#AND ALSO MY INTERNET REBELLED WHILE I WAS TRYING TO POST THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME

[allthenicknamesweretaken]

IT IS DONE

Fanart of Chapter 25 of The Neon Void by @sugarpasteltmnt

Fanart done to the lyrics of The Other Side Of Paradise

THIS TOOK SO LONG OH MY GOD

I first got the idea for this some time after chapter 25 but then I got burned out and then I got distracted by artfight and then I got distracted by an AU I’m making BUT NOW IT’S DONE

YIPPEE

[ninjagirlstar5]

So I made a Danganronpa & AVA/AVM Crossover

But less about the killing games and more like, "How would the Tragedy affect the OuterNet?"

I'ma just copy-paste my Discord ramblings, but yeah, it's gonna get long so buckle up.

At first the OuterNet barely bat an eye at the Tragedy. Some Stick figures even claim that it's just a "Creators' problem," not a "Stick problem." Surprisingly, though, FreedomStick/Freedom Guy (the guy that had an ad that said stop stick slavery!), which I will be calling Rebel from now on, advocated for Sticks to do their part and protect Creators from Viruses and such that come from the OuterNet due to it's connection to the DeepNet (a.k.a the dark web) as they predicted the Despairs' ideals from real life will trickle down and affect them just as much as it'll affect the Real World. While there's not much Sticks can do to their creators from inside the PCs (physically, anyways), there are still ways they can harm them through the internet (gestures to Second forcefully commenting negative things on Facebook through Alan's account, viruses like The Dark Lord's, etc.) So Rebel is trying to get their fellow Sticks to be aware of the Tragedy happening in the Real World and trying to get some protection ideas off the ground, not only for the Creators, but for them, too.

(Btw, this is my design for Rebel, teehee.)

Of course, most of the stick community was not…pleased with Rebel's prediction and some even felt betrayed because it was thanks to them that they weren't treated like slaves from their Creators anymore, freeing them from their misery and/or inspiring them to break away. So having an influential figure be idolized for their, uh, "Anti-Creator" ideals (which is actually just a very extreme version of their beliefs cause in reality, they just want sticks to be treated like people, not hurt the Creators) say something of the "opposite" gets them ignored or even ousted from lots of groups. And so, the OuterNet continued on like normal.

There's just one problem: the Tragedy, and thus the Despairs, quickly makes itself apparent on the Internet.

Due to the OuterNet's nature, it is inherently tied to the Internet, which is where the Creators create most if not all of the websites where a lot of stickfigures come from. Not only that, the OuterNet gets most of it's information and ideas from the Internet, allowing them to stay in touch with the Real World while also inspiring them in ways that can help better their lives (it's why RocketCorp is able to grow as big and as quickly under a few years as it did: Vic saw an opportunity and snatched it while he still could). So, over time, the OuterNet started becoming more and more aware of the Despairs, their nihilistic propaganda campaigns posted all over in ads and news sites, and the harm that has been done all over the world.

Until, one day, the first sight of a Despair stick appeared in the OuterNet and proceeded to wreck havoc. And thanks to the Tragedy ongoing in the Real World, the denizens of the DeepNet becomes more bold in their crimes to the point that they do it in broad daylight. Guess where the Despair stick got it's equipment from.

The first Despair incident gets resolved pretty quickly but not without casualties and the community is shocked that this even happened.

Cue Rebel staring into the camera and having their "I told you so" moment.

Rebel doesn't spend time being petty, though. Instead, they take the opportunity to remind the community of their connection to the Creators and how they are affected by the Real World just as much as them. This incident only proved that their prediction is coming true and that the community is going to need all the help they can get to combat against the upcoming Tragedy. With the results of ignoring the problem shoved right in their faces, most of the community relents and helps out Rebel.

Of course, since this is the Tragedy, some of the ideals of Despairs start affecting the community through their campaigns and many become apathetic to the disasters happening outside and inside the OuterNet. But Rebel refuses to back down and let Despairs hurt any more people, becoming a Symbol of Hope as they fight against the Tragedy and help as many people as they can to protect not only their fellow Stick figures, but also the Creators that are suffering in the Real World. Even if all they can do is keep the DeepNet's crimes isolated in the OuterNet and preventing it from spreading to PCs.

Speaking of Despair sticks, there are three kinds of them:

Created Despair Sticks: These sticks are ones that are created through the Despair ads campaigns. While the Despairs have never intended to make these stick figures due to sentient Sticks being so rare in the Real World that nobody really knows about them unless they're a Creator, sometimes these Sticks will come across these ads and articles on Despairs and their code will be influenced by their "ideals" or even pop out from these Internet campaigns. As a result, it is a part of their nature to create Despair and Destruction to those around them and their surroundings. There are usually no way to reason with these sticks as it is a part of their code and cannot be removed without being killed.

Regular Sticks turning to Despair: Stick figures that have lived relatively normal lives before the Tragedy struck. Most sticks that turn to Despair are ones that have unresolved trauma from their past Creators that absorbing the Despairs' "ideals" encouraged them to finally go back and strike at their Creators, regardless of who gets hurt, or those that already had a nihilistic and pessimistic viewpoint that becoming a Despair is much more preferable than holding the Hope that things will get better. Because to them, the world has already turned to hell. Why not join them instead? It's very hard to reason with these sticks, but some are able to turn away before it's too late. Or at the very least, turn themselves in.

Despair-Infected Sticks: I've debated on whether or not to keep this one but I think it just adds another layer as to why these sticks are different than humans even though they're still people: because they have a code that can be removed or added to depending on if the person is able to access it. This is why Viruses are so dangerous to sticks as they can infect and even destroy their coding from the inside out, which is why Dark had to put in a bunch of safety measures for him to be able to use his Virus with his bracelets and such. Someone from the DeepNet decided it'd be a good idea to create a Despair Virus and sell it to other Despairs simply for the profit. Whether this bit them in the ass or not, we'll never know as they disappeared off the face of the Earth after it was completed. Despite it's creator gone, it was very easy to replicate the Despair Virus and have it infect many unsuspecting Sticks in a populated area. Once infected, they become exactly like every other Despair Stick, however, some victims are able to fight back long enough to beg for help and mercy from those around them. Currently, there is no cure and RocketCorp has been trying to study this virus to find it or at least a means to create back-ups of those infected (even though Vic is secretly selling things to the Despairs so he can fund RocketCorp and continue his goal in finding Alan, oops).

Created Despair Sticks are literally just born like this. Even if they develop into wanting something different, they can't go against their code cause they're born with it and it's literally them so they can't break it unless they break themselves.

Despair-Infected Sticks are literally infected by a virus and are forced to hurt others around them as their coding is forcefully changed and even broken down to make room for the virus. And some are even aware enough to know this and try to fight it. Basically, both are pretty damn bad, while the second type of Despair stick is more a choice than anything else.

And as my mutual pointed out, "infected sticks causes despair for both the infected and the victims surrounding them." It's a cycle, man. Once it starts, it's hard to stop. 💔

As for the Desktop Sticks...why don't we start with how Second and the Color Gang are holding up!

To be honest, they probably didn't notice what the fuck has been going on in the outside world. They've mostly been doing their own thing and having fun. Sure, Alan seems a little…stressed but he's sometimes like that, you know?

And then, Alan kinda just stops showing up.

They didn't think much about it at first. They just kept themselves preoccupied and Second took the time to hang out with the CG some more as he assumed that maybe Alan took a day off to hang out with his family. But then the days start going by and they all look at each other and go, "Hey. Alan hasn't come back yet. Is he okay?" So they decided to open up the Internet to see what's up.

And they get blasted with all the news on the Tragedy: crime has risen, riots are everywhere, terrorists called the Despairs are running around spouting nihilistic bullshit as they destroy buildings and spread their influence. They're all just shocked at what's happening and are frankly, terrified! And then Yellow points out that Alan must have been dealing with this outside in the Real World and and they all go, "OH SHIT, Alan's in danger!"

But, problem! They can't do shit about this.

Yes, they've destroyed Alan's PC numerous times, mostly by accident, mostly from collateral. But they do not have the influence or the bodies to stop the Tragedy in the Real World. All they can do is just…watch and wait for Alan to return. Well, Second and Yellow have been scouting the internet trying to see if they can find traces of Alan but everyone else is kinda just…bundles of anxiety

And then a couple of burglars break in and try to steal Alan's PC. And when Second tries to notify them to stop, they just laugh and ask each other if anyone would buy these sentient sticks off of them! That's when Green took the initiative and said that they're leaving and they all book it into the Minecraft portal so they can try and contact Mango and Purple. They're kinda hoping the OuterNet is faring better than the Real World. (They are all clueless.)

Second and the Gang actually aren't the only Desktop Sticks that have fled to the OuterNet. Some created Stick figures have been losing their Creators one way or another and they've all been immigrating to the OuterNet for safety and security as they have no one to help them or take care of them anymore. Assuming they even know of the existence of the OuterNet. If they don't…they're just kinda stuck on their desktops, alone. They're lucky if they have another Stick figure with them but if they don't, they just sit there and…wait. Like a sad little dog waiting for their owners to return. And that's the "best" case scenario in a situation where a Stick knows nothing of the OuterNet and lost a Creator that genuinely cared for them.

Desktop Sticks are usually ones that have Creators (some simply just come into existence by pure accident through websites and the like, though) and usually are unaware of the OuterNet. Since the OuterNet is kind of a secret safe space for Sticks, DeskTop Sticks aren't really searched for unless they send an SOS through a website. Rebel, of course, tends to travel between many PCs, but it's difficult for them to gain access to these PCs due to firewalls and stuff and often risk getting themselves deleted thanks to those. So it's usually safer to have these Sticks come to OuterNet on their own or through a secret code amongst many different websites that Rebel put out through their own ads. A Desktop Stick and their Creator's relationship is a case by case basis as some Creators treat their sticks like people (or at worse, pets that just so happen to live in their PCs) while others tend to abuse them or try to delete them for "taking up space," which depends on what kind of powers the Stick has (Chosen was kept because he had a use in being an ad-blocker, but was done so against his will). If the Desktop Stick's relationship with a Creator is positive, they usually stick around and stay in the PC, even when they know of the OuterNet's existence. If it's negative/abusive, they tend to break away and live in the OuterNet on their own, which is where Rebel established many communities for those who are new to the OuterNet and needed a place to stay. Every now and then, there are Desktop Sticks that move into the OuterNet due to escaping a horrible Creator, leaving an abandoned PC where the Creator just never took/transfer the Sticks to their new PC, or simply because their Creator passed away and they needed to start a new life. There was a steady flow of Sticks that come in and out of the OuterNet and the immigration was quite manageable.

But then the Tragedy strikes and suddenly, crowds of Sticks have been entering the OuterNet and it becomes very difficult to find the space for all these Sticks as the OuterNet isn't actually that big. Especially in comparison to the Real World. To make matters worse, the Despair Sticks see this as an opportunity to hurt even more Sticks. Many of whom are quite distraught at losing their Creators as, you know, not all of them were horrible people to their little Stick buddies! So hey, they may as well kick them while they're down! So Rebel is kinda just…struggling to find the time and space for the Desktop Sticks to live in and protecting them and they just look at this crowd, sweat, and go, "Wow…that's a lot of Sticks, haha…."

They honestly have no idea where to put all these Sticks, ngl.

And that's actually where Mango and Purple come in.

So, Mango and Purple have been watching this shit all go down. Hell, they actually witnessed the first Despair Stick incident and survived from that, which signaled to them that they can't just bury their heads from this situation. However, Mango prioritized he and Purple's safety first and foremost and the two hid away in Minecraft for a bit, but kept in contact with the OuterNet through phones and such. But as time went on, Purple was getting more and more antsy and Mango can tell just by looking at him. But he wasn't sure what he could do to help…until word spread that there has been a lack of space in the OuterNet due to the amount of DeskTop Sticks escaping there for a chance of safety. And it was then that he realized that, hey, Minecraft has been pretty much untouched from Despairs. And why would it be? It's literally just a game. For all everyone knows, both in the Real World and the OuterNet (except for some people in the DeepNet), it's a game that has existed before the Tragedy and can't really be used to spread any sort of propaganda. It's not as if there couldn't be any servers owned by Despairs, but the likelihood of them spending time on a game outside of their free time is pretty low. It wasn't a foolproof place to live in due to mobs and other environmental hazards, not to mention that Mango and Purple need to use a Nether portal to enter the game and the Nether is! Not friendly, to say the least! But it was the only other option they could use, as long as they're able to establish communities in different Minecraft worlds.

So Mango tells Purple of his plan to let Rebel know about his idea to use Minecraft to establish shelters for their fellow Stick people and Purple jumps at the chance to help. They managed to establish contact with Rebel and tell them of their plan secretly as they didn't want word to spread to the DeepNet or the Despairs on where they're putting the Sticks. Rebel is, surprisingly, all for this idea and helps them iron out the details. The first thing Purple does is create an easier path to some of the Nether portals they've already established in the past and create shelters for the sticks, Rebel and their team escorts a group of Sticks to the portal(s), and Mango helps teach the Sticks on how the game works, keep themselves safe, and how to create their resources like food, wood, take care of animals, etc., etc. Due to the danger that the worlds of Minecraft can pose, the three of them often take turns or team up to escort these groups to the shelters and protect them. This plan has worked for a few years and the Stick communities have grown enough to be able to protect themselves, but it seems that the Despairs and the DeepNet have started to catch on to their plan. They've started to follow the refugees to the portals, forcing Rebel, Mango and Purple to block off or even destroy some of the Nether portals they've established to prevent them from following them into the game. Thankfully, they haven't slipped through their defenses…yet.

This plan isn't foolproof but they're trying their best. At least the Despairs don't have the means to destroy the game! (Don't ask Mango about the time he tried to do exactly that. We don't talk about it.)

But yeah, Mango and Purple get to work with Rebel and Purple is kinda awestruck with hanging out with a historical, even legendary, figure and helping them out. Mango also finds it fascinating to work with Rebel but he quickly finds that for all their admirable traits, they can be quite flawed, too. For starters, they are…quite reckless! And tend to run off and act first, think later. Which contrasts with Mango, who tends to be pretty meticulous in his planning, since he had a step-by-step plan he came up with with Purple in AVM Season 3 (with a few, ahem, "missing" details at the time). And it turns out, while Rebel has a bunch of good ideas on paper, they often need help from their group to bring these ideas to life, cause otherwise they can get quite...aimless and may overlook things that they didn't notice. But the fact that they're willing to listen to other people's advice shows their good qualities in leadership as they're able to listen and examine the flaws of their ideas while still holding their ideals up. These two just tend to butt heads a lot due to their contrasting personalities as Mango is constantly trying to keep Rebel from running into trouble headfirst while Rebel is like, "No, we must act now!!"

Basically like this:

Mango: "Okay, first, we have step A, which will lead into Step B and Purple, you can take care of step C-"

Purple: "Uh, Da- I mean, Mango?"

Mango: "Yes, Purple?"

Purple: "Rebel already left."

Mango:

Rebel, running off to fight the Despair in the vicinity to protect a Stick figure:

Basically, Rebel has the passion and skills, but can also be impatient to a fault and can cause a bigger problem by running headlong into it.

Mango has the genius to examine the scenario and plot around the problem, but may not always be able to act quick enough to save lives.

Both mindsets has it's pros but it can also have their cons, and in a situation like the Tragedy, neither side is in the wrong. But it's a tough situation all around that either one can make things messy. But they're trying their best to work with what they got.

And now, to see how one of the scrunkly cats ever is doing during the Tragedy...*Holds up The Chosen One*

Since this takes place after AVA Season 2 where Dark is MIA by the end of it and obviously after AVM Season 3 since Mango and Purple have already gone through their arcs, Chosen is wandering around trying to undo his wrongs as an ex-terrorist. But he's still wanted by the public for his past crimes, which, yeah, that's bad. Makes sense. But unlike most of the public, Chosen believed in Rebel's prediction as he sees them as an inspiration and has been keeping an eye out on any sort of Despairs. So when the first incident happened, he was immediately on it and was the reason why the problem had been taken care of as quickly as it had happened. Unfortunately, though, time quickly proves that as powerful as Chosen is, he cannot be in two places at once (something Rebel can unfortunately relate to). Despair incidents happen one after another, sometimes at the same time, and he struggled to do his part in protecting other people. To make matters worse, those who actually recognized Chosen often freak out and run away or even beg for mercy, still seeing him as a terrorist. Some even blamed him for some of the Despair incidents he helped resolved, and he ends up being labeled as a Despair due to his past, even though he's been trying to do good for others. Which, ow.

And, to make matters worse, Vic is still on his ass by sending the Mercs after him. Just because the Tragedy is happening doesn't mean that he won't give up his goal on getting his revenge on Alan, not realizing that he had gone missing for awhile now. Vic is more or less a neutral party in the Tragedy, with RocketCorp willingly combating against the Despairs but also buying things from them and/or selling things to them if it means advancing his own personal goals. The Mercs help against the Despair incidents but are also waiting for Chosen to appear so they can capture him…

Fun fact: Mango and Purple witnessed Chosen saving them in the first Despair incident before he left without a word as a little setup for future development. ChoKing in my funky little crossover? It's more likely than you think!

At some point, Second convinces Chosen to meet with Rebel to try and establish that hey, he's NOT a Despair, he's actually trying to help everyone so please stop slandering him like this even though he knows his past is shady as fuck. Chosen agrees, albeit hesitantly as he knows that this is a very dangerous thing to do and he's meeting his idol so he's nervous for another reason, too. Surprisingly, Rebel agrees and even planned to go alone but Mango was insistent that no, they shouldn't go alone, even if he and Purple did personally witness him helping others, as they don't know if he succumbed to Despair or not. So they agreed to bring Mango along with them (Purple was told to keep an eye on the shelters with the rest of CG, much to his disappointment).

Ngl, I think their meeting starts off like this:

Second: "Hey, this is Chosen! He's kinda like my brother."

Rebel, blunt: "Your brother is a terrorist?"

Chosen: *Obtains -1000 psychic damage*

Second:

Rebel:

Mango: "…I think you broke him."

Rebel: "Oh, whoops."

Eventually, though, Chosen becomes honest with his experience and says that he looks up to Rebel as it was thanks to their ad that led to their website that he was able to free himself from the abuse Alan treated him with, and reassures them that he's stopped being a terrorist and has been trying to help and prevent more Despair incidents. Rebel, recognizing that he's genuine in his turnaround, does a 180 in their suspicion and is like, "OH, I love redemptions!" and immediately welcomes him into the group. Naturally, no one really likes this or believes in Chosen outside of Second, the Color Gang, and Rebel, while Mango and Purple are quite skeptical of him. Although Purple is more willing to give him a chance…and maybe wants to see his powers in action. Without the danger, this time. But yeah, Rebel recklessly brings him into the group, which causes a ripple effect of anxiety as most people in the Stick community doesn't agree that he's turned over a new leaf. He did, after all, hurt MANY people in the past and whose to say this isn't a ploy in the making? (It isn't but Chosen can only prove himself through action, not words.) This is pretty much how Mango and Chosen officially meet in this crossover.

Obviously, Mango eventually starts to see that Chosen is doing everything in his power to help others and is kinda just…fumbling as he tries to grasp how Minecraft works, which leads to Mango trying to help and teach him. Ngl, what makes this version of their dynamic hilarious is that this grown-ass middle-age man knows far more about Minecraft than a young adult person. Bonus points that the only reason Mango knows so much about Minecraft is because he was trying to destroy Minecraft in the past.

Speaking of Second, chronologically speaking, Second and the Color Gang end up crossing paths with Mango while he's escorting a group of sticks and after everyone gets over their shock of "wow, more people like us!", they ask if Mango is bringing some friends into Minecraft. Mango then realizes that, oh God, these kids do not know what's happening in the OuterNet, oh no, I have to tell them-

Second and the Color Gang are very distraught that essentially no where is safe but after meeting with Rebel, they suggest that they help out as it's made pretty clear that they're experts in Minecraft and that they can help teach and protect the shelters on how to work in Minecraft. Mango is concerned as he doesn't want to put these kids to work, but they all immediately jump at the chance cause they don't want to sit around and wait any more. Not only because doing nothing would make them anxious, but also cause they want to help as much as they can, too. (It also helps distract them from Alan going missing, although they still put in the effort to search for any signs for him.) Mango relents as he knows these kids are just going to do whatever they want, so he might as well support them and give them guidance instead of shutting them down. And Rebel makes a pretty good point that even though they were just minding their own business, the Tragedy still affected them by taking their Creator away from them, even if he's just missing. Whether they like it or not, they're forced to face the Tragedy so they might as well willingly get involved by doing the right thing.

And I think that Second and co. are very good at their respective jobs at helping others and giving them hope. Because, even though they're kids, they're always trying to find ways to keep things together and do the right thing. They may argue and fight sometimes, but in the end, they always come around a common goal and are able to stay positive despite everything. This happens in canon as in many scenarios, they're always having fun while on their adventures, even when things go wrong. As kids, they shouldn't have to go through all of this. But it's also because they're kids that they're able to see the light, the hope, in things and work hard to do their part in helping others in need. And I think AVM Season 4 can be a great way to tie into this crossover:

People are bored and scared out of their wits? How about Yellow sets up a fun-little cart game for people to watch the Color Gang go ham at!

People are starting to get tired of the same food? Blue and co. go on a journey to start a recipe book and establish a food network across the Minecraft world.

People are losing hope? Green holds a concert - which, uh, ends a lot more chaotically than anyone expected, but the rest of the Color Gang don't seem to be too concern.

Heck, even the prank episode can be shown as Red fucking around in his downtime.

(The Lucky Block episode is a pretty self-contained episode as it mostly happens inside the block so a lot of people probably weren't aware of it.)

Second and co. are constantly coming up with ideas to create fun activities and keep everyone's spirits up, making them very successful Symbols of Hope alongside Rebel. Mango and Purple are also considered as symbols as they work side by side with Rebel and were the ones that came up with this Minecraft Shelters in the first place. Chosen is seen as a symbol of Despair at first, but as time goes on after he joins Rebel's cause, public opinion slowly starts to shift in a better light for him. They don't consider him a complete symbol of hope but he's becoming less and less associated with Despair now, which is more than enough for him.

My Mutual: Gee I sure hope nothing fucks this up-

The Mercs:

LIKE, YEAH, THE DESPAIRS ARE BAD, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, VIC HAS HIS OWN GOALS IN MIND-

At some point the Mercs eventually find out that Chosen is in Minecraft and end up creating their own Nether portal, ambushing a shelter and telling Rebel to bring out the "Despair" and RocketCorp will leave them alone. Chosen immediately tries to give himself up instead of fighting back, but Second is like, "No, don't do it!" and Rebel is like, "NUH UH" and immediately runs in to fight the Mercs themselves. They always got bad vibes from RocketCorp and this just confirms their suspicions that they're up to no good, even going as far as to accuse them in supporting the Despairs themselves. Which, they're technically not wrong about, they just don't have concrete evidence beyond them trying to arrest Chosen, which is would be fair in any other circumstance. This results in a 3 VS 4 scenario where Rebel is fighting the Mercs for Chosen's safety, Chosen is just trying to survive and talk down Rebel, and Second, unlike canon where Chosen kinda just plops them into the situation, jumps in as well to protect Chosen, too. Mango and Purple are doing their best to escort the citizens to safety while the Color Gang are about to go down and help as well-

-But, oops! The Despairs are coming through the very portal the Mercs used to enter their Minecraft world! So the Color Gang is forced to split their attention on the Despairs and destroying the Nether portal while Mango and Purple defend the shelters.

The situation does stabilize once the Despairs are taken care of, but the 3V4 fight pretty much ends in the Mercs favor like in canon, except I'm thinking they take Rebel with them? But they might just leave them paused as they just up and leave, lmao. Either way, RocketCorp's reputation is not going to look good cause everyone saw that, although Rebel will certainly get criticized for their choice as well. And the Mercs destroy the Nether portal on the way out, all dramatically before Green could reach the portal and follow after them. They regroup, discuss what the fuck just happened and the Color Gang are tasked with trying to get them back while Mango and Purple try to manage things in the Minecraft shelters.

That's about it for the "main story" but I do have an idea for The Dark Lord:

Basically, The Dark Lord hid away in the DeepNet and has made a living for himself, even if he's frustrated and hurt by being "betrayed" by Chosen. Honestly, I think he'd take part in the Despair terrorism as he was definitely the most gung-ho about the terrorism back then. Like, even though he planned to hurt Alan with his virus, he still enjoyed the terrorism in the past before ever involving him again. He, again, makes more Viruses and shares them with others…and would give them away to the Despairs, too. Hell, I can see Dark taking part in the incidents, leaving whispers of people witnessing a familiar red blur hurting and killing other people…

Chosen is hoping it's not who he thinks it is.

And the minute word spreads about RocketCorp kidnapping Rebel, Second, and Chosen, Dark is immediately raiding it. To help Chosen? To take his revenge? Who knows, it depends on how you want to interpret him and what you wanna see from him after everything he's done.

Honestly, I don't have a lot of thoughts on The Dark Lord for this, he's kinda just doing his own thing. Same with Vic, but they pretty much lean towards Despair.

(And because I have no idea where else to put this, uh, I kinda forgot that Second would be shocked to learn of Chosen's experience with Alan back then when they meet up with Rebel. Like, yeah, he deleted the Color Gang once and threatened to do it again, but after all this time, it feels more like a misunderstanding as Alan clearly did not realize that they were sentient, even if he was pretty callous about it, and started treating them with kindness and respect. They also can't ask Alan about it right now cause, uh, he's missing. 💔 And while making this post, I realized that Second would find out about Chosen's terrorism through Rebel and other citizens…That's gonna be one hell of a conversation between them once they meet up.)

But yeah, that's about it for the time being. And if you're wondering what made me think of this crossover, well...

I stickfigured Teruya and it spiraled from there. He'd basically be our audience surrogate into the OuterNet if I were to ever write a story on this.

[kittenwithabass]

source

These are 2 slides from an instagram post by Gen-Z Aotearoa, a New Zealand (Aotearoa) based organisation of "Gen-Z activists". There are more slides not in the post, you can find them at the link above. ID in alt. I'm a member of gen z from Aotearoa and was about to apply to join their communications team just 15 minutes ago, right before I saw this post.

Anybody seeing this probably already knows/agrees with everything I'm about to say. This post claims that the Houthis are rebels and supports them, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah. How do I even begin to describe how much this pains me to see? The Houthis are absolutely not "rebels". They are a terrorist group. Their flag says curse upon the Jews, and since I know these people don't care about us, it also says death to America. How anybody can claim that the Houthis are rebels or freedom fighters when the exact opposite is true, when you can tell this is not true from knowing any single thing about them? I'm clueless.

And I absolutely shouldn't have to explain why Hamas are terrorists. Not after they violently raped and murdered over a thousand Israelis and kidnapped 200 more. Not after they killed my friend. They murdered my friend and filmed it while laughing. And this is just on October 7th; not even including all their atrocities before and after that single day.

It baffles me, really. How can a group that claims to be "activists," go and spout such lies? This helps no one. It doesn't help Palestinians, all it does is give you fake internet points and scare jewish people.

I'm Jewish. I'm proud to be Jewish. But I'm scared. Terrified. I've done everything I can to avoid being clocked: I stopped speaking Yiddish and Hebrew, I changed my phone contacts to English (they were all in Hebrew), I never tell anyone irl that I'm Jewish, I hide my siddurim when people come over. I'm white-passing enough. Surely there's no way for someone to clock me as Jewish, and yet. I'm so scared. I can't leave my house. All my friends don't care at best, cheer on Hamas at worst. I want to take down the mezzuzah on the front door. Even online I can't escape antisemitism, this is the first time I've used tumblr in days. My friend's favourite rapper is a nazi. I log onto instagram and the first thing I see is that post and my friend posting violent antisemitism on its story.

I don't know what the point of all this is. I think what I'm trying to say is, if you're an "activist," why are jews scared of you? Shouldn't you be trying to protect minorities?

And to be perfectly clear, this is an issue of leftist antisemitism. My country recently elected our most conservative government in decades. I am scared of them as a queer person. I am scared for my Maori and poc friends. I am not scared of them as a Jewish person. Who am I afraid of as a Jewish person? My friends. People I've marched with at pride. The leaders of the left leaning parties.

Listen to my goyim, and listen to me clear: SORT YOUR SHIT OUT.

[mielwriting]

Confession: With the Pyro Archon leaks, is bad that actually want to pull for her Conquiestor looks? I'm not blind to history, I KNOW the Spanish did many terrible things in Meso-America. But it's part of the history of the area. And that what makes it interesting.

I am flattered you asked my opinion on this! I have so much to say! Thank you!

Warning: the following post features minor details about the pyro archon's leaked appearance. If you don't want those, come back to this post once it's been officially revealed.

Ok so I saw this and came up with thoughts about it before I saw what you reposted about all the cultural inspirations for a fair-skinned pyro archon, but generally I agree with those.

1st of all, especially with Neuvillette and Apep, Genshin has really been focusing on the idea of the Archons as colonizers. So it makes sense to me to design one of them actually based on a real-world colonizer.

Also, I don't know how many leaks each of us has seen, but her design is not (to my knowledge) specific to the Conquistador soldiers of the 1500s and 1600s. Her (leaked) design also resembles bullfighters in general, a sport that's still popular in Spain and Mexico (and I think other Latin American countries too, but I'm not certain off the top of my head). So her design could be more of a reference to the whole "fighting as a beloved national pastime" thing that might be central to Natlan's culture.

As for her (and the rest of Natlan) being light-skinned, I blame the CCP. If you may not know, China, where Genshin's owners are located, is currently living under an authoritarian government. Speaking out against the leader can be dangerous, and the government is actively committing a genocide against their primarily Muslim, Turkic ethnic minority (the Uyghurs).

All this to say, it's not so easy to defy them. So if the CCP insists that Genshin Impact, its largest cultural export, only show pale skinny characters that match certain beauty standards, then I won't blame Hoyoverse for following that rule. They are doing what they can to provide representation under a dictatorship, and that's commendable. I think it's more important that a lot of Genshin's stories have themes of overthrowing tyrants. Genuinely impressive they were able to add those parts (Venti, Mondstadt, gods willingly giving up power, Sumeru's coup, Neuvillette saying the Usurpers must face judgement, etc).

Finally, it is just a video game. I don't know how old we are in relation to each other, but I had my first history class while also having unmonitored internet access. It was a time, and trying to form my morals while watching cancel culture was weird. Yes, stories are important. Yes, representation or lack thereof does matter. But ultimately, it's not the biggest thing. There are big, important differences between a story who explicitly advocates for oppression and erasure of history, a story whose deeper themes may end up selling the wrong message, a story who tries but misses the mark, and a story that simply... has character designs that may or may not share clothes with historical colonizers.

Sure, the character designs aren't IDEAL representation, but the overarching story consistently sends a message of "rebel against oppressors, seek justice for the oppressed" and I think Hoyo deserves a lot of credit for that, especially since it's being sold to citizens living under an autocrat.

Thank you again for asking me! I'm glad you think I give good enough advice on minor moral dilemmas. Have a great day!

[theographos]

Have you heard of Inazuma ?

Ahhh Inazuma... Land of eternity, who was mainly inspired by Japan and its culture.

I play the game since 2020, and I can say that Inazuma was a pretty big deal when it got out. First of all, it was the first big region that we were introduced to since the beginning of the game. Yes there was Liyue and Mondstadt, but they came with the game so... No real reason to get hyped about them.

It was also a region who got talked about a lot, like I remember that most of the Youtubers I was watching at the time were sponsorized by Hoyoverse to talk about it's region. And just the fact that it was based on japan made it even popular on the internet. What I want to say by that is that it was of course a trap for all of the weebs to fall into.

A good trap really, the region had a lot of new content, a bunch of really good characters like Arataki Itto (my lovely main) and the final result is just so pretty.

It was a lovely gift, made with the finest wrap and the biggest promises towards the players of the game. And when they all got rid of that wrap to actually get into the plot content of Inazuma, they (and me included) were delighted to see a plot line full of junk.

So a few disclaimers before we dive into why Inazuma's archon quest was a mess :

I am not blaming anyone for liking Inazuma. Just because you like something doesn't mean it's flawless, so don't come at me for that. I have no say over what anyone likes or dislikes as long as it's not illegal or obviously endangering someone's mental or physical health. And liking a region in Genshin Impact is none of that, so don't see any slander on any character of the game. I'm pointing fingers at the writers behind the region and most importantly Hoyoverse itself.

I will also criticize how they used Raiden Shogun's character quest to make most of the evolution of Inazuma. A character quest is not accessible by people under the level of 40, so there is no real reason as to why they did that. It just makes the main plot less accessible to the main players, and so I don't consider what happens in the Raiden Shogun's character quest as a valid part of the main plot line.

There will contain spoilers about Sumeru's archon quest, but none about Fontaine. For personal reasons that are too long to talk about in this post I haven't played Fontaine's archon quest yet. Yes, even the first act. And no, I do not wish to be spoiled about anything about Fontaine.

My whole rant, including the introduction and the disclaimers, is over 2.3K long, take it or leave it. I also happen to believe that longer is better. Yes it is time consuming to read all of this, but this is my way of showing that I care. Plus good storytelling needs time. Like I said, take it or leave it, if you don't want to read this whole rant then it's okay, as long as you don't blame me for not doing something shorter.

So now that we are clear on those points, we shall begin.

My first point is that the archon quest is too short.

Like way too short. We barely have time to get a proper tase of what Inazuma is like, and we also barely have time to process our traveler's character arc. The first part of the archon quest screams of how much the writers knew they had to add the part in which the Traveler refused to help anyone, but they were bothered by it. So they tried to wrap it up quickly by making the traveler see the problem directly. The second part is laughable at best, I mean we all saw the memes about how the war cinematic looked off, like we just have 10 soldiers and 10 rebels against one another and we're supposed to understand that the conflict is big ? And the last part is confusing, mainly because of the sudden apparition of Kazuha, who got a whole character arc while we trying to beat up Signora.

And it's not like Hoyoverse isn't capable of making a character arc during an archon quest. Venti had his little character arc, Scaramouche has his character arc behind the scenes during the Sumeru Archon Quest, but us player are still aware of its evolution, with for example the visions of that one npc researcher. And if we take a look at Honkai : Star Rail, Dan Heng also got to have a whole character arc really similar to the one with Kazuha, but they made it relevant to the plot.

They are capable of all of that, if they gave more time to develop it by having a bigger archon quest. Either by making a part 4 and maybe a part 5, either by making longer archon quests.

My second point is that there is too much unnecessary quests.

Sure, for gameplay purposes it's perfect to have a lot of quest, because it means a lot of content. But with Inazuma it really isn't the case.

We had a whole archon quest, well more like a prologue quest, to introduce Kazuha's motivations through Beidou's fighting competition. I would understand if it was a world quest, i mean they did that with the chasm : an archon quest locked behind a world quest. The world quest could have been about the whole trip towards Inazuma, with the beginning about the fighting tournament. But nope, it's overly long for almost nothing, and it raises another point of mine

They based their whole plot on making the players like their characters. It's not a bad thing, I love Kazuha with all my heart, but our time with him isn't making the plot come forward. Just like, having to do Yoimiya and Ayaka's character quest have nothing to do with plot. You just hang out with them and learn a bit about their personal lives. It's great, but what about the plot ? Okay cool you made a deep dive into Raiden Shogun's motivations during her character quest, but what about the plot ?

They gave too much time over things that weren't necessary for the plot, and like I said previously, didn't give enough time to important parts.

My third point is that it doesn't even fufill the concept of an Archon Quest.

Every archon quest makes a deep dive into the Archon's motivation, how it affected their land and how they'll arrange the situation. For example :

Venti's entire core is to fight to let his people be free. He gave them everything they needed, and let them take their own decisions in order to not become another tyrant. But some people, like Dvalin, saw that move as him giving up on them. So, he made everything clear towards Dvalin and stayed to help him get better.

Zhongli's entire core is to fight to protect his people. He saw war, he saw death but he survived. He created the Adepti to help him, he also sort of created the Qixing to help him rule over Liyue. But now he becomes old, and doesn't want to see everything that he has done come to rot after he passes away. So he decides to retire himself from his position to force the Qixing and the Adepti to work together without him to help Liyue.

And if we compare Raiden to that well... She makes her people suffer, only she is happy with eternity, and she reflects upon that after the archon quest. But she has the potential to be so much more than that, heck it's not like she didn't become popular with the few times we see her in the archon quest, so looking back now there was no point in making her not that present in her own archon quest. Even Nahida, who is locked inside her own temple at the time we meet her, gets to have an equal amount of screentime as every other archon during their quest.

And also every archon quest shows how much every archon is different by their way of ruling :

Venti thought the bestest thing for his people was to leave and give them the freedom to do anything.

Zhongli thought the bestest thing for his people was to give them a safe haven and to dedicate his whole life to serve them instead of trying to really "rule" over them.

Nahida's people never gave her a chance to actually try to be their leader. They stayed focused on the past and let bad people morphed the values of Sumeru into something horrible.

And Raiden Shogun was supposed to show that for her the bestest thing was to keep her land in check, to make sure everything stays at the right place, so that no one has to ever feel grief and feel "nostalgic" of the past like she did.

Which brings me to my fourth point, which is that Raiden Shogun has control over nothing.

Yes she controls what the commission do, yes she has the power to do a vision hunt decree. But, when we take a look at Inazuma, we can see that she do not have any actual control. Four of the six islands in Inazuma are not liveable, and the fifth island is actually full of people who do not worship her, who do not want her. There is a rebellion going on, and she hasn't done anything more than send her army. The magical sakura tree in Narukami is slowly decaying, but nope there's nothing she can do about apparently. It's as if she doesn't even know it's happening.

She is described as omnipresent over the mortals. She is described as always making sure Inazuma reaches the goal of "eternity", and yet everything is going nuts, she doesn't have full control over who goes in and out of her country since there are still immigrants in Rito. I would have understood if Monstadt was in that state for example. After all most of the problems in the islands are god-related, so really no one except a god can do anything about it.

And I would have understood if the main problem was that she thinks she is omnipresent but really everything is out of control, but no, the point of the archon quest is to make us understand that the people want things to change, they don't want her to be overly in control.

I'm not against the fact that the Traveler is often the one who has to do everything, but at least make it understandable. For example, ofr the Aranara world quests, the traveler has to be the one who does that because Nahida isn't capable of helping the aranara, and because the traveler is an adult who can still see the aranara, it makes him important to them.

But in Inazuma we're just doing Ei's dirty work, as if an omnipresent deity would want someone other than them to be supervising big problems.

My last point is that the archon quest doesn't feel like it's happening in Inazuma.

None of the problems in the archon quest are talked about in the world quests, it's barely mentioned in some small quests, and the archon quest is royally ignoring all the problems of the world quests. Sumeru doesn't do that for example : it talks about the decaying of pretty much everything in the archon quest AND the world quests, aranaras are showed in the archon quest, and really the archon quest goes to a lot of key points in sumeru, meanwhile for the archon quest in Inazuma it's only 4 different places, 6 if we count the comissions.

Inazuma have so many different species cohabiting together, has a lot of mysticals things happening everywhere, there are even cat who can talk and yet none of this magic is showed in the archon quest.

Honestly it just looks like a showcase of everything that Japan has to offer and that's it. Yes I see tanukis, I see sakura trees, i see the clothings and the buildings. But what else ? What is the core of anything that Inazuma has to offer ? When we take a look at every other region, we see that they at least tried to give them a proper identity with the inspiration material. Meanwhile Inazuma is just the inspirational material.

When they included nobility in Monstadt, they really did it. They showed how much they were accepted into present society (plot twist they aren't), their role in history, how they feel about a society where no one wants them anymore (with some clans who are okay, clashing with the Lawrence clan who aren't ready to admit 'defeat' yet), they included etiquette and made them active in society.

This just doesn't happen with the tanukis, the onis or the kitsunes. The onis have a bit more depth since they have Itto to develop this part, but really unless you go into the forest you will not encounter kitsunes or tanukis in inazuma.

My conclusion,

The main problem with Inazuma's archon quest is that they didn't give enough time. They didn't give enough time for the plot to unfold correctly, they didn't gave enough time to the worldbuilding, and dare I say Hoyoverse didn't gave enought time to the writers to be able to do anything more than the minimum. I have seen what these writers could do and it is so much worth it, but damn Inazuma is to me, something that Hoyoverse should be ashamed of in terms of storytelling.

And I feel like no one is talking about that. As of now the only things I found on the internet about it are slanders of some characters, or really just people who hate the whole "inspired by japan" thingy, and are just mad about that.

Hoyoverse is a big enough company to have decent storytelling, to give a decent amount of time for their writers to work, and so on and so forth.

To be honest I feel like that if you truly care about Japan and its culture, you should be mad at Inazuma for doing a poor job at representing it, but that's just my opinion.

[huthurheartsdramione]

Hiii! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted on here and I thought I would maybe try to be more active again so here’s some information about me to introduce myself.

Name: Heather

Age: 33

Screen name: huthurheartsdramione

Reasoning for screen name: my brother used to call me huthur and I love Dramione fanfic.

Reading Fanfic Since 2000: After The Goblet of Fire was published. Like many people, I read a little too much into Draco warning Hermione and friends about the Death Eaters at the Qudditch Workd Cup, and it spiraled from there and I started looking for stories/people who also thought Hermione and Draco would be a great couple. In the early days, I was on many now defunct sites including Coloured Grey and Granger Enchanted. I even printed out fanfic to take with me places where I didn’t have internet so I could read it. There are likely many half-stories lying around my childhood home. So I’ve been reading Dramione in particular for over 24 years, and within the Harry Potter fandom.

I also just want to make note that I don’t endorse, condone, or believe in JKR’s views. I know we can never fully separate the fandom from her and her work, but I do not condone transphobia in any way shape or form.

Fandom Realted Fun Facts:

1. I have a spreadsheet of fanfics I read this year. I felt bad about not reading traditionally published books as much this year and tracking my word count makes me feel better about that. My goal is to reach 10 million words by the end of the year. I’ve only been tracking since April of this year. I’m a big data nerd and it makes my heart happy to track random things.

2. While I rate fanfic in my tracker, I only rate things 3-5. If I read it, it was at least a 3. I also rate traditionally published books this way. It has to be at least average if I finished it. I do not rate fanfic on any other websites or through my collections or any of those things. Fandom is free and the rating system is more for me to keep track of things I might want to reread in the future or that I was really moved by than anything else.

3. I still think about a song fic that I haven’t been able to find again. It was based off a song by Rilo Kiley and every time I hear that song I think about the fanfic.

Real Life Job: Event Planning

Published Fics: 0, but I have many half written drafts of things.

Some Favorite Tropes/Tags: War AU, BAMF Hermione/Draco, Burn the World for Hermione, Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage Law, Marriage of Convenience, Theo Nott is A Menace

10 Favorite Fics this Year in no Particular Order:

1. Bloody, Slutty, and Pathetic

2. Green Light

3. Measure of a Man (I followed this as a WIP and then fell off reading and finally went back and read all of it. I wish I had saved the original version before it was edited though).

4. Amina Gemella (my first ever Harry/Blaise and a companion to The Fear of Letting Go which is a Dramione. It’s just so dang good).

5. EXIT and REBEL (I want to go back and tandem read these so badly)

6. These Ties that Bind

7. Of Sun Swords and Worms (listen this is a WIP but I can already tell it’ll be a favorite. It is so heart aching and well written).

8. Crimson and Clover

9. Stop All the Clocks (This Is the Last Time I'm Leaving Without You)

10. an ever-fixed mark

I would love to learn more about all of you! What do you like to read? What’s your favorite fic? What are your favorite tropes? Do you have a fic tracker? If so, do you want to compare?

[gashface]

When things are bad, it's good to remember the happiest days.

Hey guys,

Welcome to the final week!~ This prompt we wanted to challenge our contestants by requesting 3 photos, all separate days and just overall learn that last bit about them all. Before we get to the results, as this is the final week;

I will also be including the final results for the competition in a post following this one <3

Now onto the results!

Charline Morel by @cyazurai

“What are the three happiest days of my life? Oh, wow… what a question. You know when you get asked these kinds of these suddenly you can’t remember a single happy day? It’s the pressure, haha. I promise I have had happy days. Oh wait, actually, I know the first one! It was the day I told my parents to- well. I told them I wasn’t going to listen to them anymore and I was going to live my own life. They were trying to get me to apply to Juilliard or something, and I had no desire to go, you know? I don’t even know if they take singers, I never cared enough to check. Anyway, they were telling me I needed to stop beating around the bush and get to filling out my applications, and I’d had enough. I just lost it, and told them where they could go. I’d been saving up money to get out of that abusive household, and I just up and left that day. It was the most freeing, best feeling I’ve ever had. Sure, later I regretted doing it so suddenly because I left my sister behind, and I didn’t have anywhere to go for a while, but I didn’t regret actually leaving.”

“My second happiest day has to be the day I got my first tattoo. I was still just living off of the money I’d been saving from the allowance my parents gave me - rich kid privilege - and while I was looking for a job, I decided, you know, I wanted to do something more to stick it to my parents. In case I ended up giving in and going back to them on my hands and knees, at least I’d have something physical on my person that would rebel against their obsession with appearances. Though it did hurt and I felt, uh, a little faint. I don’t like needles, never have - but the artist was really nice and helped me get through my initial queasiness. I dated him a little bit after that, too, but it didn’t work out. Oh well.”

“And, well… my most recent favorite day was the day I got my first modeling gig. It was nothing big, it was just for a small internet store that was trying to get off the ground. Since they couldn’t afford anyone with experience, they gave me a chance, and I decided that being in front of the camera is one of the best feelings. It’s kind of freeing - I could be whatever, whoever I wanted to be. Maybe I’m just really narcissistic and like modeling because I know I’m pretty, but I like to think it’s just because I can really express myself this way. And I’ve never really been able to do that before.”

POINTS

ORIGINALITY: 10/10

STORY: 10/10

EXECUTION: 9/10

STYLE: 9/10

Dillion Carter by @mewo-ita

Can’t believe it’s really the end… personally, think the theme is real fittin’. For this one, figured I won’t bore you with the things you already know bring me happiness and I’d tell some new things bout’ myself. I’m gonna make this easier by goin’ in chronological order. One of my first happiest days was when I was just a teen— fifteen, specifically. My family had to go on a trip to Japan for work and at first, I hated it. But then I met this boy a year older than me, Suzuya. We were pretty close by the end of the trip and I figure that’s why he asked me to go to the summer festival with him. Who would I be if I said no? Even if Japan is still not my favorite place, it looked just gorgeous then; the yukatas, festivities, and the bright stalls. Suzuya laughing and grinnin’ at me when he picked me up to watch the fireworks. We still kept in contact, but even if I am not able to see him and Japan personally again— the pure joy I felt that night I’ll always remember.

For the last happiest day, I would say it was during my first ever job. I was a young nineteen and lifeguard of this one beach— it was honestly perfect since I’ve always loved to swim. It wasn’t a very serious job and I was free to wear whatever as long as I wasn’t nude and I had the colors red and white. So I wore my favorite shirt whenever I went to always get these girls that kept going out really deep in the ocean despite me saying NOT to go. Sigh, anyways, wouldn’t trade that first day for the world. Had the time of my life.

I was an absolute mess in junior year of high-school. So naturally I took up a hobby to distract myself from the drain of it all— spray painting. I was first invited to paint with couple of boys in my year that Thursday night and when the time came, I had felt so free. My first tag was horrendous since I’m not an artist, but the idea of just leaving your mark somewhere and the bright colors is so compelling. The adrenaline rush I got from it while ducking authority figures was also irreplaceable. It was reckless looking back, which was why I eventually ended up being chased by the police after the boys left me. But even then, I just couldn’t stop myself from busting out laughing. Despite everything I would never take it back. I would definitely call it one of my happiest days, and if I had to name that day, I would call it “Smells like teen spirit.”

POINTS

ORIGINALITY: 10/10

STORY: 8/10

EXECUTION: 10/10

STYLE: 9/10

Now those are some memories, and I feel like I learnt so much about the models. Thank you for the effort put into this week, I know it was a challenge but I wanted to see three different sides of your sims through their life. It was informative and I am so proud of the creativity you both have!! <3

TIME TO TALLY THE RESULTS OOOOO

Thanks guys x

- Buddy

[skwithysbadges]

I'm doing this for me, and that's hard

I like having lists. I like having specific steps to check off that will lead me to accomplishing some task or goal. I like the physical proof that I have done something, and if it comes with a sticker even better. I was in Girl Scouts as a kid, but my troop wasn't very proactive about completing badges, and that bummed me out because it was why I joined Girl Scouts in the first place. Cut to almost twenty years later, nearly ten of those struggling with anxiety, and Instagram shows me the Rebel Badge Book, basically Girl Scouts for grown ups, but self paced. I bought the first kit, and then it sat on my desk for a few months while school started back up (I'm a substitute teacher) and I dealt with other events that had come up in my life.

I'd also been thinking about Tumblr again, a website that I spent so many hours on as a teenager and had opened me up to parts of the internet that I both loved and probably had no business being on. I'd mentioned to my therapist that I had thought about trying to start a blog because I like to write, I have lots of thoughts, and it could be fun, but I didn't know what I would write about or what the point of the blog would be. I also decided it would probably be helpful for me to find some sort of project that would take consistent effort to complete, that could maybe help distract my brain and give me some purpose outside of my job. The gerbils in my brain finally started all running in the same direction and I decided to make a new blog to follow my progress through the Rebel Badge Book.

To create a blog feels like a really self-serving act to part of my brain, what's the point of writing things and posting them on the internet for most likely nobody but myself to see, when I could just write in private? Or am I doing it in the secret hopes that it will go viral and I'll become famous (I kind of hope not). That's where the part of my brain that's absorbing all of the things I've worked on in therapy over the years comes in and says "So what? If you want to do it, just do it. There doesn't need to be a justification for everything."

So that's what I'm doing. Not spending too much time on the point of doing this, but enjoying the doing, and trying to teach myself how to loosen up and explore again. Let's see how it goes.

[teenmomcentral]

Jenelle Evans‘ 14-year-old son Jace has been reported missing.

Jace— who grew up on Teen Mom 2— was listed as a runaway on Tuesday. The Brunswick County, North Carolina, Sherriff’s Office put out an alert out on its social media pages, urging anyone who sees Jace to call 911.

“BCSO Deputies Searching for Runaway Juvenile, Jace Evans,” a post on the BCSO Facebook page reads, adding that Jace was last seen leaving his school in Leland, North Carolina, around 2:45 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

TMZ broke the story, adding that they had contacted Jenelle’s mother, Barbara Evans for more information. As The Ashley previously reported, Jenelle finally regained custody of Jace from Barbara in March. Barbara had raised the boy since he was born, but after a years-long custody battle with Jenelle, agreed to give her custody of Jace. (As The Ashley previously reported, though, the decision was mainly due to the fact that Barbara could no longer handle Jace, according to The Ashley’s sources.)

TMZ reported that Barbara said she spoke to Jace on Monday night, and all appeared to be OK. (As The Ashley told you, things on The Land have been pretty terrible over the last week or so, with Jenelle and her husband David Eason fighting and taking their battle to social media.) 

Barb also claimed that she called Jenelle on Tuesday (before Jace was reported missing), but Jenelle didn’t want to talk to her.

In a statement to TMZ, Jenelle said that Jace only ran away because he got in trouble.

“As a boy mom, kids can act up and rebel as I’m sure the majority of us all once did as kids too. Jace, got in trouble at school, we decided to take his phone away and that’s when he decided to run off,” she told the site. “Jace is a good kid and we’re not dealing with anything that most families don’t deal with while raising children.

She also insisted that Jace taking off wasn’t due to her and David fighting on The Land in front of him.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with my situation with David, we do not argue in front of our children or fight in front of our kids,” Jenelle said.

“This is a teenage boy being a teenager mad that we decided to take his phone away.”

After Jace was located, David took to social media to insist that he did try to find the lad.

“Jace is fine, he has been found, everyone needs to calm down!” David wrote. “I was the first one looking for him so get off my case!” 

The Ashley’s sources tell her that this is not the first time Jace has left since moving in with Jenelle. There was at least one more instance, as well as several when he lived with Barbara.

The Ashley will update this story when more info is available. Stay tuned. 

UPDATE! David just posted a rant to Instagram regarding Jace.

"You want to come on here assuming all kinds of S**t about Jace… I’ve been out here running through the f**king woods for two-and-a-half hours trying to find him… I almost had a f**king heat stroke trying to find this kid. You know what they told me? ‘Go home, we have drones, we have helicopters, we have dogs, we have ATVs, dirt bikes, we’re gonna find him.’ They told me to go home and make sure he doesn’t walk in the door…

“I’m the first one that ran after his ass to try to find him…Don’t come on here trying to tell me what the fk you think is going on. Please. I do all the fking work around here, I take care of everything around here, and if you think I don’t just because of something someone might tell you when they’re mad, you’re f**king WRONG.

“And if you think you can assume some shit just because an article you seen because Barbara goes on the Internet saying something. She don’t even know what the fk she’s talking about,” David added. “You can’t fking take Barbara’s word for it, she’s selling articles for money. Gotta pay for your retirement somehow.”

[sreegs]

At this point it's a pavlovian instinct for users to see a monetization attempt and go all rebel. It's part of the culture I see in all circles here - the thinking that since tumblr was free this whole time, any monetization is an instant meme and a scam because this website is a 'dumpter fire'. Also the loudest majority haven't the faintest clue how such platforms are run. It's always easier to blame everything on the abstract 'staff' than read even one article explaining the whys.

I don't blame people for having the instinct, it's inescapable at this point. This is not just a problem with Tumblr. The internet was wide open and free decades ago, splintered into smaller companies and individual efforts. This was fueled by the novelty of the tech and no one really thought about the long-term sustainability of it. The Dot Com Bubble burst, then the inevitable monopolization happened as the surviving tech giants scooped up companies who didn't make it past the collapse.

Then, we entered an age of increasingly pervasive ads. At first, they paid the bills. But as the monopolization continued, the big ones cornered the market on ads (Google and Facebook) and server hosting (Amazon). This made ads an unsustainable revenue stream, and left very little choice in reasonable-cost server hosting. Now we're here. Ads don't make enough money anymore. After about 25 years or so of the world wide web as we know it being "free", services gotta charge you now, or beg for money otherwise.

I guess this aligns websites more with traditional business models now (money is exchanged for goods and services), but since there's so many people online, and they're used to it being free, it comes as a shock. I don't know what the alternative is at this point, beyond making the internet a wholly public service run by... who knows? A utility that you get no matter what, guaranteeing free access paid by taxes and such. But then what? Still gotta pay for web hosting. I don't really know what the answer is beyond a sea change in our economic system. I guess public mesh networks and alternative internets are a route but that still costs time, money, and resources to maintain. Inevitably, capitalism will seep into that domain too.

Got a little off track there. The point of my original post trying to explain the justification of ad-free Tumblr was not to try to convince people you have to buy it, or event that you should buy it. My point was merely to remind people that Tumblr is a corporation, owned and run by a few, but built and maintained by many. The maintainers have no real power over the decision making process. Corporations are effectively oligarchies or dictatorships depending on their structure. I forget that, since I've been working for corporations for a while now, not everyone has this perspective from inside a big company. And even fewer people understand what it's like to work in tech.

While I was working at Tumblr, some people got used to the hate slung at staff. Others didn't. Not everyone has thick skin. It stresses them out. Real people lose sleep over it. They worry about keeping their job, and not everyone working for a Tech company is fortunate enough to be engineers who have a bit more job safety and prospective employers.

If you get joy out of that, honestly what does that say about you? Do you really believe everyone has unlimited choices as to where they work? Do you think it's easy to just pack up and choose a new job once the company turns to shit? Are you that delusional? Or are you simply too distant from the meat grinder to understand it yet? Do you not yet know that more pay from a white collar job does not make it inherently easier than all others, and that all jobs that require you to work are stressful to some degree?

Not everyone is confident enough to keep a cool head when they're laid off, or have the guts to start looking for a new job before that happens. It's tough for everyone, I think, just moreso for some than others.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

I realized I haven’t like put all of my thoughts regarding Blake’s sexuality and Bmblbe in one location so I am going to do so now. (I am talking about both because one is tied to the other given Blake’s Bisexuality is claimed to be confirmed because it is claimed Bmblbe is confirmed).

One of the very popular “gotcha” moments I see is that Bmblbe and Korrasami have a lot of similar beats in terms of how the pairs acted around each other and Korrasami is confirmed so Bmblbe will definitely be confirmed. 

The big difference however is that Korrasami had Nickelodeon censorships that they had to work around and fight tooth and nail to make them be canon in the end. Bmblbe did not have corporate censorship to fight. They didn’t have to play this game of giving them scenes like blushing and forehead nuzzling without having either character verbally express they like each other to try and show the developing romance while making corporate homophobes happy. RT could have made Bmblbe canon whenever they wanted. They could have given Blake and Yang lines about having a crush on a girl, any girl, they could have had Blake express confusion and admit to liking both Yang and Sun, they could have done all of those things but they chose not to. The issue is that the straight couples get to kiss and say they are going on a date and say “I love you” but the one queer couple with the main characters conveniently...doesn’t. It’s conveniently a “slow burn” it’s conveniently constantly having these moments like the canon game having Yang refer to Blake as like a sister, with having them go dancing with another team with an unresolved question of what is going on between them. It’s all the painful signs of queer coding that we’ve spent decades seeing play out on screen only for nothing to come of it. 

For example, let me jump over to Star Wars Rebels and specifically Kalluzeb. Now this ship is kind of....different. Their screentime together was very limited but fans latched onto what they could get and ran with it. Zeb’s VA Steve Blume also ran with it fueling the shipping with tweets about the pairing and how much he shipped it. Season 4 comes around along with the epilogue that only one of the VA’s knew about. In this epilogue, we see a scene of Kallus and Zeb on a ship together heading to Lira San, a secret world Kallus had no idea existed. We see Zeb leading Kallus out covering his eyes in a way that felt very similar to the library reveal in Beauty and The Beast. We see Zeb wrap an arm around Kallus’s shoulders as the voice over tells us Kallus and Zeb lived together on Lira San and Kallus was accepted as a member of the planet right along Zeb. Their is video footage of Steve crying as he watches this scene unfold as the internet explodes over this with everyone celebrating that Kalluzeb was canon. Even homophobes and haters of Kallus where grumbling and bemoaning them becoming canon because Korrasami set the expectation that moments like this meant the couple was canon. (It should be noted when Korrasami first came out, a lot of people did not see that the ending scene in the final episode confirmed they where canon, the creator himself had to come out and confirm that they where together and they where in fact a couple.)

But then Disney and Filoni (the shows creator) stomped all over the moment. Filoni made a big statement when Steve tried to thank him for making his OTP canon insisting they where in fact not together and that they where just friends. It was a frustrating reminder that no, we could not look at moments like the Korrasami ending as confirmation a couple was together because homophobes will just deny it and rip it away from us at the blink of an eye. Steve, the hero he is, just denies this and continues to post tweets as if they are confirmed but at the end of the day according to canon, they are not. Zines and other fan projects that only do “canon” couples refuse to accept anything Kalluzeb, their is a fear that the new Ahsoka show will make some comment about Kallus or Zeb or both now having a girlfriend and making a point to make sure they are seen as completely and utterly straight.

Bmblbe having similar beats to Korrasami is not proof of them being canon, because other couples that have similar beats to Korrasami have been shot down in the past, in fact RT themselves have done that very same thing with Fair Game. I don’t ship them myself, but watching the show and their scenes together, they share similar beats to what people use to show that Bmblbe is canon, Clover winked at Qrow, Qrow shyly rubbed the back of his neck when Clover complimented him while giving him “bedroom eyes” as CRWBY put it. They have complementary semblances and colors, near the end Qrow even arguably tried to flirt back and gave a fond eyeroll towards him. CRWBY posted Qrow’s boyfriend counter and highlighted scenes read as romantic. A former animator was excited when someone picked up on the fact that Clover winked at Qrow while saying the same line as the waitress we knew Qrow was sexually attracted to. But when Clover died and Qrow screamed in agony and kept his lucky pin as a reminder of him, CRWBY insisted they where not supposed to be seen as romantically interested in each other. They insisted it was just rogue animators that put in those moments. At the end of the day, CRWBY could just turn around and do the same thing to Bmblbe. They could turn around, give Yang a boyfriend, have Blake get with Sun and insist that it was never their intention to have the pair be read as Queer. Their is no moment we can point to in the show that bmblebe has to confirm them as queer that Fair Game did not have as well. The animators shut down Fair Game, what’s to stop them from shutting down Bmblbe? 

Blake should be bi, we should all be able to look at her and say, “Yes this is 100% no questions asked a bi character” but we can’t, not in the world we live in where even today the LGBTQ community is constantly fighting to maintain our rights. A real human person does not need to do anything to expressly confirm their identity yes, but Blake is a fictional character being used to tell a story. She cannot make choices herself, every decision she’s made was one made by the writers. In a world where so many baited characters wound up having nothing come of those tender moments we cannot just take these little moments as “enough” because it isn’t enough. Anyone can deny or backtrack and pretend they are straight. Most people will look at Blake and go “Well yea she has feelings for Yang it’s obvious!” but homophobes and homophobic companies like RT can and will deny and twist the moments in canon and pretend they don’t exist when its more convenient for them for those moments to not exist. 

I want Blake and Yang to get together, I want to see Blake be confirmed bi, but after so many years of being burned, what we have so far is exactly what so many other shows have used to string us along and I want better for fans. We’re in 2023, we should be able to say, “I want better” and not get harassed. 

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars and Rebels

I mentioned this in my previous post and have been meaning to write about it in more detail.

I've never actually watched The Clone Wars or Rebels.

Not intentionally, it just sort of never happened. TCW was first released during a weird and rough part of my life where a lot of other things were going on and for many reasons past me was focused on other things. I'm not entirely sure where, or even if, I would've been able to watch TCW when it first came out. I think it might've been picked up by one of the TV channels but I'm not sure and I don't think streaming was a big thing yet back in 2008. I'm also pretty sure both TCW and Rebels would've been marketed as "animated kids TV shows' so I'm guessing past me just took it at read that it wasn't a show aimed at me. Ooh, how wrong I was. (I've got more thoughts about the whole "kids show" thing but that's for another time.)

Even though I've never watched TCW or Rebels, I still know the general gist of what happens. It's a bit hard to not be spoiled for a show that premiered 15 years ago. Plus, I have a frustrating tendency to spoil things for myself in my need to understand and find out everything about a particular topic if my brain latches onto it (dammit ADHD brain). So I know who Rex and Cody and Ashoka all are and I know how TCW ends and what happens at the end of Rebels. But I have no emotional connection to all these characters and stories, which is what I'm sad about the most.

Every time Rex or Cody appear or are even just briefly mentioned in The Bad Batch, people go absolutely completely and utterly bonkers. I can clearly see that they, and many others, are beloved characters and I'm sad that I'm not a part of that. That I missed out on desperately waiting for each new episode each week, devouring it when it aired and then excitedly screaming into the internet void about whatever just transpired. That I missed out on growing to love these characters and following their stories. That I missed out on experiencing all of this when it happened and am continuing to miss out on experiencing this as it continues in The Bad Batch.

A really good example of this is Echo. People seem to go absolutely postal about him but I'm just sitting here going "yeah I like the guy but why the reaction?" Of course, I now know why. I read about what happened to him but I never experienced or watched it. And I miss that. This is not to say that I don't like Echo. I absolutely do. Echo girlies please do not come for me. Tbh I think I may end up turning into an Echo girlie, especially after his very commanding voice, leadership and general badassery at the start of 'Tipping Point'.

Another example is when Zeb very briefly appeared in the most recent episode of The Mandalorian. People lost their absolute minds and I'm sitting here going, "who?". As I'm apparently incapable of not spoiling myself, I've since read up about Zeb, and then found out about Kallus and oh no, I just know this is a ship I'm going to fall into and be obsessed with. Good luck future me. Fare thee well. Enjoy it while it lasts.

So having never watched these beloved shows, it means I'm missing out on so much of the fandom reactions, relationships, emotions and how much these characters and their stories mean to everyone. And I don't want that to be the case. I want to know Rex and Cody and Ashoka and the 501st and the 212th and Jesse and Fives and Hera and Kanan and Zeb and Kallus and everyone else that I can't list because I'm trying to not spoil myself too much.

TCW and Rebels have been on my To Watch list for a while and recently, I was finally able to start watching The Clone Wars. I'm still only on Season 1 and was up to episode 18 'Mystery of a Thousand Moons' before I a) became hyperfixated on The Bad Batch and b) decided to pause watching TCW so I could come back to the series later on and properly enjoy watching it. And I am enjoying what I've watched so far! I've already got plenty of thoughts so I think I'll put those all together in another post before I dive back into watching TCW and then Rebels after that.

Because that's what I want to do with both of these beloved series. I'm watching them for the first time and I really want to savour and enjoy it. I'm going to be watching The Clone Wars and Rebels for the first time. I'm never going to get that experience ever again. I could just binge them all in one massive sitting but I don't think that would do the shows justice or be as enjoyable. I can't wait until each new episode is released each week like they were when they were initially released but I can enjoy them in my own way.

Which is why I want to turn my first watch through of these shows into my own little project. Something purely for me, for my experience and for me to enjoy and look forward to. I don't have much, if anything, left to enjoy or look forward to anymore so I'm going to grasp on to what little I can. And in this case, its watching The Clone Wars and Rebels for the first time.

I had planned on jumping straight back into it after The Bad Batch Season 2 finale but I think I'm going to need a while now to deal with and try to process everything that happened in that. But when the time is right, hopefully sometime SoonTM, I'll get back into watching The Clone Wars. My plan is to watch an episode and then write a reaction post with my thoughts/opinions/theories/general screeching about said episode. Once I've finished, I'll have this archive, a collection of posts and writing that capture the first time I watched The Clone Wars and Rebels.

I'm getting all happy and teary just thinking about it.

Given the large gap between season 1 and 2 of The Bad Batch, I'm hoping to be able to finish watching TCW and Rebels before the (hopeful) premiere of season 3 of The Bad Batch (please let there be a season 3, there's got to be a season 3, please). It'll also help the references that appear in other Star Wars shows actually mean something to me. I'm really going to need to have finished watching TCW and Rebels before watching Ashoka otherwise it just won't mean as much to me, and I don't want to miss out on that either.

I can't imagine there are many people left in the fandom that have yet to watch The Clone Wars and Rebels. While it does mean that I've missed out on so much, I'm also excited about it. I'm fully aware that there are going to be rough episodes (2008 animation is, well, dated) and that my emotions are going to be destroyed by Filoni et al. but I'm also really looking forward to it. To meeting all the clones and other characters and getting to know them. To learning their stories and going on adventures with them.

I get to watch The Clone Wars and Rebels for the first time. And I'm really looking forward to it. It's given me something to look forward to for the first time in a very long time.

[foilfreak]

4 Lords Raise Rose AU Ideas

Not a single person asked for this, but that other post where I talk about the 4 lords adopting Rose but still technically being terrible people got way more popular than I expected it to, so, with about 6 shots of tequila in my system and a terrible urge to spit my thoughts out for all the internet to see and judge, I’ve decided to make a follow up post. Here’s how I think the 4 lords would take care of Rose in the event they rebelled against Mother Miranda and decided to raise Rose as their own instead, but like under the cut after a little bit cuz i accidentally went way too fucking hard with this and I don’t want ppl to get mad at me for making them scroll for an hour to get past this post:

First and foremost, I think they’d do it in stages, and what I mean by this is that Rose would essentially be given to a specific Lord for some period of her life, like a couple years, and then when she was deemed old or strong or annoying enough, she’d be moved to a different lord for some period of time and so on and so forth. They would do this because a) they all live in different areas and have shit to do so it’s easier to have Rose live with one lord at a time and then the other lords can just go visit her there from time to time, rather than try to work out a weekly custody schedule which we all know Alcina and Karl would NEVER be able to agree on so let’s not even bother, and b) because each lord would have either some skill or set of knowledge that would make them the best for caring for Rose at that specific point in her life. This way, all the lords have a (somewhat) equal chance to be a part of Rose’s life and teach her something while she’s with them. So with all that in mind now, let’s get down to who would have Rose and at what point in her life.

1. Starting off with infant Rose, I think she’d end up with the Dimitrescu’s for the first few years of her life, and the reason why I think this is because... well, Alcina IS already a mother to 3 girls, and while we don’t know a terrible amount about Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela’s “upbringing” under Alcina, we can gleam and theorize from her notes that, despite their fully grown bodies, the girls could very well have started out with the mental and physical capabilities of infants, and thus needed to be cared for and brought up in a similar manner as infants or children until they reached a certain point where they could officially be considered adults in mentality and ability, not just in physical appearance. So with this in mind, it’s entirely possible that Alcina could have at least some vague idea of how to care for an infant child through her experiences with the bug sisters; perhaps there’s some gaps in her knowledge, but if nothing else I imagine Alcina would be an infant Rose’s best shot at surviving infancy if only because the other 3 are so incompetent on how to care for a baby that Alcina looks like an expert in comparison. Not to mention that, of the possible locations for an infant to be raised, I do genuinely think that castle Dimitrescu would be the safest place for Rose to be kept during this vulnerable part of her life. Not only that but if Alcina has actually come to care for Rose as though she were one of her own daughters, then she would absolutely spoil Rose rotten with all the nicest clothes and fanciest toys, things that a small infant wouldnt be able to appreciate but would show that she’s loved and cared for nonetheless, and don’t even get me started on the bug sisters, I could see them fawning over Rose for hours on end, playing with her, singing to her, telling her stories of all the man-things they’ve gotten to play with today, and so much more. Overall, Rose would just be the most spoiled and pampered little baby with the Dimitrescus and there’s no changing my mind about this. The only thing I’m struggling to wrap my head around is how they’d feed her, since I doubt a small infant would take very well to blood wine and human flesh. I suppose it wouldn’t be terribly outrageous for them to hire a wet nurse/nanny to care for Rose during the day while the other Dimitrescus go about their daily duties, and when Rose is finally old enough to be introduced to solid food (I.e. fried human flesh cubes) they could do what they always do and turn the nurse into wine too, I guess. It’s not a solid idea but it’s more plausible than anything else I thought of so it’ll work!

2. After spending about 3 years with the Dimitrescus, Rose would then be moved to the Beneviento house. Now, If u don’t know anything about 3 year olds, then you’re probably ignorant to the fact that they are some of the craftiest, sneakiest, and most coniving groups of people to exist on this planet. 3 year olds are masters at getting into and touching just about anything and everything u don’t want them to touch, and worst of all, u won’t realize what they’re doing until they’ve already done it and left a huge mess behind, so while the Dimitrescus love and adore Rose dearly, they know it’s sadly time to hand her over when they find her sitting on top of a pile of dead bodies playing with a metal scythe in the dungeons. Once Rose is dropped off at the Beneviento house, I imagine Donna is her usual stoic self the first few weeks Rose is with her. She’s not cold or distant necessarily, in fact she’s quite happy that it’s finally her turn with precious baby Rose, but Donna isn’t exactly known for being outwardly expressive herself (and even Angie isn’t being quite as forward as she normally is), so things are quiet and peaceful for the first little while that Rose is under her care. It’s not until Rose takes an interest in her doll Angie, and more importantly the things that Donna can do with Angie, that things really start getting fun. By the end of Rose’s first month in the Beneviento house she and Donna are the best of friends and often spend their days either playing dress up and make pretend with Donna’s extensive doll collection, or playing elaborate games of cat and mouse, where Donna will set up lots of puzzles throughout the house for Rose to find and solve (I.e. rose has to match her dress to the doll with the same one as her to find a map telling her which kitchen cabinet Donna hid the chocolate in, or something like that), but be careful little Rose, Angie has been trying to get her hands on that chocolate all day, and if u take too long, she’ll find the map first and eat all the chocolate without saving you a single piece. Just silly little puzzles with enough at stake to engage the mind of a curious 3 year old, but never enough to put rose in any actual danger. Donna is nothing if not a watchful caretaker, so she makes sure she has sight of Rose at all times, occasionally giving her a hint if she’s struggling, and perhaps occasionally making things harder if that day’s puzzle is proving too easy for her. Overall, Rose’s time with Donna, while not as grand and luxurious as the Dimitrescus, was still a fun and enriching experience for the young girl, and there’s nobody in this world who thinks that Donna’s scar is cool more than Rose.

3. After another 3 years with Donna, Rose is now 6 years old and officially far too good at puzzle solving for Donna to keep up with. No matter what she tries or how hard she makes it, Rose just keeps blazing through the puzzles at an almost alarming rate, making it clear that Rose is desperately in need of not only a change in scenery, but also a change in education, and this is where Salvatore finally comes in. After leaving the Beneviento house, I think the next logical place for Rose to stay would be with Salvatore, who, with lore hinting at him perhaps being a scholarly man of some kind, would basically act as her elementary school teacher throughout the duration of her stay. Now, to be fair, Rose could have gone to Heisenburg’s factory, but Heisenberg outright refused to take her and the other 3 lords decide that the factory is simply too dangerous for Rose rn, who thus far hasn’t shown any signs of being anything other than a normal human girl with no noticeable abilities (save for a smart mouth and a terrifying habit of popping up when least expected, a habit she mostly uses to mess with Heisenberg, much to his disdain and Lady Dimitrescu’s delight), so it is to the mutant fish man’s unimaginable delight that he is unanimously voted Roses next caretaker, and the one responsible for her basic education. Despite his initial excitement however, when Rose is finally dropped off at the windmills by Donna, Salvatore realizes that he’s not 100% sure what to do with Rose now that he has her. He’d like to get started on her education right away but at the same time he’s so fearful of Rose hating him because of his disgusting appearance that he kind of just... avoids her entirely at first. He’s never far away from the little girl and is always ready to jump to her rescue should she need it, but other than that Salvatore seldom allows himself to be seen for the first month that Rose is with him, the only sign of him still being around being the platefuls of food that mysteriously appear in Rose’s room 3 times a day, as well as the occasional shiny trinket Salvatore found and thought Rose would like. At first, rose doesn’t seem to mind being left entirely to her own devices, but after every stone, log, and rotting fish corpse within 5 miles of the lake has been turned over and thoroughly examined, Rose decides she’s had quite enough of her Uncle Sal ignoring her, prompting the headstrong little girl to go looking for him herself. She finds Salvatore hiding underneath a patch of floating algae not far away from where she was playing and all but demands that the mutant man come out of the water and give her something to do or she’d tell Mother on him. Salvatore, shocked by the small child’s fearlessly blunt request, hesitates, not wanting to frighten Rose, but ultimately relents, crawling out of the water and timidly suggesting that he teach her how to read and write. Rose quickly agrees, seeming totally unbothered by Salvatore’s grotesque appearance, and the two quickly move to the schoolroom that had been set up specifically for Rose, where Salvatore spends hours upon hours a day teaching Rose everything he knows, filling the little girl’s head up first with the basics, letters and words, then numbers and simple equations, followed later by historical dates and time periods, algebraic formulas, and classic literature analysis, then biology, chemistry, physics, astrology, calculus, ecology, and so much more. Basically, anything there is to know, Salvatore knows at least something about it and he’ll make sure that Rose knows about it too. In the 3 years Rose spends with Salvatore she goes from already sharp as a whip, to being smarter than most adults even, and Salvatore takes immense pride in how intelligent and knowledgable Rose becomes thanks to his surprisingly effective teaching style. Overall, as a caretaker, Salvatore is pretty weird and doubts himself a lot, but Rose thinks he’s funny and loves learning from him so they get along very well and she loves him very dearly! He probs teaches her to swim and fish too.

4. So another 3 years come and go with incredible speed, and its with great sadness on Salvatore’s part that Heisenberg finally comes banging on the fish man’s door, all but demanding that he now be given his turn with Rose. Now, personally, I can see several different arguments being raised by the other 3 lords over why its a terrible idea to let a 9 year old anywhere near Heisenberg, much less be given into his care fully. After about 9 years of seeing his siblings paling around with the constantly growing child, and looking like theyre having the time of their lives all the while, however, Karl decides that perhaps there’s more to this little girl than he originally thought, and, with his interest now piqued (or at the very least looking forward to pissing the other 3 off for entertainment purposes), that its only fair that he be given a turn with her now too, seeing as how he’s the only one who hasn’t been given the chance to be her caretaker yet. This naturally does NOT go over well with the other 3 lords. Alcina all but threatens to kill Karl should he step so much as within 10 ft of Rose, while Donna pipes up and demands to know what his sudden interest in Rose is. Even Salvatore, who is quick to flinch away from direct conflict, goes as far as to harshly point out the plethora of times Karl had outright denied their previous attempts to get him to engage with Rose, so why on earth would they hand her over to him now when he’s previously shown to have absolutely no interest in her? After a long spout of yelling between the 4 siblings, an agreement is reached, wherein Rose herself will be given the chance to decide whether she wants to go with Heisenberg, or whether she’ll return to one of the other 3 lords for the time being. It is to Alcina, Donna, and Salvatore’s absolute horror however, that Rose enthusiastically agrees to go with her Uncle Karl to live in his factory, and with the deal already set, the other lords can do nothing to stop her from going. The trip to drop off Rose at heisenberg’s factory is a long and arduous one, especially for Salvatore, who sobs the whole way there about Rose forgetting about him despite the young girl’s insistence that she’d visit. The first thing Karl does after officially having Rose handed over to him, is give her an extensive list of all the places in the factory in which she is under no circumstances permitted to enter without his permission (which basically only leaves the control room and the old storage closet that acts as her bedroom as viable places for Rose to go and explore). The second thing Karl does is dump her in her new storage closet bedroom and then hightail it for his workshop to work on whatever sick and twisted amalgamation he’s got cooked up this time around. At first, Rose isn’t terribly bothered by this, since she’s used to having something of an “adjustment period” when she’s with a new caretaker, but unfortunately for her, this adjustment period lasts a hell of a lot longer than the others did, and by the time 3 months of almost no meaningful contact with Karl, Rose decides to take matters into her own hands and ascends into the depths of the factory despite the express orders not to do so. Now, going back to the idea that the 4 lords are still pretty terrible people, I doubt Rose has been kept ignorant to the less savory aspects of her caretaker’s lives, and tbh she probably doesn’t think anything of the fact that the Dimitrescus makes wine out of the blood of virgin women or that Salvatore still does cadou experiments (and had her help on occasion), but I imagine even Rose would find the projects Karl works on to be at least a little

4, cont. gruesome and horrifying in nature, especially since Heisenberg is the one she knows the least about. However, instead of turning Rose away from Heisenberg, these terrifying metal creatures she sees locked up only spark her already insatiable curiosity, and by the time she finally tracks Karl down, Rose is all but trembling to learn more about this horrifyingly fascinating metal world. Unfortunately, Karl is not nearly as happy to see Rose as Rose is to see him, and the engineer all but grabs Rose by the scruff of her neck and drags her back up to the control room, yelling and screaming at her all the while about how she was explicitly instructed not to enter these parts of the factory without his permission. Needless to say that Rose does not enjoy this treatment and immediately lashes out, half out of anger and half out of confusion as to why Karl was treating her like this. He was the one who wanted her here in the first place, so why the hell was he just ignoring her now? It didn’t make any sense and it was starting to piss Rose off, so naturally the only thing left for her to do in order to solve this complicated situation would be to continue to disobey Karl until he either gave up and sent her back to one of the other lords, or finally payed some damn attention to her for once. So that’s exactly what she did. Every single day Rose left her room (which Karl kept telling himself he needed to put a lock on, but never did cuz he’s an idiot) and descended down into the depths of the factory looking for something ogle at or tinker with, and every single day Karl would track her down wherever she’d managed to get to and throw her back upstairs threatening to feed her to the lycans if she did it again. This incredibly frustrating cycle continued on for the better part of the next month or so, finally coming to a head when Rose managed to wander into the part of the factory where the... less than successful experiments got put whenever Karl doesn’t have any further use for them but is feeling too lazy to kill them off himself. Long story short, Rose runs into a Sturm that chases her around the factory, causing all manner of mayhem and destruction, and would have torn her to ribbons had it not been for Karl, who jumped in at the last second and was able to fend the damn thing off long enough for Rose to get the ever living fuck out and back up to the control room where it’s safe. There’s a lot of loud noises and explosions coming from deep within the factory that last for what feels like an eternity, but Rose doesn’t dare venture out again until everything has gone eerily quiet and a deep sense of worry has settled in the pit of her stomach over what had become of her latest caretaker. Turns out the Sturm had recognized its creator and, after watching its initial prey escape because of said creator, quickly decided that it fucking hated Karl with every fiber of its being and wanted him dead if it was the last thing it’s propellers did. Now, we all know that Karl is a big strong boy who’s more than capable of handling his own creations and taking down strong enemies, but the Sturm is a creation that even he struggles to control on good days and today is decidedly not a good day so not only does Karl not have the slightest bit of control over the death machine trying to kill him, but its also a lot stronger than Karl initially thought and apparently not picky about the method which causes Karl’s death, which is evidenced by the nearly dead Sturm ramming itself into a power generator as a final act of defiance and nearly blowing up the whole factory and everybody inside. Heisenberg is able to contain the explosion somehow but not without considerable damage to himself first. Rose is, naturally, quite horrified to find Karl passed out in the elevator that had taken him up from the lower levels of the factory where the explosion was, skin burnt nearly to a crisp in certain areas and blood pooling from just about every part of him, and immediately heads over to try and help her injured caretaker.

4, cont. again cuz I physically can’t stop myself. Now, I imagine that any normal 9 year old probably wouldnt be able to handle this sort of situation in any meaningful way, but i think we can all agree that Rose is the furthest thing from normal (especially considering who raised her) and has probably seen enough blood and gore to not be terribly freaked out by it, but this is where things get a little speculative because we don’t know what Rose’s powers are exactly but we do know from the final cutscene that she does have them, perhaps even a plethora of abilities, and I like to think that some of those powers are related to Ethan’s superhuman healing capabilities, but unlike Ethan however, who from what we’ve seen could only heal himself, Rose can actually heal other people (tho this isn’t something she’s aware of at this point in time). The second the elevator door opens to reveal, what looks to be, a half-dead Karl slumped over in the corner, Rose panics and runs to him, doing everything she can think of save for maybe grabbing him by the collar or slapping him across the face, to try and get Karl to wake up, except nothing works, he wont wake up no matter how hard Rose tries and i imagine this must be incredibly distressing for Rose who never intended for something like this to happen or for her caretaker to die because he had to protect her even tho he told her not to go down there because its dangerous and anything down there WOULD kill her if given the opportunity. Anyways Rose is now full on sobbing on top of Karl like only a 9 year old who just discovered that her actions have consequences can, but unbeknownst to her (and technically Karl cuz he’s a little busy bleeding out all over the floor) Karl’s wounds are slowly beginning to close, the burns on his face and hands shift from a bright red to a dark brown before crusting over and flaking off, and even his breathing, which had been labored and inconsistent at first, began to level out slightly. Karl woke up not long after that and was surprised to find that a) he was still alive, which was cool, b) he was injured but not in indescribable pain, also cool, and c) there was a literal sobbing child all but sitting on top of him, which is definitely not something Karl was expecting but he supposed he’s been met with worse things upon waking up after almost dying so why question it. After taking a moment to gather their bearings, the two return to the safer parts of the factory to rest and recover and for the most part this little incident of their’s goes largely unspoken, with Rose not exactly in the mood to talk about how her disobedience nearly got herself and Karl killed, and Karl being too fucking tired to go after her about it, especially since she seems to have learned her lesson. The only downside to this whole thing is that now Karl has a busted up fuckin leg thats gonna take an eternity to heal even for him, and with so much work to still do he’s more or less forced to drag Rose around the factory and use her like the annoying assistant he never wanted (except he did want her, thats how this whole fucking mess started, you lug), except that Rose, who is more than used to playing lab assistant from her time with Salvatore, quickly proves to be a rather capable and handy person to have around, if only because she knows the difference between a philips and a flathead screwdriver even better than he does. An amicable, if still slightly awkward peace settles over Heisenberg’s factory once Karl starts actively engaging with Rose and giving her something to do on a daily basis, even if its just standing around watching him work and occasionally having her questions about what he’s doing answered. It doesn’t take very long after that for Karl to begin realizing that perhaps throwing a huge tantrum to get Rose to come here only to ditch her upstairs by herself for 3 months might not have been the smartest (or most considerate) thing he’s ever done, and even goes as far as to (kinda) apologize to Rose for being such a dick to her since she arrived.

4, last one i swear. Rose forgives him, though not before adding that she already knew he was an asshole from Alcina, which earns her a halfhearted swipe from Karl that Rose easily dodges with a childish giggle. From that point on their relationship improves astronomically as Karl finally gives in and teaches Rose about about engineering and everything else that goes into making the metal horrors that he’s known for. Karl is shocked at how quickly Rose picks up on the trade, getting to the point where Karl wonders if he should start giving Rose her own projects to work on, but quickly rolls his eyes and groans when he remember that Salvatore was the one responsible for her education up until this point, the mere thought of having to give compliments to that “moronic freak” for giving Rose such a good educational foundation makes him want to vomit despite how secretly impressed he is. Overall, Rose’s time with Heisenberg starts out shaky, very shaky even, but after a bit of disaster and some swallowing of the pride on Karl’s part, they end up growing quite close and have a nice fun Uncle and martass Neice dynamic. They make a good team and Karl does genuinely enjoy having a little assistant around to help him with his projects, even if Rose can sound a bit too much like Alcina on some days for his liking.

5. 3 more years come and go and now Rose is a strong and healthy 12 years old, perhaps riddled with a few more scars and smearings of ash and motor oil across her skin than when she first arrived but still strong and capable nonetheless. Going back to that first statement however, this of course means that it’s time for the other 3 lords to come banging on Karl’s door for a change, all but demanding that Rose be handed back over to them. Karl of course refuses, telling them all to fuck off and that Rose didn’t want a leave the factory, so upon realization that all 4 lords were gathered here with the intention of taking Rose back to live with them indefinitely, a fight immediately breaks out between the 4 siblings, as each one makes their case as to why Rose should be returned to them and not the other 3, which of course none of the 4 lords can come to an agreement about because they ALL want Rose to stay with them. So after another long and pointlessly arduous argument, Alcina finally breaks, proclaiming that they’d be here for all eternity of they didn’t make a decision now, and that, like the first time the 4 siblings argued over whether Rose should go with Heisenberg or return to one of the previous lords, Rose would be the one to decide which of her four caretakers she would return to. The agreement is made reluctantly, mostly on the part of Salvatore, Donna, and Heisenberg, but there was seemingly no other way for them to come to a decision, so it would unfortunately have to be up to Rose to decide which of her 4 caretakers she wants to stay with permanently. Rose is quickly brought before the 4 lords and explained the situation, before being given some time to herself to think and make her final decision. A tense and uneasy silence falls over the 4 lords as they wait for the little girl, who they had shown an uncharacteristic amount of mercy and time and devotion and love in the 12 years since Mother Miranda had brought her to the village with the intention of using her to revive an already lost and long-gone baby that she never would have gotten back no matter how hard she tried. Although they refused to admit it to one another, the lords all secretly knew that Rose had wormed her way into each of their cold, dead hearts, reviving an aspect of their humanity that they’d all thought had been lost ages ago. Rose came to the village bringing with her a wave of death and destruction, and yet throughout her childhood she has brought them nothing but light and life, illuminating their previously dark and desolate existences. The 4 lords loved their Rose very dearly and desperately wanted her to be happy, yet each of them possesses a dark and selfish desire to have Rose pick them over the other 3, to come and live with them forever and fill the hole deep inside them that they never knew needed filling. After a short while, Rose comes back out and stands before her 4 beloved caretakers, looking around nervously as she picks at her fingernails. The silence is thick and heavy as the 4 lords stare at the young girl, waiting with bated breaths for her to give her final verdict. Rose continues to say nothing as tears begin to flow from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks in thick streams as the girl begins to sob, dropping her head and clenching her dress. The 4 lords look between one another in confusion, unsure of what to do with this sudden burst of tears. Rose tearfully admits that she can’t and doesn’t want to choose which of the 4 lords she wants to live with permanently because she loves them all very much and wants to be able to see and live with all of them, like they’ve done thus far. Although the lords detest the idea of having to share Rose with anyone, they reluctantly come to an agreement for the girl’s sake, deciding that they would continue with the arrangement they’ve had thus far, only that Rose would switch between caretakers every 3 months instead of every 3 years, giving rose plenty of opportunities to see each of her caretakers just like she wanted. From then on, Rose continues to live her life

5, cont. growing up and learning more and more from each of her beloved caretakers. Although Rose would likely never know what a normal life looks like, living with 4 criminally insane monsters in the remote mountain village in Romania, it would be impossible to say that she wouldn’t have a happy life despite that. Perhaps its because the girl simply doesn’t know any better, so she doesn’t have the ability to see just how messed up her life and her 4 caretakers really are, but i imagine that Rose probably wouldn’t care very much to learn even if she had the opportunity. She’s a happy little girl living a strange but enjoyable life with the only family she’ll ever need. What more could she possibly ask for?

6. As for how Mother Miranda would play into this whole scenario I’ve just drunkenly spat out, im honestly not 100% sure. Ive seen some people suggesting that MM just kinda chills and lets the lords do what they want with Rose, but tbh I honestly don’t see that happening in this universe. MM would still have been just as crazy and driven to get Eva back as she was in canon, so i doubt she’d willingly standby and let her “false children” take away her one shot of getting her real child back simply because they didn’t want to hurt her, i just don’t personally see that happening. The two most likely scenarios i can come up with is that the Lords either banded together and look Miranda on together, their combined forces being enough to take her down and kill her, OR, Ethan is the one to take down MM like he did in canon but he passes out before he can get to rose, giving the lords (who he hadn’t ended up killing but just escaping from i guess) the opportunity to slide in, grab rose, and hightail it out of there, leaving Ethan’s body to be retrieved by Chris, who, due to not seeing or hearing Rose anywhere, believes that Rose must have been accidentally killed along with MM, which he later tells to Ethan and Mia. Regardless of how MM gets taken out of the picture (or if she’s given room to potentially come back later), the 4 lords retreat with Rose and begin the whole cycle I explained up above, but i did want to briefly address how I saw MM fitting into all of this since she is a vital part of the original story and the biggest obstacle to the lords having anything to do with Rose.

Anyways, that was so much longer than I intended it to be but I had so much fun with it just because it gave me the opportunity to spit some fun ideas and potential plot points out about this cool AU that I like and hope someone does SOMETHING with, please god someone do it, I’d do it myself but i have enough projects at the moment unfortunately. If you managed to make it all the way to the bottom, thank you for reading all of that, I appreciate it, and I hope you enjoyed at least some parts of this, and maybe even agree with some of the things I said. Feel free to leave your own ideas in the comments, I’d love to read them and hopefully if enough people like this maybe i will actually do something with it. Who knows? I certainly dont. Anyways thank you for reading all this, i hope you have a great day, and maybe ill see you around in another post. Bye!!! <3

[jennana501]

A Case for Rexsoka

I’ve been around the block when it comes to ships. I’ve seen people obsess over them, and I too have been driven mad by obsession. I was a hardcore original avatar fan and I was OBSESSED with shipping Toph and Sokka together. Any time they so much as made an interaction I over analyzed it and picked it apart looking for clues that somehow would prove that my hunches were correct. It was because I related with both characters, and I loved their chemistry. I wanted them to have a romantic relationship because it would feel like some sort of personal validation.

I’m an adult now and nothing has changed. But it has been a while since I’ve desperately shipped two characters together that are not obviously romantically involved with one another, or who could be romantic behind the scenes or beyond the story shown.

Until Rex and Ahsoka.

And I’ve seen people be adamantly against it. 

“No no no it’s just a brother/sister relationship.” 

“No it’s gross she is a child”.

And of course being disagreed with on the internet can drive a person crazy, and instead of individually arguing with dozens of people online, I’m making this post once and for all to explain why I think Rex and Ahsoka have romantic feelings for each other. Especially Rex.

The argument I’ve seen, that their deep passion, commitment, love, admiration, and respect for one another (which are all so obvious you’d have to be...silly to not see it) are felt in a platonic fashion. Which, for the first 6 seasons and 8 episodes, I would totally agree.

But then Ahsoka comes back. And let’s face it. She is a woman. Age wise, she’s around 17, but everything from the maturity of her Lekku (which weirdly don’t get all that longer, especially compared to other Tagrutan women) to her poise and confidence, to her prowess as a warrior, a user of the force, and her ability to command soldiers as well as control her emotions points to her being an adult woman. She’s no Snips anymore; she’s no child. She’s grown up. And how her peers react to her illustrates how they now view her as an adult.

First there is Obi-wan. Obi-wan has always been a mentor to her, a sort of second Master. Obi-wan never hesitated to guide and Ahsoka or offer his council. He is proud of her when she succeeds, and will admonish her when she makes mistakes. When she returns and he sees her as a woman, he changes the way he treats her. He acknowledges her maturity by addressing her as an equal. He doesn’t admonish her. Instead he discusses with her, challenging her ideas and letting her offer an argument for them instead of putting them down and telling her how she should think or act. He also comes to her in his time of need, trusting her to help him with Anakin.

Then there is Anakin. We all know of Anisoka shippers, and they are perfectly able to ship and enjoy said ship, but we can all acknowledge that it is a crack pairing with no basis in the canon. Anakin portrays the perfect kind of brotherly love. He is excited to see Ahsoka, and is stunned by her unexpected reappearance. Things are harder for Anakin because he is used to their fun banter and sibling-like companionship. He’s constantly shut down with her business like manner and he struggles with coming to terms with the fact that she isn’t a little kid sister anymore. She is an adult with a mission and a plan. When he looks at her, he is endearing. He loves her. Admires her. And he can’t wait to pick up where they left off. There’s joy and adoration in his face. He is proud of her and what she has become, but he also feels alienated and even hurt because of how her adulthood has changed their dynamic.

Then there is Rex. When he first sees her, he wants nothing more than to reassure her that she still belongs. The clones had accepted her into their family. As far as they were concerned, she was one of them. When he looks at her for the first time, he’s beaming with the same adoration as he had had for her before, but also with a solemn awe at what she has become and what she has grown into. He welcomes her back into his life without hesitation.

But then there is a moment things shift so drastically that I paused the show and re-watched it half a dozen times. We all know it and love it. This face he gives Ahsoka. The Look.

What we see here is something we have never, EVER seen in Rex for 7 whole seasons. And it is my opinion that this is the first time Rex has been able to feel and express that he is attracted to Ahsoka. In other words, Rex has a sexual awakening.

Up until this point, Rex has been a sexless character. Nothing he does is flirtatious, sexy, or at all suggestive that he has those feelings inside him at all. Every sexual being has a moment where they are first animalistically drawn to another being. Characters who have already had this moment are easy to pick out. Obi wan. Anakin. Ventress. These characters have already experienced their sexual awakening. Ahsoka has too. Lux was her first object of attraction.

But Rex has never had this moment. Until this reaction.

I know some of you might be thinking “but Ahsoka gives a very similar look to Anakin, does that mean she is sexually attracted to HIM?” It’s a very good point. Ahsoka and Anakin share some cheeky playful looks during “Old Friends Not Forgotten”. We see many characters give similar looks to other characters, but does this mean it means the same thing as when Rex does it? The short answer is no.

When animators design a character, they establish the “range of emotion” for that character. You can easily see this when you look back at how many times you see Rex break from his stoic, captain’s face. He rarely laughs, smiles, or emotes in any way. This is why when we see him emote it is exciting to us as an audience. A character like Ahsoka or Anakin commonly show a wide variety of expressions. Ahsoka is much more likely to give a cheeky look than Rex is. So “the look” for Rex, means a lot more when he is doing than it does when another character does it, say Fives or even Obi-Wan.

Which means the writers are trying to tell us something about this moment. 

This moment has changed Rex’s and Ahsoka’s relationship. 

Now does this mean that they are going to go bang each other immediately? Does this mean the second they are alone after “Victory and Death” they start an intense, sexual relationship? Of course not. That’s not what this ship is about at this time. But the reason many of us ship it is because suddenly they don’t feel like brother and sister anymore. It isn’t entirely platonic. And the show does a good job to further emphasize this as they come closer and closer both emotionally, and physically during the finale.

Blocking is a huge factor in visual storytelling. During the finale, Rex and Ahsoka are blocked in a way that makes them as close as physically possible on the screen. This communicates to the audience that they are closer now than they have ever been. As Jedi and Clone Trooper. As friends, and as companions, their bond forged in the fires of war, struggling to find meaning in life as soldiers.

In contrast, look how Ahsoka and Anakin are blocked in their scenes. There is nearly always a gap between them, illustrating that they are distanced from each other emotionally. Rex is even visually inserted into the gap between them in several instances. Anakin and Ahsoka are growing apart, but she and Rex are growing closer.

We get to experience Rex and Ahsoka engaging in actions and conversations that we had rarely seen before. From casual banter, to moments of intense intimacy, to emotional peaks, Rex and Ahsoka interact more in these four episodes than in the previous six seasons. Part of this is because their maturity gap has closed. Ahsoka is finally Rex’s equal in experience and maturity. It is also in part because it is a unique dynamic. No Obi-wan. No Anakin. Rex and Ahsoka are equal leaders of the 332nd. There’s also the fact that they are put into life threatening situations and have no one else but each other.

But there is that “look” that is given at the beginning of all this that suggests something else, that as their bond undoubtedly becomes strong as beskar, there is an element of it that takes their relationship from the platonic to the romantic.

I feel every detail, moment, and piece of dialogue in the finale tells the story of this bond. 

Many instances of their strong emotional bond have been spread throughout the internet, with most ready to acknowledge that they have a connection unlike any other, one that may even be described as a “force” connection. These last four episodes are so exciting because we see two friends reunited, but then we get to watch as their relationship transforms.

Even disregarding their implied attraction to each other physically, they dive into each other and hold on tight. Ahsoka shares deep personal worries with Rex, and Rex and her are shown opening up to each other in ways they have never opened up before.

We were all floored and dumbfounded at scenes such as these that show these characters at their most vulnerable. But they decide to be vulnerable together. Is it because they are all that is left of their 501st family? It part, this is definitely true. But by being this vulnerable they transform their relationship into something very different from what they had before. It will never be the same again, and it will be near impossible to back out of the emotional intimacy that these two have participated in. Once you have formed that kind of an attachment with someone, there is no going back, and as is seen in rebels, these two maintain that strong connection even after years of being apart.

This goes beyond their sexual desires or needs. They’ve forged a bond that cannot be broken. They have shared minds, shared pain and agony that only the other can understand. They’ve been isolated from the world, and all they have left is each other.

And at the end of the series, when we have Rex and Ahsoka broken, their world flip upside down and everything they ever valued or cared about lies in ruins before them, the idea that they still have each other is that beautiful seed of hope Star Wars is so good at preserving. Those of us who believe that their relationship could be romantic want good things for Rex and Ahsoka. We want them to have that love and share it with each other. Maybe only for a few moments, but having known it would be better than both of them living and dying without having that experience. 

When we see the two in Rebels, for me it confirms that these two love each other deeply. But their lives can never be lived in a normal fashion. They cannot even be together as partners in life. The Empire has stolen this from them. The tragedy of this ship is that it can never be the way we want it to be. Rex will age and die long before Ahsoka is even halfway through her own life. They cannot live with one another. They cannot wake each morning with each other, at least not at the point we see them in rebels. 

But they continue to love each other. Even over distance, even knowing that mortality will claim them with only a fraction of the memories that they deserve with one another. 

So please, the next time you see some art or a fic, or a post like this, think of what I had to say. Rexsoka is about two adults, their lives destroyed at the hands of Sidious, but in defiance they still forge a bond that he could never break or take from them. And that to me is beautiful and something to celebrate.

Side note: I spent a ton of time making gifs but they never would work and so I had to use screenshots instead :(

EDIT: At the request of the OG poster of a few gifs, I have replaced them have also made some grammatical changes. 

[evak-fic-rec-turtleanon]

Evak Fics - Pining

I’m posting half of this list first because I started it a long time ago and it’s taking me a while to go through all the fics. So I will update with more later. 

*** Mutual Pining *** Pining - I might put mutual pining under pining if we don't see much of the other person pining. *** Bonus - The pining is not between Evak 

For the anon from this ask.

I will try my best to separate out the mutual pining fics but I think it will be tricky if it's not tagged as that. So bear with me and let me know of any mistakes or fics I missed out on.

. First Posting : 11 July 2021. Under 15k fics.  .

******* Mutual Pining *******

Even the Illustrator by eavk (SERIES, 3 fics) - An AU where Even’s an illustrator who draws what kids describe to him for YouTube, and Isak is the smitten father of a six year old with a wild imagination.

Postcards by HedwigsTalons (1k words) - Isak's wall is covered in postcards. Isak is supportive of Even's career and he cherishes every postcard but the long distance relationship hurts.

Feelings Come and Go, But Not With You by ultimatelawrence (1.9k words) - It was meant to just be a holiday romance. A fling. Nothing like love. But now it was six months later and Even was still pining over the angel he had met in Paris.

let's pretend into forever by Bellakitse (2.3k words) - “Let me get this straight,” Even starts. “You lied to your boss about having a boyfriend, told her it was me, and now you need me to go with you to your science nerd dinner?”

i will love you until the very, very end (and you were my best friend) by traumatic (2.4k words) - Isak and Even share something in the cool waters of a spring fed pool that no one, not even their fiancées, could ever understand.

Breathe Me by photographer_of_thoughts (4.5k words) - A high school reunion brings Isak and Even together after ten years, and neither of them can forget what happened when they were both seventeen.

Everything comes back to you by MermaidsandMermen (4.8k words) - Light pining. A dribble oneshot for Halloween, full of fluff and Even and Isak and a tiny pinch of angst. Because we need some Halloween fluff. That's all.

Fuck Tha Police by MacksDramaticShenanigans (5.2k words) - “This,” Eskild said, spinning the photograph around so everyone could see it, “is a picture of the latest piece of vandalism from our favorite little street punk.” he finished with a heavy sigh. They are both cops.

i tried to be strong but i lost it (i knew it was wrong, i’m beyond it) (6.3k words) - Even has a thing for his intern, Isak has a thing for his boss, they're both a bit clueless and their friends just want them to get their shit together.

all I see is you by littlemovie (Lejla) (7.4k words) - “Aren’t you gonna ask me why I’m a bad person?” Isak somehow whined and demanded at the same time. Jonas blew out a breath in amusement, which made the dark curls on his forehead move with his breath. “I’m guessing it has something to do with that guy, Even, from the coffeeshop?”

Addicted by endlessandinfinite (8k words) - They’re both completely, overwhelmingly, and incredibly...addicted. Best friends to lovers.

Calleth You, Cometh I by Kollakolan (8.4k words) - “Isak!” Mikaels pipes up. “Didn´t you two have a thing?” he turns to Even. A thing, Even thinks to himself. Yes, Isak and him definitely had a thing. They actually had a low-key thing going for years, but it never really turned into something more. The timing was never right.

In Vino Veritas by Sabeley (9.9k words) - After seven years apart, Isak wakes up to find Even in his bed and a wedding ring on his finger.

Let Me by GayaIsANerd (10.6k words) - Summer brings a lot of things. The smell of sunscreen. The sound of children playing in the shallow part of the lake. The taste of cold beer. The sweet tang of weed. But most importantly, summer brings Isak.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue by BluebeardsWife (10.8k words) - Fake dating AU, you know the drill. Even hires Isak to pretend to be his boyfriend at his ex's wedding. This Means Nothing to Me by cuteandtwisted (10.8k words) - Isak and Even are friends and roommates who don't believe in love anymore (after they both get dumped by other people) until they do. Aka the Friends/Roommates-To-Lovers Don't you let me go by solarpower21 (12.2k words) - In this universe, Isak and Even are roomates and nothing more. Except that there is something more between them and they both know that but are too stubborn to admit it. Too bad it takes a very unfortunate event for them to face the truth. Burn Down The Disco by TheGirlNoOneKnows5 (12.2k words) - A 'Black Mirror: Hang The DJ' AU in which Isak and Even decide to rebel against a futuristic dating system that pairs users up with various people in order to find their perfect match.

La Petite Mort by EvenbechNeiheim (13.4k words) - Even Bech Næsheim is one of those cool and very hot media students at Uni who might just got the task to make a film project. Eskild is the best wingman and things like accidently falling in love with an asshole media student happen. Based on the FIRST KISS YouTube video that gave the internet an entire meltdown. 

when your heart is bleeding, i'm coming to get you by orphan_account (13.5k words) - Isak doesn't exactly expect his hookup from last week to be the love advice columnist at the school newspaper he's working at. He also doesn't expect to fall even harder for him than he already has, which is a shame, really, since Even's crushing on someone else. 

Heal My Heart for Christmas by iwritetropesnottragedies (recklesslee) (13.5k words) - It’s been ten years since Isak left his small town for the big city of Oslo with his father. He hardly even thought of his time there anymore. Until he received a letter from his mother asking him to come home for Christmas for the first time since he had left. 

Love in the Time of COVID: Battlestar Edition by sweetasmaple (14k words) - Isak and Even find each other again during the COVID-19 lockdown, one Battlestar Galactica episode at a time. 

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******* Pining *******

never seemed so alive by retts (1k words) - Nothing special, just four letters strung together to spell out E V E N but they made Isak's heart race and his face blush and his hands tremble.

Hopeless by waitineedaname (1k words) - Light pining. There was no way in hell Isak would be able to talk to Even. He was tall and cool and handsome, and Isak was pretty sure talking to him would make him spontaneously combust.

i could probably just curl up in you. by milominderbinder (1.3k words) - Isak is away at a cabin with the guys when he gets a text from Even. 'hey, babe, did you take my favourite hoodie?' He is, of course, outraged that Even would accuse him of such treachery. The fact that Isak is wearing the hoodie at that very moment has nothing to do with it.

stuck on you (what did i do?) by itjustkindahappened (1.8k words) - It’s not that Even doesn’t try to be friendly with him—Isak just makes it so hard. Whenever Even approaches, Isak either makes up a fumbling excuse to leave, or just becomes really stiff and refuses to acknowledge Even’s existence.

now and forever (i will be your man) by thekardemomme (2.2k words) -Warning for pain. 3 times isak kisses even +1

i be up in the gym just working on my fitness by orphan_account (2.3k words) - Even knows that he's quite literally going to die when he finds his crush sweating on an elliptical, reading a book with his glasses slipping down his nose.

You know where I stay by nofeartina (2.4k words) - Warning for pain. Isak is so beautiful first thing in the morning. When he still has creases in his face from the pillow, when his face is red and puffy from sleep, his hair all messed up and curly. Even prefers this Isak. This is his Isak, this is only for him.

won't you be my livewire by itjustkindahappened (3.2k words) - "i've been tryin to grab your attention in class for over half an hour by poking you and throwing things onto your desk and you're refusing to acknowledge me and gdi all i wanted to do was tell you that you look cute and now it's gone too far and i can't go back"

Cookies and Cream by GayaIsANerd (3.5k words) - Isak has a crush on the barista. He's too scared to do anything about it, but luckily there's a blizzard coming up.

i can feel the weather in my bones by EvenbechNeiheim (3.7k words) - Isak and Even are childhood friends. There’s a boyfriend sweater and Isak is just desperate to wear it.

On the silver screen by Lokkanel (4k words) - Isak was really not in the mood for this. He had a long week at work, and all he wanted was to relax with his friend, drink a few beers, maybe even smoke some weed and just chill. But no. When Jonas called him to say that he won tickets to the coolest indie film festival in Oslo, Isak knew he could forget his plans for a quiet and simple weekend.

I want to love you (in my own language) by fauu_stine (4k words) - “Okay. Maybe I’m not happy,” he admits in a resigned whisper. “Do you need a shrink discussion or a best friend discussion?” "I think- I think it’s more of a friend with benefits kind of talk."

Don't be an ass by Julieseven (4.1k words) - Even really tried to forget about him. It started out as a harmless little crush, really. He saw him at the karaoke bar SYNG one night, singing "I don't want to miss a thing" at the top of his lungs, clearly drunk out of his mind, but looking like an angel with his messy dark blond locks and crooked smile.

Little Black Book by Laika (4.3k words) - Isak Valtersen is studying his third year at the University of Oslo and having the time of his life. Enter Evy Bech Næsheim, straight out of Nissen, in his stockings, mini skirts and bubblegum scented lip gloss.

cracks in our foundation by towonderland72 (4.8k words) - “You know, like a thousand years ago, men used to wear makeup?” Even asks, as Isak gapes at himself.

Safest With You (Green Curtains) by eavk (5.3k words) - Isak keeps staying up too late studying at the library, but luckily there's an escort service that gives students a buddy to walk with to keep safe at night.

the one with the prom video by thekardemomme (5.5k words) - Even has been in love with Isak since they were younger, but he never intended for Isak to find out this way.

Senses by Lokkanel (5.5k words) - Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste… Or Even falling in love with Isak, one sense at a time.

you're the one i wanna grey with (5.6k words) - They've only been dating a month, so Isak shouldn't be pathetic enough to miss Even this much when he's only gone for a weekend.

Orion's Nebula by thekardemomme (5.6k words) - Light pining I think. Even Bech Næsheim was enrolled in an astronomy class for one reason and one reason only: the cute ass boy he saw standing in the registration line.

with the taste of a poison paradise by chasingflower (6k words) - It’s routine by now. Isak hangs out with his friends during the day and at night he kisses the Dream-Even that lives on the other side of the door in his living room, and basks in the warm fuzzy feelings he gets as a result of the attention. Coraline Au.

How to Get Your Man - A Plan By Even Bech Naesheim by Evakkk (6.1k words) - When Magnus drops a big secret in front of Even... Even comes up with a brilliant plan to get Isak to reveal his true feelings. All it takes is one little lie, and one crazy family reunion.

To Burn With Desire by photographer_of_thoughts (6.1k words) - AU in which Isak and Even are neighbours and Isak's father has a secret job that unintentionally helps Isak realize he's in love with his best friend.

Watermelon Sugar by MermaidsandMermen (6.6k words) - A little tribute to fruit and touching. To sex, and friendships and finding what you were looking for all along. And of course inspired by Harry Styles latest video offering, just because.

The Fake Boyfriend App by Crazyheart (7.2k words) - AU where Isak is desperately pining for his flatmate Even, and downloads a fake boyfriend app to get over him. When he discovers that the Fake boyfriend is a human, and not a bot, he is sceptical.

That look you give that guy by Lokkanel (7.4k words) - Isak and Even love each other in secret. It is almost thrilling at first, but when hiding and lying to their friends begin to take a toll on Even, Isak decides to end it all. He thinks he has taken the right decision, until Even eventually moves on with someone else.

my longing drives me crazy for you (7.7k words) - Isak's mum worries, Isak makes bad life decisions and Even loves Isak. It's a fake dating au.

I'm Always Here by nofeartina (9.3k words) - “Did you know that Even is working this summer? At that pool at the Plaza?” Jonas says. Isak actually sits up in excitement at this. “Fuck yeah!” Oh, a pool. Actual water they could go swimming in and cool down. And also, Even.

a garden for your love by eggsntoast (9.3k words) - He’s learning to breathe with them, even if he ends up with a floor full of violets by the end of it all. They remind Isak of him, and that’s all that matters. That’s what makes it worse. or: a Hanahaki au ft. Isak heavily pining after Even. Lots of angst.

I wrote an angry letter to the void, and the void responded (9.5k words) - Monday comes, and the book is still there. Isak looks around, content to find the floor practically empty, before giving the book the finger. Fuck that book. - a book finds it's way to Isak's sacred study spot. this proves to be a major distraction.

a constant state of closeness by chevythunder (9.7k words) - “What is it about this dude, anyway?” Elias asks. “You’ve barely even talked to him, right?” “I don’t know,” Even says. “I just got this feeling, you know? Just- I want to make sure he’s okay and safe and… stuff.” - It starts with a hug.

Is This Our Time? by Evakkk (9.9k words) - This is a world where everyone is born with an indistinguishable soulmate mark... it only changes into something recognizable, once you have physical contact with your soulmate, and it's always something meaningful to the relationship. Both partners will bear the same mark. Isak is about to turn 18... and he's the only one in his friend group who still hasn't found their soulmate. But what happens when he goes out one night, gets drunk... and wakes up with his soulmate mark?

Is This What You Wanted? by cuteandtwisted (9.9k words) - Isak is filthy rich and Even is a hardworking male model who just got signed to his father's agency. Even gets an awful offer from Isak: one night with him in exchange for money, and begins to despise him. Little does he know that everything he thinks he knows about Isak is wrong.

Just like in the movies by Lokkanel (10.5k words) - As he began taking in his surroundings, Isak realized he was in one of those small theaters that programmed independent and artsy movies, even old black and white films. He was ready to turn around and walk away when he heard a deep voice say, “Halla.”

my tiny heartbeat in his ear by riyku (11k words) - Now, about a week after the longest day of the year, the empty house across the street has stopped being empty. most beautiful things by scarletbluebird (12.7k words) - This fic is a whole ass journey. Warning for pain. This isn’t a fairytale, Isak tells himself. Even is standing at the bend in the road. He looks like a metaphor for immortal life: the youth a god would kill for. Ambrosia eyes, the universe trapped in the curve of his mouth. He looks like every warning from his mother about strangers you run into after dark. 

One week by Lokkanel (12.8k words) - This thing going on between Isak and Even, whatever they called it - fuckbuddies, friends with benefits - was simple, fun, nothing more. They were friends, they were both free to do whatever they wanted with other people. They’d just meet and have sex whenever they felt like it. Simple. Until what was bound to happen eventually did and Even fell for Isak. 

Plum by Jamz24 (13.2k words) - Femme!teacher!Even asks masculine! plumber!Isak to fix a broken shower on a scorching hot summer day...And if you think it sounds like the start of a porn film you're absolutely right! There's LOADS of smut but ... with LOTS of feelings 

Never be the same by nofeartina (14.2k words) - It starts with a bet - one of those really stupid ones: can they last an entire month without any kind of sex?It’s been 22 days – and Even is dying. 

Somewhere I’ve never been by MinilocIsland (14.6k words) - The first time Even meets Jonas' best friend, nothing goes according to plan. 

If I Should Fall Behind by MinilocIsland (14.7k words) - The plan for tonight had been crystal clear. Stay close to his best friend, and steal her away if needed. Hold her hand through the ordeal of meeting Noora again for the first time in years. Then Even shows up – and suddenly, nothing goes the way it was supposed to. 

All I Ever Wanted by MinilocIsland (14.8k words) - Isak is such a good friend. Probably the best there is. How else could he explain that he's agreed to join Magnus to this place deep in the woods for six full days of silence, meditation, and utter boredom? One thing, he knows. There's nothing exciting for him there. Right? Or: the silent retreat AU. 

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******* Bonus *******

Season 3: Jonas by Laika_the_husband (WIP, SBB 2021 fic) - There is a scene in the end of the script for season 1, where Jonas and Isak kiss each other on a dare. This story is a retelling of season 3 in a universe, where that kiss happened and completely changed the way Jonas sees Isak. Written in Jonas' POV, the story examines sexuality, love, friendship and coming to terms with never getting the boy you shouldn't have fallen for in the first place.

What the fuck is wrong with me? by notanugget (11.6k words) - The five times isak felt guilty for being in love and the one time he didn’t 

thanks for the weed, thanks for everything by evak1isak (13.1k words) - Jokael. Jonas' dealer has moved to Denmark, and Even recommends his friend's weed. What Jonas didn't expect, though, was to develop a crush on a boy, on Mikael. 

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******* WIP *******

Baby, why do you have to shine so bright? by Lilacpotter - Even knew he was radiant, and he was used to people always wanting to be around him, enchanted by his captivating words and glowing smiles, as if he was the tantalising sun. But then one day, he comes across someone who shines much brighter than the sun itself in Even’s eyes.

Lonely Hearts Club by EndingsNotTheStory - The Hearts Club. A show run by Isak and his 3 friends. He's kind of had enough with hearing about people's relationship issues and giving advice. Until the guy from his theatre class and Isak's totally not crush Even calls, dealing with relationship issues. pining

[shutupanddance]

Master Post

If you’re looking for my Master List, check out this link:

https://shutupanddance.tumblr.com/masterlist

Okay cool cats and kittens, I’m creating this master post to help you navigate my page and stay updated :) It will be pinned to my blog, and it will have my fandom list, my prompt list, my to-do list, any current events, and a few frequently asked questions. So, looking for information about requesting? Suggestions for requests? Or wondering what I’m currently working on? Don’t know if I’ve received your request? This is the place to look! Just keep on reading <3

Current Events 

None!

Fandoms

Here are the fandoms I write for!!

+ Marvel (MCU)

+ DC (DCU)

+ Sherlock

+ Star Wars (trilogies, Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian)

+ Star Trek (reboots, original series)*

+ Pacific Rim

+ Knives Out

+ Night at the Museum

+ LOTR / The Hobbit

+ Jurassic Park/World

+ The West Wing*

+ NCIS*

*fandoms that you will see the most of on my blog.

Prompt List

(Does not include prompts from any current events) Here are some prompts that you can use for your request, or for your own writing! As a reminder, not all of these prompts are properly credited. Please let me know if you have the original creator’s @!

#1: “I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.”

#2: “Should I ask why you have a knife in your purse?”

”It’s a dagger, actually, and no you shouldn’t.”

#3: “Close your eyes and listen. And trust me.”

#4: Rosemary, broken glass, and an old gun.

#5: “Do you remember when I loved you?”

”No.”

”Good, because I never did.”

#6: “He saw the notice in the paper.”

”Why would you let him see the paper?”

”What was I supposed to do, eat it?”

#7: “I didn’t catch your name!”

”I didn’t throw it.”

#8: “I’m not better than you, but at least I’m not you. And right now, that’s worth a whole lot.”

#9: Romantic dinner, but something is wrong.

#10: Forehead kisses during an apocalypse

#11: “This isn’t BBC Sherlock! You can’t just run around administering justice as you see fit!

#12: Trying to get a smoke detector to shut up

#13: Falling out of a closet during Hide N Seek

#14: Revealing a dark secret, but it turns out that they already know

#15: Once upon a midnight dreary

#16: The odds were never in our favor

#17: If I should die, think only this of me

#18: Attack hugs

#19: Afraid of ladybugs

#20: The dumb*ss God couldn’t stop

#21: “There’s a rumor going around that you’re the one to ask if someone needs to acquire rare and dangerous objects.”

”There’s a rumor going around that you’re an undercover cop.”

#22: A parking lot, a coroner, and snails

#23: “You’re the only person I know who calls me that.”

#24: This is not a drill.

#25: It’s the price we pay to feel

#26: A character is cleaning/sweeping the floor when someone walks by with dirty shoes (via @writingprompts365 )

#27: “I’m back from my mission!”

““You failed it.”

““How’d you know?”

They point at the TV.

#28: A character is pushed into some bushes/plants/flowers (via @writingprompts365 )

#29: A character picks up a very shiny rock (same @)

#30: A character combs another character’s hair (same)

#31: A character is forced to have a conversation with someone they don’t like (same)

#32: Laughing hysterically at their own joke

#33: Stuck under the same umbrella

#34: ““Well, this is a nice change of scenery!”

““It’s a jail cell.”

““I was being sarcastic.”

#35: ““Let me just be perfectly clear that this was not my fault.”

#36: ““Can I buy you coffee? For old times sake?”

#37: Fake dating

#38: Huddling for warmth

#39: Being high on painkillers and confessing undying love to everyone

#40: “That’s starting to get annoying.”

#41: “I fell asleep on the bus and woke up here.”

#42: “It’s freaking cold.”

#43: “You’re not exactly known for your great ideas.”

#44: ““Can you keep a secret?”

#45: Character A lives above character B, and always drives B insane with how much stomping they do. One day, A’s foot goes right through the floor, into B’s apartment.

#45: Character A and Character B, sworn enemies, are chosen to prepare the company Christmas Party.

#46: you’re a security guard at an art gallery and you held the door for me so I left you a note in the door where we met I hope you read it

#47: Person A and Person B both trying to break into the same place on the same night by accident, only to be chased by the police upon meeting and having to hide in a closet/cupboard/safe together until they leave.

#48: the first and the last word they said to each other

#49: your kid hates my kid

#50: ‘picking them up’ hugs

#51: an incredibly loud and painful high-five

#52: "Let me fix that for you."

#53: “Can’t we listen to something else? We’ve been listening to this CD for three hours now.”

“You know, I would but the CD slot is broken so it’s either this or talk to each other.”

“I wouldn’t mind talking.”

“[turns up the music louder]”

#54: "My kiss quota for the day hasn't been filled. I need a thousand more."

#55: Person A making fun of Person B's bed head

#56: Squeeze three times for “I love you”

#57: writing a love letter but keeping it to themselves

#58: Messing around in IKEA

#59: “Hey - what’re you hiding behind your back?”

#60: going to a bookshop and selecting books for each other

#61: smiling at each other from across the room

#62: arms wrapping around your waist from behind while you’re on a phone call

#63: “ rich coming from the guy who tried to kill me three days ago. “

#64: message in a bottle

#65: becoming the parents of the friend group as soon as they start dating

#66: “I love you.”

“Ouch.”

#67: “We...we did it. We did it! Oh my God, I could kiss you.”

“Well, don’t be shy.”

My To-Do List

Here is everything that I’m currently working on! If you’ve sent a request in, and I see it, it should pop up here!

REQUEST SLOTS: FULL

+ Sherlock / Reader (not requested) undetermined topic

+ Rusty Ryan / Reader (not requested) #4

+ Sam Seaborn / Reader (requested) slow dancing

*anything with an asterisks has already been started.

Tag List

@girloncorneliastreet​ for The West Wing

@wolviesbabes​ for Gibbs / Reader

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I submit a request? When you look at my blog, there is a link titled “Asks/Requests”. Click that, and submit something!

How specific does my request have to be? More detail is always better if you’re looking for something specific, but if you’re not picky, it’s no big deal! Even if you just say “could I have some more Spock content please?” I’ll answer it!

Do you write smut? Nope! Not for me.

Are your requests open? Not at the moment! They will be soon, though.

What do I do if your requests are closed? Send it later, when they’re open again!

Do you have a master list? I do! I also have a tag called #masterlist, which all of my work is under. You can access the master list itself by navigating to the page on my blog, or just clicking the link at the top of this post!

What’s your name? You can call me C :)

Why didn’t you reblog my post about social justice? In order to avoid burnout for myself and my followers, I am doing my best to keep this blog free of anything other than fan content. This does not mean that I disagree or agree with you, it just means that I’m not commenting. I do not need to participate in internet social justice activity when I am already an activist on other platforms, including real life.

What can I send asks or messages about? Anything!! Life updates, random questions, whatever! I love to hear from you <3

That’s all, folks!