#FixIt Worldbuilding

[pokepasta-fix-it-au]

Miki Lore

-Steven actually did some volenteer work with Professer Oak some years before becoming a trainer, this is when he and Miki met.

-Miki was quite shy and jumpy at first, but thanks to Steven working with her over time she came out of her shell and became alot more confident. This ended up with Miki choosing Steven as her human rather then the other way around. Not sorry Stevie boy, you are the chosen one and your fate is sealed.

-Thanks to the pair having a pre-established bond Miki grew strong VERY quickly. Wasn't long on their journey she outgrew her favourite hobby of letting Steven carry her around outside her ball in his shirt. (Going off the headcanon that her tail fire works like a ponyta/rapidash mane fire, since she trusts Steven it doesn't burn him)

More under the cut to prevent a wall of text!

-Miki ended up trying to copy alot of Steven's mannerisms as the two grew. Including but not limited to; trying to mimic a more human like posture and body language, teaching herself how to speak some basic human language (she could understand it all just fine), trying on wigs to look more like Steven and even trying to wear clothes!

-Miki has a friendly sibling rivalry with Ace (Mike's blastoise) and is also friendly with Mike himself. They even had a bit where she pretended she was gonna bite his head off when he wasn't looking to freak out strangers. (This was comedy gold to her).

-She was awake and aware during the trading accident (which happened in an actual pokecenter, the trading machine had been tampered with by a spiteful third party). While it was painful and scary she quickly came to her senses as a spirit and basically went "Minor inconvenience." to it. She doesn't hold any resentment to Mike.

-Once she realised communication from beyond the grave was out the question she looked for another way, this led her to an evil organisation who were trying to mix pokemon and humans together to make uncatchable super weapons.

-Curiously, she was able to communicate with an "AI" in charge of keeping the experiments stable during incubation to help sway the odds into her favour. Suggesting that perhaps taking a dna sample from a human already undergoing a transformation into a pokemon and then splicing that with pokemon dna would lead to the embryo surviving past incubation. (The "AI" is technically Glitchy but we get to him when we get to him.)

-Of corse she was referring to Steven, who at this point thanks to various factors was undergoing a slow change. (He'd even grown a functional tail at this point!). Once a blood sample had been retreived she once again suggested to mix it with a specific pokemon, anything from the charmander line.

-Her little scheme worked wonders, the new body was stable and she didn't need to worry about being controled by the evil folk, as the method of aquiring the blood sample had alerted Steven & company to their existance. Soon after settling into her new body the hideout was raided and the mysterious egg containing her was retreived. Along with the "AI" who helped her as they didn't like working for the bad guys but still wanted to live.

-Several years pass as she incubates again, but once she breaks out and finally reunites with her best friend turned father she looks ALOT more like him, just like she always wanted.

-Her apperance is that of a mostly human girl with some abnormal features, bright emerald green eyes, long and flowing amber hair that's a little wavy at the roots, tan-ish skin tone with small and glossy orange scales dotted about her body (a couple on her face to mimic freckles, back of her hands and feet, some lines of them on her neck, front of her thighs and knees, elbows and so on), a charizard like tail with more of that amber hair at the tuft just like her father, pointier nails and canine teeth.

-Her natural typing also shifted. From Fire/Flying from her Charizard days to Ghost/Fire. Her focus is in her lungs.

-Dispite all that she went through she retained her boisterous and rowdy nature. More then happy to try and pick fights to settle a problem where words and logic fail. She also butts heads to defend those weaker then her.

[catididnt]

I've seen this take more than enough, and what gets me this point is the assumption that the (original) fiction the commenter is reading never started out as a fanfic. I'm not saying there isn't obvious fanfic-to-original books out there, but maybe some writers can change the story beats and shift genres successfully.

I just think you might be assuming a lot if you're that certain always recognize which book started out as fanfic

this comment on that vulture article about the "fanfic-to-romance novel pipeline" is very interesting and not something i've seen articulated...much to think about...

[mewgatori]

There are some stories where I imitate elements of them out of admiration or fondness for the story they came from, and others where it's more like "well, it wasn't that great in the story that introduced me to it, but thinking about it did give me ideas on how this could be way more fun"

[windamp]

i mean ig it depends on what "a lot of fics" are. shounen anime usually gets a ton of fics bc it appeals to a wide demo. prestige tv appeals to a smaller audience

and then you cut potential fic writers (a small group despite what you might assume) out, and then cut out even more for people who write for something that can fit in that universe or be interested in exploring the world/characters more

this is why smth like undertale has so much fan content, the people who saw it first were already likely to BE in fandoms already (like homestuck! or danganronpa!)

anyway i think it has more to do with demographics as opposed to crappy levels

[nicollekidman]

i'd love to hear your thoughts on the darkling 👀

i binged it recently and left with Some Feelings ... i admire it for being such an all-encompassing and rich spuffy story, but i feel like it did sand down some of doris!buffy's edges that are so integral to her character imo.

if you're looking for toxic canon representation, i think herself_nyc and Sigyn on ao3 do a great job of capturing that spuffy dynamic !!

thanks for the recs, i'll check them out!!

yeah i want to be clear this is a personal taste thing and not an issue with the author's skill because i thought her handle on spike's voice especially was so lovely and the worldbuilding and immense canon adjustments were admirable and overall i thought it was Very Good. personally though the 77 new york stuff worked so much better than the rest of it because the characterization (esp of buffy) felt really grounded and interesting. i'm always going to be someone who thrives in the canon environment and i'm a sucker for angst and really heavy plot so that was always going to be my favorite part. and likewise, i don't enjoy, as a rule, the idea of a "fix it" even when it's done well, so i was kind of heartbroken when spike ended up ushering in a kinder gentler world (and thus a kinder gentler buffy) even though it feels earned and i'm like.... happy for them skdjfhgasjdhf like doris was not buffy! and i love buffy! so that was hard. i also think sometimes i was like okay so what is the actual conflict of this beyond the structural plot elements of the fixit? laughably, they were too in love for me to stay gripped, and then buffy kind of seamlessly coming back was also ehhhhhh for me.

BUT buffy having issues with her canon!spike and then choosing to just bow out and leave and the implication that the next installment will be doris!buffy with canon!spike does have my interest piqued... canon spike my beloved....

so yeah generally i think it was masterfully done but the broad strokes of where the story ended up is not something i would generally read if i hadn't been so sucked in by the 77 new york portion. give me pain and suffering <3 play in the playground we have built <3

[quailfence]

[Image description: tumblr tags that read “#and then she proceeded to infodump about star trek for the next 15 minutes #probably the funniest reaction i've ever gotten to coming out #runner up is that time in high school i came out to a friend who was a couple years younger than me and v sheltered #and i told him he could ask any questions about being trans that he wanted to #and he asked "what would my trans name be?" and to this day i have no clue what the fuck that was supposed to mean #he ended up being one of the best allies i ever met who helped me manage my dysphoria without outing me #and in some ways supported me better than even fellow trans people #but it was just such a funny reaction #oh also that old lady had shaved her head and wore all masculine clothes and went by an androgynous name different than her birth name #and i almost expected her to compare my experiences to her but nope. star trek. iconic”. End description.]

@a-captions-blog @startrekdescribed

no more characters who are nonbinary just because their species doesnt have gender. more characters that species dont have gender but still read up on human gender theory and realized they were still not into this shit

[plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows]

SERIES: bring us a light to see by, part 4

Rating: T Characters: Plo Koon, Qui-Gon Jinn, Micah Giiett, Tahl, Mace Windu, a couple side OCS Fic Contains– Plo Koon time travel with fixit intentions, Jedi Temple worldbuilding, Initiates living their best lives

The events of the past become present once more. Plo reckons with the future he's trying to avoid, and Qui-Gon Jinn helps, sort of.

The Plo Koon timetravel fic returns with a oneshot! I'm a bit stuck on the Ilum fic, so here, have some baby Jedi mostly-fluff! :D I can't wait to get Dooku properly involved with this story XDD

[beatrice-otter]

Me: oh, this fic sounds like an interesting take on a fixit premise I love! The writers of the original canon just didn't think their worldbuilding through, and I'd love to see that handled better, or even just differently! Fic: ... and all the problems in canon were created by the Main Female Character being stupid and in fact there were a lot of tragedies offscreen that we didn't see because there was even more thoughtlessness than that caused by the writers not thinking it through, and all of it is solely the fault of the Main Female Character and not any of the men around her who were also in positions of power. Oh, and also, all of the Leading Man's feelings for his Male Best Friend remain, but none of his affection and respect for the Main Female Character does, and now he can see how manipulative and abusive she is! And here's all the manipulative and abusive stuff she was doing offscreen in canon! Me: ... this is why God gave us the "back" button and "close tab" button in our browsers. You know, I was so happy when I noticed that the prevalence of "trash and bash the female characters as an excuse to slash the leading man with his best friend instead" trope was rapidly declining. It's bad on three levels: it's misogynistic, it's a denial of the possibility that healthy relationships can end with mutual amicability, and also, it's just plain bad writing. But alas, it still happens from time to time. I don't care if you break up canon pairings or subtext to bring your OTP together; that's one of the things fanfiction is for. But I do care if you're misogynistic in how you handle it or bash the partner you don't like.

comments Comment? https://ift.tt/vdfExa0

[firedjinni]

🍓🥤🔪☁️

(for this ask meme)

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?

I think it's something I've been doing for a long time, maybe before I fully understood what it was, but my first proper exposure to fanfiction on the internet was via elementary-school me searching the internet for crossovers between different things I liked (mostly ending up on Fanfiction.net and dedicated single-fandom archives.)

My first experiences actually writing fic, from what I remember, involved posting through my friend's account while over at their house because I didn't have an email and couldn't make one myself, haha. (Of course, that account is long deleted now…)

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

Aaaaaa oh man I have to think there are so many--

I basically have a big reclist for longer completed works on AO3 here: rainy day longfic &lt;3, so I'll go for a couple of authors off the top of my head:

Seebright (@/lackadrastical): beautiful Hollow Knight fic! I have both of their longfics in my longfic reclist, but they've got some lovely oneshots as well. I love their Ghost and general sibling trio characterization so much. <333

CourierNew: wrote another really good HK longfic, but also I love love love their Deltarune oneshots! Their prose is so good and sharp and eerie and there's a perfect sort of tone to it I don't know quite how to describe…

tls1314 (@/tls332): beautiful Rain World fic!! A time travel fixit that's ongoing, and some quieter oneshots. Also a Hollow Knight oneshot which is probably the only (or one of the only) fics I've ever seen to pull off first person POV with Hornet.

NoelleHolidayStanAccount (TerminalMiraculosis): as the name suggests, really good Noelle-centric Deltarune fic, but also the formatting?? The CSS?? It's so fucking cool and creative to see, and I wish more authors really leaned into the ability to make AO3 do fun stuff like that.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I can't quite decide, so I'm just gonna leave a list of highlights. Ironically, most of this pertains to fics that have never actually been posted.

half an hour of staff training videos on hospital de-escalation techniques

multiple Youtube searches for "breath of the wild meat pie man" (unsuccessful)

how to harvest spider silk

symptoms of acute radiation poisoning (this is a lie i just like to read this page for fun. don't look at me)

a bunch of stuff about reproductive behaviors of various invertebrates (for, and i cannot stress this enough, worldbuilding purposes)

how big can a slug get (answer: the size of a very drippy football, apparently)

Large Animal Immobilon, some very weird back of the napkin math, and the discovery that 500mL syringes do exist and will haunt my nightmares forevermore (same fic as #1)

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

My original username, Firedjinn, came from me being really, really into Golden Sun at the time I signed up for an FFN account, haha. I think I originally had some other GS-djinni-themed names in an old word doc somewhere? But this is apparently what stuck, and I've kept it around for continuity.

(Also funny story: the reason this account is called 'firedjinni' is because someone has had the URL firedjinn since 2013 where they have posted one (1) cosplay photo and nothing else since. I assume it's an active user since the name has never expired? Anyway uh yeah.)

(Rubber Chicken with a Keyboard I picked because it just sounded funny, though.)

[zwoelffarben]

Including any spinoffs and games. Check this blog for the companion poll for cis people.

–

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[pokepasta-fix-it-au]

Been seeing alot of posts saying that Steven is canonically trans and i’m gonna put that in here too for accuracy sake but also this gives me a very silly idea as to why stevie wonder couldn’t go get missingno after miki dies.

so basically the thoughts are as follows.

Missingno: A known phenomina that happens to pokemon who are left in their pokeballs for too long, causing their data to desabilise and corrupt over time. This corruption is incredibly dangerous as it can spread to other pokemon (AND HUMANS!) if contact is made. This makes them a natural danger to basically everything and any instances of missingno have to be dispatched of ASAP.

Back when Steven and Mike were still in school, this topic came up. It was necessary education for any soon to be trainers after all, and Steven asked “Do you think it could trans my gender?” as a half joke, to which the teacher replied “...probably?” This was all the encoragement lil Steven needed to leap up from his seat, book it out of the classroom and sprint full tilt until he got to water that connected to the sea, swimming out to cinnabar island while not letting anyone stop him. (He had a whole group of adults chasing after him as well as Mike. None of them could stop him.) After making it to cinnabar, he took a very brief moment to catch his breath before sprinting to the east coast and SCREECHING to the air for this entity to reveal itself. To everyone’s surprise and horror, it did. The beast rose from the waves, reality distorting around it, yet Steven stood his ground, asking quite politely if this powerful being could trans his gender. The beast didn’t reply, instead it leaned down at the child and reached out with a glitchy appendage and pressed it against Steven’s torso. After this, the young boy passed out in the sand and the entity quickly dived back under the waves. People quickly flocked to the scene to see if he was still alive, they were all so worried for the young boy. Their worries were put at ease however when Steven woke up an hour later, completely unharmed and unphased. When questioned what happened he simply said “I was right.” Things returned to normal soon after that thankfully. Except now Steven was alot more comfortable in his own body.

[deuynndoodles]

May I ask to hear about your totk fixit fic wip?

totally!

the intention was to rewrite the final part in which zelda turns into a human. it felt deus ex machina to me bc the whole story had pushed the tragedy of zelda losing herself with no way of returning, only for two dead ppl to use time magic to give link his arm back and his gf. i wanted to include impa, purah and the sages in finding a way to turn zelda human again, grounding it in the present and relying on the characters we've gotten to know well. (i also could write link as an amputee.)

i dropped the wip cuz i couldn't figure out an alternative route easily, and struggled to come up with worldbuilding ideas/mechanics.

.. now that i look back at the fic, it seems to be going the route of "link needs to accept the fact zelda isn't coming back" more than my original intention. maybe i could pick it up again and go that way intentionally :]

and here's a snippet:

Link slides open the door to Lookout Landing, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. The air is fresh. It smells of new hopes and beginnings.

"Link!" cries Tulin, flapping his wings and smiling. "You're okay!"

Link chuckles, morose. "As much as I will be, buddy."

"That was incredible, my dear friend!" says Sidon, beaming. "You never cease to amaze."

Riju twirls one of her locs, glancing at him with a smirk. "Nice job, Link."

A beat. "Thanks," Link says.

"Do you feel okay, goro?" asks Yunobo, face filled with concern.

"I dunno yet," Link answers honestly. "Eventually."

i last worked on this in august of 2023. it's been a while lol

[transingthoseformers]

So I've been think about RID somewhat, as i do sometimes. I've talked about this all before but like. I wanna talk about it more

Just... the lore that RID15 implies is so fun. Because there's a slightly different story here than the rest of aligned, and i oh so wanna dig into it as if RID15 was it's own continuity only loosely based on TFP (in a similar manner to how Beast Wars and Earthspark make a lot of references to g1 but technically have slightly different rules and lore.) because actually wow this is one of those stories where the plot is weaker but the worldbuilding is so fucking fascinating.

Because from what i can tell, these cons on the Alchemor? They're either from the beginning of the war, or before the war. I'm leaning actually towards before, as their crimes that landed them there are far different than you'd expect at the beginning of a fucking war. No this seens like what it was like before that, with a real Prohibition era feel to it. Maybe back when the Decepticons were just a movement, rather than a full on faction? Because these guys seem like civilians, peeps that took on the badge sure but that's about it. In RID15, the terms Decepticon and Autobot seem to originate far before the war. There's a chance that RID15 has a few IDW influences, but it's possible it doesn't.

I just love some of the designs and worldbuilding, even if the plot is kinda shit and it's thinly veiled copaganda. Just the entire situation has very intriguing implications.

Especially with Fixit and minicons similar to him. That seems a lot to me like a cold construct situation??? Especially with Fixit in general, because he's considered "defective" and there's a major fear in him that he'll be discarded... would that have been what happened before the war? Is this fear of his entirely justified? Most of the fears in the Nightstrike episode are pretty reasonable.

And my forever question, wHAT THE ABSOLUTE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THE ALCHEMOR SITUATION?!? WHAT WAS THE PLAN???

[tiodolma]

You have finished Kaamelot, right? 😗 So, what do you like more: BBC, Starz or Kaamelot?

Thank you for this ask, @the-king-and-the-druidess

I'm gonna put it this way. BBC Merlin (the show) fascinated and pissed me off so much that it opened me to all other Arthuriana and other modern adaptations because of my desire to understand just why everything went to sht in the series (⌒_⌒;)

Meanwhile I like how solid Camelot (Starz) and Kaamelott were in terms of honest characterization.

Kaamelott may be, at most, a gag/comedy show but the love/passion/genius of Alexander Astier (producer/showrunner and Kaamelott!Arteur) is so real it just shines, you know? The care that has been put in the comedy series.... it shows.. it really shows. Kaamelott is a product of sincerity and love. It is honest. It doesn't shy away from unsavory topics. Not one character claims to be the ultimate good. Not one character is the ultimate evil. All of them are idiots and all of them are smart. It's so human. It is disjointed, there's no real plot, it is funny, heartwarming... but when it hits you, it hits you. IT'S GREAT. That's what I can say. ٩(◕‿◕)۶

Camelot (Starz) is a masterpiece in itself. I like it so I really don't have a lot of complaints about it other than certain choices (esp surrounding igraine and leontes/lancelot). The storytelling was more solid. The characters and worldbuilding were more grounded and mature and closer to the legends. The dynamics were pretty much what you'd expect arthur-centric arthuriana should be on screen.

..........................

What i feel for BBC MERLIN isn't hate... it is more like.. disgusted awe. I do admit that they went to lengths (and audacity) that probably no other modern arthuriana has ventured before. The show left behind more What The Fuck questions, idealogies and propaganda rather than answers though. (And that is insidious especially when the show's cover was that it was "just a family-friendly show" and "geared towards children", YIKES).

BBC Merlin is not my first rodeo on a series where everyone-and-their-mother just wants to "fix it." In fact I am used to stuff that needs a lot of "fixit". However BBC Merlin just has this unprecedented level of fixit potential that I have never seen before. I don't know if that is awful or not. I don't know if it's shoddy writing or not. I am still on dying on the hill that the writers tried their best but the producers and bbc just had other ideas. idk.

Perhaps i am at fault though. I am more drawn to things where everyone is morally grey. In true early arthuriana fashion, BBC MERLIN IS NOT MORALLY GREY. There is an intense Black and White messaging that is so prevalent in the seres. It's so... Christian even when it never mentioned Christianity. There was a clear line drawn between who was the absolute good and absolute evil. Regardless of their actions, the characters were never classified as "doing bad when they are on the side of good" or "doing good when they are on the side of bad" because their roles have already been predetermined. They were just all just either "good" or "evil" and nothing else within the context of the show.

That's the irony of it all. BBC MERLIN being so unapologetic, absolutist and propaganda-like actually made it a lot more "Early Arthurian" in spirit compared to the "i know what i did was wrong but i gotta do it anyway" kind of morally gray storytelling that the other modern adaptations such as Starz Camelot and Kaamelott have.

And that's what sets BBC MERLIN apart from Kaamelott and Starz Camelot. It was so idealistic. It disgusts me. It brings me awe. I can't watch it anymore. But I want to study it. I wanna view it under microscope.

..............

If possible I'd rather have unlimited runs of Kaamelott and Starz Camelot. Five seasons of BBC Merlin was enough. We already got the message. Let the bbc merlin actors rest and pursue better roles without always being pressured to return to it.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (12-18 Feb 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 "List of People Who Disappeared Mysteriously at Sea" (Jen Myers) - nicely eerie short story

😊 In The Market For Murder (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #2) (T.E. Kinsey, author; Elizabeth Knowelden, narrator) - again, I'm a fan of the breezy 'not-super-serious-about-historical-accuracy-in-the-small-details' tone; I really like that Flo & Lady H have this backstory/history that we only find small bits about here and there

😍 Same As It Ever Was (QuokkaFoxtrot) - 62K, Steddie - EXCELLENT time-loop fixit AU

🥰 Cabin Pressure - Series 1: Abu Dhabi to Fitton (John Finnemore, author; Stephanie Cole/Roger Allam/Benedict Cumberbatch/John Finnemore, voice cast) - entertained again by the crew of MJN Airlines

😍 Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Steve a Match (BlueSimplicity) - 209K, shrunkyclunks - omegaverse (but fairly nontrad, no mpreg) - the slow burn tag is not inappropriate but also it kind of doesn't FEEL that slow! deep worldbuilding, excellent epistolary component, incredible OC's, the differences/subversions of trad omegaverse tropes gave me clowfish AU vibes, which I loved

😍 Will Wonders Never Cease (PorcupineGirl) - 56K, zimbits AU, You've Got Mail/She Loves Me fusion - magic's real, Bitty's a tech witch with a very cute familiar - read this in one sitting and my face hurt when I was done from smiling so much

🥰 Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue (Cat Sebastian) - novella, set in 1953; to paraphrase the official description: two best friend pro ball players finally figure their shit out, featuring: inclement weather, only one (real) bed and some hurt/comfort. Technically this is set in the Cabot Universe but there are zero Cabots in this one. Cat continues to score home runs on vibes alone. I love her books so, so much!

💖💖 +189K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

I Want You to Find Me (PorcupineGirl) - Check Please!: zimbits, 23K - canon-divergent AU where Bitty's a camboy that catches Jack's attention (while also still being his former teammate and all)

Ruin me (rainbow_nerds) - Stranger Things: steddie, 11K - absolutely cannot get enough of a reunion/2nd chance fic!!!!! fluffy AF!

Critical Feline Mass (Kryptaria, zooeyscigar) - MCU: stucky, 39K - no-powers AU where they're both retired military, Steve rents an apt to a still-struggling-to-reintegrate Bucky & sparks (and feelings) fly. also there are a lot of adorable kittens.

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Tom Scott & Gavin Free - "We tried the Hot Ones sauces. It was painful."

Queer Historical Romance panel with KJ Charles, AL Lester & Lex Croucher presented by The Portal Bookshop

Poker Face - s1, e5-7

Our Flag Means Death - s1, e8-10

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

⭐ Vibe Check - NFL = National Fenty League

Digital Folklore - Monsters and Mental Healthcare - Vivian Asimos & Kathleen Hale

The Sporkful - Alan And Arlene Alda Bonded Over A Fallen Rum Cake

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Henry Miller Memorial Library

You Must Remember This - 1984: "Vioporn," Body Double and Crimes of Passion (Erotic 80s Part 7)

Switched on Pop - “Flowers” and the art of the response song

Digital Folklore - Hidden Meanings (Haunted Videogames, ARGs, & Folk Groups)

Strange Customs - Katie Lowes and Adam Shapiro—The Rock

It's Been a Minute - Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks

⭐ Vibe Check - There’s Dog Years, and Then There’s Queer Years

ICYMI Plus - The Internet’s Black Emo Renaissance

99% Invisible #525 - The Chinatown Punk Wars

⭐ Fated Mates - S05.22: Trailblazer K.J. Charles

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Pushkin’s Duel

Welcome to Night Vale #222 - Makarov the Magical

Shedunnit - Bonus: Tana French on Josephine Tey

Fated Mates - S05.14: Band Sinister by KJ Charles

Writing Excuses - 18.07: Deep Dive into THE SPARE MAN

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Cactoblastis Memorial Cairn

Writing Excuses - 18.05: An Interview with Mary Robinette Kowal

Ologies - Melaninology (SKIN/HAIR PIGMENT) with Tina Lasisi

You Must Remember This - 1985: Fear Sex. Jagged Edge & AIDS (Erotic 80s Part 8)

Endless Thread - The Journeys of Two Russian Anti-War YouTubers

Strong Songs - From Bach to Miles Davis, with Emily Reese

You're Dead To Me - Early Medieval Papacy

It's Been a Minute - Kelela's guide for breaking up with men

Dear Prudence - My Partner Might Be in Conversion Therapy. Help!

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Rihanna

The Celtic Spirit

my 'Thumbs Up' playlist

Tropical Dance Pop

Hi-Scores

[void-tiger]

please tell me more about the fic where Ke/th doesnt get to be a paladin again, i keep seeing shit like how the team abandoned/failed Ke/ith and should have apologized to him when it was literally the opposite (i am sorry but the team almost DIED because K/ith fucked off to run off with the Blades, werent for Kuron entering Black they would have actually died, i do not understand how anyone can see this and say the team was in the wrong/Ke1th was in the right, and still be considered a team player let alone a team leader is beyond me. Really really sorry about salt in your askbox)

No worries! (Although, disclaimer: I had to set aside my voltron fics for a bit ‘cause I can’t work on them without getting salty, and too much salt is bad for you. So they’re…curing, I guess. I’ll stop with the bad salt jokes now XD)

But short answer? Keith’s their comfort blorbo, and it’s incredibly easy to have that become “can do no wrong ever it MUST be EVERYONE else!” and…not recognize that kneejerk bias. Ask The Real Fandom Olds TM who’ve participated in fandom culture since the 80s and 90s and that’s a key issue with Current Fandom and especially younger fans (ie, probably our generation and younger.) Add in that a lot of us online trend (in my antidotal experience) towards having untreated anxiety or depressive symptoms and/or undiagnosed neurodivergent brain wiring that an individual might’ve not quite learned how to cope with yet (and many come with emotional regulation symptoms) in addition to…human brains really just Don’t stop developing until mid20s regardless of someone’s birth gender and brain development is particularly chaotic and…well.

That’s a recipe for a volatile fandom, and since the VLD Characters in particular were geared towards Teens or Teen Nostalgia? [Comfort Blorboing Intensifies.]

Now, in one fic series Idea, Keith DOES become the Red Paladin again, but he has to work for it. Really work for it. Like, the Team is still incredibly hurt that he left and never really apologized for ditching them before THAT Scene where Jiro is forced to step in s4. I think I have in my notes somewhere [coughs] prolly a random post or very buried DM to a friend that Red Lion finally outright takes Keith for a joy ride (much like Blue and Black did with Lance and Shiro) and literally has him bouncing around in zero g and gforces until Red’s really willing to accept him back as Paladin. (Also it makes me feel better.)

[tags: blackbox verse, rewrite the stars, blackbox, veeladee fixit. Note that some of the older posts especially I’ve probably discarded. But I do my best worldbuilding thinking aloud, and hey. It’s fanfic. Who gives af about spoilers? Not me.]

But, in Blackbox verse, I wanted Jiro to have his very own Lion…and the Sincline Meteor is right there. Plus, y’know. Fixing-fixing. Making as much work as I felt like since it was intended to be a series, anyway.

Buuut, that’s not the fic idea you asked about.

The one you asked about is actually a Redo of The Black Paladin’s episode following alteanroyals’ prompt of “what if Shiro’s the one who fights the clone, and the clone gets to just come home. Have his own name.” Because, c’mon. The visuals would’ve been incredible, and Josh Keaton and Studio Mir adores Shiro and Jiro even if the EPs and arguably NONE of the writers (even the better ones trying to patch job before bailing out) gave a shit about Jiro as his own character.

So. Back to Keith.

He actually tries flying Black Lion, same as the (egh) canonical episode…and…

WHOOPS. He gets lasers shot at him for his efforts (hA HA~)

Allura steps in, and has a battle of wills against Black Lion, then realizes that what has Black so torqued is Keith tried to dominate the Lion. (Imo? The only reason why Keith could fly with Black in s2-4 was because of the bond they both had with Shiro. “Help me help you.”) And well. Allura’s learned a thing or two: trying to dominate a Lion does NOT work. She learned that for herself with White Lion, she’s now realizing that’s why Black Lion accepted Shiro as it’s Paladin over Zarkon at all. So Allura changes tactics, senses Shiro’s Quintessence still inside Black Lion nearly two years after he vanished, and calls the others in. They do a reverse-balmera ceremony via their voltron bonds and pull Shiro back out—in his OWN body, tyvm.

And well. Remember how it’s technically a “Shiro vs CloneShiro” prompt? Yeah, they fight. (I’ll try not to have them totally wreck the place. All Shiros are Good Shiros.) And when Black Lion comes for them now that the Lion can get a clear shot? Red Lion also comes.

Because Keith isn’t the only character who holds the needed qualities for a Red Paladin. (Reactive instincts, laser focus, loyalty, but often emotionally volatile.) Jiro does too. And unlike Keith, Jiro stayed even when he “no longer” had a Lion to fly from his POV, and he struggled with the rest of the Team to adjust to Lions that no longer suited them in the wake of Shiro’s Absence. So Red chooses Jiro and flies to him. (Black would’ve saved Jiro, too, even though Jiro wasn’t Black’s true paladin. But seeing a Lion accept him, and further proof that he’s not just a poor copy but his own person and even a Paladin in his own right?)

[gemini fic, shiro vs jiro]

Basically, in starting writing and continuing to ruminate on ideas, I realized that Gemini works best as a single fic, so having Firm Consequences make more sense. Other tidying up?

-Allura and the Paladins take the Castle and immediately head out for the Altean Colony while Shiro (and Black Lion at Black’s literal insistence) go after Jiro. (And with Shiro here to lead and analyze + Convenient Recap/Alternate Explanation, Pidge is able to shut down the virus far earlier before it makes the Castle truly dead in the water.) Haggar never gets her claws into them.

-Keith formally leaves the Blades. He had a family, and he turned his back on them. Those relationships won’t be what they were before (ie, symbolic in losing his Red Paladinship), but this time he’s willing to put the work in to repair their trust in him. Meanwhile, the Blades never were going to help him find his mother intentionally no matter how many times he sacrificed his life for them, and his life and the lives of all the other Blades ultimately meant very little to Kolivan and the Blades as an organization. He surrenders the knife to Krolia, and walks away if Team Voltron will let him stay. It not, he can do better good with the Rebels. (Infiltration was Pidge’s thing, anyway. He’s the showy diversion maker.)

-Lotor returns to Orionde. But when he faces the Ancients and White Lion again, he stops attacking and running from his sins. He sacrifices his full life force, and the Drained Alteans revive fully restored. The tragedy his family caused and he ended up perpetuating ends with him. (That does leave…y’know. The Galran Empire without an Emperor. But hey. IF I finish this fic, that’s potential sequel material, baby!)

-

…anyway. Point is, Keith Antis put a bad taste in my mouth, but the point of “Keith loses Red” wasn’t to punish Keith (okay…maybe a little. But that was still mostly Black blasting lasers everywhere. For catharsis.) The point was, “There are consequence, and while some relationships can be repaired or make new ones with the same people after you’ve hurt them, others can’t. You lose them. It’s important to put in the work, but it’s also important to accept loss and endings, especially after you’ve fucked up.”

And well. I felt that Keith Losing Red, Jiro Gaining Red made things narratively tidy.