by packages and mail shipped over a period of days or weeks. While it’s possible that a delivery person dropping a package off at your house could contaminate it, experts say that the risk of transmission is still low. If you’re concerned, you can let the package sit for 24 hours before opening it, or just open the package outside, immediately discard the box and wash your hands thoroughly.

Because COVID-19 can survive for longer on non-porous surfaces, such as plastic and stainless steel, it’s important to use good hygiene and sanitization practices in your household, especially when bringing new items into the house. Wipe down counters and sinks, table tops, faucet handles, door knobs and light switches, keyboards and laptops, and frequently handled items like your keys and phone using an appropriate product. Learn more about what cleaning products can kill COVID-19.

People at highest risk of interacting with contaminated aerosols and surfaces are health care workers, which is why it’s important to reserve personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves for their use. Health care workers are at higher risk of exposure to contaminated aerosols and medical equipment while they are working hard to treat patients, often in very close quarters. Wearing proper PPE helps protect them from the virus so they can continue to treat sick patients as they come in.

If you have any PPE to donate, including items like medical-grade surgical masks, surgical gloves and gowns, goggles, and face shields, visit health.ucsd.edu/covid-donate to set up an appointment to drop them off at UC San Diego Health. If you don’t have appropriate PPE, you can make a financial donation to support the UC San Diego COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

For the latest information, please visit health.ucsd.edu/COVID

— Alison Caldwell, PhD, Bigelow Science Communication Fellow

#coronavirus #covid 19 #public health #aerosol #droplets #cardboard #healthcare workers #ppe #infectious diseases #safety #health and safety #cleaning products #social distancing #self isolating #self quarantine #covid-19 #copper #stainless steel #plastic

[zathuraroy5]

Supernatural Rewatch : 1x1

Disclamer: Got into supernatural in my early teens, I think the first three seasons were already out. We bought all the dvds as they came out until season 7. I think once we caught up to the first three, we watched some on tv, but we mostly watched them through the dvds. At season 7, I got a bit tired of the leviathan plot, so I took a break, but never went back into it because I started university in 2012.

I used to read some fanfic (mostly TMNT and… *shudder* twilight), but never got into Fandom proper until mid 2015 in the Hobbit fandom. Was stuck in bagginshield hell for a while, then drifted into different ships in the MCU, then of course Good Omens, then the Witcher, then… November 5th happened. (Also love love love Critical Role but not actively in fandom because I’m super late)

I grew up in a small hockey town. And I was a very oblivious teenager. Think Castiel is oblivious? He understood innuendos faster in two years than me in my 5 highschool years. Ace spec will do that to you. And so before 2015, I did not have my Queer goggles on. (can’t believe it’s only been 5 years…) Now, as we all know, I can’t take them off since they’ve been on. 

So now we come to nov.5th. Tumblr broke under the shock of Canon Confession. Now it’s december 29th and I’m still spireling in a pit of nostalgia, angered at the finale that I never watched, newfound Feelings and despair for a ship that’s 12 years old. I’m so late it’s not even funny. But now that I have my goggles on… I really want to rewatch it. I know a lot of it is bullshit. But I want to get in the hivemind of the Secret Good Supernatural. And I want to put those 6 years of schooling to good use. So I will attempt an analysis (read: rant) of Supernatural with my new 2020 vision (hah) and the osmosis I gathered from tumblr gifs and metas. I also watched Dylan is in trouble on youtube where he watched the first and last episode so I have that in mind.

Expect a lot of swearing and incoherence but hopefully good insight. 

(oh god what am I doing)

S1:E1

First impression: baby J2!!! My god they look young. And Jensen is about the age I am now and I’m just like 0.0 How is he so fucking pretty I can’t. Also I love how they’re using their normal voices, like ever since Jensen made a comment that he and Misha were having a competition on who can go lowest range I can’t not notice it.

Now more technical (ish). I do miss that more Horror/thriller vibe they had in the first few seasons. Like yes please I miss that monster of the week. That opening sequence is killer. But 1) I am almost positive that it’s the same actor for John that is standing over the crib as Yellow eyes. Like it’s the same profile? And they probably didn’t have anyone picked out yet, so they just shrouded him in shadow. Also 2) they probably didn’t have the whole backstory written out yet, but now that we know more about Mary, like SHE WAS A HUNTER, HOW DID SHE TAKE THOSE SIGNALS LIGHTLY. Flickering lights? weird noise feedback? Come on girl. (in hindsight, I think she was willfully oblivious, because… she just DID NOT want that life)

Dean is awfully loud when he breaks into Sam’s appartement and I’m almost convinced it’s on purpose to wake him up. Also kinda weirded out by how he talks to Jess but 2005 Misogyny™ I guess.

So many Iconic lines in the first episode, already ­«driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole» and «Jerk, Bitch». Like they already have the Siblings Trolling Each Other energy it’s fucking great.

The police having the journal is some serious shit, that could have gone sideways really badly. 

…. How did Dean know to come back when the fire started? Was he just in the street? And he saw the fire?? They never answered that. Like he had left…

Anyway I don’t think I have much more to say except Episode 1 is a great attention grabber. 

some tags: @adhdeancas, thank you for being my scream buddy while I rewatch, @lobotomycas, your posts are hilarious, @elizabethrobertajones, cause I thought you might be interested, @livebloggingmydescentintomadness, I’ll only tag the once cause I don’t want to overburden but at least here’s the first one :)

I’m gonna tag these “spn rewatch” with the episode for anyone else interested. I have a good backlog at the moment so I’ll try to have one post a day. For however many days I keep doing this.

#spn rewatch #1x1 #rant #spn #here we go

[thetriggeredhappy]

59 with demo/engie per favor💜

i don’t even know what the Cute Funny Ship Name is for these two but i hope i did well?? (warning for engie being embarrassed about his body type)

#59: Kissing So Desperately That Their Whole Body Curves Into The Other Person’s.

“Darlin’, care to spare an eye?”

Demo looked up from his own project—the last touches on some particularly finnicky wiring for a new potentially Spy-proof door panel—as Engie slid over a pad of grid paper to him. It was a page full of equations in the Engineer’s neat, blocky text. “I know I say it every time I see it, but I’d give my other eye for handwriting like this,” Demo joked, sliding the pad closer and starting to look over it critically. He squinted at it after a second. “Even if you do use the bloody imperial system still for some damn reason.”

“Just what I’m used to,” Engie shrugged, sitting back and rolling his shoulders to work out the stiffness that came from hunching over a workbench for stretches of time.

Demo continued his way down the page, eye darting back and forth quickly over it before stalling for a few seconds near the bottom. “Twelve inches in a foot?” he asked for confirmation, glancing back up at Engie.

“Yup.”

“Made a mistake right here at the end, Toymaker, wrote the equation right but the answer’s by eleven, not by twelve.”

“Damn,” Engie sighed, taking the pad back and starting to erase. “Thanks, I would’ve missed that for sure.”

“Half the reason I’m here,” Demo returned easily, moving back to his own project. “Good on you for wanting to show your work, at least, makes checkin’ it a damn sight easier.”

“I noticed that, that you never write down anything,” Engie said, looking up at the way Demo worked without any kind of guide or diagram.

“Don’t need it. Keeping around paper’s a fire hazard in my line’a work, and takes up time besides. Nah laddie, all the diagrams I need are right up here.” He tapped at his own temple. “Only things I have hanging up in my workshop are a periodic table and a fire extinguisher.”

“You don’t have that memorized?” Engie asked, speaking even as he redid the math on the paper in front of him.

“I do, but just the order. Could probably copy it down if I had to, but, eh. Saves time to have a cheat in front of me.”

Engie looked up at Demo appraisingly. “I really do think it would be worth your time to take an IQ test,” he said, as he’d said a few times before. “Certified genius looks awful good on a job application.”

“So does the last name DeGroot, darl, I can already get a job damn near anywhere I bloody well want, even with an eye knocked out and a half-dead liver,” he laughed. He flicked a switch and snapped shut the box, holding it closed while he pressed a few buttons, hearing them beep and watching the lights flicker back at him accordingly. “Should be all set with this.”

Engie put aside his pencil and stood up, moving to pick up a tray of tools and screws. “Alright, might as well install it now,” he said.

Demo nodded, stretching and grinning as there were a few answering pops in his back. “Lead the way, lad,” he said cheerfully.

He did so, making sure the other door was unlocked before they let the main one close and lock behind them. The instillation of the new panel was a quick affair, especially with Demo’s expert hands, and it was only half an hour before Engie was screwing it in place and testing it out. The door clicked open, and they grinned at each other, satisfied.

“Now, I’d hate to tell you how to do your job,” Demo started.

“But?” Engie prompted.

“But you know how he keeps breaking in here, right?”

Engie shook his head, brows furrowing above his goggles.

“Well, he can just unscrew these,” he said, pointing at the screws holding the box closed and to the wall. “Then pull the thing open, tinker with it how he pleases. You need something more secure than screws.”

Engie blinked, surprised. He hadn’t thought of that. “What, so... bolts?”

“Nah. Hand me that,” he said, and took the power drill from Engie. “Here’s what you do, some foolproof security solutions.”

He put the drill back against the screws and ran it, Engie immediately recoiling at the horrible noise as Demo stripped the screw, grinding the grooves away into nothing.

“Hell or high water, not a damn thing you can do about a stripped screw,” he said two screws in, and Engie had to admit that he had a point, even as he mourned the damage that doing so would do to his power drill.

“Might need to replace parts of that now,” he complained.

“Solly will break it within the weak, darl,” Demo pointed out, voice raised over the sound of the drill. “Good as scrap anyways.”

He finished off his little job, and they went back into the workshop for Demo to collect his wiring kit and for Engie to get back to his own math. “Care to stick around a while longer?” Engie invited, a little hope in his voice, pushing his goggles up for a moment.

“Ach, how am I supposed to say no to a face like that?” Demo teased, taking a seat again and watching as Engie kept writing. He rolled his eye after a second. “You and your damn imperial system nonsense, yards this, pounds that—“

“Well, I’m more pounds than yards anyways,” Engie joked, grinning up at Demo in a way that was vaguely self-deprecating.

When he did, he found that Demo was giving him A Look. “We gonna need to have another talk, lad?” he asked, voice nearly devoid of humor.

Engie huffed, looking back at his work, pulling his goggles back down. “Never needed to have one in the first place,” he grumbled back.

“I disagree,” Demo said a little sharply. “Love, I don’t know how many times I need to say it, but there’s nothing wrong with the way you look.”

“There just ain’t anything right with it, neither,” Engie muttered, starting to flush.

“You’re an attractive and intelligent man, Dell Conagher, and I’m lucky that I get to date you,” Demo said firmly.

“I’m half as wide as I am tall and balding, Tavish DeGroot,” Engie replied impatiently.

“Doesn’t very well damn matter, because I think you’re a feckin’ stud for it,” Demo snapped. “What’s weight got to do with anything in practicality, love?”

“It doesn’t bother you that you can’t lift me up to hug me?” Engie pointed out.

Demo stood up abruptly. “That’s a bloody challenge if I ever heard one, Conagher, pencil down and on your feet.”

Engie immediately began to protest. “You’ll hurt yourself trying, darlin’, don’t you dare,” he said quickly as Demo rounded the table.

“Didn’t nary ask a question, Conagher, I said on your feet,” Demo said, twice as demandingly, and Engie hesitantly obliged.

And to his surprise, Demo first pulled his goggles off from over his head, then put them and his hardhat on the desk next to them. Then, in one smooth motion, he hefted Engie under both arms and lifted him into the air, kissing him soundly on the mouth once they were eye-to-eyes.

Admittedly, the sudden departure from the ground startled him, made him lean forward, clutching at Demo’s shoulders with both hands as if to catch himself, surprised at the way the difference in height seemed to dramatically change the feeling of their chests pressing together. And for a moment, he felt less embarrassed by the feeling of Demo’s firm chest and stomach against his own softer one, instead left dizzy and a little giddy at the ease with which a Demo had lifted him off the ground, and idly enjoying the way Demo’s stubble felt against his face.

They broke apart with a smack, a sound similar to a jar opening, and Demo smirked at him for a second, joy glittering in his eye for a moment until he lowered Engie back to stand firmly on both feet.

“Any further questions, Toymaker?” he asked, full of a cheeky confidence, and Engie found himself struck dumb by it, simply shaking his head for a second until his brain stopped short-circuiting and words came back to him.

“Not at all, you were right,” he replied. “You were right.”

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #demoengie #is that the ship???? idk man #shut up me #everybody talks #my fanfiction #seriously idk what this ship is called yo i just go here #also i continue to not know how to write demo's accent dudes like i just don't know where to start #also demo is a genius you can fight me on this

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Supernatural 15x20, Carry On -- Review

Alright, we’re at last here. I can’t believe it. And what a waste of time that episode was! It seems “the finale” did indeed keep to task with the rest of the season, in a season of “meh” episodes, the finale continued to be a “meh” episode. Actually, I can’t even really call this a finale. Last week’s episode was the finale, this episode was the epilogue, a very subpar fanfiction-esque epilogue. And I make the fanfiction comment with a very heavy heart. I love fan fiction, I love that we can continue the stories we love through fan fiction and sometimes, a lot of fanfiction can be better than its source material. But also, sometimes, fanfiction has a tendency to be one-note. Fanfictions have a tendency to focus and hone in on one aspect of the story and tell just THAT story and the epilogues in these fanfics usually reflect that. Very one-note, only give regard to the main thing they honed in on the story. And there’s nothing really wrong with that but the weight of the story does feel less and kind of empty, the story doesn’t feel fleshed out and so in the epilogue, you don’t really feel a sense of closure and that’s what this episode felt like...and the series finale for a legacy show like this shouldn’t feel like that. 

But let’s cease with the rambling and get on with this. There will probably be spoilers, So definitely if you haven’t seen the episode yet and you don’t want to be spoiled, skip this post. Although granted, I don’t know how you’re online reading this and also have somehow managed to avoid spoilers. Teach me your ways, please!

As I’m sure most of you are aware, the finale isn’t great. It’s not even really a particularly strong episode. I felt things watching it and even cried a couple of times but that’s because my sensitive ass will cry at anything even slightly tear-jerky. I definitely understand why a lot of the fandom doesn’t like this episode. But also unfortunately, I’m not too surprised that the episode turned out like this. Disappointed but not surprised. When you think about how networks operate, it makes sense. Though our fandom is big and vocal, all that matters to the CW execs is that people come back to the CW. Now granted, some of us may be forever turned off to the CW because of this incident but those numbers aren’t going to mean anything to the CW. Because as large as we are as a fandom, the general audience is much larger and that’s who the CW execs are trying to keep. The general audience, a lot of them aren’t going to be paying attention to the finer story beats, to the subtext, to the meta, to the foreshadowing. No, the general audience just wants something that’s mildly entertaining they can turn the tv onto while they cook dinner or wash the dishes or whatever. It hurts but this finale was not meant for the fandom. It was for the general audience. And if I take my fandom goggles off, I can see how this finale might be satisfying to the general audience who don’t really have too big of an investment. 

But also looking at this episode from a critical standpoint, I can also tell this episode  is empty, its lacking in emotion. And I say this as the girl that cried mid-way through this episode. Because while I was crying and I was sad for Sam but then I was also happy for Sam, even though I was crying through these moments, I also wasn’t feelaing anything beyond the base emotion of happiness for a character or sadness for a character. When a story makes me get emotional I’m crying because of all sorts of conflicting emotions and I’ll forever go back to those tear-jerker moments whenever I feel like I need a good cry -- Tommy’s death on Arrow, Jenna’s death in TVD, Fred’s death in Angel, the Season 2 finale of The 100. All of those things not only made me cry because I felt things for the characters but also because there was a story element that reverberated inside of me, something about it made me feel alive and glad to be alive so I could experience it. So while I was crying for Sam’s loss of Dean, while I was crying tears of happiness when Sam was finally living the life he always wanted, the story felt empty to me and I couldn’t truly be happy with what I was feeling. And when it comes right down to it, while this finale meets all the basic standards it needs to in order to be a finale, that’s all it does. There isn’t anything special about it. It makes callbacks to how it began, it has just enough nostalgia to get by and it creates an ending for the characters. But that’s all it does. It meets the bare minimum to be a finale and I”m disappointed in that. I haven’t been loving this show for a few seasons, really since season 12, but I still kept on hoping the show would pull itself together long enough for at least a memorable season finale. As bad as they were, I will still always remember the finales for Game of Thrones or How I Met Your Mother. Supernatural’s finale was so uninspired, I don’t even really care to remember it. 

But let’s talk about what happened in this finale. First, some good points. I liked that we did see Sam openly mourning Cas and Jack. My Sastiel heart lived for that. And I’m also very happy Sam was able to live the life he wanted. I’m also very happy that Cas is not still stuck in the Empty, however, I do admit that if he was broken out so easily, it really kind of detracts from the initial sacrifice he made for Jack and for Dean and Sam. 

Things that I did not like, that essentially things were just kind of the same as in Season 1. You know, Sam gets his apple pie life but I kind of wish there was a little more of spark to that kind of life. Like this was something we talked about my blog a long time ago about a possible endgame for Sam but let’s say the Winchesters did kind of open like an organization for hunting monsters. Like, Sam could handle the legal aspects of something like that. He could go to law school and he could represent victims that were put in tough situations because their bodies were possessed or their on the line for a crime they didn’t commit because no one believes that a monster killed their loved one. So I just kind of wish we had gotten kind of a catch to Sam living his apple pie life. Living that life, doing what he always wanted to do, but also still helping people the way that Sam feels he needs to help people. So I wish we’d kind of gotten something more along those lines. I also don’t like that it takes Dean actually dying for Sam to feel like he has Dean’s permission to finally live that life. At first, I was going to feel sorry for Dean for dying in such a dumb way, but screw that. Dean put all of his self-hatred and baggage and dragged Sam down with him and made Sam feel like crap for even dreaming about something different. So Dean, you and that rusty nail deserve each other. I don’t even want to ship you with Crowley anymore. The ship you deserve is with Rusty Nail. 

So uh, let’s talk about Dean now and the return of Jenny the Vampire. I  completely forgot she existed. But yeah, she was a thing but she’s so loosely connected to Dean and Dean’s character arc, it’s like, there’s a lot of other monsters that would make more sense for Dean to die at the hands of. Like in Season 7 I believe, when Dean killed Sam’s friend in front of her son and he told the son that when he gets older, feel free to come after Dean. That would make more sense and have a kind of literary weight to it. Dean’s death would’ve been the result of his own actions and decisions years prior when he killed that woman on a whim. Dean and Sam could’ve come back from the vampire nest, after dropping the boys off, maybe they stopped at gas station to get some food and as Dean is walking around the corner to a bathroom, that’s when the now grown kid pops up in front of him and as Dean has a flashback to the kid and what he did to that kid, the kid stabs him in the heart like Dean did to his mother. 

Now the two brothers ending up in heaven together and presumably spending eternity together, while this may be a wincest or bibros wet dream, to me, I don’t know, it kind of feels pathetic. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love my brothers and I absolutely would go to the ends of the earth for them and I will mourn their deaths, but I also don’t want to be defined by them. I don’t want to feel like they’re so intrinsically a part of me that I need them in order to be truly happy or completed. While it might be nice to see them when I go to heaven, I would hope that I had grown to a point that there are also other things to me that are important that I would like to experience in heaver, you know? Plus, this whole ending feels like a slap in the face for what the show is most well-known for: found family and “family don’t end in blood”. The finale basically says, yes, family does end in blood, my blood is my soulmate basically. And I don’t really like that. 

Let’s talk about Cas and I don’t even have to be a Destiel shipper to be angry about how Cas was treated. I understand what they did in 15x18, and it does make a certain amount of literary sense, but considering there was no sense of closure to the act and it really kind of falls flat. And it makes you think, “so if what Cas needed in order to be truly happy was to admit that he loved his family” well, didn’t he already do that back in season 12? So it just kind of makes 15x18 feel kind of pointless. Yes, 15x18 was something that needed to happen for Cas and it made literary sense but that was only the first part of what his ending needed to be. The second part of his ending was hearing it back. Not necessarily a love confession from Dean (you all know Destiel is a thing of the past for me, I don’t ship them anymore) but what Cas needed to hear back was that his family loved him. We know they loved him but his own insecurities stopped him from truly feeling and believing it. And that’s the part the show missed and that’s what makes 15x18 fall flat and it makes Cas’s character arc feel incomplete. 

And also, it’s really sad to think that Sam never got to say goodbye to Cas. That’s something that Sam must feel very unresolved about and why he just lets the guilt eat up at him about it. My Sastiel heart needs one more final SamCas heart to heart. 

But I think that’s all I got for this episode. What grade would I give this episode. A big solid F-...I ‘m just kidding. It wasn’t that bad but nor was it anything great either. As I mentioned, the finale did what it needed to in order tom meet the bare minimum requirements for a finale, so honestly, I’d probably give this episode a D+. It meets the standards but it also doesn’t execute them very well so I don’t feel comfortable giving it a C. 

#spn 15.20 #spn 15x20 #spn carry on #sam winchester #castiel #anti dean winchester #because I wasn't very nice to dean in this review

[rpmemedumpster]

Unraveled: Absurdly Comprehensive Game Lore Starters (pt.2)

Feel free to change pronouns/phrasing

Understanding Kingdom Hearts (and every other story):

“You sweet summer child. You babe swaddled in the cashmere blanket of ignorance.”

“YOU ASK TOO LITTLE OF ME.”

“Crossing the threshold. Or as true literary critics call it…boarding the gummi ship.”

“That’s a supreme ordeal.”

“That was pretty painless, don't you think?”

“What do you mean nope?”

“Once you've got that boy under your possession, time to get real into unethical science.”

“And now that you're jazzed and ready to go, time to fail.”

“You do have to fail once, uh, in order to succeed later as a villain.”

“Guess what? It's time travel time.”

“You're either gonna win, or you're gonna lose.”

Bowser’s Military Hierarchy:

“They come to me in my dreams like a prophet receiving visions from an angry god.”

“Knowledge is its own reward.”

“God has cursed me for my hubris, and my work is never finished.”

“LOOK AT THIS GALOOMBA!”

“What better way to show your dedication than to be literally shot from a cannon?”

“You can learn more about them in the HBO series, Band of Brothers. I assume. I've never watched the show.”

“They're all pretty much invincible and they will crush you without hesitation.”

“Mario is a war criminal.”

“He already feels bashful!You didn't need to pants the man!”

“Mario has committed at least 5 war crimes.”

The Perfect PokeRap:

“Now that that’s out of your system, I do need absolute silence.”

“Today, my peers will stop laughing at me. Today, they will start seeing me as a person who is worthwhile. Not someone who, in the words of my mother, puts “a lot of research into things that have very little meaning."”

“Thank you for your service.”

“ Look, magnificent goals are worth the challenges it takes to reach them. You want to know where I learned that tasty morsel? From the original PokéRap.”

“My favorite Pokémon was Tangela. It's just a tumbleweed and some Jordans. What's not to love?”

“Things are only worth doing if you do them the most.”

“He, and I quote, said that he wanted me to give up something I loved. Which is legitimately a wild thing for an 8-year-old to request.”

“He could be in jail. HE CERTAINLY DESERVES TO BE.”

“I just tried to do some JoJo poses, did it work?”

“Now this might seem a little bit harsh, but that’s because you are viewing it through nostalgia goggles, and over the next five minutes I'm gonna take those off your face and replace them with the pragmatic transitions lenses of reality.”

“The rhymes. The flow. Are bad.”

“The only difference between me and a mid-2000s suburban mother is a few more trips to Nordstroms.”

“I'll go on the record: I am not a rapper.”

“It's kind of like if I bought 12 IKEA cabinets and then I used the pieces to build a Gundam.”

“Technically, I’m not wrong, okay?”

“If you're gonna put me on blast, yes, I did musical theatre in high school, but I don't think that counts for much, I didn't do much after that.”

“They will fight to the death for your entertainment.”

“That’s right....INTERPRETIVE DANCE.”

“Why catch them all if you can’t keep the ones that you love?”

Which Dark Souls boss is the best manager?:

“I know how much it would disappoint my friends if I changed my appearance.”

“I'm not your friend, and you have no say over what I do with my body.”

“Have you ever thought about the term Boss in a video game before? Those terrible enemies have the same title as the people you’ll be working for, for the rest of your life! Haha, what a silly coincidence!”

“Let’s be honest, some really well-loved bosses are very bad leaders, and some really good leaders are SKEEZY AS HELL.”

“I booked the conference room for three, I need to get in there.”

“Manipulation gets you pretty far in business.”

“He nasty.”

“All of his plans sound more like schemes, BUT! He does know the bassist for Maroon 5 and they've been looking for someone with like really good hand dexterity and he's noticed that you've got something good so if you want-”

“Dude, not everything has to be a test. This is a Game Stop.”

“He's the type of guy who sends you an NSFW link at work and then reports you for clicking on it.”

“They are a power couple...that isn't sanctioned by HR. They didn't fill out the paperwork. It makes everyone very uncomfortable. There is a LOT of PDA and it is weird.”

“Dude, you gotta wear more than a loincloth to work.”

“Y'all, we have leftover shirts from the softball game, can you just go into the bathroom and put one of those on, please?”

“GET OUT OF THE HOT TUB!”

“You KNOW that this psych major is gonna replace you as soon as he graduates Yale.”

“Under no circumstances should you be in a work setting and described as GAPING.”

“Do it for the Duke!”

“I fully expect my boss to put me out of my misery when I stop being useful.”

“They constantly revive the other one when they die, and that's a good boss. Also, relationship goals.”

“The best boss is you. And all of your dead friends.”

“Hey, yo, can I gape in here?”

#starters #rp starters #roleplay starters #sentence meme #sentence starters #comedy #humor #crack #one more part left here we go

[piccolina-mina]

My apologies @witchwolfmouse. I realized I kinda hijacked your post regarding M*ribel:

Y’all there’s room for people to ship Isobel/Maria and there is room for other people to be critical of the ship considering Isobel’s treatment of Maria and how deeply Maria dislikes Isobel because of how she treated Rosa... If you’re going to ship the two of them, considering what’s unfolded between the two of them onscreen thus far, then you’ve got to be prepared for some people not to be about it, especially fans of color and wlw of color and especially black fans who fall into either or both categories.

And I admittedly got in my feelings and droned on more than anticipated, so I made my reply into a post, since it was so long.

I'm ship and let ship. I have been that way from the beginning. The only reason I even became as vocal about shipping in this fandom in the first place was because of how unwelcoming it was for anyone who shipped anything alternative from the canon ships. There should be equal space for shipping and for those critical of it, and for a long time there wasn't equal space just all of one or the other depending on the ship.

Ironically, now it's slightly more equal but ridiculously divisive for silly reasons, but I digress.

I do think that an inability to take shipper goggles or whatever goggles off to actually understand certain criticisms about race and its relation to shipping, fandom, and within the show and how it's handled there has led to a lot of defensiveness by some who only see criticism as negative attacks, then respond in defense, which prompts defensive responses back and a host of others feeling genuinely invalidated and unheard, especially when what they are pointing out is skirted over.

There are genuine people who ship maribel, and hey, if you like it, I love it for you. I don't have to ship it or agree with it, but for those who genuinely love it, more power to them. Flood the tags for them. Make content.

Ironically, that's literally all I personally wanted from the beginning. Diversified content and discussions even if it's not my thing. By doing so, it makes me smile. It's all I ever wanted so it's not a nuisance for me personally.

Plus in this case, while I don't care for Isobel or the ship, I'll never say no to more Maria content. Fk it up!

Regarding M*ribel and discourse. To put it bluntly, and to go back to where some of the original friction and frustration stemmed in this fandom. The beauty of it is how much space there is to discuss in detail all angles of the amazing queer representation which I love, but the inability to discuss the race representation and issues and even the intersectional aspect of race and queerness, not without it always somehow stepping on the toes of queerness.

A wlw ship would be amazing. Hell, if it's done well, maybe this wlw ship could be amazing. Ship away, but also, please, know that someone criticizing it for legitimate reasons doesn't have to mean they are invalidating you or the wlw representation, especially when someone's criticism may be coming at it from an angle of a POC, or WOC, or QWOC who also feel invalidated. Quite damn often.

There are a lot of racial aspects of this show where despite the show's diversity, are very problematic or uncomfortable (a diverse cast does not mean all diverse issues disappear, if anything, it highlights them more so). And fans of color who voice them or have a different take than you should not have to be lambasted because they are approaching something from a different angle you may or may not have the experience with or know about.

LGBTQ fans some of whom may not be of color can look through their lenses of their own representation and what that means good or bad. But fans of color also do the same. We're always going to do the same. We can't shut that off as it's our identity and how we see the world through our experiences. Just like many of you, and those of both do it from both angles too.

There's a heterosexual bias willingly acknowledged frequently in fandom "the straights" or "the heteros" and that's fair and valid. Rarely does anyone enter the space and get pissy about that and not without being checked directly or indirectly. But you can't enter the tag and present something from a POC viewpoint or a WOC viewpoint without being directly or indirectly checked and often by people who honest to goodness aren't in the position to do so and show that based on how they choose to address or frame something.

Why? Why the "I don't see it that way so it must not be true?" Or "prove it or your lying" angle? Why do fans of color--too many to be dismissed as a fluke-- have to explain or otherwise be invalidated? That is what that is. Invalidation.

A racial bias being acknowledged or even a gender one makes people defensive or uncomfortable or unkind. That isn't fair. That isn't awesome.

And it has been a problem for a very long time.

Now if we're talking about m*ribel. Where some may see a wlw ship, a classic enemies to lovers ship, two beautiful women who could be something magical... Maria being in on the alien secret via Isobel... snarky personalities and sniding becoming something deeper ... hot hate sex ... two badass women who have been through some sh!t being a badass couple together... I do get the angle.

Where some people see that, I personally see a ship that makes me uncomfortable. I understand not everyone will see it as I do, and that's okay, as I said, ship and let ship.

But for me, when I think of Maribel, I think of Isobel violating Maria and her mind without her consent. I think of how disturbing it is that another woman did that to another woman without thinking about it as a violation (you don't have to agree, but much like what Noah did to Isobel at more extreme levels, it makes ME think of the rape and power dynamics and abuse dynamics).

I see someone who has had a total disregard for humans outside of her presumed husband violating them at will with powers she has yet to fully gain control of thus putting herself and those she violated at risk. I think of how unusual it is that she doesn't even have friends she hangs out with and doesn't know how to be one, or to be nurturing, or kind, or considerate.

And I don't know if I would like to see her with someone who is snarky and such, but also all of those things too. I see someone who is selfish in general and selfish in all of her relationships, and it's troubling (to me) when someone so inherently selfish is ever combined with someone who isn't because of how draining that is.

And to me, Isobel is the most selfish character with no give, and I don't care for the (far too common) trope of a black woman having to guide her into the light as a project and build her into a better person.

I think of an unfortunate history of women of color being violated not just by men but also white women that goes back centuries.

I see Isobel's total disregard for Maria's life and agency. I see Isobel's sense of entitlement she cannot seem to shake where she thinks she is entitled to Maria's acceptance and attention and her anger that Maria has the audacity to dislike her because apparently people are supposed to like her even when she treats almost everyone terribly. Which is a very subtle but very insidious barely noticeable dog whistle type of example most people of color can attest to as an example of white privilege.

I see someone who has clung to Maria specifically despising her on behalf of Rosa (and maribel shippers are welcome to interpret it as confirmation of a crush or attraction, and they can do so I understand that take, too) so much so that her primary reason for believing that Maria was an evil alien killer was the fact that Maria didn't like her nor as a psychic with legitimate abilities didn't allow Isobel to violate her.

The racial context of that scene alone was bothersome because of two cops jumping to a conclusion and sharing their theory with citizens with no concrete proof before speaking to their suspect (Maria) and using the word of a known racist and an entitled white woman with a grudge (Isobel) to support their theory, which if that doesn't parallel real life and how POC can find themselves at the mercy of the criminal justice system due to this, I don't know what is.

I see a woman who didn't have the slightest grasp of mind violation until she was violated by a brown man (who subsequently ended up being the presumed big bad of the season). That's what I see with M*ribel.

Where some shippers are able to see the chance for more LGBT rep and that's valid. I see troubling racial undertones that genuinely make me almost as uncomfortable as Noah and Isobel, and that too should be valid, and considered, and respected, and not dismissed, or misconstrued deliberately or otherwise.

There should be space for the criticism too, and the different takes, especially takes deeply rooted in another form of disenfranchisement. Just, consider and respect that sometimes. Not all fans of color will have the same take, we're all different people, so no one person can speak for the others, which means sometimes there will be opinions that differ on reasons that relate to race, and that's okay too.

From the first episode until now. Through Maria sidelining, and maricael/miluca shipping, and Malex angst, and Echo obstacles, and Liz decentralization, and the demonization of Noah, and Rosa injustice...through all of, there are things that should be discussed freely without being invalidated, dismissed, or made into something else.

There are many ways in which there will be race perspectives and things fans of color will present and ponder that other fans may not consider at all. And sometimes it will spill into something you like or enjoy, but those feelings especially about something so personal and specific and real ... even if you don't like them, or agree with them, or they make you uncomfortable or defensive, they matter too.

#that's literally it #but if all of this is misinterpreted or gets lost in translation and the only focus is on not shipping maribel #or whatever angle i won't forsee where this post is called out for something or another i got nothing #i'm kinda tired #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #maria deluca #i won't tag isobel since it could technically classify as anti #rnm discourse #rnm notoriety #rnm fandom fkery

[moonblooch]

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series)

Relationships: Fjord & Jester Lavorre, Fjord & Caleb Widogast

Characters: Fjord (Critical Role), Caleb Widogast, Nott (Critical Role), Mollymauk Tealeaf, Yasha (Critical Role), Jester Lavorre

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, minor conflict between characters, Misunderstanding, but its all cool, mentions of Fjord's backstory, references to Caleb's backstory

Language:English

Series:← Previous Work Part 2 of the Hits off the Cosmic Deck series

Some secrets are shared and the problem with the engine that probably definitely wasn't caused by this weird glowing thing.

“Was zum teufel?!”

Caleb’s voice echoed down the corridor to Beau’s room, where Fjord was trying to find some robes that she probably wouldn’t mind losing, just in case the person he sent to deliver them (because he’d be doshed if he was leaving his ship alone with a bunch of strangers) decided to take anything for themselves.

“What’s up in there Caleb?” he called back, praying for a good answer as he made his way into the corridor clutching a robe in hand.

The first thing Caleb had done was take a screwdriver to Beau’s goggles, claiming that they were not working properly. When he was satisfied with those, he had lifted Nott onto his shoulders to fix the lights, which required them powering down the entire engine room, which could only be done from the bridge, which now had all of its breadboards on display and several disconnected. Thankfully the lights had seemed to be a loose connection in the wiring as opposed to a fault with the cells and when the lights had flickered back to life, they had unveiled the sheer mess that the engine room was actually in.

Aside from the splatter of tar-fuel (thankfully only from a spare canister, not from the engine itself) which Beau had left close to the entrance, the engine itself was nearly incomprehensible. Fjord was no mechanic by any means, but he had assisted in maintaining the engines of the cargo vessels he had worked on in the past. And yet none of the engine of The Mistake seemed even vaguely recognisable to him. He was certain he would have given it a look over when they bought it (bought being a fairly generous description for the transaction which had brought the ship into their hands), perhaps he had been in too much of a rush.

Either way, Caleb at least seemed to recognise its components, though his comment on the “unconventional layout” was far from encouraging. He had stowed his pack in the little space available in the engineer’s quarters before opening his other bag and affixing a device that seemed to be a small collar light wired to a pair of goggles to Frumpkin and sending him into the depths of the engine room.

He had removed Beau’s goggles, replacing them with a pair of his own which he explained were connected to Frumpkin’s, so that he would be able to see what his cat could. Fjord had left the room, intending on sending Nott to find Beau and Jester with the spare clothes, but Caleb’s latest exclamation led him back into the corridor.

“Why in the name of everything sacred does this thing run on rhydonium?” Caleb yelled back.

“Should it not?” Fjord asked, already knowing the answer as he rounded the corner into the engine room. Caleb’s goggles were glowing blue, presumably an indicator that they were connected to Frumpkins.

“Nein! Nothing this small should.”

“Then, uh, can you make it so that it runs on something else?”

“Not without taking the entire ship to pieces. Every pipe would have to be treated, the cost would be enormous. That and you would attract a lot of attention; these kinds of mods are usually only found on pirate ships.”

Scrutiny was not something Fjord was looking for at that time. The thing in his arm was difficult enough to hide, and travelling with more people was a risk as well. Taking The Mistake to a proper workshop for any extended amount of time could just be the final bolt in the sarcophagus.

“Is there any good news?” he asked.

“Yes, the good news is that I know what your problem is. It is a two person problem to fix, but it mostly requires somebody else to hold things in place while I work. I have made a list of the tools and materials it will need, the ones that I do not already have.” He indicated a clunky looking data-pad which sat on top of his tool bag.

“Right,” Fjord said, looking at the clearly extensive list, “and what is the problem exactly?”

“There are a host of minor issues, but this ship must be at least twenty standard years old by now and I am going to assume it has worked hard in that time so those are to be expected. You will want to get them fixed eventually as they will hamper the functionality if left, but they are not urgent. Your problem is the acceleration compensator.”

“Well dag.”

“I am astounded you even made it to dirt.” Caleb told him, lifting his goggles for a moment to make eye contact. “If you take off in this state you will be flat as a panna cake before you hit the big L.”

“Beau’s not going to like that.” Fjord mused, mostly to himself.

“She is your pilot?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah, a good one at that. She’s done her best with the engine as well, but she’s more of the ‘hit it ‘til it works’ type. Never failed us before, but I guess it had to at some point.”

The look that Caleb gave him before he pulled the goggles back over his eyes could only be described as horrified.

“I will send Frumpkin on a bit more of a look around, if I find anything else important you will hear my yelling. Could you send someone to purchase the items on that list please?”

Fjord picked up the data pad and scanned the list as he walked back to the galley, where he had last seen the others. He could still hear the slightly muffled sound of voices as he approached.

“All I’m saying is that you can’t just go around waving those glowsticks wherever you want to.” Nott was saying. “That sort of thing can get you killed.”

“Well if it’s my life at risk then I’ll wave them wherever I please.” Molly’s voice replied as Fjord came to the door. He had hovered for a moment, debating whether or not to interrupt, when Nott made a guttural growling sound and he decided that it would be best to step in.

“Hey there folks, apologies for interrupting here but I’m afraid I’ve got a couple errands I need taking care of.” He said proffering the robe. “Nott, could you take this to Beau please? I’m guessing she’ll be nearly done.”

Nott shot Molly one foul look before taking the robe and leaving, her feet clicking against metal as she scurried down the steps outside. Fjord turned to Molly and Yasha.

“There going to be any trouble?” he asked “because this is a small ship, I don’t want any scraps breaking out.”

“Not at all.” Molly sighed. “Nott’s just a little agitated about me showing off the lightsabres in public, not that it’s any of her business.”

“Well,” Fjord replied, “I’d take it as a favour if you listened to her in this case. Just to keep the peace a bit. Particularly since anything to do with Jedi only ever leads to trouble in my experience.”

“Whoever said anything about Jedi?” Molly asked with a grin.

“I’m sure you’re just being wise-mouthed, but for the love of the First Light don’t say that sort of thing around Beau. If she thinks you’re Sith she will kill you, and I’ll be in no place to stop her.”

Whilst Molly’s expression didn’t change, something in Yasha’s face twitched. Fjord decided not to comment on this; Yasha looked like she might be able to snap him in half and he was hardly keen to test that theory.

“Look, I’m sorry to come down on y’all like this, I’ll have a word with Nott when I have a chance. Could you maybe have a look around for some of these things?” he held out the data pad. “As many as you can find, maybe some food as well, and I’ll consider the cost your fee for the trip.”

“What if it costs more than a trip to the next planet?” Yasha asked.

“Then we’ll take you further, as long as The Mistake can handle it. That’s what the parts are for.”

“Well, she’s living up to her name if this list is anything to go by.” Yasha said, looking it over. “We will see what we can do.”

Once they had left, Fjord took a moment to breathe. Letting this number of strangers onto his ship all at once was laserbrained, but he had no choice. He had to find out what had happened to Vandren’s starship, and how he had found himself on a beach halfway to the other side of the galaxy after the apparent explosion. In order to keep following the trail of information, he needed a crew. Beau and Jester had been doing a fine job, but a crew of three could only move slowly, and forget about getting any work.

He returned to his quarters, sat on his bunk and at last removed his glove. He had not been missing a hand when he had lost his last crew, but he had woken up on that beach with a hand made of metal, a crystal embedded in the palm. He had examined it many times since, but now he curled the fingers experimentally, trying to parse how the joints moved against each other and the tiny pistons slid into place. Plenty of freighter workers were missing limbs or had enhancements, but Fjord had never seen a hand quite like his before.

He had never seen one that could do what his could either.

Holding his arm a safe distance in front of him, Fjord closed his fist entirely.

A bolt of light shot out from it, quickly solidifying into a shape he had come to both recognise and learn to use as a blade. He turned it this way and that, allowing the blueish glow to chase away the shadows of his perpetually gloomy room. The edges of his vision gradually darkened until it was just him and the light. The sensation of the bunk and the floor beneath his feet faded until he was floating, hypnotized by the crackling bolt in front of him. He must have been breathing, but he could not recall the last time he had actually taken a breath.

LEARN

Fjord’s hand sprung open out of instinct, fear clawing at his throat. He looked frantically about his room but no source for the voice made itself evident. Legs shaking he stood.

LEARN

There it was again, more insistent. Fjord clenched his hand, allowing the blade to form again as he strode from his room, stumbling through the entrance bay then the galley and into the main corridor, towards the one person he knew to still be on the ship.

“Zurück!” came the cry from the engine room, Caleb swung into view, sending Fjord to a stop immediately. He was clutching a weapon his hands, one that Fjord didn’t quite recognise but which he had seen half a dozen variations of in his brief time as part of a hunting party to the Xorhassian Sector.

“Is that a flame thrower?” he asked, dropping his blade and raising his hands. He could hold his own in a fight, but against a ranged weapon with nowhere to run he barely stood a chance. “Ferglutz Caleb, why do you have a flame thrower?”

“Are you with them? The order?” Caleb asked, voice shaking and all but a yell.

“Who?” Fjord asked

Caleb appeared to physically deflate.

“I am sorry Fjord, I heard the noise of a lightsabre and I panicked.” He holstered the barrel of the flame thrower, which Fjord could now see was attached to the mysterious pack which he had stowed in the engineer’s quarters, and held his hands out.

“You’ve had a bad past with some Jedi then?” Fjord asked. The last thing he needed was someone else that Beau might be inclined to start a fight with.

Caleb’s face grew dark.

“Not with Jedi, but yes. All sabres make a very distinctive sound when they are activated, so when I heard yours my first assumption was that someone had hunted me down. Clearly that was incorrect, and I am very sorry for trying to kill you. Your hand looks very much like something that they would create, which is why I did not drop my weapon when I saw you.”

LEARN

The voice came again, and Fjord did his best not to flinch, instead keeping his eyes on Caleb who did not appear to have heard it. The message was clear; Caleb knew someone who could have done this to him. He needed to learn who that was.

“Hey, no hard feelings alright?” he said, taking a tentative step forward. When Caleb did not retreat or grab for the flamethrower again he continued to walk forward until they were almost too close to touch. “I’ve met guys who spent their whole lives at light speed trying to get away from Sith, if you’ve had a bad past with them you being a little jumpy’s understandable.”

He held out his metal hand, open a silent offer for Caleb to take it, and did his best to exude as calming an air as possible. Caleb eyed the hand nervously before reaching out with both hands to examine it.

“Truly, this is a faszinierend piece of hardware you have here.” He remarked, turning the hand gently in the light. “Forgive me for asking, but who gave you this, please?”

“Honestly Caleb, I wish I could tell you. I was in a freighter accident, about a standard year ago I think, and when I woke up I had that thing.” He left out the fact that his hand had not been damaged when his escape pod was deployed, that he could only remember the snippets of darkness and glowing eyes which came to him in his dreams.

Instead he said “I’d appreciate it if we could keep this incident between the two of us Caleb.”

Caleb looked surprised, but nodded in agreement.

“Yes, likewise. Nott will worry if she believes that I have had an, er, an episode I suppose. I take it that you do not want the others to know about your hand?”

“That’d be great. I’ll extend the same courtesy to your flame thrower for now, but it might be better if the others knew about it in case we get into a scuffle.”

“Is that likely?” Caleb asked, releasing Fjord’s hand.

“I’d hope not, but if this is a pirate starship like you suggested then I can’t guarantee we won’t be mistaken for enemies by some shipjackers.”

Caleb nodded slowly.

“I can make some tweaks to the hyperdrive, in something like this we should be able to outrun almost anything that is not an imperial model.”

Fjord desperately hoped that was not a possibility.

The awkward ticks slid past one by one until Fjord finally spoke up again.

“So, did you find any other problems? With the engine I mean.”

“Hm, oh, yes, ah, I – there was nothing major,” Caleb seemed to be grateful for a topic he could speak about comfortably, “all mostly standard for a rhydonium engine, which you should not have. Most of the strangeness that I encountered can be put down to the down-sizing; this appears to be based off the old Venator class and I am certain that you do not need me to tell you how insane that is.”

He shook his head, a strange smile creeping onto his face.

“Apart from that, the only unusual item which I found, well, Frumpkin found, was this glowing – I think that it was a crystal of some sort, but no kind that I recognise. About this big.” He indicated with his hands. “I put it in the engineer’s quarters, hold on.”

He opened the door to the small side room, an action shortly followed by a long, low meow.

“I know, I know.” Fjord heard Caleb mutter. “It was just to keep you safe, yes?”

He emerged barely a tick later, holding something glowing in his gloved hands. As it got closer, Fjord had to admit that crystal was probably the best word for the dodecahedron-shaped object, even if his vision swam every time he tried to look directly at it. It was the colour of a blue sky in a partial eclipse, a strange, swirling, not-quite-silver that could have been a different colour entirely from another angle.

“I am aware that some ships use crystals, but I have never seen any like this. Do not worry,” Caleb said, immediately causing worry to curl in Fjord’s gut, “it was not attached to anything, and it did not appear to have been at any point. It was tucked away in a corner.”

“Huh.” Was all that Fjord could offer in response.

“I am happy to take a closer look at it when I have fixed the acceleration compensator, but it does not seem to do anything apart from make your eyes water.”

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. It’d be a nice thing to keep, but it might be worth a fair number of credits to the right buyer, maybe one of those collector types?”

“I doubt that I could guess the value my friend, but I can certainly study it when we are moving.” Caleb returned the object to his room.

“I would advise that you move quickly if you do not want the others to know about your hand, Nott has just informed me that they are on their way back.” He said as he was walking back over to Fjord, briefly lifting his hair to display a small contraption made of copper wire which hooked over the top of his ear.

“Right, thanks for the heads up.” Fjord answered. “If you want any help clearing that room of yours out just shout for me or the others, right? I’m sure Beau and Jester would be happy to help.”

“Of course, thank you.” Caleb called after him as he retreated once again to his room. He had barely got his glove back on when he heard the thunder of footsteps in the entrance bay.

“We’re back!” cried Jester’s voice. “Fjord, where are you? We found this really cute shop on the way back and I got you something.”

“I’m just in my room.” He called back, bracing himself as his door slammed open.

“So check this out, okay, we were walking back from the cantina and we took a slightly different route back because Nott saw something shiny and cool looking, and Nott’s really, really cool by the way I think we might be like best friends now. Not better friends than you and me and Beau, but still, like, really, really good friends. Oh, and maybe not as good friends as with the Traveller, but like, you get the idea.”

Fjord couldn’t quite stop himself from smiling.

“So anyway, we went down this little alleyway and there was this little trinket shop and we bought this.” She held up a small, glittering device on a short chain. “And look, it does this if you spin it.” She flicked it with one finger and it spun, undulating into a number of different shapes and colours. “And I thought it would be good for your room, because it’s really boring in here right now. I mean that’s cool if you like that, but it’s not very fun for anyone visiting you, you know?”

“Thank you Jester, I really like it.” Fjord replied, taking the device from her and holding it up to the little light which his room had. “I’ll find somewhere real nice to hang it, I promise.”

“You had better.” She said, crossing her lekku twice behind her back. “So what’s up with the ship, did you ask Caleb to take a look at the engine yet? How soon can we go?”

“We ain’t going anywhere in this state Jester.” Fjord sighed before continuing, “Caleb says the acceleration compensator’s out of commission. He says he can fix it, but it sounds like it’ll take a while.”

“Aw frang!” Jester exclaimed. “Did he say how long exactly?”

“I didn’t ask.” Fjord paused for a beat before blurting out “Jester, he knows about my hand.”

“Oh.”

“He found out by accident but it sounded like he might know who did it.”

“That’s really good Fjord!” Jester beamed at him. “You can finally find out what happened to Vandren, I’m really happy for you. With me and Beau’s help of course.”

“I certainly hope so Jess.”

They were interrupted by a klang from the general direction of the entrance bay.

“Can someone get out here?” Molly’s voice sounded strained through the wall between them. “We’re about to drop this thing.”

Yasha murmured something indiscernible from due to the distance between them.

“Alright, I’m about to drop this thing. A little help here please?”

Notes: Hi again folks, second update today because the feedback on The Saga Begins was so amazing. Speaking of, the lovely jmercedesd asked for a bit of a species breakdown for everyone so here we are:

Caleb & Beau: Still Human, but that might have slightly different connotations in Star Wars canon than real life so link to wiki included here.

Fjord: Falleen, although he can just about pass for a few other spiecies with the right sort of disguise.

Jester: Twi'lek, because even though there is a species in the Star Wars universe that is basically Tieflings just making her that would feel like a bit of a cheat.

Molly: Chiss. There are actually plot reasons for him being a different species to Jester, but that's spoiler territory.

Yasha: Probably Diathim but I'm still considering that one.

Nott: Yoda's Species because Star Wars handed me a goblin on a platter and I wasn't going to ignore that.

I'll reveal Caduceus when he shows up, although I do know what he is.

As ever I do not own any of the characters or concepts contained within this fic.

#critical role #cr2 #critical role campaign two #critical role campaign 2 #Fjord #Caleb Widogast #Jester Lavorre #Nott the Brave #Mollymauk Tealeaf #Yasha #fanfic #My fic #hey look ma i updated

[hummingbirddrabbles]

Love Balls (The Poke balls, people)

Love Balls

Rating: E for Everyone, or K for Kids.

Setting: Johto, shortly after events of GSC manga

Ships: Primarily Mangaquestshipping, heavily implied Preciousmetalshipping

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

Random Pond in Johto:

Crystal hefted the two Love Balls in her hands. It had taken a lot of searching to find the special pink apricorns, but it was going to be worth it. These Poké Balls, stained pink and engraved with white hearts were special. Kurt had boasted about their power in romance, how they caught Pokémon of opposite genders with such precision and accuracy.

But that’s not what drew Crystal to this particular Poké Ball. No, it was the parting line, tacked on almost carelessly.

“Rumor has it, these Poké Balls work best when handled by those young and in love.”

 Kurt’s a Poké Ball master, maker of such works as the GS ball that captured time itself. She knows it’s not just a rumor, that it’s a fact. The Poké Balls had glowed when she had first touched them, letting off a pinkish aura.

           “It’s working already,” Kurt had cackled.

She blushed and ran away, but not before bowing and thanking him. He was not just older than her, but more accomplished, and more knowledgeable. He deserved her respect.

Now she cradled the balls in her hands for one last time. “Hey, Gold!” she called.

“What, Super Serious Gal!” He yelled back, not moving an inch from where he was sitting with Silver.

           Crystal squinted. Were they playing rock-paper-scissors?  She hadn’t invited Silver along to this picnic, she thought as she grumbled to herself.

“I want you test something out for me!”

“Get Silver to do it!” Gold didn’t even look at her, too concentrated on the game.  

           “How!” he yelled at Silver, shaking his fist. Apparently, he had lost for the third time in the room. Silver just smirked.

           “Rematch?” He questioned. Silver shook his head.

“I think Crystal wants you.”

Gold grumbled, but finally, finally he was actually paying attention to her. The goggled boy sprinted to her.

“What do you want, woman?” He asked.

Crystal flinched. “I just want you try one of these out.” She held the Love ball outward. He took it, and she felt his fingers touch hers for a brief moment, sending sparks up her hand.

Gold scanned the ball critically. “It looks way too girly…” he said with disgust.  “Pink, and with hearts? Seriously, Super Serious Gal?”

Crystal would be offended, but his words meant nothing in comparison to the pink glow surrounding the ball in his hand. It was working.

The love ball in her own hand seemed to pulse, the pink aura growing stronger.

Rumor has it these balls work best when handled by those young and in love

She was going to put that to the test.

There was a lake, well more like marsh that contained wild Poliwhirl. Crystal had already caught a female one in preparation, and Gold owned, or had owned a male one.

If all went well, she should be able to capture a male Poliwhirl no problem, Gold a female one. Another reason she had picked Poliwhirl to test was that she knew Gold had always wanted a Poliwrath.

So her gift to him would be useful. With the power of the Kurt’s poke balls, and well … love, the capture should be easy.

It would be easy, she assured herself. What could go wrong?

“See, I just want you capture a Poliwhirl with that ball,” she explained to Gold. “Aim for the critical capture point.”

She was prepared to explain that as well. Gold wasn’t well known for being knowledgeable.

But instead of asking her, he turned to Silver.

“Hey, Silver, what’s the critical capture point thingy-majiggy on Poliwhirl?” he yelled.

“It’s the ring on his stomach, idiot!” Silver yelled back.

“Who are ya calling-!” Before Gold could get distracted again, Crystal grabbed his arm. Her control of the situation was slipping, and she need Gold to focus. On her.

“Just, just watch me capture one first,”

She chucked her Love Ball in the air, before striking it with her legs. The ball was sent flying toward an unsuspecting male Poliwhirl, hitting it dead-center in it’s ring.

           It would work. She was confident in this, if nothing else.

The Poké Ball merely bounced off.

           What? What?

She had aimed at the critical spot, she’d made sure it was a male poliwhirl…. What?

She heard laughter.

“And you call yourself capture pro!” Gold was heaving with mirth, as if this was the funniest thing to ever happen to him.

           She hated him at that moment. Like why’d she even bother?

She collected the discarded love ball from the ground, and tried again. After all, she wouldn’t give up. This was her duty, her mission.

It bounced off. She simply kicked it again. Another bounce. Another kick. She kicked harder and harder each time, until she was practically pounding at the poor Poliwhirl.

                       Why. Wouldn’t. It. Work.

“May I try?” Silver extended one gloved hand, and she all but shoved it into his possession.

She crossed her arms and scowled. Let’s see him do it.

           The ball glowed red in his hands, and Crystal was confused. She glanced towards Gold, and his ball was also glowing crimson. She didn’t have time to ponder the color change, because Silver was ready.

Silver threw the ball with a simple efficient grace. It arced towards the Poliwhirl’s critical point, sucking the hapless Pokemon in.

What?

Crystal waited on bated breath as the Poké Ball shook once, twice, three times. A perfect capture.

“What? How?”

Silver shrugged. “I owned Gold’s Poliwhirl for a very, very brief time. Must have registered in my pokedex.”

But Gold’s Politoed was male....

“You guys had your fun! Let me try!”

And there Gold was, injecting himself back into the fray. He eyed a random poliwhirl, before grabbing his pole cue. Whereas Silver’s throw had been practically spartan, Gold’s “throw,” was not. The love ball, still glowing red, ricocheted off tree after tree, stone after stone. It made Crystal dizzy just looking at it.

At long last it captured the helpless Poliwhirl, hitting it dead on the chest. Again three shakes, again a perfect capture.

“Can I see the Poliwhirl for a moment, please?” she asked. She had a theory.

Gold threw it at her, and it nearly took off her ear.

“You could have hit me with that!” she shouted at him.

“You asked for the Poké Ball, I was just giving it to you!” He chuckled at her. “Catch better next time!”

“Oh YOU!” She balled her fists in rage. But she couldn’t, wouldn’t hit him. She wouldn’t hit anybody, and although Gold was an idiot, he was her ... crush.

Instead, she checked the pokedex, scanning the captured Poliwhirl’s data. Male. She scanned Silver’s. Male. That wasn’t right. That’s wasn’t how it was supposed to work.

“I’m going to check something with Kurt,” she announced. Nobody seemed to be paying attention, Gold having re-immersed himself into the game with Silver.

She sighed and left.

Kurt’s House, Azalea Town:

“Lassie, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Kurt greeted her.

“Huh?”

“See, the batch of Poké Balls I gave you weren’t up to snuff.”

She knew it.

“Must have slipped my mind when I was making them, because instead of being effective on the Pokémon of the opposite gender, they were most effective on the same gender.” He gave her an embarrassed smile.

Well that explained everything, well, not the eerie red glow.

“You also messed up the glow, Mr. Kurt.”

“What, lassie?”

“It glowed red for some reason.”

“Oh, no,” he chuckled. “I didn’t mess that part up. It glows red in the hands of people with mutual love for each other.”

What?

“See, the pink apricorns-” He blabbed on about crushing, boiling, and slicing. Something about the apricorn seeds and the power inside them. Yada, yada, yada.

Crystal heard none of that, the conflicting swirling thoughts in her head taking complete dominance.

           Her love ball was pink … But Gold … Silver … Red. Mutual affection…. Same gender instead of opposite gender.

The implications hurt her head.

“Now, I usually don’t give refunds to trainers, but you’re a promising girl, a capture specialist in the making!” Kurt handed her two new love balls, and she took them wordlessly.

She bowed and waved goodbye, movements stiff.

As soon as she got far enough away, she screamed, hurled the stupid Love Ball in the air and booted it hard.

It shattered into bits and pieces against a tree, and she smiled.

Author’s Notes:

           This is based on the fact that Love Balls in the GSC games did not work as advertised. It’s supposed to have an 8x multiplier on Pokémon that are the same species and opposite gender to yours. However, due to programming errors, it’s actually 8x when it’s the SAME gender.

           So I wrote a scene centered around it.

#pokespe #preciousmetalshipping #mangaquestshipping #my drabbles #HummingBirdAI writes #trainer silver #trainer gold #trainer crystal

[celestialily]

What do all your TGS ships say about you?

Henry/Robert: Has reread Bleeding Heart multiple times. You’re an absolute sucker for the “tragic college romance” trope. Becomes a snarky love/hate OT3 with the inclusion of Edward and his hilariously in-denial insults. Uses “Hastie” as a cute nickname. Day drinking with expensive red wine is a quality aesthetic. Big fan of dramatic theatre bisexuals. You’re always down to brutally criticize oppressive Victorian heteronormativity. Still worried about Robert’s wife and Henry’s inevitable reveal. Prepare for suffering.

Henry/Edward: Takes the meaning of self-depreciation to a whole new level. Utilizes audio/visual hallucinations in really bizarre ways. Gets a kick out of the Lodgers being perpetually confused by the situation. Doesn’t know a damn thing about chemistry but tries to make sense of it anyway. Lives for the pettiness, drama, and self-sabotage thrown back and forth between them. You try to sing both parts of “Confrontation” every time. Usually has an OT3 if anybody else is involved.

Henry/Jasper: An early shipper who loves scientific technobabble and freaking out over cute dogs/cryptids/anything. Covering Henry in sparkles is a time-honoured tradition. “Seduce me with rogue science~” is a constant mood. Perpetually on the hunt for Mothman’s ass. Wants more Zozi dammit.

Henry/Morcant: A classic. Earliest proponent of Jekyll being a furry. Fond of terrifying fairy tales and embracing one’s beastly side. Also on the hunt for Mothman’s ass. Loves the intense noir look of Bleeding Heart. Dying to see Morcant rip someone to shreds in full comic colour glory. Jasper’s gained a cool new wolf aunt to show him the ropes. Personally, you want to abandon all society and roam the forest as a bog witch, but here you are instead. I’m not judging.

Edward/Rachel: You love the take-no-shit snarky bi solidarity. Big fan of the “how do I tell my boss I’m in love with his outlaw assistant when they both keep disappearing on me” plot. They’re voted “Most likely couple to end up covered head to toe in blood and just laugh it off”. You endlessly pour over old concept art on Deviantart for more cute and hilarious moments between them.

Henry/Rachel: You’re either an Edward/Rachel/Henry OT3 shipper, or a hardcore Paraphernalia fan who decided to stay despite the drastic shift in plot, tone, and Rachel’s reworked backstory. Still thinks the aviator goggles are a good look for Henry. Looooves Ghibli flight sequences more than life itself. Really into clockpunk and music boxes.

Rachel/Jasper: Every awkward interaction is a BIG MOOD for you. Adores the country mouse/city mouse dichotomy. Everyone in the comic is a terrible wingman but it still works. Probably falling down a Wiki rabbit hole researching old Victorian food recipes, West Country accents, and Rromani settlements in East London. Human embodiment of the classic ✿＼(｡-_-｡) “Kick his ass, baby. I got yo flower.” meme

Edward/Lucy: Either has no idea what the 90’s musical is and is thrilled with Hyde’s cute hero-worship of a badass criminal leader, or is absolutely starving for a version of the musical that treats her better than she got. You can’t wait for Edward to actually meet her in canon and make a complete fool of himself. She could kick you in the face and you’d probably thank her. Lives and breathes for the flair and unnecessary parkour of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. Busy researching weird and complicated schemes the real Forty Elephants actually pulled off.

Henry/Frankenstein: … you might have wandered in from the Penny Dreadful fandom expecting something different (oops). Either that or you’ve been on board since 2010 and the unexpected gender switch was a really weird curveball. Still wondering what happened to Walton in all this mess.

Henry/Utterson: You’re still salty Gabriel’s not included and have made a whole backstory dedicated specifically to getting him into the plot. Expect hilarious legal shenanigans, terrible hide-and-seek skills, more Lanyon drama, and a drastic increase in bad puns. Likely has spent the most hours rereading the novella out of anyone. How do you write a gaslamp crime thriller with no murder yet? You find a way.

Edward/That Couple: Who are they? What are their stories? What kind of rowdy bar fights and crazy threesomes do they get up to? Who knows. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Make your own conclusions. Everybody’s bi and probably gonna die early from some disease anyway. Drink absinthe. Fuck the peelers. Party like it’s Soho in 1885.

Edward/Creature: You’ve got a big green monster and a little green monster, what more could you ask for? Old Universal monster movies are your jam. Probably fed up with humanity in general, but what’s new? Creature’s #done face gives you life.

Archer/Griffin: You love the fantastic potential of the Lodgers’ inventions and finding new hilarious ways for them to backfire. Has likely read “The Invisible Man”, but disregards it entirely except for the swearing. Probably prefers the LXG movie over the comic book. Fond of belligerent sexual tension, getting into ridiculous arguments, and dramatic drunken confessions. Archer is a disaster and everybody in the Society knows it.

Lavender/Flowers: Ahhhh, you love the smell of hopeless Victorian lesbians in the morning. Smells like bouquets of violets, lilies, and lavender, and also slightly smoking malfunctioning insects. You live and breathe for campy steampunk. The Lodgers are an infinite source of drama for this pairing, but also filled with ride-or-die geniuses willing to lend a hand in the case of pining lovesick idiots like them.

Frankenstein/Elizabeth: Immensely surprised by canon science wives but definitely pleased. Secretly wishes Elizabeth was still alive against all odds. Probably has read Carmilla or other gothic lesbian tragedies.

#tgs #the glass scientists #spec #j&h