#but also feel free to not take this shippy i just think they could be fun together

[penny-anna]

hi everyone guess what time it is THATS RIGHT its fic rec time

Slowly but Also Like All at Once by putaposyinyourhair

"Any sign of Knuckles?” He huffs out a soft breath of air, mentally cycling through the answers that are starting to feel almost programmed by this point. Kris, he ain’t coming back. Kris, he’s gone, man. Kris, stop asking me shit I don’t have the answers to, dude. Instead he goes with something a little more sensitive. “Negative.”

AU based on the ending of Rise of the Beasts. tragically not updated for over a year but MUCH to chew on here & i must share this excerpt:

“Look, man, I can explain—” “Noah,” Reek begins again, tentatively— like he’s about to ask something that even he can’t quite believe he’s going to ask. “Did you fuck that car?” Noah damn nearly chokes on his own tongue.

Personal Space by Neon_Honeycomb

“Are you okay?” Cool, smooth metal presses against his face before he can even register Mirage moving, shattering the memory that’s slowly engulfing him until it dissipates entirely. He’s left staring again at the metal beams above, the backdrop of yellow clouds far behind them, and the movement of a single tree branch swaying just within sight. “Only you would have a roof fall on you and then ask if I’m the one that’s okay.” Noah and Mirage get trapped under a pile of rubble together. While waiting for someone to come free them, they get... comfortable.

its ur classic premise <3

lose my mind by Donts

“Do I turn you on, Noah?” Mirage murmurs lowly. Noah sucks in a breath, dropping his hands and opening his eyes, gazing at Mirage’s optics with surprise. Mirage is looking at him with a smug grin, and oh fuck. or 5 times Noah masturbates because of Mirage, and 1 time Mirage helps him out.

ohhh thats the good filth!!

A flickering spark, his unwavering spirit by caelleth

“We were… friends, weren’t we?” The words left his vocals before he could quell them, and Noah considered them before he could regain his wits enough to take them back. “...Yeah. We were friends.” His head turned, and he tore his gaze away from the mech, leaving Mirage to stare at his dust-fettered curls, struggling to find any words in this planet’s limited language that could ever hope to describe the unbearable mix of guilt and yearning and grief and above all that, unyielding hope that bubbled through his chassis. But it seemed no amount of words ever could, Cybertronian or otherwise. “I can see why,” was all he said to the human. (Or, the trials and tribulations of repairing a Cybertronian.)

another AU based on the ending of the movie. ohh this was a great time. the first Mirage POV chapter is a particular highlight.

Manhandled by SadVibez

Mirage picks Noah up to grab something on a shelf. Things quickly turn not so PG-13.

manhandling :)

An Old Mech Worries For A Human by SadVibez

During the fight in Peru, Noah was hurt after being dropped by Scourge. He hasn't told anyone and with Mirage to not fret over him, no one has noticed. Well, almost no one. Optimus notices Noah in pain and the two have a small talk.

a rare non-shippy fic. ohh i love a 'this character should have been injured let's talk about that' fic

Tactile Intimacy by BunnyFair

When Mirage makes an expected engine noise, Noah has to investigate and give his friend a thorough check up. Popping his hood, he soon discovers the world of tactile interfacing.

tactile interfacing for u!!!

human junk by Secretkept (KaiNinjagoo)

After a few nights of Noah sleeping in the garage, Mirage notices something he hasn’t seen before (PENIS)

firstly can i just say, summary of all time, i've been thinking about (PENIS) for weeks. secondly: great series feat. sexless robot Mirage & Noah navigating their relationship. love the realism of this one. great time.

Exposure Therapy by Neon_Honeycomb

“You’re not made of metal. I— I don’t know the limits of what you’re made of. I don’t know how much is safe contact, and when it turns into— when you— when I—” This is the part where Noah is supposed to get it. The part where he’s supposed to understand the depth of what Mirage has just told him, where he realizes the danger he’s in if Mirage so much as simply moves wrong at the wrong moment, the moment where he lets go and never comes near him again. He waits; waits for it all to click into place in that biological processor of his, waits for the moment he pulls his hands back to himself, waits for his face to morph into entirely justified fear. “I could break you, Noah, I could…” He’s not prepared for Noah’s expression to go soft. There's only one way for someone to learn how much strength to use when handling something, and that's through experience.

screaming yelling throwing up wailing sobbing:

Noah doesn’t break. He doesn’t immediately start leaking red, his face doesn’t even pinch like Mirage has seen him do when he gets hurt. And somehow that makes it so much worse when Noah looks up at him, looking just as good as he had a moment ago, completely fine, only for him to say, “Right there. That’s how hard it takes to start hurting.” like it’s no big deal at all.

[thelucyverse]

Keep fandoms alive, comment on more fanfics!

The do‘s and don’ts of fic reviews

Because a friend told me she never knows what to write and then never comments, but wants to learn how to do better, I thought I’d compile a list, and maybe it will help someone else as well!

As always, this is unofficial and just from my personal experience writing and reading fic, and talking with other fic authors.

My posts on beta reading | ao3 bookmarks

What to comment

Honestly, authors love friendly comments, no matter how small. Here are some ideas for short comments you can write to pretty much any fic you enjoyed:

I loved it!

Great fic!

Thanks for writing this!

Thanks for sharing your fic with the fandom :)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 10/10 perfection

So happy I found this!

Reading this made my day

I had fun reading this

You’re a great writer!

Love your writing style

<3<3<3

Amazing!

Kudos!

If you want to write something a bit longer, you can for example

Tell the author where you have been reading the fic or what you were doing while reading it

Tell the author what you should have been doing instead of reading fanfic (and that it was worth it to read the fic)

Copy a passage (or several) from the fic you particularly enjoyed

Did the author write a note at the end or beginning of the fic? Maybe even ask a question? Sometimes you can reply to author’s notes in your comment

How did the fic make you feel? Happy, made you cry, made you laugh, made you jealous of a character, or made you want to punch an antagonistic character’s nose in? Write it in the comment!

Is it your first fic in a fandom or with a ship? Your favorite fic in a fandom, or with a specific character? Did you read it in one go? Did you savour it slowly reading over days or weeks? Have you enjoyed every update of a multi-chapter? Do you wish you could read it again for the first time? Write anything you want to let the author know about your reading experience!

Is there a character you particularly enjoyed in that fic/chapter? Tell the author you think they wrote xy character really well!

You can always start or finish your comment with one of the suggestions from the short comments to make sure the author knows you liked it :)

If you really don’t know what to write, or are reading fic in a language not your own (though authors usually don’t mind you commenting in your native language) and aren’t comfortable commenting in either language, you can also leave emojis as comments, for example variations of:

for any fics:❤️💕💜💗💞💓💖💟🤩😍🥰

for humor fics: 😂😆🤣🤪💯

for shippy fics/getting together: 🎉💖🥳💋💘💏👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨💑👩‍❤️‍👩👨‍❤️‍👨🫶

for angst or hurt no comort: 🥹😭🤯😱🫣����💔❣️❤️‍🩹🖤 maybe still include a ❤️heart in there so the author can be sure you still liked it!

for smut/pwp: ❤️‍🔥💯🫣😋🤩🥵😈🤯🫦

There are even some stickers you can comment by copying the html! A few tumblr posts with stickers to copy can be found here & here!

Don’ts

There isn’t much you can do wrong when writing comments on fic, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:

don’t criticize (unless negative critics/what they can do better has been specifically asked for by the author, and then stick to the kind of criticism asked for, and best try to include something positive too to soften the blow)

don’t demand more/ask for updates - you can tell the author you’d read it if they wrote more, but don’t put pressure on them, you don’t know what’s happening in their lives right now and for what reason new entries might have slowed down, and they don’t owe you regular or any updates!

don’t tell them what to write (unless the author is taking prompts, and in most cases the comment section is not the right place for prompts, check what the author specified)

Remember: Fan fiction are free, from fans for fans, so etiquette is a bit different than in the Amazon reviews of books you paid good money for! Fic authors don’t have to cater to you, just enjoy that there are fics shared with the fandom :) If you don’t like something, or don’t like a part of something, either close the tab or quietly ignore the issue and just enjoy the parts you do like.

And in general, to end this on a positive note:

Yes, you can comment on older fanfics!

Yes, comment on several fics in a row if you’re reading through fics by one author!

Yes, comment on as many chapters of the same fic as you like!

Yes, you can make art for the fic and tell the author about it!

Yes, absolutely tell the author if you’re still thinking about a fic hours/days/years… after reading it!

Yes, send authors asks on tumblr/other sites talking about how you love their fics, if they link these sites in the author’s notes! (But also comment on Ao3)

Yes, you can comment/review even if you don’t have an account (at least on Ao3 and ffnet)!

Yes, please let the author know if you’re reading a fic for a second time, even if you just write ‘re-read kudos!’

The best comments are also written directly on the site the fanfiction got posted on (so usually ao3/ffnet and not tumblr/discord), both because it makes the note count higher, and because then the comment won’t quickly get buried under unrelated messages or posts.

If you want to leave long comments about different parts of a fic or chapter, you can also make use of the floating Ao3 comment box! It allows you to type your comment while you're still reading, without having to leave the page!

Some more kinds of comments on another post

[queenofbaws]

six sentence weekend...wrap-up??? for 2024, anyway ;P

hey friendos <3 as much as the inexorable march of time terrifies me, it is with a heavy heart i point out..............we're in the last leg of the year, and man. there are. some holidays a'comin. because of that (and a few other winterly obligations), i'm anticipating i probably won't be around much on the weekends for a hot minute 🥺

BUT!!! since i really, really love getting to do little drabbly request stuff during my downtime, i thought i might close out 2024 and start 2025 like this: opening my inbox, letting you guys throw some requests at me, and i'll just. do 'em when i do 'em. post a couple on the weekends here and there until i'm done.

if you're interested, i'm throwing a couple extra deets (and some potential prompt lists, oooooh) below the readmore!!! either way, as always, hope you're doing well out there <333

OTHER DETAILS, YOU SAY???

1. since i'm really going to be focusing most of my energy in the coming weeks on, like, surviving family thanksgiving. and other. horrifying. things. *widens eyes in usamerican politics* i'm probably not going to stick to SIX sentences specifically for these prompts, so i cannot and will not promise every fill will be, y'know. of equal length lmao maybe it'll be 6 sentences! maybe it'll be 7! maybe it'll be a page, i truly cannot say. PLEASE don't expect a fully fleshed out oneshot, however, these will still be on the shorter side!!!!!!!!!!!!!! reader beware, you're in for...an...unfair...number of...words.

oh god the seasonal madness is already taking hold.

2. if you'd like to read something i've posted here as part of these fills to ao3, feel free to let me know!!! i'm always happy to put stuff up there, i just typically use ao3 for longer things and tumblr for shorter ones, but i'm always, always, ALWAYS happy to oblige :)c and if you throw your ao3 username at me, i'm ALSO happy to gift you any work you've prompted yourself! <3

3. as always, i'd appreciate not getting requests for cl*mb*ng class or anything shippy involving travis h*ckett, jason k*lchek or gr*nthem du'm*t - anything NON-shippy is SO fine, totally a-okay, don't sweat that :P

4. truly cannot stress how slow i will likely be at these. i could very well still be filling stuff in, like, march, so know in advance i appreciate your patience hehe

5. stuff absolutely does NOT need to be holiday themed, please don't feel like you have to do that just because we're nearing the holiday season! if you ARE looking for inspo, tho, i've found a few prompt lists that look fun... ;)c just please be sure to include the entire prompt in your ask if you decide to pull from these lists - if you just say, like, "#14 for so-and-so" i won't know which list you're talking about 😔

LATE NIGHT DIALOGUE PROMPT LIST

THREE WORDS PROMPT LIST

DRUNKEN LOVE CONFESSIONS PROMPT LIST

aaaaaaaaand i think that's about it? uh, stay safe and have fun??? hehehe seriously tho, i hope these next few months treat us all kindly, and that we have some fun along the way <3

[ryuichirou]

Replies

As many as I can write in 30 minutes let’s go!

Starting with a couple of asks about our post from yesterday.

Anonymous asked:

I'm guessing the bunny is because of Deuce's hometown event and the fox is because of Ace dealing with Fellow.

Yes and no! It’s one of the reasons, but these two also have pretty strong vibes of these animals, especially Ace. He is such a sly little fox pup sometimes lol

Anonymous asked:

That recent Ace/Deuce post had my mind absolutely working overtime with ideas.

But they all just kept coming back to the White Rabbit Fest, even when it didn't really fit a fox Ace kinda thing.

Anyway, besides that, I really love Ace/Deuce ship stuff, so seeing you do art of them is an absolute treat!

Thank you so much, Anon! <3 I am very happy that you like it!

They couldn’t allow Ace-the-fox to enter the rabbit arena lol poor foxy.

I really like this theme for these two. Should draw it again at some point…

Anonymous asked:

Hi! Have any of you considered posting fanfics (novels)? 👀 Love your work as always btw, take care

Hi, Anon! Thank you for your kind words :)

I am not really a writer, so I haven’t considered it. I love coming up with headcanons and I think I am pretty good with dialogues for our comics, but writing a proper story (even a very short one) is just way too difficult for me. I can’t even write these replies fast enough… so I’ll stick to what I do best and keep drawing <3 Out of the two of us, Katsu is the writer, but Katsu’s main focus right now is Nebula. To be completely honest, fanfics in general aren’t our cup of tea… (That being said, Katsu did write a couple of fanfics before, albeit not twst-related)

eh-nonnie-mouse asked:

Do you have a Cara account or is it only bluesky?

Only bluesky for now :(

It seems like Cara is mainly a portfolio app, which is good (especially if it’s AI free), but right now we don’t really see the point in posting there – it’s not for art of yaoi boys kissing, which is the majority of things I draw. Things could change of course, but right now we’re sticking to bsky.

unofficialwheatdog asked:

The the way you draw Fellow Honest

My husband

it makes him so much more handsome like I have to kiss him the second he's on screen

How dare you worsen my obsession/j

(jkjk I love your art and if it's ok with you, I very much want to save the fellow honest image just so I can stare at it for five hours pls and thank you)

I am so happy you like how he looks in my style!! Especially if it worsens your obsession lol

Of course, feel free to save it and look at it; enjoy your fluffy husband lol

blackbutlerfandomnerddomain asked:

FELLOW AND GIDEL ARE HERE!!! They look so good in your style!!

Thank you so much!

Anonymous asked:

Just saw your recent replies and IT MAKES ME SOOO HAPPY!

Let's GOOOOO fellow (heh) Top!Gidel x Bottom!Fellow likers!!!

And reading your replies about their ship! UGH👌👌👌 Ryu such good taste you have! Oh dear.. I love it all!

I am honestly (..heh) looking forward if you have more art of them specially the shippy ones 👀 I'll be on the lookout. Also thank you for the food! 🙏

Hehe I am happy you’re happy Anon!!

Thank you so much for being so excited, I hope we’ll post a lot of stuff with these two in the nearest future…! <3

Anonymous asked:

OOOOH I SAW MOBS BOSSES X FELLOW ADDED TO THE LIST.... I do rly like the idea of fellow & gidel, but mob bosses x fellow is soooo juicy for art and hcs...... thoughts? plans?? plz plz plz this is living in my head RENT FREE... 😍

Thank you so much, Anon!! <3

Well we do have a lot of sketches with Fellow and his bosses (nsfw ones)… and we do have an ask with hcs about them, so if everything goes well, you’ll get more juicy stuff soon. Let’s hope! 💪

[crystallinestars]

OMG thank you so much for your response 😭 You always answer very kindly and in a detailed manner ahahah it is always fun to read your posts ! For rant, where to begin… I’m straight up typing this on a document so that it’ll be easier to organize gyahahah. I hope the readers do not see this as an assault on certain people, just an exchange of ideas 😁This is like 1250 words, enough for a uni essay, I feel that at some points it may be rather incoherent…

So I guess I will start with the shipping thing ! So when it comes to Kaveh ships, I see that it is like 99% with Alhaitham. I guess it is because of the way the game sets them up. Not only do they live under the same roof but iirc they have extensive voicelines about each other. I won’t deny that they play an important role in each other’s lives! Like back from their Akademiya days when they were still friends and collaborated with each other, and then when they had their falling out, and then Kaveh falls into financial ruin and inevitably ends up turning to his former friend for help (much to his own shame and chagrin). If they’ve known each other for this many years, it is natural that they would have many things to say about each other. 

However, I guess this also opens up the way for BL fans to interpret this in a romantic manner. Ofc they could feel free to ship as they’d like, but just taking into account the ones who are so insistent that any other ship must be wrong, I will detail the following… 

For people who have been in each other’s lives for a long time (I’m thinking 10+ years for these two), it isn’t out of the ordinary to talk about each other. I talk about the people in my close circle a fair amount, same with the people I know. It doesn’t need to imply a secret crush. And regarding their interactions, they often throw shade at each other. This is also interpreted in a romantic manner by many fans. If we look at this in a more positive light, I remember a guy player noting that their kind of interaction is similar to IRL male friendships. Guys dissing or making fun of each other with no deeper meaning to it. Bros being bros kind of thing. But if we look at it critically, I would say that a relationship where they’re arguing all the time… is not ideal. Like a commenter on Reddit said something that stood out to me, that Kaveh just looks so stressed when he’s interacting with Haitham. 😅 Looking at it from this angle, it makes it difficult to romance the two ahahah (not because of a “problematic” aspect but rather because it isn’t fun watching them just constantly arguing and Kaveh being miserable from this). 

To digress a bit, my ideal Kaveh ships would be either Kaveh+Lumine or Kaveh+Nilou. The former because Lumine in his hangout quest helps him a lot, like helping him deal with his past and with many of his issues. Also I like the idea of Kaveh accompanying Lumine during her travels, nice way to keep her company. 😁 And for KavehLou their romantic+artsy personalities and their shared cultural connection!!! I feel like Kaveh would legit treat Nilou like a goddess ahahah and Nilou would definitely cheer him up when he’s struggling, and both of them have super good vibes so it’s 💯 green flags all around. I also want to see them celebrate Nowruz together… ahahah. 

And this kind of ties into my next point that because of the whole shippy thing, Kaveh is rarely seen as his own character. This is evident when you look up his name on Twitter. Most of it will be him with Haitham; the fandom treats him like he is Haitham’s add-on. For comparison, when I look up my other fave Scaramouche/Wanderer, I actually get art of JUST him. Not with Kazuha, Childe, or even Lumine. Just straight up Scara. Kaveh doesn’t get this solo treatment because much of the fandom just sees him as an extension of Haitham. The thing is that Kaveh is one of the most human and relatable characters in the game: he wants to be a good person, yet he does struggle with having his own personality flaws. He has financial struggles that he’s barely clawing his way out of. If we disregard his genius and extraordinary academic record, I think most people could see themselves in him. In other words, I’d say that he is a very solid character. I think it’s about high time we give him his own chance to shine, without feeble scholar getting in his way ahahah (no shade to you, Alhaitham !). Let Kaveh be his own person!

And another point I would like to make, it is something that is of interest to me because it does involve different cultural perspectives. Kaveh is commonly interpreted as “feminine.” There is no shame in being a feminine man. However, the basis of this interpretation is 1) his appearance and 2) his expressive behavior. Regarding his appearance, I think it is because he styles himself in a particular manner that people automatically assume he is “___-coded.” To address this, I’ve seen Iranian Genshin players explain that historically, it wasn’t uncommon for Iranian men to wear jewelry, dress flamboyantly, and enjoy the fine arts. But to outsiders’ eyes, doing these makes him “less of a man.” It is like how some male k-pop idols are seen as “girly” or even “gay” by many in the West, but for women in many east+southeast Asian societies they are perfectly acceptable men. Just that when they see him as “feminine” it often verges into fetishization territory… I’ll try not to play pixel activism here, but ngl it gets really gross and weird at times. A few weeks ago I had the misfortune of laying my eyes upon a Haitham+Kaveh fanart where Kaveh was basically (sorry for the description in advance) Haitham’s belly dancer/slave?? Of course fanartists have the freedom to draw whatever they want but this image was pretty much a symptom of how the fandom views Kaveh. 🙁 Even one of the well-known Iranian Genshin enjoyers called this out as fetishistic and orientalist (the latter term is often thrown around with regard to Sumeru, but I think that this instance actually warranted its use). 

In addition to his appearance, Kaveh is a very emotionally expressive man. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Because of this, this further contributes to fans thinking of him as “girly.” So I guess men aren’t “real men” if they are open with their emotions, if we go by the logic of the fandom? Haitham and other characters seen as “masculine” e.g. Diluc and Childe are given the “masculine” treatment because they demonstrate far more restraint with their emotions, while Kaveh gets the “uwu I’m a lil bbygirl in need of saving” treatment simply because he doesn’t hold back when it comes to his feelings. So from this there’s like so much stuff of him as “ohhh submissive prettyboy 🥺🥺🥺” instead of taking into account other aspects of his personality, like he could actually be assertive especially when dealing with annoying clients. It does him a true disservice…

I feel that I’m missing many more points that I’ve considered before, if I ever remember them I will probably send them in… I hope it does not come off as some sort of crusade call, but rather just an outpouring of thoughts. And hopefully this is a decently entertaining read ^^;;;;

WELCOME BACK!!! I have been waiting for your lovely essay on how Kaveh gets done dirty by the fandom, and it made me so happy to see you and I share a lot of opinions in common on this! (That's a lot of text though. I don't mind the length at all, but I'm surprised the word limit let you hahaha)

To your amazing analysis, I respond to you with an essay of my own.

I completely agree with your points that people who have known each other for a long time would naturally have a lot to say about each other. Even if they haven't known each other for long, when people live in close quarters together, they definitely have things to say about one another, especially negative ones. The bickering Kaveh and Alhaitham have is expected since they're roommates, and on top of that, roommates that had a falling out as friends. Their relationship is a bit strained since neither wants to admit they were wrong in the past due to their pride.

I work 5 days a week with a coworker of mine, and I have a lot to say about her because we work closely together. Does that mean I'm romantically attracted to her? No, not at all. Quite the opposite. Unfortunately, this logic doesn't apply to fiction quite so easily, and I'll cover why in a bit.

The point about them acting like real-life guy friends is also very true, although I think their relationship fits a sitcom more closely. I know someone who said Kaveh and Haitham's relationship reminds them of Leonard and Sheldon's from The Big Bang Theory. Two guys living together, constantly bickering and throwing shade, but caring about one another deep down.

Lord, I can write a whole separate essay on why I think Kaveh and Alhaitham don't work as a romantic couple, but I won't do that here. This post is already gonna be long. Maybe another time.

However, I do want to say that while you make excellent points on how Kaveh and Haitham's relationship isn't inherently romantic, there is a very big BUT to all this. And that's Mihoyo.

As an anime game developer, Mihoyo knows all about the anime community. After all, the founders were all otakus, they know what kind of audience they have. They know what is popular, and what's popular is BL. There is not a single excuse anyone can give me that can convince me otherwise that Mihoyo didn't know exactly what they were doing when they wrote Kaveh and Haitham to be roommates. They didn't have to write them to live together. They didn't have to write all the extra dialogue where they mention each other. They didn't have to do the matching key idles, the references to the other in their birthdays, or introduce Kaveh through Alhaitham TWICE. They knew how their audience will interpret their dynamic, they had the option to structure it differently, but they still went through with it. It was deliberate.

Kaveh was introduced with Haitham, and ever since, they have consistently been shown together. It's as if they are literally glued to each other. Can't go a single birthday, event, quest, or otherwise without the other being present in some way. It is all intentional. Their interactions and cameos carry intent behind them that shippers pick up on, and that intent is to appeal to their group. So while it's erroneous to claim that Kaveh and Haitham are canonically in a romantic relationship the way a lot of toxic shippers are doing, there is a good reason why they think so. Mihoyo is actively encouraging this mindset by not allowing either character to shine on their own, but rather as a pair because they know this appeals to a subsection of their fanbase, and a large one at that.

As for your Kaveh ships, I agree 100%! Lumine is a good choice for sure (I say this as a kavelumi shipper *gets shot*), and while I don't ship it, I understand the reasoning behind Kavelou, and think it's cute. Nilou would be a really good influence on Kaveh. He always laments about how nobody understands his passion for the arts, but Nilou would. They're both artists that are trying to eke their own path in a society that doesn't appreciate art. Nilou, as you mentioned, would cheer him up, and I think Kaveh would also find peace of mind through her dancing. Kaveh needs someone optimistic and kind like Nilou.

While we're on the topic of Kaveh ships, I would also like to suggest my own that I really like. Kaveh x Candace. Please don't shoot me. Candace is strict and no-nonsense, so she wouldn't let Kaveh get away with constantly self-sabotaging himself. And unlike Haitham, she is gentle and almost motherly, so she'd be more successful in getting through to Kaveh and soothing him. Or so I like to think. Kaveh would also help her see the outside world more, maybe have her accompany him through the desert and show her beautiful sights she'd never see by staying cooped up in her village. Plus, he's literally helping to construct a library for her village! There is so much potential for them to bond over Aaru village yet Hoyo keeps pushing the same relationships, I am so tired-

But of course, for me, the best ship of all will forever be Kaveh x You/Reader. On my blog, every guy I write for loves you, and only you. Please don't kill me.

Carrying on, you are right in that Kaveh isn't seen as his own person. You'd be hard-pressed to find (popular) art of him that doesn't imply Haitham in there somewhere. Is it so surprising, though, when even the game developer treats them as a package deal?

I feel you, it's a pity. Kaveh's character is very complex and one of the most realistic. When I read his backstory, I couldn't help but think as if someone in Mihoyo put a part of themselves in his character. The struggles he goes through are realistic, painfully so, even. I've also seen lots of artists say they relate to Kaveh. He has so much to explore about him, but I fear that outside of the Darshan event and his hangout, we'll never get to see more.

Okay, so. I have mentioned before on this blog how I am annoyed at how Kaveh is viewed as feminine and submissive due to his appearance and emotional nature. You've already touched on all the points, so excuse me for sounding like a broken record, but I have A LOT to say about this.

There is nothing wrong with being feminine. There is nothing wrong with being a feminine man. What is wrong, however, is associating femininity with submission.

Kaveh has traits that are often associated with femininity, which, as you pointed out, are his neat and pretty looks and emotional expressiveness (the bit about Iranian men traditionally wearing jewelry is super interesting, btw. I didn't know, so this was enlightening!). To this, I also want to add that lots of people think he acts like a nagging wife with Alhaitham. That's basically all it takes for people to slap him with the "feminine" label, and treat him as if he's a submissive, blushy, uwu bbgurl I want to delete this term from existence

I know that men the West views as "feminine/girly" are often popular among women in Asia, and it really just comes down to culture and a matter of taste. I share their taste in men because I also find K-Pop idols and smooth-faced, slim anime guys more attractive than muscular and rugged men, and by no means do I think they're girly. But alas, each culture has expectations for how men and women are supposed to look and act, and it's led to more harm than good.

It's also unfortunate that Kaveh gets compared to Alhaitham a lot. Alhaitham is what one would call traditionally masculine. Muscular, stoic, reserved, aloof, etc... But especially the muscular part. Kaveh isn't muscular, and as we saw in the Darshan event, isn't athletic. This difference in physique is also a reason people call him feminine. I saw someone say (in a shipping context) that they prefer Kaveh to be submissive because Alhaitham is taller and bigger than him. Nothing wrong with wanting a sub Kaveh, but I find this reasoning very flawed. Fetishistic, if you will.

And yes, the "one man is a dom/top while the other is a sub/bottom" mentality follows a lot of BL ships. People literally fight with each other over who they believe should be the top or bottom. There are even specific emojis for it. Don't know why people are so hung up about who tops or who bottoms, but what do I know. I don't understand the appeal of BL at all 🫤

Gosh, I'm sorry you had to see that belly dancer art... I once saw a ship art where Kaveh wore a wedding dress while Haitham wore a suit. It wasn't a silly context, either, but a serious and romantic one. I really dislike seeing art of Kaveh being feminine or acting submissive because that's not him at all.

Please look at this official art. Look at how Kaveh casually stuffs his hand in his pocket, at how he sits with his legs spread wide without a care in the world, at how he slings Mehrak over his shoulder. Look at how confidently and casually he carries himself. His body language screams "masculine".

Kaveh is confident, prideful, assertive, bold... I could go on. These are also traits usually associated with men. I mean, look at how he talks about one of his seniors in his hangout!

He's got quite the mouth and a temper.

He's not shy, far from it, actually. He's not submissive. He's not a dainty damsel in distress than needs someone stronger to help him, because in actuality, he's resourceful and intelligent.

Kaveh is self-assured in his masculinity. Sure, he's not a big, buff man, and he wears his heart on his sleeve, but that doesn't make him less of a man or weak. Maybe physically a bit, but I don't think he's below average in terms of strength. He makes up for it with his smarts and invents things to circumvent his shortcomings. This part of him gets overlooked, because he gets compared to Alhaitham. It doesn't help that the two are always seen together lately.

In my humble opinion, Kaveh is more of a dom than Alhaitham will ever be. Haitham gives me vibes of being someone who's too lazy to put in the work in bed, so he'd rather lie back and let his partner lead. Meanwhile, Kaveh isn't afraid to go after what he wants, and will pamper his partner.

In conclusion, you are very right about everything. If Mihoyo wasn't purposely throwing ship crumbs at every opportunity, then Kaveh potentially wouldn't have had his character assassinated by the fandom. Every character gets mischaracterized to some degree (I weep for Childe), but unlike most, Kaveh's mischaracterization is largely in part due to shipping.

Apologies for the massive tangent. I had a lot of fun reading your analysis and mentally screaming "YES! YES! SHE GETS IT! I'm not the only one!", so thank you for sending this in. Don't worry, it was very well put-together, probably better than my rambling. I found out some new points, and had a few of mine validated, so feel free to send another essay if you think of more things. I love deep and thoughtful discussions like these haha!

[robynstumpytail]

Weblena Week 2024 Day 7: Free Day - Remix Day

hey yall! last minute entry to weblena week! ive been having a lot of fun keeping up with it, so heres an excerpt from a weblena fanfic ive been working on abt lena's mental health and growth through the series for the free day. this is the last part, the most explicitly shippy, taking place after the end of the series. its my first time publishing my own fanfic, so i hope u like it!!

The fire crackled. Lena sat on her couch across from it, watching it flicker back and forth. It was the only light in the room. It had been years since she last saw Magica, longer since the worst of her control. Still, old habits die hard. Every time Lena thought she saw movement in the shadows, red eyes flickering in the dark, she reflexively checked to make sure she was alone. She always was, but still. She took a sip of her hot chocolate and sank deeper into the sofa.

Her ears pricked at the sound of the door unlocking, then the door opening. “Lena! I’m home!” Webby’s voice called, one room away.

“I’m in here!” she called back, not taking her vision away from the flame. Only when she saw a flash of movement did she look. This time, it was Webby, standing in the doorway. Despite the shadows, Lena could still make out her furrowed brows, the concern in her eyes.

“Everything alright?” she said, sitting down next to Lena. Lena waited for Webby to notice the mug on the coffee table and take a sip as she gathered her thoughts.

“Yeah, just thinking,” Lena said. She paused as Webby wrapped her arms around her in a cuddle. Of course, Lena reciprocated, giving Webby a kiss on the top of her head before continuing. “I started imagining what would happen if you and I hadn’t met. I don’t even remember what triggered it. Something stupid, like maybe an online quiz. But then I just got stuck in there, thinking about how long I would’ve been with Magica and how she would’ve hurt me. It started feeling more and more real, like you were actually gone. So…” she trailed off, motioning with her mug to the fireplace. Webby knew about the ways in which they grounded her; she didn’t need an explanation.

Webby started rubbing Lena’s arm. “Okay. First off, you know that you can call me about this stuff any time, right?”

“Sure,” Lena said. “But you were coming home soon enough. Plus, I called Violet when it started. She helped.”

“Oh, awesome! Second,” she said, drawing back enough to look Lena in the eye. She hoped that her tear stains weren’t obvious, “That’s never going to happen. I’m right here, and I always will be.”

“I know,” Lena said. She squeezed Webby tighter, trying to commit it to memory. Webby’s here, Webby’s here, Webby’s here. They sat like that for a minute before Lena couldn’t resist chiming in, “Unless you find an artifact that changes the past or something.”

“Lena,” Webby groaned. “That’s not the point.”

Lena knew Webby was right. Lena also knew that she was right. “Which one is it?”

Webby paused for a minute, clearly fighting something her instincts. “...The Wall Flower of Bielefeld, but still!” Lena laughed, and Webby quickly joined in. She quickly got serious again. “Even if that does happen, I’ll find you again. I always will.”

Lena got choked up and started to feel her eyes water as she pressed into Webby’s shoulder. “I love you, Webby,” she said.

“I love you too, Lena,” she responded. They sat like that for who knows how long. Lena wasn’t counting. All that mattered was that she was with Webby. Passionate, lovable, caring, genuine Webby. She was safe.

After however much time had passed, she asked Webby, “So how was your adventure with the triplets?”

“Oooh! It was awesome! First of all, they love the bracelets you made! Second, Dewey has gotten way better at flying. He only crashed…” As Webby kept talking and Lena started to drift asleep, comfortable in her arms, she saw red flash out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t bother checking if it was Magica. It didn’t matter. Only this moment, right now, mattered.

[kinjedl]

If you're cool with it I wanted to ask you something about the rpf poll. Feel totally free to ignore this though if you don't want to answer.

You said it was fine in your eyes because people are essentially writing about the persona the celebrity creates, not about their intimate innermost self. But then what do you think of explicit/shippy rpf? Romance seems inherently like it is going to be intimate and someone writing it is presumably going to try and capture what they think the celebrity's true self is.

Again really not trying to start an argument! Just curious as to your thoughts. In general I think I somewhat agree with you. Rpf like the Goncharov thing is fine in my eyes its just a fake movie, something all the people "involved" make publically. But I find the porn (both written and drawn frankly) of celebrities kinda creepy personally.

Totally cool with it! No way to figure out how you feel about a topic without talking through it.

My take on explicit RPF is: It's pretty skeezy, but also I *get* it.

On the one hand, humans are going to make up fantasies about real people. That predates parasocial relationships, because it predates the internet, and also the written word. (source: Trust me, bro).

On the other hand, I mentioned in my response to the RPF poll that I thought that it could lead to inappropriately parasocial relationships, and I think that the more intimately you depict a real person in fiction - whether that takes the form of sexual intimacy or some other form of intimacy - the more you're going to tend towards developing a parasocial relationship with that person in a way that is probably not healthy.

I personally think that written porn featuring real people is pretty cringe, and that's saying something from someone who has published a work of erotic fiction. I have no problem with written porn at all, and am (obviously) actually quite in favor of it, but all of the characters in my works come from the inside of my own head. I invented them, and I'm not trying to overlay them onto my mental image of anyone else. I'm also extremely aware of the fact that these aren't real people, and I am not in any kind of relationship with them, because they don't exist.

If you write about real people, those are both much harder to keep in mind.

If you want to write something about Brennan Lee Mulligan and Aabria Iyengar getting into some kind of a DM v DM faceoff of games because you think that'd be neat to see, I don't really have an issue with that. Their DM personas may or may not be close to their real persons, but you aren't putting yourself in a position where you're actually trying to superimpose anything especially new over your mental model of them as people. You may or may not be any good at it, but trying to extrapolate how they behave as DMs to a new situation is fine, and might be a really good mental exercise to help you learn how to predict the behavior of others better.

If you want to write about one or the other (or both) of them getting intimate with a nameless self-insert, you're committing two sins. The first is that you have no real idea how either of them behaves in an intimate setting, so really you're just makin' shit up. The second is that you're doing it about a real person, and it's really hard to separate out the things that you invent about a real person from the things you've actually seen.

Parasocial relationships are already a real problem - both for the celebrities who are the distant party in them, and for the individuals who are actively participating in a relationship that is really only one way. Doing something to get more involved in that relationship isn't particularly healthy. Humans are social creatures, and parasociality is a poor substitute for real interaction, and the fact that we have increasingly structured society to force people to rely on it in place of genuine human connection is a big problem that will eventually need to get much more attention placed on it.

This has gotten super long, so I'll summarize and wrap up:

I don't think that inventing scenarios involving other people in a sexual situation is inherently a problem - people have been masturbating and thinking "man, it would be so sexy if <he/she/they/that> put their mouth on my genitals" for millennia uncounted and human society hasn't collapsed as a result.

I do think that it's a problem if you take that to an extreme, to the point where a part of your brain becomes convinced that the relationship you've developed in your head is actually real, whether it's in the context of parasocial celebrity relationships or any others. It's the kind of thing that led to the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan (for all the wrong reasons), and should absolutely be avoided.

It can be really hard to tell how far is too far, though, either from the inside or the outside, and it's probably mentally safer to just steer away from such a risky behavior unless you have a really solid grasp on your own social situation and mental health.

[pilot-boi]

Thank you for notifying me about this crime, I shall rectify it:

How did Jaune encounter his patron? Did she trick him? Did he misunderstand?

Also, why do I get the feeling Jaune is accidentally good at illegal shit?

*cracks knuckles* Let me find my notes…

Strap in this is gonna be a long one

Like a really long one. I haven’t gotten to talk about this AU in MONTHS so prepare for what is basically a whole overview of Jaune’s whole arc throughout the campaign

Jaune’s wasn’t even aware that he was an aasimar until he was like 15. His whole family was born with golden hair, and sapphire eyes, and the mark of the Sun on their forehead, so to him it was just how things were

Besides, there’s people from his village who can make trees bloom with a wave of their hands, so being especially blonde wasn’t that weird

Not sure how it happens, kidnapping, trafficking, village is attacked, but somehow the boy and most of not all of his siblings are captured and thrown into a fighting ring scenario

Cue awakening of aasimar heritage in all the Arc kiddos, which helps them survive in the ring. Trauma time woohoo, they’re trapped there for literal months

Eventually, in a dream, Jaune accidentally makes a deal with a dark entity, telling it “I don’t care what you want, just please get me out of here”

The entity obliges, to the letter, JUST getting Jaune out of there, and leaving the ring burning in their wake

His siblings aren’t dead, they escape during the chaos and eventually make their way back home, but Jaune thinks that he’s responsible for all of their deaths

And as the days go on, he realizes he can… do things that he never could before

“Magic, my little bird. A gift for performing so well for me,” a dark voice whispers in his dreams

He doesn’t know it, but his patron ends up being the BBEG, AKA Salem. And for once, I didn’t decide this, you can blame @harmonylight for that one

Plot goes on, Jaune questioning every choice he makes because is it really his choice? Or is it this dark force giving power to protect people and himself? How free actually is he, or is he still trapped just like he was in the ring?

Late campaign is rough, when the party starts speaking out against Salem. It’s obvious she’s the BBEG by this point. There’s a whole cult, Nora’s mom was a member of it. Nora stops trusting him for a bit until Jaune deep in his feels does something SUPER reckless to protect her.

They more they speak out against Salem, the more she manipulates Jaune into thinking his friends hate him. Worse, they unknowingly make it easier for her by distancing themselves to protect him

The party keeps waking up for watch with him watching them, or standing over them. Anything Salem can puppet him to do to be less trustworthy. Trying to put a schism between him and them

Jaune of course remembers none of this. “See? They don’t trust you, little bird. They don’t CARE about you”

Jaune doesn’t remember doing it, but he also fully believes it’s happening. And while he believes Salem that his friends must hate him/be afraid of him he also takes it as the threat it truly is

“Look how easily I could kill them, and you can’t stop me? Look how helpless you are”

Penny is a big part of helping him realise that Salem isn't fully in control of him that he can resit and he can beat her. There’s nothing shippy, they’re bros

There’s an arc just before the end that goes REALLY bad for Jaune, he’s becoming more and more convinced that he’s a bad person, that he’s dangerous, that he’s going to get all of his friends killed just like his family

And THATS when he finds out that his family is actually alive. And that gives him something to resist for, because now he has a home to return to. Because one thing that is true about all Jaunes, he is dogshit at fighting for himself and great at fighting for others

Luckily, because she’s just his patron, they can kick her ass without worrying about hurting Jaune. The campaign ends in the nine hells, fighting Salem herself

Cinder is also a warlock of Salem. They meet her a few times throughout the campaign, each time a little more corrupted. She’s actually the first minion they fight when they reach the hells, and by that point she’s FULLY puppet, not a scrap of Cinder actually left

Sort of a “This is what could’ve happened/could STILL happen to Jaune if this doesn’t end soon” It went faster for Cinder because she’s been bonded for longer and also because she fully indulged in what Salem wanted of her

But by the end of the campaign the first bits of corruption are starting to show on Jaune. They mostly go away after Salem is sealed away, but the physical affects are still there

After all of that, obviously Jaune doesn’t have magic. No patron means no warlock. He borrows some books from Tai and Emerald (both wizards) and studies to learn what he can.

But mostly he finally relaxes, surrounded by the family he thought he lost, and the family he gained because of that loss

[escailyyy]

The scene that made me start shipping Sanrion in the first place?: This one

So for personal context: s3 aired in 2013 and I had just turned 18 around that time. I wasn't really that into got before but it became a comfort show. And I remember thinking that, for some reason, this scene out of all things I'd seen was the height of romantic.

Because Tyrion was in a position of power, because by law they were married. and out of all the things he could have done. He could have walked out, he could have just said 'not until you're older and less terrified' or simply pretended the problem wasn't there. Out of all the things Tyrion Lannister could have done He gave the power to Sansa.

He said 'not until 'you want' me to' essentially saying 'in this marriage if you don't ever want to have sex, we don't have to, forget whatever "I" want, because unless you want to do it first, I'm not taking that power away from you'

And when you're at the age of 18 and you see Peter Dinklage deliver that line like with all the seriousness of a man aware of what he is doing. Then wow. It leaves an impression.

I don't know any other scene on tv where the matter of sexual consent was treated as directly as in this scenario.

The scene being that two characters got married, they were supposed to have sex, he told her her consent came first and she said no to sex and he accepted her decision

Because in other shows scenes like these are usually followed by something that invalidates the consent previously denied. Either the consent is taken by force or the plot turns into some romantic bs where she's persuaded into falling into bed (in both cases her no is invalidated)

But to me at 18, it was the height of romantic that Tyrion Lannister, the least romantic ish hero in all the series. Didn't even try to talk teenage Sansa into changing her mind. She said no, and he was fine with taking the no. Sure he got drunk afterwards (with a wedding like that who wouldn't) but he never blamed or judged Sansa for her No.

Leaving aside the whole plot with Shae and the death of the Starks. The scene is still excellent as a stand alone example of what a man accepting the denial of consent looks like

And that's the day I began shipping Sansa and Tyrion. Because a part of me wished that these two characters would have separate plotlines and grow into their own and years down the line, when they were free to make their own choices again, after things were less messy. Finally free from being forced to do what they didn't want to do for duty or for fear. They would choose each other.

Not because there wasn't anyone else available, or because of some grand prophecy of destiny. But rather because Sansa would know that Tyrion would still love her and respect her even if she said No. Heck he wouldn't even try to change her mind if she said no. And Tyrion would know that Sansa would also be the same with him. She would respect him and care for him even if he said no too.

Okay this post got too long but yeah for those wondering why I started shipping Sanrion, it was the consent thing that made me feel super fuzzy and shippy about them 💘💘

[fang-and-feather]

A Third Chance to Live

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Characters: Robert Hooke, MC

Words: 1,096

Tags: Canon Divergence, Hints of Magical MC, Background Isaac x MC, Fluff

Summary: One would think that after dying once and becoming a vampire, it would take out the strangeness of waking up when you thought you were dead. It didn’t. But in the midst of his confusion, he met with Isaac's girlfriend, the woman to whom he owns his third chance at life, even if she has no idea how that happened either.

My entry for the Wish Upon an Aide event by @wordycheeseblob and @lorei-writes, for the Yellow Prompt: Life

Although I had more ideas, this is probably the only one I will finish in time (well, "finish" if you count a chapter as finishing, but it's that kind of chapter that can kind of stand on it's own, at least form my pov). I chose this one of all the ideas I had because I felt like it was something quite unique that although I thought of long ago, I don't think i would have another chance to actually write since unique things usually make e nervous...

Also, I feel like this fic sounds a little too shippy from all sides, and that was not the intention 😅

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist / AO3 Link

One would think that after dying once and becoming a vampire, it would take out the strangeness of waking up when you thought you were dead.

It didn’t. Waking up this time was equally disorientating.

Where was he? How did he survive? The only strange thing he could remember as he lost consciousness was a strange warmth that spread from the wound, enveloping him.

He stood up, but not without having to find purchase on the wall. It hurt to breathe too deeply, making him check to find the wound hadn’t fully closed. Did that mean he wasn’t out for too long?

He took in his surroundings. A simply furnished bedroom, with the curtain drawn over the window, only a sliver of light escaping through it and indicating it was daytime.

With the fog clearing from his mind, he realized there was only one place he could be in. That didn’t explain why he was alive, though.

He could feel the light burning in his throat, making finding food his priority. But he had no idea where to find the kitchen, and moving was difficult. Sometimes he had dizzy spells. At others, his legs threatened to give out.

He had to stop to catch his breath when someone finally found him.

“Mr. Hooke? You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

It was Isaac’s lady - had she told him her name? A lot of his memories were foggy, - who rushed to his side, balancing the empty tray she was carrying with one hand and pressing the palm of her free hand against his forehead.

“You’re burning up. Let’s get you back to bed and I’ll get you some Rouge. Even if you don’t think you need, I think it should help.”

“Thank you.” Robert nodded and let her guide him back.

It was strange to find himself alone with her again, with the woman being so nice to him.

Despite his messed up memories, he was aware of what he had done. They had smoothed things out before his ‘death’, but it still felt strange that she was so comfortable and so worried with him.

He was happy Isaac found someone like her.

It took a few minutes, but she returned smiling, bringing, besides the Rouge, a pair of sandwiches and another cup.

“I brought food and coffee too, but you don’t need to eat if you don’t want. I just thought it would be nice.”

“That is nice of you. Thank you.”

Although vampires didn’t need to eat, she went out of the way to make him something in case he wanted.

“You’re welcome. I always find that good food helps when you’re ill, if only by improving your mood. Although I just improvised something I could make quick. And I don’t even know if you like coffee…”

“This is enough.” He smiled, reassuring her, before drinking down the Rouge and then turning his attention to the food. “Will you sit with me for a moment?” She nodded and pulled the chair from the desk closer to the bed. “How long I was asleep for?”

“About five days. Your wound was taking too long to heal, and we were worried. Isaac especially. He’ll be happy you woke up.”

Robert nodded. He would be happy with the opportunity to talk to Isaac again, but that reminded him this was his third shot at life. Not many people received a second chance, let alone a third. And this time, he hadn’t chosen to come back. He had no idea why he wasn’t dead.

“Mr. Hooke?” The sweet, worried voice interrupted his thoughts. “Should I leave so you can rest?”

“No. I was just lost in thought.” He thought of asking Isaac about this latter, but she was there too. Maybe she would have answers. He wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it for long until he had answers. “Do you know how I survived? Both of us know I shouldn’t. What happened?”

She furrowed her brows and looked down at her hands that closed into fists around the fabric of her skirt before speaking, voice just above a whisper.

“I… I think I saved you. But I have no idea how I did that. My body reacted on its own and… there was a light… your wound started to close, but not enough that you were out of risk. Whatever energy had overcome me was gone in an instant. Comte said it was a miracle. Whatever they shot you with should have been able to kill a vampire. He said I should be proud to have been able to save a life but… well, I am happy. But I’m also confused, and… maybe I didn’t fully recover from losing that energy either. And up until now we had no idea if you would really survive…”

“I admit I am curious about how you could save me,” Robert interrupted her, seeing how distressed she was, “but I will also be forever grateful to you for this.” He stood up, feeling a little more stable, and bowed to her, making her look up at him with surprise. “After wasting my second life with senseless grief, chasing something that no longer exists, I am glad for a chance to restart, and that I will have an opportunity to talk to Isaac again. And it’s all thanks to you.”

“You’re welcome, then. I am also happy that Isaac will have a friend like you. Now,” she stood up, “I think I should get back to work and let you rest. I will tell Isaac to drop by when he comes back.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Thank you for keeping me company.” He bowed again, and she mimicked the gesture with a smile.

“It was my pleasure, Mr. Hooke. If Isaac doesn’t come home soon, I’ll drop by again. If you don’t mind.”

“I would love that. And you can call me Robert.”

She told him her name, extending a hand for him to shake.

Robert hoped their relationship would remain friendly, since she was the one who saved his life and they would both be sharing a close relationship with Isaac, and he knew she had priority.

Isaac went from a man who lost everything to one who had everything while he wasn’t around. Maybe it was selfish of him to seek to restore the relationship they once had. Maybe he was too stuck in the past.

But he was given a third chance. Something he thought impossible. And he would try not to have so much to regret this time.

I did't know if I should tag people on this, but...

Tag List: @tele86, @nightghoul381, @natimiles, @bicayaya, @eventinelysplayground, @2-lines-and-a-circle

If you want to be tagged/untagged on future writings, you can reply to this post or send me a message

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

followup fun facts about together, to that promised aquarium

this is gonna be just kinda a disorganized post of random things so uh. dont mind that.

the event title is actually a double reference ^^ its both a callback to 1dt with 1c promising to find time to do things as friends despite getting busier (even if theres no ichika this time), and also a reference to harusakis first kizuna!

colopale you still havent given us that aquarium they said theyd go to. theres a reason i had to do it myself. the fact that theres not an aquarium event in general is a crime tbh i know theres some romantic connotations with a pair going to an aquarium but theres very easy solutions to avoiding that? sending a group of 3+ characters together, having them run into other characters while there, inviting someone else along (even if they cant go, it helps make it feel more like a friend thing i think). i did a bit of the latter two, as you mightve noticed! in general though its just SUCH an obviously fun event theme i cant beleive we havent had one yet

while i am a known harusaki shipper, i kept the story pretty light on the stuff that could be read as explicitly shippy, since when im trying to make fake events, i like to think about how itd work in canon, which means keeping it low on explicit ship content. plenty of stuff that could be taken as ship food (as id like it to be!) but nothing that would alienate non shippers from enjoying the story too.

i actually didnt write shizukasas presence as intended for ship content at all though, but im definitely okay with people taking it that way lol they can be on a date too if you want them to be. my plan with them was simply theyre childhood friends too but dont get to spend time together that often anymore -> their schedules line up with a free day and tsukasa heard about the aquarium from saki, decides to invite shizuku to go there with him as a part of hanging out together -> surprise encounter with harusaki!

also both of them were scoring quite high on the form when i decided to lock in the lineup (tsukasa was absolutely sweeping the 2* category, and while shizuku wasnt winning anything, she was a pretty popular choice) and theyre very easy to work into a story together and also into a story that is focused on harusaki (╯▽╰ ) the benefits of siblings and unitmates

(tsukasa 2* poll sweep at the time of me solidifying my lineup)

the event and gacha names actually both came to me one night while i was about to fall asleep. struck by inspiration so strong i had to grab my phone and write them down in my notes app. and they actually worked very well! also heres the transparents of the logos if you want them i guess

the card/skill/costume names also mostly came to me in similar ways, in the last couple nights before i finished everything. i think only saki, luka, and shizukus skills didnt come to me that way.

while the rui fish in tsukasa card might be obvious, theres actually more animals referencing other characters too! theres a group of three fish in sakis card that are the colors of the rest of leoni, the sneakiest of the bunch, and also not quite as sneaky but maybe not as obvious as the rui fish is the airi and minori sea slugs :)

i did think about giving tsukasa fish to be emu and nene too, but that many differently colored fish in a 2* seemed like too much, so i didnt do it... at least of the units involved, 2/3 of them are fully represented in some way!

and now most importantly probably, is that this is in fact my second pass at an aquarium event! the original one i started back in 2022 and......... i think you guys can figure out why i couldnt just reuse it when i decided to go for making an aquarium event again this time.

yep, youre seeing that right. 4/5 of the characters i chose are the same as what ended up being 1dt, all i got wrong was the vs. thats pretty crazy, honestly. im still not fully convinced colopale isnt just stealing my ideas after val3 happened too /j

it was also saki focus actually! i had written out a rough idea for the story back then too, and while theres some similarities to the current one, it obviously went through a lot of changes when revising the lineup and also with everything that has happened in the story over the past two years. it was definitely a bit more explicitly shippy than my new attempt, although i still tried to keep the shipping stuff toned back somewhat

i only ever made one card for that set though, just lukas 2*... but thats the original reason i made the old 2* backgrounds! its always those fake events throwing me into the graphic design trenches (fist shake) i had been trying to do a more canon-accurate style to......... mixed success. its not terrible, but i definitely could not have done the full set like this. theres a reason i did promised aquarium in my own style!

the original theme for the set was kind of like..... performers at an aquarium? along with living water sculptures of animals. it was a fun idea, but i think i was much better suited to doing the underwater scenes of promised aquarium and also we have plenty of performance themed trained sets already ^^

considering i also technically kept her from the original set (plus she was also winning the vs poll), i gave her a higher rarity card this time around for fun. and also because i knew none of shizuku tsukasa or luka would have super significant roles in the story, and i thought it would be fun to design a lim hairstyle for her!

one final random fun fact: the thing that kicked me into gear making promised aquarium was the fact that haruka wasnt on beautiful sound. i was just a little mad that they had an underwater set WITH A PENGUIN COSTUME and there was no haruka. sometimes petty beef brings out my craziest motivations and then i proceeded to spend the better part of a month planning and making it happen.

[hergan416]

ao3 wrapped writer edition asks: 5, 10, 11, 19

AO3 Wrapped (writer edition) from here. Feel free to send in more asks about 2023. I should actually clear this out tonight xD

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

I also think the answer to this is also Poison Paradise (contains explicit content, mostly sherlouis with a side of alwill and some fred/bonde/moran)😅 The fic really was just so unexpectedly well-liked. I never would have expected that I could write a fic that has an average of 15 comments per chapter before I got into the yuumori fandom. Of course this includes my replies to others and when we go back and forth but that has been so satisfying. And you drew me art to go with it??? and I have been told (also here) that I inspired at least one other writer with it?? akjldjsf;jl I would NEVER have predicted that that conversation when we both joined the AW server would result in all THIS. I'm forever grateful for you opening my eyes to sherlouis, and also for inspiring me so greatly.

10. What work was quickest to write?

This year? Let's see... Probably either The Path To Enlightenment [A Beast Consumes You] or Left Alone, I Will Break [Come Back To Me Brother]. Both of these were written directly onto tumblr as a result of their asks first and then uploaded onto AO3 retroactively. (The Path to Enlightenment is rated T and includes Albert & Mycroft interacting, but I wouldn't call it shippy. Left Alone I Will Break is explicit and contains multiple dead dove type things, including hints of LW incest, necrophilia, dubious consent/blood slavery, other heavy Vampire the Masquerade themes. Both are yuumori fics set in the Vampire the Masquerade universe). Anyway, I don't think these took much more than an hour a piece.

11. What work took you longest to write?

Um well.. considering Poison Paradise is ongoing...

But if you take the Poison Paradise chapters individually... probably something that hasn't yet been published like the "Knot In My Name" fic that is probably not at all going to go to that event and is just going to be published on private like everything else. (That event was about filling AO3 with ABO fic to give AI bad data but like. It's still data. I can't stop writing like me, so it's going to get my voice -- even if I try a different style. I don't really feel comfortable with that -- but I DO have many many words in a document that may never actually see the light of day of Milverton/reader, Milverton/Ruskin, and Ruskin/reader omegaverse with many content warnings soooooo).

19. What's one pairing you want to explore next year?

Ummm hmmm. many? Can I just say "a lot"?

Milverton/Albert? I think it would be good to strike out of my comfort zone and start that AU back up.

[thymewayster]

Fixing the Mandalorian season 3: an outline rewrite

Now that the season is finished and I can see the whole picture...season 3 had a few issues. It had a lot of good moments and some great story potential, but I think it could have been executed a lot better.

So I’ve fixed it by making a few tweaks, rearranging some scenes, and letting this be two seasons rather than one. I am trying to use roughly the same resources and roughly the same plot beats as canon did while still having the spirit of the first two seasons.

One of my major goals is also to make sure each show is self-contained—aka, you do not have to have seen any other show other than the one you’re watching for things to make sense. (Although of course, if you have seen the other shows, you will know a lot more context.)

Also fair warning, this is staying platonic, but if you want to imagine more shippy details, feel free.

This might get a little long.

So. Let’s start with Book of Boba Fett.

BoBF: Din is not the main character, Boba Is

Grogu and Luke do not make an appearance at all.

Pretty much the entire storyline of BoBF needs fixing, but fixing Boba’s story is a different issue. This post is about fixing the Mandalorian, so I’m going to focus on the last couple episodes when Din appears.

Episode 5 (or 6, depending on how Boba’s story is fixed) opens in media res, action scene. Din is in the middle of killing/beating up a bunch of guys while on a bounty hunt. Din wins the fight, pushes forward, and…it is revealed that his bounty is a child who was kidnapped for ransom that Din has been hired to retrieve. 

Optional: Shots during this part that parallel the very first episode of season 1.

Din reunites child with grateful rich parent/client. There’s a moment of Din looking at them longingly and it’s clear that Din is angsting over watching the parent/child reunion. The pain of losing Grogu is still relatively fresh. 

After Din is paid, Fennec appears (in person or more likely via holocall). 

There is a two-line exchange: Fennec asking how Din’s search for his people is going, Din replying it’s not going well and that he hasn’t found anything in weeks/months. Thus establishing two things: 1) Din is looking for other Mandalorians. 2) It has been weeks/months since the season 2 finale.

Fennec says Boba has a job for Din. Din says he owes Boba and he’ll do it for free.

All of the above takes up maybe the first five minutes of the episode at most. 

This also works because it feeds Mandalorian fans while not requiring you to have seen the Mandalorian at all if you’re just here for the Boba Fett show. 

If you’re watching BoBF in a vacuum, then it establishes all you really need to know: Din is a Mandalorian/has similar armor to Boba, is an ally of Boba’s, and is a very good fighter. It makes perfect sense Boba would call him for help.

From a business standpoint, this also still promotes the Mandalorian show. (“Hey, if you think this guy is cool, he already has his own show!”)

If you have seen the Mandalorian then you know the context of why Din is angsting over a parent/child reunion and you are having FEELINGS.

We next see Din on Tatooine and he is present for the BoBF finale as part of Boba’s crew.

Crucially, nothing of actual plot importance happens with Din. It is not required to watch BoBF to understand season 3 of the Mandalorian. 

The focus of the show is on Boba, and Din is there to be a cameo/look cool/be Boba’s backup so we can have some cool side-by-side shots and give the Mandalorian fans a sliver of content without disrupting BoBF-only watchers’ experience. 

The scene where Din says “I’m with you until we both fall” can stay, complete with sending the majordomo out with a fake notice of surrender. (Because that was great, and a good character moment for Boba.)

There is no Grogu appearing in the middle of the fight. Grogu is not even mentioned beyond the implication that Din misses him.

After the battle, we can either see Boba thank Din and then Din leaves to a quick little motif of his theme song. Or, because this is Boba’s show and Din is a side character, we might not even see Din leave. The focus might be more on other cast members.

New Mando s3: Din and Grogu

The theme: Din and Grogu reuniting, Din redeeming himself and rebuilding in the wake of season 2, the covert

Episode 1: Canon BoBF episode, where it should be

Canon BoBF ep 5, with a few differences.

The entire dramatic bounty-hunting/fight scene in the freezer is perfect, nothing changes. It also serves to tell the audience that Din’s having issues wielding the darksaber.

Din tracks down not only the Armorer and Paz, but there are some other survivors as well. Paz/somebody heals him from his darksaber accident. 

Preferably that character is a new named Mando character who is basically the covert’s doctor/medic. Like they can fight but they actually specialize in combat medicine. (This is also a good opportunity for worldbuilding since we can go into a bit more detail on how they handle injuries. Do they all cauterize their wounds or was that just Din out in the field? How do they handle head injuries if they can’t remove their helmet??)

Optional: have a passing comment about how long it’s been since the fight with the Nevarro bounty guild, further establishing that some time has passed.

This is also a chance for a nice sprinkling of worldbuilding for what the covert is like, how Din interacts with other members, and what he misses about them. 

Some members of the covert actually ask him why he removed his helmet, and there is some debate on whether his removal was acceptable as it was in service of a foundling. 

This is a good chance to introduce a few more Mandalorian characters. They don’t have to be big/detailed roles, but it helps humanize the Mandos a bit to show that they aren’t all a monolith, and we can have some familiar faces/helmets in future episodes. (And now you have names to go with the Funko pop figures. Because this is Star Wars and Disney, and let’s face it a major part of the franchise is the merch. We gotta keep the studio execs happy and the investors rich or they’ll ax our show.) 

Maybe Paz is the hothead of the group, or maybe his personality is pretty typical for the group. Maybe Din is unusually quiet/private compared to the rest of the group. Maybe one person is even more strict about the Creed than Din is. Maybe one just straight up does not speak in Basic/English and needs subtitles, implying that under the helmet they’re some species that physically can’t speak Basic/English. etc. Give us some characters.

Optional: a passing line to indicate that even though the audience is hearing English (or whatever Earth language) with no subtitles, the Mandalorians including Din are actually all speaking Mando’a and we’re getting a direct translation.

Anyway so they’re all debating whether Din is an apostate or not. The Armorer points out that the Creed is clear on removing the helmet, but she sounds deeply sorrowful/regretful about it.

Some members think Din is now an apostate. Others think that Din’s removal was justified. 

Crucially, Din himself falls on the apostate side, and he believes he needs to be redeemed.

Optional: When the covert find out he has the darksaber, there is further debate on whether this redeems him or not. Din doesn’t think it does.

Like in canon, Paz challenges him for the darksaber. Din is not sure he wants to be leader, but he also isn’t willing to just hand it over. 

Paz is like, if you don’t want it, why are you fighting so hard for it? And Din points out that losing a fight on purpose is Not the Way. Paz points out that he is an apostate. Din still refuses to give up without a fight. (Same fight from canon, with other Mandos watching, Din wins.)

Optional: At some point we meet Ragnar and learn that he is Paz’s foundling/apprentice. He is training to swear the Creed. Bonus points if Din angsts over that too.

When covert members ask about Grogu, Din reveals that he has coordinates for Grogu. (It can be left vague whether Din found them himself or Luke gave them to him off-screen) But Din has not visited Grogu because he doesn’t want to interfere with Grogu’s training. 

Din decides he wants to go to Mandalore to bathe in the waters and redeem himself. The Armorer warns him that it is probably not possible since Mandalore was glassed, but Din is determined to try. 

The covert wishes him luck. The Armorer decides to give him a gift: some chainmail for Grogu. (can be made from the spear or not.) Din protests that he has returned Grogu to his people and will not jeopardize his training. The Armorer replies that it is the child’s birthright as a Mandalorian foundling. Even if Din does not see the child again, then the chainmail will serve as a reminder of what Din sacrificed so much for.

The Armorer also gives Din a cool new weapon, possibly a new amban rifle or something similar. 

Let’s face it, cool weapons are integral to his character's design, coolness factor, and marketability. Gotta have something to make new toys. If the spear is melted down, he’ll need a replacement cool weapon. Even if he keeps the spear, that means he has two cool melee weapons, the darksaber and the spear, and he needs a cool long-range weapon.

Din accepts the gifts.

The covert is discovered by bad guys (Imperials? Beskar hunters? a crime syndicate?), there is another action sequence while the Mandalorians fight off the intruders. Din assists the others in fighting the enemies off. (This is a good chance for further characterization and exploration of group dynamics. Does Din communicate well and fight in sync with his fellow covert members, or has his time away from the covert and his bounty hunting career made it so he tends to fight alone rather than working as a team?) 

The Mandalorians win easily, because this is a chance to show off Mandalorian combat. 

But because secrecy is their survival, the covert must now relocate.

Optional: a good father-son moment with Paz defending Ragnar. Bonus points if Din also sees Ragnar defend himself using something he learned in training earlier in the episode. (Because it reinforces to Din that training is important. He’s going to bring that up later.)

Din helps the covert acquire a ship to get off planet (possibly with some money he earned on his way here? Showing that he still thinks of himself as the covert's provider. Or maybe they steal one) 

The Armorer asks if he wishes to join them. Din shakes his head, doesn’t believe himself to be worthy. He feels he does not belong with them and is an apostate.

The Mandalorians part ways, with the covert off to find a new location, while Din is left alone, watching them leave. (Visually, this shows him at rock bottom. He is an apostate. He has no ship, he has no covert, he has no child. It’s just him, alone in the universe.)

Optional end stinger: We see Grogu, meditating on a rock. He is concentrating for a moment, then his eyes open. He looks sad (and adorable). Possibly reaches out a hand, reminiscent of s1 ep1’s ending moment, but there is no Din there to take his finger.

Episode 2: Din and Grogu reunite

This episode has two plots: Din’s plot and Grogu’s. We switch between them. 

Optional: No CGI Luke. I love that Mark Hamill got to come back, but CGI Luke is not good at emoting. It worked okay for the season 2 finale, because Luke was calm and not super emotionally involved, but by the time we get to season 3 we need him to be able to emote or he comes off as very flat. If necessary, we can use a little CGI to make a lookalike actor (Sebastian Stan? An unknown?) a little more Luke like. But remember Luke is a bit older, he doesn’t have to look exactly like he did in Return of the Jedi. 

Screw it, maybe he has a beard now or something. He had a beard in the Last Jedi, and Disney wants us to use this season to prop up the sequels, right? Just look at that continuity! And that might make it easier for makeup/a touch of CGI to make the actor look more like Mark Hamill.

A Plot

We see a montage of Grogu and Luke training. Pretty much the canon scenes from canon BoBF ep 6. The seasons change on the planet they are on during the training montage to indicate the passage of time. 

Grogu is doing well in his studies, but he is very easily distracted and almost always looks sad. It’s clear that he’s feeling very distracted/conflicted. Luke is concerned.

Optional: show that Grogu is not the only student being trained. He likes the other students, but it’s clear that he isn’t as focused as the others. (Maybe squeeze in a quick flashback to happy Grogu back in the Jedi creche with the other students to show the difference?)

B Plot

Switch to Din. Din’s plot is basically the non-covert parts of BoBF ep 5. Funny public transport sequence to Tatooine, the bundle of armor is shaped like Grogu’s head, Rodian child angst. Meets up with Pelli, gets N1. Pelli tells Din that fixing it would go faster if Din helped.

A Plot

Luke is concerned because Grogu is very gifted with the Force but it’s clear his feelings are conflicted. Luke meditates with Grogu, does the frog-lifting scene. Luke realizes that Grogu deeply misses Din, and Luke gently mentions that being a Jedi requires a lot more focus than Grogu is currently using.

Optional: Luke mentions he himself has struggled to find the balance between helping his friends and his Jedi training.

Luke consults Ahsoka by holocall or in person. (Possibly drop a hint at what Ahsoka’s doing. Looking for Ezra or fighting Thrawn or whatever she’s going to be doing in her show). 

Ahsoka points out Grogu’s attachment to Din, which is why she didn’t train him in the first place.

Luke and Ahsoka have a discussion about Jedi philosophy and attachment. Ahsoka points out the Jedi did not maintain family attachments. Luke points out that he certainly is still maintaining contact with his family/friends. 

Optional: Luke mentions he has found records of Jedi maintaining family relationships, anciently as well as recently. (Drop some KOTOR references?)

By the end of the discussion, they have clearly defined attachment/possessiveness for the audience. (Will this finally stop the endless discussion among fans about Anakin’s fall and whether the Jedi’s no-attachment rule caused it? Of course not, this is the Star Wars fandom lol.)

B Plot:

N1 repair montage. 

Pelli modifies the back seat for Grogu, even though Din sadly points out that Grogu is not traveling with him anymore. Pelli’s like, “You want me to put a droid in there then?” Din, with possibly the first non-sad emotion we’ve seen him have this season, says no, absolutely not. Then Pelli’s like “So it’ll be for visits then!” Din is silent after that. He is clearly still sad.

There is a more in-depth conversation where Pelli wants more information about where Grogu is now and Din mentions that he of course misses Grogu, but he is sure that getting this training is the best thing for him and he made the right decision.

The repair montage might be shorter than or the same length as the original, depending on the runtime of the episode. (This episode will be on the longer side for a Mando episode. Maybe like an hour. Tbh you could probably stretch this out to two episodes if you really wanted.)

The N1 is finished. Din takes it out for a spin, sees the Rodian kid again, escapes from the space cops, plays out like the original BoBF ep 5 did. 

After the test ride, he bids goodbye to Pelli and takes off to space.

In the N1 in space, Din has a quiet moment. Visual shots of space being huge and vast and beautiful, while Din’s ship is very small in comparison. While Din experienced a moment of happiness in rebuilding the N1, he is still very alone.

We see Din holding the armor bundle shaped like Grogu’s head and thinking. (This scene visually echoes the s1 ep3 scene where he contemplates the shifter knob and decides to rescue Grogu from the Imp compound instead of just leaving.)

After a moment of silent contemplation (and probably as the music builds), Din makes a decision. He jumps to hyperspace.

A Plot/B Plot:

Luke sits Grogu down and asks if Grogu would prefer to continue his Jedi training or to return to the Mandalorian. Luke points out that of course Grogu’s bond with Din is not a bad thing, but being a Jedi requires focus and commitment. The greater good and the Jedi code must come before all else. Luke also points out that a short time for Grogu is a long time for Din. 

Luke would love to train Grogu to be a great Jedi, but he will respect whatever Grogu chooses.

Grogu chooses Din, and Luke accepts this decision. 

Luke is just debating how they’re going to reach Din…when Din shows up!

Optional: still include the “Is that a bench?” scene with R2 lol.

Din is awkward and nervous and just wanted to stop by for a visit and give Grogu the armor, but Luke informs him of Grogu’s choice. 

Din takes a bit of convincing, because after all he sacrificed a lot to get Grogu his training. 

Luke mentions that Grogu has done well in his training, and although it is not finished, Grogu really does want to stay with Din.

Grogu does one of those delightfully ridiculous puppet baby flips into Din’s arms. 

Father and son have a happy possibly tearful reunion.

Optional: we get another helmetless scene here with just Din and Grogu. (but probably not if Din hasn’t even adopted him yet)

Episode 3: Visit to Nevarro

Din visits Nevarro because Greef wants to give him a job offer, to stay and be a marshal since Cara is (fired) off doing New Republic things. 

Din seriously considers the offer because it would provide stability for Grogu. He still wants to be redeemed, but going to Mandalore is a suicide mission and now he has the kid to think about. 

Kind of s1ep4 vibes on Sorgan. Now that Din has left his covert, he has another chance to settle down, have a relatively normal life. We should have lots of moments either through framing/acting or maybe conversations with Greef that indicate that Din is thinking about taking the offer, but he’s reluctant to give up his desire to be redeemed. Grogu also clearly likes it here.

Optional: They can have a nice moment with the IG-11 statue like the canon s3 ep1 did, but there’s no reviving yet.

The pirate encounter occurs, but it’s a bit more extended and action-y and there are many more pirates—a scouting invasion.

After the climax of the episode and defeating the pirates, Greef and the Nevarro citizens are sifting through the pirates’ loot when they discover a green shard with Mandalorian writing on it. Din is shook.

Din interrogates a surviving captured pirate and discovers that they got it after raiding some exploration vessels in the Mandalore system. Din is ecstatic. Mandalore might be visitable, which means redemption is possible.

He declines Greef’s job offer, at least until after he is redeemed.

Episode 4: If we must include build up for the sequels, then fine. Have a fun pirate fight.

Din decides he needs a droid to measure the air readings on Mandalore, and IG-11 is that droid. The IG-11 terminator / Anzellan scenes play out like canon s3 ep1.

They leave Nevarro and are pursued by the pirates. (Can make this as long or as short as runtime allows, depending on how long the Pershing bit needs to be.)

Since this is the most flexible episode that doesn’t have as many important plot points, the Pershing story goes here as a B plot. If it has to be as long as it is due to executive demands, fine. Otherwise, condense it. A lot. The worldbuilding is great but the story itself really didn’t need to be that long. Make sure you drop hints about Gideon escaping and being alive.

Din and Grogu escape pirates.

Show the pirates on their ship. The captain mentions the mysterious employer who hired them is not going to be happy, and they’ll have to try again.

Episode 5: Getting R5 and having a fun filler adventure

Din and Grogu have a pit stop on Tatooine and have a fun action-y adventure involving Pelli and maybe a BoBF cast cameo or a fun new side character. Pelli gives Din R5 so he can test whether Mandalore is safe. 

Din uses the darksaber in a fight at some point. He’s still struggling with it a bit, but he has gotten a bit better.

Grogu shows off his powers. Din is impressed and very proud of him.

Depending on how the runtime works out, either the end of this episode or the beginning of next episode is the bit from the original s3 ep1 where Din visits Bo-Katan on her depression throne and gets directions to the mines of Mandalore.

Episode 6: The Mines of Mandalore Revamped

This episode basically follows the original beats of s3 ep2. Grogu map lesson, Din captured, Grogu gets Bo-Katan, Bo-Katan saves Din, Grogu is powerful, Din is redeemed. 

But we’re going to use this opportunity to flesh out some Mandalore backstory/history. Bo is a returning side character in this episode, but we need to flesh her out a bit more for next season.

I do want to make a bit more of a deal about Din setting foot on Mandalore for the first time. Like a shot of his boot landing on the ground and a slow pan on his helmet looking around at the barren landscape or a comment to Grogu or something. It’d take like five seconds.

Bo-Katan is still Creed-agnostic/atheist but clearly does respect Din even if she thinks his Creed is kind of dumb.

After Din wakes up post-barbecue-rescue, he points out that Bo-Katan beat the trap monster that captured him, so does she want the Darksaber? Bo-Katan bitterly says no, she can’t take it, because it has to be won in battle and whatever other reasons. The story’s not good enough—because it’s not so much about the sword itself, per se, but how you got it.

When Bo talks about her father she also mentions her sister. We’re not going to go into a whole crash course on who Satine is, because you should be able to watch this show without watching TCW. But a little mention would be nice. (Even if it’s just point to some random destroyed structure and be like “That was constructed under my sister’s rule.”)

Mention of her family can segue into a bare-bones outline of history so that TCW isn’t required viewing for context. We don’t need a detailed breakdown of pacifism/New Mandos vs Death Watch and can keep this all fairly vague. But we have to establish a couple things.

Bo fought in the Mandalorian Civil Wars, and she did a lot of shady things she now regrets. (What exactly the shady things were can be left as vague as Disney requires, because I have a feeling partly why canon Bo didn’t get to talk about this much is because Disney didn’t want a protagonist with a villainous past.)

Bo had a sister who once ruled Mandalore, but thanks to Bo and her shady actions, the sister was killed. (Yeah, it was a lot more complicated than that, but this shows that in the intervening years Bo has reflected upon her actions in TCW and regrets a lot of it and at least partly blames herself for Satine’s death. Part of her redemption arc.)

Bo concludes if the Mandalorians, including herself, hadn’t been so busy fighting over what divided them, they might have been ready for the Empire when it came, and Mandalore might not have been destroyed.

Optional: When Bo’s talking about things she regrets, Din says something about how he can relate to that because he’s also done things he regrets (like turning in Grogu or whatever he was doing with Ran’s group). Bo’s like, is that why you’re so determined to be redeemed? Because you regret taking your helmet off? And Din’s like, I don’t regret that. (because it was for Grogu)

Optional: Also, the more parallels we can fit between Din being redeemed with Mandalore being redeemed, the better. Din’s getting a new start, and so will Mandalore (and Bo)

Din recites the Creed and goes in the water. Make it more clear whether Din fell in or was pulled. I prefer pulled, but either is fine.

Optional: Bo-Katan sees the Mythosaur, but Din does not. Bo-Katan is shook. She does have a moment where Din asks if she still plans to reunite Mandalore and is she sure she doesn’t want the darksaber and she vagues at Din “...I will have to find another way.” While looking at the water. Clearly talking about the Mythosaur, but Din is oblivious since he didn’t see the Mythosaur.

Din and Bo-Katan part ways as friends. Din tells Bo-Katan he is in her debt and owes her one. The Kryze castle is not destroyed…(yet). 

Episode 7: Reunion with the Covert

Din and Grogu return to the covert. Basically the original s3 ep4 with a couple differences. 

Ragnar’s Creed ceremony, the giant crocodile, and Din’s dramatic entrance from the canon s3 ep1 is moved here.

Bring in the concept of the foundling/apprentice ranking here. The Armorer addresses Ragnar as “Apprentice Ragnar” during the ceremony, implying that swearing the Creed is akin to a graduation ceremony going from apprentice to full Mandalorian.

Din is welcomed back to the covert with open arms, and Grogu is introduced to the other Mandos. Everyone is really happy for Din and excited when he says Mandalore is not exactly habitable, but also not completely inhabitable.

Grogu’s training scene versus Ragnar stays. Din is the one who helps Grogu put on the little dart shooter. Din calls Grogu his ward, but we’re going to elaborate on why Grogu isn’t his son officially yet. When Ragnar asks why Grogu doesn’t wear a helmet, Din says he can’t talk and is too young to swear the Creed and become an apprentice, so he is still a foundling. This makes it a little clearer why Grogu isn’t officially Din’s son, and adds some Mando worldbuilding. 

Optional: Ragnar is referred to as “Paz Ragnar” or something to establish the naming convention. (Unless Djarin truly is his given name. But I’m ignoring it. He’s always Din to me.) “Apprentice Paz Ragnar” in the ceremony?

Ragnar is still captured by the shriek hawk, but this is the first time this has happened. Shriek hawk might have attacked before, but it’s never carried off a child. (Literally all you have to do is just cut the line "it always gets away" or replace it with “it got away” because really??)

Paz chases after shriek hawk, jet pack runs out of fuel, but fortunately Din/other Mandalorians bring the bigger Mandalorian ship, pick him up. (And give him more jetpack fuel.)

They all immediately go to fight the shriek-hawk at its nest, fight goes down like it did in canon and Din saves Ragnar. Paz is grateful.

They still bring in the baby shriek-hawks because lol. Maybe drop the foundling joke though since it made it sound like they were sentient. 

Grogu still gets his rondlet and processes his Order 66 trauma. Ahmed Best still saves him in a flashback.

Also, fit in as many small moments of Paz/other Mandos character development as possible. By the end of this episode we should have at least a character sketch for a few other Mandos besides Paz and the Armorer.

End stinger: Pirates attack Nevarro, Greef sends out distress signal, tries to contact New Republic.

Teva gets message, Zeb cameo

Episode 8: Defending Nevarro

Basically the original s3 ep5, but bigger and better.

Teva goes to New Republic, they turn him down.

Teva tracks R5-D4, shows up at the Mandalorians’ compound.

Din and covert peeved, Din negotiates.

Din wants to help Greef, and also remembers Greef offered him a protection gig/land. Realizes this will solve the issue of being constantly attacked by wildlife.

The group meeting/holding the speaking hammer scene.

Din points out that Greef offered him a tract of land, and that sounds a lot better than a place where giant creatures almost eat their foundlings. Basically his canon speech.

Mandalorians go to Nevarro, wipe out the pirates in as much glorious carnage as Disney will let us get away with. These action sequences take up a third to a half of the episode. 

Optional: Mandos ride the baby shriek hawks in battle. (The babies are trying their best, but they haven’t quite gotten the hang of it yet, for some comic relief.)

Optional: Din uses the darksaber. He has gotten a lot better at wielding it. (Because he believes in himself and what he’s doing now.)

Pirates are defeated, Nevarro is grateful, Mandalorians take up new job as protectors of Nevarro.

End stinger: Teva ship scene, Gideon escaped, there’s beskar on the ship oh no! 

Switch to Gideon looking menacing and accepting a holocall from the lead pirate. Reveal that Gideon hired pirates. Pirates tell Gideon they failed to take Nevarro and they’re mad that Gideon didn’t tell them the planet was defended by Mandalorians. Gideon furious, stalks off from holocall dramatically, pan out a bit and we get a glimpse of the facility/beskar troopers/Gideon clones.

Season 4: Bo-Katan and Mandalore (but Din and Grogu are still the main characters)

Mostly about Bo-Katan, darksaber drama, reuniting Mandalorians. Gideon is main antagonist. Din is still the main character most of the time, but occasionally Bo takes over to further the main plotline.

Episode 1: Bo-Katan enters the chat

loosely based on canon s3ep3

We open with Bo-Katan in her childhood home. (possibly still on her depression throne lol but it’d also probably be good to see what she does with herself all day). Bonus points if there’s some kind of family portrait in the background that features Bo, Satine, and their parents. (and/or the theoretical third sister that birthed Korkie lol).

Optional: Have a moment where Bo actually looks at the painting wistfully to indicate where her head’s at.

She gets an alert of invading ships, takes off in her own ship to fight them. An action scene of dogfighting ships ensues.

They bomb/destroy her castle.

Furious, Bo-Katan chases after them, but realizes they are based on Mandalore and their forces are huge. 

Reluctantly, very frustrated, decides to retreat.

We switch to Nevarro. Establishing shots. Nevarro is thriving even more than the last time we saw it. Trade is bustling, more infrastructure. Mandalorians roam the street freely. Some are patrolling / being security, others are just there to shop/chill/socialize. Relationships are friendly.

Last establishing shot zeroes in on the Mandalorian land. Also busy and thriving. Children are playing in the sunlight…including Grogu. :)

When I say playing, I mean they’re totally sparring with and beating the crap out of each other because they’re Mandalorian kids. 

Grogu has also gotten a lot better in combat, and despite being tiny the other kids respect him as an equal. Grogu is thriving and seems much more at home than he did with the Jedi kids at Luke’s school.

Optional: Grogu and Ragnar are rivals/besties. 

Camera moves over to Din and Greef chatting about a growing threat. A larger group such as the Crimson Dawn / a new original crime syndicate is considering making a move on Nevarro since Nevarro is becoming even more of a wealthy trade hub and insists on maintaining its independence from the New Republic given how badly the NR failed them last time. 

Optional: the new syndicate is somehow led by Hondo Ohnaka, because that would be hilarious (although that also has the potential to ruin tension if not handled well.)

Din is a little concerned that if the enemy syndicate makes a move, they have enough numbers to possibly overwhelm the Mandalorians.

They are interrupted by an alert of a rapidly approaching invading spaceship that isn’t following landing protocol. 

Din and other Mandalorians jetpack off and/or rush to ships (yes, they have multiple ships now. More signs of growth.) to shoot it down, but Din gets a call from Bo-Katan. She’s the one in the ship, she’s homeless, there’s tons of bad guys on Mandalore, and she has nowhere else to go since her forces abandoned her and Din is her last friend.

(It’s not weird that she knows where Din/Mandalorians are. It’s public knowledge they’re on Nevarro.)

They let her land in Mandalorian territory. Her ship is badly damaged. (Maybe we see some Mando mechanics swarm to fix it!)

On Bo-Katan’s ship, we see Bo-Katan pause and think for a moment. She dons her helmet before disembarking to talk to the Mandos. (Din might comment on this later, and Bo-Katan says she thought it would help her case and get them to trust her. Din says that was probably a good idea.)

The Armorer points out that she’s not really a true follower of the Way, but because she saved Din’s life last season she is welcome to live among them.

From there the episode pivots to a slice-of-Mandalorian-life story. Bo-Katan, with Din as a guide since he’s the only one she’s sort of friends with, realizes that the covert she dismissed as a cult is actually not that bad.

They accepted her, in contrast to the forces that “melted away.” 

At the start of the episode, the other covert members are passive-aggressive against Bo-Katan since she is an apostate. By the end of the episode, as Bo-Katan grows to appreciate the covert’s ways, they grow to appreciate her and her ways. Mutual respect!

She notices that Din is not even the leader of his group despite owning the darksaber and Din reinforces that he and his people could not care less about the fancy sword. Honor and loyalty are more important. 

Optional: Since Din is friends with Greef he is basically the group’s diplomat (and/or military leader?) while the Armorer is social/political/religious leader. Din defers to her.

More Mandalorian worldbuilding. Have some of the Mando characters we met last season interact with Bo and/or Din so they are fleshed out a bit more. 

Optional: Paz Vizsla and Bo interaction. Do they have beef? Do they get along? Idk I just want Bo to react to seeing a Vizsla and vice versa

Bo-Katan has more large-scale military experience than anyone in the covert does, so she ends up contributing some ideas to better defend Nevarro against the enemy syndicate.

Grogu gets another piece of armor (vambrace?). Din is very proud of Grogu. We should get lots of little cute father-son moments threaded through the episode.

Optional: The Armorer is starting to sketch out some helmet concepts for Grogu

Optional: Grogu is clearly going to start talking soon, tries to say “This is the Way” when everybody else says it.

The enemy syndicate attacks. Partly thanks to Bo-Katan’s contributions, the Mandalorians successfully fight them off despite being vastly outnumbered.

Optional: bonus points if Grogu uses the Force to help somehow. More bonus points if Ragnar is also helping defend a bit.

Optional: Okay but what if they tasked Grogu (and maybe Ragnar) with defending the younger foundlings while the adults fight the syndicate? Because that would be cute and potentially hilarious. (Ragnar carefully and perfectly fights/shoots enemies. Grogu just yeets them.)

After syndicate is defeated, Bo-Katan feels great. She has actually used her talents for good. She laments if only other Mandalorians could reunite and take back their planet as well as they defended Nevarro.

Like canon, the Armorer notes Bo-Katan needs a repair and they go off in private. Bo-Katan confides she saw a mythosaur. Armorer and Bo-Katan have their “take off your helmet” scene. It’s less weird because it was always clear that Bo-Katan was wearing the helmet more out of a nicety than a belief. The Armorer tells her she has walked both worlds, and seeing the mythosaur likely signals a new age for Mandalore. 

The Armorer believes that Bo’s goal of taking back Mandalore, especially now that they know the planet isn’t deadly, is worthwhile. Reuniting with other Mandalorians sounds like a good idea (especially since she and the rest of the covert now see that Bo is not the traitorous apostate they thought her and other outsiders to be).

The whole helmetless walk is the same as canon, but at the end of it, Din asks Bo if she wants the darksaber for her quest.

Bo-Katan very much wants the darksaber, but she can’t accept. (This is practically a running joke by this point.)

Well since Din has the darksaber, does she want him to help her in her mission? Din does owe her a favor since she saved his life. (And Din lives for side quests to help his friends.)

Bo-Katan accepts.

I do see that this episode runs the risk of being a little repetitive from the new s3 finale. To differentiate, this episode’s fights should be more aerial/dogfight based since they have more ships. Also a great opportunity to show off some cool new ship models, now at a toy store near you.)

Episode 2: Din and Bo vs Axe

basically the canon s3ep 6. Was it silly? Yes. But I liked it fine, and I’m here for major plot beats. This whole show has been built on fun filler-y adventures.

Maybe clarify what the heck Christopher Lloyd’s motive was though.

Anyway at the end of the episode Bo confronts Axe Woves. Axe says his whole thing about Din not being Mandalorian and not having a drop of Mandalorian blood in his veins. 

Bo-Katan defends Din same as canon

Optional: Maybe also says that Din is far more Mandalorian than Axe is.

Din challenges Axe to a duel. Axe laughs and is like, you’re not Mandalorian, you can’t challenge me to a formal duel.

Optional: Din lights up  the darksaber, but Bo stops him.

Bo-Katan says, fine, then since you’re too much of a coward to fight him I challenge you on his behalf.

Axe accepts.

Din offers her the darksaber for the fight, but Bo-Katan turns him down.

Optional: “I don’t need that thing to take this insert Star Wars slur here down.”

Bo-Katan wipes the floor with Axe.

Then one of two options:

Option A: Din hands Bo Katan the darksaber with the same weak excuse as in canon (but since we’ve seen him repeatedly trying his best to get rid of it, this isn’t out of nowhere.)

Option B: Din mildly says to the whole group that he has the darksaber and he thinks Bo-Katan’s pretty great actually. And if they really need the darksaber to convince them of leadership, then that makes him their leader as the owner of the darksaber, and he’s putting Bo-Katan as his second in command so listen to her.

The other Mandalorians (possibly a little reluctantly) are now on Bo-Katan’s side, as is their giant fleet.

Episode 3A: Side Quest Shenanigans

a fun adventure-y episode where Din+Grogu go on a side quest in order to track down a third Mandalorian group. (Or a flex episode if the runtime for one of the others goes too long and needs to be split)

Optional: Bonus points for going to a planet we’ve never seen before 

Optional: Bonus points for introducing fun new one-off side characters

Optional: Bonus points for introducing new alien species

Optional: Bonus points for another space whale cameo

Din succeeds in his quest and gets coordinates for the Mandalorian group.

or

Episode 3B: It’s flashback time

Kind of a bottle episode with Din, Grogu, and some young Din flashbacks. 

A third Mando group has made contact. Bo-Katan’s busy doing leader-y things / organizing the fleet so she’s sending Din to go meet them, and Din of course is bringing Grogu. 

Another reason why Bo is sending Din specifically is that he has been to Mandalore and can attest that the planet is relatively habitable.

Optional: Yet another reason is because this third group possibly fought with her before and they don’t really trust her. Din’s going to be her hype man.

flashbacks reveal more about Din’s upbringing. Lots of worldbuilding. Probably a lot of TCW references. And addresses Din’s trainer (father?) and explains a bit more why Din has not formally adopted Grogu yet. 

Weave those flashbacks in with Din and Grogu having nice parallel moments

Young Din also fulfills Din’s face reveal quota for the season lol. 

End of the episode is them taking off to get the other group.

Episode 4: More Mandos

Din confronts third group of Mandos.

Optional: Bonus points if some Wrens are in the new Mandalorian group. (Probably not Sabine sadly, since she’s probably doing stuff on the Ahsoka show.)

Optional: Bonus points if any other familiar names/characters are included in the new Mandalorian group. Also a good chance for KOTOR easter eggs.

Another good chance for worldbuilding! How is this group similar/different from the two main groups (covert and Axe Woves’ group) that we’ve seen so far?

Din helps them with whatever the problem of the week is.

Din convinces the third group of Mandalorians to join them on Nevarro and take back Mandalore. (It helps that he’s actually been there. He should include that in his speech.)

Grogu continues to be adorable and powerful. Bonus points if he plays with or hangs out with this covert’s kids.

Optional: B plot where Bo does something leader-y.

Episode 5: So many Mandos

Mandos prepare for war. In order to take back Mandalore, all gathered groups of Mandalorians will need to work together.

Optional: Word has spread through the galaxy, and more Mandos have joined them. 

The Mandos have amassed a giant fleet but they still need more ships.

Bo-Katan leads Mandos (including Din) to forcefully take ships from the new crime syndicate. We see Bo actually doing a good job of leading the team.

Optional: More quick background bits of characterization for the named Mandos, especially Paz.

After the mission is over and the ships are obtained, Din gives Bo his loyalty speech from canon s3ep7. If Din didn’t give her the darksaber in episode 2, he gives it to her now, and she finally accepts.

Please fit in as many adorable Grogu training montages as possible.

At some point, Din can say goodbye to Greef, and Greef gives him a droid with the yes/no buttons for Grogu. 

Optional: The droid is not IG-11, because not enough of IG-11 survived in the first place. So a different kind of droid. I’m thinking something like a BB-8 type model or hollowed-out mind probe droid. It’d basically be a souped-up version of his orb cradle. Granted neither of those models have voice boxes..

Optional: Din informs Greef that most of the Mandos are about to leave, but they’ll leave a group behind to fulfill their defense contract. (Or they’re just leaving/saying goodbye. Now that the syndicate is defeated Nevarro shouldn’t have any major problems.) Greef tells Din to tell Bo that Nevarro and Mandalore officially have an alliance.

Episode 6: Scouting Mandalore

The plot of this episode is putting together a team and then going on a scout mission to figure out who is actually on Mandalore and how many there are. Basically an expanded first half of canon s3 ep7.

Personalities clash, old history is brought up (but somewhat glossed over. Enough that people who have seen TCW/Rebels know what they’re talking about, but a Mandalorian-only watcher still gets the general gist.) 

Like canon we do need Grogu to come along for plot reasons, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Din to bring him on this incredibly dangerous mission, so we’re going to tweak the scene a bit. 

Nobody’s volunteering for the scouting mission, so Din volunteers himself. Then Grogu makes a noise (or stands droid up and pushes the Yes button) indicating he volunteers as well. Din does a panicked double-take.

Axe immediately volunteers next, because he’s not about to be shown up by a not-even-blood-Mandalorian’s not-even-blood-Mandalorian baby. Then Paz volunteers, because he’s not about to be shown up by Axe. Then more people volunteer.

The scout team is a mix from each Mandalorian group. All (or most) of the covert characters we’ve met are on the team.

Din and Grogu have a moment where Din’s like, well you volunteered and you’re partly why everyone else agreed to come, so I guess you’re coming. But be very very very careful.

Back to canon, the scouting mission lands on Mandalore and finds the survivors. 

More Mandalore backstory from the survivors. (What happened on Mandalore during/right after the bombing?)

Option A: Part of why the survivors have survived is because after the initial bombings they surrendered/worked for the Empire (out of necessity for survival, to protect their kids, etc.) This causes a lot of outrage from the other groups, especially the third group who probably fought with Bo in Rebels. Bo-Katan admits she has done a lot of wrong things in her past, but she wants to make up for it. And it seems like these survivors do too. 

Option B: The survivors are heavily implied to be former New Mandalorians. Which causes a lot of tension between the Armorer/covert and survivors. Bonus points if there’s a line like “Concordia? So you were exiled?” 

Either way, it’s about to come to blows. Grogu gets his peacekeeping moment. (If Din says “He didn’t learn that from me,” Bo says “I doubt that.” Or Din just doesn’t say that at all. Like I’m guessing they were trying to imply that’s Grogu’s Jedi training kicking in, but come on, we’ve seen Din be a peacekeeper multiple times.)

Bo-Katan gives her Mandalorians are stronger together speech. She, the Armorer, and the leaders of the other two groups manage to maintain peace.

Since Disney seems to refuse to let the Mandos speak Mandoa, this will have to be in English/Basic. But in in Legends and the Mandoa dictionary, there’s this concept of cin vhetin, or clean slate. It means once you become Mandalorian, you leave your past behind and start fresh and are only judged on what you do from that point onward. 

Bo brings up this concept in her speech to the other Mandos. Says something along the lines of, we have all had our differences but in the end we are all Mandalorian. From this point on, we are as one faction, not many.

Also going to add a little addition. “You’ve trained your apprentice well.” “He’s not an apprentice yet.” “Seriously? You’re letting a foundling go on this mission?” Bo giving Din some serious side-eye. Din says nothing but is visibly stressed. Bonus points if it’s somehow mentioned that Din could totally stop him from going on the mission if he was Grogu’s parent. Also, this further illustrates the ranked system and that Din hasn’t adopted Grogu.

By the end of the episode, Mandalorians are united.

Episode 7: The Battle of Mandalore, Part I (Second half of canon s3ep7.)

Pretty much goes like canon, with a little more fleshed out since we have more time. The previous episodes should have done enough work that everything has much more of an emotional impact.

The Armorer bringing the survivors back to the fleet is now a nice character moment that shows the formerly fighting groups are united.

Now when Paz dies, it’s going to feel a lot more meaningful because we’ve built up his character more. (And I do think he should die. As much as I love him, he got the best final stand scene ever and it raised the stakes nicely.)

One tweak though is have Bo’s discussion with Paz about how he should escape with them comes before all the other Mandos have climbed out of the hole. That way it’s more clear that Paz’s sacrifice bought them all enough time to escape.

Din is still captured, we see more of Grogu’s reaction

Optional: Gideon takes off the helmet while Din is captured. I am so happy for Din that it stayed on, but it almost seems out of character to me that Gideon didn’t touch it or any of his armor. It would have been an easy, perfect way to demoralize Din and the other Mandos. Also I know you apparently somehow disabled the weapons in his vambraces but wouldn’t it be easier to just remove the vambraces?? Honestly though the fight scenes are so good I’m cool with overlooking this

Episode 8: The Battle of Mandalore of Mandalore, Part II

canon s3 ep8, pretty much untouched except for a few added shots of the Mando characters we have names for.

I realize the Volume has some limitations, but if we could add a little CGI or a practical effect to make it look like there’s thousands of Mandos gathered around the Forge, that would be great.

Din actually says the word “son” at some point after the adoption.

Now hopefully everything in this episode lands a lot better and has more emotional impact.

[torchickentacos]

You have like all of the correct Drew thoughts and opinions and I’m on a ContestShipping kick again because it was reignited by a post of yours and do you have any good fic recs cause I trust your taste 100%

Thank you SO MUCH!!!!! Welcome to the contestshipping kick-there's actually been a bit of a resurgence of it in 2022!!! I think it's always laid dormant, but I've seen mroe for it this year than I have since, like, middle school. Then again, that may be because I'm an active community member now-confirmation bias and all. Anyways, I can give a few recs! I actually don't read fic very often- I prefer to write it, though of my 300 something wips I have maybe four out in the world. But yeah! Here's some really good ones. Also... if you ever want to see some contest content you haven't seen before, feel free to bother me on anon to share wips! (bother is used very lightheartedly, you guys are never a bother!) Not sure what you're looking for, but here's some good fics that cover a variety of tropes!

Flower Shop Woes- Spontaneoushazel on Ao3 (definitely T, modern college au, rivalry vibes. Very breezy and cute, a light read for when you're on-the-go. Slightly different characterization than I usually go for, but I like it! Everyone interprets them differently and this is a fun one!)

just don't break my floors, please. it cost a lot to refinish them. -ChiquitaDave on Ao3 (T, absolutely hilarious. Drew is SMITTEN. This one is centred around May having a past in Judo and realizing she could pull an Annabeth and judo-flip her boyfriend for funsies. 10/10, another quick read. Mild Caroline/Delia on the side, but they aren't the stars of the show if crackships aren't your thing. Super cute ship though, we love the moms here.)

Enter stage left- Nicole-writes on Ao3 (have not read this one in a long time. just skimmed it, and honestly it's super sweet. 10k, a bit more of a time commitment but definitely worth it. Canon compliant.)

Of Honeymoons and Sprigatito- lmaoirrelevant on Ao3 (Love this one! Have you ever wanted to read your otp adopt a cat? yes. yes you do. here. tosses this at you. here. take it.)

sun on your face must feel so warm- classroomhornet on Ao3 (just really good vibes. Very dreamlike, heavy on tactile descriptors and vivid imagery. Lovely read.)

(self promo lol) Morning After Melancholy, Torchickentacos, High T but I tried to be tasteful about it. An exploration of the more difficult aspects of coordinating fame and relationships, but still very shippy. More difficult in the sense of having the world's eye on you, and not the relationship itself-which is very strong. Not angst, really-just melancholia but very shippy.

[mmph-hudda-huuh]

CHEMIST'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE OTHER MERCS !!

Below are how I imagine Chemist interacts with the other mercenaries, and how they spend time together. None of it is explicitly shippy, even Spy, but as a very enthusiastic multi-shipper I will 100% draw my oc kissing hot tf2 men and encourage everyone else to do the same. I am cringe but I am free.

Scout

He has a weird rivalry with Scout where he's endlessly fascinated by the man's ability to drink radioactive soda and not die, but will still call him an Elmer's-eating fucknut if Scout so much as breathes at him. It's a mutual thing and over time becomes less about malice and more of an inside joke. It's very common for competitions to start during work hours, leading to both of their performances skyrocketing.

Soldier

Soldier is his ride or die, it literally took two seconds for them to recognize the autism in each other and become inseparable. Chemist is a smart guy and generally holds the brain cell, but the second you put him next to Solly he loses any form of rational thought. They cause endless chaos. It's beautiful.

Pyro

Pyro and CJ are a force of chaos both on and off the battlefield. Pyro watched this nervous scrawny man walk into the base and went 'Hm. Yes. This is a friend.' Cooper sees them like a younger sibling, except he will under no circumstances be responsible in their presence. If left alone for too long these two will 100% destroy anything that can be burned or corroded. They both have their weird little destructive obsessions and egg each other on.

Demoman

CJ and Tav like to put their heads together to make horrifying objects. They're the type to get piss drunk together and invent a bomb that could end the fucking world. When they aren't giving the admin more grey hairs, their usual time together consists of testing hang-over solutions each morning to make a fix-all for those types of consequences. OH and they both watch soap operas. Together. They cry and gasp and talk to the screen like losers.

Heavy

Heavy and Chemist get along well, both commonly in the infirmary. They both enjoy literature, and Heavy's quiet, calm nature goes well with Chemist's nerves and habit of info-dumping. They aren't the closest, but CJ thinks very highly of him and Misha enjoys their talks, often seeking out Chem just to get into a debate over symbolism in books they both have read.

Engineer

Engie amazes Chemist. The man has 11 PhDs! That's damn impressive! His machines are so intricate, and the Gunslinger is a genius idea in his opinion. Plus, he reminds CJ of his gran, with his kind words and bomb-ass food. It's hard to feel alone in the world when a sweet little southern man is offering you some mild alcohol and an ear.

Sniper

CJ actively dislikes being around sniper because of his disinterest in hygiene practices. They have a few things in common, however, in that they both suffer from social anxiety, and that their parental figures don't support their job choices. They often bond over this, but from a comfortable distance.

Medic

Chemist relies heavily on Medic. He's terrified of how lax the man is with safety rules, but his medications and healing beam can help dull his symptoms. It makes life much easier, and for that, CJ is endlessly thankful for Dr. Ludwig. Besides that, they also feed off each other's mad scientist energy, and Medic has been working to find the cause of his issues since the moment Cooper joined. The doctor is well aware most of the symptoms are commonly caused by stress, but some of them are quite strange in their own ways, so he is happy to experiment.

Spy

Cooper is very weird about Spy. The team has no idea if it's a crush or just admiration, but Chemist often strives to gain Spy's approval, praise, and attention. They can be seen together frequently because if Spy appears somewhere it doesn't take long for CJ to seek him out. They can be seen playing chess together, talking(gossiping) in French, and on the battlefield, they always have each other's backs. Despite this, if asked, Spy will deny that they are anything more than acquaintances, and Chemist will simply dodge any questions related to the topic with visible discomfort.

[deathisararemercy]

About The Blog

This is a Puss in Boots side-blog (because it is currently consuming my entire life). Follows/likes are from @tempestimes.

I share little sketches and headcanons, and I write things too, wahoo.

About Me

Tempest

They/Them

Death fan (surprise, surprise), but I also will hold all of the characters tenderly in my hand (Kitty, Perrito, and Goldi especially)

Artist - I'm slowly learning how to draw animals solely for this fandom.

Writer - I learning to write 'x reader's and have familiarity with other shippy things. I also have a big post-canon fic I'm working on that incorporates quite a few OCs.

Musician(?) - I improvise on piano and can come up with some tunes. I've done so for other fandoms, but never for PIB. It would be fun to try composing in this style of music though.

Writing Request Guidelines/Notes

20 FEB UPDATE: REQUESTS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN

I take requests for any characters, pairings, and readers: platonic, romantic, etc etc. EXCEPT Jack Horner. Listen. I may have most of his lines memorized but I just don't think I could ever do him justice. He's too powerful.

All readers are written as gender-neutral.

Be specific please! Rather than just "fluff" or "angst," try "a situation where XX happens with [character A] and [character B]"

Though I might write suggestive things from time to time, I stay away from smut.

I usually write prose between 1000-2000 words, though I have written longer and shorter. I can also write in bullet-point headcanon style.

If you'd like a headcanon style post, please specify that in your ask! Otherwise, I'll choose based on the request.

Though it doesn't often happen, I can and will decline certain requests that don't follow these rules or make me too uncomfortable. Topics/themes that may result in a declined request involve yandere, SH, and ED.

Requests take time to post, depending on my ever-changing schedule. Please be patient. IRL things are complicated.

Have fun. :)

Tagging System

#.txt - my text posts + chatterings

#.writing - my writing/fic posts

#.art - my art posts

#concept art - official concept art and other pre-production things

#other's art - other people's art

#other's writing - other people's writing

I usually follow the last two with blog names for when I want to look for a specific writer/post

#fave - art I think looks really cool, funny things, things I want to re-read, etc. etc.

#oc: [NAME] - My OCs include Fate, Lil' Red Riding Hood, Momo, Sextus Julius (Jules), Life, and some idiot named Kore (<3)

| Writing Masterlist |

Feel free to send in asks and shoot me a message. It might take me a while to respond, but I'd love to chat!