#how have i seen ZERO posts about this on here??? except for a couple

[twipsai]

GOOD LORD ok that was like hours of research,, anyways

HEY GUYS!!! apparently there was another page datamined, until the page was deleted in the span of like an hour or so (or something like that)???? so hey! we got c-side names! AND THEY SUCK!!!!!!!

EDIT (12/25/2022 merry yurimass): HEY THIS WAS FAKE!!! sorry gang we'll get c-side names one day

[trippinsorrows]

with me + part one

authors note: well, i got some type of writers block working on two other RR wip's so opened a new google doc and ended up with this. prob gonna be 3 parts, maybe 4. there's an almost five year time jump after this one, can you guess why? also, joe's wife is an oc, not galina.

first time posting my roman writings on here and trying not to freak out tbh

warnings: angst, infidelity, language, suggestive content

song inspo: with me by destiny's child

word count: 4,000

You know that assignment everyone at some point in their education where they research what they want to be when they grow up and share it with the whole class for a grade? Yeah, that big mammoth of a question that somehow you’re supposed to have confidently answered before even reaching double digits.

That was always super easy for you.

From as far back as you can remember, you wanted to be a teacher. It took until you were in middle school, almost high school for you to settle on an elementary school teacher, college for a specific grade. But, the teaching profession always called to you.

You chalk it up to your grandmother, undoubtedly one of your favorite people in this entire world. She was also an elementary school teacher who taught until she was expectedly called home when you were 14. Some part of you wonders if you’ve never even allowed yourself to entertain any other professions because of her loss. She was your best friend, and following in her footsteps was wanted but also felt somewhat necessary. Like you had to in order to honor her and her legacy.

A couple years into your career, you still think about that, how you’ve known from such a young age what you wanted to do with your life. Well, one part. 

In other areas, maybe the most important areas, you were lost as all of the outdoors. Mostly in one area, if you’re being honest, and truthfully, it’s not even what you want in as much as it is how you get there. The path is relatively simple: find a man, fall in love, get married, have babies, live happily ever after.

It’s such a stereotypical trajectory, but one you’ve also envisioned for yourself since your late teens. You’d gotten partying all out of your system during the early college years, somewhat in high school as well. Now in your mid 20s, soon to be late 20s, all you want to do is prepare to eventually settle down. Sooner rather than later.

And the issue isn’t even having no prospects. You have a prospect, he’s just unavailable. 

Because he’s already fucking married.

But can you even call him a prospect when that implies there’s some chance? Because there’s zero chance. You know this. You know this very well, too well. So why you still allow him into your bed and inside of you is beyond you. Yes, the sex is out of this world, but you desire more than that. Maybe not at first, but almost three years deep into this arrangement, most definitely.

You still think back to your first meeting.

Your best friend won a contest that not only granted her two front row tickets to a Smackdown show but backstage passes as well. You met so many wrestlers that night, some you grew up watching on TV as the little tomboy that you were as a kid. But, it was one wrestler in particular: tall, muscular, hair more beautiful and silky than any silk press your beautician mother could ever style, that changed your life. Whether for better or worse remains to be seen. 

He was attractive, extremely, possibly one of the most beautiful men you’d ever met. But, the attraction was short-lived when you spotted the wedding band on his left hand. You’d be lying if you tried to say that was when the attraction sizzled out. It diminished, but it was still there. Still, you didn’t think much of it, that was until you received a call from a number on your phone that you didn't recognize. 

Why you even accepted the call is still a mystery. You never answered random calls, yet that one was an exception, an exception that resulted in you having an unexpected phone conversation with Roman fucking Reigns. He explained that he got your number from your friend who’d exchanged contact information with a wrestler she met that night as well. They were messing around too, that much you knew. And good for her. He, unlike Roman, was not married and therefore free to fuck around.

The conversation lasted much longer than it needed to, especially given the flirtatious nature it quickly took on. It was wrong, you knew this well, very well. He took vows, but you were also aware of those vows. And heat no point pressured you into anything, you could have cut it off. Flirtatious he was, but forceful he was not.

The conversations increased in frequency and length over a matter of weeks that turned into months, and before you knew it, your day started and ended with either a text or phone call from the wrestler. 

A small part of you knew that it would eventually escalate into more, a man like him seemed like he needed more. But, you stupidly tried to tell yourself that when that time came, you would remain strong and draw the line in the sand with just communication. Even if it was just as wrong as anything else.

It was a silly thought. 

Your resolve was weak.

You absolutely did not need to accept his invitation to fly you out to one of his shows, and you damn sure didn’t need to allow him to take you back to his hotel where your legs ended up wrapped around his waist as he pounded into you—among other things—until the early hours of the morning.

The days after that were rough. You felt absolutely disgusted with yourself. It was one thing to flirt with a married man, but it was an entirely different thing to fuck a married man. He wasn’t yours. He belonged to someone else. He had a life with some other woman. You had no right to insert yourself into that union, so you decided to sever contact with him, deleting his number from your phone and shoving the experience in the ‘biggest regret of your life’ box with no intention of reopening it.

Unfortunately for you, Roman, Joe, as he asked you to call him, was a persistent bastard.

You ignored his texts, so he called. You ignored his calls, so he texted. You ignored both, and this motherfucker showed up at your goddamn door. There were multiple times you could have and should have ended things, that being another perfect opportunity. If you told him to leave that night, not allowed him into your apartment, he would have listened. He was stubborn and resolute but also respectful. If you told him to leave, really told him, he would have done so.

But, you didn’t. You allowed him into your place and similar to the last time you were in his presence, ended up spread out on your bed with him balls deep inside you until you couldn’t feel your lower half. 

Now, fast forward three years later, not much has changed. You two don’t communicate quite as much in the day, and his visits are more spread out given the company’s current efforts at pushing him as the new face of the company. But, that doesn’t stop his visits to come see you and flights he puts you on to come see him, both of which always end with him leaving your legs jelly and throat raw.

All the while his wife sits at home unaware of her husband’s consistent residence between your legs.

The thought alone makes you sick, revolted at yourself, at how you’ve allowed yourself to reach this point in life. Closer to 30 than 20 and going on 3 years of being a mistress to a married man, a man who can never give you the future you want yet refuse to let go. 

Not that you’d ever allow yourself to really acknowledge why. 

That’s….that’s just too much.

________

Pillow talk was just something that naturally happened between the two of you. It made sense given that your relationship started out with just talking. He seemed interested in knowing more about you, about your likes and dislikes. He shared his as well. You weren’t beyond admitting that Joe was insanely easy to talk to, the flow of conversation always natural, never forced. There never seemed to be a dry spot between you two. 

And whether it was an innate ability to pick up on the emotions of others or just his, you could always tell when something was bothering him, could see when he came to you with a burden he didn’t want to discuss.

Not that that stopped you from asking. If he declined to talk about it, you respected it, didn’t push. But, more often than not, he would end up sharing things with you, mostly concerns regarding his career.

It seemed he visioned one thing for himself, while Vince McMahon saw another. He felt frustrated at times, especially when the fanbase started pushing back more. He never admitted as such, but you could see it hurt his feelings. How could it not? Kayfabe or not, Joe was still a real person with real feelings, regardless of the role he played.

And at some point, his visits to see you stopped always involving sex. That happened majority of the time, but there were occasions when he just seemed like he needed someone to be around, a distraction, someone to talk to. 

Someone like you.

“Come on.” You jumped up off the couch and offered your hand that he looked at with disinterest. “Don’t make me drag your big ass. It’ll probably break my back.” He lifts his brow, and you roll your eyes. “Joe, come onnnn.”

“Where are we going?” He finally asks, all the while sighing heavily and standing up. Though unnecessary at this point, he still takes your hand. You try not to think too much of the gentle squeeze he gives.

“To my kitchen.” 

Glancing over, he gestures with his thumb. “The place that’s like 3 feet away.”

You suck your teeth and shove against him. “Don’t be an ass. We’re gonna bake cookies.”

“Bake?”

“That’s what I said.” Though clearly skeptical, he follows you into the kitchen and watches as you start gathering supplies. “I spent a lot of summers with my grandma, and whenever either of us were having a bad day, she’d take us into the kitchen and we’d bake chocolate chip cookies. She’d always say there’s nothing a good chocolate morsel can’t cure.” 

Reflecting on those memories, so fond and cherished, brings a despondent smile to your face.

His eyes fall on you, sensing the sudden sadness. “You miss her.”

“Every day….” Shaking your head, you make a conscious effort to not make this about you and your grief. “Now, we need music.” You settle on some random “cookout” playlist that aids in setting the playful mood. To your surprise, yet not surprise, Joe keeps up without struggle. He's a fast learner, easily following along to your detailed instructions and explanations. Things get messy at times, as one does when baking, but it only causes the two of you to share laughter. Especially when you ‘accidentally’ get flour on each other. For you, it was an accident. His was definitely intentional. 

Still, between the laughter, light conversation, and New Edition serving as backdrop, it’s a sweet moment. 

“And now we wait,” you announce, plopping down on the sofa. “Wrestler by day, baker by night. Who’d a thunk it?”

He chuckles. “I never knew you could cook.”

At that, you nearly choke on the water bottle you’d grabbed off the coffee table. “Me? Cook? No. Not at all. There’s a reason every thanksgiving, my family only asks me to bring the drinks. My mom is the cook. Grandma was the baker. I can make cookies and a few select items. That’s it.”

You can still hear your grandma’s voice in the back of your head, chiding you for never allowing your mom to teach you how to cook. It just never garnered your interest, even when they swore up and down you’d never find a husband without knowing how.

Maybe they were right.

He joins you in the living room, settling on the other end of the sofa. “Maybe I could teach you then.”

His words—and offer—suprise you. “You can cook?”

“Don’t look so surprised.” He rolls his blue eyes. Some days you love the contacts, others you hate them. Today is a love day. They make his beauty even more exquisite. “Because of the big age difference between me and my siblings, it was just me and my mom a lot of times. They were either out and about or had either moved out. She’d ask me to help her out in the kitchen, and I picked up on a couple things.”

“You’re a fast learner.” That much is very obvious, in several areas of his life. “Was it ever hard? Like, not really having them around?”

He seems to think about her question before answering. “Yes and no. The twins moved to Florida when I was like three, and we became close instantly. It was like suddenly having two new brothers. Obviously, they didn’t live with us, so they weren’t always around, and those times were hard, I guess. But the older we got, the more we did together.”

The Usos. Also wrestlers trying to make names for themselves. He really does hail from a legendary dynasty. “I get that. It was just me and my mom, and she worked a lot to support us, so that’s why I spent so much time with my grandma. And I loved it, but sometimes it got lonely not really having siblings.” You look over at him, studying this massive specimen of a man who seems so unsure of himself right now, unsure of his future. He’d hinted at such during their prep, but you bookmarked the comment to revisit. “It’s all gonna work out, you know.”

His gaze is on you, partially disinterested, mostly in disagreement. Joe knows what you're referring to. He chuckles, darkly, “you sound sure.”

“I am,” you counter calmly. Moving to sit on your knees, you continue, “no matter what it takes, you make them respect you. You can do it, and when you finally find your footing, you’ll be one of the best to ever do it. Mark my words.” 

You’ve never been one to build up false hopes in anyone, far too familiar with the sting of disappointment. So every word leaving your mouth drips with sincerity. Joe is so much more than a “pretty face” or someone who got lucky by being born into a wrestling dynasty with a golden spoon in his mouth. He’s worked his ass off, you see how he works his ass off, so the last thing you’d want to witness is him become his own worst enemy by getting too into his head.

“You’ll see. They boo now, but pretty soon they’ll be cheering.” Moving to your knees, you lift your arms in a theatrical display. “Roman, Roman, Roman.” You yelp when his strong arms pull you into his lap, legs spread on either side of his thick thighs. “Would you let me hype you up? Like, damn.”

His smile, so beautiful and genuine, warms your soul. His spirits are lifted, and that’s all that matters. Joe’s hands are on your hips, palms massaging you through your shorts. You move your arms around his neck, resting on his strong shoulders “Thank you.”

It’s at this moment, you foolishly allow yourself to wonder. Wonder what it would be like for this to be the norm, for him to always return to your place when he has time off or in between shows. Wonder what it would be like to consistently be this safe space for him, to be in his corner and not just in the shadows, but in the light. To be supporting him ringside. To be his.

And for a second, you pretend. You pretend that you are his, and he’s yours. That this is your man, and you’re his girl. Just the two of you. Nobody else.

But the comedown from that is devastating, like a boulder sitting on your chest, a butcher knife to your heart. Because he isn’t yours. He never was, and he never will be. 

Mood sullen, you lower your arms to separate yourself. “I should…” You clear your throat, climbing off of him. The air is suddenly too stuffy, the room too small. You need space. “I should go check on the cookies.” 

Joe’s not stupid, far from it. You know that he has to pick up on your 180 in mood, yet he doesn’t pursue you, doesn’t ask questions, and you’re thankful for that. You need to not be around him right now, not so close, not so connected, not so in love.

You need to let him go. ________

“I can’t do this anymore.” 

Joe’s in the midst of sliding his shirt over his head, sitting on the edge of the bed when your voice, low and quiet, stops him mid movement. “What?”

“I said.” You blow out a big breath, unsure why your chest suddenly feels so heavy. “I can’t do this anymore.”

At that, he angles his body so that he can look at you, assess your face. He’s a big eye contact person. “What are you talking about?”

Irritation piques. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Joe.” Gesturing between the two of you, you kick the blankets off and quickly reach for your t-shirt that got discarded last night. Being naked in front of him suddenly feels uncomfortable. “This. It’s done.”

He pauses for a second and then shakes his head, resuming his dressing. “Okay.”

His tone is dismissive, like he doesn’t believe you. Like he thinks you’re playing around. Of course he would be in one of those moods, where he’s more irritable, less receptive and fucking stubborn. “I’m serious.”

“I’m not doing this shit with you right now.” Joe gets up and continues dressing himself, prompting you to climb out of bed and move in front of him. 

He can’t avoid his way out of this. You won’t allow it. It’s time to finally rip the bandaid off. 

You’ve sat on this for the last two weeks, since he last left your apartment and you realized you’d stupidly allowed yourself to fall for this man. Fall for a man who walks around with a wedding ring on his left hand, who’s always had that wedding ring from the moment you met him. You’re not upset with him, not as much as you’re upset with yourself.

You grew up the product of an affair, felt the stinging pain of being rejected by a parent whose selfishness resulted in the creation of life, a life he wanted no part of. Seen how your mom literally begged your piece of shit father to be in your life, to play some role. Heard how he cruelly rejected her, rejected you, calling you your mother’s bastard. A mistake.

It devastated you so deeply that you still can’t really talk about it without getting emotional. 

And yet, you idiotically found yourself playing the same role you used to judge your mother for: the other woman. 

It’s a role you stepped in, and one you must now step out of.

“There’s nothing to do.” You run your hands over your face and shake your head. Choosing to have this conversation at almost 4 o’clock in the morning probably wasn’t the best move, but you also know that if you give yourself more time, you’ll find a reason not to do it. And you need to do this. “You have a wife, Joe. A whole ass woman who loves you and would probably let you fuck her just as much as you like to fuck me. Go be with her, and if not her, find someone else, cause I won’t be that for you. Not anymore.” 

You’re not exactly sure what part of what you just said registered with him, but it’s obvious something did by the change of tone he takes. “Where is this coming from?”

“It’s coming from where it should have come a long time ago,” you answer, crossing your arms over your body. “This was never right, and I refuse to partake in it anymore. I won’t be your whore anymore.”

You didn’t expect hurt to flash in his beautiful eyes nor for him to move closer to you, that hurt intensifying when you back away. He can’t touch you. You can’t allow that, because all it takes is only touch, one longing gaze, and you’ll be putty in his hands. This has to end. “Is that really what you think you are to me?”

“I don’t know what I am to you, Joe,” you answer, honestly. It’s something you’ve battled back and forth with for nearly three years. Just what is it about you that keeps him coming back, keeps him in your bedroom, inside of you. At face value, it’s the sexual compatibility between you. Below the surface level though, there’s maybe more. You’ve never allowed yourself to venture there, and you’re certainly not about to right now. You know how you feel about him, but you refuse to really ask yourself how he feels about you. “And truthfully, it doesn’t matter, cause it doesn’t change anything.”

“So, that’s just it?” His voice is wounded, handsome face painted into a mixture of scowl and a frown. “Almost three years, and you want to throw it all away, for what?”

“For what…..Joe, you are married. You have a whole wife at home. Whatever issues you have that cause you to step out, work that shit out. Learn how to be with her. Cause I’m not doing it any more. I—I can’t.” Emotion imbues your voice toward the end, and you hate that shit. You don’t want him to see, to know, how much this has been eating you up as of lately. “I’m gonna be 30 in a few years. I want to be married. I want to have a family. I deserve that, and I’ll never have it as long as I’m messing with you, so I’ve gotta let you go.” You swallow the deep lump in the back of your throat. “And you’ve gotta let me go.” 

This time, this time you can see the part that wounds him, that digs into his chest. You’ve gotta let me go. 

Joe is fast, fast enough to move directly in front of you, large hands holding your face. He says your name, desperate almost. “Tell me what to do, tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. Just….” He stops, and you close your eyes, refusing to see if it’s his own emotions coming up. You can barely handle your own cascade of feelings right now and refuse to take on his. “I can’t lose you.”

What you want…..

What you want is for him to never leave. What you want is for him to stay with you, to be with you. What you want is for him to have never met Jadah, never married her, never committed his life to her. 

What you want is for him to be yours and only yours, but what you want….is also what you can never have. 

“I—I want you to leave, Joe.” The words burn your lips, scorch your throat, ache your soul. “And this time….don’t come back.”

You can’t bring yourself to open your eyes, to see the result of your heartbreaking, even if honest request. It’s because you know seeing him hurt will only cause your resolve to crumble, and you can’t have that. You have to be strong, have to be the woman your mother couldn't.

So, you remain there, remain silent as he steps away from you, his touch vanishing. There’s such an emptiness in his wake.

It’s only when you hear the front door of your apartment shut that you finally feel it, the caving of your stomach, the heavy lump move from the back of your throat, the release of the loud sob you didn’t realize you’d been keeping at bay. 

It’s when you finally allow yourself to feel all of the emotions of a woman who just told the only man she’s ever loved to leave. 

If only you knew his departure was just the beginning of the rest of your life.

[its-time-to-write]

this is 100% self indulgent. no one asked for this except me and I have zero excuse for how it turned out. i have no defense, no witty rebuttal, no nothing. i wrote this because i wanted to, and at the very least i hope this inspires someone to write their borderline-self-insert fic and post it publicly.

this fic is set after season 3. enjoy😂

(oh now might also be a good time to mention how much I love Man City. bc it’s a lot.)

can’t hear my thoughts (i cannot hear my thoughts)

Calling Lake Como beautiful is like saying space is big. It’s true for sure, but it feels like an understatement. It’s June and the weather is absolutely gorgeous, perfect for the wedding you’re attending. It’s for two good friends of yours, and it’s going to be a party full of football royalty. You’re mostly excited to see friends who are WAGs from other teams who you’ve connected with over the past year and a half.

Oh, and you suppose it will be a nice vacation with Jamie, too.

You’re staying at a beautiful hotel that’s been open since 1910, and you swear you’ll never stay somewhere as beautiful again.

“Getting ideas for the house?” Jamie teases, and it sends a thrill down your spine with the way he refers to his house as your collective home. 

You grin as he spins you around the Suite Greta. Everything is golden, from the drapes to the pillows to the sun catching on his face.

“No,” you reply, “but maybe for a vacation home?”

Jamie laughs as he catches you up in his arms. “I could see us here in the next off-season. Not sure we’d get out much,” he muses and you wrap your arms around him as tight as they can go.

You’re here for a full week but Isaac’s wedding is only one day. You and Jamie have plans to see everyone who’s in town, as well as have some time to yourself.

“Sasha wants to go out for dinner tonight,” you tell Jamie as he unpacks his suitcase.

“Girls only, or will Jack be there?”

“Let’s see,” you hum as you scan the group chat. “Isabel said she and Erling will be there, so looks like it’s a couple’s thing. That’ll be fun, right?” you ask with just a hint of anxiety. Jamie and Jack are friends, they’ve run in the same circles for years, but you’re not sure how he’s going to feel about being outnumbered two to one, City to Richmond, at dinner.

“As long as Rodri ain’t there, I’m fucking chuffed,” he says as he lays out his suit on the bed.

“Chuffed? Is that a thing you say now?” you ask, flat on your back on the bed.

“Yep,” he replies. “I’m posh now, babe. Sorry you Americans can’t do it as well as we Brits.”

“I have it on good authority that we do it very well,” you smirk. “But I don’t think that’s something you’ll get to experience tonight. I haven’t seen Sash or Isa in ages, so we’ll probably talk for a long time and then I’ll be tired when we get back to the room.”

Jamie groans. “You’re sadistic, woman. The shit you put me through.”

You smile and remind him, “You’re the one who picked me, remember?”

—

Jamie is technically the one who picked you. You had just moved from America to London, got a temp job at a Richmond FC, and the rest is history. You don’t work at Richmond anymore, haven’t for a while, as you’ve been able to start your own thing in between attending matches and events and whatever else Jamie’s invited to. Being Jamie’s girlfriend is a full-time job on its own, and he definitely spoils you beyond what you’re used to. He’s the one who bought your dress for the wedding and it freaked you out just a little bit until you called Sasha (an angel, by the way) who laughed and talked you off the ledge. 

“Comes with the territory, babe. They’re just boys with more money than they know what to do with. Jack’d buy me the moon if he could figure out how. Enjoy it. It’s been a while since anyone’s seen Tartt this happy.”

So you do. You had been living together for almost a year now so you’d think that a dress wouldn’t push you over the edge, but there you go. You’re trying to be calmer about it. It’s better ever since you met Sasha and Isabel. 

You had been stuck in a room while Jamie talked to his old manager, and they had noticed your deer-in-the-headlights expression. You’re right in the middle of the two, age-wise, and from similar enough backgrounds.

“Here’s my number. Come over to my flat tomorrow for brunch. We’ll get you settled, babes,” Sasha had said. You went and it had been amazing to finally make real friends, even if they were technically on the opposing team. 

You’re excited to see them, excited for Isaac to finally get married, and excited to spend a full seven days with Jamie by your side. It’s going to be the best.

—

You enter the venue arm-in-arm with Jamie, practically dancing across the grass. The sun’s shining and there are all sorts of people you know and love. It feels a little surreal to be here. 

Earlier, back in the room, you had slipped into your dress carefully to avoid getting makeup stains on the front. The skirt fell just at your knees and puffed out ever so slightly, with thick straps instead of regular sleeves so you could fully enjoy the warm weather. 

“Do a spin,” he had said, voice full of glee. You’d acquiesced, twirling around to let the blue tile print billow out before he caught you, kissing your shoulder so as not to ruin your makeup. 

Now, you’re holding onto him and trying not to wrinkle his linen suit when you hear someone shout your name. 

“Sasha!” you screech, running toward her as best you can with your shoes on the grass. You squeeze each other into a tight hug, uncaring about about the state of her hot pink dress. 

“Hey man,” Jack says to Jamie, who grins and shakes his hand. “You’d think they haven’t seen each other in fucking ages.”

“It’s been twelve hours,” you say. “And before that it’s been like two months. Anyway, don’t you two have some football to discuss or something? Or headbands? Or-”

“Really short socks,” Sasha helpfully supplies. 

Jamie shakes his head. “Fuck off, Attwood.”

“Fuck you, Tartt,” she replies. 

“Oi, you two wouldn’t even be friends if it weren’t for me. You could be a little nicer,” Jamie says. 

“Oh is that Hughes?” Jack asks before either Sasha or Jamie can escalate. Their entire friendship is based off sniping one another and neither you nor Jack are particularly in the mood for it today. 

Jamie turns to look. “Oh mint, looks like things are starting. You saved us seats?”

“Yeah, with Haaland and Isabel,” Sasha returns, linking her arm through yours. “C’mon, did you get yourself a parasol?”

—

It’s the most beautiful wedding you’ve ever been to. Stella looks stunning in her gown, Isaac stoically sobs his eyes out while Colin surreptitiously hands him a tissue. Even Roy seems to be having a good time, but then again Keeley once told you that he “really fucking loves weddings.” You hadn’t believed her, but his lips are in a straight line instead of a frown so maybe she was right. 

There’s a group of City and Richmond players together, and it’s a little strange to see how friendly they are off the pitch. Dani is explaining something with lots of hand gestures to Phil while the rest of the group jokes around. 

Sasha sneaked you and Isabel away to get drinks for yourselves and you were about to get away unnoticed when Erling caught Isabel’s arm and asked for a drink too, so now you’re ordering for your boyfriends as well as yourselves. 

You don’t really care, there’s a part of you that’s reveling in the sheer joy of being young and hot. Sue you. 

“Cosmo, please,” you say while the girls order drinks of their own. Sasha raises an eyebrow so you shrug and say, “Jamie likes what he likes.”

She rolls her eyes and scoffs “Tartt,” but it’s with the affection of an older sister so you elbow her and ask, “What did Jack want?”

She makes a face. “Heineken. He also likes what he fuckin’ likes.” 

You wheeze out a laugh as Isabel comes to join you. She smiles as she sips from something lavender colored in a martini glass. She cuts an elegant figure in her yellow, billowy dress. You smooth your dress and open your mouth to say something when a voice calls your name. You look to see your ex walking up, hand-in-hand with his wife. You know, the one he left you for. 

“Jake,” you say in surprise. God, you need your brain to form coherent thoughts right now. “What are you doing here?”

He grins, far too wide and goofy to be real. Not like Jamie, you think. 

“Oh, you know, Emma’s loosely related to the bride on her dad’s side. She asked for an invite, so here we are. Who are you here for? Bride or groom?”

“Both, actually,” you reply automatically. Jake’s words are grating, not so much in content as they are in tone. He always had a way of saying things condescendingly, like everyone else was a stupid little kid. 

“Oh,” he says in what you think is supposed to be surprise, “that’s funny. I didn’t know you knew anyone out here. You’ve been living in England all alone, right?”

Emma just hovers by Jake’s shoulder. She’s not contributing anything to this conversation except a snooty little smirk. 

“No,” you say. “I’m not alone. This is Isabel, by the way.” You look around for Sasha, but she’s disappeared. Smart girl. 

Isa doesn’t extend her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she says and Jake takes her at her word. He puffs up his chest a little bit as he asks, “Where are you from? You don’t sound British.”

“We’re from Norway,” a voice behind her says. “I’m Erling.”

Sasha has reappeared with Jack, Erling, and Jamie in tow. You mentally congratulate her with a well done, Sash as you feel Jamie’s arm loop around your waist. 

He feels like a solid wall against your back, a glimmer in an otherwise garbage moment. 

Jake takes stock of the three men who are looking at him with less-than friendly stares. You’re not sure what Sasha told them, but you’re absolutely positive Jamie recognizes Jake. You can practically feel the hairs on his arm bristling. 

Jake finishes his assessment and deems it appropriate to talk. “So, how do you all know each other?”

Jamie scoffs and looks away, while Jack stares at Jake like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. 

You wonder what it is with your affinity for J-names. 

“We’re footballers,” Erling says before anyone can take more offense. 

“Premier League footballers,” Jamie adds, as if it means anything to Jake. 

Jake’s American, like you, and he’s never been much for sports anyway. He wouldn’t even recognize David Beckham if the man were standing under a poster of himself. 

Jake says, “Right. Hey, weren’t you on one of those trashy dating shows?” and Jamie stiffens. 

Sasha mutters, “Fuck’s sake,” under her breath as Erling and Isabel take pointed interest in something in the distance.  

“No,” Jamie replies shortly. “The fuck were you talking to my girl?”

Jake looks to you in surprise. “Oh! You two are together? That’s… well, that’s… I guess I just didn’t expect her to be whoring around like that. But hey, move to another country and all morals go out the window, right?”

That’s the thing about Jake. He never speaks as if he’s actually trying to be offensive. He just says what’s on his mind. And you’re a little concerned that what’s on his mind is going to land Jamie (and quite possible Jack) in jail. Neither of them are especially known for backing down from a squabble. “Cut from the same cloth,” Pep was rumored to say. 

“Fuck off, mate,” Jack interjects. “Just fuck off. Everyone here loves her, and you can’t talk about her like that.”

Your ex reevaluates the situation at hand and decides the best thing to do would be to take Emma’s hand and walk away. 

“Strange that his wife does not speak,” Erling remarks. 

You grimace. “You could’ve stopped at ‘strange.’ No idea what I ever saw in him.”

Jamie has a crushing grip on your waist so you wiggle a bit to get him to loosen up. 

“Prick,” he mutters. “How the fuck did he even get here, anyway? He’s in fucking America.”

“His wife’s loosely related to Stella. They asked for an invite,” Isabel volunteers. 

Jamie rolls his eyes. “Oi, if he tries to talk to you again, I’ll grab Roy and we’ll fucking kill him.”

“Yeah, ‘cause McAdoo’s never been above a little violence at a party,” Jack grins. 

You return his smile and say, “Thanks, but I’m pretty sure his mother-in-law would kill you.”

Erling huffs out a laugh. “Never a dull moment in the Premier League, is there?”

Isabel grins and loops her arm through his. “I’m tired of all this,” she says.  “Let’s go dancing. There’s a band and we don’t have to think about anything other than celebrating, yes?”

“God yes,” says Sasha.

Jamie still looks murderous, but you squeeze his hand once and whisper, “I’m fine, babe. It’s fine.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but he lets you pull him along to the dance floor with the group.

— 

There are so many people that you don’t even catch a glimpse of Jake and Emma. You’re not sure what they’re up to, and fairly certain they don’t know anyone else here. You on the other hand, are living your best life as Jamie sings along to “Ain’t No Mountain.” He’s swinging your arms around as he sways in time to the music. You just let him lead you however he wants. The song ends and he presses his lips to your ear so you can hear him over the sheer volume of everyone talking. “D’you want a drink? I can go get you something.”

You nod and mouth my usual, please, so he salutes and begins weaving his way through the crowd. You watch him as long as you can before spinning back around with a smile.

A smile that quickly fades when you realize Emma is right in front of you.

She says, “Cute dress,” and for a moment, you believe she’s being sincere but then she follows it up with, “Did you borrow it from your grandma’s closet? I’ve seen people do that.” 

Right, because grandmas are known for wearing dresses like this. 

“What? No, Jamie got it for me,” you say. 

“Oh cute, is it from Walmart? I think I saw something like it there last week.”

Emma is trying to draw blood. You suppose she’s taking her shot now as opposed to back then because she thinks there’s no one around to call her out. No one who knows her. 

You say, “They don’t have Walmart here,” instead of “It’s Dolce & Gabbana,” because the second phrase would make you sound like a prick. There’s a part of you that wants to be a prick, though, wants to channel that part of Jamie that’s ruthless, vicious and cruel, messing with the opposition before he cuts them down. 

The first time you saw it, it was hard to believe the Jamie on the pitch was the same Jamie who played with your hair while you cooked, or put a sticky note on his fridge titled “Babe,” detailing everything you’d ever said you liked. 

Emma sees she’s not getting to you, so she changes tactics. “Must be hard being here without any friends,” she remarks. “All alone. And you’ve never been especially extraverted. Are those people the only ones here you know?”

God, Jamie, where are you?

You open your mouth to respond but are cut off by someone with a distinctly midwestern twang say, “I heard one of my favorite countrywomen was here.”

You turn to see Ted Lasso grinning at you in a black suit. It’s the same smile you remember, albeit his eyes are a little sharp. You’d bet anything he knows exactly what’s going on between you and Emma. 

“Ted!” you smile as a rush of relief floods your system. You step into his arms for a hug as he says, “Hey, sweetheart. How’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know,” you say. “Kind of great, actually. I wondered if you were going to be here! Have you seen Jamie yet?”

Ted shakes his head. “Y’know, I haven’t. Why don’t we find him together?” He offers you an arm and you take it gratefully, choosing not to spare Emma a glance.

“She seems like a real bucket of laughs,” Ted remarks.

“You have no idea. That’s my ex’s wife.”

Whatever Ted thought you were going to say, he certainly wasn’t prepared for that. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before settling on a short, “Well I’ll be danged.”

You laugh and stand on tiptoes to try to see Jamie. You don’t see him, but you catch a glimpse of an especially tall, blond head.

“This way,” you tell Ted. You brush past Phil who smiles at you, past Colin and Michael, and past someone you’re pretty sure is a Beckham.

You make your way to Erling and Isabel as they dance to the music in their own corner.

You frown. “Have you seen Jamie?” you shout. 

Isabel shakes her head. “He was looking for you,” she calls back.

“Oh,” you say, “Ted, this is Isabel and-”

“Erling Haaland,” Ted says, hand outstretched. “Pleasure to meet you, son. Big fan of the way you play the game.”

You miss Erling’s response, startled by a hand on your shoulder. You turn to see Sam standing behind you.

“Sam!” you exclaim with a grin, “You look so handsome!”

Sam returns your grin and strikes a pose. “I’ve been sent on a very important mission. I am to retrieve you and bring you to Jamie and I am under no circumstances allowed to let a small rat man named Jake speak to you.”

You raise an eyebrow. 

“Jamie’s words, not mine,” Sam clarifies. “Although I must admit, I have seen this rat man. I do not like him very much.”

“You and me both,” you agree. You wave to Isabel and pat Ted on the arm before following Sam.

He leads you away from the crowd of people to a stone path illuminated by small lights. This can’t be right, you think but Sam points down the path and says, “This is where I leave you.”

He turns to leave then changes his mind and spins back around. “It was lovely seeing you today, albeit for a short amount of time. I hope I will be seeing more of you while we are here. It is not often I meet someone who makes Jamie more tolerable.”

He speaks with a touch of humor and it’s just enough to dispel any apprehensions about what’s waiting for you in the dark. 

You say, “Thanks Sam. Love ya,” which he returns before he disappears back to the main party.

You take a breath and head down the steps.

It’s dark, the light barely shining enough for each step, but as you get farther you see a shadowy figure sitting on a bench under a tree. You smile. You can tell exactly who it is by his silhouette.

Jamie stands as you get closer and pulls you into his arms.

“Thought we’d sneak away to make out a bit,” he says. “And maybe to you wouldn’t yell at me in front of all our friends.”

You groan. “What did you do? Please tell me it has nothing to do with Roy. Or Jack. Oh my god, did you two start convincing people you were separated at birth again? Because it’s really only funny one time.”

“Well…” Jamie hedges.

You pinch his back. It’s the only part of him you can reach at the moment. “Jamie Tartt, you’d better tell me what you did right now or so help me you are going to be sleeping on the couch for the rest of our lives.”

“Oi, don’t fucking do that!”

He reaches back to grab your hands and holds them flat on his chest. “We- Roy, Grealish, and me, might have gotten your prick ex kicked out.”

“You what?” you gasp.

Jamie starts speaking in a rush before you can say anything else. “Look, y’know how protective Grealish gets, especially because Sasha fucking loves you, and then Roy heard that your prick ex was here (not the twat ex) and he said it’s easier for him to get in and out of fights on account of him being a fucking manager but then Grealish said that it’s pretty much expected that fights happen so might as well and anyway, no one’s gonna fuckin’ snitch on any of us because (hate to break it to you babe), but you’re, like, everyone’s kid sister. They’d fucking kill for you so it’s possible that we channeled that into threatening to break all of his bones if he ever ended up in the same country as you again.”

You’re processing all of the things Jamie said plus the incredible speed at which he said them, so all you can manage is a single “Okay,” before he’s talking again.

“Ehm, it’s also slightly-fucking-possible that someone did break his foot.”

“What?” you all but shout.

“Coordinated effort between Isa and Haaland,” Jamie says. “Lad’s a fucking wall, don’t know if you’ve noticed.”

“Jesus, Jamie,” you groan. “I don’t know if I should kiss you or pinch you again.”

“You can do both,” he suggests.

You sigh. “I’m going to kiss you. Like, a lot. And I’m not going to worry about getting caught and after we’ve snogged like a pair of kids in high school- sorry, secondary school, then we’re going to eat a bunch more food and dance with our friends. And if you want to get sloshed, I promise I will only take funny videos for myself, and I will not send them to your mum this time.”

Jamie says, “Liar,” as he kisses the tip of your nose.

“Fine,” you concede, “I will most definitely send them to your mum. And Simon. We’re on a group chat.”

“Not even gonna fucking ask,” Jamie says as he threads a hand through your hair so he can get at a better angle to kiss you.

—

You wake up the next morning (ahem, afternoon) to Jamie’s foot in your face.

“Excuse me, sir,” you say.

He hiccups himself awake. “Yeah?” he rumbles. “What fucking time..?”

“Late, I assume,” you say.

He groans and flips himself around so your heads are on the same side of the bed. He wastes no time in tangling your limbs together.

“Oi, koala boy. Some of us have morning breath.”

“No y’don’t babe,” he mumbles.

You scratch his head and a shudder runs through his body. “I know,” you say, “my breath is perfect. I meant you. I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“Cruel woman,” he returns before lapsing into silence. The sun slips through the curtains, and you’re sure it’s going to be another gorgeous day

“Jamie,” you begin then stop.

He says, “Yeah, love?” while looking up at you with his gorgeous blue eyes and you take a moment to freeze this image in your head. 

Jamie Tartt, in bed, hair tousled from sleep. Pillowy white duvet, golden freckled skin, warm body pressed to yours.

He kisses your shoulder, rousing you from your thoughts. 

“Jamie,” you say again, “I wanted to say-”

“Don’t,” he interjects. “You’re not fucking allowed to say thank you for the bare fucking minimum.”

“But it’s not,” you reply, opting to skate over the fact that he apparently can read your mind. “Bare minimum is like, making sure I’m not alone with him, not getting your friends together to scare him off and break his foot.”

Jamie’s been kissing your skin wherever he can reach as you speak, so his words are interspersed with pecks. “Technically, the foot was an accident. Ask any one of our witnesses. And besides, they’re your friends too. You’re the one who got ‘em all to like ya despite the fact we’re mortal enemies on the pitch.”

“You’re the one who goes tanning with Jack,” you remind him.

“Lies told by the press,” Jamie grumbles. “This is my natural sexy glow.”

You say, “Okay little British boy,” as Jamie decides that his current position is not enough and he wants to lay on top of you.

He says something but his face is buried in the crook of your neck, so all you can feel is vibrations.

You ask, “Hm?” so he lifts his head.

“What if it were us next year?”

“Tanning or breaking feet?”

“Getting married.”

Jamie goes back to having his mouth on your neck as if the air weren’t just punched from your lungs.

You’re quiet long enough that he lifts his head again to ask, “Is that good quiet or bad quiet?”

“Good!” you hastily confirm. “Good, but, babe- you haven’t even asked me yet.”

He says, “I’m going to,” as if you should have known already. 

“Okay,” you breathe, “can you give me like a little heads up or something so my nails are done?”

“Uh-huh,” he says, “At the end of the week. Been planning it. Ring’s in my bag, even asked Stella if she’d be pissed that it’s the same week she took on the most un-sexy last name in history. She said she don’t give a shit as long as it’s not at her actual wedding. So.”

“I love you,” you tell him. “Not just because of yesterday or right now. I just think you’re great.”

“I am great, babe,” he says like it’s obvious. “Picked you, didn’t I?”

You crack a smile. “Alright, that’s enough out of you. Do you want to get out of bed or go back to sleep?”

“Sleep,” he replies immediately. 

“Thank God,” you groan, “I didn’t want to move. You’re like a weighted blanket.”

“It’s me sexy muscles,” Jamie says. You wiggle under him to get more comfortable.

“Uh huh,” you agree, but the words are hardly out of your mouth before you’re both back to sleep.

[robogart]

Shadowheart's high pitched voice is actually really empowering to me as someone with a high pitched voice... :T thanks for perpetuating the idea that women sound "childlike" for that. I had to unfollow for how rude you've been about this character, why totally redesign her if you despise her so? Cannot imagine spending so much energy on something you don't like. If I don't like a character I just don't draw them at all, it's really that simple. Why spread so much negativity? You could have gone about this in a better way if you really wanted to redesign her, coming in with this like "I fixed her" attitude is extremely off-putting.

First off, that's great that you find Shadowheart and her voice empowering to you. Having a higher pitched voice on its own isn't childlike to me and, if I'm thinking of the post where you're getting this from, I just said that her voice sounds very young, I didn't reference it's pitch at all.

And I don't think the actual pitch of her voice is particularly high either - I just think she sounds very youthful and her character has a sort of youthful arrogance that feels very "teenage" in its delivery. And it's this delivery that, when coupled with her design and her writing, I find perpetuates a women character trope I personally dislike. This trope of eternal feminine youthfulness and, especially when paired with this amnesiac/brainwash characteristic, a sort of "born sexy yesterday" feeling to her that is already so prevalent with SO many "strong young women" characters in media. I just don't particularly like constantly seeing it. It's a preference and it's not for me - especially with how it's treated here, which doesn't seem to add anything different to this type of storyline. I wish it was handled differently in the writing.

Regardless, you're completely missing the point with this Shadowheart drawing. As you feel empowered with hearing the voice acting from this character, I feel empowered drawing/reimagining characters as fat. There is close to zero representation of fat characters in media who are being portrayed as strong, interesting, beautiful, and desirable characters - especially as part of the main cast. The representation for characters like Shadowheart is plentiful in media spaces, oversaturated even, and if I can draw characters like her in designs - in this case, where they are literally completely the same except they are fat - then I'm going to do it. Because doing this makes me feel - what you called "negativity" - nothing but joy. I feel immense joy reimagining characters as fat. It makes me feel seen, and that gives me joy. It makes others feel seen, and that gives me joy. It brings in people who are excited and love to see change and different bodies in these spaces, and that brings joy.

Me critiquing this game is not me despising it, far from it actually. If anything I'm enthusiastically frustrated. The reason I am so impassioned with this game is because I enjoy so many aspects of it and see so much potential for ways that I would love to see it improved. This is something that I, and many others, enjoy doing. It's fun to think about, it moves your brain around - it's called critically consuming something, not hating it. There's a difference.

It's probably for the best that you unfollowed because this doesn't sound like a space for you at all. I'm glad to be off-putting in these situations because I will stand for what I want to see more of - respectful depictions of fat people in media - and I will continue to do so.

[rubberduckyrye]

The AUs of the Twins

Ghost AU Ouma Twins Reference Sheet

So in actuality this isn't an official AU I'm working on by any means....... but I drew the BETA designs for Kokichi and Kurochi in Twins AU, back when it was just a couple of out of order fics posted on Ao3? Sort of as a patient Zero on the designs. Except I wanna show the art off so I was like "I need to bullshit an AU--oh! Dead Rochi AU, perfect!"

Anyway this AU isn't real and cannot hurt me. It's not real and cannot hurt me... The twins must always be together...

Ahem.

Canon Kokichi's cape is the most boring of all, sadly...

Still, in an AU where Kurochi died when he was 12, Kokichi would look like his canon self and Rochi as a ghost would probably mirror him. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Phantom Thieves AU Ouma Twins Reference Sheet

No u do NOT get to see Kokichi without his cape and mask, because I'm lazy. I've also gotten too lazy to separate the twins out into their own files so please forgive me I am Tired.

The back of Kokichi's outfit looks exactly like Rochi's so there's no need to really show it off here, right? I--FUCK. ROCHI'S LEG DOESN'T HAVE THE BLACK STRAPS ON THE BACK POSE. Ah well they're supposed to be there but I cannot be fucked.

Also remember how I was like "What if D.I.C.E. had a masquerade theme instead of a clown theme? This is the result of that. Kind of. It's actually the result of me putting the canon Twins AU cape on this old Twins AU redesign and putting on the P5AU persona mask for Kokichi on too, making a very interesting design! The hat was tackled on at the end to make it look real PT like.

Not really an official AU or anything, just for funsies and I didn't want to let these designs go to waste so I repurposed them.

Persona 5 Awakened Ouma Twins Reference Sheet

Okay so these designs have some themes I wanna talk about!

Kokichi's theme of rebellion is "Prince meets Robin hood, decides that eating the rich is a good idea, becomes new Robin Hood." Which is a bit of a mouthful but it fully explains Kokichi's design for the P5AU. He's from a wealthy family that he hates, and he wants to punish the rich bastards who hurt people by giving them a Change of Heart. Kokichi's cloak is themed after the phases of the moon and a bird chasing after the guiding star.

Kurochi's theme of rebellion is about reclaiming the childhood he never had. He's supposed to look like an extremely goofy, cartoon spy with his mask literally being those gag spy glasses and having a prop newspaper that probably has eye holes in it. He's even got a utility belt and everything. People often forget what his mask looks like when they haven't seen it in a while and they get shocked and laugh each time.

This AU is the only AU currently where the Twins don't actually match one another--and it's because it's their inner selves making the outfits that are fitting for their rebellion.

Bonus:

He looks so much more like a phantom thief here LMAO.

[heretherebedork]

All of your insights on wedding impossible feel so spot on to how I’m also consuming the drama. I haven’t gotten to the press conferences and stuff since I’m only on episode 8, but I’ve seen posts about it and even those frustrated. It just feels insane to me that anyone can think Dohan is the selfish one. I know we’re kind of beating a dead horse and preaching to the choir here but it’s just so baffling. Jihan who tried to get his brother’s fiancee not to marry Dohan so Jihan can build a mall. Jihan who tells Ajeong to her face he doesn’t like her but he’s going to seduce her and she’s not going to be able to resist bc he’s just sooooooo handsome and charming (which gave me a huge ick, how lowly does he think of this 32 year old woman that he assumes she’ll fall for someone who says he doesn’t like her??? But then she does???). Jihan who then does try to seduce HIS BROTHER’S FIANCEE. Jihan who tried to stop another woman from getting married by saying he should’ve hit on her instead (I also feel bad for CEO Chaewon in this show). Jihan who then strings Chaewon along to get things he wants (like breaking up his brother’s marriage that he thinks is real). Jihan who takes zero time to worry about Dohan after he’s outed by a crazy ex before immediately getting angry at Dohan and then again telling Ajeong not to marry him. Jihan who did all of this because he wants money. He’s the selfless one? Why, because he held an umbrella?

The writers are resting on the assumption that viewers will just ignore how awful Jihan is because he’s the male lead and is supposed to be the ideal man we all fall for, so they aren’t putting in any work to actually make him sympathetic. The worst part is it’s apparently working for the vast majority of viewers. You’re also so right that the show keeps telling us Jihan and Dohan are supposed to be close, but doing absolutely nothing to show us that. They might as well be strangers sharing a lease at this point. I had never watched a (het) romance kdrama before this (I always stuck with mystery and thrillers which korea does quite well imo), and I’m not sure I ever will watch one again if this is considered good. Also do we ever find out wtf happened to the ex? It’s been a couple episodes since we saw him all beat up but there’s no indication of what happened. Did they really use a gay bashing to create an evil ex boyfriend who could out Dohan to Jihan and stalk Ajeong for a bit and nothing more?

The ex was so underutilized and basically amounted to nothing except him forcibly outing Do Han to Ji Han to make the plot move. That's really all he does. Well, maybe he does more in the finale. I haven't watched yet. I'm working up to it.

But, yeah. This is my dead horse to beat.

Ji Han was the single most selfish character in the show and anyone who tries to claim otherwise is trying to sell you something.

Or trying to salvage a romance that ended up just generally unpleasant to me because, seriously? The entire romance started with him trying to steal away his supposed fiance and then ended with him getting pissed off about Do Han being gay and supposedly manipulating Ah Jeong and then was him just destroying their supposed sibling relationship.

Which I guess they don't have anymore? Or something?

The show gave us zero closure on that and I hate it so much. Because it's so stupid. Because there was no sibling relationship. None! The show refused to give us anything. Nothing but Ji Han being selfish and Do Han having to feel like the worst person ever for even remotely trying to protect himself.

Ah, but the show isn't going to show any homophobia. Why would they do that?

Instead, the show is just gonna give us nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Not even a goddamn glimpse.

No one seeing this would ever believe these brothers loved each other.

[cadybear420]

If HSS (both trilogies) were made by 2022-2024 Choices.

I've seen a couple of posts on the Reddit such as "If ILITW/TRR/ES/etc. were made today", and it got me wondering the same for HSS. So I've decided to do my own for both HSS trilogies.

Feel free to share your own speculations!

OG HSS

There would probably be only 1 or 2 LIs, both forced upon the MC, and both made race (and possibly gender) customizable. Michael would definitely be a LI, him and Caleb for duo GOC LI because I know PB would not be able to resist the "golden boy jock/bad boy rebel" LI duo. Though I can maybe see them having Michael and Maria. Emma I could see being a third (possibly race-customizable) token canon female LI. Aiden would certainly not be eligible as a LI because modern Choices (with the exception of maybe MAH) seems to hate LIs that are shy, awkward, or softies, especially if they're male or male-coded.

The book would probably still be GOC, thankfully. Then again, I wouldn't put it past modern Choices to want a genderlocked high school book where they default the MC into being a cheerleader. Speaking of which...

There's no WAY modern PB would have the activity choice system, quite simply because the multiple routes and dialogue accommodations would require putting in actual effort. Modern PB would definitely try to do a genderlocked default-cheerleader MC, but I also feel like they could default MC to being a jock since Book 1 was a bit jock centric. Or heck, they likely wouldn't even give MC an activity at all because god forbid we have proactive MCs.

Honestly, I feel like just about all of the different options and possible outcomes- the spirit stick heist, tryouts, junior captain, hoco/prom crowns- we have for the MC would be nerfed, because they would require putting in actual effort. So rather than having a MC where we can actively decide who they are and how they behave, they'd probably give the MC like one random set thing they're into and have all their dialogue choice options be lacking in variation and story impact.

Assuming Caleb is a (or the) LI, they'd make Zoe a full on straw loser villain woman who exists solely to have petty catfights with MC over Caleb and thus make MC seem like the better match for Caleb. They'd probably have her not be caught cheating until later on into Book 1, nerf her Book 3 redemption arc entirely, and instead have her be unable to move on from Caleb by then and hold resentment against MC for "ruining their relationship".

They might age everyone up to 18+ (with our MC being an incoming senior), but probably wouldn't include smut scenes considering the MTFL fiasco. I mean, ID had zero smut scenes despite its confirmed 18+ cast. If this was 2018-2020 Choices, they probably would have a couple of smut scenes, but 2022-2024 Choices would definitely not. Probably a hell of a lot more lap sitting though. But only MC sitting in LI's lap, except for Emma where it's reversed, because having a male LI sitting in female MC's lap might lose them those precious pennies from straight women.

Considering Prime getting sunset in August 2022 and PB having deleted the Twitter account for it, I'm seriously doubting how much modern PB cares about that game. This version probably would not have HSS Prime characters in it at all. Heck, they'd probably just not even make it "HSS".

HSS:CA

It would be single LI, Rory being that LI. Ajay and Skye become merely recurring side characters.

I feel like maybe PB would be more likely to genderlock this one. Or maybe not, IDK.

Danielle would be a lot more outwards and over-the-top of an antagonist. As in, we see all her behaviors up-front. She'd be a full-on straw-loser villain woman for MC to compete with over Rory.

The same thing about sex scenes for OG would apply here too. Instead of MC being freshly-graduated from middle school, they'd probably make them a incoming senior transfer student from a private school.

Assuming this continues from the Choicesified version of OG HSS and not from the one we actually have, the OG gang will have graduated by the time CA starts (given that they'd have all been made seniors in this version). In other words, we now have an actually valid reason for CA to throw out the OG gang instead of keeping them around for superficial nostalgia bait. That's one positive I guess.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Lmao here, have the most ridiculously broad and all-encompassing writer ask ever to distract you:

How in the hell do you make a plot?

Jk, mostly. 😅 This is more a ramble than an ask I guess. I keep tinkering with the idea of actually writing A Story, but I just. I don't know. I get so bored so fast with the process of moving characters from Point A to Point B. I just want to stick people in a room and make them talk. (Or possibly make out, depending on the scenario.) Or I want to spend thousands of words just going on and on about a character's thoughts and emotions. That all works well for oneshot fanfics, but it's awful for doing longer fics or attempting something original. I just don't know how to make characters Go Places and Do Things and Have Goals. Which like...obviously you're not going to be able to magically solve that problem for me in a single post, but...any tips to get started that don't involve falling into the inescapable dungeon of Outlining?

Plot has always been an issue for me. Many moons ago, an agent told me that my book had a great voice but nothing actually happened in it: it was like one of those narrators you'd say you'd listen to read a phone book. Except, you know. Maybe it'd be nice if it wasn't a phone book.

I've had a tendency in the past to, ah...just have a series of things happen. Which is not actually a plot. It's a katamari ball. You can't just write things happening for several thousand words and then be like "ta-da!"

Well, I mean, you can. But it sure wasn't gettin' me an agent.

I'm getting better at this, I think, and structuring stories in general. Tiadane's book was the first book I got notes back from a CP that didn't basically say "the pacing and structure of this is fucked."

(Of course, I'm changing some of that anyway, but it's more incidental to other things I'm fixing than the major concern)

That said, it usually takes me a zero draft (first draft) to really figure out what the story is about and how to take it there. Every single ending for a story I had in mind before I got there has had to be ripped out. Every. Single. One. For ever novel I've ever edited. I'm so bad at getting to an ending I envisioned, because if I actually let the characters develop and change and the world build around them and the themes come through, where I wanted them to end up and the scenes I envisioned, is never really the culmination of how to do it.

A plot is really how a story develops. For me, this is generally character-based. For some people it's the world, for some people it's the actual events.

For a character story, the plot is basically what events are the catalyst that bring them to where they're going. How do they get there, and what happens to them to push them there? How did they react, and to what?

For a world story, the plot is generally focused on unfolding events around the world. I've seen this done with characters in different areas and or characters traveling, or even just in a kind of Epicenter. The plot will be how the world is changing, or how the world is being revealed to the reader, and what that means.

For a story of events, the plot is generally encircled around how things happen, who caused them and why, and what they do when they do happen, and what else they cause to happen.

I usually have a good strong start for about 10k words, and then the plot fizzles out as the initial concept I was running with has sort of been fulfilled and something needs to happen from it.

The way this happened in Tiadane's book was that he basically jumped into a goal, he completed the steps he set out to do, but it all went very wrong. And while he managed to get out of that disaster and take a breather, he had a couple choices: he could give up, or he could try something else to accomplish the goal (and what), or he could clean up the mess he accidentally made, etc.

Each of those would have been a very different Character, obviously. But what the important part of this character story was, was that he made a choice based on who he is as a character, but that he was the one reacting and doing something. There's characters stories about passive characters who don't do much, but they're not especially common because when a character isn't making choices (or perceived not to be), it gets really hard to reveal a character and the story doesn't go anywhere.

Sure, you could keep throwing things at them. But if those Various Things That Are Happening don't feel tied to something before (the character or other events), you have a string of events, not a nicely rising tide of story.

So it's not a matter of "things happening" but "which things going to happen to them after they did that?" and "what things are they going to do now?" and "what things are going to tell you what you want readers to know about the character?"

Sub character with world or events, as necessary.

Okay NOW I'm done, for now.

[bookqueenrules]

How Gimple and Company have missed the mark on Daryl Dixson Season 1 and the ratings are showing it.

Let’s talk ratings first:

Disclaimer: Yes, streaming matters, but by comparing a show’s performance to other shows on the network, we can get an idea how the show is doing.

Dead City performed better in the demos and overall.  Now, of course, the season isn’t over, but DD is down week to week from episode 1 to episode 2 by 18% in the key demo!

Yes, DD is competing against Sunday night football, but Dead City aired during the summer slump when people tend to watch less T.V. DD is also airing at a time when little new programming is coming, and has been advertised extensively. DD should be doing better.

I believe the problem is obvious.  I did a post I submitted to twdmysterymusicbox linked here about why I thought it would be revealed, at least to audience, that Beth is alive in episode 3 of the spin-off. 

Everything I said stands except the fact that I gave too much credit to TPTB! 

It’s what they should have done!

Here is part of that post:

“Dead City was considered a success by most, but why did it do well?

Some wanted to see NYC zombies. Some wanted to see Maggie and Hershel. I would argue MOST wanted to see the development of the Negan/Maggie dynamic. How many would have watched just Maggie trying to get Herschel back?  Some, but it would not have had the same viewership, and the TWD fans actually care about Hershel as Maggie and Glenn’s son. 

So, why will people watch DD?

Some are looking forward to variant zombies, some want to see Daryl, but for how long will the average American TWD viewer tune in to see Daryl hanging out with new French characters with accents and subtitles to boot?  

Personally, I would enjoy it regardless, but I know many people that hate subtitles and won’t be particularly interested in how things went in France.  Sure, the scenery is beautiful, but it won’t hold the interest past a couple of episodes. The “cure” premise was JUST seen in The Last of Us.   TPTB should also have learned that the decline of the flagship was largely due to killing off “family” characters we cared about and bringing on lots of new characters that never became as important to the audience as the original characters of the first few seasons. Hopefully, TPTB learned this lesson. 

While I DO expect to see a Carol flashback in season 1, the show will need to bring something to the French story that will excite and surprise viewers. If MMB would have decided to be in season 1, it may have been a different story. The Daryl/Carol dynamic would have been there, and I would be predicting your typical “cliffhanger” style reveal towards the end of the first season.

That is why I think there will need to be SOME reconnection between Beth/Daryl in season 1 for the audience to care enough to tune in to Carol/Daryl finding her in season 2. 

So, I was wrong about what they were going to do, but I was right in WHY they should have done it!

Let me add here that bringing Carol alone will not improve ratings much. There STILL has to be connection to the TWDU and character development. We have seen the Carol and Daryl show the last few seasons of TWD and viewership declined. MOVE THE STORY.

Viewers want to see character development. They were watching to see what would happen between Maggie and Negan.

This “stand alone” DD show is not what viewers want.  There has to be connection to and movement in the original narrative viewers loved.

The stakes in this spin-off are almost ZERO. Judith and Carol are happy in the Commonwealth. Zeke is taking care of them both. 🙂There is no crisis only Daryl can solve back home. He is not in France searching for his long lost love Beth…..

There are no stakes in the French storyline either. Laurent has Isabelle and his new found parent to look after him. It’s not even imperative that Laurent make it to the “Nest” at a certain time.  We are not going to discover how the outbreak started, or why/if they are making varient zombies

Most importantly, Daryl’s happy ending is nowhere on the horizon. Why should people tune in? Dragging out this storyline and trying to milk the franchise even more is a disaster.  They can print as many articles saying people love the spin-off as they want, and I think those actually tuning in are enjoying it.  However, the numbers don’t lie.  The "must watch" interest is not there. 

Not enough people care enough to tune in.  I predict episodes 3 and 4 will have even lower ratings.

The SHIP baiting and dragging out of Daryl’s romantic storyline is not working. It’s been 12 years already! We have seen Beth set up and taken away, Leah as one episode non-romance, flirting with Connie, but NO actual romance for Daryl. Now, it’s obvious that Daryl/Isabelle is another bait.  The time for that is long past. Give the viewers a true romantic partner for Daryl.  In the apocalyptic world of TWD the environment and the trauma the characters face are enough of an obstacle.  Who will Daryl fall in love with?  The question must be answered for viewers to care.  This is the only way to develop his character any further. 

Thoughts?

[shaych03]

Writer Asks

I was tagged by my old friend and Casey/Olivia shenanigans buddy, @dinovia-grant

1. How many works do you have on AO3? A big, fat goose egg, sadly. Somewhere, out there, I have an old site I haven't updated in years. And fic on other sites, but I never migrated them all to AO3. One day, maybe... My ancient website, broken graphics links and all, can be found here: http://xenafiction.net/shaylynnrose/playground.htm Other fics and such that I've written can be found on Passion and Perfection: http://www.ralst.com/

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? unless my comments count, zero.

3. What fandoms do you write for? When I do write, Xena/Gabrielle, Casey/Olivia, Sam/Janet, Janeway/Seven, Emily/JJ, BtVS: Willow/Tara, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Amy, Buffy/Faith, Faith/Cordelia, Kate/Elizabeth, Kerry/Kim, as well as my own original characters.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Never gotten any kudos, but I think I had the most engagement from Resurrection is for the Unbelievers, simply because I posted it in regular parts back in the LiveJournal days. I know i had a lot of good feedback on the various things I had written, but they were personal emails, which I cherish and look back upon with strong fondness. It makes me happy that something about my stories touched others.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I almost always responded to comments, good or bad, just because it meant something to me that my work had inspired someone to say something about it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Possibly a Xena fic, one that was quite short, called Solitude. It was set during the Bitter Suite era, which overall, was quite angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? There's an old movie, The Pirate Movie, that I latched onto as a kid, because of the song, "Happy Ending" and so...uh, I'm pretty sure everything I write has at least the glimmer of a happy ending, if not a total rainbows and puppy dogs ending...even if the characters had to slog through heck and squishy toast to get there.

8. Do you get hate on fic? Ages and ages ago, I got one of the most confusing emails I've ever seen. It was so badly written that I'd accuse it of being spewed out by an AI, except this was literally in the 90s, so I don't know if AI was a thing then...it might have been hate, or it might have been someone's drunken ramblings, I'm not terribly sure. I think the worst I've truly gotten was comments about how atrocious my grammar or editing was, and I don't consider that hate, just good criticism.

9. Do you write smut? Yes and No. Most of my published fanfic is fairly tame. Even my currently published original fiction is fairly tame...things I've been working on and dabbling with that are still unfinished and may or may not ever see the light? Definitely not tame.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes. Absolutely. Resurrection is for the Unbelievers is a mega crossover between Angel: The Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a Dracula movie, and eventually, Criminal Minds. This is probably my craziest in terms of seriously different fandoms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Many moons ago, back before even LiveJournal was a thing, someone posted one of my Xena fics to their site without asking. I asked them to remove it, and after some discussion, they did. They'd credited me, but I hadn't given them permission to post it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Actually, yes. A long time ago, I had someone ask to translate a couple of my pieces and I said yes. I...really don't remember which ones, though. I've slept many, many times since then. I hope they're still out there, though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Several times. I'm currently co-writing with a friend. Nothing to publish as yet, but it's a lovely way to get better at many things.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship? Of what I've written? I'd have to see Kate/Elizabeth simply because I invented it in terms of looking a two characters from different media and said, "They'd really make a great couple". Outside of that, I'd have to proffer the OG, Xena and Gabrielle...they're the ones who got me writing, who got me interacting with internet fandom as a whole, and made me a lot of friends...many of whom I still know, and one of which has been one of my closet friends since 1996.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t? I have too many to name, but I'll through out the name of an unpublished piece called The Broken. It's a marvelous monstrosity that I worked on for over ten years with a friend...and we abandoned it because it had gotten too convoluted and silly and really, just completely lost its way. But I learned so, so much while writing it. I'll forever be grateful for its existence.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialog, world building, emotive descriptions, romance, and I'd say I'm not too bad with action sequences if I put my mind to it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I'm too wordy and I suck at grammar. And I love adverbs and will die on the hill that they are a necessary part of dialog...but I do overuse them, especially when writing a first draft. I don't like doing a ton of research, either. I'd rather make it up unless I really need to know something. Good thing I generally write fantasy LOL.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't write well in any other languages...I've had 2 years of high school French, but that was over 30 years ago.

19. First fandom you wrote for? On the page, that people could read? Xena: Warrior Princess, but I was making up stories about Charlie's Angels and other TV shows I loved for years. In the sixth grade, a friend of mine and I had a Wonder Woman (TV series) fanclub where we all spun around and pretended to be amazons out to save the day...so what if it was me and two boys who were telling each other these stories. We were having fun and extending the mythos of a show we loved.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Resurrection is for the Unbelievers is probably closest to my heart because of the work I put into it, but I love all my story children, even the ones whose existence has slipped to the back of my mind. They were all words that had to get out and show themselves off to the world.

(small disclaimer, all of the above was written while veeery tired, so if there are typos, I'm sorry.)

I tag whoever wants to have at this thing and have fun telling the world about your work. No specific callouts because frankly, I bet most of y'all have already answered this thing.

[zumpietoo]

I Always LOVE It....

when the BB decides to troll, just as I'm musing on a "should or shouldn't I go there?" post.....and, honestly, I was fully about to post the pic I was just sent, on its own....buuuutt....here's what I was mulling over (both content and to push or not to push?)....

Soo....Paris (and recently leaked private, candid pics, too).....now confirmed some already painfully obvious shit:

Cole is just fine

Cari is amazingly fine

Cole's career is just fine

Nobody GAF (or ever did) if Ari is an evvvolll, lowly "catalog model"

PP's career is just fine on its D-list/Hallmark Movie/never gonna approach anything again level (which, hey, she'll make a few $$$---that she'll spend on drugs/her cult----and she'll be fine, but there's no "high powered girlboss" anywhere, ever....and that ship has sailed/she's never bothered to catch it and simply continuing to insist it, doesn't mean dick)

This absolutely refutes every last theory the BB tries to push

It infuriates them on every conceivable last level....

Annndd.....the other part I absolutely LOVE here....one of the myths they recently tried to push (in the endless "I'm rubber/you're glue" arsenal they seem to have) was that Cabana Pee always look so happy, intimate, loving and close----while Cari look distant, are for the cameras, etc....oh and Cole always seemed so much happier with PP....

Nooow....where to start?

We've now seen (again) that ALMOST A YEAR TOGETHER!!! (which is also heelarious, since they're still, as we just saw, insisting Cari are fake/pee arr, THREE+++ years and counting and I shall make a smaller (maybe) side post on the whole A WHOLE YEAR!!! later).....the only time Cabana Pee look remotely "close/intimate" is when there are known cameras present, compliments of the paps having been called....

Otherwise? They look like a pair of verrryyyy awkward 7 year olds, with zerrooooo chemistry. And, LBR, they aren't together terribly often, unless it's for cameras and that's for a pair of attention whores, endlessly desperate for attention....

Cari? We see, all the fucking time, all kinds of sweet intimacies and are verryyy affectionate....now granted, Cole's a physical, affectionate guy, anyway (he'd be the first to say so), buuut.....AND....again, it's been over three years, they've never broken up/are together entirely because they choose to be/their relationship has steadily increased in commitment/they're very much part of one another's families/etc..

Soo....what does this translate to?

Cole's interviewed he's been in love three times, but also detailed (briefly) how verrryyyy different things are with Ari (and had been since moment ONE)....it becomes increasing obvious, she's the only girl he everrrr truly loved...

PP? Proximity created a lot of it....if they weren't on a show that threw them together (and their chemistry turned them into the couple that saved the show) all the time? Would've fizzled out pretty quickly.

Cole likes having sex, was lonely stuck up there and I have zero doubts PP being a neurotic mess was able to really play into all his issues with his mommeee and his tendency to be a bit of a fixer....

I now, do, truly wonder just how many times they broke up and just how often that was about PP's compulsion to fuck around....to the point of Cole routinely having to rearrange his plans, just to go babysit her fucked up ass.....

Similarly, Breetch? Well, first off, BF was all of like 20 years (oh and, yes, I'd give both Breetch and Peepster passes there, too....except they're the ones who turned it all toxic, repeatedly) and, again, she was a needy hot mess, the entire thing was a mistake....and while, yes, he chose to be with her, they were also dumb and it's been made apparent she knew perfectly how to push his buttons (again, a lot like his mommeee....)...

And both are still bitter, purely over something having not worked out...which, seriously? Pretty fuckin' standard.

[tonyhightowerv1]

PARIS, FRIDAY

So after two weeks here, a couple of disturbing patterns are starting to emerge, and now’s the time to get to fixing them.

First: Except for a half-hour session at a all-expats playdate a week or so ago, I’ve talked to literally no other adults beside my wife since I got here. I knew I’d be socially isolating, but this is definitely going to get to me if I don’t do something about it.

People post on Social Paris Reddit from time to time looking for people to hang out with, but they’re invariably 24 year old backpackers looking to “party.” Now, much as I’d love to do that, that’s not really where I’m going with my life at the moment, and hanging out after hours with people less than half my age doesn’t hold the same allure it used to, even when they were my actual unhalved age.

* * *

Between the pandemic, the birth of my son, and this move, my life has turned completely upside down this last three years.

As a quiz host and speaker, I used to talk to hundreds of people a week. It was great. It was literally my job to be witty, and welcoming, and to tease the smart out of people.

But then the bars all closed, and then I had a baby that required constant attention and for some reason didn’t know any mnemonics for remembering South American capitals or Best Director Oscar winners or whatever (PEMDAS, kid. WORK WITH ME.), and then we moved to another country where my knowledge of the language is… well, I won’t starve to death, but my French hasn’t gotten better since I got here.

And so I’ve gone from 60 to zero awfully quick.

Even seeing it coming, even knowing this was going to be a psychic hit, it’s still jarring.

Now, normally, I’d lean into running to just keep my thoughts in order — it’s worked every other time — but for the first time since I was a teenager, I have a recurring ligament problem in my knee, and so for the last few months I’ve also been in pretty constant pain. I have a brace, but — my kid refers to me as “The Broken Racecar”, and, well, please let that not be how he knows me.

I went to a doctor here, and for some reason he didn’t seem to understand  I wasn’t able to explain to him that I’ve been in constant pain, and I need help.

His office was the most laid-back doctor’s office I’ve ever seen. It looked like a large, well-lit walk-in closet, or maybe a porn set. He took my vitals, his English was about as good as my French, and I kept bringing the conversation back to my knee, only to have him say, well, you have a brace, no?

I have a brace, yes, but —

Well then, you’re fine. You seem fine.

Look, I’m not fucking fine. I’ve been in pain every waking hour of the day since Thanksgiving. Ibuprofen isn’t cutting it. I need help.

Jo is being as sympathetic as she can, but this is clearly weighing on her as well. My role here is not to do what I’m currently doing — I’m only up writing at 4:30 am because I can’t sleep from the pain, but that’s not helpful for the stuff we need to do during the day — it’s to set up Jo’s office so she can get started with writing the two books she’s contracted to write this year.

My job is to take care of everything that isn’t Her Book Projects. Extra daycare, dropping off & picking up X from school, making dinner (Friday is Pizza Day, so that’s tonight’s meal), and keep up the house.

My job is not to get out and talk to strangers, because really, when am I gonna have time for that?

I wouldn’t mind getting back on learning French — that seems like a good use of my time, certainly better than writing these missives before the house wakes up — so maybe that’s useful. If I can’t get out of the house to shoot pictures or interact with this new city I now call home, the least I can do is widen the hole I have to climb through.

[theaceofskulls]

Oh boy... some thoughts on Red Vs Blue now that the announcement of the final season is here.

This series was probably one of my favorites. Hell for a bit there one of the more popular posts I had was a starter guide for people getting into it. It's not a long series but I knew that people had a limited amount of time and with every season being a full 90 minutes to 2 hours long, asking someone to catch up on 10 movies worth of stuff to get to the current arcs was an ask.

I was a fan of the series before Rooster Teeth got into making RWBY. Hell, I was a fan of the series before I got into Rooster Teeth in general.

In fact I like to say that RvB set my expectations for RWBY and is part of the reason I was able to enjoy the series as much as I have. So it's got me feeling all sorts of things to watch this come up as the finale announcement while RWBY's ultimate fate is currently up in the air, especially thinking back on how RvB really started without all of the corporate nonsense and way worse that everything surrounding Rooster Teeth is wrapped up in.

Anyways, if you haven't caught on, this is going to be rambling so I'll apologize here and put a readmore so that everyone else can just move past

RvB shows its age. From the fact that the best way to start it is something I'll put plenty of advisory warnings on when I share it with newcomers to the fact that it still rolls with machinima. There's a charm to that though. It's like watching a webcomic that you've fallen into. The start is rough but it finds a footing that no one else can really claim to be anything similar to.

That said, "rough" is a word that I feel eventually haunted the series for me.

Anyone who looks over my tag of it can see I'm a huge fan of the show and weathered almost every change it went through and oh boy does this show go through changes. It's fair to say that one of the biggest exodus of fans was after Season 5 when it looked like it ended for the first time when Season 6 took the series in a more serious route continuing off of the drama from 5 (and the mini series around that time). In fact, almost every transition saw people dip off and it's understandable even if most of them felt great in the long run once the new arcs were allowed to get rolling.

But I'll admit that eventually, I was one of those fans, and I wasn't alone from what I've experienced.

Season 13 had a monumental ending. Actually one of the more emotional pieces of media I've seen and that's not something I say lightly. It had a spectacular examination of storytelling and managed to find a solid endpoint to a character arc that wrecked me. I still tear up whenever I rewatch it.

Season 14 was a great cooldown by going with some more experimental media that disconnected itself from the stakes and acted as a good bonus, and I was willing to see more from the series.

However despite my willingness to meet this show with each of its new arcs in their own ways, the next couple seasons threw me and a lot of fans off. Something was definitely wrong and it wasn't just the change to the status quo or the new framing, it definitely began to spin wheels and to lose direction in a way that other arcs hadn't.

I got midway through season 16 before I just stopped checking in without realizing it. I kept up with the company though I rarely looked into anything other than RWBY or Gen:LOCK as the company began to shift away towards something different.

I've talked with other fans about this at various points whose experiences match my own. Anyone who made it to the Chorus arc of Seasons 11-13 all tend to agree that the show definitely managed to weather every arc change except the last two/three (depending on if you view season 15->16 as its own shift).

I compare this heavily to the fact that most people got through 15 and partway into 16 than the fact that most people who bounced off Season 6, 9, or 11 did so a few episodes in.

And almost everyone has an identical story: We all tried RvB Zero.

A lot has been said about it but this is my rambling post and if you're this far you're probably willing to read my take.

I went in welcoming the change of cast, the animation style, and the fact that it would probably be rougher to start. But I hate to say this: it was extremely poorly written and poorly delivered. Characters and plots were collections of tropes that couldn't hold the action scenes at the core of the show together. "Reveals" were things I assumed would be subversions and the show spent no time getting us invested in the characters because it was given a ridiculously short runtime so the twists landed with no emotional weight.

I know the creator has to deal with constant criticism of the show and is defensive of it so I have no wish to add to that pile but even approaching the season on its own merits I was unable to engage with it and felt like I was burying the series there.

Then came all the Rooster Teeth scandals. Crunch was a rumor but was then confirmed. Everything regarding the animation team (the other two big items were unrelated to RvB and RWBY but did put a damper on me engaging with the company the way it had always presented itself via the personalities it showcased). I drifted away from them until the latest season of RWBY (which itself premiered on a service that continues to deal with union related scandals). Regardless I'd sort of made my peace with RvB.

So then comes the announcement of the final season written by Burnie, whose retirement seems to have been in part one of the big reasons I drifted away from both the series and the company (it's notable that when I was a fan, the podcasts with him tended to be the highlights). I'm not here to put any of the founders on a pedestal after all of the dirty laundry that's come out about some of them, but it's reignited interest in this series at the least.

Added to that the soft retcon of everything after season 13, it seems a sort of acknowledgement that the series did lose its touch.

This post was meant to help me process the feelings I've had since hearing this announcement and record my experience with the show and I can't say for sure that I've sorted things completely as much as it feels like I understand where I stand with this.

I want it to be good. I want it to be a send off the series deserves. It's sad to watch something you've followed for almost 20 years be laid to rest and it's the closing of the chapter of "amateur art" as one of the last big machinima series comes to close.

If RWBY continues, its almost certainly going to be done by a separate studio, and while I've heard people are enjoying the new podcast formats I don't really enjoy general podcasts as much as specific interest ones these days.

All in all, this feels like closing a chapter on not just a series but the studio itself as Rooster Teeth has changed its logo to remove the "cock bite", changed its cast to remove most of the "old guard", and now lays to rest its longest running series. It's been obvious this has been coming for the better half of a decade now, but it's still the moment to me where a book is being closed. And it's bittersweet in its own way.

[ltleflrt]

Helllo 🙂

Alright so the whole ao3 tos violation drama is ongoing on twitter and since your name is somehow what these people are using to legitimise their arguments, I’ll super appreciate it if you could clear up a couple of things for me.

Do you also believe the person they’re calling out is behind this? There doesn’t seem to be much proof about it except for the “everyone knows” and the google doc and some unknown insider. I’ll basically take your word as proof because I trust you.

And second, were any of your fics ever in trouble with ao3 because of this thing? It’s very hard for me to accept ao3 deletes fics because someone in the comments mentions getting a physical copy. The whole spin these people have put on this is just *shakes hands*

Thank you and I’m sorry the trolls try to stop you from making physical copies of your work. Their “well someone’s making profit” sucks!!!

I'm going to preface this with a reminder that I'm not active on Twitter, so I do not know everything that's going on there.

Do I believe the person they're calling out is behind it? Well, I believe she started it. Or at the very least was extremely vocal about her opposition to printed fics in a forum where she whipped up people who respect her opinion into having the same opinions.

I don't have proof. It has been several years since I was targeted, and I did not save receipts. I'm bad enough about doing that with things I buy in the store, so I certainly don't keep track of shit like that for fandom drama. Everyone who attacked me was on anon, and at the time I was naive enough to think it was okay to share my links publicly, so I have no idea who decided to impersonate CW/WB and report me for copyright. (I seriously doubt it was actually someone at CW/WB doing the reporting.) Someone came to me privately at the time and explained that she saw the drama go down in this person's FB group and showed me some screenshots. Here's the first anon message I got about it, and as you can see that was 5 years ago. If you check the comments you can see that someone mentions thinking they knew who it was.

I have also seen a recent screenshot where someone posted pictures of printed fics that they purchased on FB, and she responded negatively to it and said that she didn't think that the author getting zero profit was good enough since Lulu makes a profit. That's basically the same thing she and her groupies were talking about 5 years ago when they were bitching about me, so the tune has not changed in all this time. And during the conversation that followed they were patting themselves on the back for just printing their favorite fics on their home printers instead. That's what set me off on this rant. That screenshot was shared in a private discord server, and I don't intend to make it public. There are people in that FB group who don't share that person's views, and they'd like to remain anonymous.

So back to the original question. Do I think she's behind it? Yes. I've seen her name on things. And I've also seen how she has a little group of super-fans who take her opinions to heart without actually thinking about it very hard.

After the anons jumped all over me several years ago and reported my Lulu account, I just created a new account and moved on with my life after that, and am more careful about letting people buy prints than I was in the beginning. (I also stopped doing free giveaway drawings, because I didn't want to risk an unknown hater getting a free copy. Fuck them.) I didn't call anyone out, and just kept things to myself. However, when another author friend of mine had a similar experience a few years later, we compared notes and found that it was the same person whipping up outrage. My friend happens to be active in the FB group, where I am not, so she sees more of the drama there. Based on the fact that she told me the name, and I was like "oooh that person", I'm inclined to believe my friend about what she witnessed.

Any time I see another author deciding to make their prints available, I make sure to warn them about keeping their info secure, and that's the extent to which I generally get involved. Unless someone asks me about it privately, then I'll name names.

On to your second question. I have not been reported for anything on AO3 (yet, *crosses fingers*, cuz the trolls try really really really hard to punish those they disagree with). I don't think I've mentioned my printed fics in any comments. I had it in my profile for a while, with all in caps ZERO PROFIT to cover my bases, but eventually took it out to be better safe than sorry.

I'm speculating, but I suspect the AO3 reporting might have gained traction because one author got sick of having their Lulu account get stealth reported (because the trolls will pretend to be your friend and will pay actual dollars to access the links in order to report them), so they made their own website. They order the books in bulk, and then take orders through their direct website. Due to this, it's nearly impossible for them to avoid some kind of profit, due to being unable to accurately determine how much everything is going to cost to the penny, so they round up a little to make sure everything is covered. It's possible (again, SPECULATION), AO3 went ah that's the Forbidden Profit, and slammed the ban-hammer down.

Another author eventually rewrote one of their fics as an original and is selling it. I don't know if their AO3 got reported too, but that might be a potential connection to profit as well. I do know that when I first started getting angry anons 5 years ago, a few of them didn't like the idea of filing off the serial numbers of an AU and selling it as original fiction either. So it wouldn't surprise me if the Reporting Trolls still conflate Fic For Profit and Fic Rewritten As Original For Profit and went on an AO3 reporting spree for that author too, even though the situation is slightly different.

I don't work for AO3, I don't know what they're specifically looking for. But I do believe they'll delete a fic if they find something against their TOS. But I also think they're not going through it with a fine tooth comb until Reporting Trolls do it for them and find the teensiest scraps of evidence to supply them.

My take on all of that is that I hate everyone who disagrees with zero-profit fic prints, and I hope they all develop a nasty, incurable toe fungus. And until I see that one person who I believe is the ringleader of the anti campaign go "y'know what I changed my mind, here's my fic printed on Lulu too!" I'm going to think she's sus based on the screenshots I've seen and the conversations I've had with people in her FB group.

Also, why do you need proof? What's your stake in all of this? Are you planning on printing your fics and want to avoid drama? If yes, just keep it off FB. If no, then why does it matter? Continue reading that person's fic if you enjoy it, and ignore the drama. Don't report your fellow fans for zero-profit fic prints.

Anyway, I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to come off anon and message me privately about it, and I'll be a little less vague. I still don't have any proof if you want it, but I'm happy to talk about it with people.

Edit: the "you" in the proof paragraph isn't necessarily You, Nonny. I'm sorry, my brain got pissy at hypothetical requests for proof and I got carried away lol...

[whichwoods]

So I was thinking and my brain came up with something. In LSTS are there edits and fan fiction of members of the royal family? Like do Luke and Aemond have separate fan bases and then when they get married the fan bases have their fair share of union and war (we can never escape toxic fans)?

anon i am kissing you on the forehead for this ask. 💕 i did some research for this and on ao3 there's like just over 600 rpf fics for the british royal family so on the fanfic route i'll say...kind of? like they're out there but that's not a big cause for concern, most are about older members of the family or are just crossovers with like spy series or works of fiction where meetings would make sense

as for EDITS and all other things social media i have a whole slew of thoughts on this. it's an entire thesis paper's worth but i'll try to condense some below 🥲

getting this out of the way, i don't think lsts aemond OR luke are very active on social media. (perhaps i'm projecting)

i actually think aemond has zero non-private accounts, though people will sometimes see him comment on his family's posts and others here and there. it's usually just a couple nice words or emojis on one of helaena's posts of her kids or something like a video going around of a little kid claiming their first dragon (this is actually good for public opinion of him lol)

luke i could see him having a few public-facing accounts, though he mostly uses his private ones that only, like, the green and black siblings and maybe three of his friends have access to. on his public accounts he does the occasional cute family/friend photo dump (these are rare and people are always greedy for them), posts for family philanthropy stuff, videos of arrax, and he'll come out of left field sometimes with a video or long-ass caption explaining a very niche scientific concept in draconology or a high valyrian history lesson (cue the "wait i forgot he's smart" comments - from his family, not the people of westeros)

that being said the royal family of westeros - all noble houses at that - have several official accounts where they're all regularly posted and some office worker is writing up captions about the official going-ons in their lives, so they're still SEEN

they're also both dragged for interviews at least a few times a year by various outlets (a lot of material for edits and other fan content are scraped from these). luke i can picture being made to do something like one of vogue's "get ready with me" videos (which are usually a hit; despite how much he hates doing them luke is very charming and has a talent for picking stories to tell about the family that won't cause outcry but are also more human and engaging than most that westeros gets to hear).

i also think it'd be funny if luke and aemond, or any of the kids, did something kind of like "drunk histories" (except NOT that bc being drunk on television is a big no-no for royals, more like abridged or uncensored histories?) where they're actually allowed to make jokes, and most of the nation finds out aemond actually has a personality and can laugh from watching him discuss aegon the conqueror with luke 🥲 (maybe this also gets them a small pool of "truthers")

lucky for them their social media history sort of works in their favor when it's time for a shot-gun wedding. a lot of people assume they've been dating for years and just kept it quiet 😭

that being said, aemond is one of the most handsome, eligible bachelors in westeros and teenagers will be teenagers, so there is some mourning that takes place when the wedding is announced. luke is also considered gorgeous and some alpha-incels who're fixated on him probably have a couple things to say, too. for normal people, though, it's a lot of joke-y posts like "that should be ME!!!" while still ultimately wishing them well

(also there's like five of the aforementioned lucemond truthers frothing at the mouth posting "I TOLD YOU!!!1111!!!!11!!!")

i'm sorry this is messy truthfully i could talk so much more about this!! 😭 i'll end on the note that this definitely changes when they start their family :)

[luciddreamingstuff]

Niche Under the Magnifying Glass Lamp

If there is one thing I can take away from being in some smaller fandoms, or niche hobbies: You take what you can get and There are people out there who need their medical bills paid for carrying the fandom on their backs.

My two babies are the Lego Monkie Kid:

If you loved Lego Ninjago as a kid and still do to this day, I highly recommend this show. You can find the first couple of seasons on Amazon Prime. Seasons 3 and 4 are gonna be a bit more difficult, and this is what I mean by some needing their medical bills paid. Because the only reason I was able to keep up with the show with it being poorly marketed and dubbing is slow, folks came together to not only find the episodes, but also do their damnedest to fan sub these. I've already written a post about this show and why you need to watch it somewhere on this blog. Anyways, my next baby, and the one I have sunk so much money into already, is Zoids:

Most would be familiar with Chaotic Century or New Century Zero, as the Liger Zero (not depicted here) is the poster boy of the franchise. And with the 40th anniversary upon us, I'm glad I get to experience this niche franchise/hobby in general (My wallet not so much). I say that as I have a few kits that are sadly yet to be built. Right, Zoids if you don't know, started out as a sort of model kit toy line-up with a whole story between two warring factions and the mechanical beings known as Zoids. Most of it takes place on Planet Zi, with the exception being Zoids Wild Zero (and I swear to the gods above, I have been trying to watch this series for years now but finding episodes has been extremely tricky. That or I have just been extremely unlucky.)

Anyways, all that aside, insert here how even small fandoms have their problems and blah blah blah. But in general, I found the hardest part of being in smaller communities is mainly finding the content for them. Again, Zoids just isn't a big thing here in the States, so finding kits can be a little hit or miss. I say this as someone who fell into the pit trap of knockoffs (three to be exact.) and yeah, still new to all of this, only started building the kits recently. And as for Lego Monkie Kid, thankfully the internet exists, and the dedicated fans who work their asses off to find episodes and get them translated? Hats off to you my friends and thank you for all you do. It's always so exciting when you find someone out in the wild, so to speak, who knows about some of these smaller properties. And again, just being in these smaller fandoms, you have a slightly different perspective on Things you wouldn't think about being in bigger fandoms. I never thought I would be building model kits because of my horrible coordination and the fact that a disability I have makes it a little difficult to handle the tiny pieces. But then I discovered Zoids: New Century Zero on youtube some odd years ago and then learned about the model kits. Liger Zero was the first kit I got. Sadly him and my knockoff Mugen Liger took a tumble and are now in Model kit hospital trying to fix the broken parts. And even now, I still hunt for new kits, droll over some I could never hope to own. And I've rewatched Zoids Genesis at least 4 or 5 times now. And before anyone says anything, Yes I have seen Chaotic Century, and I do love it, don't get me wrong. But my favorite Zoid happens to be the Murasame Liger and its evolts. So you can imagine why I would watch Genesis a few more times than the others. And then there's Lego Monkie Kid. See, I loved Lego Ninjago as a kid, always diving into each episode and recording them on the VCR to see anything I missed. And then one day, scrolling through TikTok, I came across some clips of this new Lego animation that was essentially a sequel (I'm not calling it a fanfiction, I swear to the gods I refuse) Of Journey to the West. Which I learned about through Overly Sarcastic Productions. And doing my usual thing, now that I know how to surf the um . . . Okay let's be real here, pirating sites for cartoons and then Amazon Prime for this show. It was so easy to catch up on and the animation was eye candy, the characters and story were amazing, sound design and all.

Anyways, if you made it this far into my rambles, I applaud you and hope I convinced you to go searching around the deeper waters a bit. After all, you never know what you're going to find. Whether it be a gold mine, okay but still a guilty pleasure, the downright bad, or just the strange of the strange. Either way, happy exploring and I'll see you on the other side.