#...because it's fun?? why else are we in fandom if not to have fun...

[ghastly-artist]

People on the internet (especially the younger generations) are so ENTITLED these days???? I won't ever get over how shocking that is?? THE AUDACITY OF SOME OF YA'LL!!??

That shit's crazy ! And sorry, yes I'm gonna go there, but ever since younger generations, and what Fandom "elders" call the "normies" have joined Fandom spaces, I feel like they're just thinking we, as artists/content creators OWE THEM our Art 🎨 or something??? They're ruining things and spoiling all the fun out of being in a Fandom!

Just let people be!

HOW AND WHY DO YOU THINK Fandom spaces were created in the first place??

It's because people who got a little freaky needed a place to be left in peace, and find other people who had the same interests; because of that, there were forums that were created, then websites, and that's how Fandoms started.

So I'm gonna say this AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES!

Just let people ship WHAT THEY WANT???!!!

IT'S NOT HARMING YOU - or anybody else for that matter - IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER!

And don't give me that "PROTECCCC THEM CHiLDREnnn bull!" We aren't RESPONSIBLE for their safety on the internet!

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK:

WE 👏🏻 AREN'T 👏🏻 RESPONSIBLE 👏🏻 FOR 👏🏻OTHER 👏🏻PEOPLE'S 👏🏻CHILDREN'S SAFETY 👏🏻ON 👏🏻THE👏🏻 INTERNET !!!!

THEY HAVE parents, who DECIDED to have kids, THEY'RE the ones who are responsible for THEIR OWN CHILDREN'S safety.

And if unfortunately some of them don't have good parents, we'll it's sad, yes but that doesn't mean they're gonna automatically find Fandom spaces, and THEN become unhinged or whatnot, because of what they saw - on the off chance that they might find some things that YOU, or others consider controversial ??-

And if they do, well not my circus , not my monkeys! 🤡

If they can't differentiate between fiction and reality, I'm sorry but Darwin didn't do his job very well, and they're doomed from the start 😂 🤷🏻‍♀️..

AND LIKE, if I follow your skewed logic, then we should ban true crime documentaries because that MIGHT turn some people into murderers, video-games because it MIGHT turn some people violent, crime TV shows because it might give bad ideas to the wrong people?? Reality TV because it makes people DUMB AS HELL??

Like… this is RIDICULOUS and illogical as hell!!?? Your arguments aren’t even real, solid arguments — you’re just using them to serve your own little quest for… whatever the fuck it is you’re looking to prove.

The internet — and especially other people’s blogs — ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE TAILORED TO PLEASE YOU!! It’s someone else’s space, and they can do whatever they want with it!!!

If you don't like it, just fucking block them!

I have blocked people whose content I LIKED, because some of their content made me uncomfortable; and I didn't send them weird entitled messages, or tell them "imma block you because you POST PiCtUrEs Of BuNnieS and IT MAKES Me uncomfortableeeee".

Like what the actual fuck?? The world doesn't revolve around you, and nobody NEEDS to know that you've been inconvenienced (in Fandoms) and why - you immature little shit?!!

(And I'm not saying you can't vent about something happening in your life or whatever. It's YOUR blog - BUT DON'T pollute Fandom spaces with your bull !!!)

Just MOVE ON, that's it.

Acting like the Fandom police, pretending it is to "save the children" while we ALL KNOW you only harass people because you think you're entitled to other people's fanfictions, art and other content being tailored to YOUR own tastes, and - GOD FORBID an artist that you thought was talented, starts to draw something that upsets you!-

Because yeah, "THAT'S NOT RIGHT, THEY CAN'T SHIP THAT THING - THAT YOU HATE - THEY'RE ONLY ALLOWED TO MAKE ART THAT YOU WANT THEM TO MAKE!! AND THEY CAN'T DO THINGS JUST BECAUSE THEY LIKE THEM" Yeah, yeah...

GOD FORBID SOMEBODY JUST WANTS TO HAVE FUN ON THE INTERNET - AND DO THEIR OWN LITTLE THING IN THEIR OWN LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD - RIGHT??

Right...?

Well. NO! It doesn't work like that!

You need to get your fragile little ego in check! THE WORLD ISN'T FAIR, it's NOT made to PLEASE YOU, it DOESN'T revolve around YOU and only you, and you GOTTA LEARN that this entitlement, this AUDACITY, isn't gonna get you far in life if you keep going about things that way (and hiding behind anon messages makes you feel powerful, I know, I know) but try that shit in real life and see where it takes you... 🤡

If an Artist , or fic Writer, or content Creator wants to suddenly change Fandoms, they CAN, and they WILL.

Is it sad? - Yes - Should you say anything about it? FUCK NO, should you keep supporting them through their newest hyperfixation? Yes, but do you have to? Absolutely NOT. You can move on, un-follow or even block them!

I have had my favorite artist follow the same hyperfixations as me for like ten years and then suddenly get into something that I ABSOLUTELY HATED! And you know what I did? I kept supporting them when I could. That's it! And I'm not saying YOU should absolutely do that despite hating someone's content, because YOUR internet experience should feel safe to you, so I'm just saying that's just ONE WAY to go about things. You can just mute /block.

If they change Fandoms, just let them, if they want to ship something you hate? Same thing.

If they say something you don't agree with?? JUST. LET. THEM. It's THEIR blog, THEIR own life and choices, and it's not because someone has a kink you deem weird or ships two brothers, or siblings or whatever, as strange as it may be to you, or has, idk a pee kink, a blood kink, or WHATEVER, that you're supposed to bother them about it????

And, come on guys, let's be real for a minute, life is HARD enough as it is, we don't need our safe spaces, where we feel welcome and free to be our freaky little selves, and have fun and SHARE our creative works for FREE, to be polluted by people like you who have no concept of free will, and decided that they should ONLY be doing things you want them to do, and be policed by assholes on their safe spaces!

JUST LET THEM BE!! DON'T INTERACT!

I have gotten SO MUCH HATE in the past couple of months, JUST for speaking my mind and defending other artists - and apparently liking some of their posts too? Which is FUCKING RIDICULOUS!?? -

But you know what?? I WILL CONTINUE TO DEFEND THEM for -FUCKING- EVER!!!

I don’t CARE what you ship, what kink you’re into, or if you ship yourself with a fictional character — and, yeah!!

Let’s go there too 😏 since apparently some of y’all need a taste of your own medicine!??

(IMPORTANT NOTE: I have STRICTLY NOTHING against self shippers, I'm just addressing the issue that A HUGE CHUNK of the people attacking other fans in Fandom spaces think the only way to enjoy a character is self-shipping and that these characters BELONG to them somehow??)

Some of ya'll self-shippers keep ANNOYING others for doing exactly that — shipping, enjoying their own thing — and for what???

(Not talking about all self-shippers, because you opened minded peeps are AMAZING and lovely and I'm SO grateful for your presence in Fandoms!)

And I'm just gonna leave this HERE BUT,

I HAVE SEEN SOME OF YOU, be HELLAAAAA into Daddy kink, but then, when other people ship two brothers or siblings, or half brothers or cousins or - whatever - YOU ACT ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY?? THERE'S LITERALLY NO DIFFERENCE??!! 😂

LIKE, double standards, much???

Back in the good old fandom days, (yeah, yeah, granny ghastly's back at it with the good old days) this kind of shipping wasn’t even that common, it was actually the odd one out, and people would think it was weird and cringe as HELL, but you know what??? Nobody BOTHERED THEM!!! And NOBODY BOTHERS YOU now!? YOU DO YOU.

Meanwhile, here we are, NORMAL(ish 😂) people, who actually get what it’s like to just want to ship something and be left alone to enjoy our own little corner of the fandom in peace. AND we don't BOTHER YOU! We just LEAVE YOU ALONE to enjoy your weird little corner of the internet! BUT YOU ATTACK US /THEM for liking something you don't?? (including myself in there because apparently supporting other's free will to do what they want gets you as much hate as actually doing the thing).

JUST SHOW THE SAME COURTESY.

The internet is big enough for EVERYBODY.

To me, truly if you ship SIBLINGS TOGETHER OR ANYTHING ! IF IT IS FICTION, ANYTHING GOES! HAVE FUN, who am I — WHO IS ANYBODY — to stop you or decide you can't ?!!

Do I like everything I see on the internet?? CERTAINLY NOT, do I go out of my way to just go and bother people because I'm an entitled little Bitch???? NOPE, I DO NOT!

And you know what, it doesn't kill me, I'm still okay decades later. Everything's fine. Fanfiction sites have functions for blocking tags that revolt you, and LEARN TO USE THEM G-dammit.

AND Tumblr has a mute function AND A BLOCK FUNCTION, HOW COOL IS THAT???? ✨

JUST FUCKING use them and shut your cakehole. And go eat some cookies if you're into that, who am I to stop you!?

Now imma go back to supporting EVERYONE in the Fandoms that I'm into, and enjoy their art, and fanfictions, no matter if it's my cup of tea, or not.

Because THAT'S what you're supposed to do in Fandom spaces, SUPPORT EACH OTHER ✨ (or just BLOCK THEM).

Have a NICE DAY! 🩷

(Ps : Sorry I didn't check for mistakes or reread myself!)

[humzbird]

Has anyone else noticed how unique of a character Vasily is? Not in terms of his personality and behaviors, but with the role he plays inside and outside the story?

Okay, let me explain.

His character occupies a very particular niche in the fandom, and I think it's a large part of why he's so disproportionately popular despite how minor of a role he plays in the story. Now, what even is this thing that makes him unique?

Let's go over some of his key characteristics, shall we?

He's an outsider to the main plot

He's a dork

He's an artist

He's obsessed with Ogata

In other words, Vasily is a fanboy. But not just any fanboy, oh no.

Vasily. Is. Us!

Think about it! Isn't it remarkably easy for us Ogata lovers and creators to project ourselves onto him? Haven't you noticed that there's a whole subgenre of Golden Kamuy fan content that's just people depicting Vasily as a cringe fanartist who's obsessed with his blorbo?

Lowkey, I think we all collectively just find it cathartic that there's a character in canon who's equally, if not more deranged about Ogata than most of us will ever be. Not only do we recognize his behavior in ourselves, but in a weird way, it's kind of healing as well. Especially for those of us who have ever had any shame tied to our fandom experiences throughout our lives. I know I used to be way more embarrassing about this kind of stuff when I was younger. But thanks to Vasily (aka: Noda), now I have the unique opportunity to confront that shame in a fun, socially acceptable way.

Because of all this, Vasily within the story is functionally a stand-in for the fans. Specifically, all the fans out there who simultaneously like Ogata, but who also want to throttle him with their bare hands (there's a hilarious amount of overlap in that venn diagram). I've been in many other fandoms before, and I've never seen anything quite like Vasily. On the rare occasions that other media does have fan stand-in characters, they're usually one-offs that are treated with mockery or disdain. I have no idea if Noda ever intended to have Vasily be a fan stand-in, but he's insane for pulling it off really well regardless.

Tl;dr: Vasily is the embodiment of our worst, most cringey and deranged fan impulses, and we love him for it.

[cerulesen]

everyone should be insane about at least a few rarepairs in their life i think it's good for the soul

[youngpettyqueen]

no way am I seeing people claim that theyre being queerbaited by Star Trek with Spirk in SNW. if you honestly and genuinely believe that theyre going to make Spirk canon then that is on you lol

[f-imaginings]

I have finally FINALLY got up to the dream scene at the start of the last mabelcorn in kmky and everything is flowing nicely finally, and the scenes and characterisation all are smooth and make sense and I am no longer going over the same establishing scenes like a pedant trying to make them perfect. SUCCESS!

Just have to knock out these next few bits then it's onto unicorn beatdowns, funny hats, pizza parties and loophole heists!

[eddiemunsonsmum]

Just saw this comment on a story posted a month ago.

*cries in Eddie Munson Solo Series no one wanted to read, interact with or request for*

No shade to the person that commented this on their own fic if you recognize it. It's not their fault. I'm not mad at them. More crying in the tags.

[tasmanianstripes]

Sad to see how fast people turned away from "cringe culture is dead" and turned to "anything not canon compliant is bad and annoying"

Character regression

[deviousdiesel]

.

[inthelittlewood]

Questions about Eyes And Ears AU

I had somebody ask for a brief interview regarding my storytelling for their university project and thought I'd lend a hand.

I thought those of you that follow the story might like the insight too, so here ya go:

When you first introduced the Listeners in Evo SMP, did you have a broader narrative or concept in mind, or were they more of an atmospheric element at that point?

The honest answer is that I didn't want to write too much about somebody else's character(s), that being Grian's Watchers. If I could write the conflict from the side of the Listeners then we could continue the narrative with a pre-designed opposing force but have them be relatively mute for the most part. Partly to build anticipation of when they might act or retaliate but it also worked for behind the scenes purposes too. If the series hadn't slowed/stopped as suddenly as it did, I definitely would have poked Grian to pick his brain about what story elements fit his original imagining of the Watchers. So it was mostly narrative reasoning but they also served a mechanical behind the scenes purpose of transporting us to a new area which was necessary due to bugs we'd encountered with world gen etc.

What inspired you to flesh out the Eyes and Ears AU more in recent years? Was that mostly a personal creative decision, or was it influenced by fan interest?

Honestly I hadn't premeditated too much their reintroduction into anything that I was working on. Sure I'd seen a little chattering here and there about the Watchers but I honestly just wanted to write an individual story beat (albeit a tropey one) of c!Martyn snapping and turning on Ren but that never came to fruition due to Scar taking us out. The plan was always to backstab Ren then say a cool line like "Red Winter is over, Red Spring has begun" or something else punny. Seeing the fevered reaction of the audience though gave me some confidence that I could try my hand at some layered or entirely post-production storytelling, so heading into Last Life I was all guns blazing.

The Eyes and Ears AU is quite open-ended — do you intentionally approach it with the idea of leaving narrative space for fan interpretation?

It really is right? Yes, it's a very mindful decision to leave it open-ended but not so much for the audience's benefit or interpretations, but to give myself creative freedom to take the story wherever I'd like to. Committing to too many power scale, multiverse or narrative shackles early can really strangle stories I've noticed (from reading comics and manga) meaning back pedalling or aggressive retcons are required to explore certain paths, which is rarely a good experience for the reader. I do enjoy their versatility and capability to be applied to any Minecraft or adjacent story too. Some might call it too broad, I call it malleable.

How do you feel about fans expanding the lore through headcanons and theories? Have any fan interpretations stood out or surprised you?

I think it's brilliant! People inundate my inbox on Tumblr seeking permission to write stories or create characters / AUs but I've literally no authority on that. I suppose it might be a different conversation if they were profiting off of those works, but 99% of people simply want to write for fun which I highly encourage!! I'll be honest that I haven't read a great deal of AUs or headcanons, my exposure to them is mostly via chat messages during lore talk streams or questions that come through regarding the Eyes And Ears AU. As a general rule I try to avoid reading too much of other people's works on the topic because I worry I'll accidentally regurgitate it in some way then stumble into plagiarism, you know? It's why I focus more on digesting stories outside the fandom whether it's manga, Sanderson books, reading old Japanese folk tales and the like. I can source inspiration from those on how to weave narrative and execute plot twists without having to glance in my front yard.

Has fan content (art, theories, animatics, etc.) ever influenced how you think about or approach the AU?

Oh for sure they have. It's literally why after every season we'll do a sit down stream and talk about the lore in detail. Figure out the puzzle and potential trip wires of plot points from the episodes and how we can neatly pack them into the pre-existing story. A lot of people wouldn't do that as they'd be precious about their work and believe their opinion is th only correct one, but I looooove soundboarding with the audience on it. I also take that mindset in game and sometimes think about the scenery of an impactful moment whenever I'm able to control / design it. I'll have little quips or quotes cooked in my mind for how I'd ideally deliver a blow or plot twist, buuuuut given the nature of the Life series you very rarely get to execute things how you'd like haha! I definitely wouldn't have done as many of the poems had their not been such a positive reaction to those. I often see individual lines or entire passages make their way into art pieces as typography or highlighted in animatics which is really gratifying. It's why I also put such an emphasis and priority on audio production in my editing. If I can craft something that feels atmospheric, driving and punctuating with music, staggering vocals or sound effects then the auditory portion is already done, they can focus solely on the visual aspect of things. I try and be as cinematic / TV like as my skillset allows for that reason.

You’ve mentioned trying not to fully canonise the AU, but still referencing it consistently — how do you balance telling your own story effectively, while trying not to involve other creators, particularly on the Life Series, when a lot of your time is spent in a group?

The easiest way to do this, is to not do it. For the most part the only storytelling done with the AU is done in post-production. I never name drop the Watchers or Listeners in world (believe me, I was as surprised as all of you when I saw that Secret Keeper statue in Secret Life!!) and in recent seasons they haven't even reared their head as an influence whatsoever. They're on holiday, they deserve it. But when they do whisper in my ear, they're motivated decisions that I would likely make as a player/character anyway because the win objective is always the thing I'm striving towards. I can just pepper angst around it to make things seem more manipulated rather than selfish ha. I think that's why the open ended nature of the Watchers has served me well because as much as they have a singular motive which is to feed on negative emotions, that can be achieved in so many ways ranging from bloodlust to deception, heartbreak to panic. It's versatile for storytelling. It can be in your face, or a slow burn.

What do the Watchers and Listeners represent to you, symbolically or narratively? Do they serve a specific function in the stories you tell?

The Watchers used to represent the audience when Grian first introduced them, but after departing EVO I've definitely breathed more of an egotistical and sinister air into them. They're very much a unique entity / faction now, they in some ways represent gluttony, selfishness and neglect in achieving their goals. The Listeners on the other hand, are a lot of the opposite traits, but I'm still wanting to explore how being the hard end of most conflicts can be dangerous. I want to explore that at some point, whether it be with infighting or failures. They shouldn't be seen as simply bad/good, they're just, different. It shouldn't be too hard navigating that nuance but I want it to reflect elements and motives that we find in our own lives.

[appleflavoredkitkats]

i do mean it when i say 10 years in the future, the dsmp itself might have some case of lost media bc of a mix of the amt of streams we can't recover, biased recaps, and the purges of dsmp-related accounts both on twt and tumblr. it is already hard for me to find streams unrelated to ctommy or cwilbur, and it doesn't help that a good percent of the analysis essay posts we've archived in dsmpanalysis have been completely deleted.

of course any person can experience any piece of media at any time but truly, the dsmp was something else when experienced live because it was a testament to the importance of perspective and individual choices on which story you wanted to follow. if it weren't for archiving projects and dedicated fans, the dsmp would have been perceived in such a one-sided way.

20% of the archived essays i've been sifting through have already heen deleted. a good portion of the fics i've bookmarked have been orphaned or deleted. besides the slight upset i feel about the story and the progress of the dsmp being deleted, i think i'm more upset about the complete decimation of fan content. it's like, i get why they deleted their stuff— the dsmp has its fair share of controversy— but what made the dsmp fun and worthwhile was the fan creativity.

and now a good percentage of that is gone. i don't hope to doompost about anything because i don't rlly think the fandom is going anywhere. but it is definitely a shock to me how much history of the dsmp has completely disappeared just in the span of 2 years.

[kyri45]

A final letter

Hello Everyone!

The queue is paused and everything is scheduled, which means we are ready for the finale!

I know that, in the end, this was just a silly side project for me, with everything else going on in my life. But for this occasion, I wanted to drop some words here and hope they make sense.

I started watching LMK only because a friend told me there was a "Sonadow-coded" ship. I ended up consuming the entire thing in one sitting on July 10th, 2024. At the time, I was still recovering from a bike accident that had left me with a broken right forearm—unable to draw for a little over a month. (I did try drawing with my left finger, but it wasn't exactly fun.)

Not only that, but it was summer, and I couldn’t enjoy the season or practice my main sport, windsurfing. To say I was feeling the blues is an understatement. I remember being in physical pain just from not being able to draw my sillies. But then, watching LMK did something to my brain chemistry that my little undiagnosed autistic self had never experienced before. It hit so hard that I’ve been physically unable to rewatch the show SINCE that very first day. (And y’all still call me the CEO of this fandom. Bro, I just work here.)

A lot of you have asked what inspired me to start this comic or to draw LMK fan art in the first place. While my usual answer is, "I saw Shadowpeach and thought MK could be their lovechild, given his appearance," the moment that actually started it all was THIS ONE—

(I HAD TO REWATCH THIS SCENE TO MAKE THE GIF AND IT HURT ME ON A MOLECOLAR LEVEL)

I have… a thing for characters who discover their entire identity was something else all along. It consumes my thoughts, my dreams, my every waking moment. I live for identity crises, for characters who thought they knew who they were, only to be forced to rediscover themselves, their existence, and their place in the world. If you give me a story where a character has to go through that, I will like it—regardless of how bad the rest of the story is.

Pair that with loads of trauma, daddy issues, the pressure of a legacy, and world-ending stakes, and congrats! Now I’m obsessed, and I will not stop thinking about it for the rest of my days!

At first, my brain just wanted to release some of that energy with a small, four-panel post about the monkeys discovering that MK was technically their kid.

That was supposed to be it.

But since I never seem to learn my lesson, it didn’t stay like that. Because once I started drawing, I just... continued.

And

I

never

stopped.

A lot of you have also asked how I found the motivation to draw so much, to never take a break. Well, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it one last time: I am my number one fan. No matter how much you laughed, cried, screamed, or went feral over this story, I did all of that and more. Because I got to think about the chapters months before they released. I got to daydream about them. I got to watch them come to life—first through sketches, then line art, then dialogue. And finally, I got to witness your reactions and see the incredible creations you made, inspired by my story.

So yeah, in a way, it was almost an addiction. A good addiction. Because, for the first time in my life, I actually understood what loving art means.

I’ve been drawing for ten years, working professionally for five, but I never loved art before. I just liked it because I happened to be good at it. But creating this comic made me understand why artists say, "Oh, I’ve loved drawing since I was a child!" This was the first time I allowed myself to create purely for my own enjoyment. Something I hadn’t had the privilege to do for a long time.

Other than making me feel even more single than I already was, this story somehow also helped me a little with my own family relationships. So yeah. Crazy how the gay monkeys changed my life.

Of course, I never could have predicted how much traction my AU would gain. Man, y’all were really starving to latch onto something this silly. /j

But yeah—thank you. Thank you for sticking around until the end, for having the patience and trust to follow the story even when I made you rage with angst and cliffhangers. (The statement in my bio still stands: I am not responsible for any physical or emotional damage my art has caused.)

I’m absolutely shit at thanking people, or at writing, or at talking in general, honestly. I’m the furthest thing from being good with words, so I hope the final chapter will be enough to show you my gratitude.

Through this story, I met so many wonderful, talented people. I watched as fans across different platforms found each other through memes and fanart of the AU. I saw artists start their own AUs inspired by mine, growing their own communities. I witnessed an explosion of creativity and collaboration through our takeovers. And I laughed along with you all.

And yeah—at its core, this story has always been about love. Whether it’s platonic, sibling, parental, romantic, or whatever the hell Mac and Wukong had going on for millennia.

At its heart, it’s a story about family.

And maybe, in the end… the real family wasn’t just the one in the comic, but the one we’ve found together along the way. 💛

See you all at the finale.

Love you all, freaks /affectionate

Jade

[ckret2]

So a while ago some friends were talking about fans who claim the Same Coin theory is canon. And I made the mistake of saying:

Do you know who also has tons in common with Bill? Mabel. Yet nobody claims Bill reincarnated as Mabel. …wait now I want a "same coin but it's Mabel" AU. Funniest Bill reincarnation option. The all-seeing arsonist is making macaroni glitter art. The omnipotent tyrant is crying because a unicorn called her a bad person.

And then I overthought it for two months.

So—AU where after death, Bill's soul shoots 13 years into the past and reincarnates as Mabel. I'll call it ✨ Sparkly Coin AU ✨

Don't leave yet. Lemme show you why it works. Behold the eerie amount of parallels in their personalities, dialogue, behavior, mannerisms, tastes...

I could have kept going but my attention span ran out. All right, we all on board now? Convinced we could segue from one personality into the other? Great. Now here's why you should be interested: the juicy post-Weirdmageddon angst potential.

As long as a small fringe of the fandom still thinks Weirdmageddon is Mabel's fault, why not amp that up x100 and have some fun with it?

Is everyone sold now? Great. Let's get into the details. I've got 8 more pieces of art under the read more.

So the AU starts the instant Bill dies. Thanks to invoking his deal with the Axolotl—one way to absolve his crime, a different form, a different time—the Axolotl gives him a new shape and shoots him thirteen years into the past. Apparently, the Axolotl thought it would be very funny to stick Bill in the family that defeated him.

Which probably made for a jarring transition.

(It's fine, she's like 10 minutes old, she probably can't even tell who she's looking at. Not being able to tell who she was looking at is what got her into this situation ayyyy)

When Dipper & Mabel come back from Gravity Falls complaining about this triangular jerk Bill, their parents mention that Dipper's name was nearly Bill. See, after they knew they were going to have a boy, one night their mom dreamed about a visitor—some kind of magic pink salamander??—calling her child "BILL." Then at the next sonogram they found out they were having twins, the girl must've been hidden at a weird angle the first time, and they wanted matching names, so they thought, Bill and Bell. But they didn't really like Bell; but eventually they stumbled on Mabel, so to keep the names matching they switched from Bill to Mason. Isn't that the darnedest thing?

(Of course, Mabel and Dipper assume Bill harassed their parents to try to trick them into naming a kid after him. To be a jerk.)

When Bill meets Mabel, he's unaware that she's his future self—Bill's notably bad at doing things like, say, double-checking to see whether he's going to die anytime soon—but like... he can tell something's up.

Naturally, before visiting Gravity Falls, there were echoes of who Mabel used to be—but nothing anyone would be able to identify without context. All her Bill-ish quirks either smoothed out with time (see: how between second grade and fourth grade Mabel went from being the "freak" to the popular girl in class), or else they were accepted by her family as Mabel-ish quirks.

After they meet (and kill) Bill, they have the context to understand some of Mabel's behaviors... and unfortunately, some of Mabel's latent Bill-ness starts surfacing after she's been directly exposed to her prior incarnation.

The part of the Pines family familiar with Bill thinks the worst case scenario is that maybe Bill's survived and is slowly possessing Mabel; but far more likely, they think this is just some weird way of trying to subconsciously process last summer. Mabel doesn't think she's being weird, you guys are being weird, stop giving her weird looks. They get attacked by one triangle and now she can't wear yellow or pick up macrame as a hobby??

(It's not all red flags and uncomfortable triangle imagery, though. When Stan asks her what she'd like as a gift for some important event, she shyly admits that she thinks she's starting to outgrow her plastic gem jewelry and maybe she's old enough to get her first piece of real gold jewelry, if that's not too expensive? And Stan's never been so proud of her. Thirteen years old and already thinking about buying gold!)

But of course, the real fun starts when Mabel finds out.

That's the face of a girl who's just discovered that she tortured her great uncle. Now imagine running into the brother she possessed.

But I've already spent a million words and thirteen images on this post. If enough folks are interested in the AU maybe I'll expand on it later. Let me know what y'all think.

[swiftiesdestiel]

byler fic recommendations because why not:

— i know the end by bookinit • stranger things retelling

my favourite byler fic ever. So beautifully written and idk i feel like it made me understand the show more as well

— some sort of ripple effect by sylvianightshade • “Mike & Will have a long overdue conversation on the way back to Hawkins— by, in, and around a random motel pool.”

takes place in the two-day timeskip between Mike’s monologue and the Cali gang arriving in Hawkins. Sooo amazingly written and one of my faves, idk this fic is so *chef’s kiss*

— touch like velvet by ciders • “It was easy for Will Byers to fall in love with Mike Wheeler.

The trouble came when he had to pretend it wasn't real.”

pretty sure almost the entire byler fandom has already read this one but oh well, normally i’m not the biggest AU fic-fan but this one was AMAZING. Again — so beautifully written, and the story was so good

— he likes it scalding by CastleByersAfterDark • mike and will take a bath together

this one was sooo cute & (i’ll keep on saying it) very well-written😛

— (give me a second to) forget i ever really meant it by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) • “Practice makes perfect, especially when the person you're practicing with is your best friend.” (aka byler kissing practice fic)

kissing practice fics can NEVER go wrong honestly, this was such a sweet little fanfic and i had so much fun reading it

— It will always be you. by peachluv • “After a thoughtful talk and subsequent breakup with El, Mike has to renavigate his friendship with Will and the overwhelming feelings that come with it.”

a new favourite of mine!! it’s such a comfort fic even tho it’s a little angsty at one point. kind of felt like a breath of fresh air cause it doesn’t really focus on the upside down stuff that much, it was incredibly well-written aswell !!!

——> (a slight warning for emetophobes tho cause there is some v*miting in there, however as an emetophobe myself i could just skip over the more graphic stuff and it was completely fine 🫶)

— To Hell and Back Again by perexcri • “Mike and Will's Apocalypse Romcom Spectacular” - Mike follows Will into the upside down because he’s set on finding out what that painting meant, and why Will lied about it.

another fanfic that probably the entire fandom has already read, but whatever. I’m always down for a byler upside down fic and that’s exactly what that is + it’s a slow burn, so what else do we want??

— said that i was fine, said it from my coffin by ruetistic • byler wound cleaning fic

cute & kind of sad but also just…… cute☺️ honestly can never go wrong with a wound cleaning fic!!

— Mike Wheeler and the G-Word by lunii_vii • “Everyone realizes at their own times that Mike Wheeler is queer, but leave him to figure it out himself.”

Really fun and lighthearted fic, enjoyed reading this a lot!!

— and the shame was on the other side by andiewriteordie • “a character study on Mike Wheeler, his feelings of fear, shame, and inadequacy, and how he finds freedom from that.” - a flickergate fic

Nice little flickergate fanfic, honestly one of my favourite byler theories so this was fun to read :)

— ౨ৎ —

happy reading 💌

[mamawasatesttube]

can you imagine talking about anything else the way comic-fanon fans talk about comics?

"the beatles are my favorite band! oh no i don't listen to their music i just look at the album covers and imagine what it sounds like lol."

"star trek fandom is so fun like there's so many series and episodes and reboots that you can just say anything and it probably happened in one of them anyways. and if it didn't, who cares! theres no point in trying to figure out what happened in canon anyway!"

"i love how 90% of doctor who fans all agree that you can do whatever companion with whatever doctor and its pretty much canon because the show is so wild. like, we all just have fun and then some guy shows up and tells you um, 'that actually is directly contradicted by the basic setup of the show?', and then they get offended when you tell them to go away!! LOL!"

"star wars is just too complicated for people to understand - like, are you supposed to start at movie 1 or movie 4? - so you really can't blame anyone for not even trying before they start posting in the star wars tag. anyway here's why i think finn is an angry black man and kylo ren is better for rey"

eta: have been informed this is the star wars experience already. im so fucking sorry yall have to bear this curse too

[internally-weird]

antis: we care about victims and mentally ill people!!

also antis: use 'you dont shower' and fatherless as insults, send death threats, ask if youre okay mentally (because why else would someone want to have fun in fandoms), try to trigger episodes in proshippers, have the most ableist arguments ever

[polar534]

With TGWDLM's reprise on the horizon, I've been seeing a couple of posts about the Guy timeloop theory. Which is great! Especially with the Reprise trailer there's a lot more evidence and fun to be had with it. (I personally subscribe to the in-universe Pokey sponsored musical myself though.)

But I did want to check in with the fandom to make sure people are aware that there is a timeloop musical in the Hatchetfield Trilogy. One that I feel a lot of people might miss because you're designed to forget the biggest piece of evidence unless you're paying attention. Unless you rewatch it.

If you don't already know where I'm going with this, do me a favor. Right now. Open up Black Friday on youtube, or even pull up the cast album and click the very very first song (Prologue). You only have to play it for a few seconds at most. Now, tell me what you hear.

Because the answer should be ticking.

The musical starts, with ticking.

Which, ok, the countdown for renowned American holiday, Black Friday, is something that we do (unfortunately) see in the real world. People wait outside for doors to open, for sales to drop etc.

The thing is, this ticking and the musical accompaniment that eventually starts up is meant to parallel the exact same ticking and theme we hear again at the end of the night. At the end of the musical. If it was just supposed to be a thematic opening title sequence made for the pro-shot release, then why is it included on the cast album? The other two musicals in the trilogy don't include their title card sequence in their cast album. Prologue's inclusion tells me that parallel is purposeful. This is supposed to tell us something.

But ok. Musicals are meant to carry musical themes throughout them. That could reasonably explain the theme being played at the beginning and at the end. Just a thematic nod. The ticking itself could be explained by it referencing the count down to the sale of Wiggly (and the resulting chaos) in the beginning and the countdown to flip the day at the end. Both are reasonable and would fit within the story Black Friday tells.

So if I want to seal this theory, I should probably be bringing something else to the table. If only I had a song... with lyrics that loop. With lyrics that literally ask the question: Will tomorrow come today?

Oh. Huh. Would you look at that...

Well since you already either have the cast album up, or the musical itself up, go ahead and do yourself a favor and listen to What if Tomorrow Comes again. Besides the fact that Kendall absolutely kills it (the whole cast does actually), really listen to the lyrics. Because you'll probably notice little gems such as:

Do you all see the memories, tomorrow, reminds me.

What if tomorrow comes and takes the night away?

And of course:

Will tomorrow come today?

If you still want more, trust me, I got it. Take a look at this:

The choreography in this moment specifically has almost everyone on stage look down at their hands, almost as if 'waking up', almost as if realizing something. Remembering something. (God I wish I could get my hands on a copy of the digital ticket and see the full number. Kendall gets her deserved spotlight in this moment for the pro-shot but I just love this musical so much and would love to see the full stage and every little detail they put into the show.)

So. If you're now on board with where I'm going with this, then I suppose we need a reason for the loop to be occurring in the first place. Something or someone needs to have triggered it.

Black Friday is specifically and unapologetically Wiggly's musical. The Lang brothers have confirmed and reinforced that fact on various livestreams. Also, I mean, we see him so much. So while The Bastard of Time and Space would be a fitting culprit for trapping a bunch of people into repeating the same horrible day over and over, I don't think that's what we're meant to be inferring.

So if it's not Tinky, then who else would even fit as a suspect?

Gosh, if only there was one other character who every time their powers have been described by the Lang brother's, either in livestreams or narrated in released media, as having the ability to 'reach through space and time' and oh...

Oh.

Oh pookie. You really are the biggest walking tragedy Hatchetfield has ever seen.

Now. To be clear. I don't think Lex triggers the loop on purpose or even fully by herself. I mean, she really wouldn't know how nor do I believe she would even want to. But through existing lore we already know that Lex's powers will end up triggering on their own when Hannah's life is in danger. (Read about said lore and the trivia question it stems from in this wonderful post here.) And I don't know about you, but I can't think of a more dangerous and lethal situation than the possibility of nuclear retaliation.

Let's combine that knowledge with the fact that Hannah's powers have been confirmed by Willy boy himself to be alike to a nuclear power plant in terms of potential. Throw in two absolutely terrified magical sisters whose goal is not to be separated, and I think there's a very reasonable case to be made that Lex's powers to bend space and time probably activated the moment they heard that whirring noise at the end of the night.

That they not only activated, but were actually heightened to such a degree by Hannah's own powers that it kick-started a timeloop, resetting everyone back to the start of the day without any memory of the tragedy that awaits them in the mall. Every time they do reach the end of the night, Hannah realizes the loop and helps everyone else to see it too. That the real reason the survivors all huddle around and wait for the night to flip over together is because it hasn't yet.