#but i still like to plot so i'd never just try to make a ship happen without talking to you first

[cartelheir]

[eyes snap open at 3:47am] what if they think i'm forcing a ship

[caughtafishie]

saw art yesterday that pmo so bad. im not trying to put anyone on blast or anything but i need to rant about this bc it truly rubbed me the wrong way.

i'll just start by saying that i dont mean any malice toward this artist nor do i want ppl jumping down their throat but i do think we need to have a conversation about why ed is being interpreted like this. (also sorry if someone has made a similar post, i saw this art for the first time yesterday)

...like where do i begin. the racial implications? the izzy victimization? sorry but why are we portraying a brown man as this crazed, red eyed beast whose totally inevitable violence has to be taken on by some white martyr who "takes it for the team"? i kind of can't even begin to understand where this line of thinking comes from when we literally never see ed in a state like this in the show.

its like literally kind of a huge plot point that ed isn't murderous, and is only violent to those extremes when he is pushed. and izzy is usually the one pushing him, so yeah he faced the brunt of the violence ed inflicted. but we honestly really only see ed physically harm izzy, not the rest of the crew, during blackbeard 2.0 era.

like lets think about it. ed harms the rest of the crew in very indirect ways i.e. making them fight each other or sailing them into a storm. he doesn't ever pull a knife or gun nor does he throw a punch. the most he really does is push lucius off the ship, which is bad of course, but not something i'd call a super violent attempt on someone's life. even though he did think he killed him, it's still passive, letting the sea take care of it. the only other people we really see ed beat or kill are colonizers and his abusive father.

and then there's izzy. i wrote a post before about izzy and ed's dynamic during this era, and oh boy am i not done. people have a hard time understanding that their cycle of abuse and retaliation is perpetuated by izzy, not ed. ed isn't this feral wild animal going around harming everyone he sees. he's not an inherently violent person. i feel like the show does so much to make that clear. izzy, however, thrives on violence, specifically blackbeard's violence. which is why he pushes ed, he's a sadist and a masochist. he is putting ed through suffering to gain his own suffering, and that's what he wants. and he wants to keep ed right there with him, even though he acknowledges that ed has moved on.

as for the racial implications, i think maybe we steer clear of drawing poc as big scary monsters who you are inherently unsafe around? so much so that a white man feels the need to take on his rampant violence so no one else has to? sorry but we did not watch the same show if that's how you view ed.

like i said, ed is not a violent person. ed is an emotional person. he doesnt get any more angry than he does sad or happy, he just feels his emotions intensely. and if a mentally ill brown man having emotions screams "danger" to you, especially when he is otherwise shown to pose no physical threat to those around him, im gonna need you to think about why. why would he be any more dangerous than izzy, who has put the crew in more precarious situations than ed did? who has killed more people? the only person on the ship ed ever tried to actively kill during this era is himself, everything else was collateral. but no yeah, lets demonize him and make his abuser the white savior here..

[babykittenteach]

Re: Theft

You ever watch a crime drama where a detective is going around trying to talk to witnesses and everyone's too scared to say anything?

Okay, imagine basically a year of that.

Last April is when I noticed first that he'd basically yoinked some tags I left on another person's post to make his own post. Then I saw him do something like that to someone else that I didn't know and couldn't talk to.

Then I saw someone post about their fic idea they were working on, people reblogged all excited, including me. Then about an hour or so later PCCP began his own fic with the same idea.

The general post yoinking kept on for a while, and then I assume people know at this point that the fic thing happened to [a writer] I talked to [a writer] privately about it and encouraged blocking. They worked it out privately and I was asked to not pursue. Out of respect, I did not, but I kept paying attention, and I especially was not fond of the guilt tripping way PCCP talked about this.

This was roughly around the time bizarrelittlemew noticed he'd basically rewritten a post from someone else and reblogged the original so they were doing the rounds at the same time. A screenshot of that "coincidence" made the rounds as a funny post? Which was baffling to me.

I talked to at least two other authors who also didn't want to do any kind of confrontation. Add to that a couple other people who'd noticed he was taking post ideas. Still, no one wanted to go anywhere with it. Meanwhile, random fics happened that sounded similar to others --spaceship plots, BDSM clubs, etc. You can probably find these.

Last summer, I posted my first major fic for this fandom, on an account I actually had not intended to link to this art account. (I sort of wanted the writing to stand on its own, and also, I usually post fluffy things for art while writing can get messier.) That made me a no name, and the fic wasn't immediately noticed, but shortly after, I got a kudos from PCCP. And knowing what he had done to other people, I decided to own the fic on this relatively large account so that if he did anything he'd know it was me. And he did. The next day after kudosing the fic, he took a joke from it about Stede falling through the roof to make his own short tumblr fic. A little after that he messaged me to say he really loved my fic and was working on leaving a comment. That never happened, and I was unwilling to talk to him further privately because I have had experience with manipulators that will threaten you with their mental health. If I were going to confront him, I'd prefer witnesses.

This messed me up pretty bad, btw; I was previously in a fandom where someone just search and replaced my entire fic to be about a different ship. That was September.

In October, I was posting my own personal rewatch of S2, and I made a joke about a misheard lyric in part of my large post. A few hours later, PCCP made the same joke its own post. I lost my temper and tried again to talk to people. No one was particularly willing, and I didn't think at that point that any of the examples I personally had the right to share with people, since I'd been asked to drop it by others, would convince anyone.

So, I blocked him outright. The only reason I hadn't before then was because I was still trying to keep track of when he did this shit to people, and like motherfucking clockwork I get a message alerting me that he was posting a Woe Is Me spiel about getting blocked. Also, he was apparently soliciting donations in exchange for fic. Which is, you know, bad.

You'll notice I'm still being vague about examples, because I was asked to leave people out of it. Repeatedly. So I am. If you want more, you'll have to hope other writers come forward.

And basically none of this matters compared to racefaking and tumorfaking, but maybe it gives you a picture of someone with no fucking respect for other people who is willing to manipulate them to avoid consequences.

[bonefall]

bones. bones they made moonpaw a schizophrenia and plurality stereotype. bones. bones help us

OH NO IS THAT WHY THERE'S 16 MESSAGES

I TURNED MY BACK FOR 5 MINUTES GREAT GOOGLY FUCKELING MOOGELY

I still have to finish reading Star (you have to forgive me for being a capital G Gamer who's been uber distracted) to gather together my final fair assessment, so I can start putting down the fragments for BB!ASC. But I WILL tell you this;

The whole Moonpaw Discourse from a couple of months ago really opened my eyes to just how pervasive intersexism and plurality stereotyping is, even in this space.

Not all of it is malice-- like many other cultural biases, people often just pick up negative stereotypes passively and don't realize they reflect poorly on real people. "Scary evil head voice" is one of them. Yes, intrusive thoughts exist (they are something I deal with), but it's about the snap, subconscious association between "voice in head" and "mental torment."

As the case and point; Look at how FAST the fandom conversation changed when the team first teased it. What was a fantastical, equal parts sincere love and horror exploration of shipping a cat with a magic pool morphed. Overnight, The Voice was an abusive thing, an expression of a dead baby who wanted to live, or a reincarnated monster, or another evil Ashfur-esque posession spirit.

Something bad, malicious, unwanted. By contrast, the voice of the moonpool was mostly portrayed as a supernatural yet good thing. Genuinely asking her for help.

(Part of me also ponders the religious angle of it. "Voices in my head" that come from God are generally much more socially acceptable than "Voices in my head" that come from the self. Regardless,)

So, as always, I Don't Rewrite Arcs Until They Are Done (I DRAU TAD, if you will), BUT... I know for certain that I will want to subvert this.

If Canon!Moonpaw must be a system, and we're all ready to buckle up and bunker down through how the Erins handle this one, then for BB!Moonpaw I'll try to do the same. But for my portrayal, I want to write her relationship with her headmate to be generally positive. Or at least more complicated and multifaceted.

One idea in particular I like is the thought that she absorbed a twin... but writing it as a chance the twin GETS to live, NOT a life denied. Death would have claimed them if they didn't become part of her. So, they love her-- of course they do. They're two souls with one heart.

The specifics will have to come with time. I need to see how her plurality impacts the plot, the overall story being told, plus wait to assess the criticisms that real systems and fusion chimeras in our fandom will have. But I can say with certainty that I would like to attempt my redux with the sad truth in mind that headmates in media are almost never approached as non-malicious. I'd like to do what I can to make a difference.

[v88sy]

Lmao but for real. Idk if it's bts drama with Ryan or something but it's getting more and more obvious. Bobby, his captain just died and the guy is just over there offering a cookie to Ravi in these trying times like an extra on set with a blank expression on his face.

I refuse to feel bad for enjoying this situation. Bvddie shippers have made their own bed. I don't like Ryan at all, but even I can admit there's only so much toxicity an actor can take. Buck was at least allowed to exist in his own right in their eyes even if they couldn't stand him canonically dating a man (so much for being LGBT warriors and caring for representation!). But the way they're obsessed with Eddie and try to bring every plot he has back to him being "gay" is exhausting and weird as fuck.

Imagine being an actor and being excited for the storyline your character is getting that season and your fans are just like "we don't care, when are Buck and Eddie going to fuck on screen tho?" Not saying Eddie's plots have always been exciting at all, lord knows they've done some stupid shit with the character, but still. Eddie arguably had the most interesting SL in years while trying to mend his relationship with Chris and they could not have cared less because it meant he was in Texas and not bending over for Buck. I wouldn't blame Ryan if he wants out, if his acting in this ep is any indication, his heart just isn't in it anymore.

I didn't mind Eddie at first, I really didn't. But, it kind of feels like after Shannon died, the writers just...didn't know what to do with him. His entire existence became about grief without any real action to address it or deal with it. I get it, grief never really goes away, but you can't just Fight Club your way out of it either.

I often wonder if the writers intended to write him as insufferable and selfish as they have. He says things to hurt others and never reflects or takes accountability. It's been talked about ad nauseum here, but his friendship with Buck is incredibly one sided. Again, I don't know what's more scary...to think this was all by design...or that it wasn't.

And, since we're just going for it here, Ryandrew Tateman absolutely hasn't done himself any favors here. I know what he did. You know he did. And I wish I could say that was the only thing, or even the most recent.

On a personal note, I've worked in healthcare for 20 years, including the height of covid, so being an anti vaxx/anti covid vaxx is an instant 'fuck off' from me.

And the memes he's been sharing about Pete/Bobby? Salty edgelord.

You make excellent points about anything and everything being boiled down to Gay Eddie™ in some people's minds. Not even bi or demi, or any other shade of queer. It has to be gay, and Buck has to serve as the trad wife self insert surrogate. Which, really makes me question their motives, because it ain't representation. We already got that, and have since day one. Not that they'd ever know.

Look, it's very clear by now that I'm not his biggest fan by a long shot, but it's absolutely disgusting that people want to disregard his body autonomy by saying things like "it doesn't matter what he wants, they're gonna force him to do bddie anyways because it's what the people want".

No, they don't, and honestly, that makes me wonder about your views on consent. The role would involve, at the very least, kissing Oliver, (not that I'd mind myself, but that's another topic for another day) so...yes. It absolutely is his choice, as it should always be when engaging in contact with someone, acting job or not.

And yeah, I'll give it to you that he's probably tired as fuck about being reduced to nothing more than "the guy who absolutely must be gay because *insert harmful stereotype here.*"

And that's in addition to having every. single. interview. harp on the ship that he has said repeatedly that he doesn't want to do, for actually valid reasons, assuming those are the real reasons and he's not just blowing smoke up our ass.

So, yeah, I don't blame him for wanting an out, but I also don't think we should be blamed for wanting to be able to enjoy our show and the fandom as a whole once again.

All that being said...are you trying to put me in jail, katey 😂

[emryslore]

if you ever get into merthur i'd love a rec, i love your other recs sm <3

Hi Anon!

I do love merthur myself so I wanted to share my favourites I've read recently! Thank you for the ask! I hope you enjoy!

A Language With No Words (E) 55k by neptunesyellowsands

Its a really incredible long fic with a sequel

A little smile had touched Arthur’s lips, drawing up the corners of his mouth. He’d looked keen and kind, and like he’d just solved one of the greatest mysteries of all time. And part of Merlin had wanted to point out the idiocy of having missed this rather obvious detail until now, but that part was drowned out entirely by the feel of Arthur’s eyes locked onto his, of being on the receiving end of his smile. Not the cocky ones or the condescending ones, but this one, this one right here, small and soft and warm. The sun was streaming in through the window, and, for a moment, Arthur’s hair and his skin and all of the world Merlin could see was golden, and that was it. That was all it had taken. Merlin was absolutely, unequivocally not his own from then on. Merlin arrives at Camlann just in time. When the truth comes out, will Arthur accept him? Will they be able to face the feelings each of them has for the other? Will they ultimately defeat Morgana - together? This is the story as it might have ended if things had been just a little bit different.

tempest in a teacup (get unique) (G) 1.6k by trickytricko

A retelling of s1 ep10 with outside pov

Hunith watched the two young men for a moment, her expression softening as she took in the easy camaraderie between them. It was clear that Merlin had found more than just a prince to serve in Arthur. He had found a friend, a companion; something that she knew was incredibly rare for someone in his position. *** a partial retelling of ep.10 season 1 featuring Hunith's "he likes you!!" bc we love how she ships it.

I choose you and me religiously (E) 111k by koffeinkaos

Not completed but oh its so good it has everything a long term merthur fan would want

It sniffed the air. "Emrys? Magic itself serving a Pendragon, Uther's son, a corrupted Camelot." The raven haired man tensed at those words a jolt of fear rushing through his body. But he couldn't get distracted now. He pressed the panic down so hard, he felt like he might vomit. He was turned to the monster, all the knights were behind him, so he couldn't see the shocked expressions on his friends faces when the words sank in. Lancelot tried to get closer to Arthur in case he wouldn't take the revelation well, but one of the wolves bared his teeth and snapped at him warningly. So far Arthur had only stilled. His hands had fallen uselessly to his sides, eyes fixed on the back of Merlin's head. "I don't serve the king and I don't serve Camelot. I only serve Arthur. I am loyal only to him. If you touch him, you'll die." Another vicious snarl left the wolf's throat. "We'll see." ---- Or Merlin has to reveal his magic to save his friends and Arthur is head over heels for him. Gay fluff with plot and a bit of smut in between (warnings in the chapters for that) Have fun reading

in this and every life (T) 26k by winterbucky (winterbuckyy)

And ofc last but not least here we have some good old OP merlin, yearning and dimensional travel

Over 10 years after their memories return, Arthur, Gwen, and the Knights have to make peace with the heartbreaking fact that the might never find Merlin and Leon again. It's as if by chance that Gwaine finds people who look just like them, in some club in Florence of all places. So, despite their friends' disbelief, Arthur and Gwaine set out to find their missing pieces Merlin and Leon have long made peace with their immortality, and they're thriving in the life they lead, even through their friends are lost to them. They're not expecting to see them every again A chance encounter of the four men sends them on a wild journey through the and universes, trying desperately to find their way to each other. And maybe find other versions of themselves along the way or dimension time travel with a lot of yearning, powerful merlin, friendship and feels, battles, and happy endings

[respectthepetty]

The Heart Killers' Colors? - Finale

There comes a moment where I continuously run into walls when I'm trying to figure out the colors in a show, so I finally just start Bird-Boxing it (stop seeing the colors and just start enjoying the feels), and now that I am watching the last episode of this series, I have decided it's time to forget the colors and embrace the vibes. Therefore, I'm Bird-Boxing it.

Because if I weren't, I'd be big mad that even with the divider in the way to give me the perspective of being in prison, Kant and Style are wearing whatever colors they are wearing right now when I fully believe Kant is a Green Guy and Style is a Red Rascal.

But like most white cops, I'm only seeing what I want to.

And what I'm choosing to see is Style FINALLY wearing that amazing pink top as he openly announces that he wants to touch the man he loves to Kant (in blue?!) and this cop who I feel was not homophobic when this all started but is slowly beginning to hate the gays after having to deal with Style regularly.

But it works! And Kant is now teaching art in the prison while wearing . . . orange? Red? I don't know. I said I was Bird-Boxing this, and that's what I'm going to do, so I need to be more invested in the simple fact that Kant did not allow Bison to keep the broken pencil to shank the next man who thinks he can run up on him. Smart move, Kant. We don't want more prison time!

Fadel has been in prison for one whole day and, somehow, looks even more angelic. Baby, not murdering people looks good on you. It makes your skin glow.

Or is it love that makes Fadel look good? Because I'd also look happy if I turned a corner in prison and saw this fine man standing in front of me instead of the little bit of rage I'm currently feeling since Style is wearing green. /Bird Box\

OH THANK GOODNESS! HE HEARD ME! Style, you have always been my favorite . . . after Fadel, so you deserve to get choked by your man today (because we know you like it!).

Kant is going to stay on his bullshit I see, but I am surprised that in this GMMTV prison, they change uniforms every single year when I can't even get tres leches in this economy.

Speaking of GMMTV - Break. Up. The. Ships. We all know what I'm talking about here.

Bison has a big bro and now a big sis. I also sit like this in my chanclas and short shorts when I'm minding other people's business. I trust this one with my life and my sexual exploits.

I know prison sex is happening and that should take priority, but Kant is wearing red, which is Red Rascal Bison's color, on the day that they have sex, and I think that is peak romance. Bison and I are easy. Wear our color and have sex with us in public places, so we know it's real. Simple!

But I am shocked that Style is not having public prison sex too! Instead, he is having to handle Fadel pouting because our Black Brooder is still so scared to lose Style that he will push him away first. Style, you are now my favorite. You show that man you a crazy committed. Emphasis on "crazy."

I know that was Jojo, but I have a 30 images limit AND NOW STYLE IS WEARING RED AGAIN and lying about Fadel going to culinary school! I knew there was a reason he was my favorite. Lie, Laugh, Love, babygirl.

Babe has not been around much, but this is a deep kid with all his Shakespeare books and giving Bison The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course he would want his brother's name. He is going to do well in life because his bother raised him right and especially because while his brother honeymooned on an island for Lord only knows how long after being taken hostage, Babe was fine by himself. I didn't forget that even if the plot did.

Fadel, my little emo homo is a clear case of "you can take the black off the brooder, but he will never stop brooding" because the way he is still upset that he misses Style when he isn't around is so endearing. He needs to go back to that support group when he gets out though because this is ~trauma~ speaking.

BUT THEY'RE FREE!!!!! (and nobody is in their color because this show hates me)

I already knew Style had bought the restaurant back, so I don't know why I'm acting surprised right now, but I think it's the way Fadel is looking at him with so much love that is just hitting me right in my feels.

And even though I know now is not the time to state this as everyone is getting kidnapped, I can't help but notice Khaotung is beautiful. Not Bison. Khaotung. I did not appreciate him enough in this show. I''m sorry, beautiful.

I could tell Lilly had lost her money because her invite was in Sharpie like a last minute garage sale sign. She could've saved the paper and sent a text. Also, when did they learn English in Hitman School? Between Guns 101 and Poisons 210?

I feel this way when I visit my family too, guys. And by that, I mean awkward, hostile, and most times as if I'm there as a forced hostage. BUT BISON AND FADEL ARE WEARING THEIR COLORS!!!! Kant and Style though? /Bird Box\

Forgive me, Father, for I know this devil has done wrong, but I am still very attracted to her. I think I can save her, and if not, at least I can have a good time trying. Amen.

I thought they should've shot her in the bathroom long ago, so I ain't mad that murder is back on the (dinner) table after she was trying to kill the last living parent and Babe! She did trained her sons to finish the job, so she should at least be proud that she trained them well, but I really wanted Keen to come in and finally show her he was capable of seeing a murder all the way through. I also didn't forget abut him even if the plot did.

They just murdered their mother, so shooting the beginning of the scene behind the bars isn't funny, but what is funny is the fact that I know people with felonies can get into Iceland without a special visa unlike other countries. I learned this from a lesbian when I went there for Pride a few years ago. We were discussing sheep, so it clearly made sense within the conversation.

STYLE GOT THE CAR! THE PLOT DID NOT FORGET! And the dots on the die keychain are red!

Fadel is too pretty to be looking at his man like that after five years of being locked up. This man is about to get that good shit! Every. Single. Day.

FADEL LOVES HIM 100%!

Even though I have Bird-Boxed my way through the colors in this final episode (yes, I have), I like that the boys ended up in Iceland seeing the Northern Lights, so they have a green coloring to them (for a Green Guy?!). Also, I highly suggest going to Iceland. Björk, as an institution, makes sense once you visit. Trust me.

And now Fadel doesn't give two shits about Style driving safely because he found love in a hopeless place, and if they die in Bangkok traffic, they'll die together (since Fadel already has the graves dug).

In conclusion, Fadel is a Black Brooder, Bison is a Red Rascal, and much like Fadel in love, I don't give two effs what anybody has to say because according to me, myself, and yo, Style is also a Red Rascal, and Kant is a Green Guy.

But I wouldn't know any of that because /Bird Box\

[mademartyr]

⌈ ﹎ ︲ continued from x, ⠀ ⠀⠀🥀 ⠀ ྀྀ ⠀ ⠀⠀@maimedaffair.

suddenly, she very much regrets making this journey that both her sister and kristoff strongly tried to discourage her from going on. coming to the southern isles was a mistake, she's sure of it now ; in the near three years since elsa's coronation, hans can still read her just as well. she hates it. she hates him.

a scoff. ❛ you're not powerful enough to take out a whole kingdom if you suddenly go up in flames. ❜ she speaks as if it's a fact, though there's a slight waver in her voice, a near imperceptible recoiling of her muscles, a small flicker of something in her eyes -—-— fear, maybe, because she's clearly played right into his hands. again. or maybe it's shame that she's still so predictable. she suddenly doesn't seem so sure of herself, and given the hesitant glance down to his hand -- of which was in flames mere seconds ago, she doesn't seem so trusting of his magic either.

elsa's magic has never hurt her. if his magic burns even him with the slightest fluctuation in emotion, what could it do to an entire kingdom under a moment of distress or danger? if her sister managed to freeze an entire kingdom, he could, theoretically, set an entire kingdom ablaze. [ HE'S RIGHT. SHE HATES HIM. ]

❛ so, what? you just want passage through the dark sea? that's it? ❜ but that simply wouldn't do. how could they be sure he wasn't plotting anything? elsa would insist his travel be monitored by arendellian guards, she's sure of it. if she ever agreed to this stupid idea in the first place. but what if he's right? what if some unknown force is trying to call elsa north, too? she would tell her though, wouldn't she? she suddenly isn't too sure of that either. she supposes she has been acting a bit off lately, but she's always quiet! is it really out of character for her to be just a little more quiet than usual? maybe she's just extra busy! or maybe hans is right . . he's got a real talent for getting in her head.

against all odds, she finds herself almost . . . pitying him. that brief glimpse of humanity he'd just displayed suddenly has her stomach turning at the mere thought of going home and pretending this never happened. he is certainly right about one thing : if the southern isles ends up a pile of ash and rubble and bones, and she had the ability to have done something about it, she could never forgive herself.

❛ assuming i entertain this idea, ❜ she can practically already hear elsa berating her for being stupid enough to bring their attempted murderer back to their kingdom --- not that she could really blame her for it, ❛ it would be under strict supervision. obviously. like, you'd probably be shackled and stuff. a bunch of guards watching you all the time, and if anyone even got the idea that you were planning anything, i'd . . i'd ship you right back. and if you burned down your whole kingdom, i wouldn't feel sorry. ❜ it's a lie and they both know it. jutting her chin out defiantly, attempting to seem more like a diplomatic princess than the frazzled girl she feels she is right now.

another beat, seeming to hesitate for a moment as her digits fidget with the intricate patterns of the embroidery on her sleeve, before she finally speaks again. ❛ i'm not the queen, ❜ is finally murmured. ❛ i can't guarantee you anything. i can let you plead your case to my sister, but that's it. if she says no, then you're going home. so you better hope you're right about her feeling the same way. ❜

[eldritch-elrics]

so while i was thinking about how funny rouxls's relationship with tenna is (more info in this post) i concocted a whole goofy fic premise about rouxls trying and failing to get tenna's romantic/sexual attention. i'm not gonna write this, but i figured i'd put it out there because it's fun (and in case anyone else wants to steal the premise for their own fic lol - if you do, let me know!!)

so the main premise of this is that i want tenna and rouxls to interact more because they're funny. however, writing a plotty deltarune fic without the fun gang being involved feels weird to me, so they are here also.

so: tenna has come up with a great new segment of the show, in which things get switched up and the contestants get to design a challenge for the crew to complete! everyone has different goofy ideas. susie's like "wow this is a group project i actually kind of want to work on. just a little bit." everything's going great until rouxls fucking kaard shows up and bribes/threatens/blackmails them into doing His Idea instead.

rk's idea is that, since the thing with the weather didn't work out, he needs a new plot to make himself tenna's second in command. he has therefore designed a "dating sim themed" game board and is ordering the fun gang to orchestrate from behind the scenes some sort of match up between himself and tenna.

tenna is flattered by all the attention, but insists that since he's the host, he can't participate! well, they find some way to make this happen anyway.

it's very important to me that this new gameboard 1. sucks ass, just like the design of it is bad, 2. rouxls has zero rizz, and 3. tenna keeps completely forgetting who rouxls is, compared to the other contestants, who tenna will politely flirt with or whatever

there could be some sort of "dating battle" where the fun gang have to support rk in combat against tenna. also throughout the show they have to gas up rk and make him look good and that sorta shit even though none of them wants to. like the whole thing is just kind of a disaster

one challenge in writing this would be to spice up rk and tenna's dynamic to more than just "tenna is dismissive of him/rude to him" like it is in canon. maybe tenna realizes that rk is of use to him in some really specific way - like as the "rules guy" he wants rouxls to be the set safety inspector or something along those lines - and gets really enthusiastic about that particular thing. in other circumstances rk might be thrilled to be a lackey, but here, he's gotten it into his head that accumulating lovers is the way to go... also this is not the kind of lackey work he has experience in at all.......

i'm not sure how it would end, but i don't think it would end with rk and tenna getting together because, in my opinion, the fun of this ship is that it's mostly one-sided. also i think eventually the fun gang realizes that rouxls doesn't really understand romance at all and ralsei (or someone) has to try to explain to him that romantic gestures are not what you do when you want to get into a particular power position. actually maybe this just ends with rk discovering bdsm...

includes:

running joke where tenna spells rouxls's name wrong

running joke about rouxls still having tenna's debit card and using it for stupid shit and somehow tenna never notices (even though it seems like he's going to at some points)

fun gang trying to come up with boyband-style outfits for rouxls

susie actively trying to sabotage the dating show in a way that somehow leads to the singular moment in the fic where rouxls and tenna actually connect

[alwayssassydreamer]

I Hate Myself For Loving You

Day 15 of Kikitober (sorry i wrote a wrong prompt down for day 15 so this doesn't quite fit but I'm still posting it hope it's ok)

A/N: someone (I forgot who - sorry) gave me this idea and it turned out kinda weird as i was trying to think of an interrogation tactic that would not involve physical and not too much emotional pain. But in the end Kid is just a big softie. As always not proofread

Plot: you're after a treasure but got caught by pirates who try to make you give up the location of it, things get even more complicated when Kid arrives and demands answers but not about the treasure

Warnings: mention of torture, maybe hurt?, reader is a captive, i seriously have no idea what to put here,

Characters: Kid x F!Reader

You thought it would be easy here, meeting this man who could help you with the map that was leading to a hidden treasure, talk to him, thank him for taking his time and then get the fuck out without anybody noticing that you were even there.

But you were not expecting this pirate crew.

Bound to a chair in a dimly lit room on an enemies ship. That's not quite how you pictured this to turn out.

"Tell me dear, someone told me that you might know where the treasure is, is that true?" a rather old man with a brown beard you guessed to be the captain, asked you.

"Treasure? What kind of treasure? Never heard of a treasure here. but If you find it I'd like to have a share of it." you said looking him dead in the eye.

He stroked his beard a crooked grin on his face before he moved closer grabbing your face squeezing your cheeks.

"You think I'm an idiot?" Well yeah, that's what you were thinking.

"Someone told me that you were asking questions about a specific map and I come to think that this map might be the one leading to the gold" he hissed squeezing even harder. Damn that was getting really uncomfortable.

"Come on sweetheart tell us about the map" a tall and bulky man shouted.

"Why should I tell a pathetic pirate crew like yours anything" you snapped trying to get his hand off your face.

The crew erupted in laughter, confusing you.

"Well I guess we'll have to show you what this pathetic pirate crew is capable of. Maybe then you will talk to us" he threatened a mischievous grin on his face.

You had to admit you were a little scared now. Pissing them off was a rather stupid idea after all.

"Get me my interrogation box" the captain ordered and you swallowed hard.

Having something that's called an interrogation box did not sound good - not at all.

The captain took a chair and sat down in front of you placing the box on his lap. In it a lot of different knives, some sharp some seemed kinda blunt, varying in size and something that looked like a hammer.

The little scared feeling turned now into a big scared feeling not going unnoticed by the captain.

"What's wrong dear, fear sinking in. Not so tough anymore aren't you" he taunted as his fingers gliding over his tools.

"That should do for the warm up" he said picking a smaller knife with a clean and sharp looking blade.

Wavering it in front of you he moved closer to your arm. Just as he was about to cut you with it a man of his crew rushed towards him whispering in his ear.

The captain looked well different. Whatever the man told him it made the him get up. His face a mix of fear and frustration.

"I'll be right back. In the meantime how about you entertain our little prisoner" he said in a threatening way.

His men nodded and smiled a devilish smile at you.

Ok maybe the captain wasn't that bad after all. The fact that you were being held in this room tied to a chair surrounded by men who already undressed you with their eyes made your stomach twist.

The first one approached you moving a finger from your arm up to your neck.

"Fuck off" you yelled trying to wiggle away.

"There's no going anywhere darling, you're stuck with us, the pathetic pirate crew." a man with a scar running down his chest taunted.

"If you touch me I'm going to cut your fucking hands off" you said desperately but this only made the men laugh at you.

"Such a feisty one. I think we're gonna have a lot of fun with you" the tall man with the beard growled as his thumb brushed over your lips.

You had to think - fast if you wanted to get out of here in one piece.

"Let's see what you're hiding underneath" a third man with sleek dark hair laughed as he grabbed your shirt ripping it open leaving you in your bra as the shirt hung loosely over your shoulders.

"What a nice view" he mocked liking his lips as the other two took a step back to let the sight sink in. His hands were moving closer trying to touch your skin when the door to the room suddenly swung open.

"What's going on here" a deep voice shouted behind you.

The men were startled, fear across their faces.

"I'm sorry sir we were just havin some fun" the dark haired man apologized with a shaky voice.

You heard heavy footsteps moving closer.

"Look who we have here" the strangly familiar sounding voice said as the footsteps stopped in front of you.

"Oh fucking hell, no" you said as you looked right into Kid's eyes.

"Oh yes." he mocked with a smugly grin. He looked you up and down smiling at your demise.

"I've been told that you were messing with my subordinate crew about some treasure and I've gotta admit I love the sight of you bound to a chair unable to get away" he continued making fun of you as his huge frame hovered above you.

"Fuck off, asshole"

Kid's eyes wandered to the interrogation box.

"What's with that. Were you about to torture her" he asked pointing at the box.

"She wouldn't tell where we can find it, so we decided to help her talk" the captain said as his crew chuckled.

"You think you could get her to talk with that. She's tougher than that and too stubborn to give in believe me" Kid stated looking at you.

"But sir I'm-"

"Shut the fuck up." Kid yelled as he leaned forward his face close to yours.

"Funny how things worked out, huh? Here we are again. You, me, and some unfinished business" he almost whispered. You tensed not knowing where this was going.

"Get the fuck out of here" he suddenly shouted not removing his eyes from you.

You heard some shifting around you and then the pirates leaving while you were unable to avoid Kid's gaze.

"What's with this treasure" he asked his voice low and dangerous.

"I have no idea why everyone believes I know something about it" you said trying to be convincing.

Kid placed his flesh hand on your thigh and his metal hand on the chairs armrest as he leaned even closer trapping you beneath him and whispering in your ear. "I know you're lying. I know you better than anyone else" His lips brush against your ear his hot breath tickling you.

He moved a little to look you in the eyes before flashing a small smile.

The moment the pirates left was the moment the tension shifted. You weren't scared of getting physically hurt you knew Kid would never do that to you. Though you were still a little anxious. Kid had other ways to get what he wanted.

"What now" you asked nervously.

"Now I'm going to continue the interrogation my way, unless you want to talk to me" he growled evilly.

"Wait what-" Panic was rising inside you.

"Yeah I will have you answer every question I ask" he taunted as he dragged a finger from your collarbone between your boobs and down to your belly button, sending shivers down your spine, knowing exactly what he's doing.

He kept staring at his finger which still rested on your skin before he lifted his head.

"Now let the fun begin. The first question is easy. What's with this whole treasure thing?"

You sighed as he leaned back on the chair arms crossed.

"I might have found a map to a hidden treasure and a man on this island helped me reading it as I tried to leave your friends caught me" you explained.

"Where is the map"

"Like hell I tell you that's my treasure" you complained.

"That's not the correct answer" he smirked as he got off the chair to crouch down right before you. He grabbed one of your legs lifted it up and attacked your inner thigh with his mouth.

You gasped out of surprise cursing the shorts you wore. A small moan escaping your lips as you could feel him smile into your skin.

"Fuck stop that" you whined. He stopped but didn't let go of your leg.

"Then answer my question" he demanded

"It's in my boot. The one on the leg you're holding"

Gentle fingertips moved along your leg to your boot before pulling the map out.

"Good girl" he teased as he put your leg down and took his seat again.

"That was the easy part, now it will get tough"

"Great" you said as you tried to think of a way out.

He hesitated and suddenly something in his demenour changed.

"Why did you leave" he asked catching you off guard.

Suddenly the tension in the room became unbearable. You wanted out right now. The memory of the day you left him was too painful and you didn't want to think about it. Seeing him there right in front of you was already hard enough.

You lowered your head and he knew you wouldn't say a word. He got angry. He wanted, no he nedded to know why.

"You don’t want to talk about it?" Kid tilted his head, eyes glinting with a predatory gleam. "Fine. I’ll just have to get my answers" he snapped before attacking you again this time his mouth made contact with the tender flesh of your belly. He started biting, sucking and pulling on it - probably leaving marks.

"Kid" you stuttered voice shaky.

"Don't 'Kid' me now. What was it? Was I not enough? Did you find someone better?" he asked angrily as his mouth kept roughly devouring you. Knowing that this would get to you, it always did.

How you had missed this. How you were craving for his lips all over your body. But you couldn't let this happen. No. You left him almost a year ago, determined to never meet him again - the memories of your time together too painful.

He stopped his assault and instead placed small kisses from your waistline up to your chest before moving to your neck.

"You changed" you hitched as the sensation of him sucking on your neck became too much. He stopped, letting go of you.

You took a deep breath. "You changed - not for the good."

"What do you mean?" he asked and you were sure you could hear anger in his voice.

"You've become ruthless, and you pushed me away because you became obssessed with power and revenge and I couldn't take it anymore" you continued biting back a tear .

For a moment he stood there saying nothing but you could see his jaw clenching.

"You couldn't take it! Did you ever wonder what it was like for me when you just left" he shouted, now making you angry too.

"For fuck's sake I was constantly worried about you" you almost screamed. Kid blinked, taken aback by what you just said, though he tried not to show it outright. "You started to throw yourself into danger almost like you were on a suicide mission, like your life doesn't matter" you continued as the anger slowly subdued.

Kid stared at you for a long moment clenching his fist. "And all this time, you never thought to tell me this"

"What should I have said. Oh love please stop being a fucking menace because I'm terrified that you could die. Would you have listened to me?" and there was the anger again.

He said nothing knowing that you made a point. He would have listened to you but he probably would have brushed your concerns off.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. The tension between you simmered, heavy with unresolved feelings.

"Do you still love me?" he asked looking at you intensely as you couldn't stop a tear from rolling down your face.

"You know the answer" you mumbled.

This moment, this vulnerability in your gaze reminded him of the times you've spent together. He started to realize that he missed you more than he wanted to admit.

"Last question before the games' over" he said his voice a mixture of anger, frustration and fear.

"Would you give me a second chance"

"I...." you paused not knowing what to say. Part of you wanted to scream yes but another part reminded you of why you left him.

"Forget it this whole thing was stupid from the start" he got up angrily and frustrated knocking the chair down in the process before aggressivly freeing you from your restraints.

"You're free to go better take the opportunity" he growled as you rubbed your wrists. You got up and moved towards the door hand already on the handle when you stopped and turned to look at him.

"What were you doing on this ship?" you asked eyes narrowing.

"None of your business" he snapped avoiding your gaze, muscles tensing.

You stepped closer stopping in front of him. "Funny that a treasure map that so many would like to have in their hands ends up in mine." you started observing him closely. "Now that I think about it what's even funnier is that on this whole treasure hunt I not once had to fight off someone or even got in trouble"

He tensed his jaw clenching, eyes focused on the ground.

"Why" you asked softly.

Your words hit a nerve, and Kid finally looked at you, his expression torn between anger and frustration.

"You think I let you run around chasing this treasure knowing how many other pirates are after it without keeping an eye on you."

You looked at him confused

"I had someone slip you the map, I remembered how your eyes gleamed everytime we went on a treasure hunt. So I made sure you got it, but then I found out that this was a map a lot of people wanted and i got worried." he continued his explanation

"You should never find out but who would have guessed that I had to jump in against my own subordinates." He mutters almost ashamed.

"You protected me the whole time?" you hadn’t expected this, heart racing as you tried to process the revelation.

Kid scoffed trying to hide his emotions. Secretly hoping that this might bring you back to him. Even though he knew better.

"Softie" you teased with a small laugh.

He stepped closer to you. "If you keep mocking me I'll tie you back down" he growled making you raise your hands in defense.

"And now go, before I change my mind and drag you back into this mess." he muttered. You could almost see his heart ache, no matter how hard he tried to hide it he didn't want you to go.

Once again you hesitated it was as if your head was already out the door but your heart couldn't move.

"Why are you doing this to me? To you? You should have let me go." You said close to tears.

"You think I can just turn it off? That I can forget everything we had? I may not be good at this 'feelings' crap, but even I know when I’m not ready to let go" he scoffed, his lips curling into a bitter smirk.

"There was not a day I wasn't thinking about you" you almost whispered as you closed your eyes the truth weighing heavily on your chest

Kid froze not quite believing what he just heard. He swallowed hard running his hand through his hair. You had meant to keep your feelings buried, to shield you from the pain.

"Even after everything?" He asked his voice unusally calm.

"I did, even when I shouldn’t have. I thought about all the things we shared, the way it ended… everything"

Kid’s expression softened, the corners of his mouth tugging into a small smile. You felt heat rise to your cheeks.

"I thought about you too, every damn day. But it was easier to pretend I didn’t." He replied.

KId's vulnerability was raw and that's why you appreciated this so much. The fact that he let you see this side of him meant more than anything to you.

But it also made everything so much more complicated.

"What now?" You asked fumbling nervously with your fingers.

"You leave but the map remains with me" he said coldly, trying to convince himself that this was the best for both of you.

"Seriously! That's my map and my treasure. And i won't let you take it from me" you shouted a mix of anger and boldness in your voice.

He looked at you and laughed devilish.

"Keep on dreaming mouse, the map is mine and now you better leave" he said dangerously as he waved the map before you.

You tried to grab for it but he just lifted it over your head . You lunged forward trying to reach for it until he wrapped his metallic arm around your waist.

The heat of his body causing your cheeks to flush. A shiver running down your spine as his muscular body was pressed against yours.

This was wrong you shouldn't enjoy it yet you did.

You looked at him leaning closer your lips mere inches from his. Both of your hearts were racing. You wanted to kiss him so badly but then you snatched the map out of his hand, wirggled out of his grasp and made for the door.

"Better hurry big boy otherwise you might lose sight of me" you teased as your ran out of the door smiling.

He stood there for a moment dumbstruck before an evilly smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. The thrill of the chase stirred something primal in him, and he couldn’t help but enjoy it.

"You can run all you want, but you know I love a good chase" he shouted after you.

[nivasichakano]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @patheticfangirl! Procrastination on a Monday? Don't mind if I do. 1. How many works do you have on AO3? 18 — 16 for BG3 and 2 for Arcane (sorry Jayvik one day I'll come back to you 😭) 2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

433,097 (never finished writing a thing in my life before I discovered Astarion, thanks darling).

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hustle - What I want to write: angsty romantasy. What I actually write: Bloodweave YouTubers. I love these boys. WeaveStitch 4eva <3

Hiraeth - My First Fanfiction, an isekai about a BG3 gamer who finds herself dragged into Faerun. I didn't know how to use AO3 then, I tagged my OC, Astarion, and Gale in a threesome by accident, and Gale and Astarion are super horny for each other throughout because I didn't yet know it was my life's calling to write Bloodweave. But I'm proud of the ending and people still seem to like it.

What Friends Are For - Also known as, Nivasi discovers Bloodweave. This fic has my favorite chapters of anything I've written ever (chapters 11-13).

Driven - Meepbois 😭 I miss them so they're getting a one-year anniversary epilogue this year.

Snakes & Ladders - A silly one-shot enabled by the Bloodweave Brainrot Discord. No tadpole AU in which Astarion is sent by Cazador to steal from Gale.

4. What fandoms do you write for?

BG3 and Arcane. On a knife's edge about Invisible Boys and IWTV.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always. I'd like to pretend that I 'write for myself' but you know it's true, everything I do, I do it for you(r comments).

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Familiar is probably the angstiest thing I've written ('What if Gale's dad was one of Astarion's victims?'). Otherwise, Hiraeth has a very bittersweet ending.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Literally everything else.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Someone once compared Hiraeth to Twilight, which I consider to be hateful.

9. Do you write smut?

I mean... I try 😅 Not well?

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, but I'm open to it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I think it'd be fun. HMU.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Bloodweave. I can't believe I'm still here over a year later. Just love 'em.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

*cries in Eurovision fic shame* I do actually really want to finish After the End, my Jayvik longfic too, since it's all plotted out. But I realised I can't work on more than one thing at once and Hellfire Club Bloodweave AU is dragging me into the hells at the moment.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I genuinely don't know how to answer this. Uhh, the ability to make absolutely everything a romcom?

Actually, I just came back to this one because I remembered that I can write the shit out of a first chapter. Give me any prompt and that first chapter will be with you in under an hour.

It's just finishing them that's the problem.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Making everything a romcom, if you hate romcoms, I guess. Other than that, oh, so many things: procrastination, repetition, cliches, getting distracted by shiny new ideas, autistic Gale + bbgirl Astarion

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I did it in Driven, because Astarion speaks French, and it taught me how not good Google Translate is. I ended up getting help from the lovely French Quarter of BWBR in the end, and would always go straight to this option in the future.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

BG3! This has been my first experience of fandom and my first time writing fics. I like it. You're all onto something here.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I think it's got to be Driven. It's not as popular as Hustle, but I received the most surprising amount of love for this story. To the extent that it was actually emotional when it came to an end? Which I really wasn't expecting when I plonked a wizard and a vampire into F1 cars. Thanks meeple <3

* Riddle me this @badmarilynart @hylianworrier

[lemotmo]

99.9% sure T is coming back and people are dooming because lfjr was filming on the same block and there’s a helipad on the rooftop he posted BUT I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing… I know nobody wants to deal with that insufferable part of the fandom but I could see them bringing him back for closure and Buck (once again) trying to misplace his feelings for Eddie onto T until T finally makes him realize it was never about him at all. It’s ALWAYS been Eddie. As much as I don’t want to see that man again I think it would make for dramatic TV lol and it would put the nail into the coffin for BT forever! Also I remember Tim saying in an interview after 8x07 I think that T is in Buck’s romantic past for sure but he may intersect with T in this universe again… so I’m almost positive this lfjr appearance is not a reconciliation and rather just another way for a plot device to do what they do best and move the plot :)

Okay, my inbox is flooding with L and T messages right now, so I want to address this now, before it explodes completely.

I'm addressing this using this ask by a very clever anon. Why? Well Nonny?! I think you make an excellent point!

Let's look at this logically, without any emotions involved. The problem with T right now is that all of our experiences with this character and actor are clouded with negative emotions.

Why? Well... you all know why right?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So let's get rid of all of these emotions for a moment. And let's look at this from a pure narrative point of view.

Say T does come back. So what?

Can he stop Buddie at this point? No. That ship has loooong sailed and to be honest... there was never a contest to begin with. Eddie has always been more important to Buck than T ever was. It's obvious from the last episodes that Buck is very close to figuring out his feelings for Eddie. So T is no threat whatsoever.

So why would he be there? Well, logically speaking it would be an interesting choice for T to run into Buck and mention something about Eddie, cue Buck starting to question what exactly it is he feels for Eddie.

Way back when, right after 7x04, L did an interview where he talked about T being some kind of a stepping stone for Buck to realise he really wanted Eddie. Around that time Oliver did an interview saying that he really wanted T and Buck to stay in contact and that T could be some kind of wise queer person who kind of helps him figure things out.

What if this is what we are seeing right now?

If T is back-- and I'm using a big IF here, because I'm still not so sure whether or not he will be-- he could be there to be a catalyst into both Buck and Eddie figuring out what they feel for each other.

He could be a 'stepping stone' aka a 'plot device' to get the main ship together.

I'm just saying--

If he is back it is not for a round 2 of BT. That obviously didn't work out very well for either of them. So the only logical explanation is that he is there to push the Buddie narrative along like a good plot device does.

Honestly, I'd rather not see the man back either, but the reason for that isn't that he could threaten Buddie. It never was about that. There was no competition there to begin with.

I don't want to see him back because I really dislike the way some of his more ardent stans have treated me and the rest of this fandom from the moment he kissed Buck. I'm simply tired of dealing with these people.

So let's stop spiraling over this please. If (big IF here) T is back, he is there for a purpose. I can guarantee you that that purpose? It's Buddie-related.

[coimbrabertone]

Offtopic Offseason #2 - The Incoherent Musings of a Star Wars Fan in Big 2024.

So, being a Star Wars fan is hard.

I don't mean that for some stupid "STAR WERZ IS WOKE NOW! CHILDHOOD RUINED!" bullshit, I mean being an actual fan of Star Wars.

I want to watch Star Wars shows, I want to play Star Wars games, and I deeply disagree with the idea that Disney is making too much Star Wars stuff. No, in fact, my stance here is quite similar to my stance on superhero fatigue from the last Offtopic Offseason - and that's that people aren't sick of Star Wars, they're sick of bad Star Wars content.

Let me put it this way - the only buzz I've heard about Skeleton Crew is that they referenced something from the Holiday Special and that there's a kid from that Max Rebo species - the Ortolans, the blue elephant guys. That doesn't fill me with an urge to watch it.

Just like I haven't had the urge to finish The Bad Batch.

Just like how I haven't picked up Star Wars: Outlaws yet.

There is, however, one Star Wars project that I did engage with in 2024: the Acolyte. Yup, the show that the internet was shitting on before it even came out and the one that they managed to get cancelled despite the first season ending on a blatant cliffhanger. I want to talk about that show.

Why? Because the thing is...I don't think the show is that bad.

I certainly don't think it's any worse than Book of Boba Fett or some of the later episode of the Mandalorian.

In fact, I'd say the concept of the Acolyte is more interesting than either Mando or Boba Fett, and here's why: the idea of a woman, who had the only home she ever knew taken away from her by the Jedi, training under a Sith to get revenge is an interesting premise.

That same Sith disguising himself as her bumbling accomplice to monitor and influence her had potential as well.

The Jedi Order being this corrupt, detached organization trying to maneuver the political intrigues of Coruscant is interesting, as is the fact that the plot is ultimately set into motion by Master Sol making a series of impulsive and violent decisions - thinking they he knew better - that ended in him killing the girls' mother, Aniseya.

All of that I'm good with.

There are a few things I'm not so good with. The vergence stuff and how that relates to the twins (and them being two sides of the same person) didn't quite work with me. I also felt that some of the stuff they did with Aniseya in the final two episodes undercuts the Sol storyline, because one: she really does demonstrate she's dangerous, and two: if you're still planning on letting Osha go with them, why are you using a Dark Side ritual to turn yourself into an dark smoke monster and absorbing your other daughter while doing so?

Like if the point you're going for is that Sol broke the Jedi teachings because of his selfish attachment to Osha - later leading to Osha killing him as her fall to the Dark Side - then why are you giving him a justifiable reason for stopping Aniseya?

And I guess on some level, I question how much purpose there was to having both Osha and Mae as characters. I know this is probably approaching a sort of Ship of Theseus point where I change so much about the Acolyte that it's not the Acolyte anymore, but I feel like there was a way to tell this story with just one character rather than this split person/twin thing.

You know what, I'll commit to it - here's how I would've done the Acolyte show.

Indara, Sol, Kelnacca, and Torbin go to investigate Brendok, just like they do in the show, however, when they find the convent of Dark Side witches, they decide they need to stop them. So rather than a series of potentially sympathetic misunderstandings, it's that the Jedi saw a Dark Side threat, they got spooked, and they decided to crush it.

This is to mirror some of the other darker Jedi moments in Star Wars, such as Mace Windu saying that the "oppression of the Sith will never return" before attempting to finish off Palpatine, or the Legends lore of the Jedi bombardment of Korriban after the Great Hyperspace War, aiming to destroy it.

Neither of these things worked, sure, but it demonstrates a rare Jedi ruthlessness that could suit this story nicely.

Anyway, having lost the only family she had, Osha (who, remember, we're treating as a single person at this point) wanders the galaxy and eventually winds up at the ruined Sith Academy on Korriban - and here she finds Qimir.

Qimir plays it cool and doesn't quite reveal who he is but starts telling Osha about the Sith and feeling her out, trying to figure out if she'd make a worthy pupil or not. Qimir sends Osha through the tombs like in KOTOR or like the Sith Warrior/Inquisitor storylines in SWTOR and starts revealing more about the Sith to her as she goes on. By the end, she believes in it, is willing to become a Sith, and makes a red lightsaber.

Then Qimir sends her out to hunt down the Brendok Jedi. At this point you could probably split the show into a season one and two, where the first season, "The Acolyte" is the story of Osha being an acolyte on Korriban, and the season two would be like "The Apprentice" or something a bit less trademarked, probably, and be about Osha actually hunting down the Jedi.

And hey, maybe it's a shitty idea, but I think it would place the show better in the lore and give us an interesting perspective where we follow a Sith character who fully believes she's in the right, and because of how this version of the Brendok events played out, we can't really say she's wrong either.

Maybe all of that is a product of the kind of Star Wars fan I grew up as though. I was born in the prequel era, meaning that for me, Phantom menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith were always part of Star Wars. I grew up playing KOTOR on my dad's computer and then later watching Clone Wars and then after that getting really into SWTOR for awhile in the early-to-mid 2010s.

Star Wars to me is lightsabers and deep lore and the Jedi versus the Sith.

I guess that's why Acolyte, for all its flaws and mistakes and strange writing choices, got my attention in a way that a lot of Star Wars stories haven't.

I mean, I watched Acolyte all the way through while I still haven't felt motivated enough to watch Andor - I'm sure that for a lot of nerds, that's downright sacrilege - but that's where I'm at with this franchise.

Do you have any idea how long it's gonna take for someone to be willing to make a female-led Sith show after how the Acolyte bombed? I'll be waiting decades at this rate. I'll be waiting even longer when I ask for those characters to one: be aliens because goddamn all these species in the galaxy but the only ones that ever seem to do anything are humans, and two: be lesbian because...I dunno man, representation makes me feel good.

I guess Mother Koril checks a lot of those boxes but...she's got like fifteen minutes of screentime max and then kinda turns into a cloud of smoke and we don't see her anymore. Is she dead? Is she alive? Is she some other third thing?

Nobody knows.

And we're probably never gonna know because the show's been cancelled.

Fun times.

So yeah, these are some incoherent musings from a long-suffering Star Wars fan in 2024.

Like the meme says...

Star Wars would be so good if it was good.

[princess-glassred]

⚡️STOZIER FREAKY FRIDAY AU ⚡️

Freaky Friday is one of my fav movies and bodyswaps in general are one of my fav story tropes ever, so I decided why not make a Stozier bodyswap since I'd already done one for Eddie and Henry. :>

I was going to make this a fic but i don't have the energy for this so here's just the entire plot of this au told through bullet points. *shrug*

This au is dedicated to @cwcthzl because they are literally the god of stozier and the only reason i'm into this ship at all. I hope you like it :).

•This AU starts with the Losers as teenagers just living their lives, they've all got big things going on and it's made the losers feel a little strained lately, but no two losers are more at odds than Stan and Richie.

•Richie and Stan have been at each others throats a lot lately, with Stan being so high strung from recent events that he's found Richie usual annoyingly endearing demeanor just plain annoying and Richie finding Stan's straight laced no funness like a roadblock.

•It's hard to say that Richie and Stan dislike each other now, they are still very much friends, but it's more like... they don't understand each other. Stan knows Richie can be so bright and insightful but for some reason he prefers to come off as a lazy dumbass, while Richie knows Stan can be so fun but he's oddly deadset on coming off as Mr. Perfect all the time. It's not ideal.

•As said before everyone is very busy with their personal lives, Richie is not only dating Connor Bowers and very intent on making the relationship as perfect as possible, but he's also scheduled to have his first real comedy act televised on tv as a line up of other comics. Stan's got a scholarship interview that he HAS to get or else he'll be fucked cause his parents are broke. He also absolutely needs this jamboree to go off with out a hitch because his poor troop has literally never won a jamboree before and if he doesn't win this year his parents are going to make him quit and start focusing on other stuff. Of course Stan would rather die than let that happen, especially since he's the oldest in the troop and the newbies are relying on him to teach them everything.

•These events, however, cause a major divide between Stanley, Richie, and the rest of the losers club when they turn out to be happening at the same exact time. It wouldn't be so bad if Stan and Rich could just be adults about this but they insist they need their friends support for their big day and refuse ro cooperate otherwise. Stan thinks he needs the lucky seven to give him the extra boosts to win while Richie thinks he needs the lucky seven to ease his anxiety while he's on stage. When the rest of the club outright refuse to pick sides in this petty arguement it makes both Stan and Rich unbelievably pissed with each other. They argue in circles over who's event is more important, who has a better chance of actually succeeding, and most importantly of all- who's fault it is that now none of their friends are going to show up.

•The losers try to have a little celebratory dinner for Richie at the jade of the orient but it goes south very quickly. Stanley cannot stand how richie drools over his boyfriend connor and richie can't stan stanley's passive agressive nature. That's when one of the hostesses takes notice of them and swaps out their fortune cookies on the table for two special ones.

•The conversation gets so heated that Stanley awkwardly shuffles off to the bathroom and Richie follows to continue their argument.

•"Seriously Stanley!? What's wrong with you? You're whining about a boy scout jamboree?" "It's not about that! It's the fact you're being selfish!" "I'm being selfish!?" "You're always seflish Richie! All day every day is always about you and what you want! You don't even do anything to deserve it!" "You're right Stanley, i'm sorry i'm so lazy and annoying that i'm the one thing about your life that isn't perfect!" "Perfect? You think my life is perfect!? Oh buddy you need a serious reality check!" "Well It's not my fault whatever i have going on is always more interesting." "You know what richie? I wish you could spend just ONE DAY in my shoes and see how "interesting" it was. Maybe then you could learn a thing or two about responsibilty!" "I'd love to be you Stanley, all i'd have to do is just sit around and complain about everything 24/7. Lord knows I could use a break." "A break? From what? Making goo goo eyes at connor and shouting unfunny quips into a microphone! I'd love it if that was my biggest problem!" "I wish you'd change!" "I wish YOU'D change!".

•Richie and Stan march out of the restaurant and on their seperate ways, only making the rest of the losers even more concerned. On their respective walks home they realize they still have their unopened fortune cookies and crack them open. It simply says "It'd pay you well to walk a mile in someone else's shoes". Suddenly Richie and stan both feel a little tingle, but they don't notice it enough to freak out over it. They stuff their fortunes into their pockets and keep walking.

•The next morning Richie wakes up in Stan's bedroom. He doesn't fully understand why he's there yet but when he looks in the mirror he shrieks. Staring back at him is Stan plain as day, which could only mean he is Stan now.

•It's fairly early in the morning, so he has time to go check on Stan at his house before the day gets really started. He politely knocks on the front door.

•"Oh hi Stanley." Maggie says with a smile. Her look of vague recognition and pleasantness deeply hurts richie. She's  looking at him the same way you'd look at a friendly stranger, not her son.

•"Hello mo- Mrs. Tozier. Is Richie up?" "He should be, I heard him banging around up stairs like he always does. Why do you ask?". "Well we had a fight at the Jade of the orient last night and I was worried." "That's sweet of you, i'll let you two talk it out.".

•Richie, or rather Stanley, walks upstairs to his bedroom and politely enters. Poor Stan is curled up in the corner of the room covered in bruises and crying. He couldn't see when he woke up, and what little he could see in his blurry vision was unfamiliar in color and size. He kept running into things all around the room and accidentally hurting himself, he's very clearly upset and confused.

•Richie picks up his glasses from his bed side table, briefly considering that it's lucky stan didn't accidentally break them when he was fumbling around, and carefully puts them on Stan so he can see.

•Stan shrieks when he sees himself standing in front of him and immediately scrambles to the other side of the room.

•"Stan it's me, Richie-" "-No-" "i'm richie!" "-NO! You're some freaky demon thing that's come to steal my face" "pffft. You just said cum." "Holy fuck you are Richie."

•Stan and Rich run over to Richie's mirror and begin to mess around with it.

•"Jeez stan, why is your hair so curly and floppy- if i were you- i mean like, if every day i were you, i'd wear hair net 24/7" "Richie your tongue is so long, my tongue isn't that long!" "Heh, that's what she said." "....who's "she"?".

•They start freaking out and wondering how this even happened, and it's only until Stan points out they both have really important things going on that they understand just how fucked they are.

•Just then, Maggie knocks on the door. "Stan?"

•"Yes?" They both ask.

•"Your parents are here to take you to the synagogue."

•Fuuuuuuuuuuckkk.

•"Richie, we have to open the door." "Actually I think we can just live in here-" "Richie, open the door." "We can hide under the bed-" "I'm opening the door." "STAN WAIT NO I HAVE NAIL POLISH WE CAN PAINT EACH OTHERS NAILS- Hiiii.... mom and dad.".

•Donald and Andrea are not very happy to see their son flee their house early in the morning, and when they ask for an explanation richie is frozen still, so stan has to explain for him.

•Stan nudges Richie so he'll have to say something, but the best richie can come up with is "Can you guys let us chill for a sec?", which makes Stan cringe so fuckin hard.

•They're allowed some privacy which is when Richie finally realizes he and Stan are in a freaky friday situation, at which point stan points out that it's actually Sunday and he's never seen that movie. Richie has the very natural reaction of almost screaming his head off when he finds out Stan's never seen freaky friday.

•They realize they have to pretend to be each other because they have too much important shit going on, Richie has to practice for the show tonight, Stan has to speak at the synagogue, Richie's got a date with Connor he CAN'T cancel (connor gets really mad when richie cancels), Stan has to have lunch with a college admissions guy to get his scholarship, Richie has to do his stand up on tv, and Stan's got the jamboree at sundown. They only have a few hours when they're not busy so they have to commit or they're both screwed.

•Richie brags that this will be a breeze since acting like Stan can't be that hard. Just act like you have a stick up your ass 24/7 and nitpick your surroundings. Stan in turn says that acting like richie will be totally easy because "at least i don't have to worry about being funny".

•The day is, unsurprisingly, a total nightmare.

•Richie's speech at the synagogue is total shit, he gets so flustered he just takes the plot of The Goonies and retells it as if that's some inspirational story he thought up and everyone miraculously buys it.

•Stan nervously waits outside the synagogue for his parents and Richie. He asks him how he did and richies all "great!... i think i accidentally said you had a weed addiction at some point but the congregation thought you were stronger for it so it all worked out.".

•Connor swings by to pick up Richie for their date. Richie had to act like he's not into it at all and poor stan has to act like he's very into it. It does not go well.

•Stan also hates the outfit he has to wear to the date, who the fuck wears a hawaiin shirt and jorts to a restaurant? Also holding onto richie's stupid coke bottle glasses is way harder than he though, no wonder he always breaks them.

•The actual date is surprisingly easy to navigate because Connor doesn't ask stan a lot of questions about richie. In fact... he doesn't ask any questions about Richie. Almost like he'd be happy asking questions to anything and it didn't matter if richie was here or not.

•"Uhm, excuse me- Connor darling- you've been talking for a while." "Yes? And?" "Well it's just that I figured you'd wanna hear about what i've got going on." "Later Rich." "You say later, but i fear that's just a fancy way of saying never." "Well it's not my fault whatever i've got going on is a lot more interesting than what you do".

•Stanley winces. Was that why Richie said what he did at the restaurant? He was internalizing was this asshole said to him? That's horrible.

•"My life is interesting, I work hard and I have a big gig coming up, don't you care about that?" "Yeah yeah yeah, it's cute." "Cute? It's a major milestone for me and that's all you can say?" "Jesus Richie, you sound so insufferable today. You've got a real mouth on you, what happened to the guy who hung on my every word and worshipped my feet? You used to he so easy and now you're pulling out these big words." "I'm actually kind of smart connor, i'm not stupid just because i listen to you. I'm a straight A student!" "Yeah but... that's not the same as being ACTUALLY smart." "But I am smart" "Yeah, you sure dress and act like it.".

•Stan bites his tongue and clenches his fists, seething.

•He never knew someone could feel so dismissed just based on how they dressed and behaved. It felt deeply wrong to sit here and have every smart thing you say be dismisses because you were wearing a hawaiian shirt and dared to do silly voiced every once in a while. Why didn't anyone wanna take Stan seriously like this, not even his supposed boyfriend? Is this how Richie feels every day?

•Connor moves into kiss him.

•Stan punches him square in the jaw.

•Meanwhile Richie gets ready for a fancy pants lunch to discuss his potential scholarship, a lunch he is late for because he cannot figure out how to tie a bowtie.

•The dinner is obscenely awkward, the college admissions guy is asking Richie all these questions about finance and he doesn't know how to actually answer him which is crazy because his school record shows he's very good at all of this. His parents insists it's just nerves though, their little Stanley is perfect.

•Richie does his usual of trying to use humor to deflect from his pain, but it just kinda annoys his parents who can't stand it.

•Richie feels absolutely heart broken that there's all this serious adult talk going on around him that he's just supposed to accept and understand. His parents don't pause to explain anything to him, they just accept that he's a mini adult that doesn't require any extra attention, even though he's clearly terrified and struggling. Dear god, does Stan feel like this every day?

•He ends up acting kind of crazy, it's not really Richie's fault though. It's more Stan's parents fault for insisting he tell stories he was never there for, basically forcing him to make up stuff on the fly. Richie's natural mannerisms also don't help things at all, he talks totally different to Stan- a lot of accidental curse words and rambles and nervous laughs in between words. Stan talks with purpose, like every word he says counts and if he doesn't have a reason to talk he'll stay in his own head. Richie talks without thinking a lot, so unfortunately the lunch consists of a lot of word vomit.

•Ultimately, Richie walks away from the lunch with his "parents" feeling like he failed Stan and embarrassed both of them.

•When Stan head's off for rehearsal he's extremely early to the building, as per Richie's request. Maggie and Wentworth are there to help him rehearse but that proves to be less than helpful for poor Stan. Richie is very dedicated to being a comedian, to the point he practices for much longer than your average stand up act, and he takes way less breaks. Maggie and Went have been told multiple times by Richie that they have to push him to the limit so in their vye to be supportive they accidentally don't allow Stanley breaks or time outs between sets.

•Stan also finds saying Richie's material very humiliating, he has to try to do voices he's never attempted before, recite cringey dialouge, and pretend like he finds hid own really stupid jokes comedy gold. Stan knows he has a strange sense of humor no one else understands, and that seems to have leaked into his delivery of richie's monolouges. He appearently lacks the ability to just deliver words like they're funnt.

•Maggie and Went lie though and say he's doing great, which makes Stan with his own parents, despite his love for them, would have the same unconditional support for him.

•Richie and Stan meet up at around 2 o' clock to discuss how everything went and their conversation doesn't go great.

•Richie feels awful for screwing up Stan's future and Stan feels tired and drained from the endless practice. When Stanley reveals that he punched Connor in the face Richie loses it. "You punched him!? And he dumped me!? Stanley are you crazy!?" "Really Richie!? You're mad right now abour losing your boyfriend!? I might not get to go to college at all because of you now!" "Don't you think I know that!? Oh what am I saying? Of course you don't! You think i'm stupid just like everyone else!".

•Richie defeatedly sits down on the side of the robe and unties his shittily done tie with tears in his eyes. He pulls his legs up to his chest.

•"I'm sorry Stanley. I tried my best. I really tried. I guess even when i'm you i'm a total mess..."

•Stanley sits down beside him and sighs. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blame you for that. This is is a scary time for both of us...".

•"...Connor didn't really care about me, did he?" "no, Richie, he didn't".

•"I guess that's one little silver lining to all of this. Lord knows i wouldn't have been able to stand up to him myself..." "Why were you even with him at all?" "Because- I liked knowing somebody loved me, even if it was all fake." "Oh Richie, you deserve a lot better than that.".

•Stan and Richie wanna sulk on the side of the road some more but then they see Bill run down the street after them like it was urgent and they have to see what his deal is.

•"Stan! Rich! B-boy, am i glad I found you. There's s-something happening at school! You have to sssseee it!"

•They race to the school but when they get there everything's fine.

•"What gives you guys? What's the problem?"

•all of the losers point at a sign in front of the school that usually says "CURFEW 7 PM" but now says "OPEN GUIDANCE COUNSELING SUN 1 PM-4 PM".

•"YOU SAID THERE WAS A CRISIS!" "YOUR FRIENDSHIP IS IN CRISIS!"

•Richie and Stan plead with their friends that they're fine but their insistance is not heard, so they are practically shoved into the guidance counselors office.

•It might have been a decent idea if the guidance counselor didn't allow a bunch of their teachers to sit in on their conversation.

•Stan and Richie start out by jokingly insulting each other and making it so like they're confessing. Richie even said he's got ultra violent tendencies then whispered "I punched my friends boyfriend in the face" to the counselor.

•The counselor suggests they try roleplaying as one another to work out their issues and ofc Stan and Richie just look at him like -_- "no.".

•Slowly the talk gets more and more serious though, and when the teachers start psychoanalyzing the boys they quickly swap from insulting each other to standing up for one another. When the teachers say that Richie is unfocused and brash and idiotic, Stan stands up for ""himself"" and says he's just got a different way of communicating his feelings. And when the teachers say Stan is a worrisome sad sack in class Richie stands up and says "I have a lot going on to be upset about! I'm sorry I'm not happy all the time! Some people don't feel the need to lie when they're unhappy, and I think that's a wonderful quality!"

•Stan and Richie leave the counselors office arm and arm, feeling confident and happy with one another, happier with each othe

•Rich assumes the boyscout jamboree will probably be a cake walk for him and Stan's dedication to it is more of Stan just being Stan. He is very wrong.

•Stan's troop are a lot like the losers club themselves, a bunch of rejects that nobody wants to look out for and somehow manage to make straightlaced Stan look like the cool badass leader. They can't accomplish a god damn thing, and Richie nearly tears stan's hair out over it.

•The Jamboree judge and organizer is literally insane. He is a grown ass man who absolutely peaked in high school and has decided to take out all his roid rage on unsuspecting scouts. He makes Bev's dad look tame and Henry's father look sane. He's a fucker, plain and simple.

•The jamboree is also not what Richie expected at all. When he heard the words "jamboree" he expected people sitting around a campfire singing songs and having a good time. Not VIOLENTLY INTENSE ATHLETIC COMPETITION. Maybe it would be like the latter if it wasn't ran by a a fucking crazy person, but evidently it isn't. So suck it up, play the impossible trivia, make a mona lisa out of macaroni and glue, and run a military grade obstacle course in five minutes, bitch.

•Eventually, Richie is tasked with doing a bird call and he can't even whistle in his normal body so.... yeah.

•He is also asked to tie a scoutmans knot. Richie didn't even learn how to tie his shoes until he was 10, so again... yeah.

•He's absolutely exhausted from the obstacle course, his legs straight up feel like they are going to combust and when Richie dares to stop running for a second he gets a scream through megaphone into his ear.

•He does not end up winning the jamboree for Stan BUT he does end up getting the event cancelled when he does the unthinkable and stands up to that jerkwad judge. He goes full trashmouth and roasts the crap out of him, igniting a chain reaction of kids and troop leaders stand up and realizing this shit is not normal and leaving midway through the event.

•Richie rushes through town to get to the location he's supposed to be preforming at and manages to sneak in by pretending to be a tech guy. He runs into the backstage area and sees Stan utterly paralyzed by cameras and audience members, terrified to even make a noise.

•He notices Richie standing off to the side and bolts off stage to talk to him, prompting the audience to laugh like it was an elaborate bit.

•"Richie I can't do this! That was horrifying!" "No no no! What about practice!?" "I think I blocked that out due to trauma" "Fuck- oh! I know!". Richie takes a spare ear piece off the table and puts it on stan.

•"I've been practicing that stand up for weeks, i can feed it through to you and you can just repeat it in a funny way!" "No no! I can't even do that!" "Oh my god stan, don't tell me you've never seen a stand up special before!" "Uhhh I saw Eddie Murphey on tv once?" "Great! Just go out there and act like Eddie!" "Right... Murphy, not Kaspbrak right?" "Oh my god yes! Now go before the audience thinks there's something wrong with you!".

•Stan does it and it surprisngly gets easier and easier the more jokes he tells. It helps that the crowd is fairly drunk, but he's got the cadence down pat. When the set is over he proudly takes a bow and runs back to Richie for a high five.

•"That was awesome Stan!" "And a cool inverse of tropes cause... ya know, most comedy writers are jewish." "Was that an attempt at an original joke?" "...yeah." "...i love it, no notes.".

•after a little while stan and richie determine that this all started from those fuckin fortune cookies and they rush home to get their fortunes they didn't throw away yet. They stand in the exact spots they were in when they wished the other would change, holding onto their fortunes.

•but... nothing happens.

•They don't understand. They did everything right, they saw the world through one anothers eyes. They walked a mile in their shoes. They learned important stuff. Why aren't they changing back.

•"Oh god. Stanley... what if this means.. we CAN'T switch back. What if one day is now every day, and we're stuck like this forever?" "Please no..." "Stanley if I had known that I swear i would have never wished for this." "We both wished for this Richie, it's not just your fault. We both fucked up. We both ruined each other's lives." "Stanley I'm scared." "I know... I'm scared to.".

•They determine that if they're really stuck like this then they have to tell the losers, which is going to be extremely hard but at least they can comfort each other while it happens.

•Richie prefaces what he's about to say by saying he's been an over dramatic asshole, mostly because he had his own issues he wasn't properly dealing with. He just wants to say that he's sorry and that he loves all of them no matter what.

•Suddenly, Stanley and Richie both feel a tingle, oddly similar to what they felt when they first opened their fortune cookies.

•"Richie, can you say that again?" "I love you and I'm sorry?"

•Another tingle

•Stanley knows what they have to do now, they had learned but they'd never apologized. They never admitted how they felt, and that was what this was all about, so of course they didn't switch back.

•"Richie, listen to me. I love you more than anything, I love your messy hair, I love your stupid glasses, i love your ugly shirts and silly jokes and every dumb thing that comes out of your mouth. You're one of my bestfriends and I treated you like you weren't. I'm saying this now though, I love you no matter what and whatever makes you happy is what I want for you. You're worth more than I could ever properly say, and I'm sorry I lost sight of that.".

•Richie starts crying.

•"I'm sorry I didn't listen Stanley, i'm sorry i projected onto you and tried to make your problems seem insignificant. I was such an asshole and you don't deserve that, you're fun and wonderful and interesting in your own way. I know because I think you're fun and interesting. I love you, and I wished I never hurt you".

•TINGLE TINGLE TINGLE

•BOOM

•Stan looks down at his hands, Richie looks down at his legs. Yep. They're back.

•They hug each other tightly, tears in their eyes.

•"Stanley, i'm so sorry." "You should never, don't be sorry" "if you thought I didn't care about you-" "Don't say that. I know you do. I know you do and I love it.".

•The losers watch this unfold in confusion. When bill asks if they missed anything stan and richie just tell them not to worry about it.

•Funnily enough, everything turned out just fine in the end, and it was ironically because of the body swap fiasco. The crowd LOVED Stanley's awkwardly relatable stand up, and the beginning gag where he ran off the stage was simply divine. And the college admissions? Richie's curt attitude and spontaneity made him stand out in a good way! He got a full ride, appearently they thought he was one of those mad genius types. Woohoo! And Connor? Richie dumped his ass all thanks to Stan's encouragement. And the boy scouts? They held another jamboree a week later that was fair and actually fun, and guess what? All the losers showed up to support him! And he won! Fuck yeah!

•And they all lived happily ever after... or at least until Bill and Eddie got into an argument at jade of the orient in their 20's, but that's a story for another time ;).

•The end.

[lizzie-wendigo]

Well, now that I have finished these doodles, I'd like a little constructive criticism to the pilot, its fandom and its creator:

Pilot & Creator:

I must say that this pilot is extremely interesting, even the animation is better than many projects from big studios! Just knowing that one of Gooseworx's (the creator's) inspirations was the novel "I have no mouth and I must scream" is an important and interesting fact that drives you to watch this series!

Unfortunately I didn't see this pilot until the end of December, since its fandom really repelled me from seeing this project and I didn't know much about what they were talking about (I'll talk about that later), but I'm very glad I saw it. Its creator is a very creative person and she shows a lot of the maturity she has by making decisions based on HER DECISIONS and not by what the fandom wants (fan service).

Besides, I love the theories that people make regarding the plot of the series, personally I love the religious theory because of the references that gooseworxs makes.

Fandom:

Okay, I'm going into dangerous territory. I'm still undecided if I'll go in or not.

The reason is very simple, no one will deny me that the fandom is extremely sick, toxic and cringe; Which is why I didn't watch the pilot in the first place. I know not all fandom is like this, but at least 85% of it is horrible.

And I'm sorry to tell you this, but it's very possible that the same fandom will lead this project to failure and it goes without saying why. It's about to become like the fandom of Vivziepop projects like Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss (fandoms which I didn't last long in due to toxicity). At least Gooseworx is looking out for their fandom and trying to calm things down, not like "Miss Vivzi make polemics and look I'm inclusive AF, now go throw shit at Scott Cawthon for something that doesn't concern me but I still hate him, so that you don't see my hypocrisy creating characters that are also stereotypes while I boast about how proud I'm of my Latin ancestry even though I have never set foot in LATAM."

Plus, I found a ship that I love (but knowing the fandom, they might come and throw shit at me just because I like it) I'm still afraid of the fandom, but I trust that my audience is not toxic, and because they'll be able to enjoy the few fanarts that I will make of this project.

I can only hope that gooseworxs doesn't back down with this project and succeeds as it deserves.

[drsantosgf]

the whole queer eddie being included in a queer characters posts reminds me of like when people were wishing the bucktommy date scene got cut instead of the eddie and buck in Bobby’s room and eddie praying …when there is that whole random ass scene with no real adherence to the plot or the characters with polly the neighbour right there as an option for them to cut..but no they wanna cut the scene with the mlm queer couple (that many mlm queer men in this fandom love) all because they hate tommy, can’t handle a daddy issues joke, and the fact that it’s not eddie with buck

yeah ultimately a lot of their cries for activism and queer rep are performative. they do not truly care about queer characters or queer representation and i think most people could smell that from a mile away. these people have always been way more concerned with their own ship than with anything else. they like to pretend that if you don't ship The Thing or if you don't hate bucktommy then you must not want eddie to be queer or even like his character and that's. a thought lol. but i think it's really interesting why they've come to that conclusion.

like for me, i love eddie enough that i don't have to change his character to make him something that i like. i love eddie enough to allow him to be his own character outside of my own interpretation of his queerness and outside of his relationship with buck. but at the same time i also love eddie enough to see myself in him and create theories about his identity. these two things co-exist: seeing the character for what the canon shows me he is AND seeing the character for what i'd like him to be. i think most people are able to find the balance and be pretty normal about it. i think these people are genuinely so far deep into whatever they want the story to be that they have to rewrite canon to fit that perception of the character and feel threatened when that gets pointed out.

which again, like i truly do not give a shit if you do cherry pick canon, just don't come for people who are like hey you know that's just your headcanon right? like don't act like your own interpretation is better than anyone else's. it's not, it's still just an interpretation. i do read eddie as queer while still acknowledging that within the canon universe, he is identified as a straight man by canon. which makes my reading of him just a headcanon (aka canon in your head but not anywhere else), no less valid and important but still not the story they may be trying to tell.

i've talked about this a little bit before but i think a lot of the issue here is the idea of playing nice and remembering that this is all pretend which i don't think they've really had to deal with before. a lot of these people have never been confronted with another big kid on the block. their ship has kind of held precedent for a really long time, along with their headcanons and their ideas of what these characters are. so now that buck actually is bisexual and is dating a man, who isn't eddie, suddenly their entire worldview of canon breaks down.

now there's canon gay representation. now you don't have a moral argument to justify your ship bc that thing you've been begging for, "canon bi buck/more canon queer characters" does exist. so now what are you arguing for? just a preferred ship? no that can't be, it must be more than, we must be fighting for something bigger.

but now you're forced to confront that it's all just headcanons and vibes and theories that have ran unchallenged for years and years. so now you have a group of people who do not know how to grapple with the reality they are being shown vs the reality they've created in their heads clashing against people who are fans of the same reality the show lives in and don't really care about the non-canon anymore. which, if that's your prerogative, if you prefer non-canon stuff, then go for it, that's what fandom is for, but the issue here is that they view this as genuinely a threat. they don't want any other interpretation. it doesn't just feel like a threat to their ship, it feels like a threat to the canon world they've created about these characters. they see other people coming in excited for something that isn't their thing, and now feel like we're taking something away from them. they don't want to see canon anymore, even if it's something they used to claim they want. they don't want queer rep, they want to be proven right.