#a fantastic thing totally alone in the human world

[wifeofwolfman]

this was a lot of work! i think it might be the prettiest & strangest thing i've made yet. fyi it's felted wool on wire armature. the claws, teeth, and beak are painted modeling foam.

id: pictures of a needlefelted wool creature puppet. this creature is a chimera of flamboyant flamingo and majestic leopard. it's built bizarre and it has no apparent eyes. its torso is made of a leopard's face. the chin is its stomach, with a toothy maw yawning in its midsection. the torso-face's upper lip mimics the pecs of a chest, and attached to that is a set of strong arms with large paws. the cheeks of the torso-face mimic an addition chest, and attached to this is a set of wings. the creature has a second face. from the nose ridge of the torso-face stretches the neck, head, and beak of a flamingo, once again apparently eyeless. its coat is all bright pink with a paler pink undercoat and hundreds of purple spots. on the feathery wings, the spots elongate into rows of streaks. below its knees, its legs are purple with light lavender scales, its feet webbed, three-toed, and clawed. its tail is long, terminating in a feathery bouquet.

#wifeofwolfman art #fiber art #needle felting #soft sculpture #creaturedesign #flamingo #leopard #trypophobia #idk just in case #it dances and sings like a bird #it stalks and pounces like a cat #if i was making a creature feature about this thing it would probably be something like Mothra or Rodan #or Q or The Legend of Boggy Creek #a fantastic thing totally alone in the human world #but then it discovers queer people and makes many friends

[time-like-tears-in-rain]

The Doctor as an Alice

So as promised, based on commentary I made here, and reminded by this post, I wanted to get out my thoughts on the Doctor and Companion as the Peter and Wendy, or "Annie's obsessed with the Alice archetype and makes it everyone else's problem."

I've seen the Eleven and Amy comparison more than once for Peter and Wendy, and I agree...to a point. I'd been making a (admittedly generalized and cis-normative statement) about how the Doctor continuously attracts female companions, not necessarily in a romantic way, but that women seem to get along with him (or her!) the best, and it always seems on the surface like that Peter taking Wendy by the hand and going on dangerous adventures--but I think it's also because these girls, these women see something the same as themselves.

Sure, the Doctor is Peter Pan, is the Goblin King, the Wizard of Oz, to the companions, but unlike those characters who only know the Other World and being the Other, he's also experienced this narrative from the opposite end, and THAT'S why I think he clicks so well and so specifically with certain companions.

The Doctor is also Wendy, Alice, Dorothy, Sarah. It's why Rose and Amy (regardless of if you view either as romantic chemistry), the weird girls of the bunch (and if there's one thing a weird girl will always relate to, it's an Alice), had such great chemistry: they were both the audience viewpoint, the Alice taken on an adventure, shown a wider world than she had any idea existed beyond her daily life.

But unlike Peter, unlike the inhabitants of a Wonderland, The Doctor knows exactly how that feels. To him, the universe isn't mundane at all, because he was raised in society, that while yes, time travel and space travel was ordinary, it was such a rigid and academic social structure with so little mobility. Time Lords weren't encouraged to seek beauty and wonder, they were encouraged to seek order, balance, and (even if their philosophy didn't expressly state it ) power.

So naturally, to humans, he's Peter Pan at the window. On Gallifrey, he's the one who ran away from what was expected of him, flew away, and went off to fantastic worlds, he's Wendy Darling.When Rose sees Earth burn, when Amy experiences the beauty of space for the first time, he understands, Alice-to-Alice, Wendy-to-Wendy.

More than that though, I'm fascinated by is that by the Doctor being both Peter and Wendy, he's the hero and the heroine (given the fact that the updated canon on Gallifrey is that they're very fluid when it comes to concepts of gender this suits enormously) which means...that he's also the one who always has to save himself in the end. He's the only character in the story who is both archetypes at once, the only one of his kind, etc.

Except for the Master, and Clara, and maybe River, definitely Jack, Bad Wolf that one time, and maybe...well, it's fine. The Doctor is a bit moody and always likes to say he's forever alone.

This isn't the sum total of my thoughts on the subject, and it's not a thesis that I've really gone through and tried to find evidence to defend it yet either, but it's been rattling around in my brain since last summer when I started the rewatch of all of nuWho.

@a-shard-of-quartz, @comicaloverachiever, were both told I'd tag them, and @violettenouvel was commenting on my original remarks about this.

#doctor who #meta

[rinelica]

i have really enjoyed your yuki and mai analysis but because tumblr likes to mess up image resolution a lot of the smaller text was quite hard or even impossible to read on much of it

id quite like to actually read all of it because i really enjoyed what i could read. all the art are very cute aswell. your work is really fantastic.

Thank you very much!! Ah, this really is what I was scared of... I'll drop here everything that might be hard to read, hope it'll help :

Original post :

ZUN's comment :

In case the pic still is unreadable, here's the link to the wiki page, use the search tool on this page by typing "Yuki" to find the ask faster :

Part I :

Shinki : "I am the god of Makai. Therefore, little Yumeko isn't a golem or anything like that, she's an ordinary Makai person."

PCB phantasm stage, Sakuya : "Hell is not as scary as Makai. Oni, compared to devils, are nothing at all."

IN profiles, Remilia : Devils, including vampires, are a race unconditionally hated by both humans and youkai. That's because all these girls are self-centered and selfish. (note : Reimu's MS ending confirms that)

MS, Marisa

Shinki : "Do you think bogus human magic can stand up to me?"

Marisa : "Isn't calling it "bogus" a loser excuse?"

Shinki : "Hmph, how impudent!! I'll show you real magic."

Marisa : "Oh, I'm so happy ♥"

UFO, Sanae B

Shou : "Makai is, with such a terrible demonic atmosphere, a world unsuitable for most living things. However, some youkai train there and humans can learn magic."

I wonder what Alice told to Akyuu (speculation) :

Akyuu : "So what kind of magician are you?"

Alice : "Oh I just learned magic as a kid."

Akyuu : "Ah, that makes you a human magician!"

Alice : "... Haha, yes..." Better not scare Gensokyo's humans off...

Part II/

Yuki : "You bastaaard! You bastard, how dare you!! I'm serious now!!"

Before fight :

Mai : ......?

Yuki : We'll be your opponents ♥

Yuuka : I see, two at once. Sounds fun ♥

Yuki : Whether it'll be fun depends of your skills ♥ Of course I want it to be fun.

Yuuka : Oh my ♥ Go on, give it a try.

After fight :

Yuuka : Thank you ♥ It was fun in its own way.

Yuki : Who exactly are you...

Yuuka : I ended up pretty far into Makai. I wonder how long the way still is.

Yuki : Right here is...

Left :

-> shows no care about your rampage or you reaching Shinki

-> simple bullets

*taunts*

->

just want to have "fun" (beat people up)

"the stronger the enemy is, the longer the fight will last, the funnier it'll be" mentality

as a result, she lacks seriousness

-only gets mad when she takes things personally (her ego or Mai hurted)->

Right :

-> impulsive, act before thinking

-> very passionate about what she cares

->

but is quick to forgive if showed some respect (Yuuka)

Part III

Mai : "... Not bad, you."

Protag : "!?"

Mai : "Now that the burden is gone, I can finally be serious. And this time, I'll definitely beat you bastard!!"

Marisa = magician. average in Makai.

Reimu = weird human on a flying turtle.

Yuuka = what???

Yuki : "Welcome, guest from another world ♥"

Mai : "......!"

Yuki : "I will guide you to a world where you shall rest for eternity ♥"

(totally a spirit who should in theory be able to deal some spiritual damages ->)

Mima : "Alas, that's the world I come from..."

Mai : "...!? I see, is that so..."

Mima : "Therefore, I will on the contrary be the one who'll take you there."

Mai : "Yuki, stop saying nonsense, I'll beat her..."

Mima : "You sure look eager to go."

Yuki : "How irritating! Mai, let's beat her!!"

Mai : "Understood... ♥"

Later...

Mima : "As promised, I'll guide you to the other world."

Yuki : "Mercyyy"

Mima : "But the other miss is waiting for youuu ♥"

(Yuki cries)

Mai's only sentence unique to Mima's scenario has nothing to do with death :

Mima : "Let's leave the weaklings alone."

Mai : "That's super frustratiiing!"

Left :

-> doesn't talk much

-> at least shows concern about you trying to reach Shinki (Reimu script)

->

lets Yuki do whatever she wants

cautious

somewhat analyses the situation

-"I can finally be serious"=> sounds like she, unlike Yuki, would rather be serious from the start->

Right :

-> can actually be pretty talkative

-> is salty when Yuki's plan backfires

->

sounds saltier toward you

is she only quiet against new foes?

Part IV

Speculation on why they weren't serious :

Mai : "It sounds serious... Maybe we should go all out this time."

Yuki : "Nooo, there's barely any intruder who manages to go this far!" It's been ages!

Mai : "...... fine."

#lore post #clarification #not the actual original post

[burinazar]

...

this is the last time i'll talk about the kpop mia thing i promise. i pinky promise. just have to get this off my chest. (post contains mentions of Unpleasant fanservice elements with underage characters in other shows, not terribly detailed but they are described.)

Imagine if every time someone said they liked Gainax’s beloved mecha classic Gunbuster everyone who heard them assumed it was specifically because of that one locker room scene that is in there more prominently than the scenes of nudity in MiA and feature more visible, more detailed, and more prolonged underage nudity and quite unambiguously exists for the sake of titillation alone

imagine if mentioning you were a Fate fan caused everyone to think you were watching it for the little girls making out in Prisma Ilya or the microbikini-clad underage version of Jack the Ripper in FGO. or saying you liked Gurren Lagann immediately caused people to come running with that one interview where a staff writer randomly said Yoko is 14 while most of the merchandise featuring her is heavily focused on sexualization and fanservice, retroactively rendering the show's many many fanservice scenes with her highly questionable for reasons lying totally outside its established canon

or to take a break from objectionable sexualization even though that's the internet's favorite subject: what if every LOGH fan was assumed to share Tanaka's potential tendency of according validity of Great Man Theory or take an uncritical view of the authoritative military autocracies like the one Reinhard establishes amid a mostly positive framing in the story. there are definitely fans that do this by the way but good lord i can't imagine someone assuming the entire fandom does instead of being prone to creating many healthily-critical diatribes questioning the above, even alongside our great love of the characters of the story and the overall work

like nobody assumes these things because it’s widely agreed there’s lots of other good shit in there for all of those shows, and many fans enjoy them without liking and thumbs-upping everything in it. so can you give us Giant Hole Show Liker People that bare minimum of consideration. huh.

like. man. i’m not out here standing by everything in MiA as something I am pleased is in it — like, fucking duh i’m not, since everyone who’s heard me rant about how the otherwise consistent and fantastically delineated theme of “condemning and inspecting a world that exploits innocents for its advancement and those who partake in this” is veritably kneecapped by some of s1’s dumbass lolisho fanservice moments (that Tsukushi just haaaad to throw in, where trauma and humiliation is thrown into casual everyday life montages and brushed off as funny-sexy), knows perfectly well how i feel about them.

but I’m so so tired of people not affording the fans any consideration that we might like The Fucking Rest Of It when there’s way more mainstream things with worse-or-as-bad elements of underage fanservice whose fandom isn’t assumed to be there primarily for the worst bits of fan service.

like can you just accord people the grace of potentially being human beings with complex opinions and well developed reasoning skills and nuanced opinions

#orphan hole tag #I like gunbuster a lot! and I’ve never in my life seen anyone cancel all its fans for the uncritical-sexualization-of-underage-girls part #because we’re a bunch of adults who don’t assume that watching it means you did so for the Worst Part or cosign every element. amazing #idk maybe the kpop idol fanbase people are mostly really young #and are used to a) idols' manufactured perfection b) fanbases with no gray area between 'love every bit of a thing' and 'loathe every bit'

[dyns33]

Hellfire

I promised a Dragon Matt. 

Here’s a Dragon Matt story. I feel it could be better and more original, but I’m not too ashamed by it. 

No one really remembered since when humans coexisted with magical creatures.

Maybe since forever, but maybe not everywhere. There had been many stories and legends, for a very long time, about fairies, wizards, vampires, werewolves, mermaids, which many people thought were just that, stories.

Then the whole world had accepted that it was the truth, even if there were obviously more humans without any power than fantastic beings. Some were still a little scared, asking to have them all listed in a database and forced to say who they were if they wanted to move somewhere or get a job.

There was a lot of debate about it, and due to some attacks, the subject was never completely settled. After all, humans could be as monstrous as magical creatures.

Among them were dragons. Anyway, people had heard that there were dragons. It was very rare to see them and no one knew if it was because they preferred to hide, taking human form or staying away from cities, or if it was because the species was almost entirely disappeared.

If someone had asked Matthew Murdock this question, he could have answered that both answers were correct.

He could have, but he probably wouldn't have, because then he would have had to confess that he himself was a dragon, a secret he jealously guarded, like many others.

First it was his father who had told him not to say anything. Matt had long wondered if he was ashamed of his son, if he was afraid, but after losing his sight and gaining other abilities, he realized that his father was indeed afraid, but for him.

After the departure of Matt's mother, from whom he took his origins, Jack Murdock had thought that he would not be up to it, to raise a child, let alone a dragon, since he was totally human. But he had done everything to keep his son happy and safe.

The world was dangerous.

People, humans or creatures, were dangerous. So Matt had to hide, and not fight. Not like him. He had to use his head. It was hard. His instincts told him to fight, all the time. When his father died, he was torn between his rage, and the promise he made.

Stick had of course immediately sensed that Matt wasn't human. He didn't care, it was even a good thing for the war. He taught him to control his senses, but also to use his dragon body. Matt almost never transformed before. For the first time he learned to fly, to breathe fire, to half-transform.

Then when he refused to kill, when Stick left, he went back to hiding, in order to avoid problems and questions. People were really afraid of dragons, they imagined them to be cruel, greedy, dangerous beasts.

Oh, they could be all that, with those who deserved it. But Matt didn't care about gold. He didn't want to eat anyone.

His goal was simply to protect his territory and those he loved. It therefore became difficult to remain hidden while hearing all those who suffered in Hell's Kitchen.

Matt found a solution, using what his former master had taught him to try to bring some peace and justice to the streets of his town, but without anyone knowing who he was, what he was.

He didn't want any trouble. He didn't want his friends to get in trouble either, or worry about him, or be scared. So, even if he wanted to tell them everything, he couldn't. Foggy, Karen, and Y/N must not have known anything.

Mostly Y/N.

She was special. Important.

From their first meeting, Matt had felt that the little human was his mate. He wanted her. Every day, he needed to hear her, touch her, and make sure she was okay.

They had become friends thanks to Foggy, who was much better at talking to people than he was.

It wasn't just the smell and the beating of her heart, of course. She was just perfect. Sweet, kind, smart, funny. Matt would have fallen in love with her spirit, her joy, her goodness, even if she hadn't been made for him.

Thanks to his senses, Matt knew that Y/N liked him too. More than like. And he kept telling himself that he had to tell her everything, as soon as possible, before she found out otherwise, and that she hated him for hiding the truth from her.

But he didn't dare. He was too afraid of losing her.

First he had to find the right words to explain to her that he was who the medias called the Devil, and a Dragon, and blind but with other ways of perceiving the world. So he was waiting for the right moment.

After many years now of being very good friends, Father Lanton, one of the only people who really knew Matt, told him that maybe it was the right time, before it was too late.

           "I know it's scary..."

           "I am not scared." Matt growled. "I'm not scared of anything."

           "Very well. I know this is... something. I understand that losing their mate is terrible for a dragon, and you have no idea how she might react. But if you wait too long, and she leaves, meets someone else, then you'll lose her too. Don't be stupid and stubborn like you can be."

Matt was stupid and stubborn, deciding to wait a little longer, and misfortune happened.

Oh, Y/N didn't leave. She didn't meet anyone. She wasn't hurt, she didn't die.

It was Matt who, while on patrol as the Devil, was nearly killed and to survive, listening to his instincts, he transformed, fending off the attackers with his tail and soaring high into the sky, painfully, before dashing off. to land on the roof of an old empty building to call Claire.

By the next day, everyone knew the Devil was a dragon. In itself, this was not very serious. It could even have been a good thing, the criminals would fear the vigilante even more.

Karen was totally excited by the news, Foggy didn't know what to think and Y/N... Y/N was clearly afraid. Very afraid. He could hear her panic, her heart beating frantically.

           "Y/N ?" he asked shyly, putting a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "Are you alright ? You're very quiet."

           "...There's a dragon in Hell's Kitchen."

           "Yes. Like many other magical creatures. You don't like them ? Or just dragons ? Have you ever met dragons ? I mean, I'm not judging, if you had a bad experience it's normal to be suspicious, but as a lawyer and a blind man, I find discrimination and amalgamation to be irrational."

Shut up, he thought, biting his tongue, you really talk way too much when you're nervous. You know very well that she has never met dragons, you would have felt it... But I don't understand why she is afraid then.

Slowly, Y/N turned to him, shaking like a leaf, her eyes smelling of salt, indicating that she was going to cry and she threw herself into his arms. Matt grabbed her right away.

           "I have nothing against dragons, I... I've never seen one."

           "Are you afraid he'll hurt you ? He's the Devil. Yes, what he's doing is illegal, but he only attacks other criminals and he doesn't kill, you have nothing to fear."

           "That's not it... It's the prophecy..."

           "... The what ?"

           "Long ago, my ancestors saved a witch who could see the future. Among all the predictions she made to them, she announced that the first daughter born in the family would be taken by a dragon. And... This is me. Even though everyone thought there were none left, my parents always told me to be very careful, and now... There's a dragon here. Oh, Matt, I'm so scared !"

Stupid prophecy. Stupid witch. Stupid parents.

Now it was going to be difficult to announce the truth to Y/N. Matt didn't think she would take it well if he told her that she was right now embracing the dragon that was supposed to take her.

Who wanted to take her, for a very long time now, because she was his mate and he loved her, and not at all because of some stupid prediction. But would she believe him ? Matt could tell her that he had been waiting, that he had never done anything to seduce her and drag her away, and that he never would.

Instead, he decided to show her first that the dragon was not an enemy.

For this, he continued to fight crime, staying very far from her when he was the Devil. Well,  not very far, but in the shade.

Otherwise Matt would not have been there to save her when two thieves tried to take her bag by threatening her with a knife. In less than a second, he had jumped off the roof, knocked out the morons and picked up the bag that had fallen to hand it to Y/N.

However, as soon as he heard her heart still beating from stress, he slowly put it down before running off without saying a word. He didn't want his mate to hate him. Hiding in the shadows again, Matt heard her relax as she picked up her bag, heading home less scared.

The next day, Y/N showed a huge radiant smile.

Anyway, according to Foggy and Karen, Matt could only hear that she was feeling better, but he was happy to know that she was smiling.

           "I was saved by the dragon !" she announced proudly.

           "Really ? You saw the Devil ?!"

           "You were attacked ? Are you okay ?!"

           "Yes, and yes. But most importantly, he didn't take me ! Oh, Matt, you were right ! It may not be the dragon of the prediction, I have no reason to be afraid. It might not even be a real dragon the witch was talking about, but a metaphor or something."

As she hugged him, he tried not to look too pleased. Y/N was no longer afraid of the dragon, she trusted him.

Soon everything would be better,

Matt could confess the truth to her and they would laugh about this situation. Soon, but not right away, it was probably too soon.

If only Hell's Kitchen didn't have the highest crime rate in town. Two days later, Y/N found herself in danger again, except this time it was the men of the Irish mafia, who wanted to use her as bait to lure the Devil.

Good idea, and very bad idea. Not only had they kidnapped her, they had frightened her, but they had also hurt her. Smelling her blood, Matt completely lost his temper.

Then he smelled gas. These fools had really chosen the best place to face a dragon.

His priority being to save Y/N, Matt did not think while transforming before catching her and flying as far as possible from danger.

Y/N immediately started panicking, screaming and crying.

Ah.

The dragon was taking her.

Shit.

As soon as he could find an isolated and safe place, he landed, letting her go. He could have gone back, but Matt couldn't leave her there, hurt, scared, so he started by turning back to human form to try to reassure her, and when that didn't work, Y/N being too hysterical to listen to him, he quickly pulled out his mask.

This silenced her.

           "... Matt ?"

           "I won't hurt you." he said with a trembling voice.

           "...It was you ? The Devil, the... The dragon ? But...Why didn't you say anything ?"

           "You were scared. I didn't know how you were going to react. I wanted to tell you, I was waiting for the right moment, and then you told me about this prophecy and it was too hard. I didn't want to lose you . I don't want you to hate me because I'm a monster."

           "I never said you were a monster."

           "Maybe, but you were terrified. I love you, I love you so much, I don't want you to be afraid of me. I will never hurt you, I..."

The kiss surprised him. Everything had happened so fast, Matt didn't immediately realize what was happening, wondering if he was dreaming.

           "It's true that I was afraid of the dragon." Y/N said against his lips. "But I had been hoping for a long time to be taken by Matt Murdock. The kind, lovely, wonderful Matt Murdock, who doesn't scare me at all."

           "I dream of taking you since we met. My treasure." he purred, kissing her neck, which made her laugh.

Father Lantom congratulated him when Matt told him that he had finally confessed everything to Y/N, told her all about his past, and that they were together now.

Matt pouted when the Father asked him when he was going to talk to Foggy and Karen as well, his friends also deserving to know the truth.

Later.

#daredevil #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock imagine #matt murdock fanfic #dragon matt murdock

[wolfsbane-if]

A previous anon mentioned how he couldn’t go through with the choice and I’m not sure I can either 😭 This is in no way a critique of your writing or anything! I absolutely love your stories! I think you are a fantastic writer and it’s good to have a clear cut vision for your game! ❤️

As I sometimes project my own emotions to the game I was always imagining my hunter to be someone who hunts supernaturals but is different in that he respects them, sees them as equals and offers them a fair choice which others don’t do. Still, they like being human and seeing how supernaturals are mostly treated in the world and discriminated, he wouldn’t want to be one. This would ruin them pretty bad mentally and they would likely develop severe depression. Facing their parents again would be a real problem.

This is just my subjective reason why I can’t go through with it because faced with this choice I would say no to both of them. So please no hate just my own reasons! I totally understand people that find it an awesome choice

Like I've said in my response to other asks, if you aren't vibing with the story anymore, that's totally valid. I absolutely encourage you (and anyone else who feels the same) to take a step back and stop reading if Wolfsbane is no longer something that sparks joy at any time and for any reason; and I'm sorry it didn't end up being the kind of story you hoped for

I do think it's important to remember when reading that, despite certain aspects being able to be influenced or customised by the reader, the MC is still a character who functions as part of the story and has certain immutable traits. Interactive fiction is of course meant to be immersive, and I understand the instinct to view the MC as an OC or self insert, but rather than the reader deciding what they would do in a given situation, it's the reader influencing the decisions of one of the characters within the story.

I've mentioned before how certain things would be out of character for the MC, and I stand by that. In this case, the MC just isn't someone who would refuse both choices and let themself die. Whether that's from a desire to keep on living at any cost or a refusal to leave Garamond alone and grieving, the reasoning behind the choice might change, but the choice itself never will. That's not who the MC of Wolfsbane is.

Ultimately I would encourage anyone who's willing to give the choice a chance, just to see how things play out. While dealing with turning will certainly involve difficulties, neither the MC nor the reader know yet what exactly to expect and what all will change. It's true that being a supernatural in the human world can be difficult and dangerous, but the MC is no longer confined to the human world either, and I think that while loss is an important aspect to consider, so is opportunity.

If that's something you have no interest in though and would prefer to just stop, then that's fine as well. The point of reading IF is to have fun, after all.

This isn't all necessarily aimed at you specifically, anon, I just think it's worth discussing in case others may be feeling similarly. I appreciate your understanding regarding my decisions while writing the game, even if they aren't decisions you would make yourself, and I understand your decision as well. Thank you for the feedback and I hope you're able to continue enjoying my other works 🧡

#leftski answers #wolfsbane spoilers #I've noticed a lot of people treating the MC turning as though it's a tragedy/death sentence that just ruins everything #and while it definitely is meant to be a major event that will have significant ramifications #I find it a bit premature to decide that everything going forward definitely will be terrible and an exercise in misery #but again if those are your feelings and you don't want to engage with the story anymore #that's totally valid #I know it's a very different experience to read a story bit by bit vs having the next idea in mind already #it's just surprising to me that the takeaway would be so severe #this probably comes back to the whole love of monsters thing from earlier #but I like the idea of the MC having the opportunity to change their perspective and grow #anyway I'm rambling now #thank you for being so kind though I appreciate it <3

[booksandwords]

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Series: The Murderbot Diaries, #1 Read time: 1 Day Rating: 5/5

The quote: Granted, I liked the imaginary people on the entertainment feed way more than I liked real ones, but you can’t have one without the other. — Murderbot

Oh Murderbot... you are definitely something and I feel for you. This book feels like it can be used as a metaphor for LGBTQ identities. There are some aspects of the story that feel very aroace. Murderbot doesn't talk about their feelings but you can see the coding coming through. They are part human, and part bot but it's not a simple 50/50 split, one of their very bot traits is their lack of sexual organs. "I don’t have any gender or sex-related parts (if a construct has those you’re a sexbot in a brothel, not a murderbot) so maybe that’s why I find sex scenes boring. Though I think that even if I did have sex-related parts I would find them boring." (Murderbot). I honestly think quite a lot of people with LGBTQ identities may relate to this on some level. Oh and bonus point they are also coded autistic and in a semi-flirtatious, semi-argumentative relationship with an asshole AI called ART.

All Systems Red is wonderful and I can see where its popularity comes from and it is deserving of the praise it has received. It may be a short work but it is brilliantly written. Readable and engaging with a variety of enjoyable characters and a promise of great lore. The self-contained story and the way in which it is framed are so very well done. Murderbot themselves makes you care and is well developed they grow over time even if it is a novella. The ending becomes that growth honours it. I really do adore the framing of All Systems Red, and I would suspect The Murderbot Diaries more widely. The whole book is a message to a single character, in this case, Dr Mensah, I'm guessing the character may change from book to book as Murderbot moves through the universe.

This is a book with some fantastic quotes in it. I want to share them. All quotes are by Murderbot. • With my cracked governor there was nothing to stop me, but not letting anybody, especially the people who held my contract, know that I was a free agent was kind of important. Like, not having my organic components destroyed and the rest of me cut up for parts important. — The tracked chip is how Murderbot is how they are sentient. I like this total sense of self and the way Wells jas phrased it. I can hear it. • The sense of urgency just wasn’t there. Also, you may have noticed, I don’t care. — Even when Murderbot does care they are a pessimist. Honestly, it is kinda me. Sorta. The lack of urgency is in Murderbot wanting to do their job. • Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency. — Love the computer terminology used throughout this, you are never given the option or opportunity to forget that Murderbot is a bot. Even with their name there are things like how they track time and their hobbies that are so tech. • This is why I didn’t want to come. I’ve got four perfectly good humans here and I didn’t want them to get killed by whatever took out DeltFall. It’s not like I cared about them personally, but it would look bad on my record, and my record was already pretty terrible. — For a character that doesn't care about people, who is largely apathetic at times, it is interesting to watch the changes to Murderbot as time goes on as the develop some kind of bond with their humans. • And in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day. — Tell me this isn't totally accurate at times? • I hate having emotions about reality; I’d much rather have them about Sanctuary Moon. — Now this is a mood. Sanctuary Moon is Murderbot's favourite TV show/ net drama. And oh I emotions about tv are so much easier to deal with.

I appreciate the world that Martha Wells has started building here. The follow-up answers a question posed in this piece. It allows for more exploration of the world Wells has created for Muderbot, now that the basic premise and introductions have been established.

Also total respect to @alex-van-gore​ for their fantastic art of Murderbot. The tag is well work checking out.

#the murderbot diaries #all systems red #martha wells #book review #novella #read 2022 #ktreviews #space opera #(?) maybe #booklr

[mask131]

Cold winter: Thorgal

THORGAL

Category: French BD

Thirty years before the year 1000, a group of Vikings lost at sea during a nasty thunderstorm found a baby in a strange little boat, and deciding he was a gift of the gods present at the time they named him “Thorgal Aegirsson”.

As an adult, Thorgal is a powerful warrior and a gifted bowman, but is deeply ostracized among his own community: not only does he not share the love of fight and violence of his fellow Vikings, but he also was forced to live alone, away from the others as a skald by the community’s chief, Gandalf-the-Mad, who dislikes him for being the adoptive son of the previous chief, Leif Haraldson. Thorgal’s only friend in the community is also his lover, Aaricia, Gandalf’s own daughter. Unable to live freely their love among their peers, the duo decides to leave their village and build their own life on their own.

Which… actually won’t be easy, since not only does humanity’s cruelty and vice keeps catching up with them, but the world they live is one not exactly like our own, much more dangerous and much more fantastical than it seems… And to gain their peaceful life they will need to go through many perils, natural and unnatural.

This is the plot of “Thorgal”, one of the most famous Franco-Belgian bande-dessinée (comic book). Starting out as a serialized publication in the magazine “Le Journal de Tintin” in 1977, it quickly became its own series, and it still published to this day, with a total of 40 issues and fourteen “chapters” (either independent adventures told in one issue, or a “cycle”, an arc-story spread over several issues). It received numerous prices, spin-off series, and is one of the best-selling Franco-Belgian BDs ever alongside other classics such as “XIII”, “Lucky Luke” or “Largo Winch”.

For you see, Thorgal isn’t just a historical adventure set in the 10th-11th centuries. In fact it doesn’t even takes place in our world, though it looks strongly like it – either the civilizations we see are real-world ones but renamed and slightly changed to fit the world (the Vikings living in Northland ; the Eastern Roman Empire), either they were made-up by inspired by real-world ones (the land of Qâ in Central America which takes from both Aztec and Maya ; the island-realm of “Our-Land” which is inspired by Ancient Greece despite being located between the Portuguese and North-African coasts). And let’s not talk about the chronology, as things are quite weird historically – despite being at the turn of the first millennium, some civilizations seem taken out of the 5th century while others have the technology or fashion of 15th century countries, resulting in a very strange mix…

But the actual reason why Thorgal isn’t just some “historical piece” is because it delves into both science-fiction and fantasy. Science-fiction because we quickly learn that the “ship” Thorgal was found in as a baby was a space capsule: he is actually the last descendant of a group of humans known as “The People of the Stars”. They once were the fabled Atlanteans, but decided to leave Earth and used their hyper-advanced technology to colonize another planet. However, having consumed all the resources of their new planet, they tried to return to Earth – but crashed in the North Pole, where most of them died, except for a few including Thorgal’s family. In fact, we do meet several other survivors of the People of the Stars throughout the series, who are often mistaken for sorcerers or gods by the inhabitants of Earth thanks to both their wonderful technology and their psychic abilities. However despite this very “scientific” start that leads to an “historical science-fiction” piece and does feed into the idea of “ancient civilizations built or helped by aliens”… the supernatural does actually exist in Thorgal’s world. As he, his lover and his children will learn (because after Thorgal’s numerous adventures, we follow his children’s adventures), the gods and monsters of Norse mythology are very real: Frigg, Fenrir, Loki, the giants are all there. And not only the gods their mythology, but also of others! Magic exists, and so does actual sorcerers and wizards, and Thorgal’s travels do not just take him around the world, but also in OTHER worlds, where spirits and deities dwell… He even gets to meet the guardian of all those dimensions, that prove to be a true multiverse.

The result is a very unique mix of historical fiction, science-fiction and fantasy, where poor Thorgal only wants one thing – to settle peacefully with his family and be left alone – only for his native space civilization, his Viking civilization of adoption, the various political plots and religious wars of his era, or the gods and sorcerers of the world to constantly endanger him or throw him into perilous adventures.

#cold winter #thorgal #bd #bande dessinée #french media #french stuff

[thegirlfromstationsquare]

Okay I think people kinda give the sonic movie a bit too flack for following the typical "cartoon character gets transported to the real world" when it actually puts a spin on these tropes&cliches associated with these kind of movies.

Usually the Main Human has some type of romance troubles, like trying to impress a hot coworker or marital issues. But here? Tom and Maddie are loving and supportive of each other and doesn't have a conflict. Even Maddie's sister Rachel who dislikes Tom, he handles it in a healthy manner.

I also like how Tom isn't thus jaded cynical "hates fantasy" kind of character. He's grounded but doesn't hesitate to help Sonic, or stare done an army of drones. He isn't a total stick in the mud.

Then the cartoon character gets transported to the real world. Welp good luck surviving with little resources, and zero friends! Sonic basically spends 10 years alone. Usually the character quickly adjusts to the real world while being open. But Sonic is fully aware of the dangers so he has to hide. That's surprisingly realistic.

When he does come into Tom's life it's to save his life, not to make a mess of things. Like how a lot of those movies go with the cartoon character's antics screwing up the Token Human's life. The only person trying to mess with the Token Human's is the villain and that's because he's pissed at them for humiliating him.

Aw man the villain! Eggman (still Robotnik) has a cartoonishly villainous personality that nearly everyone finds intimidating. Usually the villain gets treated as a joke, but nope, he is rightfully taken seriously because of his unpredictable and calculating mind. He even mentions destroying a small country. It's a creepy foreshadowing of his future role. A person who doesn't care about the harm he does in the real world certainly won't care for damaging the fantasy worlds. And when he does get transported, he isn't phased in the slightest. Instead it only drives him more and now has his sights set on controlling ALL worlds!

Another is there are wacky characters in the real world like Crazy Carl & Wade. Heck GUN even exists. So it's not just the fantasy world having out there elements the real world has them too. As more fantastical elements gets included (Taild Knuckles and Emeralds) instead of turning them into jokes or "subverting expectations" they're taken 5000% seriously.

So even though Sonic does have that formula it doesn't follow it to a tea. It has it's own spin! Get it? Spin!

#sonic movie #i love this movie ok #sonic #essay #analysis #writblr #adaptations

[frickfrackapplesnack]

Chicken noodle soup - Brainiac 5 x Superman

Or the one where Brainy cuts himself while cooking and totally freaks out. 

Warm sunbeams flittered softly into the modest Kent flat, warming the air on a calm Thursday afternoon in Metropolis. It had been two months since Brainiac 5 had moved into the little one-bedroom home after Superman, more commonly known as Clark Kent, had offered him a place to stay while he worked out how to live as a human. It had not been an easy task at first; Querl had battled greatly with his new feelings and had frequent breakdowns during his first week staying with the 21st-century superhero. Of course, Clark was there, having phoned in sick from work to assist Brainy (as he liked to call him) in settling into his new life. Clark was gentle and helped ground Querl, keeping him calm, no matter how many tears were shed or how loud Querl wept as he rocked back and forth in the corner of the bedroom.

Things had settled down now, and Brainy had a better handle on his human emotions, allowing him to be left alone while Clark went to work. Some may find being cooped up all day monotonous, but Brainy didn't mind; Clark had plenty of books to read and music to listen to, and the TV had a channel dedicated to reporting on events occurring across the world which brainy found fascinating.

So, on this sunny Thursday afternoon, Brainiac 5 found himself sprawled lazily across the couch watching TV, one hand hanging off the side while the other lay softly against his stomach. The news reporter was explaining the daily currency trends from around the globe, nothing overly interesting but it wasn’t like Brainy was really paying attention. Instead, his mind wandered, the voices from the TV becoming a distant blur of noise as he thought back to a few days ago. He couldn’t remember exactly what led up the moment, but somehow brainy had found himself in a similar position to the one he was currently in, the only exception being that he didn’t currently have Clark Kent on top of him with his tongue halfway down his throat.

It hadn’t been a bad kiss, it had been a very good kiss, Querl’s first kiss. Clark was a fantastic kisser and he had enjoyed making out with him immensely. It made his heart flutter and his lips tingle; it all came so naturally to him, and it felt amazing. Clark must have thought differently however because after only a couple of minutes he had pushed himself away from Brainy and was speeding out the door leaving a very stunned Brainiac 5 behind.

Clark had not returned until early the next morning.

Apart from a few awkward encounters here and there, things had returned to normal, but Clark, from what Brainy could tell, refused to touch him unless it was by accident or absolutely necessary. The kiss was not mentioned, and Brainy didn't want to jeopardise the delicate peace between them by bringing it up, so he remained silent. But nothing appeared to be able to relieve the throbbing pain in his chest; it hadn't ceased since Clark had left the apartment, and none of his normal day-to-day activities seemed to be helping.

With a groan Brainy pushed himself up into a sitting position, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his head softly upon them. He had started to put words to feelings, like happy or sad. Those were simple and he figured those two out in no time. But right now, he felt a mix of emotions and sometimes he found it difficult to put into words. He had started to list out his symptoms to help him reach a conclusion. He and Clark had thought of this strategy together and it had worked so far.

1)Tight feeling in the chest, 2) Difficulty breathing, but not enough to panic, 3) Slight shaking in the hands, 4) Heavy head.

With that list in mind, Querl concluded that he was upset, frustrated and anxious. Upset because he had obviously hurt Clark in some way, be it because he was a terrible kisser or something much deeper. Frustrated because things had been so awkward between them, he couldn’t think of a way to fix things, and anxious…because he didn’t want to be abandoned.

Taking a few deep, calming breaths Brainy tried to clear his head. ‘Maybe I can do something…to make it up to him' he thought. A nice gesture to show how much he appreciated him, and maybe…just maybe Clark wouldn’t ask him to leave. They could ignore the kiss forever and live happily together as friends!

Clark was always the cook, so perhaps he could prepare something for the Kryptonian when he returned from work. Querl leapt up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen with a renewed sense of purpose. Since he'd moved here, he'd seen Clark cook several times, but he hadn't memorised any of the recipes. Before he became organic, it would have been a lot easier. He could have recorded the whole thing and saved it in his memory files. But now, in terms of memorising, things were a little different. This did not bother Querl as he reached for the closest recipe book hoping to find something yummy that the two of them could enjoy together. Eventually, he stumbled across something that could work.

Chicken noodle soup.

He remembered Clark saying how much he enjoyed the soup his Ma made on the farm growing up, and despite the fact that his cooking could never live up to her expectations Querl decided that it was worth a shot and started gathering the needed ingredients. Thank goodness Clark had everything in the apartment since Brainy still couldn’t go outside not until he came up with a device that could disguise his true form. But that required a trip to the future…something he just wasn’t ready to do yet. He was sure when he decided to visit his friends, he would receive nothing but kindness, but that nagging thought still chewed away at his brain telling him that deep down…they all hated him for what he had done.

Shaking himself from his thoughts Brainy focused on the task at hand, refusing to squash the good mood he had put himself in. Things were going well and the recipe was easy enough to follow, but a problem arose when he started chopping the various vegetables the recipe required.

Now, Querl Dox was no stranger to accidents, he had caused a number of things to blow up in the past and even had limbs blown off. If he were born human, he was sure he’d be dead or at least severely damaged. But his body had always regenerated, and no matter how much pain he was in everything was usually back to normal in a matter of hours.

Apparently, with his new organic body…that was not the case.

While chopping the carrots Querl’s hand slipped slicing across the tips of his fingers. Lucky for him the knife had not taken off any of his fingertips but there was now a decent amount of blood dripping from his hand and onto the countertop. For a second, he stood there, frozen. Mesmerized by his own blood. After all, Brainiac 5 had never bled before…his old body did not produce blood. Sure he had seen blood before, many times but never leaking from his own body.

That moment of silent shock soon faded and the panic set in. “Ow.” He whimpered holding his bleeding hand tightly against his chest. Suddenly he realised he had no idea what to do, he had never had to deal with this before. And the sudden realisation of how vulnerable he was in this new body only made matter worse as he started to hyperventilate. ‘Should there be this much blood?’ he thought frantically as he looked around the kitchen as if it would give him the answer to all his problems. The cut wasn’t that deep, running from the tip of his left pinkie finger to his bottom pointer knuckle. He had lost no fingers…why was it bleeding so much?

It didn’t take long to discover that Brainy wasn’t great when it came to panic, Clark had been able to calm him down most of the time, but when he was alone it was a different story. He had even passed out a few times when it became too difficult to breathe…freaking Clark out in the process. But Querl didn’t want that to happen, not today. He had already caused Superman enough trouble, he didn’t need Clark to find him passed out in the kitchen bleeding.

So, with shaking hands, and staggered steps Querl reached for the nearby house phone. Clark had said he could call him whenever he needed, and even left his work number taped to the fridge. Brainy had never used it though, not wanting to bother him at work. But the Coluan was starting to panic, and his hand hadn’t stopped bleeding…he needed Clark. Dialling the number with his uninjured hand Brainy held the phone up to his ear praying for Clark to pick up.

He did.

After a couple of rings, Brainy heard Clark's voice through the phone, momentary relief washing over him. “Hello, Clark Kent speaking.”

“C-Clark” Brainy stammered struggling to keep his breathing under control.

“Brainy?” Clark responded, “Uh-do you think I could call you back I’m a bit busy”

Querl’s heart dropped, of course, he was busy. Clark had told him he had a meeting before he left for work and so he might be late home…but that had completely slipped his mind. “Um-“ his hand throbbed and blood had started dripping onto the floor. “It’s just…I cut myself and I don’t know what to do.” Querl couldn’t hold back the sob that tore its way from his throat. “There’s so much blood…I need you Clark please.” He cried even harder, unable to contain his panic any longer. “I don’t know what to do.” He whimpered into the phone.

A few moments of silence (Aside from Brainy’s quiet crying) passed before Clark spoke. “I’ll be there soon, just try to stop the bleeding.” Then he hung up. Querl nodded to himself sinking onto the floor, his shaking legs unable to support his weight any longer. He grabbed a towel that was within reach and wrapped it around his hand, hissing when the fabric made contact. He tried to control his ragged breathing as he watched the towel turn red with blood.

He didn’t know how long he had spent rocking back and forth on the kitchen floor by the time Clark arrived. The Kryptonian was by his side in an instant inspecting the injury carefully. “What happened?” he asked voice loud enough to make Querl flinch.

“Uh-I…I w-was trying um” Brainy was struggling to get the words out. “Soup.” He finally managed, wiping the tears from his face as they continued to fall.

“What? Soup?” Clark asked dumbfounded looking up at the ingredients scattered throughout the kitchen. “Were you trying to cook?” Brainy nodded. “Why? You’ve never cooked before.” He inquired as he helped Brainy to his feet, dragging him towards the bathroom. Brainy sniffled, struggling to catch his breath as he thought how burdensome this must be for Clark. God, he’d screwed up so bad. “Hey, hey…calm down you’re not in trouble” Clark assured as he sat Brainy on the edge of the bath kneeling in front of him. “Take a deep breath for me Brainy, everything it okay you’re safe here. I just wanna know how you got hurt.” Brainy nodded closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing but it was difficult when all he could think about was how much of a screw-up he was.

“Five things Brainy” He heard Clark say. They had done this before when Querl had his breakdowns, and it had helped, but he didn’t want to open his eyes and see the disappointment on Clark's face so he just shook his head. “Querl,” Clark stated. “Open your eyes.” At the sound of his real name, Brainy did open his eyes, it was rare for the Kryptonian to call him by his real name.

“Clark” He whimpered. “It hurts…”

“I know Brainy…five things you can see, tell me.” He replied, taking the younger’s hands in his own.

“Um…you?” Brainy asked.

“Yeah, that’s one what else.”

“T-the bath…mirror…f-floor” he continued.

“One more Brainy” Clark encouraged. “T-towels.”

“Fantastic, four things you can feel.” He continued.

The method continued until Brainy’s breathing returned to normal and he didn’t feel like he was going to pass out, although he still clutched Clarks hand’s tightly in his own. “Bette?” Clark asked, Querl nodded. “Okay, now tell me what happened.” He said, reaching for the medical supplied they kept under the sink. As he attended to Brainy’s hand the Coluan explained how all he wanted to do was make him soup for when he came home and ended up cutting himself instead of the carrot.

“You don’t have to cook.” Clark chuckled. “I don’t mind cooking”

“I know.” Brainy sniffled. “But…I just felt like I needed to do something.”

“Why?” Clark questioned as he finished bandaging his hand.

“Because of the kiss” Brainy mumbled a single tear rolling down his green cheek. “I didn’t want you to leave me.”

A pang of guilt stabbed at Clark’s heart, he hadn’t meant to make Brainy feel like that. He thought that if he just ignored it then they could go back to the way things were. He didn’t mind the kiss, it had been obvious that Brainy was inexperienced but it was the best kiss Clark had ever had. But Brainy was still figuring things out with his new body and all these new emotions that he felt like he was forcing him somehow…so he ran.

He shouldn’t have run, instead, he should have talked to Brainy about it. Maybe if he had then his friend wouldn’t be hurt. “Brainy…” he sighed. “Querl, look at me.” He said placing a finger under Brainy’s chin so he could see his beautiful purple eyes. “I didn’t hate the kiss, if that’s what you’re worried about…and I would never abandon you why would you think that!”

“Everyone else does.”

“Not me…not me Querl,” Clark said pulling the younger into a hug. He could feel Brainy’s arms slowly snake around him gripping tightly onto his shirt. “I just didn’t want to force you.”

“You didn’t”

“Brainy…”

“You didn’t force me!” Brainy exclaimed pulling away so he could look Clark in the eye. “I liked the kiss, I like you!” he sighed. “I’ve liked you for so long…that kiss meant everything to me.”

Clark didn’t know what to say, so instead, he just leaned in and captured Brainy’s lips with his own. The kiss was soft, gentle and conveyed every emotion he didn’t know how to express.

 They kissed a lot more often after that.

Don’t know how I feel about this ending...might come back to it later. Hope y’all enjoy! :)

#brainysupes #legion of super heroes #losh 2006 #brainy #brainiac 5 #superman #dc #brainyxsuperman #querl dox #querl

[adhdo5]

God okay not to And Another Thing but for srs like . This format of this, like, pseudo-nonfictional catalog of things is the exact opposite of the Backrooms' appeal imo in literally every way is my major hangup . Like the whole appeal of that format, and what I think SCP is at its best when it does, is this notion of the unthinkable in a number, this stringent classification of something that is by its nature incomprehensible and fantastical and antithetical to these rules like it's making sense out of a world that fundamentally is nonsensical it IS that enforcement it IS that standardization of the unstandardizable and this is, like all good horror/scifi, only exaggerated, not invented!! That's why the Foundation is fundamentally authoritarian that's why it's fun like . There's a reason my favorite SCPs are directly interacting w/ this concept on some level (STREAM 5115)

But the Backrooms like.... it's the opposite of that. The Backrooms IS that unclassifiable, it IS that dreamlike cannot-be-described, and I think that's like . Important to celebrate and the Backrooms as an experience/aesthetic is the point of that. Bc again the concept of classifying the unclassifiable is . Not something made up? That's literally what we do every day. Our universe Is unclassifiable and while making sense of it is part of the human experience like.... again my favorite SCPs interact with this and they fail to reckon with it. 3005, 5115, this is in 3999 too, things like that, like . This is not something that ultimately succeeds. The imposition of total order is a doomed pursuit. The world is nonsense, and WE are nonsense as part of it

And that is what the Backrooms imo is best celebrating. Like that's why I think literally any intentional backrooms "found footage" something that implies someone got in and then out with a camera something that shows Obvious Tampering like wait that structure is straight up actually impossible to exist this image was edited is a failure of that. The Backrooms is fundamentally about being alone to me and the ambiguity of any actual supernatural property is also key to that. Like okay I've gone on this rant before but like .

When I was like a preteen/earlier teenager I was in Civil Air Patrol I left 'cause I got bangs and also got based but like while I was there like. So meetings were held in this building on the airstrip, this boxy old thing with peeling carpets and air conditioning always going in the distance. And see bc we basically only needed a storage room a meeting room and a room to march around in we only used like the first three rooms there but it was a whole compound full of rooms that were mostly or entirely diused (especially if you were a slacker and never given responsibilities so you barely even had to go to the storage room). And like

It's that experience during scavenger hunts and stuff when we'd have cause to go in or near some of the closer disused rooms and like . You are standing there on the border of the rooms you know and the rooms you don't, and they're built the same way, it's the same air conditioning in the distance, but you've never been there. There is nothing there, and you know in the real world there is nothing there, but standing there at the meeting point of the known and the unfamiliar there is this deep weird anxiety and excitement. This is a normal room, built like every other room, and you know it for that, but you don't know it, and there's something scary in there, something frightening and surreal about being alone here that lives in the same space in your brain that generates dreams and nightmares and anxious thoughts that when you try to compare with someone or even say out loud more often just . Dissolve like cotton candy into a sad, absurd little pile of goo on first contact with any actual reality

AND THERE. THAT'S WHY YOU KEEP HEARING "LIMINAL" AND "YOU'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE" IN BACKROOMS TALK THAT'S WHY IT INTERSECTS WITH DREAMCORE AND WEIRDCORE AND YES ARGUABLY TRAUMACORE. BECAUSE BACKROOMS IS ABOUT THE FILLING-IN UNSETTLEMENT YOUR BRAIN CREATEA QHEN FACED WITH THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN THE FAMILIAR AND THE SHOULD-BE-FAMILIAR-BUT-ISN'T. AND THAT IS A KIND OF FILLING IN THAT LOSES THAT PARTICULAR QUALITY THE SECOND YOU TRY TO WRITE SOMETHING CODIFIED ABOUT IT, THE SECOND YOU REMEMBER A REALITY EXIST, THE SECOND YOU ARE NO LONGER FUNCTIONALLY ALONE WITH YOUR BRAIN AND A ROOM YOU SHOULD KNOW BUT DON'T. This is why backrooms (I don't even wanna capitalize it tbh) genuinely lives best in like . Silent aesthetic blogs that do nothing but post images of dead malls. It's the ultimate form of atmospheric horror where including almost anything but atmosphere immediately creates a reality that destroys the fragile surreality of the dream. You can write something fun and even good and interesting and thought provoking based on the dream. You can have surreal and dreamlike factors in a more real environment used to fantastic effect blurring the line between what is and isn't real. But you can't recapture the experience of the dream

And on this note re: blurring the line: this liminality is more often than not also fundamentally opposed to the pseudo-nonfiction format because the pseudo-nonfiction format fundamentally implies or enforces an objectivity and that is the whole fucking point SEND TWEET.

[consistentsquash]

Hi ConsistentSquash, thank you a million times for recommending Pandemic. I finished reading the series at 3 am today. It is the most fantastical, magical, cathartic story I have read in fandom. It captured the essence of the hell years and the world that we have afterwards. Subversive, heartbreaking, towering and ultimately healing.

" The shadowed places in Harry's heart that had known only loneliness gleamed bright as he held in his hands what he had longed for, through four decades of keening want and wish."

"Storge is the love of a man for his family."

"She had an affinity for hawthorn trees and a horse with no name."

"2020, he had believed, would be the year he found the One."

hiya!! sorry this took so long. life is really complicated right now. but yeah! anyway.

Yay!! You found Pandemic from my rec <3 Thanks for telling me! It's so amazing when that happens. Really gives me the motivation to do more reccing.

Yep! Pandemic is incredible. Absolutely love it.

"2020, he had believed, would be the year he found the One."

I feel like a lot of folks had big plans for 2020. Then the world kind of went into suspend mode and we didn't really get back from there.

Also it's got lots of personal meaning for me. The fic that got me motivated to write my first serious rec because I really wanted to read more fics like that but those fics don't exist. I wanted to do something to encourage/celebrate the fics that actually exist.

Diversity in type of fic can be super hard to find in big fandom recs/movie recs/anything big enough because folks just read/rec the same tropes/beats... which means folks are going to write the fic that's going to get read!

Also there is a horns/halo effect. Folks feel better about reccing/reading books/movies/fic/whatever others like. They also feel more comfortable criticizing things others criticize. Sometimes that's got good reasons but a lot of times it's just because something is out of our comfort zone. There's a pretty famous letter by Scorsese abt how it can be hard for things outside the comfort zone to be taken seriously because we are looking for more reasons to criticize it.

It doesn't mean the big recs are bad/anything derogatory. These things are super subjective. Apples and oranges. But when everybody's reccing apples sometimes and you really want an orange you have to do a lot of searching by yourself to get that orange :D Some folks hate oranges. That's ok. Folks are allowed to have totally different tastes.

I love Pandemic. It made me think. It really was pretty different from the endorphin hit I get out of reading good executions of classic tropes I love. It took me outside my comfort zone like crazy. Just that part was different enough compared to what I read before and because of that reason alone worth reccing. Another commenter got the vibe spot on.

Pandemic strikes me as inescapably, painfully, bluntly in-your-face human. Whatever being human means in 2020 and 2021 for us.

The trauma. I mean Harry literally becoming an Obscurial because of depression/loneliness/lack of connection during the lockdown. oof. that fic hurt.

It was my first time reading that type of prose. The technique. Really precise until it kind of explodes into poetry? But then you realize the whole thing was poetry building up.

But more than that. It really really owns cringe. Like it decided to be cringe and owned it.

Because there is this thinking like even inside fandom how cringe means w/o talent/sophistication. We can be sometimes afraid to love something cringe unless others rec it/love it. I am the same ofc! it took me forever to own how much I like dubcon to HEA in fic. But one of the million things I love about Pandemic is how the whole concept of cringe gets turned upside down/deconstructed without getting preachy and also at the same time having one of the best stories I have read in fandom.. Just thinking abt some of the cringe/cringe adjacent things Pandemic subverted

Mary Sue/OC - Delphini Lestrange. I mean. HP fandom is more or less aligned on Cursed Child being pretty mediocre. taking that and changing it into this competent Healer archetype is pretty out there. It works. Idk if you really need to understand the trope to get the point because the first layer of the story is pretty direct.

Songfic - peak FFN baby's first fanfic cringe type thing. Pandemic is pretty intentional about using that genre with respect. A horse with no name (the Narcissa POV) is probably one of the best examples of that. Also the Shelley poetry in the Grindeldore/the jazz in Sugar Plum (the Dumbledore POV) are some of my favorite things ever.

OOC - I mean. This can be pretty gatekeeping and controversial. Sometimes folks don't want to read something they think is out of character which is totally cool. I am pretty picky about Snape characterizations. But also canon Snape is not gay so idk if my fav slash fics are in character or anything. I guess I can justify it as Canon Snape but he's gay or something like that. Anyway what I loved about Pandemic is how it starts out with OOC characterizations and builds to pretty IC characterizations. Another reccer said

Well written set of interlocking fics, with HP characters that are OOC, but have well developed back stories that bring them close to canon behavior by a totally different route

It was really cool because this is definitely the spirit of The Life of Brian/Monty Python the fics took inspiration from. Anyway I love how it did something new without worrying about getting called OOC. It owned that and made it work.

cottagecore - depending on which side of cottagecore discourse you are on folks can be pretty intense on the gatekeeping about what it means. Pandemic is cottagecore with a twist... If your cottage is the sentient Hogwarts Castle which is eating the magic of its Headmasters. But the tropes it uses are peak cottagecore. esp the dark side of cottagecore gatekeeping abt how fluff/slice of life is the only real way to do that style.

Rationality stuff- ofc depending on which side of the fandom you are in you probably know about HPMOR/adjacent type of fic which generally goes for OP/Mary Sue Harry with lots of philosophy quotes and libertarian takes. Pandemic does something pretty wild with that take. It has the philosophy of the characters in their POV keeping it super unreliable and subjective. Also feels pretty reclaiming abt philosophy. Like no its not just a weapon folks use to justify things. It's got some beauty and humans connect to it? YMMV. Idk I don't normally go for this type of thing but this was such an incredible takedown of a lot of modern political stuff and how folks justify their takes.

Modern life/loneliness. I feel like we just accept loneliness as part of modern life a lot of times because it's somehow kind of in our head that it's pretty cringe to accept we are some age and alone. Lots of reasons for that. For me personally mental health is a big one. Anyway this is a pretty incisive fic on that front. It doesn't preach. But it's super gentle and comforting/accepting? Idk I felt super comforted. Pretty different from litfic tropes abt loneliness/alientation. YMMV about realism and things like that but I don't need slashfic for realism :D

I probably got a lot of stuff wrong because the fic doesn't come with meta or serious A/N. So like don't quote me on this. Definitely not an easy read but the thinking the fic made me do is totally worth it for me.

Anyway. Pandemic is the type of fic which probably took a lot of courage to write/put out there. Because the tip of the iceberg is pretty cringe and you really need to sit with it to get the big picture. I mean a pandemic mental health/modern life loneliness fic including Cursed Child Canon and combining with mythology, astronomy and lots of economic theory and adding some of the writing tropes we normally call cringe in fandom is definitely a choice. But it worked for me. It's one of the two fics which made a huge difference in my life. So yeah! <3

#hp #fic recs #hp fic recs #harrymort #pandemic the fic #hp slash fic recs #hp slash #harrymort fic recs #asks #meta #i guess #not meta #but something #sorry im hyperfixating #on reccing #eldritcher fics

[marvellousimagines]

Fandoms and Masterlist

HERE is a masterlist with links to all of the imagines on the blog.

The current list of fandoms I can write for: (updated Oct 18, 2023 - added a video game.)

Marvel:

MCU films/Disney+ shows

Agents of SHIELD

Agent Carter

Netflix's Defenders series

The Runaways

Amazing Spider-Man (must specify Andrew Garfield's Peter, otherwise I'll default to Tom Holland)

X-Men/Deadpool films

2005's Fantastic Four

The Gifted

I am also a fan of the comics themselves, so feel free to ask about others, even if they aren’t in the movies or shows~

Some of the comics characters/teams I am familiar with: Young Avengers, Avengers Academy, White Tiger, New Mutants

Shows:

Avatar the Last Airbender

The Legend of Korra

Castle

Doctor Who (Doctors 9 and 10 and their companions, can wing 11)

Firefly (rusty on this one, but I should be able to get back into the swing of it by watching some clips)

Gargoyles

Grimm

Huntik: Secrets and Seekers

Once Upon a Time (only main series - I stopped watching around the Frozen arc, but I'm still a sucker for Captain Hook and the Mad Hatter especially.)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix)

Stitchers

White Collar

The Witcher (Netflix show only)

Movies:

Birds of Prey/Harley Quinn

Disney (Various - ask)

Into the Woods

Pirates of the Caribbean

Hunger Games

Night at the Museum

Rise of the Guardians

Video Games:

Baldur’s Gate 3

Detroit: Become Human

Pokemon (games especially - Legends: Arceus has some PRETTY characters. I’ve played at least one game for each gen in the main series, as well as both Orre region games and several other spin-offs. For anime, I’m most familiar with the original Kanto arcs and Ruby/Sapphire)

Shapeshifting Detective

Telltale's The Walking Dead (No other TWD media)

Until Dawn

Anime/Manga:

Fruits Basket

Hana-Kimi

Inuyasha

Land of the Lustrous (anime only)

Ouran Highschool Host Club

Spy x Family

Other:

Oxventure (Web show)

Oxventure Blades in the Dark

Tamora Pierce's books

Things I can write for but have extra restrictions:

Shugo Chara - Due to the age of most of the cast, Ikuto is the only character I’ll write as romantic with the reader, otherwise I’ll only take platonic/family member requests.

Undertale/Deltarune - Sorry, no ‘boning’ the Skele-bros. I won’t write any Undertale/Deltarune smut, the most I’m comfortable with (for various reasons) is flirting and fluff.

Actors/Youtubers - My opinions regarding imagines about real people can be found here

Actors from the works in this list

Markiplier and Jacksepticeye 

TheRunawayGuys and friends (only platonic/meeting them imagines) 

Outside X-Box/Outside Xtra (Very iffy on anything more than platonic, though I’m totally fine with writing relationship stuff with their characters from Oxventure or Blades)

Things I can technically write but have particularly problematic creators so I’m hesitant to still include:

Five Nights at Freddy’s 

Harry Potter 

Even though Joss Whedon and David Cage are similarly problematic, I’ve not moved their works to this category because I personally feel that they’re far enough removed from their respective works that I’m still comfortable playing with their worlds and characters.

Particularly obscure stuff I can write that I don’t expect anyone to know, let alone request, but please do if you do know them. Or just talk to me/ask me about them if you’re a fan or curious about them.

+Anima (manga series) 

Forever (crime drama show that only got one season) 

Heaven’s Vault (video game) 

Millennium Snow (manga series) 

My Time at Portia (video game) 

Secret of the Tally (book series) 

Sentinels of the Multiverse (tabletop card game/video game with additional lore explained in podcast) 

Three Delivery (animated show that aired on Nicktoons Network) 

The Troop (obscure Nickelodeon show I got super into)

#Marvel #marvel imagine #avatar the last airbender #the legend of korra #detroit become human #ouran #mcu #white collar #until dawn #the witcher #she ra #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

[girl4music]

"OK, say that I help and you start a conversation. It goes great. You like Buffy, she likes you. You spend time together, feelings grow deeper and one day, without even realizing it, you find you're in love. Time stops and it feels like the whole world's made for you two and you two alone, until the day one of you leaves and rips the still-beating heart from the other, who's now a broken, hollow mockery of the human condition." - Willow Rosenberg

God I love this character and her evolution. It's just fantastic writing and acting.

👏👏👏

Yes, I wish there was more of a dynamic between Willow and Spike too. But as for Riley - I originally thought Riley liked Willow because he payed more attention to her. I mean when Riley and Buffy first met, he couldn’t even remember her name. He kept referring to her as “Willow’s friend”. So I thought he was crushing on Willow but obviously couldn’t ask her out at the time. It actually kinda shocked me that he likes Buffy romantically instead. You’d think the TA would go for the smart girl. Not saying Buffy’s not smart. Just she’s not Willow smart. I mean I thought that made more sense because they suddenly made it a swap-around between Buffy and Willow now that they’re both in college. Willow is now the popular girl and Buffy is the wall flower. And with the departure of Oz, I honestly thought it was obvious Willow and Riley would be a thing. But you’ll soon see why I’m actually glad that they didn’t do that with Riley’s introduction into the show. It does indeed make more sense that he’d be the love interest for Buffy because - well, like you said - they’re both involved in the supernatural in a physical way. Willow’s more on the mental side and I’m not sure a R.I Joe-like commando is her type. But I have played with the idea of gender identity-coding regarding the love interests and it would have been interesting if Buffy’s love interest was more feminine-coded than masculine-coded. Vice versa. ‘Cause you see Oz is more femme-coded than masc-coded. And Buffy’s love interests so far I would say have been more femme than masc. But Riley is totally masc-coded and it works that he is.

#buffy the vampire slayer #the intiative #willow rosenberg #alyson hannigan #buffy summers #sarah michelle gellar #riley finn #marc blucas #spike #james marsters #thor reacts #Youtube

[naturepointstheway]

tugger pretending to be a celeb (healthcare prompts, 8), but misto's not fooled lol

Going anthro/human AU here. Mix of Zurich!Misto and 1998!Misto. He isn't mute in this version.

Mistoffelees considered this Christmas-y dance show around the wards of the local hospital a roaring success. The kids loved his enthusiastic dancing, the old people were moved by his dance to an old nostalgic carol, and this ward had an enthusiastic bunch of patients too--well, perhaps a little overenthusiastic on one patient's part with his whooping whenever Misto did his conjuring turns. A pointed glare in his direction did not work, nor did pointedly not looking in his direction work either. It was all Misto could do to ignore him and not sigh out aloud in exasperation. He came here to entertain, not to be annoyed by some overly enthusiastic twenty-something who kept cheering whenever Misto so much as pointed a freaking toe.

To be fair, Mistoffelees had to remind himself at one point, maybe he might've been high on meds.

Yeah that has to be it. Totally meds.

Mistoffelees was deep in conversation with Victoria when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He flinched away from the unwanted contact and whirled around to see who it was--

Oh great. Just fantastic.

"Sooo," the overenthusiastic young man drawled with a grin and hands on hips. "What's your name again?"

"Mistoffelees."

Mistoffelees began to turn around when the annoying dude who wouldn't leave him alone tapped him on the shoulder again.

"Hey!" Mistoffelees snapped, a little louder than intended, "I don't like being touched."

A flash of hurt in the patient's eyes and he lowered his hand back down.

"Okay, sorry, didn't mean to upset you. So...Mistoffelees?"

"Yes."

"Can I call you Misto?"

"No. I haven't seen you before in my life, therefore no. Only friends can call me that."

"Oh okay. So uh...are you gonna ask me my name?" Here, the patient grinned what he clearly imagined to be a smile that would charm the pants off Mistoffelees.

Well, it wasn't working. But it was clear even to Mistoffelees that he wasn't budging any time soon--though maybe if he asked his name, he might actually leave him alone. It was worth a try anyway.

"Fine. Your name is...?"

The taller man puffed out his chest. "Terrence Mann."

Mistoffelees looked him up and down and folded his arms.

"I really don't think your name is Terrence Mann."

"Ah, my bad, of course," the patient said, before clearing his throat and throwing a wink at Mistoffelees. "It's really John Partridge."

Mistoffelees narrowed his eyes, not fooled. "Really?"

"Nah, I'm just joking," and the youth threw back his head with a laugh like this was the most hilarious thing in the whole goddamn Milky Way Galaxy.

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes. "No, you had me completely fooled."

"Ooh, really?"

"No."

"Time to 'fess up then, Mistoffelees." He primped himself up, brushing back his ears and puffing out his chest again, looking the prince of handsomeness. "My real name? It's The Rum Tum Tugger."

Mistoffelees arched an eyebrow. "The Rum Tum Tugger?"

"Aaah! So you have heard of me! Yes, I am the one and only, the Rum Tum Tugger!" Tugger bowed dramatically. "And I am honoured to be graced by the presence of the one and only Magical Mister Mistoffelees."

A long, awkward silence followed this before Mistoffelees sighed, really eager to pack up for home now.

"I only did thirty spins in a row. I can do that any time."

"Only thirty? Only?!" Tugger gaped, looking like he'd heard the world's most astounding fact. "You mean, you can do more?"

"In my sleep."

Tugger whistled low. "Whoa."

Mistoffelees really, really couldn't wait to get home again.

#long post #cats the musical #Mr Mistoffelees #Mistoffelees #Rum Tum Tugger #the Rum Tum Tugger #Tugger is a himbo

[octavio-baez-hidalgo]

We are the Dark Energy and Matter.

A paradigm shift.

The objective of this research scheme is to establish the practical and theoretical bases for the study and development of a line of thought conducive to establishing that the known universe, including us, is really "dark" matter and energy and that what has so far only knowable by the human mind is true "white" matter and energy.

In other words, the dimensions that we know, including time, even the relativistic, plus everything learned from the infinitely small or "quantum", is mediated because it is only a small part of the whole, which makes many of the theories and developed equations, despite having fantastic applications, are mutilated precisely for trying to explain even a very small part of all "reality".

It will be difficult to get rid of the thought that we know everything, or almost everything, and that we have called “reality” what is directly cognizable by us, either by our senses or by the physical-mathematical tools that we have developed. It will be difficult, but not impossible.

If we accept that we are part of a broader "reality", then we can begin to think that we can explain what we have all seen since the early days of our existence, that we are not alone, that part of us belongs to another "area", or in other words, that our soul and therefore our conscience is not from this "world that is said to be real" but is an integral part of a "reality" that we can know precisely by using the mental weapons that we have.

This has been done by myriads of thinkers throughout our history, and as one of them said: "when physics reaches the peak of knowledge there it will find enlightened souls."

What does this line of thinking imply? Well, there is no dichotomy between what until now we have called "reality" and the true and total "reality."

Take for example time. Was it created in the Big Bang or is it simply a base clock of some super computer that contains and develops "our" simulation or hologram or some other way of theoretical thinking about the universe we are in?

Well, I propose that we should think that we must leave all the "four dimensions" in our universe and develop a theory that allows them to be like a "projection" of a local scope, and that being "there" it is difficult if not almost impossible to "project "To" our "reality. For example, when an "entity" from "there" is "projected" towards "here" it is "seen and felt" as a "presence" of an inconceivably beautiful and effulgent white. Doesn't it "sound like" the "apparitions"? Each person has interpreted these "apparitions" according to their history and culture. And from now on I will stop using quotation marks to refer to what I want to highlight.

One thing I want to make clear: Our universe is real and knowable, it exists independent of our consciousness, and all the physics and mathematics that we have developed to explain it is perfectly valid. What happens is that by saying "the whole is mental" what has really been meant is that we are part of a larger reality only knowable through our enlightened mind? Come? Even in metaphors another light appears broader than our light as we know it.

But how to model what we do not know ?. On second thought, we do know it, it is in all of us, we are part of that more global whole. Our soul proves it.

I know that many, especially from Neurosciences, will object saying that the soul does not exist and we are only conscious as a product of the biochemical synthesis that occurs in our brain. Well, they are partly right. We are in this world and as such we obey its laws, but we also belong to another much broader and more encompassing world, related by so many thinkers throughout our history.

To model?. Is it necessary? Isn't it a way of thinking tied to our universe? I do not believe it. What happens is that we do not even know what we should model as the total reality. Or do we know it? What have so many minds (souls) told us throughout history? Well, we can and must transcend ourselves and achieve both here and everywhere, the development that we deserve to achieve.

I think that a good start would be to define that there is a way of looking at everything from oneself, and contemplating it, developing tools for us to become a concrete projection. Given that I read the term in a novel, I propose that this way of looking at the whole will develop what we will know as Repagular Mathematics, which will give rise to Repagular Physics and all the other disciplines necessary to understand everything.

It is in the Kybalion: Everything is Mental, As it is above it is below, as it is below it is above, Everything Vibrates, Everything is Polarized, Everything is Rhythm, Cause and Effect, Effect and Cause, and Everything has a Gender.

And it is in many other books and articles as well. Many things the soul has found on its way, but only those who have experienced it will give it a glimpse of reality. It is an individual experience. Everyone draws their own conclusions. Without the soul and its vision it is not possible to access complete reality. And each one is in charge of doing it or not believing in it.

And life? How to model the life of all creatures no matter how small they are? In total reality the same thing happens as in our reality. There are highly developed beings, who are aware of everything, and tiny beings that contribute integrality to everything, and also have their expression in our reality. Nothing escapes the All, and the All is in ... Everything? It seems like circular thinking, and it is. Let's not be afraid of it.

Continuing with Repagular Mathematics. These must define an operation that allows the passage of a particular matter to the whole, or vice versa, which makes all the formulations already found correspond to other valid formulations in the Whole.

Take for example the three physical dimensions. They have been extremely useful throughout the History of Science. But do they exist without alteration in the Whole? The corresponding Repagular operation will cause the physical dimensions to be projected from the Whole to our reality. In the Whole there are more than the physical dimensions, there is All Matter, even that not tied to dimensions.

Hard to believe? Not? Well, this line of thought that there exists everything here, but in a different state, will be fundamental for the scientific development of these Mathematics and therefore of the associated Physics.

It is important that every thinker, scientist and spiritual, focuses on finding similarities between what he observes here and what he sees there with his inquiring mind. As a child many things are experienced that we must remember how to experience them again, already with the experience of the years and of the studies themselves.

Much has been said about these issues, so I hope that what is written here will serve as an incentive to many creative minds that help us to establish the Whole as the energy and White matter that it is, and that we recognize that we, our universe can be reached even by our instruments, it is really the energy and Dark matter.

Octavio.

I give Science and FAITH of it.

 Another related articles:

Repagular Physics 01 Matter Energy Time.

Repagular Physics 02 Programming.

Repagular Physics 03 Gravitonium.

Repagular Physics 04 Dimensions.

Repagular Physics 05 Time I.

Repagular Physics 06 Time II.

Repagular Physics 07 Particles.

Repagular Physics 08 Waves.

Repagular Physics 09 Light as base clock and h Planck repagular 3d minimum.

#science #news #technology