the widening gyre

you can never get a clear listen to him. his primary sense node is covered in "hair" and the part that isn't is hidden by two crystals that refract sound waves in a pleasing but disorienting way. he covers his body in billowy cloth at all times. not snug and sensible and unobstructive like eridian coverings, but loose and layered, draped and flowing.

the most clear part of him are his internal organs. because yes, the alien's carapace isn't sound-proof. his single heart beats insistingly in his core, his lungs exchanging gas constantly, his long digestive tract always bubbling and contracting. his thorax is packed impossibly tight and it's all moving and singing.

and it shouldn't be possible, with how fragile he is, for that internal pressure to maintain. how does the thin membrane of his external organ (another horror that sends eridians reeling) keep it all contained? his "skin" is so easily pierced, cut, bruised, burnt, how does he not split open under his own mass?

when savior rocky first arrived home and described the environmental needs of his alien, the scientists thought he'd made a mistake in his frantic panic to get everything out. it isn't possible this being lives at such low atmospheric pressure, at half the gravity, and in a gas that's nearly double the weight of ammonia. in a gas so dangerous, so caustic. and if it does then how is it obligately terrestrial like rocky claims? shouldn't it fly or float instead? (and then to see it in the water, learning that it can float or sink at will.)

and this alien has come bearing gifts that will not only save your species but launch it into impossible heights of technological and intellectual advancement. he has discovered the solution to astrophage and bred it to thrive on threeworld and translated his instructions into eridian. he has given your people the complete sum of his people's knowledge, advanced in ways the eridians can't believe and behind in ways that seem ludicrous. and he has given his life for your people to have these things.

he knows how your solar system was formed. he knows how the universe started.

his name means beautiful and generous and relieving.

the eridians experiencing cosmic bliss.

@deansflipphone

@divinebruises

@fivefeetfangirl

@mcrv

@destiel-taylorsversion

@salamitsunami1

@diminuel

@itsnotnaturalmmmm

@doublebill

@dreampencil

@emzwolf

@eyesofatragedy67

@fandomsmakemyheartgosuperwee

@firstclassshipping

@frosthexe

@fandoms-and-things

@fellshish

@gabavaldman

@garbledg

@geraniumsky

@gingerswagfreckles

@hornystiel

@horrorgay

@homowiki

@honeypiecastiel

@freewilldean

@icantleave

@ineffablecho

@its-a--love-story

@itsanending

@imjustgonnareblogthis

@jensenackhles

@just-misha-and-castiel

@spnyuri

@katherine-ann1

@lbi-spyl

@livebloggingmydescentintomadness

@strawlessandbraless

@troublemakerdee

@amnesiaguy

@loverrrrrr17

@lucifer-just-needs-a-hug

@lucik-for-short

@lykanyouko

@misha-69innit

Connor and Hudson's off-the-charts chemistry (and the overall quality of the cast in general, which was incredibly high)

A tight, well-written script that IMO improved on the book in many ways (a rare thing for a book-to-screen adaptation)

A story in which the stakes were high and real and life-wrenching, and that knew how to build, maintain, and then break the tension

A willingness to break a lot of unspoken taboos and to depict relationships and sexual acts that, despite being choreographed to the nth degree, looked and felt real

Tierney's masterful direction that had a clear vision and executed on it WHILE ALSO trusting his cast and crew to make cool and interesting decisions; he didn't micromanage the set to death and it shows

It's not actually about the hockey! You could've plopped Shane and Ilya into another high-pressure, high-stakes environment and it still would've eaten all our brains! (And like yes incidentally I got hockey-pilled but that's because I found a hockey pair with chemistry so compelling I couldn't believe it was real. The Heated Rivalry to willmack pipeline is real, y'all!)

I wanted to make a gifset ... but nothing would do this scene justice.

heated rivalry - run away with me

Let's not be shy || Heated Rivalry Song: Shy (Dessa Remix) by Ani DiFranco

"There's where I come from and where I'm going, and I am lost in between."

My contribution to Hollanov! Premiered at @vidukon 2026.