#i genuinely don't know how the writers could write this without realising how bad it makes everything look

[sappho-favourite-pupil]

i don't want to be repetitive but if you think about Caitvi through the series you can notice such a clear pattern of Caitlyn taking advantage of Vi's emotional vulnerability (or vulnerability in general) to get what she wants from her. and it happens so many times that is difficult for me to think it was an accident? i mean, you never know with this writing, but it's still kinda weird.

a few examples of what i mean: season 1, Vi accepts to help Caitlyn because she is a prisoner and has no choice but helping an enforcer out if she wants to be free again.

season 2, Vi accepts to be apart of the very institution that oppressed her and killed her parents because Caitlyn manipulates her into thinking their situations (losing a parent) are similar. and guilt trips her by whining about how she thought Vi was on "our" side.

Vi is scared that Caitlyn might change and leave her like everyone else did and that's the moment Caitlyn chooses to initiate their first kiss. which is a weird fucking moment in general if you think about it, cause Caitlyn goes from being meters away from Vi to very very close to her face and all of this while Vi's eyes are closed. Violet is basically presented with the fait accompli that they are kissing.

Vi is desperate because Jinx left her once again and she feels once again like she's the reason why she's got no one left. and despite all of this Caitlyn still thinks is a good idea to have sex with her in that prison cell. and let me be clear, the issue is not having sex in a prison cell as much as it is for Vi to engage in sexual activities in a moment of such vulnerabilty (trust me). if Caitlyn gave a damn about Vi she would have stopped her, she would have insisted they waited maybe just for a few hours to give Violet a moment to calm down.

[16woodsequ]

(For the writers truth and dare ask game)

I was unsure how many I could pick so I chose two, 🍓 because I’m genuinely curious and 🍦for the fun of it!

Also excuse me for not interacting as much as I usually do, but now I’m back :)

(From this ask game)

Thanks for the ask! I always love them :D

🍓 how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

Oh that's something I haven't thought about in a while! Okay, so my first introduction to fandom was through DeviantArt. I grew up on transformers and went looking for cool fanart. I found some but couldn't comment without an account, so I made my first fandom account. I wasn't planning to post anything, but a stranger followed my empty blog and sent me an encouraging note saying they couldn't wait to see what I did. (I still think of them, we never became mutuals or anything, it was like they were a benevolent fairy godmother telling me to create, and then I never saw them again, but I owe them a lot!)

So I posted a few drawings and followed a bunch of people and groups on DA. I began reading fanfiction there. But I still never even thought to post my own work at the time.

But circa 2014 I am very invested in reading fic and I have a favourite Transformer character (Starscream) whom I have created an entire backstory for (sparked by a take I didn't agree with in a fic). I'm deep into mentally writing stories, with my own Mary Sues and everything. It's my daily pass-time, daydreaming these stories and meta.

It still doesn't occur to me to write any of these until one day I'm watching The Hobbit, and Ed Sheran's I See Fire plays and hits me like a lightning bolt. This song is perfect for my fav character!! Someone's got to have written about it, right???

So I scour fanfiction sites (I can't remember if I'd started reading on Ao3 yet, but I'd definitely been on FNN) but No One had written this Very Niche idea???

And that's when the concept of writing my own fic started. I just had too. The idea was too good. So my first fic was a song fic writing on the DA STASH program (not even Word lol. This thing didn't even have a word count, and my editing process was to read the wip backwards word for word, searching for misspellings or other typos).

And after that I suddenly realised that if I wanted people to see my fav character in the same light I did, I had to write it. And so it began.

I eventually started posting on FNN, and then in 2016 on Ao3. My first Marvel fic followed a similar process where I got an idea and it was just too good and people needed to know about it, so Lessons Learned was written on STASH. (I think around then I finally moved to Word XD). I still have an old account on DA, but I haven't been active on it in many years. It does hold a special place in my heart for being the place I started learning about fandom and writing in though.

So I guess I started writing fanfic because no one seemed to be writing my stories, and I had Opinions that needed to be shown.

🍦 name three good things about a character you hate

Oh geez, lemme think.

Quickest name comes to mind is Rumlow. But that's in a Love to hate situation. I know some people like to redeem Rumlow, but I love how he can shorthand so easily as just the worst guy you know.

He's just the worst (positive). No matter what AU you're reading you know any character named Rumlow is going to be the worst scum ever.

I mean, I've heard about what it's like to live with large, bad burns. So good for him for making it through the acute period and living with it I guess.

Kind of ties in to the first point, but there's not much he wouldn't believably do. You want an unhinged bad guy? Rumlow will help you out. Does he have morals or did he lose them with the burns? Your choice writer! He's up for anything.

Hope you enjoyed the ask! Oh and don't feel bad at all about engagement! I know how life can get sometimes and I'm not ever going to get mad for something like that.

[ravnervn]

People above have articulated most of my key points when discussing Lovecraft and his writing, but I want to add a point to the conversation that it's really useful to bear all this in mind when writing any cosmic horror.

I was talking recently about the "Necessary Lovecraft Racism Disclaimer" -- how it feels like if you discuss cosmic horror at all, there's this pressure valve in the back of your head where eventually you have to go "Lovecraft was super racist and that was bad", even if you weren't actually talking about any of Lovecraft's works, in a way we don't really get with any other genre.

But why wouldn't we? Whilst JRR Tolkien is the father of the high fantasy genre, high fantasy is not inextricable from Tolkien's works. However, cosmic horror always returns to H.P Lovecraft's ideas, settings and, most importantly, themes, and the thing about Lovecraft's themes is that. Well. As much as he was writing about space squids and dark magic and stuff, he was a deeply personal writer. Who he was, what he believed, it suffused his body of work to the core, and the themes that define the genre are the themes of the life of Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

That's the issue, really. Even if you remove the slurs and the overt anti-miscegenation plotlines and just, god, the most vile racism put to page, the beating heart of much of Lovecraft's work still remains "I have been forced to confront a world outside of what I find safe and comfortable, and it repulses and terrifies me." The issue is that, above all else, a theme expressing utmost nihilistic xenophobia (social, obviously, but also the broadest literal "fear of the other" definition) is considered actively integral to the identity of the genre. If cosmic horror isn't about looking at a vast and uncaring universe, populated by alien intelligences that you cannot comprehend, and being broken by the experience, then what is it about?

...well, I can't give a single answer, because I think everyone will find a different one, but finding that answer has to start with making a genuine earnest effort to understand Why Lovecraft Was Like That, and... Find ways to relate. It's why posts like this are important, because I'm pretty sure that's the sticking point -- when you're a marginalised person confronted with the writings of a dead bigot, feeling like you should learn more about who he was or, god forbid, try to empathise with him feels anathema.

To be crystal clear, this is not some "POC should love and tolerate their oppressors" shit, fuck that noise, H.P. Lovecraft does not deserve forgiveness or uwu sadboy revisionism. As much as I'm saying "try and understand how Lovecraft's circumstances birthed the fears that shaped his work and the genre it pioneered", it's really not about him. It's about trying to find what remains when you remove him.

To give just one example that I discussed recently: cosmic horror, fear of existing within the universe, often focuses on the loneliness of it -- but what of the opposite? The existential terror of realising that every action you take is loaded with significance because the vast universe isn't empty, it is full and bustling and utterly entangled. Quantum physics was a nascent field when Lovecraft died; chaos theory wasn't formalised until the 50s; theories on the nature of reality Lovecraft could never have imagined are now commonplace in sci-fi fiction. Lovecraft only pondered on how oblivious alien gods might reshape our existence, but what of the horror of realising that we too could destroy something vast and sublime without even realising? There is horror in being a stranger amongst strangers, and knowing that even if you should never meet or care for one another, you will still change each other's lives and there is nothing you can do about it.

And to those who really want to get subversive with it, it's worth remembering why we're even still talking about cosmic horror and H.P. Lovecraft to this day. Lovecraft lived a pitiful life, was an incredibly unsuccessful writer despite how much he wrote, and died miserably wasting away from cancer. By all accounts, he should have faded away into obscurity -- and yet, we talk about him 90 years after his death because of the efforts of his friends. Regardless of your thoughts on Derleth as a figure within cosmic horror's history and legacy (and yes, disclaimer that this concerns a bunch of white sci-fi horror writers), the fact does remain that so much of Lovecraft's writing, fiction and personal, remains because his penpal made a concerted effort to preserve it. The Cthulhu Mythos isn't really something Lovecraft created; it was something created by several people who found the works of a struggling author and were so enthralled by the suggestions of worldbuilding therein that their own legacy is basically "writing fanfic of their friend's work and hyping him up long after his death". For all that the heart of Lovecraft's writing is fear and revulsion, of loneliness and feeling like you will never belong, it's not that difficult to argue that the very existence of the Cthulhu Mythos, and cosmic horror as a genre, is an act of love.

Hi! Would you ever consider doing that spirited TED talk about why Lovecraft now appeals specifically to the marginalized people he hated? I'm trying to make sense of it myself and it would really help to hear your informed opinion!! Sorry if you have already written about it or if it's maybe too personal! Hope you guys are doing well during the lockdown :)

Yeah, sure.

Lovecraft’s work deals intimately with the pain and fear associated with feeling alienated from your community, your ancestors, and even yourself. 

A lot of his stories are about how there is something ‘different,’ about you or the people around you, that fills you with unease, but is also difficult to define. Your family feels malevolent to you; you feel like everyone in your small town is watching you, or has bad intentions towards you; you know that there’s something that just isn’t RIGHT about yourself. 

Your community might want to force you into a religion, or even a partnership, that seems unspeakable to you, and which fills you with horror.

Sound familiar?

These themes are relatable to LGBT people, to disabled people, to non-neurotypical people, to biracial people, or to people of color who are being raised in communities in which they are an overwhelming minority.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth is probably Lovecraft’s most famous story. It’s about being trapped in a small town where everyone is a part of a terrifying religion that personally hates you, everyone is being forced into horrifying heterosexual couplings of in which one of the partners is a literal monster, for the purpose of breeding, and in which the protagonist survives, escapes, and the government bluntly condemns his tormentors.

As a gay little kid growing up in conservative Maine, this was big for me.

In the end, the narrator of Shadow Over Innsmouth realizes he’s descended from the cultists of this town, and that he is becoming the thing he previously hated and feared. I also was afraid of never getting out of my town, and one day turning into someone just like the people who made my life miserable. To me, it read like a horrible cautionary tale: get out, and don’t look back. What’s going on here is wrong, and you need to pull yourself away, before the pressures of your family & community turn you into one of them.

But that’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth: a story which features alien miscegenation, sure, but not usually one of the stories that gets specifically called out when people talk abot how racist Lovecraft was.

The White Ape is probably the most racist thing Lovecraft ever wrote (also titled Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family). It’s about a man who goes to Africa, falls in love with an ape, successfully reproduces with it, and then all of his descendants are criminals and madmen, with unpleasant, twisted appearances. It’s told from the POV of one of his more distant descendants, who uncovers this information while researching his own geneology, and, upon discovering that there’s an ape in his lineage, commits suicide by dousing himself in lighter fluid and setting himself on fire.

Yikes.

And yet...this story speaks to me, too. There’s a history of serious alcoholism in my family. My mother was an alcoholic. I asked questions: her father was an alcoholic, and suffered from hallucinations as well. His father was also an alcoholic, and he beat his wife and children savagely. And his parents? I don’t know. No one was ever willing to talk to me about it. But every generation I looked back, there was more abuse, more mental illness, more violence. 

The idea that, if I could look back far enough, I could discover a progenitor that had poisoned our entire family was something I dwelled on, as a kid. Would I want to know the truth? Would it make any difference? Would I have some kind of crisis if I found out that I was a descendant of a rapist, or a murderer? How would I react if I learned that I was a part of a cycle of violence and substance abuse that no one before me had managed to escape?

The White Ape is super, super racist, obviously, but it’s not just racist. Taken another way, it’s a story about dysfunction being passed down within a family. It’s a sins-of-the-father story. And if you come from an abusive home, that’s compelling.

Look, Lovecraft was a mega racist. He was also a man who struggled with mental illness his entire life, who had watched both of his parents die in mental asylums, and who never found success in his life. He was afraid all the time, and he wrote about how frightening the world was to him, and how he never felt like he was truly a part of it. 

The racism sucks. 

The rest of it, if you’re a person who has been mistreated or marginalized, can really resonate.

[just-a-simple-dyke]

yeah, i thought sean had it all figured out, or at least, knew something was up? especially with the way black has seemingly been flip-flopping personalities. surely that's sus to him. and yeah the sibling question seemed to imply that he knew?? odd.

Right!! I'm trying to make sense of it from a writer's perspective but i just can't🤔🤔 I also don't want to immediately dismiss it as bad writing because the rest of the series has been superb so far but this episode really provided some inconsistencies.

First Sean's behavior really changed after he had come to Black's apartment to talk and had that heart to heart with White and in the morning found his lenses. Like i'm absolutely certain he must've suspected smth by then because he was very flirtatious after that, and he also stopped calling White "Black". Helped him over ledges and all that. And then the sibling question in the flashback too, i'm SURE he knew something.

And then this episode seemed to kind of just forget all that? Suddenly Sean's calling him "Black" again, going back to how he's changed. I can look past him not recognizing Black as Black when he's being beaten up because of whiplash and because he still doesn't know what exactly happened or why the twins switched. But afterwards?? With Namo and the rest of the gang??? He absolutely, definitely should've realised something wasn't right. And then again when White came back to the garage to help him.

Now it could be that he really didnt know, but then the questions, the change in behavior and the tying up wouldn't make sense from a writing perspective because those don't happen overnight without any suspicion. And I don't believe Sean suspected something was up but then decided to let it go. Sean not knowing would explain how he never asked about Black's situation though lol because that's kind of the first thing you do when you suspect someone of impersonating him.

And EVEN if Sean decided that "yeah fuck it Black has changed and i'm not gonna question it because i like him better this way" that wouldn't explain the sibling question. Mayyyyybe Sean was trying to just get to know Black more as they've kind of been assholes to each other before White came, but the flashback seems too loaded for that, and even then the sibling question is too out of place amd significant to chalk up to genuine curiosity.

Wonder what route the series is going with🤔🤔

[buddha-in-disguise]

I've been around fandoms for several decades now. Both before the internet, through the earliest days of internet fandom, to the present day.

I can genuinely say, the way Supergirl treats its fans, especially the LGBTQ or BIPOC fans as a whole, has been the worst by some margin. Particularly in regards Supercorp in terms of queerbaiting.

Whether those involved in the production of Supergirl want to admit it or not, Supergirl as it stands has been queerbaiting a large portion of the audience. Without a doubt, in terms of a ship, the largest core group of fans there is for Supercorp, and by some margin.

Have there been some fans who have taken things too far? Absolutely. And every good SC fan I know recognise and understand this, and constantly say this.

Yet somehow, an entire fandom gets tarred with the same brush continually.

But worse still, when anyone tries to address the queerbaiting that has gone on with someone who works on the show, other than the women in general, Jon Cryer (who could teach those BTS of SG a lot on how to engage with fans on SM, and not piss off swathes of fans), and Jesse, there are few instances I can think of where it then hasn't resulted in SC fans getting dumped on, or called delusional, or basically saying it isn't there.

Here's the thing.

As LGBTQ fans, the majority of us - especially the older ones like myself - know exactly what queerbaiting is. How do you think it even became recognised as a problem?

Because we called media out on it. The LGBTQ audiences defined it, via our experiences. So we know exactly what queerbaiting is thank you. We don't need to be told it isn't there or isn't something going on - because we are the ones who wrote up the damn definition!

In all my years of fandoms, never have I seen queerbaiting on the scale Supergirl use. Season 5 - especially 5a - brought the queerbaiting to a whole new level.

So many of us now dread S6, because S5 was so bad in a multitude of ways for the LGBTQ audience, including but not exclusively Supercorp queerbaiting.

And I don't speak for all SC fans, but I do see a lot like me are caught in a conundrum. We all love the majority of the cast. Particularly the women. Sure we all have favourites, but also as a whole, the female cast is loved and respected.

Here's my dilemma. I want to support the female cast. Hell I was a Chyler, Katie and Azie fan long before Supergirl, and have grown to love Melissa, Andrea and Nicole particularly. Nicole as a transgender women especially holds a place dear to us. I will support them all beyond Supergirl.

As S6 will begin filming, I want nothing more than to show them I love, support and care for them. But then I'm at the point where I want to just tell the show to go jump, because they've sucked all the enjoyment I had out of it for me. When you actually dread what the next week might bring, that is not what any show should be about. Yet here I find myself dreading what the show might bring.

I also am questioning do The CW even care about Supergirl any more, especially as they finally got Superman, which they've coveted for years, and made no secret of it.

They seem to forget that Supergirl and Superman have two pretty distinct fans. I like Superman, but I love Supergirl. I'm also just a little bit done with all the iterations of Superman we've had on screen.

Supergirl has always struggled on the social media side of fan engagement as well. Not once have I seen a showrunner actively engage with the audience. Or at least, if they have it was a long time ago. The current showrunners definitely haven't. Hell, one doesn't even have a SM account.

But even if a showrunner or others involved in the show don't engage, when others do, it becomes a nightmare. The last 6 or 7 hours are a case in point.

Again, yes some fans take it too far where Supercorp is involved. Yet, once again, rather than just stepping away, a writer got embroiled into something that didn't need to happen, because they gave out conflicting tweets on replies to fans over Supercorp, and then began blocking fans who were polite and respectful and did absolutely nothing to warrant a block.

Then they also liked a post that called SC fans dicks.

Yet somehow again, we are all the bad guys.

I've no doubt that they felt overwhelmed on how the reactions went. I truly do. But I really don't understand why anyone doesn't just step back. Put out a polite post saying it's all getting a bit too much, and they need to disengage. I think each and every decent fan would understand and respect that. I know I would.

But here's the thing.

Ultimately the writer shouldn't be in that position of trying to answer fans on it all. Nor should they dismiss fans who say it is queerbaiting, if they're not LGBTQ themselves.

The problem is Supergirl social media is so lacking, it places a higher burden on writers and others instead. That is on the show. Entirely.

I also have to question just how diverse is the writers room? Having a number of women, if they are White and cis, when you have a cast of characters who are LGBTQ and/or Black or POC, is not having a good diverse writers room. And it shows.

If you say there is no queerbaiting, but not LGBTQ, you need to stop trying to redefine what is accepted queerbaiting.

If someone says it is a gay agenda, you need to stop with that, because that is homophobic. End of. That's no different that being racist if you write it is a Black agenda.

Supergirl put themselves in this position.

I've had family watch Supergirl with no preconceptions on characters suddenly say: I see something between Kara and Lena. Are they together? And being astounded when not only do they realise they're not together, that they actually have 4 seasons of this and counting.

This has come from straight family. Or my very gay, very into men brother in law.

If others see it who aren't involved as Supercorp fans, who might even be straight - that is queerbaiting.

But here's the thing. It shouldn't need us to say others see it too. If a large segment of audience see it, say it is there, pull out receipts to show why they are saying that time and again, that should be enough.

Yet it isn't.

As much as it pains me - I sense now The CW has Superman, they're going to let Supergirl go by end of S6. I'd be more surprised if they announce a 7th season than not.

Whatever decisions on the shows future they might be making, one thing is clear.

If they don't allow Supercorp to develop, and don't get rid of whatever homophobic block is going on for the show, Supergirl will be left with a legacy of being probably the worst example on queerbaiting your audience ever.

The 100 are still panned to this day over Clexa by LGBTQ fans.

Supergirl still have a chance, a choice to pull it around.

Sadly I doubt that will happen.

In the meantime, I'm stuck on wanting to stop watching the show, but wanting desperately to support the cast. That's the conundrum many of us now face.

The legacy Supergirl will leave is not going to be about empowering women if they don't change significantly for S6.

It will be how they queerbaited, how they dismissed the only full cast Black woman, worse still, who played an LGBTQ role. How they dismissed the LGBTQ as a whole.

Those are legacies that will not die away for LGBTQ fans. The CW in general has tainted itself with the LGBTQ audience in more than one show.

What a mess.

And it really wouldn't take much to avoid all of this. That's what is so disappointing. It is an easy fix.

Apologies for any typos/mistakes as I'm posting unedited.

[vendeavendea]

How Entrapta Has Become My All Time Favourite Autistic Representation in Media: Long Version

Just so you know what to expect, this is more of a very long and boring personal post and less of a character analysis. By "very long", I mean "very long". Also, half of it was written at night when I was supposed to be sleeping (like, right now), so some parts might not even make sense. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Just days before I started to watch She-Ra, I answered a question in a writer group where someone asked what are the do's and don'ts of writing an autistic character. I've been told a couple of times in my life that I can’t be autistic based on the fact that I'm not really interested in or good at science, so I think special interests of autistic people are something that definitely has to be presented better in media. So I advised this person to make their character have a special interest that's NOT related to science, technology, space or computers, because it's a very common misconception that people on the autism spectrum are always into these stuff, and there are so many autistic fictional characters based on this stereotype that I feel like we absolutely don't need any more.

And then I saw Entrapta.

I didn't know she's canonically autistic until a much later episode, but it didn't surprise me when I was told she is, because my autism radar went off like a hundred times while watching System Failure and all her other season 1 appearances (so did my ADHD radar, by the way, but as far as I know, this hasn't been confirmed by the creators, so it's just my headcanon). And she looked like the purple ponytails princess version of the autism stereotype that I didn’t want to see any more of. The genius who is into space and robots, knows nothing about human relationships and keeps driving everyone nuts with her long and impossible-to-follow scientific monologues. Also cute and funny, yeah, but still, as someone on the spectrum who is super artistic and has nothing to do with science stuff, my first reaction was "dang, not this shit again." Just for once in my life, I wanted to see an autistic representation that's not just that typical weird tech-lover but a character that's at least a tiny bit more like me. Seeing her only in her first episode, little did I know that Entrapta's character has an incredible depth and her whole arc was going to be hair-raisingly personal to me (I know I'm not funny, but pun intended).

First, let’s talk about robots, because we can't talk about Entrapta without talking about robots. Entrapta builds robots just for fun, because technology is her thing, but there's actually a lot more behind this. Starting from as early as her debute episode, we see through the whole series that she creates robots with different designs, abilities, personalities, very similar to real people, as a sort of substitute for the human (or whatever species) company she'd wish to have. She even gives them names. She programs them to like being around her, to understand her, something that she hasn't really experienced from real people, which is sad enough on its own, but even sadder if we consider that she actually has human staff working at her fortress. She pretty literally makes friends, and she does it with the help of her special interest. And this totally reminds me of my primary school years when I had zero real friends and used my special interest, which was writing fictional stories and creating worlds/universes/languages in my head, to make up imaginary characters that could be my "friends" so that I wouldn't be that lonely.

Then, her interactions with other characters, especially with Hordak. Entrapta consoling Hordak in Huntara is a very powerful scene to me, not only what she says, but also how she says it. When Hordak starts venting about how he is a failure and all, Entrapta's first immediate response is to provide a practical solution, to design an armor for him, and comforting him with words is only a secondary action. She's helping in her own way, with technology, because that's what she's the best at, but she also wants to make sure he understands that fixing imperfections isn't always the solution, embracing them is. I also love how it's hinted with the "loved" crystal that Entrapta's love language may be acts of service (and probably quality time as well), which is another thing we have in common. And there's another thing in that scene I found very relatable: that part when she stops consoling him and starts to talk about herself being a failure instead. In real life, most people would read that in a negative way. I've been in many situations where I've tried doing something similar to people who were venting to me, and normally, they're like "ew, I'm the one complaining now, stop making it about you." But Hordak's reaction is different, all he does is try to tell her she's not a failure before she shushes him, then he just listens. He understands what Entrapta means by saying all those things about herself isn't "hey, look, my life is also horrible, so I get to complain, too" but rather "I feel you, we're the same". For a person who thinks and acts as differently from average people as Entrapta does, connecting with someone through similar experiences and feelings is a huge thing, and this is so relatable to me that I cried like a baby while watching that scene. Also, kudos to Christine Woods for making Entrapta's monologue sound so factual and casual. It really gives the impression of someone who is fully aware of her own strengths and weaknesses and accepts herself as a whole with all her flaws. The way she lists all the things that make her feel like a failure right after saying "imperfection is beautiful" is just... wow. But seriously, this whole "imperfection is beautiful" thing in general is such a cliché that it's not even supposed to work on me, but hell it does, because it's so well-presented that it's actually one of the most powerful moments of the whole series. Entrapta giving me self-acceptance lessons is all I've ever needed in my life (Hordak probably agrees, lol).

Speaking of self-acceptance, I also love how Beast Island shows that it's a long and difficult process with its ups and downs instead of just a door you walk through once in your life and then stay on the other side forever. Even if I accept and love myself the way I am, it's still totally normal to have low points with thoughts like "I'm not suited for friendship" or "everyone leaves me behind". And it's very nice and uplifting to have someone's love and support when I'm in a bad mood with stuff like this on my mind, but personally, I often find it easier to deal with if I have something related to any of my special interests around that I can focus my thoughts on. My "we flew here on an ancient First Ones ship, do you wanna see it?" would be something like "do you wanna create some characters and then write the shit out of them?" and before this show I've never actually realised how neurodiverse it is to use a hobby or interest for self-care like this. The "definitely the ship" part called me out so hard, and I just adore how the writers were able put so much meaning into a single joke line.

Back to interactions, there's also something painfully relatable in the way the other princesses treat Entrapta. Even in the beginning in No Princess Left Behind, but mostly in season 4 and 5. In most cases, Entrapta is only considered to be worthy enough to not be left behind in situations when her skills are useful. Other characters "liking" her isn't really about herself as a person but her tech knowledge. Just like when you go to school and the only reason your classmates want to make friends with you is because you always do your homework and let others copy it, or you're good at explaining stuff and are willing to help people getting prepared for tests/exams. When I was in grammar school, my classmates ignored me or mocked me for liking animation and comics, but every now and then they did the bare minimum of treating me like a human being and expected me to do their arts homework in return, because I was the only one in my class who was good at arts. When I studied linguistics at the uni, I was really into phonology and historical linguistics, and those were the compulsory subjects most of the other students were struggling with, so many people wanted to hang out with me just to make sure they could get my notes before the exams. The same people kept calling me nerd and making fun of me behind my back. I also had a few genuine friends, which I'm grateful for, but I still know what it feels like to be needed only for a specific skill while not being noticed and respected as a person, and Launch portraits this experience in a very clever way. It's so amazing to see how the princesses realise who Entrapta really is and start to treat her as someone who just thinks differently instead of someone who's a deliberate bad person. They finally get to see that she's not just an unwary tech nerd, but also a determined, caring and loyal friend who gives others so much love in her own geeky way and deserves love, too. But I shouldn't even be surprised, I mean, we're talking about a show that teaches us "you worth more than what you can give to other people," and it's great how this message applies to other characters as well, not only to Adora. And the best part is that this whole conflict is not presented as something black and white, it's not like Entrapta is the poor misunderstood autistic person and the princesses are the evil allistic bad guys who mistreat her. It's simply a miscommunication between neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals, and while the other princesses get to understand that they hurt Entrapta by their actions and that they should be more respectful of her, Entrapta also realises that she's made mistakes and hurt people, becomes aware of her own bad habits and makes efforts to get rid of them in order to save Glimmer. Plus I also love the faint implication that most of the princesses never really, genuinely, 100% make friends with Entrapta even after this scene, because sometimes people just don't resonate with each other enough to become close friends, but they learn to accept her differences and treat her with respect, nonetheless. This episode is so full of realistic interactions and character development it blows my mind every time I rewatch it.

I could just go on and on about all those tiny relatable details such as "I've waited years for someone to ask me about my theories!" I think this was the line that first made me fall in love with Entrapta's character. I mean, if someone from the crew wrote this line, that means they might know the feeling, too, so I'm not the only dork who feels this way every time someone asks me a question about my hyperfixations. And it's just so reassuring. Entrapta has many lines of the kind, they're not even important plotwise, but still super relatable and validating.

Now that we're here, and I know that I probably should have said this at the beginning of the post, but I'm too lazy to rewrite the first paragraph accordingly, I'd like to note that these are all my own interpretations and reflections on Entrapta's character based on my own experiences. This whole thing is totally personal, and I don't want anyone to think that this is how Entrapta is supposed to be seen by the whole fandom. So yeah, that's pretty much it for now.

[katsukis-bakugo]

I've been replaying final fantasy xv and, other than the poor storytelling, the games worst aspect for me is by far the apparent "romance" between noctis and lunafreya.

I cannot for the life of me invest myself in their relationship. firstly, it feels very forced. the game gives them no substance outside of the words of third parties voicing how much the two supposedly love each other. for instance, a random child runs up to noctis just to tell him the player about how lunafreya felt. there's no escape from this happening either, which further forces their romance into the player's face and down their throat

(image: "she really loved you, prince noctis").

(image: "she was really excited to marry you! she looked so happy the day her dress arrived!")

who are you? how do you, random child, know how luna was feeling and how she reacted to seeing her dress? what purpose do you serve other than to, yet again, remind the player that noctis and lunafreya "love" each other?

any well-written romance would have absolutely no need to include ridiculous scenes like this as well-written romances show the audience the love between the characters rather than telling them through random npcs. the fact that the game doesn't go beyond anything other than this to build anything concrete or convincing for their relationship shows not only bad writing, but also lazy writing. quite frankly, it's insulting.

now, noctis and lunafreya met once as children; noctis eight years old and lunafreya twelve. they had no interaction over the following twelve years other than being pen pals. the idea behind their shared notebook is like texting someone from primary school until after secondary, then deciding to meet up and get married. it makes very little sense, if any at all.

yes, you can still learn about someone by writing to them, but you won't truly know them as you would with in-person interactions. flaws tend to be absent due to the writer being in control of the knowledge they give of themselves, which could - and in this case did - lead to the opposite party being placed on a pedestal. without any physical interactions, neither could genuinely know the other. they don't have the chance to see and learn their quirks, what makes them tick, how they treat other people and situations. their love for each other appears to be nothing more than the idealisations they've created of one another.

they don't truly know each other; they just think they do.

I'm just going to say it: noctis and lunafreya should've shared a platonic relationship. the fact that they're both nostalgic for the time they spent together as children coupled with luna giving advice and approval like a mother/older sibling gives the relationship a more comfortable fit to be platonic. a big indicator of this is luna's death scene in which the two appear as children.

despite it being a tragic event, it was still an opportunity for the supposed romance between the two to shine through. but instead, the main focus of their dialogue is duty. during the scene, luna does her usual of preaching about his destiny before it shifts onto her dying. noctis begins to cry and tells her "it's not right. all I wanted was to save you." luna then turns into her older, current self, and offers noctis - who is still presented as a child - words of hope and wisdom and tells him that she will always watch over him.

only at the very last second of the scene does noctis become his older, current self when the realisation of the situation sets in and he tries to reach out to her. instead of telling noctis that she loves him, luna simply says "farewell, dear noctis."

this scene was not romantically coded at all.

personally, I don't see their personalities being a good match romantically, either. it's a little unfair to say since luna barely has a personality, but from what we're shown throughout the game, I can't imagine noctis having fun or joking around with luna like he does with a lot of other people, even those outside his group. noctis loves to fish, to play games, to adventure and live his life. whilst you could argue that his attitude changed when he seemingly matured after his decade-long nap, he's still human with a personality. to me, luna seems like she would simply spend all day every day devoting all her time and energy to nothing but her role and to her lover, rather than having her own interests and life as well. sure, opposites attract, but sometimes two people are simply too different and are romantically incompatible.

a big weakness of the romance between notcis and luna is that luna is a very bad character. she's given nothing outside of her duty and noctis, which is pretty much the same thing. she's a classic "too pure, too good for this world" character who is presented as perfect and serves as nothing more than a mere plot device for the main protagonist/love interest. she's cast away when the story has no use for her anymore and her purpose is fulfilled. this makes it very difficult to care about her and her fate because she feels like less of a person and character and more of a catalyst for the story. the writers merely use her as a push for the protagonist. from my perspective, luna convinced herself she romantically loves noctis - she has a duty to uphold and it revolves around him and seeing his destiny through.

as for noctis, he clearly cared about luna and they did love each other - but I'm not convinced of it being in a romantic sense. they seemed more reliant on each other for comfort and hope rather than anything in relation to romance.

without the supposed wedding scene between the two, I think I could've swallowed their relationship a little easier (and lived pretending that their love for each other was platonic/familial). but it comes out of nowhere and is shoved in the player's face as if to say "see! they're in love! even though they didn't have to get married anymore, they still did because they really did love each other!" okay, but it doesn't make up for the poor writing, the lack of chemistry and romantic connection and the fact they still don't really know each other. let's not forget the fact that luna is sitting on the floor at noctis' feet like a dog. at her own "wedding"?

the same occurs in artwork in the dawn of the future book where, not only luna, but also their daughter is sitting on the floor whilst noctis and his son sit nice and comfortably on the throne. and the two of them gaze up at them as though their only purpose in life is to love them

why? who thought this was a cute idea? to me, it simply reinforces the idea that luna served nothing more than a role to noctis, whether it was as oracle, his love interest or just a plot device to push him forward.

also the fact that their children resemble noctis and luna exactly as they were as children themselves, down to the daughter being older as well, is just strange...also?? noctis has his hand?? on his wifes head?? she really is a fucking dog huh. I'm not a fan

in conclusion, I think square enix were complete cowards to not have the bond between noctis and lunafreya that of a platonic and/or familial one which, in my opinion, would have been far more suitable. I can't and never will get behind their romance, no matter how many updates, dlcs or books are released in order to fix it. some things are just broken beyond repair, and noctis and luna's romance is one of them.

[jxwritesss]

I’m currently writing this on wattpad as well! @jxwritess

This is a Noen Eubanks fan fiction, I’m trying to spread my book around, pls share and help, it means a lot xx, my main platform is wattpad please read it on there if you find this and enjoy it!

New York. The only place in the entire world, where robots were being developed. Robots, that looked exactly like humans, and there being only one distinctive difference, a tattoo. One that said RA-H.

An RA-H. Robotic animated humans. These androids are helping the world as much as it is destroying it. They force people out of jobs, but in doing so create even better things then humans. Thousands of different political views, millions of haters and lovers. And then there's me.

Malia Blanche, 17, I lost my father, and I was the spitting image of my late mother. I only recently moved to LA, where my life was bombarded with these new androids, I get the concept of them, although I don't truly understand it.

Well, on with the story shall we?

-Chapter One.

Sunday, the day before I start college. A new life, a new story and a new beginning. I can finally pursue my dream of being a writer, just like my mother.

My mother attended John Brown college academy  , her department was romance, mine, mystery, ever since I was a child I thrive for solving mysteries, actions, you know in the movies where there's a fight scene, and it goes slow motion and they throw the punch of victory, thats what ignites my fire, the thrive for doing good, but in a dangerous way, I could always figure out who was lying in a movie, or who the murderer was. Maybe I should be a detective, but my flow comes with writing.

Although I was attending my new school in a day, I lazily decided to stay in bed until half 10, I needed to be at Realsons&Co for 11:15, to get my uniform fitted. John Brown is a very pretentious academy, and I'd worked three jobs, and poured my heart and soul into getting here. Only the best attend the Academy. I don't necessarily fit into the 'my daddy got me in here' well, obviously. I quickly slipped on my jeans and jumper, and slid into my most prised possession. Although it had been pre-owned. The Audi was my mother's, she put her heart and soul into the car, and I will respect her decision and keep the car.

I take out my GPS although I already know where my fitting shop is, as I pass it a few times on the way to my grandma's.

Carefully parking in the visitor section I leave my car, and walk up the steps, and enter the shop, the bell above my head dings and an elderly woman pops her head up and immediately smiles at me. 

"Are you Malia?" The woman asks putting her newspaper down and picking up a signing book.

"Yeah, I'm not too early am I?"

"Of course not, dear.  I'm Molly, my grandson Will, he's in the back, he will measure you up if you need anything readjusting or if you can't find anything your size. John Brown, Deanford and Attenwood are in the back left." She says pointing in the direction.

I thank her, and mentally thank that the place is practically empty. I don't like small talk, thanks social anxiety.

Walking through the back I spot John Brown uniform. A black blazer with red linings, a short black skirt and a white blouse and a dark red tie. Not too childish but not suitable enough for adults.

At the corner of my eye I see a tall boy sat on his phone, his eyes flicker up for a second at me, then back down to his phone.

I continue my search to look for the right size for my uniform when I feel a pair of eyes on me, it makes me feel uncomfortable and I start to guess that the pair of eyes is Molly's grandson Will, I mentally scold myself for being so awkward and pretending not to know that he's watching, when I hear his chair scrape my heart decides to do an athlete course and I pray he can't hear it from where he's standing.

I can tell he's now behind me, as I face my social fears I turn around and slam right into his chest, and in result dropping all my stuff, Will snorts, before helping me by picking up some of the clothes that dropped.

"Thanks," I say, grabbing the clothes from his hand and attempting to walk past him, but his arms stop me.

"Was that sarcastic or not?" He asked smiling. I take a second to take in his looks, he doesn't look as bad as I thought he would, but he doesn't act like a arrogant guy either.

"I'll let you figure that one out," I smile politely back, "I'm Will." He says moving his arm in a posh manner to let me through.

"I know, Molly told me," I answer, "I guess you know who I am?" "Yep, how could I ignore a pretty girl like you?" I mentally roll my eyes at the typical boy. "Mhm, well I need to get changed so excuse me" I say speed walking away from him, boys that make comments like that make me feel extremely uncomfortable.

As I turn the corner to the fitting rooms, I hear Will's voice once again, "I'm gay by the way," he says laughing, I stop in my tracks, suddenly feeling a bit stupid.

——

Checking that I haven't left any clothes behind, I pile them onto the counter, where Will is now standing, he starts to put all my clothes in an expensive looking plastic bag, he looks up at me, "Sorry about earlier, I was just messing about." "No, it's okay, I felt a bit silly when you said you were gay."

He shakes his head and laughs, "most people do, well the ones that aren't stuck up with money up their ass usually do." "Well I'm only here on a scholarship, so I'm not one of them people," I say handing him over the small fee I have to pay, as the scholarship covers most of it. "Surprisingly so am I, I got accepted for Athletics at John Brown," I never really though I would but I guess I should thank the Lord, my parents can't wait to get rid of me anyways, being gay has a price to pay, apparently."

"Well, they obviously don't see the good person that you are." I smile at him, although I wish he hadn't of brought it up, I'm not necessarily the best at giving advice.

The bell rings, and a tall, slim girl walks through.

"Tanner" she says walking through right into the back without a second glance.

"I understand what you mean by stuck up," I whisper, Will chuckles and passes me my bag, the girl walks back and stands behind me, not even two seconds later she starts tapping her foot and complaining.

"Since when do we serve nobodies, Will? That's right we don't. Now move, thanks." She says pushing right past me and throwing her uniform on the counter. Luckily it wasn't a John Brown one, otherwise I might've just about died.

I quietly wave at Will and walk out, seeing a shining white Porsche outside. Seriously where do you even get one that looks so shiny from?

I put the bag in the passenger seat, still feeling annoyed about the girl, as I reach my small flat,   I lock my Audi, and read a movie poster about a girl going missing  with her extremely ill dad. Making a mental note to watch the movie later, I walk up my stairs and unlock my door, I make myself a cup of tea and order some pizza, as I walk into my room, I open up my laptop, and have three new emails, one spam, but two from publishers. My heart does leaps as I open the first one.

'Telford Publishing'

- Hello Malia, we are proud to hear that you are following in your beloved mothers steps. I have read your book sample, but I would like to offer you a potential job, and a tour around  the new              T Pub&Co. I know how much it would mean to your mother if you accept my offer.

Many thanks, Gary.

A potential job?? Could this be my genuine big break?  Hearing a knock at the door, I run over, wanting to start up a reply as soon as possible. Grabbing my purse I open my door to an RA-H

"Malia Blanche?"

"Yes, here's my ID." The robots light turns red as it examines my ID. Doing a robotical smile it's arm stretches out, grabbing the pizza I express a thank you and run back to my desk.

'T Pub&Co.'

Thank you for my sample! I will gladly accept your offer, please email with more detail about the tour and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. My mum would be so happy.

Sincerely, Malia.

As I send the email I let out a squeak of happiness with pizza in my mouth. Clicking onto my word pad, I let myself fall into the world of fiction, and let time slip through my hands.

——

And that's how it is now 3.36am on a Monday trying to start a new story, anything to take my mind off the upcoming day, and the extremely embarrassing 'Tanner' fiasco.

I push my chair back from my old, ridden desk, and flop onto my bed, snuggling into my bedsheets, this has been going on for a week, for some reason I have no flow, the biggest writers block, I have stories everywhere across my room, started, just the plot, a thesis, a blurb. But recently I haven't found anything to give me that push. I turn and toss in an unsucsessive attempt to sleep, and as I check my phone it is only 4 am.

Great, no sleep for the wicked.

——

Groggily, I turn over in my bed and look over to my clock, 6.07am. Throwing my bed covers over, I lazily get up and put on the uniform that luckily fits perfectly. Thinking about my email yesterday, there is nothing more that I want in the world then my writing to become known. Realising that I spend too much time daydreaming, and badly making pancakes, i'm late and have no time to see if I have a reply. Already. Typical Me.

Rushing out of my door, checking the contents of my bag to make sure that I have everything that I need I speed walk right into someone walking up my door, crashing everything they were holding onto the floor.

"God I'm sorry, I didn't mean too, wasnt looking where I was going." I look up and realise that, I wasn't even speaking to a human, but none other then an Android. It simply says, "No worries miss," and continues with its day. Those androids are the ones that Robert Morett himself created, word is that his son is attending John Brown. Although i'm here with a writing scholarship, I doubt he'd need any type of acceptance letter. He could just ask, he is one of the most richest people in America.

Pulling my keys out of my bag I speed walk towards my car, carefully throwing my bag in, and starting the Audi, before starting my drive I pull out my phone to the Maps app, although I used to drive past John Brown to get to school I still want to be prepared.

—

Pulling up at the academy, I notice a few eyes staring at the jet black Audi with the tinted windows, they're probably expected a drop dead gorgeous girl, or the sexiest guy

to walk out, but in all honesty I'm neither.

Turning off my car and stepping out the eyes are suddenly averted to another jet black car, most likely a gorgeous boy or girl in it.

My mind wavered at wondering whether I should stay and stare at the person in black, or be late to my lecture.

Achieving my dream comes first.

I promised my mother that I'd focus on my work, and not get distracted. I intend on keeping that promise.

[redbleedingrose]

Hii, how are you?💛

Sorry, I just have to quickly get this out, so now that my day is already miserable (first the deer that got run over, then I dropped my tablet and then banged my head against the table🫠)

I honestly feel so embarrassed about this to be honest. But I got hit with self-doubt and realised my writing will never be as good as others' and I have no idea why that is dawning on me only now. Also why exactly today, I already feel like I just wanted to get hugged and cry into someone’s chest.

Any tips for improving writing? I have asked that five millions times already, so sorry for bothering this, feel free to ignore my self-loathing, egocentric self….

Hi my love!!! I am doing okay, I could be better but I could also be worse!! So I am trying to look at things with a glass half full mindset!

I am so sorry for your day. I know it started off really rough, and I can't imagine how traumatizing that must've been. Seeing that kind of stuff can be so hard, and is just really panic inducing, and I am so sorry that your co-workers didn't recognize that. You didn't deserve that. I hope that you take the rest of the day to relax, sleep, and do some self care whether that is watching some comfort movies, listening to music, or just reading some fanfics. Do whatever makes you comfortable. I even have some comfort movie recs if you want so just let me know <33333

Okay, this paragraph is gonna be a doozy so buckle in.

I honestly am so sorry that you are feeling that way about your writing. I hope that you believe me when I tell you, I think your writing is genuinely beautiful. It is so well thought out and has its own style. I think that is what I have noticed about fanfic writers in general, is the different styles we all have. And even if your style is different from others, that doesn't mean yours is inheritely bad. I will say this, I understand. I understand how you feel. I understand the comparison that we make with other writers, especially when it comes to their growth or interaction. I struggle with it everyday. Everyday. Sometimes I think of just leaving the app and dropping it all. Because I feel so burnt out at times and also just so guilty for not putting stuff out or not liking the way my writing has turned out in certain fics or drabbles. I am sending you such a big warm hug with tons of forehead and cheek kisses. And you are welcome to cry into my shoulder or chest, whichever you prefer.

I have said this to other writers, but I truly wish you could see how I view you. I wish you could understand how I see you as an author but also as a person. I am so incredibly lucky to have someone like you who is supporting me and is such a good friend to me. It doesn't even matter that we haven't met, but I truly think you have changed my life. Literally, you have changed my entire life. IDK you were the one who pushed me to be brave. You were the one who said you would read my fic even if no one else did. You were the one who I looked out for whenever I posted. I wanted to know your thoughts and honestly your thoughts only because I was terrified. Without you, none of this would've been possible.

To have someone who has put so many fics out there, who writes so beautifully, with her full heart reading my stuff and complimenting me and supporting me?? It was unreal. My success is your success really. And not only that, but I gained such a beautiful friendship.

I am literally so sad that you are struggling right now, I wish I could take all that self doubt and self loathing and just throw it into the ether because you don't deserve that. Trust me when I say, your writing is top tier. I will always always always stand by that.

Comparing yourself to others is such a human nature type thing to do, and it takes a lot of effort to force yourself into a different mindset. But I think shifting a mindset to focusing on your growth as a writer, seeing where you started and where you are at now and where you want to be will really help. Like reading your earlier stuff and reading your stuff now, you can visibly see the changes in your style despite the heart and effort being entirely the same. The thing that sucks about writing is that it takes a long time to improve and it takes a lot of effort to see the changes in yourself, even if others notice.

As for your writing specifically, I don't think you should make any changes in your style. You put a lot of heart, thought, and effort into it and I truly think with more time, it will continue to develop.

Practically though, the only thing that I could think that maybe might help would be a beta reader? I am not saying you need one. But from what I have heard, I think they are supposed to help with grammar and developing the story more or filling in points, and they don't even need to directly edit, but can just let you know where you might need some changes. And if that is something that you are specifcally struggling with in terms of your writing, that is always an option.

And if that is not something you are comfortable with, that is also totally okay. The other thing I would suggest is just sitting with the fic before releasing it. Sit with it for a day or two and just reread and edit where you see fit. Sometimes, the first product that we have written isn't something we are happy with, and we just need to let it steep for a little in our mind so we can better it.

Beyond that, please take care of yourself. Give yourself grace. We are all human. We are not meant to be perfect, and in fact, I find that imperfections are where the beauty stands out in an individual.

I love you so so so much and I love your writing.

I adore you and your writing.

I am sure many of my followers would agree that they love you and your writing as well.

Please never feel guilty or upset or embarrassed about sending me these kinds of asks. I absolutely do not mind at all and I hope that you and I can continue to send each other these deeply personal asks, and feel comfortable enough to discuss these difficult topics together. I love love love talking to you, and you are one of my favorite people on this app.

[imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch]

I really like your character analysis of Dewey! Specially the Dewey and Louie relationship, you know even if my favorite BrOTP is Huey-Louie I'd like Louie and Dewey to have an episode focusing on them, how do you think a Dewey-Louie episode will go? I don't know but it's kind of hard to imagine an episode of them playing each other without Huey and/or Webby's presence

Hi! Thanks so much for your message and I’m glad you like the Dewey analysis. I totally agree with you about a Dewey-Louie episode. What I’d really like is a lightepisode that would start off playing out like the start of The Other Bin ofScrooge McDuck!, where Louie is conning Dewey into doing some task for him. Asthe episode plays out it becomes apparent that Dewey is fully away Louie istrying to con him, but is playing Louie for revenge. However Dewey gets toocaught up in his plot, possibly because Louie starts to get scared and Deweythen gets to act as a hero. Then the danger, which up until now has been fakedby Dewey, becomes real probably as a result of Dewey going too far, and theepisode ends with them both having to come together to use their combinedtalents to get out of the situation. 

For example we could have theepisode opening with Dewey apparently in the midst of an apparently daringadventure, but then the camera view changes and we see that he’s actuallyjust cleaning up a store room in the mansion. The camera shifts again andwe see Louie leaning casually against a wall, sipping PEP watching Dewey. 

Louie makes a comment about how hewishes he could help because Scrooge is going to be so pleased when he sees howtidy the room is, but he’s hurt his wing, or some other very flimsy excuse thatthe audience sees through in a moment. 

Dewey has been making notes of what he’s done and he commentsthat Beakley will pay well for the everything that he’s cleaned. Louie,forgetting this is his own con, is blinded by his greed and freaks out at theidea that Dewey might be making more money and the boys engage in somecompetitive cleaning. 

Louie knocks over a vase or something else breakable and Dewey,caught up in revenge, tells Louie a story about how the vase is cursed. It’sclear it’s made up, and that Dewey is making up the symptoms along with badthings that start to happen because Louie freaks out. 

Louie, normally more savvy, is terrified by the idea of a curseand Dewey is really hamming it up with lots of your luck will be worse thanUncle Donald’s etc. Of course Louie loves Uncle Donald, but he doesn’t want tohave to work hard in life and overcoming back luck is a lot like hard work. 

Dewey pretends to have a cure for the curse which has Louiedoing a load of stupid things. One of the things is for Louie to “reverse break a mirror” - read cleaning it.Except this mirror has a bad tempered genie trapped inside it and rubbing itclean releases him. The genie chases the boys around the manor. Both tryseparately to subdue it but their efforts cancel each other out. 

Eventually thetwo of them get trapped in a cupboard with the angry genie outside.  Dewey holds the door shut and tries to get Louie to concentrateon finding a way out. But Louie has finally twigged that Dewey has pulled aLouie and was conning him and is distracted. 

Louie is annoyed but alsoimpressed and admits he shouldn’t have tried to get Dewey to clean up for him.Dewey admits he probably went too far with the revenge. Louie: You Think!?

The heartfelt moment, already slightly ruined by Louie’s sarcasmis interrupted when the genie manages to break the door down. Dewey finds anold lamp on a shelf and gestures to Louie who starts with the patter about howhe bets the genie can’t fit inside. Dewey plays off Louie with lots of the lastgenie we met could fit in there etc. 

The genie gets mad at the two doubting his power and when Louietalks him inside, Dewey slams the lid shut. They write a post it along thelines of do not clean, pop it on the lamp and chuck it back on the shelf. 

Asthe episode closes Louie suggests to Dewey that there’s a world record in dustingor something similar that Dewey hasn’t attempted. Dewey looks thrilled, thenrealises. Louie apologies and says its force of habit. He then suggests agenuine world record the two could try and break, probably something stupid andimprobably dangerous. 

(The B plot of this episode is another one of Huey’s JuniorWoodchuck Guidebook vs Webby’s imagination debates, this time focusing ongenies. The argument gets quite heated and Webby keeps seeing the genie aroundthe manor (always noticing a second or two too late to see who he’s chasing)but the genie is always gone by the time Huey looks. At the end of the episode,Huey comes across the lamp and thinks Webby has put it there to prove geniesare real. He says something like nothing will happen if I rub this lamp!and proceeds to start cleaning it. The genie emerges and distantly you hear abig NO from Dewey and Louie.)

I mean I’m no Ducktales writer: they could do it much better.But something along these lines. I really liked the compare and contrast scenesof the Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks where Huey and Dewey are doing all thetasks Beaks has set them. This could work for both the competitive cleaning andthe genie chase in this example and show off Dewey and Louie’s differingapproaches to hard work and also to danger. Dewey tries to trap the geniephysically but is , Louie tries to trap it verbally but gets scared once herealises he can’t. Louie needs Dewey to help him physically trap the genie,Dewey needs Louie to do the talking. 

And though Dewey doesn’t get to play thesole hero and impress Louie that way, he does get a moment of working withLouie, and he gets Louie’s respect for the reverse con he managed to pull.Louie begins to see that being conned is now always fun. He sort of gets that lessonin The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!, however ultimately he won against Big Footso that still needs a bit of work.  

Anyway this turned out super long, sorry! Thanks so much for the ask and I hope you have a really good day!