#because they don't Get that Changelings have no idea they're not human and have no ill intentions. they're just Weird

[timey-fandom-stuff]

... I really gotta stop coming up with wildly ambitious AU ideas.

[stevieharringtonwifeguy]

changeling steve whose fae abilities activate early bc of the upside down, which surprises him bc he had no idea he wasn't human

usually changelings are a little weird, but don't become like Full Fae until they come of age, somewhere around 20, but sometimes if their life is in danger or they're otherwise under a great deal of stress, they can Blossom early

steve's never been a little weird. in fact, he's always been good at being Very Normal, always exactly what everyone expects him to be, exactly what everyone wants him to be. when he's young, his parents want a quiet boy they can show off at dinner parties, so steve dutifully bends his personality into shape, polite and good enough at the piano to play something for the grownups and let them coo over him (never too good or too polite, because his parents want him to be a little boy who'll grow into a Man's Man, and that means not liking music too much and climbing trees without getting dirty and pulling on girls pigtails)

when he gets to high school, his parents want him to join sports teams, so he bends his personality again and doesn't think about how easy it is for him to gain the muscle mass and dexterity required, because he must just have some kind of natural talent for it. the team has its own expectations of him: they want a King, someone who's good with girls and likes to kick down at the unpopular masses, so he does that too, picks up on everyone's insecurities the easiest out of all his followers, always seems to know exactly how to twist his words to make his victims feel the worst

then he meets nancy, and it's the first time he's not sure exactly what someone wants from him. sometimes he wonders if she even knows what she wants him to be. he still does his best though, because that's what he does, bending and twisting into the perfect boyfriend, sweet, attentive, a little roguish just to keep the edge on. and for a while it works, even after barb and the demogorgon and the nailbat in his trunk that doesn't fit any of the people he's supposed to be and sometimes makes him itch so much he feels like his skins going to crawl off

but then it's the next halloween, and nancy calls him bullshit and he knows she's right. doesn't know how to not be bullshit though, no ones ever wanted that from him. he could try though, for her, he thinks, if that's what she wants, so he shows up at her house a few days later with a bouquet, only to find dustin henderson demanding he take out his bat again

and later, in the junkyard, while the kids are in the bus yelling and steve's been knocked on his back by a demodog, bat out of reach as he frantically pushes at the heavy weight of the monster on top of him, he curses how weak and useless his stupid human hands are. if he was more like the demodogs, with their gnarled claws and copious amounts of teeth, he'd have no problem winning this fight. and as he thinks it, as he deliriously and desperately wishes he had some kind of natural defense against creatures like this, something changes inside him. it feels like someone's injected pop rocks into his bloodstream, and they seem to collect in his hands, where they're still uselessly scratching at the demodogs tough hide

except, they're not uselessly scratching anymore. now they're carving into the thing like butter, because his nails have gone from blunt and fragile to something long and hard like steel, and the tendons in his hands have shifted and strengthened to be much more effective at cutting through meat. he has claws now. actual, literal claws, a lot like the ones the demodogs have, although his are sort of glowing and shimmering from within like he's full of fireflies. it would explain the buzzing in his veins. but he can't think about that now, has to get this thing off of him, has to protect the kids, has to live another day

and at the same time, across town in a little trailer, the only two witches in hawkins have just gotten hit with a blast of released magical energy that's so strong it sends them physically reeling. eddie actually falls on his ass. wayne helps him up while the kid asks what the hell that was, and honestly wayne isn't absolutely sure himself. doesn't feel human, even if the mortal panic it's laced with feels very human indeed, and it takes him a while to place that fizzy feeling as fae magic. a Blossoming.

so he explains to eddie about changelings, cuffs him good-naturedly around the head when the kid immediately relates it to his nerd game (he does this every time wayne teaches him something new about magic), and explains a little more about fae in general. he's told eddie about them before, but fae tend to keep to themselves, so there's been no real need to explain more than basic etiquette and safety measures eddie should take if he ever came across a fairy in the wild

now though, he explains, he thinks eddie should reach out. that Blossom was early, panicked, which means there's some kid out there about eddie's age who's going through magical puberty into an entirely new species directly after some kind of terrible ptsd-inducing event. so he tells eddie to keep an eye out for them at school, because magical folk gotta stick together, and eddie agrees, because they do, and frankly yeah that sounds like a terrible thing to go through alone and confused

so imagine his dismay when king steve shows up to school the week after, clearly beat to shit and looking confused as hell when the things he reaches for end up in his hand without him actually grabbing them

reaching out might be a little harder than eddie expected. but, cursing himself a little for being too good a person to leave even king steve in the dark like that, he does it anyway.

[imcringeonpurpose]

the idea that Martyn takes on Ren and Scott's dog and sea monster characteristics is really serotonin-giving to me because could you imagine Ren's absolute delight when he first finds out?

"You're a dog hybrid?" he would ask. Martyn would turn to him and get very confused.

"Of course not," he'd say. And Ren would gesture to his very obvious dog ears and tail. Martyn dashes to the mirror and gapes in astonishment. He shakes his head, puzzled, and turns to Ren. "I.. I don't know what's going on."

Ren finds it absolutely adorable, claiming that his Hand's devotion to him clearly inspired this physical show of alliance and outright loyalty. Martyn would deny each claim Ren makes, and the rest of the server just assumes he's a dog hybrid.

The assumption is further proven when Martyn and Cleo have their very souls tied together, and Martyn's physical appearance doesn't shift in the slightest. If anything, his dog attributes heighten, him developing sharp fangs, claws, and his dog ears slowly move down from his head and merge with his human ears.

Martyn's hybridity doesn't come up until another Series. Once again, they're pulled from their worlds, ripped from their realities, forced into one arena. This time, they're told to fight and kill and desperately grasp for each passing second of life and blood.

Martyn and Scott find a sliver of peace together, and for the first time since 3rd Life, Martyn's physical features change. It's very slow at first - a few yellow scales on his forearm and neck, his dog ears begin to grow serrated edges...

And then, like with Ren, one day they wake up to a full-blown pufferfish hybrid, and Scott cannot wrap his head around it.

"I thought you were a dog hybrid," he'll say. And Martyn will just shake his head, tired of the speculation and the questioning. Scott will persist, and he will ask, "Are you a changeling?"

"No," Martyn will say. He will take his axe from his inventory and heft it in his hands. Despite his dog claws, despite his new pufferfish spikes on his knuckles, he will continue to fight with the axe Ren had given him all those lives ago. "Just a knight."

[a-really-big-cat]

I feel as though I see this sentiment more, with a lot of ambiguity about whether people are taking it seriously or not, and I should urge fellow autists against it:

We are not really fae folk.

We are not really changelings.

We are not aliens either.

Like, I get it, it's a fun metaphor and thought exercise, and a fascinating look into past neurodivergent culture. I too find the idea intriguing (to an extent). But I legit get concerned that many people are taking it too far and actually trying to seriously identify as "non-human". Maybe this is (ironically enough) me being autistic and taking online jokes as being unironic statements, but it is legit concerning.

This is a dangerous narrative to lean into for autistic culture. Do you know how many eugenicists and ableists there are in the present day who would love to take advantage of a narrative that we don't count as human? Do you know how many charismatic ideologues might realize that the whole esoteric "faery child/supernatural being" aesthetic is ripe ground for starting their own abusive cults, recruiting disadvantaged and neglected autistic people who want to have a supportive community and think they're "too smart" to fall for manipulation tactics like that because they're "independent free spirits"? Do you know how many neglectful parents would love to blame supernatural entities for their child's behaviour so that they don't have to get their child a proper diagnosis and the actual help they need, or that would deflect by saying "my child doesn't need help, he/she's just a special ✨faery child✨"? We already went through the indigo children and vaccine junk, we really don't need yet another supernaturalization/pseudosciencing of autism to set us back further.

We are rational human beings like everyone else, just with unique experiences of life's various stimuli, unique ways of communicating, and unique neural anatomy, all of which means that we sometimes need some support and understanding. And that's how we ought to be treated.

[fountainpenguin]

Fairly OddParents! Fanfic Trope: Wings AU. :D

Put a fanfic trope in my inbox and I will tell you how likely I am to write it and which characters or pairing I'd most likely write it for (From HERE)

This is not a trope I'm likely to write for in FOP. We have so many wings already, I don't think I'd give more to people who don't belong to one of the many flying species.

I do think Sparky without his wings would be interesting, as I would've preferred to see him played more like a dog and less like some guy who sleeps in Timmy's room.

I also think Sammy Sweetsparkle is unique for having wings, but mostly choosing to walk instead of fly (Even running for his life from a monster instead of just flying above it).

I think the most likely way I'd write this trope is in an AU where Fairies aren't necessarily born and raised by Fairies, but they're "made" (Possibly tying into the "Fairy For a Day" canon we saw in New Wish where Hazel grew wings after signing the fairy contract). I'd probably tie this to changeling lore too.

The idea here would be that Cosmo and Wanda were once human - For this AU where I ignore timeline inconsistencies, I might use what they said in "Growing Pains" about being teens in the 1590s - and they start growing wings one day, and it would be a story about them navigating lives with their parents and wishing they had someone to talk to.

Then one day, a series of events leads one of them to reveal their wings to the other (Maybe to escape chaos) and they start their journey towards training as fairy godparents.

I guess the other part of this is that Cosmo yoinks some child's essence and gives birth to Poof because he stole his lifeforce or something, but I think that's very accurate for a changeling-themed story.

Mary Alice Doombringer is definitely an option, as I've tied her to magic in my own lore. I didn't go this direction, but I think a fairy who hunts other fairies would've been sick :)

For an option that's a little more grounded in the canon that I could do a multi-chapter Wing AU with, I'd likely pick Remy. In my lore, Juandissimo legally adopts Remy and he's the only godkid who gets to keep his memories when he grows up (I prefer Timmy being an average kid to the end and therefore following the path of memory erasure like godkids are meant to).

For Remy, it's very much a story of him being given a rare opportunity and trying to be the person who deserves it... someone who has faith and trust placed in him and he doesn't want to break it, so he's willing to put in the work that comes along with this gift.

I prefer Remy being human the whole time, but if I were to do a Wings AU, he'd probably be the one I'd go with. I like the idea of him still being a human, just with fairy wings. At first he hides them, but eventually reaches the point where he goes downstairs to grab something from the kitchen, passes his parents in the hall, and they don't even comment on the wings. lol.

In my lore, the von Strangles cut their wings off (Heavily implied by the Season 0 canon where Cosmo asks Jorgen where his wings are and Jorgen replies that they were too girly and he uses a jetpack).

Jorgen has two kids in my 'fics - Italy and Fanny; twins - with the impending threat of "one of you will be taking over from the Tooth Fairy and one will be Keeper of Da Rules" looming over their heads, with the "one of you needs to opt into cutting your wings off" implied along with it.

A Wing AU where the Keeper DOESN'T cut their wings off and faces tension for breaking tradition would be pretty neat too.

Put a fanfic trope in my inbox Ask Game

[fae-scientist]

Something I've been thinking about for a while.

So I talk about being fae quite a bit (I mean it's in the name) but something I don't talk about quite as often is my archaic human identity. For the longest time, fae has been my primary species identity with Neanderthal* being in second place

*Just as a note, I may use the term Neanderthal for conveniences sake, but that doesn't mean it can't extend to other hominids as well

The reason this is the case is because it was difficult to determine exactly how to fit these two identities together. After all, they seem so different. What could fae and Neanderthals possibly have in common with each other?

Now this is going to get into noemata and personal belief territory, and there will be a lot of speculation from this point on.

I've been thinking a lot about the uncanny valley, the reason that humans are so unsettled by it, and also why we evolved to have it. Now to be clear, I'm not claiming there's one singular reason it became a thing. It's a complicated subject, and I feel it's more likely that multiple different factors came together to create the uncanny valley, but there's one theory in particular that really resonates with me.

It also led me to a question I hadn't considered: How far back do fae go?

Picture this:

You are an archaic human living with others of your kind, and the threat of danger is present at all times. You have to be prepared to take on anything that might harm you or the group, whether that be a predator, disease, etc.

But what you may not necessarily expect is that the monster you're afraid of is hidden in your very group, disguised as one of you. It may be someone you know. Maybe you even notice signs that they're a little off but can't place why. If they have malicious intentions, then that could spell danger for the whole group. The idea that the call is coming from inside the house is a frightening one.

It's my belief that this scenario did happen at points in prehistory (though I don't imagine it was necessarily common) even if I can't prove it, but I don't belive these nonhuman beings were all malevolent. I feel that some of them had to be benevolent and helpful.

Now here's the thing. I'm deeply terrified of the uncanny valley. But at the same time, I'm also fascinated and drawn to it. On the one hand, I feel the primal urge to be on edge just in case there's something lurking in the dark, and scenarios where creatures spawn into my house plague me often. But on the flip side, I am the creature who lurks in the dark. I do have the urge to be out in the forest at night.

It may be possible that in a past life, I was one of these benevolent beings who blended into a group of Neanderthals and helped them survive. I imagine that even if they knew there was something different about me, they still accepted me as their own. I was simultaneously one of them, yet not. Because having an ally like that in a world so dangerous can be very beneficial.

People tend to be wary of fae, and I understand why that is, but I think it's also important to acknowledge that humans and fae have had very positive relationships, including platonic, romantic, and sexual. It's not true that all fae seek to harm.

I consider myself human-aligned fae. There are plenty of stories of fairies who live among and/or help humans (changelings, brownies, etc.) It's one of the reasons I feel a bit disconnected from other fae, because I can't really divorce humanity from my fae identity. In fact, my human and fae species euphoria sometimes feeds into each other.

I feel like my fae instincts are pretty telling. A lot of people associate fae with tricksters who are only out to get humans, but my fae instincts actually include being nice to them. They also include politeness/manners and promoting fairness. These instincts can absolutely be experienced by humans, too, but they feel distinctly fae to me. And yes, tricking and playing jokes on humans is included in that, but nothing harmful (unless they're a politician I guess :/ I do have more "negative" fae urges, but those are for people who piss me off, not humans in general)

It's just difficult for me to believe that archaic humans had no interaction with nonhuman entities or that none ever tried blending in with them, when even today, we have plenty of nonhumans disguised as/living among humans, whether by choice or not (I mean, hello) and some of them are even human to varying degrees.

I imagine that once Neanderthals and other hominids all died out, I moved on to their closest living relatives who survived to the modern day, and thus, here I am. Playing Minecraft and typing out a Tumblr post or whatever (😐)

And that's where I'm at in piecing my identities together. Bonus noemata I have is that other hominids definitely did magic (though again, I can't prove it.) I also find it fascinating that part of the reason the uncanny valley developed may be due to existing near other hominid species. Literally people who are Like You But Not. (Also also day people/night owls exist because some hominids would watch for predators in shifts. I've always been a night owl and I'm literally night fae. I definitely would have worked the night shift)

[crossdressingdeath]

Orin: Husk. Maggot. A Bhaalspawn, slip-sliding in filth with these pigs. You don't deserve the Murder Lord's blessing. Kyvir: That's rich, coming from you. You're the child of a father and his daughter. Your mother was Sarevok's daughter. Orin: No no NO NO NO! He didn't... Filthy, pig-mouthed little LIAR! Orin: Grandfather loves me. He worships me. How dare you smear his name. It will not save you. Kyvir: [PERSUASION] He's your father, Orin. He abused your mother. He abused you. Orin: No. Not him. Not him... I did all this for him. Everything... everything... Bhaal Avatar: No, Orin. You did this for me. Orin: Bhaal... Father, they lie to me. They lie! Bhaal Avatar: You hesitate. If you will not fight for my blessing, I will make you something crueller. A deserving sacrifice for my child's ascension. [...] Sceleritas Fel: The changeling stands no chance, fiendish one. Eviscerate her! Orin: *ROAR!*

That transformation sequence is brutal. I actually feel really bad for Orin here. She hesitates for just a moment and Bhaal swoops in and warps her into the Slayer before she can even consider the idea that maybe she no longer wants to fight her "sibling" with the reveal that she's not Bhaal's child and in fact is the offspring of Sarevok and his own daughter. All Bhaal would've had to do was say "Yes, they're lying to you" and Orin would likely have gone right back to fighting for his favour. After all, who's she going to trust? Her much-hated sibling/a total stranger, or the god she's been groomed her whole life to be loyal to? But instead she hesitates for just a second and looks to her god for reassurance, and he forcibly transforms her into a monster on the off chance she might decide for the first time in her life that she doesn't want to fight. I find myself wondering if making her hesitate enough that Bhaal steps in makes the fight easier, too, because honestly she was not a hard fight. I could've done it without the Slayer if it hadn't been for The Vibes.

Also, playing Durge gives the Persuasion option there a fun feel; the initial "That's rich, coming from you" feels mocking (understandable, given she just took their form to mock them for the way she sliced open their skull and destroyed their mind while they screamed), but the Persuasion option feels surprisingly genuine. Especially in the context of a Durge who ultimately rejects Bhaal, there's a sense that they might really be trying to convince Orin that Sarevok and by extension Bhaal have been using and abusing her and don't deserve her loyalty. I won't lie, the idea of Durge making a genuine attempt to convince their "sister"/niece/great-niece to stop fighting for the people who hurt her so badly the same way they did for some of the party and the party did for them is very very good and sweet and the way they never get the opportunity to find out if they had even the slightest chance of succeeding in getting through to her because the moment she pauses, even to insist they're lying and beg Bhaal to confirm that, her humanity (for lack of a better word when she's not actually human) is torn from her in order to serve her up as an offering to Durge because as far as Bhaal's concerned she's proved herself unreliable just like that is deeply sad. I'm getting the increasing sense that there's a bit of a theme with the Chosen where even if they wanted to change they're in so deep with the Dead Three now that they'd never be allowed to; Durge only managed to get away because Orin's attack gave them so much amnesia they forgot they were Bhaal's favourite kid.

[geode-crystal]

Writeblr Interview tag game!

Wooo thanks for the tag @tildeathiwillwrite this looks like fun!

Open tag for anybody else who wants to answer these :)

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Yes, yes, and yes lol.

I tend to write novel-length things purely because I just... keep going XD I usually get more ideas than a short story allows. I do need to work on keeping things to the point sometimes!

But I have written short stories and one-shots (mostly as responses to promts) and I am very technically a published poet, since a few of my poems were published in a collection thanks to a writing competition back in high school .

What genre do you prefer reading?

Fantasy, full stop. I also love books that play on fairy tales and folklore.

Are you a planner or a write as I go kind of person?

I usually like to have a general idea of where I'm going, and figure the rest out along the way. Sometimes I make full outlines when projects get Really Big.

What music do you listen to while writing?

I either put on one of my incredibly random playlists or go to youtube and look for "relaxing [insert video game here] music." Pokemon soundtracks are actually really nice to write to.

Favorite books/movies?

Soooo many lol.

I'm a big fan of Disney and Pixar movies (as one of my previous posts made pretty obvious lol), particularly the Disney renaissance. Adore The Princess Bride. Love Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Love Studio Ghibli movies, personal favorite being Castle in the Sky. Of course, we have the classic Muppet Treasure Island as well. And I love every version of Scott Pilgrim out there, the movie, Netflix anime, and graphic novels are all amazing.

And for books... oh my gods there are too many to list here, but shout outs to Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series, the Chrestomanci books by Diana Wynne Jones (as well as Howl's Moving Castle), Raybearer and Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko, and the Hero's Guide series by Christopher Healy. Percy Jackson, too.

A lot of my favorite whump moments come from the good old Deltora Quest series by Emily Rhodda and The Mage of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen.

Any current WIPs?

So many. Too many. I need to escape lol.

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

I've based a few characters off of people I know before. Mostly my close friends. One of whom I write with a lot, so we've used each other as inspiration several times lol.

Are you kill happy with your characters?

No no no no no, not at all lolol. It's exactly the opposite. I have so much difficulty permanently killing off characters, to the point that my first novel-length project way back in my first year of high school ended with the villain getting polymorphed into a fish instead of dying. XD

I only do permadeath when it is absolutely necessary for the story. But... well, to quote The Return of Jafar: "You'd be surprised what you could live through."

Coffee or Tea while writing?

Don't usually drink or snack while writing.

Slow or fast writer?

Completely depends on the project, but I would say fairly slow. Especially compared to my writing buddy they're an absolute speed demon lol

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

Depends on the fantasy world, really. Definitely some kind of musician and/or storyteller, like a troubador or something. Maybe some kind of minor nobility, with all the "fun" I've had with the burden of expectations. I would love to have some kind of magic, especially if it's music-based. So..... basically a bard!

I'd also be very likely to be something not fully human, be that an elf or fairy or mermaid... or even a changeling.

Most fav book cliche:

There's a long list! But I really like Found Family stuff, and any time magic comes with A Price.

Least favorite cliche:

Characters getting pointlessly killed off just for the sake of Extra Drama.

Favorite scene to write?

Hurt/comfort, both ends! I especially love anything with added Guilt for one or all parties!

Reason for writing?

To paraphrase Brian David Gilbert: stories come to me in my dreams like a prophet receiving visions from an angry god.

I write because I'm always coming up with different ideas. I write because I was basically designed to study and create stories. Even if I don't physically write anything down, I will always find a way to tell some kind of story, be it just piecing together ideas in my head or through singing Broadway-style songs or even just attempting to draw a character. I write because it's just what I do!

[weregreatatcrime]

Oh my GODS I forgot about my old Karai adopted by Nomura AU. Holy shit this is amazing I found my old art of it and I'm giggling

Basically it was an AU where Trollhunters happened and Nomura is out here like "I don't know what to do with a CHILD" so she goes in search of a human to help her raise her new baby, since, you know, humans are better at being kind and nurturing and shit. But Nomura is a strong independent changeling who don't need no man, or woman, and she's not interested in getting in a partnership. All she needs is someone to help take care of her daughter familiar. So she fucks around and is like "You know, I don't need to be as careful as I used to be. If I have a grudge, I can just.... act on it. Hee hee."

And you see Nomura can't just get ANYONE to help with Zelda, she has to have someone who can protect Zelda just as well as SHE could. And Nomura is a busy spy assassin who is helping clean up the remnants of the Janus Order around the planet, so she needs someone who is independent and can either look after Zelda alone for a while or just move somewhere new with her when the need arises. So through a LONG stream of candidates Nomura settles on fucking. Karai.

She has some beef with Oroku Saki, what kind idk and changelings are p petty but Shredder’s a dick, so, probably something valid. Nomura's grand idea is to expose the child kidnapper for who he is to his "daughter". She manages to track down enough proof and force his hand enough that Karai actually believes it. Karai, now knowing she's Miwa, is devastated. Because Shredder is a dick but he was still her dad?

And Nomura saunters over like "I gotta deal for you kiddo! Help me raise my daughter and I'll help you look and see if there's anything left of your real father. No promises though, he went missing like, ten years ago. But I'll try! And as you can see, I'm very very good at finding hidden stuff :)" and well Miwa’s gotta try

Nomura kidnaps Shredder’s daughter while flipping him the bird and then Miwa helps raise Zelda for a few years. She actually really likes Zelda, she's a clever little terror, and Nomura is a cool "mom" even if they have an entirely transactional relationship. Miwa is just her fake daughter to help raise Zelda, they have fake papers and everything... but..... you know......... this is kinda nice. She never had a mom before, so even a fake one is cool

Nomura over here, having a panic attack when she realizes that she genuinely likes and adores this little bloodthirsty kunoichi and then eventually just straight up "Listen I like you, little viper, let me adopt you?? For reals please???" And they're a little happy family

And then Nomura gets a hot tip on the Hamatos in New York so the Nomura family gets to move to a little apartment there in search of Miwa’s real family, and Hilarity and Identity Shenanigans Ensue. Miwa ends up going to April and Casey's school. Zelda's daycare gets caught mid Kraang crossfire. Miwa sees Foot ninja and goes feral (being adopted by a changeling doesn't do a lot for your sense of morals). At SOME point, Zelda goes from cute toddler to tiny terror monster on a bad guy while Miwa just watches on from the sidelines with pride.

In the hero side of things the turtles find a new ally in a masked kunoichi who goes by Karai. She doesn't tell them anything about her except for the fact that if the Shredder hates them, she's on their side. She uses this to try learning about their family because they claim HAMATO as a name, surely they must know something about what happened to Hamato Yoshi.......

[spotaus]

Had a bunch of Doppletale ideas during my shower so I'm putting then under the Cut!

1) Kale stays underground for a really long time (<- That one's already established. It's like, 6-7 years I believe?) But I think that it's drawn out so long because, not only is K terrified (rightfully so) but Sans is also *extremely* hesitant to tell K about the rest of the underground. Like, he explains if she outright asks him, he wouldn't lie, but even then he cautions her with the most grave explanation when she asks about going past Waterfall for the first time. The further away from Snowdin she ventures, the less he can ensure she's safe. He's honestly terrified for the day she goes to see Asgore. He knows he'll have to Judge her, and that he'll have to accompany her to Asgore, and the last time he escorted someone to the barrier he snapped and killed them just before reaching the king. No matter how many years she's been around and how much better he gets with physical contact, he's so afraid he'll lose himself in that Judgement Hall again.

2) The barrier is fundamentally misunderstood by the monsters of the underground. They believe that to pass the barrier, Monsters must eat Humans and become 'human-like' to escape. This came about after Chara fell and the royal family adopted them. Chara was only a human child, and back then no one was starving. The royal family had recently had Asriel, so when Chara came to them, they thought the best way to teach their son to transform was to have a real human to mimic. Chara was off-limits for meals, and they grew up alongside Asriel as his sibling. Then one day Chara fell ill (ran out of human-food) and Asriel insisted that they go to the surface to get Chara more food. No one saw the whole story. How Chara was coughing blood as they exited the barrier, abd how they were holding Asriel's hand as he slipped through right behind them, disguised as a human child. The monsters had assumed that Asriel ate Chara and escaped the barrier. When Asriel returned to the underground, it was months later, and he only came back because he'd been spotted as a "changeling" by the villagers and had been attacked, separated from Chara and the family he'd been staying with. He "died" inside the barrier, unable to explain how he'd escaped in the first place. (He takes the form of Chara often when he's Flowey if only because it's one of the few faces he remembers.) So, the monsters assumed they had to be perfectly human by consuming more humans to escape. They're wrong. (It actually takes a human putting trust into a monster to give them the chance to cross, and the monster has to view the human as something other than food. As an equal. So, for the barrier to break, the entire underground has to recognize, on some level, that a human is more than food.)

3) Ghost Monsters don't eat Humans, and therefore are the most sane monsters underground by far. All four ghost-monsters were haunting objects that were held onto by humans that had been killed by the monsters, and ended up trapped underground by accident. The only time Ghost Monsters pose a threat is when they try to possess a human. The Ruins Ghost inhabits a dummy (one that's unsettlingly human-shaped that looks like it's been gnawed on by the ruins monsters quite a bit) and it has no intention of harming humans, though it will occasionally appear behind humans or in corners without warning. Napstablook is actually harmless, but wails and cries like a tortured soul. The only thing that calms him is his music. Mad Dummy ends up being the most dangerous Ghost to humans, but much like ruins dummy he inhabits a strange human-anatomy dummy in the waste-dump. He desperately wants a human to possess so he can pass the barrier and escape his wrongful imprisonment. Lastly MTT is obviously still in his robot-body, but as a monster who stays sane while Alphys goes insane, as Sans leaves, as everyone around him starves, he stays adamant that he has to look out for those who aren't able to care for themselves. (In this AU he's never Box shaped.)

3.5) MTT hosts the radio underground. After Alphys damaged him with a trap, he decided that he couldn't bring himself to be on-screen. Instead he uses Alphys' camera system to broadcast a sort of news-station to all the radios in the underground. He's the Star of the underground, and a lot of monsters would claim that MTT was the only reason they didn't lose sanity already. His daily broadcasts always had something new, even after countless years, as his voice was calming and friendly, something monsters didn't have enough of. His very last broadcast is one where he announces it's his last broadcast, because the Barrier is broken. (I also think he'd eventually offer to endorse K to the underground citizens, which has a lot more sway than anyone expects in making Monsters not want to immediately devour K.) (Maybe he's even on the radio when/before K has to speak with Asgore, to take calls from the underground asking opinions on "the Kindness Soul" roaming the underground, and it's a shocking amount of Positivity that they get in response???)

3.6) On the surface, MTT would genuinely become some sort of influencer online. He'd probably love to do Storytimes or Vlogs, and have like a d.i.y. channel. He uses this popularity he gains to slowly but surely change the public opinion on monsters (at least some of them) and help advocate for them to not be ostracized. With advancements in tech, he wouldn't be immediately grouped with the monsters when appearing, so as someone from "outside" either side of the drama and such a positive force he could gather some support. (However, Papyrus and Blooky remain his #1 fans no matter how many new ones he gains.)

And finally, @oodlesndoodles because I promised I'd @ them, and Ood is the designer of Kale/K, the human mentioned for Doppletale's True Pacifist route!

[tir-na-dean-au]

Tir na Déan AU

Probably going to get seen by like three people, but, oh well, I feel like yelling into the void about a MCYT (mostly Hermitcraft and Empires SMPs) AU I may or may not eventually write, with loads and loads of Celtic mythology references 'cause I'm a nerd and proud of it.

So, most people are probably familiar with the idea of a "fae realm", but if you aren't, here's a short rundown:

There are multiple "worlds" or "realms" in almost every mythology. The Nine Worlds in Nordic, Tir na nOg in Irish Celtic, Olympus and Hades in Greek, and so on. These realms or worlds often exist parallel to our own, to the "mortal" plane, and to any other plane of existence. This is a very basic explanation, for an absolutely fascinating subject.

In this AU, I grabbed the idea of the Celtic Otherworld (Tir na nOg) being split into various "courts" (or, rather, worlds!), and booked it like a child with five cookies stuffed in her mouth.

So, me being a mythology nerd, and also a Hermitcraft fan with way too much time on my hands and way too many AU ideas, thought up the idea of the "Tir na Déan", or "Land of the Craftspeople" (because, y'know. Craft. Minecraft).

Effectively, each server in the MCYT is a different "court" of Tir na Déan, with smaller groups within each. I.E., in Tir na Impirí (Empires SMP), everyone who lives in Tir na Impirí is part of the Caisleán na Impirí, while someone who lives in Sanctuary, for example, is part of the Caisleán na Impirí and the Caisleán na Sagrario, as Sanctuary is just one small part of Tir na Impirí.

(I really hope this makes some sense.)

But! It's about to get more complicated!

See, there is, of course, more than one realm. There's Tir na Déan, as I've already explained; there's the mortal plane (which I've yet to name); and there's the land of the dead, which is largely irrelevant so far (and also currently unnamed. You can tell where my focus has been since I came up with this idea. Fae are much more interesting than us mere mortals). There's also a few others, but they're loosely connected to the main three and not currently important.

Now, while Tir na Déan is effectively in a permanent state of sword & sorcery/steampunk (because iron is a big no), the mortal plane continues to change and advance, up to the current day. The worlds do still interact, though not as frequently as they once did; they kinda view each other as "fairy tales" for the most part, stories told to children to make them eat their vegetables or go to bed on time, on both sides. The fae are just as scared of humans as humans are of fae. See, the humans have tales of fae eating people and stealing children, and the fae have tales of humans slaughtering trooping faeries and torturing their own out of fear of changelings (which are, in most parts of Tir na Déan, completely illegal. Symbolically. Like how it's illegal to build on a fairy mound in Ireland). Humans scare fae, and fae scare humans, just as people who are different often do.

But, of course, there are places the worlds collide. Places, on the mortal plane, like Brú na Bóinne (an Irish sidhe-mound), where the Veil between the worlds is said to be thinner and allow magic to seep through. In Tir na Déan, these places are where magic is weak, because it's magic that keeps the Veil intact. Opposites, once again, as faerie and man are want to be.

Now, because there are places where the worlds touch through the Veil, there are always going to be people who know about the other side.

Hence, we finally reach the Hermitcraft portion of this post, after... six hundred and twenty-five words. Welp. I'm more long-winded than I thought.

So, the Hermits are their own court, made up of fae who, for some reason, want a court but don't have one. There are characters who, like Grian, bounced from court to court, never really belonging anywhere until he found this chaotic court of madmen. There are others who, like Scar, were forcibly removed from their court for a variety of reasons, or, like Cub, chose to leave it. There's people from different worlds, like Cleo who came from the land of the dead, or Joe who was born on the mortal plane and just left. There's loads of different reasons they've become Hermits, or, as their court is known, members of the Caisleán na Díthreabhach, the Court of the Hermit.

(Definitely a stylistic choice, and not the fact that I can't figure out Irish plurals yet. Nope. Definitely not.)

So, the Caisleán na Díthreabhach are effectively cryptids, even to the fae. They're known as either the Caisleán na Díthreabhach, or the Caisleán na Strainséir (Court of the Outsider); they just kinda show up places, solve conflicts, and leave. Which, in my opinion, is very Hermitlike.

They appeared in the Caisleán na Brionn. And now there is no Caisleán na Brionn, just a few survivors who spoke of magic like they'd never seen before, and of friends and family who left with them. Some of them returned. Some of them didn't.

(Court of Dreams. Most of you probably get what happened.)

But they're also known to humans, too. Sort of.

Their court is built right on the border between the mortal and the fae lands, the place where the Veil is weakest.

Ohio.

To the fae onlooker, it looks like an imposing fortress. To the human onlooker, it's just a town with a really weird vibe. And yeah, there's loads of cryptid sightings in the area, but that surely isn't related to this strange little town that freaks everyone out, and whose inhabitants all give off really Uncanny Valley vibes. Surely. That's a stupid thought.

But there are also those who know. Humans who know that this weird Ohioan town is the place to go to find themselves on the other side. Fae who know that the Caisleán na Díthreabhach is a way out.

And it is. If you know where to go.

But even those who know would not dare do them harm.

After all, He Who Keeps The Void is their king. After all, He Who Walks With Spirits holds his banner aloft. After all, They Who Watch will warn him. After all, He Who Fears Not Iron crafts their blades. After all, She Who Death Cowers Before rallies his armies. After all, He Who Is Fear stands at his right and He Who Turns Winter Red at his left.

After all, the Hermits will fight.

And they will win.

[fortheloveoflatinum]

Disco Thoughts

Hey there, don't let me be the one to spoil it for you. Click at your own discretion, because here there be spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery.

When are we going to see Detmer and Owosekun? Are they even going to come back for the finale? I feel like we have a whole new bridge crew and as much as I respect the idea of the Bajoran pilot - what was her name again? - she's just a stand-in. She has had a few lines of sub-standard dialogue by this point and I am unimpressed. Detmer at least had some tension to her - she was a very angry character, to the point where that was her defining character trait (I can't remember the episode but I can't forget the scene where Saru is leading the crew in a dinner and Detmer makes up a rhyme about Stamet's blood. I think it was shortly after they jumped to the future.) 💔

Um since when are so many Commanders allowed on one ship? And why were they all passed over for promotion, having loyally followed Michael into the future - as Paul reminds us right before she blasts him out of an airlock - so she wouldn't have to be alone? Rayner seems like a wild card. I would have loved to see one of the original bridge crew who followed Michael to the future get a chance to shine as her Number 1. Just because Rayner needs a second chance doesn't mean that others don't deserve a first! 🌻

Who else loved seeing Bryce command the ship? That was a first I think, and speaks to my earlier point that he would have made a great Number 1. He stays level and calm - unlike, ahem, a certain Commander *coughs* Rayner. 😂

Part of me really wants to see Michael save the galaxy yet again, but don't you think it would be more fun if, say, she failed and Stamets did it single-handedly for a change? 😉

I was talking with my neighbor (he's also a Trekkie) and we were thinking about the choice to make the Breen liquid. Why? Well, because of the Founders, of course. If all the changeling-like, Founder-esque species allied together during the Dominion war, this adds exactly no layers of nuance to DS9 canon because one can throw one's hands quite neatly in the air and say, "Heh. Our old enemy, xenophobia strikes again. Thank goodness we have our own personal savior conveniently captaining a ship capable of going anywhere in the galaxy at the press of a spore drive button, right?" 🙏

Also I personally think answering the question of, "What does a Breen look like under their helmet?" takes away from their mystique. And their fearsomeness. It humanizes them, okay, and that was the one thing the Breen didn't need. They're Breen! Also, heheh, green. ❇️

Just kidding. Imma miss the ever-living daylights out of Disco when it's gone. I was kind of hoping for it to end with a bang, but it seems a whimper is all we'll get. 😭

[fruitypie-daydreams]

Hiya! You can call me Pixel or Nick! He/they.

Aroace irl, ficto/pan 🏳️‍🌈

This is a blog dedicated to both selfship and maladaptive daydreaming stuff since it both goes hand in hand for me.

This is for stuff that fits all of my AUs, or for fandoms I don't currently have a separate sideblog for. Other blogs will be linked in my list below 💖

I may occasionally reblog fanfics with smut, so just filter out the tag #minors dni if you don't wanna see that stuff! The #bestie tag 🎃 tag is for stuff from my irl best friend (@satellite-of-self-love)'s various selfship blogs + stuff that reminds me of her and her F/Os. All other tags should be listed below 💖 (None of my self inserts are girls even if they use she/her pronouns amongst others)

Main blog -> @fruitypieq

I don't really mind sharing F/Os, but if we share romantic ones maybe just don't tell me about it.

Apologies for how long this is about to be lol

❗❗ Important - Some of this gets a little complicated because a lot of these are various AUs that I've made up, so relationships in each AU are different. Like Chrysalis and Luna for example, they're my romantic F/Os in different universes, but never in the same universe. I'm not sure how to explain it, its complicated lmao. I'll do my best to list it accordingly though

Basically its like how you can date everyone in a dating sim but on different routes lol. So just because two or more are listed as romantic it doesn't mean thats happening at the same time, just in different universes. I have no idea if I'm explaining this well

Code

Red - Romantic F/O

Orange - Familial F/O

Purple - Child F/O

Pink - Platonic F/O

Blue - Pet F/O

Green - Other/Undefined

A ⭐ by their name means they aren't from a canon source, and a 🌠 by their name means they aren't from a canon source and also do not belong to me. Familial and platonic are a bit intertwined <3

Tags For All Universes: #my kids 💖, #potential f/o tag 🖤, #my tag 🍉

Other: #bestie tag 🎃, #my stuff, #reblog game, #reblog game: others, #reblog game: op

(For universes that have blogs, most of my stuff is being posted/reblogged to those rather than here lol)

💖 My Little Pony/Equestria Girls 💖

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, The Apple Family, Bow Hothoof, Windy Whistles, The Ktamryn ⭐, Reflections!King Sombra, Prince Blueblood, Princess Cadance, Night Light, Twilight Velvet, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Emziko 🌠, Flurry Heart, Star Tracker, Raven, Kibitz, Royal Guards, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Big Mac, Starlight Glimmer, Rolling Pebble ⭐, My Chemical Spiral ⭐, T-Bone ⭐, Flim, Flam, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Trixie Lulamoon, Discord, Granny Smith, Gamer Gears ⭐, Fancy Pants, Starswirl the Bearded, Mage Meadowbrook, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, Mistmane, Rockhoof, Stygian, Sunset Shimmer, Human!Celestia, Human!Luna, Petal Pop ⭐, Sunburst, Squiggles ⭐, Heartbreak ⭐, Moondancer, Spray Paint ⭐, Tempest Shadow, Jack ⭐, Coco Pommel, Thorax, Pharynx, Changeling Hive, Ember, Starry Night ⭐, Red Delicious ⭐, Sugar Belle, Cheese Sandwich, Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake, Pumpkin Cake, Pound Cake, Queen Chrysalis, Lucid Dream ⭐, Pink Vanilla Cake/Vanny ⭐, Pony!Wallflower Blush, Limestone Pie, Marble Pie, Maud Pie, Lil Cheese, Big Sugar, Pine Song ⭐, Buttercup (Cat) ⭐, Everest (Butterfly) ⭐, Sammy (Frog) ⭐, Tiberius (Opossum), Philomena (Phoenix), Ocellus, Princess Amore, Human!Cadance, Human!Night Peak ⭐, Zephyr Breeze, Snowball (Cat) ⭐, Lovebug ⭐, Esmeralda ⭐, White Castle ⭐, Aura Quartz 🌠, Morning Roast, Inkwell, Mildred ⭐, Shadow Candy ⭐, Delilah Dusk ⭐, Shadow (Cat) ⭐

Blogs and Tags: @ktamryn-princess || @crystal-heart-princesses || @evilbtches || @yancelie || @vampireofthesun || @ponycuddless || Universe: #pony tag 🦄 || Me: #my tag - night peak/mlp 🌒 || Characters: #bug kids 🪲

💖 My Little Pony Adjacent:

Pine Fire ⭐, Silver Sun ⭐, Hazel Spray ⭐, Kimberlite Pie ⭐, Dark Desire ⭐, Rockaroon ⭐

Blogs and Tags: @pepperpeak || Universe: #fusion tag 🍰 || Me: #my tag - pepper/fusion 🧁

💖 Supernatural 💖

Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Castiel, Crowley, Gabriel, Jody Mills, Donna Hanscum, Gadreel, Balthazar, Sean White ⭐, Mick Davies, Garth Fitzgerald IV, Eileen Leahy, Bobby Singer, Likki (Hellhound) ⭐, Jeffrey (Haunted Cat) ⭐, Metatron, Death, Bela Talbot, Mrs. Butters

Blogs and Tags: @motha-freakin-lucifer || Universe: #spn tag 👻 || Me: #my tag - nikki/spn 🔪

💖 Mystic Messenger 💖

Flower (Cat) ⭐, Jumin Han, Christina Han ⭐, Geon Han ⭐, Elizabeth 3rd (Cat), Jaehee Kang, Jia Kang-Pines ⭐, Saeyoung Choi, Jiyeon Choi ⭐, Tay Choi ⭐, May Choi ⭐, Rocky (Cat) ⭐, Yoosung Kim, Don Kim ⭐, Buddy (Dog) ⭐, Saeran Choi, Yuri Choi ⭐, Lilly Choi ⭐, Rika Kim, Jenny Pines ⭐, Jihyun Kim, Natsuki Kim ⭐, Lucy Kim, Parrot (Parrot) ⭐, Zen, Soonja Ryu ⭐, Mimi Ryu ⭐, Vanderwood, Amelika Pines ⭐, Various unlisted (Characters' canon family members)

Blogs and Tags: @rfa-member-pixel || Universe: #mysme tag 📱 || Me: #my tag - nicholas/mysme 🍕 || Characters: #mysme kids 🧃

💖 A Magneto 💖

Bonita, Ellie Choi, Pam Choi, Chris Choi, Alvin Derry, Raphael, Mozzarella Jay, Pearl, Saeran Choi, Jaehee Choi, Taemin Choi, Amanda Erialc, Pan Man, Vanderwood, Saeyoung Choi, Loveti Choi, Flower (Cat), Snyder (Pig)

Blogs and Tags: @a-magneto || Universe: #magneto tag 🔥 || Me: #my tag - nick/magneto 🌎 || Characters: #magneto kids 💙

💖 Arcane 💖

Silco, Sevika, Viktor, Heimerdinger, Isha

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #arcane tag 💥 || Me: #my tag - pixel/arcane 🔗 || Characters: #silco tag 🦈, #jinx tag 🔫, #vi & vander ❗

💖 The Walking Dead 💖

The Governor, Jesus, Negan Smith, Various unlisted (edit later)

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #apocalypse tag 🛒 || Me: #my tag - nick/twd 🧟‍♀️ || Characters: #governor tag 🧟‍♂️, #jesus tag 🏳️‍🌈

💖 Littlest Pet Shop 💖

Roger Baxter, Blythe Baxter, Anna Twombly, Fisher Biskit, Whittany Biskit, Brittany Biskit, Cadance (Bird) ⭐, Celie (Cat) ⭐, Lulu (Cat) ⭐

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #lps tag 🦨 || Characters: #cady and kat 🐦

💖 Nimona 💖

Nimona, Ballister Boldheart

Blogs and Tags: #nimona 🦏

💖 Miraculous: Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir 💖

Gabriel Agreste/Betterfly, Adrien Agreste/Paw Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Sluush ⭐

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #stoat tag ⛄ || Me: #my tag - frost/miraculous ❄ || Characters: #betterfly better life 🦋

💖 Pokémon 💖

Castiel (Vaporeon) ⭐, Sunny (Poochyena) ⭐, Crowley (Ivysaur) ⭐, Cody (Stunky) ⭐, Flower the 2nd (Trumbeak) ⭐, Cadance (Sylveon) ⭐, Shadow (Zorua) ⭐, Night Peak (Eevee) ⭐, Various unlisted Pokémon (too many to list) ⭐

Blogs and Tags: @pixels-pokemon || Universe: #pokétag 🔴

💖 How to Train Your Dragon 💖

Jack (Dragon) ⭐

Blogs and Tags: Characters: #jack tag 🐉

💖 Finch 💖

Cadance (Bird), Jinx (Bird), Ktamryn (Bird)

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #finch tag 🕊 || Characters: #cady and kat 🐦

💖 Fandomless/Other 💖

Rat (Cat) ⭐, Fabian Xavier Pines ⭐

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #the others 🧇 || Characters: #rat attack 🐀, #fabian tag 👁

💖 Spider-Man 💖

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Blogs and Tags: #spider tag 🕷

💖 Bob's Burgers 💖

Teddy, Bob Belcher, Linda Belcher, Tina Belcher, Louise Belcher, Gene Belcher, Calvin Fischoeder, Felix Fischoeder, Nat Kinkle, Mickey

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #burger tag 🍔

💖 Five Nights at Freddy's (Movie) 💖

William Afton/Springtrap

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #fnaf 🍕 || Characters: #golden bun 🐰

💖 Serial Mom 💖

Beverly Sutphin

Blogs and Tags: Characters: #beverly tag 🧦

💖 NCIS 💖

Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Abby Sciuto, Anthony DiNozzo, Tim McGee, Ziva David, Donald Mallard, Leon Vance, Jimmy Palmer, Eleanor Bishop, Tobias Fornell, Anthony DiNozzo Sr., Butterball (Cat) ⭐

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #ncis tag 🫀 || Me: #my tag - nick/ncis 🕶 || Characters: #dinozzo tag 😎, #gibbs tag ☕ || (I adore these guys but ACAB for irl cops 👍)

💖 Minecraft 💖

Jiji (Cat)

Blogs and Tags: Universe: #minecraft 🟩 || Characters: #jijis tag 🐈

Other credits ;; For things not made by me, anything uncredited is either by me or credited in the original post where its used

Dividers: firefly-graphics || Certain reblog game pics: Google images (I know that doesn't really count as proper credit I'm sorry) || Userboxes: selfship-userboxing

[crackship-connoisseur]

Tales of Arcadia rework

The Basics

I can't really write a full summary of the plot because there's not much I have to fix about it except for making the major changes make sense with the general follow-through. With that being said, here are the major changes in my rework that you'll need to know about:

Changelings are now Woodtrolls. While they might be frequently referred to as changelings and still maintain their ability to shapeshift from a troll form to a human form, they do not have any connection to a human familiar, and instead have a divine connection to Nari (hence why they will take on a more tree-like appearance in their troll forms, which I have yet to design). This change is due to the parallels between the antisemitic nature of changelings and blood libel, and its portrayal of it in the show.

Goblins either wont exist, or will also be heavily altered like changelings. I haven't decided how much narrative weight I want the goblins to have in my rework compared to the canon, but if I decide they should, they will get as much an extensive revamp as changelings. This change is due to the general antisemitic nature of goblins.

Jim will become a "changeling" instead of a half-troll. I personally just think him becoming a half-troll defeats the entire message of Trollhunters, and completely disregards all of the foreshadowing that was pointing towards him becoming a changeling specifically. It would also just be more interesting and tie The Arcane Order into the plot much earlier. I also think its a good compromise for people who like both versions of Jim.

Both Seklos and Gaylen are all-powerful G-ds. While Gaylen will still be responsible for creating the Akiridions, Seklos will be responsible for creating The Arcane Order, who will go on to create the earth. Otherwise, the story will remain generally the same. This change is to tie 3Below in more with the other installments, and make it much more relevant than it is in the canon.

Merlin will ultimately be the final antagonist. I feel like I don't have to justify this. He is an asshole and I hate him.

The Arcane Order will get a redemption. Whatever I specifically do to fix Rise of the Titans, it will involve a more complex version of The Arcane Order, where their motivations for the destruction of earth will revolve around the grief of losing their parents, Seklos and Gaylen, rather than just destroying it for funzies. They will also get heavy redesigns to remove any offensive depictions of certain cultures.

That being said, I do not consider ANYTHING RotT establishes as canon. Nobody dies, nobody will time travel, and there will certainly be no offensive portrayal of male-pregnancy.

Every character will generally get more fleshed out and will have better character arcs. I will also put more focus on dismantling the idea of destiny, and how trauma affects people.

I MAY NOT CONSIDER WIZARDS CANON EITHER. If do decide to keep Wizards, it will need a complete rehaul to fix all of the plot holes, but otherwise I just think its a dumb premise in general and the plot holes are quite daunting.

With that being said, I may have Jim, Claire, Blinky, Merlin, etc. stay in Arcadia so they're present for the plot of 3Below. Regardless of what I do with Wizards, this will most likely stay the case so there can be more meaningful interactions between the whole cast.

Everything else is pretty much just nitty gritty stuff like world-building expansion and character dynamics. I don't exactly know what my end goal for this project is, so I don't have anything on an episode-by-episode basis by any means, these are just the rules I'm operating by when I make fan content for this franchise.

Patch Notes

Original magic system changes + plot changes (2022)

Characters

Claire + Jim redesigns (2022), Bellroc redesign sketches (2022), Bellroc redesign (2022), Arcane Order Jimtober redesigns (2022)

Fanfics

Links to be inserted

You can find everything else under #toa rework

[sodiumlamp]

Picard

I just did the math, and Star Trek: Picard is approximately 22.5 fucking grueling hours, so that made me kind of sad.

This episode tries. It doesn't quite succeed, but I see the effort and I appreciate it. I'd like to believe that this marks a turning of the corner, and the rest of this season will get better, but it's too late to redeem this series, which currently stands as one of the all-time worst shows I've ever seen.

With a lot of bad media, I will often see apologists offering up defenses like "It had some good ideas, but they were poorly executed." And I have watched TV shows where that simply isn't true. The ideas were bad and the execution was bad, so it was bad all around. Picard, on the other hand, actually does have some pretty great ideas. There's a lot of stuff that would totally work if only it were being done anywhere else but here. And that's actually more tragic, because Star Trek Picard is like this graveyard where good ideas go to die. And of course, they're buried alongside a ton of bad ideas, which the show also has.

All right, so in this episode, they're stuck in the gravity well of a nebula that isn't actually a nebula, and they've only got four hours left to live. The gang have hit rock bottom, but they slowly start to dig their way out, which is kind of uplifting to see. Riker admits to Picard that he was right about not wanting to fight the Shrike. Picard spends some QT with his new son Jack Crusher. Seven and Captain Shaw have to work together to flush out the Changeling saboteur. Beverly figures out that the nebula is actually some sort of alien womb, because it's sending out energy pulses at regular intervals, comparable to a human experiencing contractions during childbirth.

I mean, that last part is pretty ridiculous, but I'll allow it, because it's on-brand for Star Trek. Still... I'm beginning to wonder if anyone in Starfleet has ever seen an actual nebula before. It just seems like this thing turned out to be very different from a nebula, which makes me wonder why anyone thought it was a nebula in the first place.

Anyway, they finally come up with a plan to use the energy pulses from the space-womb to carry the ship back out before they all die. It mostly relies on this weird premise that's also on-brand for Star Trek: that all starships can magically be drained of their power, or absorb power like a sponge. In this case, Bev can predict the next wave, so once they're prepared they can just time it right and use the power of the wave to re-energize the ship. When they escape, they're treated to a swarm of alien squid creatures born from the "nebula".

So what's the problem? Well, two main issues here. First, even though there's a happy ending to this crisis, this episode gets really fucking dark. The crew morale is in the toilet. Riker confesses that he's in a profound depression from the death of his son, so he left his family to get back into space just to try and feel something. He tries recording a message for his family when he thinks they're all going to die, and when the others come to him with their escape plan, he's so despondent that he thinks it would be better to wait for a rescue, because at least that way the ship might still be intact and they could leave something behind. I don't know what the hell happened between Season 1 and this, but that's a pretty dark mindset he's in.

We also learn that Jack approached Picard years ago, without telling him who he was, and asked Picard if he ever considered having a family, and Picard replies that Starfleet was the only family he ever needed, which would have been an innocuous comment except he was saying it to his son without even realizing it, so that's really grim. Also, Jack has some spooky hallucinations near the end of the episode. I guess he really is his father's son, since Picard had the prophetic dreams in Season 1 and the Silent Hill jumpscare flashbacks in Season 2.

Oh, and there's a lot of body bags in this thing. It's kind of tough to appreciate the Titan surviving this mess when you see so many crewmen who definitely did not survive it.

Oh, and Captain Shaw is high on painkillers and he finally opens up about why he's such a giant douche: Turns out he was at Wolf 359, and he and 50 of his closest friends had to figure out which ten of them got to use the only functioning escape pod. Did anyone actually die at Wolf 359? The way I remember it, there were a lot of broken hulls and the Enterprise scanned for life signs and found none. But Sikso got out and Shaw got out. Shaw describes himself as a "dipshit from Chicago," and I gotta admit, ripping off Ben Sisko's origin story is a pretty dipshit move. I'm voluntarily subjecting myself to Star Trek: Picard, so I can't judge.

Oh, right, there were two issues with this episode, but there was so much dark stuff in this one that I got sidetracked.

The other issue is that they just sort of blew off the original problem that got them in trouble in the first place: The Shrike. On their way out of the "nebula" they almost run right into it, but Riker uses the tractor beam to snag an asteroid and fling it into the Shrike before it can attack. It's kind of cool that he got his groove back and managed to one-shot this enemy that had seemed unstoppable a few hours earlier, but it also undermines all the buildup we had with the Shrike in the previous two episodes.

The Shrike's captain looks like she's auditioning for the role of Oswald Cobblepot. She acts like a maniac, and her ship is supposed to be loaded with incredibly powerful weapons. When Titan falls into the gravity well of the "nebula" she cuts off her own hand, which then turns into a floating head and it orders her to pursue the Titan and recover Jack Crusher at all costs, and she reluctantly obeys. The Shrike sucks and she sucks as a villain, and Episodes 2 and 3 sucked, but I assumed they were going somewhere with all of this. Instead, Riker throws a rock at them and that seems to solve everything.

I mean, they didn't destroy the Shrike, so maybe it comes back to menace Picard later, but we spent three episodes on it and I'm not impressed at all. I'm certainly not looking forward to a rematch.

Worf isn't in this one, which is pretty disappointing, but it allowed the episode to focus on the A-plot, which was a good thing. Also we get a day off from Raffi's nonsense. Wait, that means we'll probably have to get double the Raffi in the next episode. Where the fuck is Geordi, anyway? They promised us the whole TNG crew would reunite for Season 3, and we can barely get more than three of them in a single place. At least Worf and Troi are in the show, though. Data's not around, but he's dead, so what's Geordi's excuse?

[amatres]

tagged by @marmeegle thank you! sorry for taking so long, i'm bad at choosing words lol

This is for Ainsel, the changeling who's impersonating Gwynnever in one of my dnd games.

5 words to physically describe your OC (do you have a drawing? even better!) -Uncanny -Thin -Unfinished -Alien -Sharp

Who inspired your OC? (can be your mum to a very famous fungi) The name is one I've used for a few OCs, and it comes from an old folk story of a child pulling a 'nobody' from the odyssey and tricking a fae creature with the false name 'Ainsel' or 'Mine own self'. When the fae child gets upset at the human child they start throwing a tantrum, and their mother asks who they're upset at. The fae screams 'Ainsel/My own self' and so their mother chides them and drags them away, the human child unharmed. I like using the name for many reasons, but for this Ainsel it was because I thought naming a changeling 'Ainsel' to be very funny. As for the inspiration of the character concept, it's one I've had for years after watching High Roller's Aerois series. One of the characters is accused of not being who he says he is and, as a joke, the player goes 'you're right and i drop my changeling form' before responding seriously. I thought taking that idea in a serious direction was interesting, so they exist as they are now!

Give me a song to define your OC (I will listen to it to enter in your WIP mood!) I'll give two since, one is very cliche but I still think fits them lol

-Bury a friend, by Bily Eilish "What do you want from me? Why don't you run from me? What are you wondering? What do you know? Why aren't you scared of me? Why do you care for me? When we all fall asleep, where do we go?"

-Sarah, by Kate Miller-Heidke "Oh Sarah, I didn't mean to let you down But you left me on my own, Sarah Why didn't you scream? Why didn't you shout?

If I met your OC on the street, how would they greet me? In disguise, they'd greet you warmly and probably ask you a lot of questions. If they are as themself… it depends on the context. The last time that happened to them, they booked it and thought they were going to die. So 🤷‍ who's to say, probably won't be as friendly tho.

Can your OC be your best friend? Why? Mine? Maybe, they're friendly enough and dense enough not to pick up social cues. We don't really hold a lot of interests tho, so it'd be a more friendly acquaintance than anything.

1 adjective and 1 noun to describe your OC.

Benign Imposter