Katherine The OK(ish)

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 Just a lover of animals, books, nature, people, friends, lovers, history, space, science, and all that good stuff. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

[walmart-the-official]

Hey, don’t cry. Free online database of Japanese folk lore

[bleu-guacamole]

Might I add, free database of mostly European folklore and myths

[bogleech]

A Book of Creatures by @a-book-of-creatures doesn't update these days but is another thing along these lines, really huge, fully illustrated all by the author and cites all sources

[st-dionysus]

Free database of Native American folklore, sorted by tribe.

[impossibletruths]

#wait sentinel aus are based on an actual show???#I thought they were just one of those inexplicable Fandom Things - im WHEEZING, i love this so much

never Once have I ever seen a reference to an actual extant intellectual property, it’s always “what if we had this super complicated codependent pseudo-magic sci-fi thing going on” and then just running with it OTL

[theroseandthebeast]

i do not have the spoons to FULLY get into it, as it demands, but the one with the military haircut (he’s a cop, a “protector”, c’est la vie) is Jim Ellison, former Army Ranger, repressed fool. curly haired bb is Blair Sandburg, an anthropology grad student who realizes Jim is a Sentinel of legend, latches onto him like a remora, and Jim basically leans on Blair like a crutch all the while pretending he doesn’t care for him in a very “I made you a friendship bracelet” “ugh gross” “well you don’t have to---” “shut up I’m gonna wear it” way

they were handsy 

HANDSY I SAY

they STARTED handsy 

they moved in together in like. ep one. 

they become partners in the cop sense, they do a lot of gift of the magi shit for each other, every time I start to think of the stupid shit they do for another I remember More Weird Shit, codependent fucking weirdos 

[drunktuesdays]

Okay, I absolutely MUST chime in For The Sentinel which NEVER gets the respect of its peers just because "the plots were a little convoluted" and the "central premise wore a little thin as the seasons went on." those men were in love. THOSE MEN WERE LOVERS!!!!!

What you need to know about The Sentinel is that the very first episode is about Jim Ellison acquiring mystical powers. YES I want to be clear, the way he acquires these powers is "problematical" and "not great, respecting indigenous cultures wise" but okay, so he's got these powers that make all of his senses amped up to dangeous levels. he can hear things no one else can hear, he can see things like he's fucking legolas, you get the deal.

so he goes to the doctor to be like "i feel weird" because of course, and Blair Sandberg, twink anthropologist to the stars, BREAKS SEVERAL LAWS to get in Jim's exam room and say—i know how to help you. i know what's wrong with you. i know how to make life better. and jim ellison looked at the little twink man and said yes....YES to love YES to life YES to living in a 1 bedroom LOFT apartment together. YES to being soulmates and life partners! YES I'LL MARRY YOU!!!!!!

This is the ORIGINAL big gruff german sheppard/lil yapping chihuahua pairing. And fandom looked at this show and said "this is good. i will build a kingdom upon this land. from now on, these are the two genders: big, angry, powerful, forced to their knees by circumstances beyond their control AND small, jokester, has skills INVALUABLE to Big, bad self worth. And then so the sentinel/guide aus RULED the pervert community, and everyone rejoiced.

And then SPN looked at this, and said "but what if the guides also had wet butts" and u kno what? innovation is CRUCIAL.

[crimsonclad]

my friend had Sentinel VHS tapes acquired from someone on the internet and basically every episode featured tough military man Jim being driven to his knees in agony verging on madness bc of his mystical senses being overwhelmed and tiny commie academic Blair soothing him and healing his agonies by touching him (and communicating with him via psychic leopards????) so they could save lives and the show wasn’t GOOD but my god it was something

[meret118]

It's also the little black dress of AUs for other fandoms - Mulder/Scully, Clark/Lex, Derek/Stiles. It goes with everything! :)

[fritokal]

So today I learned that The Sentinel was a show, and so what is the term for when you get un-Goncharoved?

I THOUGHT IT WAS A FANDOM TROPE LIKE OMEGAVERSE

[cesperanza]

God this was such an important fandom to me. My Sentinel friends are my family now, more than a quarter of a century later. Merryish, who first offered my fanfic a home* in —1997? 1998?—taught my kid to snorkel 20 years later. Flummery are my kid’s fairy godmothers. I basically married astolat 25 years ago. And every time I see one of you Sentinel people online (waves to a bunch of you who reblogged this) I feel like I’ve run into someone from the old country! That fandom literally changed my life.

But also, fannishly, so inventive! Some of the first vids I ever saw back before there were computers –VHS vids, wonderful ones. (Shout out to GloRo!) Great great fanfic and art. I still have gorgeous zines from this period. And the loft tape! Go to fanlore and look up the loft tape you guys!!

*before the AO3! When you needed someone to host your fic! This is part of why we built the AO3! So many (so many!!!) Sentinel people involved in building the AO3! Astolat built the Sentinel archive, 852 Prospect, a decade before the AO3, that was our first practice archive software. That software was adapted and used in other fandoms like due South. Seah and I were both DS archivists. This is all part of the story of how the AO3 came about. The sentinel/guide trope is the least of it. The Sentinel’s impact on fandom is totally outsized considering what a minor show it was. But it had a great concept that it did not fully exploit, which I think is in fact, what an amazing fandom needs.

[fanlore-wiki]

Yes, The Sentinel was a real show in the 1990s, and gave us one of the classic fandom tropes, please check out The Sentinel, Jim/Blair, and Sentinel AU pages on Fanlore!

[auressea]

BEST fandom gateway ever! Juicy Juicy- LEMONS and also sometimes very crunchy.

and ALSO- @fritokal If I may.. The Sentinel was a part of the foundation of the Omega-verse concept.. a sort of precursor. There was a WILD AU departure which became a Shared World to play in, and it's all about the exploitation and en-servitude of 'Guides' for the purpose of grounding/controlling/saving/calming the "Sentinels". it revolves around this type of AU: https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_GDP_Series and spawned an entire genre of fiction placed in other properties.

<< and then.. Dark Angel with the Heat/forced mating .. and then Jensen Ackles.. and THEN omegaverse >>

[idkfandomwhatever]

If you ever get to watch the season 1 blooper reel. A+ tier content.

[katherinetheok]

I remember the first time i was channel-surfing and saw this during its original run and going "YES! Finally gay main characters on basic cable!!!" and then a few minutes later "Um... and they're in an open relationship apparently. Why else would one of them be trying to score with a girl? AND spectral leopards and wolves? Nice!" 👍 Also let us never forget that episode where Anthropology Twink used a vending machine to take out a terrorist. I swear The Sims stole deadly vending machines from The Sentinel...

[lakariancityamusementcenteradult]

Star Fleet Officers during their free time on the USS Enterprise: Wow can't wait to attend the life drawing class this morning, then I'll practice the violin at lunchtime and at 1700 hours it's time for rehearsals for the production of King Lear, and finally I'll wind down with some group tai chi

Star Fleet Officers on Deep Space Nine during their free time: Please don't cut me off Quark I can't afford to sober up and start processing my trauma

[spankerella]

@ lidapavlova_magic

[thequeenofsastiel]

ATTENTION AO3 USERS

I got this comment on the fic I just posted:

It's definitely a scam, though I can see why it might trick some people. I was initially freaked out. But then I noticed that the comment had been immediately deleted so the only copy is in my email, the link looks real sus, the time limit is absurd, and I'm having no difficulty with my account. So yeah, just be on the lookout for comments like this. I'm not including the person's username because she was almost certainly hacked. It's probably a good idea to reblog this to spread the word.

@transformativeworks just FYI

[katherinetheok]

Of Gardens

Just a short coda to the book/season 1 (which are of course the only pieces of Good Omens canon).

It ends as it began... When I have more time and spoons, I'm hoping to write an entire series about gardens and new beginnings. Until then, here you go 💙

OF GARDENS Having mad ideas should have been Crowley’s job in their little duo. He was the demon, after all. The troublemaker, the irresponsible one. And yet Aziraphale, angel though he was, was always the one who took wild fancies into his head, who embraced fads and hobbies and would try almost anything once if it seemed interesting enough.

He’d needed Tempting for some of it, but he had a shocking enthusiasm for new experiences, if he thought he could get away with trying them. And, even if he didn’t, he’d sometimes try anyway, just out of curiosity, all the while claiming he was only trying to understand the humans he was charged with guiding and protecting.

Crowley always went along with his angel’s larks, even the ones he hadn’t encouraged, even the ones he largely objected to. That was as much a part of their relationship as all the rest: the push and pull and take and give. Aziraphale put up with Crowley’s notions, and Crowley with Aziraphale’s. And somehow it always balanced out in the end, like every other facet of the Arrangement.

You’ve got to give a little, take a little, and let your poor heart break a little. That’s the story of, that’s the glory of...

There’d been a nightingale in the park after their lunch at the Ritz, delighting Aziraphale. And, as tended to happen, he’d let his enthusiasm run away with him, and Crowley had let himself be dragged along for the ride. So Berkeley Square had been left behind, and they were meandering around Kew Gardens instead.

Aziraphale wasn’t actually stopping to smell every flower, of course, but it felt like he was, in the best possible way. Crowley watched with a smile, unable to remember the last time that the angel had seemed so carefree. But why wouldn’t he be? Crowley felt the same way. The world wasn’t supposed to be here still, firm under their feet and full of beautiful things. But here it was. Here they were.

He was glad he’d let Aziraphale drag him on a half-hour tube journey to come here. London might have been a long way from Eden, but on a glorious summer afternoon, with the sun shining and the flowers blooming, and the sound of traffic distant enough to seem like it was coming from another world, it felt like coming full circle.

“Here we are again,” he remarked as Aziraphale stopped to contemplate a patch of lavender.

They’d never come to Kew together, but the angel smiled in understanding. “Here we are again. In a garden.”

“And still both alive and kicking. Crazy, innit?”

“Insane. Wonderful,” Aziraphale agreed, beaming at him. “The world is still here. Our world.”

Crowley didn’t do anything so sentimental as pointing out how worth fighting for this old-new world of theirs was. He didn’t have to. Aziraphale of the Eastern Gate, Eden’s warrior-angel and Soho book-dealer, already knew.

They’d both fought for this world in a million little ways, and both been fully prepared to fight for it in an absolutely monumental one. They’d both fight again if they had to, although Crowley hoped they never would.

And who knew? Maybe in their new world, in Adam Young’s new world, things would be different. It was a world full of gardens, after all, and what was a garden, if not a place where new lives began each and every day? THE END *thanks to @morgaine2005 for the edits and the encouragement (and for listening to my many many feelings about... Things)

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

[skeevers]

Medieval Monk Bear from Historic Scotland

[katherinetheok]

if shipping to the US didn't cost twice what the bear does, I would absolutely consider getting him 🥰

[maureen-corpse]

Modern day Cassandra whose prophecies are never believed finally gets prediction markets shut down by openly prophesying and making absolute bank off of her prophecies and sucking the fun and money out of it for all the Polymarket bros going against her advice

[important-cat-pics]

[jewish-joy]

Last year, I befriended a Catholic seminarian. We've gotten to be pretty decent friends. Seeing as he was staying in town for the summer and I wasn't, I entrusted him with caring for my plant.

He did a wonderful job, but as he was returning my plant to my custody, he explained "I watered her every other day, I gave her new dirt, moved her into the sunshine, prayed the rosary-"

"What?"

He looked at me, confused. "Isn't she a plant you pray with?"

"No," I said slowly. "She's a prayer plant. That's the... colloquial name of the plant."

Upon seeing his stricken face, I realized something went wrong. Turns out, this entire time, he's been including my plant in on his prayers and leaving her near icons.

Listen, totally cool. My plant becoming Catholic is a great deal for her not dying over the summer. But now I must navigate this interfaith household. Keep me in your thoughts.

[katherinetheok]

I was very good friends with a seminarian in college (he came to our nearby uni to take a few classes the seminary didn't offer) and honestly if he said/did something like that, I would have a very difficult time telling if he'd actually converted my houseplant or if he was just messing with me. But I would have loved him for it either way.

The good news it that Catholic plants have a much easier time getting along with Jewish plants than Westborough Baptist plants do.

[ao3org]

Trust & Safety Phishing Comments

Date Posted: July 23, 2026

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[valtsv]

me, wearing nothing but a sheer plunge-neck ballgown that’s plastered to my skin from the rain, soaking wet and trembling with cold and fatigue as i stand outside the entrance to the castle: p-please help me ;) i’m s-so lost and s-scared ;) ;) i have no where to stay for the night ;) ;) ;)

the sexy vampire lady who answered the door, and to whom the castle belongs: of course ;) you poor thing ;) ;) come inside, you must be freezing… you may stay as long as you need to recover from your ordeal ;) ;) ;)

[whiteroserwby]

You walked up to that house in the rain on purpose

[valtsv]

[vstheworld]

the fuck else would I be sloshing around in a wet ballgown for

[nardacci-does-art]

I drew it…. & animated it…

[sugarmage]

[bellringermal]

[thyrell]

[fendalan]

Way too funny not to share

[ms-demeanor]

[optimisticrunawaygalaxy]

[thekaumidyking]

Trust Gru

[katherinetheok]

I seriously get so much joy out of silly stick-figure drawings of the characters I love. More joy than I get out of very well-done art of characters I hate or am indifferent to. Whether it's the Eridanian Welcoming Committee or Elim Garak looking like a funky potato-lizard, I am there for joy and enthusiasm, not flawless technique.

[fluentisonus]

it feels so evil that you can't still access your university online library after you graduate *remembers my principles* it feels so evil that everyone can't access to that stuff all the time

[hollyevolving]

That is very true.

If it's of any help, jstor allows individual users to register for free Independent Researcher accounts with access to 100 documents per month.

[muffinlance]

it WHAT

[booksesmyprecious]

And they're on tumblr. Like all the best archives.

@jstor

[katherinetheok]

JSTOR is a wonderful site. I get so much use out of it.

[pitviperofdoom]

I try not to fall into the "I never liked their work anyway" ditch when an artist/creator reveals themself to be a terrible person

BUT

a feeling I do have and will stand by is "While I enjoyed their work overall I did have some gripes that I overlooked out of affection and whimsy, but now that my loyalty is gone and my affection tainted there is nothing holding me back from enumerating my many grievances, to which the revelations of the creator's shittiness may or may not provide a new and infuriating context."

[beatrice-otter]

#such a good summation of this actually#because yeah there’s usually things that were always present#but which were easy to overlook or give the benefit of the doubt#that suddenly become relevant after a revelation about the creator#and it’s really not the same thing as the self-defensive “’I never liked it anyway’

tags via chimaerakitten

[katherinetheok]

it's so much easier to say "I never liked their work anyway" rather than admit "i always knew their work had red flags but I did my best to ignore them because I thought, maybe just this once, it would be different and a creator would actually be a paragon"

I think it's very much a "fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me" mindset that misses the point that once you've been taken in, you need to be more cautious and discerning (or maybe just not put all creators on pedestals) ... if you've been taken in repeatedly, that doesn't give you license to retcon your own history, it just gives you an invitation to consider why you keep falling into those same traps. that doesn't mean you can't like stories with some problematic elements, it just means that you really should think about the patterns present in those works, what they mean for you as a fan, and what they may mean for the creators.

[wetheurban]

Sending love to anyone who is just… tired.

Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, socially, financially.

Life is asking a lot right now.

Pause when you can. Breathe when you remember.

Give yourself space. Give yourself grace.