#but i also feel like if vox and i settled into an actual romantic relationship it would go badly very quickly

[echoes-lighthouse]

Just did a HUGE binge of all your s/i information before work and MANNNNNNN its so hot your relationship with vox and val is so hot and amazing they’re so lucky to have you like oh my GOD that was amazing to read 1000000/10 you understand the characters so well I love how different they are diring sex and how Val is a bottom that can never go “too far” and vox is more fragile and needs more attention after sex like all the little details its all SO amazing to read I havent read the fanfic yet cause I hotta get ready for work but i cannot WAIT to see what else you post about them its fantastic and FACINATING i love voxval as a ship but adding a dominatrix s/i in there REALLY spiced things up bshshssh

I’d love to hear if theres fluff involved too but the smut is also TOP TIER! 💚💚💚💚💚💚

Aaaa thank you so much!!! This is so so nice and it was so fun to be asked about a selfship I've been sooooo hyperfixated on

I'm so so close to getting to my actual selfship in the fic, but I have to get through a couple of set-up chapters first and I'm struggling with writing them because I just want to jump to the good stuff haha

Honestly, it's not a selfship where I have MUCH fluff content: this version of voxval is really dysfunctional in a way that doesn't lend itself to it, and my relationship with both of them is fucked up in different ways.

I think that with Vox, the closest to fluff is very much in the aftercare: the physical contact, sometimes talking through vague business issues, the sharing of food and water. The fluff is in the moments of equality. Whereas with Val, the only fluffy moments are within the scenes. As I've said, we play long scenes, and I think that there are times when we both settle into the domestic facade. The only fluff is when we both settle into inequality.

[giffingthingsss]

Enterprise rewatch order project.

Think of this as a streamlined first two seasons of Enterprise experience. Hits the major points, cuts out some of the more boring eps, puts things in an order in which I think they more or less flow. 

I'm aiming for something resembling a throughline. Obviously, I have put the episodes I like in here, with the exception of maybe two that are just too essential to the flow to take out. Your list might be slightly different.

Broken Bow Strange New World Fight or Flight The Andorian Incident Unexpected Sleeping Dogs Cold Front Silent Enemy Shuttlepod One Breaking the Ice Acquisition Shadows of P'Jem Vanishing Point Shockwave Carbon Creek Minefield Dead Stop Cease Fire Fusion Singularity The Catwalk Horizon The Crossing The Seventh Regeneration Stigma First Flight

Reasoning Breakdown:

Broken Bow Strange New World Fight or Flight

The one thing I insist on is that Strange New World is the second episode, not Fight or Flight. The only indication that there’s a switch is it’s been two weeks in Fight or Flight and six weeks in Strange New World. But I just say Trip meant it’s been two weeks since the last thing happened. 

In the Pilot you’ve got Archer going from ‘grrr Vulcans’ to ‘okay this particular Vulcan is pretty cool, I need to leave my prejudice behind.’ Strange New World is that confrontation for Trip and T’Pol. It needs to happen before things settle into a routine. I like the tone of it more as a follow up as well. In this ep Archer and T'Pol are pretty chill and work together which I think follows more. In the next ep there's a little tension but it's born of his own ethical struggle.

I took A Night in Sickbay out of the list and put the Hoshi eps back in. I still sort of stan A Night in Sickbay as ENT’s one real attempt at a whacky episode. But Archer again trying to get beyond prejudgments at that stage in the game seems like a little bit of a backslide. He will still have his frustrations with Vulcans, but for the most part I prefer to keep the development momentum going.

Plus there's some fun stuff in Fight or Flight relating to the wet behind the ears nature of this crew. And if Hoshi's arc is eventual captain, kinda need to see this build up.

The Andorian Incident Unexpected Sleeping Dogs

Keeping the excitement up we jump into a plotty episode that will play into a larger arc with the Andorian Incident. Then switch to something more fun in Unexpected.

Unexpected ends on Klingons threatening Archer, so I thought Sleeping Dogs flowed from that pretty nicely. Back to a more dangerous ep. 

Vox Sola has that nice T’Pol/Hoshi stuff and it’s got Malcolm figuring out an early version of a force field. But I don't have it because T’Pol and Hoshi haven’t really butted heads since the pilot. They have a nice meditation moment in Sleeping Dogs, so if you want Vox Sola I would put it before that. I haven't tried it to see if that would actually work, just sayin'.

In Cold Front we get back to the overarching temporal plot. It works better when it’s not so far removed from the pilot that you’ve kind of forgotten such a thing exists. 

Silent Enemy Shuttlepod One Breaking the Ice

Shuttlepod One flows from Silent Enemy nicely. The quest for Malcolm's favorite food followed by "Never got very close to my family either, for that matter, not that it's any business of yours. But with the crew of the Enterprise, it was different. I was really starting to feel comfortable with them.”

Shuttlepod One has Trip poo pooing T’Pol as a romantic prospect so I thought Breaking the Ice was a fun follow up where he acts as accidental relationship confidante. 

Acquisition Shadows of P'Jem Vanishing Point

The previous eps had a hefty dose of peril, so now we go to the fun in Acquisition.

Shadows of P’Jem is another plot episode with Vulcans and Andorians. Follow that up with a character ep that also highlights the discomfort with the transporter technology.

Shadows of P'Jem also had a brief moment of trepidation with the transporter, so Vanishing just kind of expounds on that fear. You could stick another ep in here though if you have a different preference. The basic point is breathing room between Shadows and Shockwave. 

Shockwave Carbon Creek Dear Doctor Minefield Dead Stop

Shockwave, big plotty episodes. Follow that up with a nice calm character piece with 1950′s Vulcans. Nothing needs to change there. 

I wanted Singularity next and for Minefield to follow, but Singularity mentions Travis' brain implants, so no dice.

Cease Fire Fusion Singularity The Catwalk Horizon

Cease Fire gets us back into the main story. Alliances and all that.

Fusion is put here rather than earlier to be closer to Stigma. I also feel like T'Pol has been on the ship long enough now to explore this.

Singularity is just a standalone ep I like a lot. Ditto for The Catwalk. The Catwalk flows into Horizon via T'Pol, Trip, and movies.

I originally did not have any Mayweather eps, but as you go along, it becomes conspicuous that he hasn't had one. Having just one cargo ship episode rather than two helps a lot. You're like, 'oh interesting things here' rather than 'another cargo ship ep?' So I think it works.

The Crossing The Seventh Regeneration Stigma First Flight

We've kind of run out of wider world plot episodes and are left with me trying to arrange standalones I like. Other things can be put here if people have different preferences.

Character ep in Horizon, then switch to an ensemble with The Crossing. Another character ep in The Seventh. My major problem is spacing out T’Pol episodes. Here we see some backstory and her kind of losing it. You buy that she trusts Archer. 

Excitement/action in Regeneration. Character ep in Stigma. I like the sort of build up in these episodes with T'Pol and Archer. When my 'next season' begins with The Expanse you buy her choosing the Enterprise over the Vulcans. You might even buy her glow up.

The only problem with putting Stigma closer to Fusion is you kind of remember that the whole 'forced' thing is a little questionable. Coercion, manipulation. At some point it became forced and that's what caused the brain damage, so maybe? But the main thing is they needed a way to get the Vulcans to let her off. So squint. I like this ep even if it does stray dangerously close to being too on the nose (okay it crosses that line a couple times, but T'Pol). And I like Stigma going into First Flight.

My ‘season’ end is First Flight. None of the characters look younger so it's a lil hard to suspend my disbelief and picture what I'm supposed to be looking at, but it’s a nice button on the overall thematic arc so far. Plus T’Pol insisting she go with because she knows he’s upset and she wants him to talk about it is just like... I’m an absolute sucker okay. I'm weak.

So this ep is a nice button on the arc and on a relationship that started out rocky. Wraps it all up more or less before we get into a new chapter and new dynamics with the Xindi.

So that's my streamlined 'season one' that hits the main themes and plot points and I think keeps a nice throughline of Archer and T'Pol's growing friendship without a lot of backsliding. I would then start 'season two' with The Expanse.

There might be a context thing or two missing since we didn't see episodes like Bounty, but oh well. The Klingon thing feels kinda shoehorned into the Xindi start up anyway, imho.

The eps that didn't make my cut might make someone else's. Most of them are fine or have some great stuff in them, just maybe didn't fit my flow or I found a bit boring. They're in a 'pull out and watch randomly if so desired' pile.

[luckyjak]

Why I Don’t Ship Widojest: A Master Post

An anon sent me an ask about this topic, and I debated for quite a bit about how to answer it. Then I decided the best way was to do a long post like this. I put a lot of thought into why I don’t like it, and I thought to share it.

A few things: 1) I am not telling you not to ship it. The goal of this is not to say “Don’t ship Widojest! It is a bad ship and you are a bad person for shipping it!” That is not my goal, okay? The internet and fandom in particular is meant for fun, and if you enjoy Widojest then more power to you! Don’t let me or anyone else stop your fun! Lord knows I have shipped significantly more problematic things. All I ask is that you tag shit more but that’s beside the point.

2) I am not particularly interested in argument. You are not likely to change my mind. I am not trying to be hostile, but if you know reading this is going to piss you off, then don’t read it. A question was asked of me, and so I thought to share my opinion. Unfortunately for everyone involved I am a high school English teacher, and so I cannot think about anything without completely overthinking it.

About my shipping preferences: generally, I like all the ships! I was particularly fond of Widomauk before Molly died, and I now I really enjoy Shadowgast, but I also like Fjorclay, Fjester, Beaujester, Beauyasha, Widofjord, Clayleb, Lavorclay, and, as the only person on earth, Yasha/Caleb. Hell, if Astrid gets a good redemption arc? Caleb/Astrid or even Caleb/Astrid/Edowulf. Any of those ships could become canon and I’d be tickled pink! You can even throw Nott into the mix, even though I mostly ship her with her husband. Nott/Fjord? Delightful. Nott/Caleb? Weird flex but why not? Nott/Jester? Absolutely! They are the best detectives!

I just don’t like Widojest and I don’t want it to be canon, and here’s why:

Doyalist Reasons First:

1) Laura and Liam played twins for years, still act like siblings even though they aren’t related by blood, and it squicks me to think of them together romantically.

Laura and Liam are fantastic actors. If they were hired to play a romantic couple, I have no doubt in my mind they could knock it out of the park.

But why on earth would they want to pretend to be a romantic couple, in a game they both play for fun? 

It would be weird. I play D&D with several guys I consider my brothers, and I can’t imagine pretending to romance either of them in d&d for that same reason. It would be weird. 

Maybe it wouldn’t be weird for Liam and Laura. Maybe they are more dedicated to their RP, and they’d be able to push that aside for the sake of fictional romance. But for me, that would be the last thing I’d want to play, and I suppose I project that onto Laura/Liam.

2) A lot of “evidence” for the ship is the way Liam looks at Laura.

To which I say...did you watch Vox Machina?

That’s how Liam looks at Laura all the time. He’s the president of her fanclub. He’s her twinsie. He always looks at her with hearteyes. I have a hard time seeing that as “evidence” for him having feelings for her when...that’s just what his face looks like.

Now, for Watsion reasons:

3) It has all the benefits for Caleb, and none for Jester

Seriously. What does Jester get out of a relationship with Caleb?

Don’t say someone who understands her, because Caleb certainly doesn’t. In fact, the only person who routinely “gets” Jester is Beau. (see: their conversation on the ship.)

Lots of people accuse Widojest as being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl ship because...let’s be realistic, it has all the makings of one. Tortured, broody man meets young, innocent girl who teaches him to enjoy life once again? Wikipedia’s definition is “[girl with] eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariably serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.” Guys, that is textbook Manic Pixie Dream Girl! It gets even worse because Jester’s character is a healer! You want her to heal him? That is squicky!

And yeah, I trust Liam and Laura to be more nuanced than that, but do you know who I absolutely do not trust to be more nuanced?

The fandom. The fandom that is already producing mass amounts of Manic Pixie Dream Girl fanfic. And as that’s where I spend a lot of my free time...egads. I do not want that.

The few Widojest fics I have read (which, admittedly, are not a lot, because again, I don’t like the ship. The few I have read have been tagged as gen and then come to find out, weren’t.) have the distinct problem of woobie-fying Caleb so that Jester can take care of him, and gosh, I do not want that to become a trend. 

4) Age Gap

Yes, thirteen years is not that major of an age gap. Yes, Fjord/Jester also have a large age gap.

However, there is a world of difference between “20 year old girl displays romantic interest in a 30 year old man, who decides he likes her back after getting to know her for months” vs “33 year old man decides to pursue a 20 year old woman after they danced one time when he was drunk and held hands and she showed general concern for his well-being.” One is decidedly more creepy.

(And would Jester be the one to pursue a relationship with Caleb? I almost think she’d have to, but again, why would Jester ever pursue Caleb when Fjord/Beau are right there.)

(Also, side note that I thought about making it’s own point but then decided it was petty: if Jester’s type is Fjord--tall, broad-shouldered, dark haired, muscled, then Caleb--skinny, red-head, shorter than Fjord--decidedly isn’t her type.

You know who is tall, dark, and handsome though? Beau.) 

And do not say Jester is mature for her age, because she absolutely isn’t! In fact, the whole point of her character is that she’s not mature, she’s very immature and childish on account of her being locked away and being incredibly sheltered most of her life! 

Also not a good excuse: Caleb spent 11 years in the asylum and therefore he’s only mentally in his 20s. Uh, no he’s not. He was in an asylum: he was not brain dead. He lived those years. He might’ve been crazy, but he was alive then. Nothing Liam’s done suggests that Caleb is mentally in his 20′s.

5) What would they even talk about?

This is probably actually the one that bothers me the most out of all these reasons, but uh....what would Caleb and Jester talk about, if they were in a relationship together?

Seriously.

They could talk about books? But Jester only ever reads terrible romance and smut. We saw when she tried to pay attention to the dunamancy lessons that she struggles to be interested in that academic stuff that is Caleb’s bread and butter. They could talk about their childhoods? That will go over well. Jester was locked away from society and Caleb straight up murdered his beloved parents. If they manage to avoid that, I’m sure they could fight again over income, what with Jester being a rich kid and Caleb being a poor farm boy. Pranking? Caleb enjoys a good prank now and again, but I can only imagine he’d tolerate getting banned from so many libraries.

They are a cat and a dog, literally. Caleb is an introvert and his idea of a good time is a quiet night at home with a good book. Jester’s idea of a good time is a party with lots of people! Yet I’m supposed to believe they’d have a happy and fulfilling relationship? Don’t get me wrong, many introverts and extroverts do get married in real life, but like...I have a hard time seeing this one working out. How many dicks do you think Jester draws in his spellbooks--which are expensive and time-consuming and require precise work--before that becomes a point of contention? 

6) He doesn’t trust her enough to tell her his secrets

Hey quick poll! Who in the Mighty Nein doesn’t know that Caleb murdered his parents?

Fjord. Caduceus. And look, Jester.

I have a hard time buying that he sees her romantically when he can’t even tell her one of the biggest things about him. And he’s known her for months at this point.

If I liked a guy, and I found out he had this big secret, and he had told Beau but not me this secret? I would think he didn’t trust me.

I suppose you could argue that he’s trying to protect her. But then that just goes back into the whole “he doesn’t trust her” argument. He even had the opportunity to and he didn’t during their whole hand-holding thing a few episodes ago!

7) What does their ending look like? 

Listen, my ideal ending for Caleb at the moment is “maybe after ten years of friendship he lets Essek tenderly hold his hand for just a moment but no longer” but that’s just me. I see a lot of people who seem to think Caleb’s going to settle down and marry Jester and they are going to have kids, and I just--

Caleb? Having children? Caleb, who murdered his parents and has severe PTSD surrounding that? Caleb, who was abused by his mentor daily for many years? You want to give that Caleb children??? Children who he would constantly worry may grow up to kill him, like he did his own parents, or worse, that he’d do something to accidentally hurt them in a fit of madness?

I could see Caleb maybe adopting a kid if one was forced onto him, but I cannot see him going “ah yes we should procreate!” 

Jester, meanwhile, needs like approximately fifteen kids ten years from now, I think. She’d love them. She’d just adopt an orphanage and let the kids run wild and be the best at playing games with them.

Also, character arcs are important. Because Caleb’s ideal ending is stability and Jester’s is exploration.

Caleb, traumatized child soldier who has spent the past 15 years in an asylum and also fighting for his life, and before that spent time traveling between the Zemni Fields, Ikithon’s home in the country, and the Empire’s Capitol, who then escaped the asylum and spent all of his time running, trying to avoid being caught by Ikithon. The best ending for Caleb is to find peace; peace that involves not having to move around anymore, and having a home again, something he hasn’t had in almost twenty years. Maybe that home is a tower in Nicodranas. Maybe it’s a house in Xhoras with six other people. Maybe it’s a quiet bookstore in Zadash, or a little cabin in the Zemni Fields. A garden/graveyard in the woods. Either way, it doesn’t involve a lot of travel from place to place.

Meanwhile, Jester, who was trapped in exactly one place for her entire life, deserves a chance to explore the world. Even when the Mighty Nein disband, I can’t see Jester being happy to just go back to Nicodranas and stay there for the rest of her life. She may settle down eventually, but uhhh, not for several decades, I don’t think. Part of why my two big ships for her are Fjord and Beau: Fjord wants to be a sailor again, I think, which involves travelling the world, so I could see Jester going out with him. Beau, likewise, is an Expositor whose job is to seek out corruption, which again, means travelling, which Jester would be happy to do with her. Hell, the three of them could go together, sailing and punching evil for all of time! It would be great!

(Also: her god is called the TRAVELER why would you want her to settle down and be a mom??? What part of her story makes you think she needs to stay in one place?)

Lastly

I apologize if this post offends anyone. I’ve just been thinking about it for a while, and while Widojest as a ship has surged in popularity, I suppose I wanted to make a counterpoint about my feelings towards the ship. This isn’t meant as an attack on anyone, again, and please, if you like the ship then don’t look at this as a reason to stop liking it! Fandom is for fun! Keep liking what you like!

And I can’t promise I’m always going to feel this way about the ship--hell, the VOD of Thursday’s episode may come out on Monday, and I may watch it and be converted myself. Who knows! I didn’t like Vax/Keyleth at first either, but it grew on me and now it’s one of my favorites from Vox Machina.

(ALTHOUGH Mr. O’brien I swear to God if you romance Jester while flirting with Essek in a direct parallel to Keyleth/Vax/Gilmore I’m going to fly to LA just to punch you.)

Part of me wonders too if it just comes down to character interpretation, if there is something about their characters that is clicking for some people but isn’t for me. Admittedly, I love Caleb and Jester’s friendship, and I see them more as growing like siblings that romantically, but I’ve been wrong before and who knows, I may be wrong again. But if it is a character interpretation, I just wonder what they are seeing about the characters that squicks me but appeals to them.