blazesurrender

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The Director always said it was important to have ambition, Captain Tucker. We are the Meta, and together we will be strong enough to save your friends.

meta tucker gang we've waited almost 10 years for this (I made the quote up btw)

#*inhales* #*screeching noises* #red vs. blue #lavernius tucker #rvb sigma #rvb: restoration #red vs blue restoration #spoilers? #spoilers #tagging as spoilers just in case

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If you super boop me and i dont super boop back, i promise its just cause im on mobile

#boop #boop o meter #april fools 2024

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the only good innovation from facebook was the poke feature. tumblr needs the poke. when a cute girl is mass reblogging me and i don't wanna call them out to their face but i wanna go hey. i see you. being cute. rubbing your face on my blog like a cat. that's what the poke's for

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Anon said: Fuck the haters (my boomer family looking over my shoulder, shaking their heads disapprovingly); the joy of booping has no age!

#boop #boop o meter #april fool's day #tumblr polls

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This whole cloneshipping debate reminds me of that one tumblr post asking ‘Would you fuck your clone?’

Ah yes, a question for the ages.

#back in my day it wasn't problematic to fuck your clone #cloneshipping #clonecest #I stole the first tag because it’s so true #fandom wank #maybe?

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On Discomfort and Morality

My father finds gay men uncomfortable.

He's told me before that it's like a knee-jerk for him. Something he doesn't consciously control. He sees two men behaving romantically, and his body reacts with mild discomfort.

In the 1960s, when he was in high school, most of the boys in his form thought he was gay on the simple fact that he wasn't homophobic. He wouldn't participate in insulting queer people, he didn't care if someone was gay, he wouldn't have a problem hanging out with gay people. So people thought he was gay. That's how prevalent homophobia was in his formative years.

When I was 10, my dad told me very seriously that Holmes and Watson were gay. That it was obvious from the literature and the time period that they were meant to be a gay couple. When I was 14 and I came out to my parents as bi, when my mum was upset my dad ripped into her for it. Told her that she was being stupid, that it was my life to live how I wanted to and that she needed to get over herself.

My dad formed my views on censorship: that being that it was completely ridiculous and thoroughly evil. He didn't believe in censorship of any kind. If I asked him a question about sex, he answered it honestly. When I was 12 and I asked him about homosexuality, still young and uncertain, he told me that there was nothing wrong with it. That it was just how some people were. That there was likely an evolutionary reason for it. And that for some people it was uncomfortable on an instinctual level.

He taught me that just because you're uncomfortable with something, doesn't make it wrong. He also taught me that most people don't understand this.

I see a lot of this on the internet as of the last few years. The anti shipping movement, the terf movement, the anti ace movement. It all stems from discomfort that people have crossed wires into believing means wrong. Really every -ism and -phobia out there stems from this same fundamental aspect of humanity.

The next time you see something and you automatically think it's disgusting, or wrong, or immoral, I invite you to ask yourself: is this actually wrong or does this just make me uncomfortable?

#purity culture #anti censorship

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I would love to subject Cut to Spar if you’re up for it!

Even after the war ends, Cut doesn’t really expect visitors for him. He’s fine enough making friends among the other farmers, especially Suu’s friends and the kids’ friends’ parents.

So when Suu gives him a worried call of “Cut? You expecting someone?” it’s a surprise.

It’s even more of a surprise when he comes out of the farmhouse to find a Mandalorian—which, to be fair, is a reasonable guess that their uninvited guest is here for Cut.

He braces himself as he approaches the Mandalorian, prepared to ask just what they want, to tell them that he and his family don’t want any trouble, when the metal bucket comes off to reveal a familiar face. More than that—every clone has a familiar face—they have a familiar nose ring and dimple gems. “Spar?” he asks even though he knows it has to be them.

He’s just never seen them anywhere but Coruscant.

“Cut!” Spar beams at him. “I thought the rumour mill was saying you were out here! I came to check in—sorry it’s been so late coming. I’ve been working backwards, you know?”

Cut blinks. “Checking in?”

“On all the medical discharges,” Spar says. “Janey asked me to, since it’s my program.”

Janey? Oh. General Fett—Cut doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to Spar’s nickname for his adopted brother and their mutual genetic template. “Oh. So, uh.”

“You’re the last one!” Spar says cheerily. “You were the first after me, after all.”

“Cut?” Suu asks, coming up from where she’s been observing Spar. “You…know him? Properly?”

“Ah, yeah.” He nods to Spar. “Spar was the pilot of the medical discharge program. They talked me into it and helped me figure out where to go, though High General Fett got the contacts to get me settled on Saleucami.”

“Hello!” Spar directs the full force of their charismatic cheer at Suu.

“So…you’re Cut’s brother?” Suu suspects.

Cut winces; Spar’s complicated.

Sure enough, Spar shakes their head. “No, I’m Jango Fett’s brother. But I’m a clone like Cut is.”

“Oh.” Suu frowns, clearly confused. “Cut usually refers to the other clones as his brothers.”

“Most clones do. But I’m became an outsider to them even before the war, when Jango adopted me as his brother.”

Suu cocks her head, but she seems to accept that. “Are you going to stay?”

“If you’ll have me. And if Cut isn’t opposed?” Spar looks at him, clearly excited by the opportunity.

“Aren’t you a city person?” Cut asks. He’s not opposed, per say, but he doesn’t want to have to deal with a guest who isn’t going to pull their own weight.

Spar rolls their eyes. “I know what it’s like to live on a farm,” they say, clearly not lying considering how annoyed they are when they say it. “Do I need to help cook? Help with the animals? What?”

Cut is admittedly surprised. “Uh…”

Suu laughs lightly. “I’d happily take help cooking,” she says.

Spar smiles and the jewels on their dimples glitter. “I like cooking a lot. My brother and my cousins taught me.”

Suu takes that as face value like she would with any of their friends, even if having only one brother or cousins is weird to Cut to think about. She takes Spar in and Cut watches them go. It’s kind of nice to see them getting along; Spar’s a good person, for an Alpha clone, and for what a weird position they’re in.

Well, if they don’t mind waking up at dawn to help get the eopies their food, that’s fine with him.

(I’m accepting clones to subject to Spar for a while.)

#alpha clone spar

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If I might request another clone be subjected to Spar, perhaps Commander Fox?

“Uh, commander?”

Fox looks up from the documentation he’s filling out—most of his job is documentation and at this point it’s the part of the job he likes, especially because it looks like he’s about to be dealing with a part he doesn’t like. “Yes, Lieutenant?” he asks, trying hard not to sound too tired or annoyed.

“We found someone…out of bounds. In High General Fett’s office.”

Fox rockets out of his seat. “What?” he asks, panicked. “Apprehended? Did you check for explosives? Was anything taken?”

“Yes, apprehended. We did check for explosives and found nothing. Nothing was in their pockets but some things were out of place. They’re, uh, in an interrogation room right now, but you’re the only one on shift right now with the seniority to ask about that kind of stuff.”

Ugh. He is, isn’t he? 

“Alright,” he says, nodding and reaching for his bucket. “Let’s get this over with.”

Fox is expecting some kind of criminal, someone dressed for stealth or rough like a bounty hunter. He’s expecting some other species, or maybe one of those pale humans who tend to get really angry when a clone bumps into them on the street. And he is, for sure, expecting some kind of poor mood—whether it’s a completely neutral expression with anger and hate hidden behind the eyes or annoyance or anger at getting caught.

Instead, he gets a loudly dressed, dark skinned human-passing person, covered in gold jewellery and brightly dyed cloth, with a genuine, nearly sweet smile on their face.

He’s put off balance and immediately suspicious. “Hello,” he says, because he can at least pretend to be polite. “I’m Commander Fox.”

“Nice to meet you, Commander,” the prisoner says with cheerful amusement. 

Fox frowns under his bucket and laces his fingers together on the table as he sits across from them. “Name?”

The prisoner just smiles.

Fox sighs. “What were you doing in that office?”

Just. Smiles.

“Look,” he says, sighing. “Spies and saboteurs go to jail for a long time.”

“That’s good,” the prisoner says. They sound genuine. 

Fox turns off his vocoder and sighs messily as he leans back in his seat. How are they going to get information out of this person? But then there’s noise from outside and Fox jumps as the door behind him slides open. 

The prisoner’s entire face lights up. “Soo-coy gar or-tat! Did you get everything alright?”

Fox turns around to find a very, very annoyed High General Fett.

“I gave you my key card,” he says, aggravated.

“And the guards at your office are very, very good,” the prisoner says, almost like they’re admiring Fox’s men for taking them in. 

“You could have knocked them out.” What.

The prisoner shrugs. “I didn’t want to cause you any trouble.”

“I had to come down to the CG offices to pick you up.”

“You could have sent someone else. Or just commed. I can get home from here.”

Fett makes a whistling noise that Fox finds he’s intimately familiar with—he makes it at the shinies a lot. “There is a homicidal, immortal bounty hunter that is very protective over the fact he has your bounty right now.”

“Did you get your keycard back from the CG?”

Fett sighs. “Yes. I did. Come on, get up.”

“Uh, sir?” Fox interjects. “We—.”

“You did your job!” the prisoner tells him, and the binders tumble to the table as they get up to pat his shoulder. “So did your men! You simply…didn’t consider that I wasn’t someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.”

Fett looks unimpressed. Fox isn’t sure who with. “Commander Fox. This is my younger sibling, Akaanik’sha. Sometimes he goes to get things for me in my office; usually there are other people in the offices to let them in. I guess the men assigned today weren’t ones who have seen that happen before.”

“I’m not wearing beskar today, so that might affect it,” the younger Fett says, voice dimming as they head out of the room. 

Fox stares after them.

What.

No really, what?

Why the hell is someone who isn’t a contractor and isn’t an officer allowed to handle stuff in High General Fett’s office, related or not? Fox certainly doesn’t let most of his brothers rifle through his office and they’re all part of the GAR!

What the hell just happened?

(I’m accepting clones to subject to Spar for a while.)

#alpha clone spar #clone commander fox

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if i may ask for another clone to be subjected to Spar…

Dogma?

Dogma stands at attention with the rest of his squad at Commander Appo’s orders, just waiting. Over a private comm between the four of them, Tup’s started complaining.

Dogma kind of gets it, they’ve been standing at attention for a while, here in their ventaor’s hangar. Still—the commander doesn’t do these things without reason, and he’s here standing at attention just like the rest of them. 

The calm is abruptly broken by the arrival of a civilian ship. 

“Sir,” Dogma interjects—what are civilians doing here? Zeffo has a strict schedule of outside supplies and those traders never stop by here first.

“Stand down, Private,” Commander Appo interrupts him. “We’re expecting them.”

After a few minutes, the civilian ship’s ramp descends and an armoured Mandalorian comes out, jogging lightly. 

“Commander!” the Mandalorian says with a lyrical voice, quickly reaching them and extending an arm. The commander does the same and is unsurprised by the odd way the Mandalorian shakes his hand, clasping his wrist firmly. “It’s good to finally meet the man Alpha-38 has been waxing poetic about.”

Commander Appo ducks his head. “Treay isn’t the kind of person to, uh, wax poetic.”

“Not to you, maybe.” The Mandalorian turns to the squad. “So—who are you sending with us this time?” They don’t sound particularly happy about…whatever is going on. 

And more than that: this time?

“General Fett and Captain Maze gave those orders and they haven’t rescinded them.” The commander turns to the squad. “This is one of my battalion’s newest squads. You know Maze’s standards; I never expect to get new squads. Fresh lieutenant Trudie, then Privates Pyth, Tup, and Dogma.”

The Mandalorian hums. “Well. Hopefully it’ll go better than the last squad.”

What last squad?

Tup, as usual, ends up voicing the questions Dogma keeps to himself. “What last squad? Uh, sir. Sirs?”

The Mandalorian snickers. “Yeah, Appo, what last squad?”

The commander looks away from all of them. “It’s not my fault I couldn’t keep a hold of them. The moment you left, Captain Maze was comming to ask to reassign them! There was chatter about making them commanders! They were shinies, Fett!”

The Mandalorian outright cackles at that. “The former lieutenant is doing quite well as Ponds’s aide and everyone else have great positions as captains. That wasn’t just me, either, you had them for a while before you pawned them off on me!”

“The issue is that Captain Maze didn’t tell me who you were, really, before you got here,” the commander shoots back.

Dogma raises his hand tentatively. “Uh, sirs. Who are you exactly? How do we address you?”

The Mandalorian cocks their head; it’s weird to see a bucket move like one of theirs when it looks so different. “You can call me Spar.”

“Ah,” Commander Appo says, and he makes a coughing noise and goes back into parade rest. “This is Akaanik’sha Fett, High General Fett’s younger brother. He helped train some of the Alpha clones and commanders. He’s apparently a natural teacher for command. Alpha-38 claims that all of the command training modules were based off of how High General Fett taught him growing up. You’ll be accompanying his party on their business to Zeffo.”

That’s incredible! That means he helped make and teach all of the rules and regulations the command officers go by! “Just calling you, uh, Spar doesn’t seem respectful enough, sir.”

In answer to that, General Fett’s brother puts his fists on his hips, above his oddly heavy looking kama, and leans back, tilting his helmet visor towards the commander. 

“That one is Dogma,” the commander says helpfully.

General Fett’s brother nods and does some movement with one hand, bringing it up with his thumb and forefinger out and pulling them down in front of his visor, bringing the pads of the fingers together as he does. “You can call me Commander Fett, then, if you insist,” he finally says. “I am an al’verde to most Mandalorians. And you will call my friends Master—we’ll be going to Zeffo with two Jedi, Master Eno Cordova, a human man, and Master Luminara Unduli, a Mirialan woman. You can either call them Master and their surname or Master and their given name.”

All four of them nod, and Dogma can feel his excitement growing. It’s one thing to accompany someone like Commander Fett, who has played such a big role in the development of the clone officers’ system, but that they’re also accompanying Jedi? The people they were always told they’d be working under, before the last year or so before the war when everything changed?

He can’t help but be even more excited.

Then, surprisingly, Commander Fett takes his helmet off.

He looks a lot like a clone, but Dogma thinks the shape of his face and his eyes are both a little different. There are a lot of other differences, too—Dogma doesn’t think any of them, even the clone commanders, would get away with the gold jewellery on the bridge of his nose between his eyes and on either side of his mouth, though they might get away with the lines of gold that go from the corners of his eyes down to the jewellery by his mouth, and especially not the ring on his nose and even Tup has to keep his hair pulled tight back to avoid getting in trouble for keeping it so long. Commander Fett’s hair is a bit of a wild mess.

Tup is going to be ridiculous about his hair after this. 

Commander Fett smiles brightly at them. “It will be good to work with you.”

Dogma feels a little like aiwhas are flying around in his stomach. “And you, Commander.”

(I’m accepting clones to subject to Spar for a while.)

#alpha clone spar #clone commander appo #clone trooper dogma

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I would love to subject Cody to Spar 👀

Cody is excited to finally be on Coruscant.

Sure, he’s here because General Fett has questions about how he handled the traitor incident—General Tay’haai took Slick back with him when he went for reassignment after the Christophsis campaign ended—and he’s probably going to be reassigned no matter what, it’ll just depend on if he can impress Fett to decide if he’s going somewhere good or bad, but it’s a chance to meet up with Alpha-17 again.

He has it on good authority that Seventeen is waiting for his own orders and Cody’s appointment with Fett isn’t for another three hours, so he bullshits his way to the ARC office, or whatever it’s supposed to be.

He opens the door and finds the office virtually empty, except for two clones in the back. “Captain?” he asks, amused, expecting them both to jump.

Only one of them jumps and Seventeen’s scarred face peeks out from around the side of the other clone to glare. “Oh joy, it’s you. Spar, did you meet Commander Cody?” He gestures to Cody, looking at the other clone.

The other clone turns and raises an eyebrow. “Your little protege?” His hair is in a long, thick braid that Cody is pretty sure doesn’t fly even with the expanded regulations for haircuts, and he has a thin scar on his left cheek, but the trait that pops out most to Cody is his light eyes, still brown but almost gold in how light they are. He’s also…weirdly young to be in the ARC office. Cody has shinies that look older than him.

“Something like that,” Seventeen agrees. “Cody, this is—.” Seventeen cuts himself off and frowns at the other clone. “How do I even introduce you?”

The other clone laughs. “I’m Akaanik’sha Fett,” he says. “Jango is my older brother.”

Cody blinks—he could have sworn he was another clone, especially with how familiar Seventeen is with him, and he’s so young. “Uh…”

Fett smiles. “You can call me Spar. Most people do.”

(I’m accepting clones to subject to Spar for a while more.)

#alpha clone spar #alpha 17 #clone commander cody

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PSA: bot comments are taking over ao3

The above examples have been provided with the authors' permission to demonstrate what these look like.

Basic rundown:

They are all 3 sentences long

Perfect grammar, capitalization, and punctuation

Like absolutely flawless English teacher-style writing with only a single exclamation mark, ever

No mentions whatsoever of character names, settings, situations, or anything that could be tied to the story

The usernames may be identical to people who exist on ao3, but the name is not clickable, and no profile is associated with it EXCEPT when you directly search for that name. What this means: the comments come from an unregistered (not logged in) reader, bots scrape the site for real usernames, attach that to the comment, and post

Please spread the word about this so authors can filter comments and report them accordingly

There has been some speculation about why this is happening at all, and the best guess is that this is a feature that AI-training story-scraping tools are implementing to try and make their browsing traffic look legitimate

#psa #writing #ao3 #fanfic

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Sorry, PETA, I would 100% eat a T-Rex.

#dinosaurs #dinosaur #birds are dinosaurs #non-avian dinosaurs #someone’s gotta get eaten

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Masterpost | Rules | FAQ | Schedule | Ask

Sign-ups for Clone Bang are now open 🎉

The Clone Bang is a Star Wars-themed big bang focused on the clones. We welcome all stories as long as at least one clone is the focus!

🔗 Links to all Sign Up forms:

🎨 ARTIST Artist sign ups are open until August 1.

🔎 BETA Beta sign ups are open until August 1.

📝 WRITER Writer sign ups are open until July 15.

🪄 PINCH HITTER Pinch Hitter sign ups are open until October 30.

If you want to know more about the event, check out our rules, FAQ and overall schedule (you can find all the links in our Masterpost).

Please reblog this post and help us spread the word!

@swfandomevents @clonefandomevents

#clone bang #star wars #fandom event #sw fandom #the clone wars #clone wars #tcw

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Side Note To Fan Fic Authors

Here’s the thing.

I read a lot of scripts.  A lot.  From professionals to aspiring writers to complete newbies.  Features and pilots.  Specs and treatments.

And 8 times out of 10 the fan fic that I’ve read over the last, oh, 15 years is leagues better than this stuff.  It’s more inspired.  It’s more compelling.  It’s genre bending and creative and heartfelt.  It’s well-paced and intense and funny and sexy and meaningful.  It’s smart and thoughtful and good.  It’s novel-quality.  Better than, sometimes.

Rare is the script I don’t want to put down, but how often have we stayed up until 3am to get to the last chapter of a 100k fic? And it’s not even a fan fic author’s day job.  This is what they do on the side.  In their spare time.  For free.

So my point is, fan fic authors, you’re good.  You’re good writers and great storytellers.  I know it doesn’t always feel like it, especially if you’re one of the authors who’s not a BNF and doesn’t get the notes/hits that a few do.  And  because some people still view fic as “not real writing.” You guys know the shit that gets made into movies.  You’re better than that.  So be better than that.  If writing is what you think want to do, then just know you’re already doing it.   You’ve already started.

And you’re more talented than you might think.

#fandom related #fan fic related #writers

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Fanfic Recs: Part 1

—————————-

Part 2 FShenko recs

Part 3 FShenko recs

This is my first of several fShenko multi-chapter fanfic recommendation posts.  I would have loved to include all my recs in one post, but I didn’t want to hide anyone under the cut. 

This list is in no particular order.  I’m only including multichapter fics. Many of these writers have a backlist of amazing stories, but I only chose one to showcase.

If I’ve read your fic and you don’t see it on the list, it’s not because it wasn’t amazing and isn’t worth recommending.  It either slipped my mind, or it may be on an upcoming part of my list.  I’ve included a few non-fShenko fics later on, but those are marked.

______________________________

Echoes of Old Embers by @ripley95

Details: Post-ME 3, 50k words, complete

Summary:  After Shepard lives from the war, one of her biggest regrets was rejecting Kaidan at Apollo’s. Fate has a funny way of bringing Jane and Kaidan back into each other’s lives. A misunderstanding with Kaidan’s family makes him and Shepard relive old history and question where they stand.

What I love about it:  This is an amazing, heart-warming story with a lot of character depth and sweetness.  This authors writes one of my favorite versions of Kaidan Alenko. He’s considerate and kind.  I love how her Jane Shepard and Kaidan complement each other so well.  Their romance is mature, deep, and heart-felt.  

One of the areas this story shines (among many!) is with the original characters.  Kaidan’s three sister and mom are distinct, layered, and bring background and warmth to the story.  If you’re looking for a love story with deep meaning and family-feels, this is a must-read.

Triquetra by @hollyem

Details: Spans ME 1 to ME 3, 17k words, complete

Summary:  Triquetra: a three-sided shape; a symbol representing the power of three.  The Mass Effect story has three possible endings, but it also has three possible beginnings. 

What I love about it:  The premise for this story is fascinating!  I love the dichotomy with ME having three possible ending and three possible beginnings.  What if Kaidan or Ash touched the beacon?  The characters are so well-written and true to the game. The three storylines braid together perfectly, and I love the contrast between circumstances as the stories unfold.

This story does a fantastic job delving into possible outcomes and spinning a unique tale for each of the three beacon-touched protagonists.  This story had me constantly guessing.  It subverted my expectations at every turn, and I loved that!  Who dies on Virmire?  What happens in ME-2 with Cerberus?  How does the final battle end?  How do the relationships change?  If you’re looking for a compelling story full of possibilities and twists of fate, this is the story for you.

There Won’t be Trumpets by @alphahelices 

Details: Spans ME-1 to ME-3, 13k words, complete

Summary:   While so much of his existence has been surrounded by explosions and gunfire and shouting, Kaidan’s life has been shaped by the silences in between.

What I love about it:  This story is pure beauty! The prose flows like poetry.  The images are vivid and visceral.  They’ll stick with you.  The theme of sounds weaves the story together through all three games.  There are moments that will always stick with me, like Shepard and Kaidan touching helmets to talk on a planet without atmosphere.  

The relationship between Kaidan and Shepard is tender, deep, and at times, beautifully heart-breaking before the eventual joy of reconciliation.  If you love precise, evocative language unfolding a moving love story, then check this out! 

Discovery by @pigeontheoneandonly

Details: ME 1, 475k words, complete, WIP sequel covers ME 2

Summary:  A reimagined Mass Effect 1, that keeps to the spirit of the canon while deepening connections between events and characters, delving into backstories, and expanding the narrative.

What I love about it:  This story builds a foundation of profound friendship between Shepard and Kaidan.  I love a good slow burn where the friendship evolves and galvanizes into bestfriends who are in love.  I always want to be convinced in a story that the leads belong together, and this story leaves no doubts.  They balance and challenge either.  It’s everything I love in a pairing!

There are great moments in this story that you’ll wish actually happened in the game. Shepard and Kaidan’s mission to restore water on Feros and watching the snowfall on Noveria are amazing scenes that still stick with me.  Nathaly Shepard is a deep and layered character with quirks, who feels real and fallible.  If you love a slow burn with a strong friends to lovers foundation, then you’ll love this story!

[blazesurrender]

Especially because slash shipping was definitely happening in the 70’s, with Kirk and Spock from Star Trek TOS, and possibly other media but I’m not as aware of others.

Fandom policing is so funny. It's like let's infiltrate this counterculture with some 1960s style parental disapproval. Yeah, that'll really show 'em.

#shipping #fandom #ship and let ship #fandom discourse #shipping discourse #fandom history

[blazesurrender]

i don’t lose hyperfixations they just go dormant until I hear something about it like a sleeper agent

#damn is that what this is