Import

Ask anyone and they can tell you the story: that the words inked on your skin are the first words that your soulmate will say to you. That if you are in the right place at the right time, if you’re lucky, you’ll find the person made to complement you in every way. It’s easy to see why people want to believe it. The notion of a perfect partner is seductive, and some people spend their entire lives searching. Most people don’t beat the odds - and with humanity spread from the central planets to the farthest-flung outpost, the odds are pretty astronomical. A reasonable amount of basic compatibility and a visit to a decent tattooist are enough to satisfy tradition, for most people. The Hyperion president loudly, publicly, does not believe in that bullshit. The Atlas president keeps his counsel to himself.

Man it’s weird, reflecting on the Stargate franchise’s 17-season multi-movie television juggernaut now, in the context of the 90′s, the 2000′s, 9/11, military imperialism, and cultural shifts through the years. Like, the original SG-1, at least up until season 8 or so, is in retrospect so obviously a Cold War narrative. The main thematic conflict the whole series is founded on is the idea of negotiation vs violence: when can we talk it out and when do we shoot? How can we keep our people safe in the face of overwhelming danger, when we know, the stronger we get and the harder we fight, the more we might provoke the enemy? What is it even ethical for us to do with and to and for another culture? There are fair-weather allies that become enemies that become allies again, there’s the literal Goa’uld scare of they could be anyone, and how would we even know?, and our biggest Earthside antagonists are either a shadowy three-letter government spy agency, or Russia. Cold War. It gets more complicated as seasons go on, as your biggest Goa’uld threat turns out to be Ba’al who looks like a legitimate businessman right here on Earth, as the Lucien Alliance starts putting itself together like the Russian Mafia in the aftermath of the fall of the USSR. SGA on the other hand is 100% about the Iraq War/Afghanistan, starting when our intrepid band of protagonists roves off to another galaxy in search of power sources and weaponry they can claim for their very own. The entire Daniel Jackson ‘let’s talk it out!’ goes out the window–Wraith don’t negotiate, period, ever, and also nobody on our gate team particularly cares to try. Instead, our whole main thematic conflict is, how do we deal with the legacy of our forebearers’ mistakes, and also our own, which is absolutely a cornerstone question of the whole Iraq conflict. Every single recurring enemy in SGA was either created or made much, much worse specifically because of something our protagonists do, from Michael to the Asurans all the way back to waking the Wraith up in the first place. Most of the problems around the Pegasus galaxy were caused by the Ancients, who the natives call ‘the Ancestors’ and various members of the Atlantis team can literally claim as their own ancestors, screwing around and interfering and making a mess and then fucking off to let everybody else deal with it. I could probably write an entire essay. There is a massive essay to write. And, right, in both of these shows, the military are the good guys!!! In SG-1, they need to be tempered by Daniel and his ‘hey maybe don’t shoot the first people we meet on a new planet’, but fighting the Goa’uld is good and right and even if we’re not going to kill them all, it’s better if we prove we can kill them all, just in case. There’s a lot of the warm-fuzzies of ‘we’re taking down genocidal Cold War dictator-proxies!’, which is very nice. There’s a whole lot less of ‘and then, the Vietnam War.’ There’s definitely reference to how the planets our heroes pick to draw their line in the sand often suffer for it far worse than Earth does, but it all kind of gets glossed over–it’s fine, bad things happen but it’s fine, it’s just the price of freedom. Which makes a lot of sense in a post-Cold War context, when the show is drawing from decades of tension and conflict that are over now. In 1996 and 1997, when the Cold War was over but everybody still remembered it, and good sci-fi about the threat of planetary nuclear annihilation or possibly getting taken over by aliens/communism was really appealing in a ‘and the good guys win!’ way. So we can pick the parts that make for good TV and admirable heroes, rewrite the history so it’s not as scary, and tweak it a little more to make the good guys always good. SGA actually does a lot less skimming over of ‘hey here are all the reasons our protags are actually pretty awful!’ They’re explicitly responsible for pretty much every bad thing in the Pegasus Galaxy, and it comes up and gets talked about. Which makes a ton of sense in the context of 2004-2009 when the show aired, as the Middle East kept exploding and almost settling out and then exploding again, and probably it was all the US’s fault in the first place–the idea of a military that fucked up and created their own worst enemies was very much in the public consciousness. Which makes it even more interesting that SGA somehow managed to keep the military, and their various civilian and occasionally native allies, as the good guys. The ethic of the show seemed to be, ‘okay we fucked up, and every time we try to fix it we usually fuck something else up even worse, but at least we keep trying.’ The last guys who screwed Pegasus up said ‘the hell with it’ and took off, leaving Wraith and ruins and all sorts of gene-locked booby traps behind them, so our protags get all the credit for trying to stick it out even though they’re fundamentally operating on a really sketchy foundation of imperialism and would-be genocide. It’s just really interesting watching these shows now. The early seasons of SG-1 feel so culturally distant, from the way they try so hard at feminism (and they are very sincere in trying very hard!) to the way the whole show is simultaneously so pro-military, and unabashedly, joyfully pro-science and discovery. Early 2000′s SG-1 goes out of its way not to even admit anything’s going on in the middle east at all, which is part of why it’s such a departure when John Sheppard shows up straight out of Afghanistan. Comparing Jack O’Neill and John Sheppard, and what rank and duty and obedience and insubordination mean to each of them in the context of the very different wars they each fought before they ended up among the stars, is super illustrative and super interesting. Comparing any of it to the world of 2018 is interesting, too, because I don’t know what a Stargate franchise would have to look like today. What war are we fighting any more? What war could we feel good about fighting? You don’t see a ton of sci-fi these days when the good guys are the government.

Moonlighting as Abram, member of the city's crime-fighting Foxes, Neil is doing a very bad job at staying under the radar. He's busy enough between his friends, patrol, and bickering with Andrew at work, but with the Ravens gang finally within reach and the reappearance of the Monster, he might have bitten more than he can chew. (Or, how both Neil and Andrew accidentally fall in love with the same person twice. Lame.)

Mugs/tumblers with constellations

we’re all killers. we’ve all killed parts of ourselves to survive. we’ve all got blood on our hands. something somewhere had to die so we could stay alive. — if memories could bleed, if dreams could scream | m.a.w 

“You won’t let go of me, will you?” Harold whispered, coming in short breaths as his green eyes glistened with unshed tears. And all the while his friend, his lover held his dying body amidst the chaos of war and destruction that surrounded them. Tom held him tighter; a failed attempt to delay the inevitable death of his only loved one. “Never.” Tom’s voice cracked. “We vowed forever, remember?” But it was too late, Harold Pantiel stared back at him with unseeing eyes and a content smile. Tom Riddle screamed. Two souls were torn apart by the hands of death and time. One was left with a path of immortality at the cost of his own soul and the other transcended from the threads of time, reborn as the other’s prophesied enemy. But when Fate decided to give a chance to regain what they should have had and let their paths cross again, it forever changed the course of their destiny and the world’s.

It was a sad day when one had to resort to time travel because things were just so fucked up. Stiles should know. He went back to undo the whole ‘Beacon Hills is a death trap’ thing but for now he would just settle for knowing where the fuck he was. Even the year would be a nice start. Someone? Anyone? Or, the one where Stiles travels back in time, karma comes to bite him in the ass, and he ends up as Kate Argent's hunter mentor. He didn't take Peter Hale into account either, and he definitely didn't sign up for everything that came after. His life.

You’re quite possibly the last remaining selkie in the world and you just went and did the worst thing you ever could have done. You lost your sealskin. Good thing a handsome stranger is there to come to your aid.

Slash, HPTR - One view on why Tom Riddle became Voldemort, and what he does once he realizes that particular truth.

Central City, California is beautiful, but it’s not where Johnny wants to be – and he’s not who he wants to be, either. Inspired by the recent return of Spider-Man, Johnny convinces the newly minted Fantastic Four to return to the Baxter Building, the site of the incident that gave them their powers. But not everything is what it seems, and worse yet, Spider-Man wants nothing to do with the Human Torch. In the wake of Gwen’s death, Peter has finally put the mask back on, but nothing’s the same as it once was, and the thrill has gone out of Spider-Man. The Fantastic Four’s arrival only makes everything worse. The Human Torch is good looking, he’ll give him that much, but Peter has no plans of making friends. A series of strange attacks and a fateful encounter on the docks may not leave him much choice.

When two abused souls cry out for each other, not even Time can keep them a part. But time travel is tricky and one can not stay in the past forever without suffering terribly. Abused by his relatives, a young Harry Potter finds a way to escape for brief moments. He finds himself far away from the people that are supposed to protect him and spending time with another with an equally painful past. But eventually he is always forced to return to his relatives on Privet Drive. Abused by other children and neglected by adults Tom Riddle has grown cold and is disgusted by the vast majority of people. That is until one day he comes across a softly crying child with beautiful deep green eyes. He is amazed by how this boy appears and disappears from his life and finds himself growing protective of him. But Time is fickle and one can not stay in the past for very long. Death will come for one or both of them in time.

Ten years of life at the Dursleys have healed Alexandra Potter of any good feelings she might have towards her aunt, uncle and cousin, leaving her friendless and sarcastic about life. On her eleventh birthday, a letter sent by a school of magic may give her a providential escape. Except, of course, things may not be that simple for a girl fan of the Lord of the Rings...

He awoke in Godric's Hollow just in time to hear Voldemort kill James and he watched, helpless, incorporeal, and frustrated as Lily Potter made her sacrifice all over again. When Death pulled him outside (through the wall, no less) he heard a crack and thundering footsteps as someone Apparated into the front garden and dashed upstairs. The noise woke his younger self, and the infant’s wails served as a horrible accompanyment to Snape’s broken sobbing. THAT, Death said, IS A DIFFERENT HARRY. WHAT IS YOUR NAME? He coughed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “Harrison...Black, I suppose.”

What if Usagi's average test score wasn't 30? What if she could legitimately say "I'm blonde, not dumb!" and what if... well, enough with the speculation and on with the show! I don't own Sailor Moon. Complete.

When young, up-and-coming cellist Alexander Lightwood heads to Aspen, Colorado to attend the prestigious Aspen Music Festival he has no idea what destiny awaits him there. This is an alternate universe Malec love story full of twists and turns, triumphs and tragedies. Asking one of life's most difficult questions... does true love really conquer all?

When a magical backlash causes a rift in space and time, an unsuspecting girl is pulled back and forth, leaving her with knowledge of the future and a destiny that is too big to ignore. Unwilling to sit back and watch, she will do anything in her power to stop the Dark Lord's rise. But fate itself will fight her every step of the way. Fem!Harry. Summer before 3rd year and beyond.

A Movie Star AU written for the 2016 Olicity Fic Bang Felicity Smoak’s only reservation about taking a job as script supervisor on John Diggle’s latest film is the lead actor: Oliver Queen. He’s a former teen heartthrob with a reputation for bad behavior and a messy drug habit that tanked his once-promising career. Now, five years after he disappeared off the Hollywood radar, Queen’s looking to make a comeback. But has he really cleaned up his act, or will his attitude problem make Felicity’s life a living hell for the nine-week shoot in New Orleans?

The Emperor had been killed, his fleets scattered, and admirals defeated. Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade have found themselves in a galaxy where all their work has been undone, with other stranger changes lurking.

Haruko Maito was a ballerina in her last life and finds herself as a ninja in her new one. No, she doesn't understand the connection either. She also doesn't understand why she's alive - if she's even alive in the first place - but she figures that she might as well have a bit of fun for as long as she's stuck on this disastrous ride. SI/OC as Gai's twin.

After stupidly listening to Luke, Leia wakes up on Tatooine. Her day only gets worse.

After a mission goes awry for Alec and his team, they find themselves in unlikely company, making new friends and learning things they never would have believed possible. As they try to make sense of what is happening, they begin to uncover something that will draw doubt on anything they have believed in so far.

Everyone knows Dementors can take souls, but nothing says that they have to keep them. After the Dementor attack in Little Whinging ends disastrously, Harry must find a place for himself in a new world, fighting a different sort of war against the nascent Voldemort. Eventual Gideon Prewett/Harry Potter. Tags will be updated when it becomes relevant. Updated every Saturday.

Tom was Harry's best friend growing up and his first love. At eight, Harry gave Tom his first kiss before moving away. As a freshman in college, the name of the RA on the door across the hall is terribly familiar.

When Adam Parrish attends the Royal Academy, he doesn't expect to get tangled up with the nobility - and he especially does not anticipate Ronan Lynch. As he finds his place in the world, they grow closer, but nothing is ever easy. (Fantasy/Medieval AU)

Ronan knows the risks. Intimately. He's been out of the scene for a while, playing it safe. But he's back and Adam is the first person to catch his eye. It's never easy starting something new, trusting someone new. But maybe Adam can make it worth his while.

A slow burn, assholes-to-friends-to-lovers au, featuring cameos of Gansey being Gansey, but mainly about Adam and Ronan. Well, to be honest, mainly about Adam. But that makes it about Ronan. Or maybe it's the other way around. There are feelings and bad music and boys throwing things. Also pie.

Vigilante AU. Ronan is a non-adorable Spiderman, and Adam is the entirely adorable object of his affection. Also featuring the other members of the Gangsey in powered and augmented roles. Thus, Ronan fights crime with angry flexibility and sarcasm and tries to protect Adam while hiding his identity.

Newport, The Hamptons, playground of the rich and the place where Magnus grew up. A place that he'd always found stifling and restrictive only saved by one thing, his best friend Alec Lightwood. At least he was until it all went wrong and Magnus ran to London. Five years later and an invitation from Clary Fray and Isabelle Lightwood seems the perfect time to return and face up to the past. Little did he know that this weekend is the worst and possibly the best for his grand return. Alec Lightwood, oldest son and heir has always felt the responsibility of his family's well being weighing heavily on him which is why he's doing what he is. He has no other choice that he can see. The last thing he needs is the return of his ex-best friend and the love of his life especially in this weekend. Magnus is the one person who could threaten to divert him from what he needs to do. But it's only 48 hours and Alec is determined to fight his way through. Magnus is equally determined to show him that some sacrifices are far too great. Or the AU loosely based on the classic films The Philadelphia Story / High Society with Malec twist.

By her 3rd year at Hogwarts, Cat has found a balance - between her Slytherin classmates, her Gryffindor best friends, her distant mother, and the tension of oncoming war that threatens to tear it all apart. She isn't expecting some little blonde first year to pop into her train car and turn everything upside down.

“I need to talk to Minyard,” Neil says, sipping at a soda. “How do I make that happen?” Kevin chokes on his whiskey. “You don't.” In which Neil doesn't have Kevin Day to convince him to play, so he becomes a sports journalist; Andrew is a keeper in more ways than one; and Quidditch is the sport du jour. Featuring a frankensteined team, eternal roommate Matt, and hawkish sports section editor Dan. Oh, and Andrew has a shady past (present? future?) that Neil can't quite figure out. But that's nothing new for Neil, who is constantly hiding everything about himself anyway—this time with magical abilities greasing the way.