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hugsandchaos · 10 months ago

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Okay, so I’m not the biggest fan of the mlp x dp crossovers, but I’m still going to rant about both versions of this very neat idea. And when I say “both versions”, I mean the idea of Danny turning into a pony and the very few fics where he doesn’t.

Idea A

Danny keeping his regular human/ghost form leaves so many unexplored possibilities in my opinion, specifically how he’s introduced. It could be a good ol’ accidental summoning or he could be a new friend of Discord’s. With the first one, it could take place anywhere, which means that we could plop him down in the Everfree Forest, the Crystal Empire, Canterlot, Appleloosa (I think I spelled that right), anywhere! With the second, maybe he was trying to escape the GiW as usual and Discord helped him, or maybe he decided to introduce him to the princesses after it was decided he’d be the king of the Ghost Zone in the future, essentially making him a prince in the meantime. And I can’t stress enough how much I love, love, love this one, but how cool would it be if he had ties to the Everfree Forest because of his existence as a Halfa?!

I’ve always had the idea that a human character would have very small and subtle “ties” to the Everfree because some of the stuff that happens in there happens in our world. Like how when Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack all mentioned that clouds moving, animals taking care of themselves, and plants grown all on their own is unnatural. Knowing this and yet still seeing creatures made of, heavily relying on, or having magic hints that it’s a place that follows some of the laws of our world and some of the rules of their rules, but not quite leaning more towards one of them. Can you see where I’m going with this? Danny’s existence as half dead, half alive, both and neither at the same time is like a more sentient, “living” example of the Everfree Forest! Can you see where my excitement is coming from?!

Idea B

Not exactly as excited about this version as Idea A, but I still love it! I’m going to take this chance to ramble about my own ideas for Tucker and Sam being there, too.

Staying true to the “goth” look she seems to love, I’d love to see her as a bat pony! We’ve already seen what the body outline would look like thanks to Flutterbat, and one of my favorite little details that I want to keep is that her bat wings were twice the size of Pegasus wings. Her coat is obviously black, along with her hair, but her mane and tail would have a pink and/or purple streak. Surprisingly, this new form doesn’t bother her too much because she liked how she looked, but getting used to it was a pain. Unfortunately, this also involved having more sensitive hearing, smell, and eyesight, which gave her more than a couple headaches and sensory issues. No, the fangs aren’t for tearing through flesh, they’re for fruits and veggies. She’d somehow gain the ability to better tell which fruits and veggies are safe for consumption even if they look fine, and even separate the sweetest ones from the rest. I can’t remember much of her, unfortunately, so for now I’ll say her cutie mark is an image of a few vegetables or the recycle mark?

Tucker would be an earth pony, and as a meat lover, he’d have half a meltdown over the fact that he can’t digest it. At least not much at once, or without it being very carefully prepared. Sam laughed, Danny tried to comfort him. Surprisingly, though, they’d come to realize while only meat isn’t the best option for his health, he can apparently digest more than the average pony, and a few of his teeth were slightly more built for this as well! So while his new diet his largely fruits and veggies now, he can still enjoy a few ribs. He’s also considered very intelligent because of his knowledge about handling technology. His cutie mark is an old phone with green wisps circling it.

Finally, Danny. Just like as a human, he has a living form and a ghost form. His living form resembles an earth pony with a tan coat and a black mane and tail, but his ghost form is an alicorn as a symbol of his status as both a halfa and prince of the Ghost Zone. His living form doesn’t have a cutie mark, but his ghost form has a black crown with green flames on his flank. This is a silent hint of how the incident changed his existence. When he’s in his ghost form, the terrifying creatures of the Everfree Forest and pony urban legends recognize his power and back away from him, so he’s starting to use that form a lot more often to keep his friends safe. Now for a couple extra headcanons!

•The whole “terrifying creatures of the Everfree Forest and pony urban legends recognize Danny’s power and back away from him” thing applies to both idea A and idea B, but they’d be more wary of him in idea A because they’ve never seen a human

•With idea B, Applejack might not let Sam into her orchard at first because of the vampire fruit bat incident, but later gets confirmation that she’s not exactly vampiric

•With idea B, Sam seems to be very, very slowly slipping towards a more nocturnal sleep schedule

•In both ideas, they get a bunch of stares from ponies for obvious reasons (in Idea B, it’s because Sam is a bat pony, Tucker eats more meat than most ponies, and Danny either doesn’t have a cutie mark or is in his alicorn form)

•In idea B, Sam and Danny would practice flying at the same time and Tucker would set up a tarp or something underneath

•In idea B, the trio might feel a little stupid for asking questions like how to do magic or fly when they’re almost as big as the mane six, but they’re surprisingly accepting of them asking for help since they’ve told them that they don’t remember having anyone to teach them how to do these things until now (Twilight and Rainbow Dash especially love to each them)

•In idea B, when Twilight casually mentioned having a couple experiments for Danny (because of his two forms), he froze in terror and Tucker immediately jumped in to protect him (Sam wasn’t there), but then she said something like “I’m just going to put a thermometer in your mouth and see if there’s a difference between your forms” and they both calmed down, but now they’re a “little” worried about worse experiments happening to Danny

•In idea B, Sam was also “experimented on”, as in they’d test her senses and discover how they’re better than the average pony’s

#mlp x dp #dp x mlp #mlp #mlp Danny phantom #Danny phantom #sam manson #danny phantom and tucker #Danny Fenton #Danny phantom and Sam #alicorn Danny phantom #bat pony Sam #earth pony Tucker #small ramble #Everfree Forest

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lord-aldhelm · 5 months ago

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Twenty Questions For Fic Writers

Thank you for the tags @whitedarkmoonflower and @foxyanon!!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3? One 🫣 Although I am working on two more right now, and have a third in the pipeline somewhere. My problem is that I cannot just write a short fic, it has to be a novel lol

2. what's your total AO3 word count? 115,429 (this is all one fic btw)

3. what fandoms do you write for? The Last Kingdom!

4. top five fics by kudos: I only have the one, so ... lol

5. do you respond to comments? YES!!! I LOVE comments and will always reply!!

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I have not written a fic with an angsty ending and I don't really plan to, since I prefer happy endings.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? My one and only fic Springtime in Saltwic lmao!!

8. do you get hate on fics? No, I haven't so far and I hope I never do!

9. do you write smut? Not really? Not exclusively. If it works in the confines of the story I will include a spicy chapter but it is not the main focus.

10. craziest crossover? Never written a crossover. Don't really have plans to.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge.

12. have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I am aware, but I know a few of my readers were from other countries and they may have used a translation service to read it themselves. But not like a published translation, no.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? No I haven't but it would be something I am up for!

14. all time favorite ship? I mean... Aldhelm x Aethelflaed obv

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? No I think I will finish them all eventually. The issue is I am a very slow writer and I write novel-length fics so it takes me a while to publish.

16. what are your writing strengths? Introspection, feelings, dialogue.

17. what are your writing weaknesses? Including sensory descriptions in my scenes, chapter transitions, and smut.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? I don't do it simply because I feel it takes the reader out of the immersion, and if if is done too frequently I feel it can be cumbersome. But I try to include the original Old English place names, and some of the words they would have used for things.

19. first fandom you wrote in? The Last Kingdom

20. favorite fic you've written? LMAO I have only written one so far, so I guess that is my favorite!!

No pressure tags: @daethelflaed @gemini-mama @thelettersfromnoone @synintheraven@sihtricfedaraaahvicius

@thenameswinter99 @paula-in-dreamland @hardestysally

@poetic-fiasco @alexagirlie @sigtryggrswifey @itbmojojoejo

@garunsdottir @timetravelingpenguin1066 @bagheerita @solinarimoon

@king-alfred @arcielee @st-eve-barnes @holy3cake

#tag games #twenty questions for fic writers

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acourtofantumbra · 10 months ago

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Thinking about Iphraxia

Yes, I inhaled the HOFAS prologue and chapter one Sarah posted to her new site yesterday... and a couple things have been itching my brain since (and making thinking about anything other than release day impossible).

Safe to say we're hitting the ground RUNNING. Poor bb Ruhn. But some through lines and well... associations made by both proximity and repetition that have me (tentatively) very excited about a BIG hope I've had. One I'm not alone in.

🚨 HOFAS PROLOGUE + CHAPTER 1 SPOILERS 🚨

I have also not read the book in its entirety yet. This is just me spewing nonsense. Please don't reply/comment with any spoilers if you have read all of HOFAS. I've waiting two years for this! Just feeding my spinning brain until Monday night.

WHAT A FIRST CHAPTER! I have so many thoughts spinning about the info dumps we get - and awesome confirmations like Daglan = Asteri + Cormac shadows = Azriel shadows. Good work team!

But I'll be honest, I'm looking for any and all crumbs for a TOG connection... and this one just wouldn't stop irking me.

So, I'll begin with Bryce's lies. She spells out for us that, honestly, she's never had too hard a time deceiving folks by playing into what they wanted to see from her: a ditzy party girl incapable of scheming. We've spent two books, and many years, peeling back Bryce's layers, only to discover she's even more capable, more selfless, more calculating than we ever could have guessed. Even where we're guided largely by her POV. Queen. Aelin would be proud.

That gift we've seen honed over time... lasts all of two seconds in the presence of Rhys, Amren, and Azriel. But specifically, it seems, Azriel.

Now I'll fearlessly reference the cursed Azriel bonus chapter from ACOSF...

"“I..." He watched her swallow. She clutched a small gift in her hands. "I was coming to leave this on your pile of presents. I forgot to give it to you earlier." Lie. Well, the second part was a lie. He didn't need his shadows to read her tone, the slight tightening of her face. She'd waited until everyone was asleep before venturing back down, where she'd leave her gift amongst his other, opened presents, subtle and unnoticed." A Court of Silver Flames, Azriel Bonus Chapter

So we have Azriel referencing, perhaps, his shadows' abilities to detect lies. They can also hear the Cauldron sing in ACOWAR, so why not expand their extra sensory capabilities? Rhys and Cassian have even confessed to not really understanding the full scope of Azriel's powers... so naturally we're not entirely sure all that he's capable of either.

Azriel's also the Night Court's spy master and in this scene with Elain, he defaults to those skills he's mastered over time in lieu of his shadows' guidance. So, language barrier or not, Azriel might just be able to read Bryce, as she points out herself. We love a male fluent in body language, amirite?

But humor me for a sec, we've had two years since the crossover was announced to kind of side eye the fact that Azriel's blade is call Truth Teller - which is now front and center in the overarching plot and specifically this chapter. And for the TOG readers among us... we couldn't help but notice we've had an actual truth telling blade before: Damaris.

Azriel's sort of alluded to legend about his blade's abilities - mostly that it'll strike true. But we've never really confirmed if he's able to use it like a lie detector as Dorian does with Damaris in TOG.

And the specificity of couching the language barrier issue (pre-magic bean lol) alongside references to Truth Teller pretty consistently in this very first chapter has me 👀

In the scene above, Bryce is immediately curious about how Azriel could react to what she'd said if he couldn't understand her and the laugh/Rhys' surprise when Azriel clarifies leads me to believe he didn't need to know what she was saying to be informed it was BS.

Of course, again, pre-bean, Rhys is likely mind speaking translation for Azriel in the second instance in particular. But he's still relying on Azriel wholly to confirm truth or not prior to moving on. And Rhys doesn't question Azriel's response - at least no audibly.

And I'm just saying, we know Azriel is currently holding onto Truth Teller.

Azriel, being the primed warrior that he is, is sitting and lying in wait for some shit to go down the whole time. So when Bryce has a bad reaction to the magic bean (lol sorry I will never stop teasing), before she can get her bearings she's already slammed down by Azriel's shadows, dagger drawn.

The fact that we can assume he's been holding Truth Teller, ready to strike, makes the shock at the blade's reaction to Bryce sans Starsword all the more interesting. When Amren is like, "Dude why do you even have that thing with you and close to her?" Azriel kind of bashfully winnows it away. Amren's ellipses there is suspect as hell too, but that's for another time (or the rest of this book).

Anyway, if we pretend that Truth Teller is displaying some Damaris type traits, then the other details we're getting in close proximity to the blade's discussion are worth a second glance as well (in my humble opinion). Also, want to note that I'm aware that TT is a dagger and Damaris is a sword. I don't think they're necessarily the same or from the same ore. That's for SJM to explain lol.

Anyway, as Bryce is selectively explaining her/the universe's predicament, Truth Teller comes up again. But first I wanted to pause on the "only three planets that were able to kick [the Asteri] out." While I'm fully open to this being a little different than we have been theorizing - we've come to speculate that Hel is one planet and the Starborn Fae planet is where Prythian is located. This leaves the third successful planet: Iphraxia.

A quick reminder what we know about Iphraxia:

So the Iphraxia events happen 16,323 years prior to conquering of Midgard and many have speculated this planet could house Erilea and our beloved TOG crew.

I've always side eyed the use of the word "denizens" because it can either mean "an inhabitant or occupant of a particular place," or "a foreigner allowed certain rights in the adopted country." Rigelus alludes to the Asteri encouraging planets to come and conquer others, never realizing those who opened the doors were the true masters. In that case, Asteri referring to a group like the Valg as denizens would also make quite a bit of sense to me.

Maeve fights in Erilea's first wars - granted she manipulates the hell out of them - but she confirms at one point that she just wants to have her kingdom in peace (an evil kingdom) and that she's been running from Big Bads for a long time. She is of course Valg - not native to that world - and is not on Erawan's team to start. But it becomes very clear by KOA that we're all playing checkers and Maeve - a world walker - is playing chess. Then of course we have a group of stranded, vengeful gods who want to return to their family/world... but were left behind in a hasty evacuation perhaps? Of course when Aelin shuts the gates, they're presumably lost forever, but that chapter would have come long after Maeve originally fought back against Erwan who believes that planet was his to command... motivated by that world's larger forces perhaps.

^ This is why I shouldn't have procrastinated my TOD and KOA rereads... the details are not as sharp as they should be. But that is the general essence of things.

Anyway, returning to the reference to Iphraxia and the grounding connection Truth Teller is being set up to be has my TOG IS COMING alarms blaring.

Of course this chapter ends with the horn tattoo on Bryce's back being exposed and Amren confirming it's similarity to the Book of Breathings... a book we know landed in Midgard along with TOG's Walking dead in Jesiba's library... and written in markings we can pretty confidently say are wyrdmarks. And you know what crew of folks are crackerjack at reading wyrdmarks? :)

Anyway, I think TOG officially entering the crossover is imminent and with this line of thinking re: timeline... it might not actually separate the TOG timeline as far back as we've been predicting it might be (like in the very far past).

All I know is that I've had great fun over the years reading people's analysis of first lines and first chapters of books actually providing you with everything you actually need to know/can expect from the book. Sarah is actually pretty great at doing this so in our proper chapter one (not the prologue but sure why not) we're hitting a couple of beats pretty repetitively and I can't help but feel it's priming TOG's reentry for us.

That being said, can't wait to be proven wrong in just THREE FREAKING DAYS!!! Unless Walmart stops lying to me and actually delivers my book as early as it's claiming it will.

#sjm theory #sjm multiverse spoilers #cc3 #throne of glass #sjm multiverse #crescent city #aelin galythinius #kingdom of ash #bryce quinlan #azriel shadowsinger #wyrdmarks #truth teller #damaris

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azurefishnets · 2 years ago

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Candy Hearts Ex(change) Letter 2023

Hello friend!

As on AO3, I'm AzureFishnets and thank you for joining me in this exchange, despite the loss of Chocobox for this year. I think it's going to be fun and I am happy with art or writing or any other medium you want to try. All my prompts are listed in no particular order and I would love any of them, or, indeed, anything using these tags that doesn’t match my prompts. I just hope you find something that speaks to you!

I think it's worth noting that I love these weirdo & pairings with all my heart; I have a few shippy prompts in here but mostly I love to see people just...being human with each other, whether in art or fiction. I don't need movie posters or wild poses for it to be something that will make me so happy in art, and don't be afraid to explore weird, unplotty situations in fiction! I can handle that and will enjoy whatever you gift me with great pleasure.

LIKES:

worldbuilding (I love prompts where it’s like, pick a character and toss them in a location and see what happens)

sensory details (textures and smells especially)

unusual interactions (anything from slice of life to full adventure!)

puns and wordplay

cool symbolism & unexpected parallels

relationship level ups, whether that means platonic bonding or friends-to-more, etc

non-mundane AUs (no coffee shop, school, etc

fandom crossovers or fusions (but taken seriously, not cracky unless specifically requested)

missing moments

emotional support/intimacy

OKAY WITH:

any tense

any amount of plot or none

out-of-the-ordinary story structures

any amount of dialogue from none to screenplay

character explorations

characters appearing that aren’t requested as long as it doesn’t go against my DNWs

DNWS:

any kind of consent issues whatsoever

disrespect of the holy & symbol (AKA non-requested romantic relationships)

angst without a happy ending or at least some kind of resolution

infidelity

pandemic stuff

underage relationships, non-canon children

terminal illness

descriptions of bodily fluids and/or gratuitous depictions of bodily damage

things squirming under skin

--PROMPTS--

GHOST TRICK: PHANTOM DETECTIVE

Alma/Cabanela/Jowd (or any /& subset therof) - Always and forever the OT3 of my heart, and I will happily devour anything that develops any facet of their relationship unless it includes an infidelity angle. I love these three together, or doing things with just one of the others, but always with the knowledge that they are a threesome at heart, you know? I'm happy with date nights, case fic, non-mundane AUS...

Cabanela & Lynne - Lynne didn't have the same things driving her to be a detective in this ending so how and when do she and Cabanela connect for the first time?

Cabanela & Pigeon Man - Cabanela has a small requested task for Pigeon Man that isn't directed to the case; Pigeon Man undertakes it because...dammit he's fond of the boy. Grump.

Cabanela & Missile - Missile would like Mister Cabanela to throw the ball very much please. Too bad the ball is a) evidence and b) filthy. Why is his baby's puppy at an open crime scene anyway?

Kamila & Sissel - Sissel chooses how to reveal his powers to an older Kamila

Emma & Jowd - I'm torn between two prompts on this so have both: Emma tries to verify her suspicions of what happened with a call to Prisoner D-99 OR New timeline Emma attempts to schmooze with Jowd at a party, but Jowd is unschmoozable while simultaneously being schmooze incarnate. How does he do that?

Emma & Alma - Did Alma and Emma ever cross paths in the old timeline? What's their fated non-meeting like?

Emma & Cabanela - New timeline Emma has somehow gotten herself into the situation of needing to infiltrate a political party with Sith and Cabanela is her guiding voice via an earpiece (with optional Sissel?)

Cabanela & Jowd & Sissel - I'm just super taken with thoughts of case fic where Cabanela knows the cat's deal but still can't speak to him; bonus points for undercover work where they all have to pretend they don't know each other.

Alma & Pigeon Man - Alma would like to thank the mysterious Pigeon Man for his efforts on Jowd's behalf but she doesn't know what he knows. Or even how much she does.

Lovey-Dove & Pigeon Man - Lovey is a grumpy dove one day and Pigeon Man is somewhat bewildered as to why

Jowd & Kamila - Jowd introduces a small Kamila to roast chicken and is rather bemused by her reaction

Jowd & Yomiel & Sissel - Jowd and Sissel attempt to teach Yomiel how to be an orb. It is difficult for a variety of reasons.

Jowd & Pigeon Man - The first time Jowd has to ask Pigeon Man to consult on a case in the new timeline...

Alma & Sissel - A small adventure for Alma as Sissel loses his body and has to guide her to it...somehow!

LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS IN THE SKY

Ries / or & Kevin - I like Ries best when she's being fierce and I like Kevin best when he's taken off guard by that ferocity. Any moment like that please! Free to make as shippy or unshippy as you like.

Olivier & Kloe - I've got a hankering to see royal scheming. Kloe's so sly with her humor but I feel like these two are a better match as friends than it appears.

Lila/Maybelle - I just think they're cute OK. Anytime they can gently and mutually bully each other into spending time doing something restful is good. Or maaaaybe good ol' sickfic.

Celeste & Kloe - You cannot tell me that academic Kloe does not immediately want to grill her not-ancestor for everything she's worth. Celeste, on the other hand, would like to know more about current day Liberl, especially Kloe's relationship with Alicia...

Kloe & Julia - Kloe and Julia go hawking with Sieg as a training and bonding trip

Estelle & Kloe - I love the FC play so much. Any missing moment there would be great! Or moments in Phantasma: mutual comfort, mutual teasing... OR Kloe allowing Estelle to captain the Arseille for five whole minutes just to see what would happen.

Olivier / or & Mueller: For some unknown reason, Olivier /& Mueller are shanghaied to help with the Perzel farm for a day and find some pleasant parallels to Alster. Free to make as shippy or unshippy as you like.

Olivier & Cassius -They have one final interaction at the banquet before Olivier leaves and heads back to Erebonia forever (?) What advice might Olivier ask of Cassius? Or what might he warn Cassius of, given the Black Record revelations from later in the series?

LEGEND OF HEROES: TRAILS TO ZERO/AZURE

Alex Dudley & KeA - KeA has a question of police procedure that none of the SSS are around to answer; who better to ask than one Detective Dudley?

Elie MacDowell & Tio Plato - Elie & Tio have an SSS case to solve on their own

KeA & Lloyd Bannings - KeA asks Lloyd to braid her hair; Lloyd has no idea how to do that but he'll cross this barrier

KeA & Randy Orlando - KeA asks Randy to read to her, early after she comes to stay with the SSS. Randy's the kind of guy who goes all out

KeA & Sergei Lou - KeA goes to Sergei for help organizing a small surprise for the SSS

KeA & Zeit - Zeit sneakily goes to check on KeA while she is the Zero Child

Lloyd Bannings & Alex Dudley - Lloyd and Dudley share stories about Guy

Lloyd Bannings & Elie MacDowell & Tio Plato & Randy Orlando - Missing moment between Zero and Azure where they visit Armorica and end up picking a bouquet of flowers for KeA together

Randy Orlando & Ken & Nana - Randy gets pulled into a game of hide n' seek with the west end kids

Randy Orlando & Tio Plato - Randy tries to card shark Tio and she sweeps him handily, but he's sharper than she gives him credit for...

DISCWORLD

Death & Death of Rats - There is a small kerfuffle over jurisdiction when both of them show up for an opossom...

Binky & Death - Death has conflicted responses when a horse girl dies and has THOUGHTS on how well Binky is being treated

Death of Rats & Mustrum Ridcully - Ridcully, for whatever reason, decides it is time for the Rite of AshkEente once again, but who has time for the old fashioned ways? 2 ccs of mouse blood later, he sure has summoned a Death all right...

Cheery Littlebottom & Detritus - Detritus brings Cheery some parts of his old thinking helmet in hopes she can repair it

BATEN KAITOS: ETERNAL WINGS & THE LOST OCEAN

Almarde & Lyude - Lyude finds a moment to honor Almarde in the new world with some music

Mizuti & Xelha - Xelha teaches Mizuti to ice skate

White Dragon & Xelha - Xelha takes a ride on the White Dragon to explore her new world and have a bonding moment

LUNAR

Althena & Lucia - The moment they realized one would have to stay on the Blue Star and one would have to go

Leo & Mystere - A moment of contemplation where Leo looks at his alternate life and yearns to be that free

Leo | Mystere & Mauri - I would be most amused by Mauri & Mystere shenanigans. Or even Mauri taking on Mystere's mantle!

Luna Noa & Nall - Luna sings Nall one last song...

Nall & Quark - Nall wants to learn more about Quark, so he decides to live his cave for a time

Alex Noa & Nall - Alex visits Nall in Quark's cave, where he discovers that Nall does not really enjoy cave life

Nall & Ruby - Nall informs Ruby about the secret of Dragon Diamonds...and that they can buy MANY fish

FINAL FANTASY VI

Terra & Mog - Terra and Mog dance together on the airship deck in a moment of silliness

Edgar & Sabin & Chocobos - The tween twins steal some chocobos from the royal guards and take a joyride

Celes Chere & Relm Arrowny - Big city Celes and small town girl Relm have a chat about their respective lives pre-WoR

Celes Chere & Chocobos - Celes's first chocobo ride was in the green forests near Maranda... what a difference in the WoR, now that they're being chased by a dinosaur?!

Cyan Garamonde & Strago Magus -Cyan asks Strago how he dealt with his grief after his daughter died

Cyan Garamonde & Relm Arrowny - Cyan is not reminded of his son by Relm. Not at all. But... she's certainly an interesting young girl, isn't she...perhaps she'd like some flowers to paint?

Celes & Sabin - I'm always always soft for comfort between the two of them on the Serpent Trench

CHAINED ECHOES

Lenne & Victor - Post-game Lenne commissions Victor to write Glenn's last story

Lenne & Magnolia - Two queens commiserate over the loss of their kingdoms, as well their other mutual loss

Glenn & Victor - Any exploration of their shared chained echo, OR Victor finds Glenn's latest incarnation one last time

Ba'Thraz & Victor - How do these two continue to build on their shared fate as continuers of the Heroes of Leondar's legacy?

Thank you for making it all the way to the end! I hope something here spoke to you. Happy crafting! I can't wait!

#'writing af #candy hearts exchange letter 2023

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cocklessboy · 3 years ago

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I’m autistic. I’ve known that since I was about 24 years old. In hindsight, it should have been obvious, but understanding of autism and neurodivergence in general was very limited when I was at the age diagnosis normally happens.

Once I learned what autism really was, what it really meant, it made perfect sense. I had every single one of the diagnostic criteria, and when I started talking to other autistic adults online, I immediately felt that I had found my people. It even became a special interest of mine, and over the years I’ve been responsible for quite a few other adults finding out they were autistic (something which is often met with resistance at first, but ultimately turns out to be a positive thing to know).

What I was equally certain about was that I did not have ADHD. There’s a lot of crossover between the two, of course, and I frequently related to posts and memes written by ADHD folks. And of course, a lot of people are both. But I was missing some of the key traits of ADHD. I felt I could control my focus, was not easily distracted, I didn’t hyperfocus, I was not hyperactive, I didn’t have trouble sticking to schedules or remembering appointments and such, and stimulants did not have any kind of calming or focusing effect for me. Executive dysfunction and sensory issues I had aplenty, but that was just because I was autistic.

But after a year on testosterone HRT, a lot of things have changed, including a lot of things I didn’t expect.

My autistic traits are still there, but I have new traits now too. My thoughts move faster. I have more energy - lots more. I forget things more easily, am more easily distracted. I have more trouble controlling my impulses. I crave salty carbohydrates more often (something I’ve recently learn is common among ADHD folks since the carbs give you a quick boost). I have to set alarms for everything because otherwise I lose track of time and forget things. In other words, I feel a lot more like I have ADHD, rather than only being autistic.

But as I think back... are these traits actually new? Or did I just not notice them before because they were milder, or buried under other issues, like dysphoria/depression/anxiety?

I’ve always forgotten things that weren’t right in front of my face. I am famous for leaving a cup of tea in the kitchen to brew and forgetting about it until I went back into the kitchen hours later (often intending to make a cup of tea), only to find it there ice cold. I regularly am in the middle of something when I remember a half-finished task I left in another room and shout OH SHIT and rush off to take care of it - immediately forgetting the new task I was in the middle of doing.

Could I ever really control my focus? I’ve always had trouble starting tasks I didn’t want to do, or even ones I DID want to do but which weren’t immediately rewarding. Was I ever not easily distracted? I have many hours of footage of myself playing video games and stopping to enjoy every beautiful view and pet every dog and investigate every side area, even if I’m in the middle of doing another task. I’m in the middle of editing a long playthrough of a game where I’m constantly declaring new plans and then instantly forgetting about them as soon as another task occurs to me - and I hadn’t realized I was doing that while I played.

And I’ve never been able to do just one thing at a time. I have two monitors on my computer and at all times I am doing tasks on both of them. I press play on a video, then open tumblr on the other screen and read while I listen and watch. I play a video game on one screen and put a livestream on the other, regularly tabbing between the windows to swap between gaming and chatting. Apparently, this is NOT an autistic trait, as I’d always assumed it was. In fact, an autistic friend of mine recently told me they’d once had two monitors, but decided to get rid of the second one because they found it distracting. I was flabbergasted.

And I do hyperfocus, I’ve finally realized. I’ve always hyperfocused. I hyperfocus when I write. Any time I set out to write something, especially something factual and informative like this post, I forget everything else in the world. Hours pass without me noticing. The sun sets. I make the reply or comment or post and suddenly realize I’m dehydrated and have to pee and should have eaten dinner hours ago. Even worse, often as I start writing something, the cat asks me for food or attention. I intend to just quickly finish up and then give him what he wants, but by the time I’m done, he’s long since given up and gone to sleep.

It’s true that stimulants don’t calm or focus me, but it turns out that’s not the litmus test I used to believe it was. Apparently while that response to stimulants is common among people with ADHD, it’s far from universal, which is why the most common medications don’t work on everyone.

There is a theory that autism and ADHD are not, in fact, separate things. That they are just different aspects of a larger type of neurodivergence. That much like how it was once incorrectly believed that “autism” and “asperger syndrome” were separate conditions with their own sets of symptoms, we may be doing the same thing now with “autism” and “ADHD”. And if this is true, it makes a hell of a lot of sense. It explains why there’s so much overlap on “symptoms” between the two, and why so many people have both.

And I feel like my transition and the changes I’ve experienced in terms of my ND traits supports this theory as well. If it’s not two separate neurotypes, but one larger neurotype with a wide range of expressions, then it would make sense that some of my traits would change as my brain and body chemistry changes due to HRT. This is not to imply that the ADHD traits are inherently more masculine or anything like that, but just that when your hormones change, a lot of other stuff changes along with it. Things that were less noticeable before have become more prominent now.

I’m very interested to know about the experiences of other trans neurodivergent people. Did you find that your traits changed or became more or less noticeable as you transitioned?

(It is also worth noting that the traits of ADHD do, in fact, make it difficult to become aware that you have ADHD. Funny little joke the universe played on us, eh?)

#actually autistic #adhd #neurodivergence #transgender #transmasc #hrt #transition #hormones #queer

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fbfh · 2 years ago

Text

spider man!leo x reader hcs

wc: 1.1k

genre: fluff, crack, angst if you squint

au: super hero au, spider man!leo, mcu crossover

pairing: spider man!leo x gn reader

warnings: brief mention of tragic backstories, general spider man fare, spider man kiss, I can't decide if spiderman is one word or two, not proof read

song rec: I think I used this in another spider man realted post but spider man too: 2 many spider men - the unbreakable kimmy schmidt soundtrack, hero - monsta x, this might be obvious but when can I see you again - owl city, and metropolis - owl city

a/n: this is mostly an outlet for the 24/7 looping footage of Leo flying around as spider man I love him fuck me with a chainsaw

tags: @avashaye @perseajohnson @afidiofobia @thatmultifandomloser @yelenabel0vaswife @almostjollypizza @Fictionalcomforts @lizziebitch33 @jacksondeeznuts @justbookworm @urmum-xoxo @Asunnyhunny @shellosisbae @anything-forourmoony @i-dont-remember-a-lot @chasingpj @1dpjohoohp @mystic-writings @babiesimagines @dreamerball @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @dustyinkpages @yesv01

After a devastating tragedy left him with no parents and his world completely upside down, Leo Valdez, a dorky teenager from Houston somehow finds himself living in queens new york with his aunt

As if this wasn’t enough changes to handle all at once, it’s also easily a week after he got bit by that stupid spider before he actually notices he has…

Superpowers, he guesses

He really has no idea what else you’d call it

He thinks it’s really fucking annoying at first

Most notably it made all his sensory issues way worse

For a while he views it as another annoying inconvenience he has to deal with

It’s when something happens

When there’s a minor robbery like 2 blocks away from his apartment that he realizes oh shit

Wait

I could do something about that

He can prevent bad shit from happening

He can stop people from hurting

Which is all he's ever wanted

With several all nighters and a lot of hyperfocus he comes up with a costume, weapons, even a name

His grades in chemistry class suddenly shoot up

Pun intended

So he can figure out how to make webs

Once it clicks he's like how has no one else figured this out yet

It's so obvious

He gets his homework done so fucking fast

Cause he also has to learn to sew for his diy costume

Settling on a design was hard

He learns he is definitely not a fashion designer

Eventually he decides to pay homage to his favorite vine

Once this boy hits the streets???

It's on

He's so good at adventuring and super heroing and saving people

It's easily one of his two favorite things

The other one being coming up with new weapon ideas

It takes so much self control not to use webs as a stim toy

He is the CE FUCKING O of battle banter

You thought the other spidermen were quippy???

Leo is 100000 times worse

He basically can't shut up during a fight which has made for some hilarious news footage

There are compilations on YouTube of spiderman roasting criminals for 3 minutes straight, spiderman being an icon for 7 minutes straight

And his personal favorite

Spiderman being the face of gen z for 11 minutes straight

Whenever people at school notice he's way more distracted than usual

Which has been a lot more lately

He's like yeah just adhd things lol

Instead of having to tell them that he’s a semi nocturnal crime fighting arachnid lad

When he’s finally contacted by Tony Stark?????? He loses his fucking SHIT

He has encyclopedic knowledge of Stark industries

So when Tony motherfucking Stark takes one look at his web shooters and starts praising him

Tells him he has real potential, he’s onto something kid

Then tells him he wants him to start training to help the avengers and possibly eventually become part of the team???????

God he loses his fucking SHIT

His aunt is so fucking proud of him for getting an internship with tony stark

Every time he either comes up with something or works with Tony on something Tony’s like wow

Maybe I should start an actual internship for gifted stem kids

Cause this boy gets so much serotonin from being a friendly neighborhood spiderman

Whoever you are to him

His best friend, Tony’s kid that he definitely has a crush on, the cutie from his compsci class, the hot barista he always hopes he’ll run into

Even just a civilian who’s paths happened to cross

Jesus he’s down bad for you so fast

If you know him out of costume he probably gets really nervous to talk to you

In spite of how much he wants to

If you don’t really know him outside of the whole super hero thing

Oh my god

He will show boat and pull so many stunts as spidey

Cause god damn he wants to impress you

If you don’t already know his secret

Motherfucker the temptation to tell you is so fucking strong

Regardless of how or when you find out

You end up being his most trusted ally

He’s rescued you more times than either of you can count

The feeling of him pulling you close to his chest just in time to keep you out of harm’s way

Especially by yoinking you closer with his webs?????

Adorable!!! Heart fluttering!!!!

And god after a battle or fight when you’re all (probably) back at stark tower

And he just pulls off the mask

And his hair is all mess????????

His cheeks are all flushed???????

So fucking cute

God he’s so fucking attractive

It’s not fair

And fuck me he’ll spider man kiss you every chance he gets

You’re walking home one night and you pull out your phone to check the time

You get a glimpse of the one and only spider man lowering himself upside down behind you

You put away your phone

“You know, you should really be more careful walking home. All the creeps come out at night.”

You turn to him, gazing at his red and blue attire, the eyes of his mask moving as he talks

You suppress a grin

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want some weirdo in brightly colored spandex to follow me home, and sneak up behind me, and start talking to me out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, that guy sounds like a real freak.”

“Oh, definitely.” You muse

“You know, I don’t think a thank you from saving me from hooligans when I’m out in the middle of the night, spider man, would be out of place…”

You chuckle, stepping closer

You pull his mask up, pressing a warm kiss to his lips

He caresses your jawline, and you feel the sleek, textured fabric of his suit against your skin

After you eventually pull away, it’s silent for a moment

You’re taking each other in, being in this moment together, the noises of the city providing a familiar background track

He’s smiling, and you can see it, his mask still pulled up

“... that works too.”

You both descend into giggles

He makes sure you get home safe

He usually does

You wave to him outside your bedroom window one more time

He reciprocates the gesture, then shoots a web onto a nearby building, zipping off into the night

You let out a sigh, watching him quickly melt into the darkness outside

He may be your friendly neighborhood spider man

But you and him both know he’s really your friendly neighborhood spiderman

#leo valdez x reader #leo valdez #heroes of olympus x reader #heroes of olympus #leo valdez headcanons #heroes of olympus headcanon #marvel au #spider man au #god i have never wanted to kiss so BAD

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the-sappho-of-lesbos · 3 years ago

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Are you autistic?

I don’t think I’m on the spectrum, no. I’ve had psychologists in the past think I might be but I’ve done tests and it’s always come back as no. I don’t think I have enough of the traits or conditions to have it. From my understanding and from what I’ve been told there is crossover with OCD and autism in most cases (think of a Venn diagram) . So the traits I have that could be associated with the autism spectrum come from my OCD. Like fixations or sensory issues , need for routine etc.

I believe there is a lot of misunderstanding around OCD in general - not you just people in general 💕. A lot of people don’t realise it can affect your sensory sensitivity levels or you need for structure or routine. I think there is a misunderstanding over compulsions too. It’s just not flicking light switches or counting. It’s like a preventative. And sometimes compulsions can come off as completely logical. Or sometimes they have absolutely nothing to do with the situation it’s just what your brain is telling you need to do. So when things come in and prevent that , especially if they are part of a routine that your brain is used to and that tells you “doing this will prevent this” it can be hard. Like for needing time to emotionally prepare before I leave somewhere or having my clothes already chosen. That’s a preventative for me. Because the alternative is my reassurance compulsion before I leave. Like walking in and out of a room a bunch of times and asking if I look okay until it “feels like they are telling the truth” or just it feels right in general. I can do that the night before so it’s not a last minute thing in the morning. Because sometimes I know I can’t do a compulsion as much as I feel the need to. And it sets everything else off. Take the over day for example. I trashed my room with clothes. And when outside I got sick and dizzy. Everything was heightened and worse because my brain was telling me because I couldn’t do the compulsion the obsession would happen. Plus I think some people forget OCD is an anxiety based disorder so it’s normal to have anxiety symptoms as well. And lots of people with anxiety like to have a plan so they know what will happen. And when that plan gets moved a bit it can be really hard to handle.

I think my lack of understanding about certain things come more from life experiences then from being on the spectrum. I spent most of high school (high school in Australia is year 7 -year 12) sitting alone so I didn’t really develop lots of social skills. And you couple that with having to grow up at a really young age I’m kind of this weird mix of a little immature and naive in some areas while being really mature and further ahead from my peers in others. It’s like I’m ahead and behind all at once. I think that’s were my feelings of confusion can come from.

Sorry if I didn’t make much sense lol. Also I’m not an expert on autism either so I’m sorry if I got anything wrong about that too.

But I hope you have a lovely day!

#asks #anon #answered #let’s just say also ptsd mixed with ED mixed with OCD isn’t fun lololol #tw ocd #tw compulsions #personal

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ingravinoveritas · 4 years ago

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Oh, I just ship Campbell and Joe. Campbell would be good for Joe because he's full of life but he's also gentle and understanding, which would be good for someone that is used to be pushed aside, without mentioning the fact that Campbell would never attempt to hurt Joe eaither physically or emotionally.

As for Joe, I believe he would ground Campbell and would be very supportive of his ideas and dreams.

Adding a related Anon who wrote in at the same time as this:

re: previous post about Gallowglass and TOtA, i was thinking of scenarios where Joe and Campbell find each other and their friendship is like a house on fire which then evolves into more. thoughts if anything pertaining to crossover with them?

Well, it’s interesting. I do think that Campbell and Joe could be good for each other in some ways, such as the ones you mentioned. At the same time, Joe is incredibly fragile, and I worry that Campbell might be a bit “too much” for him. But I like the way they complement each other, in particular from a sensory/reaction standpoint, because Campbell is hypersensitive, whereas Joe is hyposensitive. So Campbell could help Joe feel more, become more connected to his emotions and the world around him...and Joe in contrast could calm Campbell and be a fixed beacon in the sea of Campbell’s chaos.

On the whole, though, I think both Campbell and Joe have their own serious and complex issues, to where (as I previously mentioned), they could each use a gentle Daddy Dom to guide them. I keep thinking one of Michael’s other characters could do the job well--Lucian, perhaps, because he’s a Daddy and a Dom, but also a soft wolfy boy at heart who wants to help others and has no problem cutting a bitch to do so. Aziraphale is another excellent candidate for a gentle Dom, and could address both Joe and Campbell’s disparate needs perfectly. He would take care of his pretty pets so well and strive to be whatever Joe and Campbell need to help them find healthier outlets and better paths in life.

(Truth be told, though, I think actually prefer shipping young twinky Michael and David themselves, rather than their characters. Not because I dislike the characters, but because they were both just so damn pretty back in the day, and the thought of earring-wearing Michael meeting floppy-haired David--and the subsequent sparks and chemistry that would result--is far too adorable and hot to ignore.)

So thanks for sharing your thoughts, @hunterofartemisblog, and thank you, Anon, for writing in! x

#hunterofartemisblog #reply post #michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #anonymous #campbell bain #joe #takin' over the asylum #gallowglass #good omens extended universe #how i wish Michael could have worn his earring in Gallowglass #Gentle!Dom Aziraphale just makes me feel things #Big Twink Energy #to paraphrase faggghaggg: 'Two gorgeous twinks together. Who wouldn't love that?'#ship all the characters #ineffable lovers #discourse

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i-call-me-clarence · 5 years ago

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So @ao3commentoftheday suggested people make rec lists during these trying times and I decided to go ahead and jump on the band wagon. Here is a list of 13 Johnlock fics, sorted from shortest to longest. There’s H/C, PWP, Case Fics, PRETEND RELATIONSHIPS, and some pretty dank AU’s.

Okay then, onto the tropes!

(fics listed below)

Caught by Salambo06 (AO3) ( @salambo06fics)

Author’s Summary: A hotel room. They’re here for a case, hadn’t planned to spend the night and ended up sharing a room. No, sharing a bed. Suddenly John is very much aware of his own hand closed around his hard cock and the ragged breathing next to him. Closing his eyes for the briefest second, John dares to turn his head just enough to confirm what he already knows.

Sherlock, on his side, watching him.

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1,859

Tags/Warnings: bed sharing, wet dreams, POV John, Masturbation, Frottage, First Time, First Kiss

A PWP that’s scorching hot. ‘Nough said. (BUTOMG it is REALLY hot, beware reading in public yo)

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Paranoia by Ewebie (AO3) ( @ewebie)

Author’s Summary: is a description of the rules of the drinking game Paranoia and also too long to put here! But suffice it to say that this fic involves drinking games at the Yard.

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3,789

Tags/Warnings: Tumblr Prompt, Drinking Games, Silly... no smut but building fun and allusions to upcoming rrrwarr

I love fics where the team at the Yard and the boys all get drunk together. Throw in a drinking game and I’m already hooked. This fic was really funny and cheered me up when I was sick with the flu a while back (perfect time to read it again!)

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Coldness/Heat by agirlsname (AO3) ( @agrlsname)

Author’s Summary: The inn is booked up on New Year's Eve. The train home is cancelled because of the snow. The only option is to sleep in the non-heated guest room of a client, and John and Sherlock are freezing.

You know where this is going.

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3,790

Tags/Warnings: Fluff and Smut, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Bedsharing, Sharing Body Heat, Frottage New Year's Eve, Cuddling & Snuggling, Friends to Lovers

THERE IS ONLY ONE BED! AND THEY ARE SO COLD! WHATEVER ARE OUR BOYS TO DO?!?!?! Turn it up to 11 in this amazing PWP, that’s what.

---- Stranded by BeautifulFiction (AO3) ( @the-pen-pot )

Author’s Summary: ‘Do you think we’re less than that – best friends? Or more?’

John’s head pulled back, and the look he received suggested John was seriously wondering how someone so intelligent could be so stupid. ‘Well, definitely not less.’

When stranded on a derelict barge at high tide, John and Sherlock reconsider their friendship.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 5,798

Tags/Warnings: case fic, cuddling for warmth, first kiss

I really liked this fic. It really drew me in with it’s imagery, I could see the scenes as easily as I could see John and Sherlock getting together in this way.

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Azure On Grey by shiplocks_of_love (AO3) ( @shiplocks-of-love )

Author’s Summary: When Sherlock’s transport betrays him and conventional healthcare fails to help, John comes up with an unorthodox solution…

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 8,986

Tags/Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Medical issues, Kidney Stones, Embarrassing Situations, brief mention of past substance abuse, unorthodox medical treatments, Amusement Parks, Intimacy, hints of romance, Pining John, friends to almost lovers

This fic is a wonderful H/C that features a sick Sherlock who can be exceptionally fragile at times, and a caring Watson. Makes me wish I’d had a John around when I had kidney stones :’(

---- Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder by cypress_tree (AO3) ( @cypress-tree)

Author’s Summary: John helps Sherlock with an experiment: for an entire month, they are not allowed to touch each other and must remain at least one metre apart at all times. Meanwhile, I conduct my own experiment: how much UST can I shove into a single fic?

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 10,669

Tags/Warnings: Unresolved Sexual Tension, it's for an experiment John, Resolved Sexual Tension, smut

Sexy, silly, amazing.

---- Chaperones by MissDavis (AO3) ( @missdaviswrites)

Author’s Summary: Right. Of course. Everyone assumed they were a couple and no one would question it. John put his elbows up on the table so he could rest his head in his hands. "You want to pretend to be a couple so we can chaperone a trip to Disney World with Rosie's class and you won't have to share a room with a stranger?"

"Exactly." Sherlock beamed at him. "Don't worry about the cost. The Birmingham case last month paid more than enough to cover expenses for all three of us."

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 34,115

Tags/Warnings: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Sharing a Room, Sharing a Bed. Disney World, Parentlock, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss

I’ll just use what I wrote when I bookmarked this lovely fic: I’ve never been more compelled by Disney related things than when I was reading this fic. I’ll never go to Disney World, but I’ll sure as hell read this fic again omg was it good

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The Darkness Within, So Close by shiplocks_of_love (AO3) ( @shiplocks-of-love ) ((I hope @ing you twice doesn’t cause any issues! Sorry in advance. Tumblr confuses me))

Author’s Summary: Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller deal with a new string of murders in Broadchurch. Help comes from an unlikely place as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson travel to West Dorset. But when the new crimes open old wounds and unearth the ghost of Moriarty, it becomes clear the game is not over yet.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 42,312

Tags/Warnings: casefic, Sherlock x Broadchurch crossover fic, Underage Death, Murder, MAJOR spoilers for Broadchurch S1 and S2 and for Sherlock S3, post S3 Sherlock, post S2 Broadchurch, you are MOST welcome to put johnlock glasses on but this is pre-slash okay?, Light Angst, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence

I haven’t actually finished this fic yet, but the characterizations for the characters of both universes are spot on. When Alec Hardy started shouting at the beginning, David Tennant appeared in my room and started reading the fic aloud to me. True story. Also this fic is part of a series, so, like, that’s amazing.

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The Norwood Love Builders by flawedamythyst (AO3) ( Tumblr: https://flawedamythyst.tumblr.com/) ((couldn’t @ you for some reason. Prob, again, because Tumblr makes my brain hurt))

Author’s Summary: Sherlock and John go undercover to solve the murder of Joanna Oldacre, but things are complicated by the many feelings John has been repressing in the wake of Sherlock's faked death and return.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 47,798

Tags/Warnings: case fic, fake/pretend relationship, couples retreat, bed sharing, therapy (for a case...that’s a weird tag but I read this in fic so often so), pining John, UST, First Kiss, getting together

Amazing fic by an amazing writer. I have a weakness for ‘pretend relationship for a case’, especially when it’s filled with pining and ust. So in other words this fic is perfect.

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Bridging the Ravine by SilentAuror (AO3) ( @silentauroriamthereal)

Author’s Summary: Sherlock and John go undercover at Ravine Valley, a therapy centre for same-sex male couples in an investigation into a possible human trafficking ring. As they pose as a couple and fake their way through the therapy sessions for the sake of the case, it quickly becomes difficult to avoid discussing their very real issues. Set roughly nine months after series 4.

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 58,887

Tags/Warnings: post-series 4, Romance, Awkwardness galore, fake couple trope, Therapy, sex trafficking ring, First Times, Massages, wet t-shirt contest, Group Therapy, loss of child (past), Bed-sharing

Pretend relationship for a case, and it’s a really good case too! Plus it’s at a couples therapy retreat, I mean, come on!! And the OC’s, don’t even get me started on them, because I won’t be able to stop singing their praises. This fic was sent by the gods through the blood sweat and tears of the extremely talented SilentAuror. You should honestly just go and binge all of their stuff. What else are you gonna do during quarantine? OH! And guess what??? THERE’S A SEQUEL!

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Sensory Science by sussexbound(SamanthaLenore) (AO3) ( @sussexbound)

Author’s Summary: John Watson has been invalided home from Afghanistan and is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD and insomnia, when an old friend from med school recommends something that might help: An ASMR YouTube Channel run by a friend.

One session in and John is hooked, not only by the way the ASMR seems to calm him after nightmares, and help him sleep, but also by the mysterious man who runs it.

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 80,017

Tags/Warnings: Friends to Lovers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD John, ASMR, first meeting AU, problem drinking, Nightmares, Suicidal Thoughts, Internalized Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Anxiety, Depression, Homophobic Language, Masturbation, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Prostate Massage, Prostate Orgasm, Phone Sex, Mutual Masturbation, Frottage, Coming Untouched, Aborted Blowjobs, Rimming

Amazing fic that really draws you in. Even if ASMR isn’t necessarily your thing, this is still a fantastic read. I mean, it’s by sussexbound, so what else would you expect?

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Rewind by All_I_Need (AO3) ( @the-reading-lemon)

Author’s Summary: About a month before John's wedding, he and Sherlock embark on one last case together: a murder at a remote hotel in the middle of nowhere. A lot can happen in a week. And a lot doesn't. But what if ...?

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 87,594

Tags/Warnings: Pining, Angst, John is an oblivious idiot, all the feels, Rewind - Freeform, what if, Sharing a Bed, Dancing Lessons, literally everyone sees more than John does, Fake/Pretend Relationship

THIS FIC! This fic!! Let me tell you a thing about this fic: it’s amazing! I haven’t finished it completely, but the unique ‘rewind’ effect is something I hadn’t ever seen before. Interesting concept, pretend relationship for a case, hot, hot smut, AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED. What more could you want in a fic, honestly?

---- Out There by DiscordantWords (AO3) ( @discordantwords)

Author’s Summary: FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 131,695

Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - X-Files Fusion, Slow Burn, UST, No seriously a lot of UST, This is the X files they basically wrote the book on UST, casefic, Case Fic, Government Conspiracy, Aliens, UFOs, Mutants, Pining Sherlock, Pining John, First Kiss, Coma

The X-files/Sherlock crossover I always needed in my life. I think at least a few other Johnlockers out there (ha! Fic title) have watched X-files and thought ‘holy cow this is so John and Sherlock, I need the AU or else I’ll die’. Well look no further! No need to die! Read and watch as all your X-files/Sherlock wishes come true :D

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And that concludes this rec list! There will prob be a part 2 coming out as I’ve got hundreds of fics saved on this pairing. Also stay tuned for fic rec lists for some of my other fav ships! Spirk, Garashir, Hannigram, Bunny/Raffles, and more!!

#johnlock fic rec list #johnlock fic rec #something to read while quarantined #first rec list so #i am excite #also making that banner up there was super fun #johnlock #fanfic #sherlock fan fiction #bbc sherlock #johnlock fic recs

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monsieur-hadrien · 4 years ago

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Quarantine Harry Potter Fanfiction *READING LIST*

I’ve spent the past months reading copious amounts of fanfiction and now my amount of AO3 bookmarks is absurd. I really need to share these because if I don’t I think I might implode. Drarry-centric but not all!

These are in no particular order nor is there a particular time frame that these were all posted. I have a little bit of everything in here just you wait.

On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads by Enigmaris

56 Chapters, 247k Words, Complete, no slash, T Rating

Marvel, Norse Mythology, Harry Potter Crossover

TW: Past Abandonment

Harry finds out that his dad is alive, has been the whole time. Instead of being overjoyed, Harry's disgusted. His dad left earth and abandoned his friends. Every painful thing he's ever gone through can be traced back to one man. Now Harry's got super strength he can't control and an almost unnecessary amount of magical power. His dad might be living it up with the Avengers now but not for long. With the help of his friends, Harry comes up with a plan for revenge. Get ready Avengers, Harry's out to punch a god.

We’re starting off strong with a Marvel crossover fanfic wow. Who knew that crossovers could be done tastefully as 2013 Wattpad kind of ruined it for us. However, this fic changed my mind! This fic is funny as fuck and is just a goodass time. I love a good multi-chapter fic (as you’ll soon see) and this one is a showstopper.

The Man Who Lived by sebastianL

42 Chapters, 254k Words, Complete, Draco/Harry, E Rating

TW: Major Character Death, Graphic Deptictions of Violence

Draco breaks a cup, and one thing leads to another. A story of redemption, tattoos, dreams, mistakes, green eyes, long conversations, and copious amounts of coffee.

With all of the Black Lives Matter protests happening right now, I think that this fic is super relevant. Draco has moved to New York City and is working as a receptionist at a tattoo shop and a mentor for inner city kids, but he accidentally gets forced to work out his differences with Harry, who at this point hates his guts. This fic is pretty serious, tackling themes of mental health, suicide, and police brutality. Every OC in this story is completely lovable and I cried my eyes out many times. When people ask me for a fic reccomendation this is the one I give people. Dare I say that this is my all-time favorite fic.

Warm Bodies by Betty_Hazel

Work in Progress, 37 Chapters as of 6/12/2020, 108k Words, Draco/Harry, E Rating

TW: D/s Dynamics, Graphic Porn, Dubious Relationship with Food

Draco Malfoy has spent his whole life wanting to go down on his knees for other men, and that's by far the least of the depraved things he fantasises about. He's wanted it all for so long that he's stopped believing that there might be someone out there who might be able to give it all to him; it comes as something of a surprise to find that maybe Harry Potter can, and that maybe Harry's looking for something too.

ALRIGHT MY PORN LOVERS THIS ONE IS FOR YOU! Don’t lie I know you’re horny. Somehow this fic is so fucking gorgeous and sweet yet so sinfully hot. It’s literally two boys who have never felt like their emotional needs have been satisfied learning to help and love each other like how much more wholesome does it get. I mean it’s all fine and wholesome until you get to the kinky sex which is WONDERFULLY WRITTEN MIGHT I ADD! I always say that if porn can make you feel something other than just horny, you’ve found a winner, and this story does just that.

Definitely check all the tags and I mean all the tags before you read this, but this is definitely one of my favorite porn with plot stories.

Running On Air by eleventy7

17 Chapters, 75k Words, Complete, Draco/Harry, T Rating

TW: No Archive Warnings

Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects.

Might I just say that classics are considered classics for a reason. This is one of those stories that has the vibe of high school summer after senior year where all you do is try to escape reality and figure out your place in the world. While the plot is wonderful and the characters are great, I think what shines the brightest from this story is the writing style. It’s so enchanting and poetic with the best one-liners that make your heart hurt. On my AO3 bookmark i captioned it, “This just ripped my soul in half and restitched it together again,” and I still stand by that.

Lokison (Series) and How To Train Your Godling (Series) by sifsshadowheart

Main Story (Lokison): 33 Chapters, 244k Words, Completed, Harry/Various Characters, E Rating

14 Spinoffs/ Sequel Stories, Completed, Harry/Various, Various Ratings

Norse Mythology, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Various Fandoms Crossover

TW: Major Character Death, Graphic Violence, Underage Sex, Spiralling Mental Health

James and Lily Potter had a secret, one which led to Thanatos saving young Harry from a dreary life with the Dursleys and changed the face of the Second British Wizarding War before it ever began.

This story feels much more like a 12 season television show than a two hour movie if you know what I mean. The plot is pretty slow going but the character development and interation makes it worth it. The story blends the lore and events of the HP and PJO to make a completely new story without making it feel like a goddamn recap. The reader follows Harry from when he’s young all the way into adulthood and it’s a fun time to watch him grow as a character and bond with his parental figures. Also some of the spinoffs are really wild and I never would have thought of the pairings but they just work somehow?? My personal favorite spinoff is the Pirates of Caribbean/Calypso and Leo arc like HELLO?! hot pirates. The total word count of the two series is 465k so beware it takes a hot second to chug through this one.

This Worship of an Extinct Fire by Lomonaaeren

Oneshot, 30k Words, Draco/Harry, M Rating

TW: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Emotional and Physical Abuse, Deppression

Unspeakable Draco Malfoy has planned for nearly six months how to take down Thomas Linwood, a man who has discovered the secret of converting wizard bodies to pure magic. He was prepared for anything--except the discovery of the missing Harry Potter in Linwood's compound.

This one, I don’t know how it’s not considered a classic. I’ve seen it floating around on drarry tumblr and wow is it good. I especially like the detailed magic system and mechanics that Draco is investigating. How the author managed to have so much detailed and gracefully planned out backstory in 30k words is beyond me. Also gentle Dracoo Malfoy is my favorite Draco Malfoy :) absolute angel mode.

Little Compton Street (One Rainy Night in Soho) by LLAP15 and Writcraft

Oneshot, 66k Words, Draco/Harry, Past Sirius/James, E Rating

TW: Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light D/s Dynamics, References to Cancer, References to HIV/AIDS

Draco is lonely, Harry hates the press and it won’t stop raining in London. Harry discovers a magical street that’s close to disappearing forever and Draco realises he’s one rainy night in Soho away from finding everything he’s been searching for.

This fic is, in every sense, a masterpiece. Especially for pride month, the story surrounding LGBTQIA+ activism, the AIDS Epidemic of the 80s, and the gentrification of historically queer communities is one that should be read by everyone. Every single place, OC, and historic event has real world ties and is historically accurate, making this fic even more enchanting. Everything about this fic is graceful and slow burning I can’t help but fall in love with it. I’ve only seen this fic once on HP tumblr, but I feel like it should be considered a classic as it is truly a moving piece. This fic is one of the biggest reasons why I became so enthralled with LGBT history and am writing a fic that takes place in a wizarding version of the AIDS epidemic.

Sensitive Touch by Raserwolf

45 Chapters, 194k Words, Complete, Draco/Harry, E Rating

TW: Racism and Racial Slurs, Homophobic Slurs, Ablism and Ablist Slurs, Rape and Sexual Assault, Sensory Overloads and Mental Breakdowns, Extreme Bullying and Hate Crime, Past Abuse, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD wow this is a long list

When Draco Malfoy encounters a struggling and frustrated Harry desperately trying to tie his shoes after a meltdown in the Great Hall, his curiosity regarding the incident leads him to seek the help of the two people closest to Harry: Ron and Hermione.

After even they are shocked to hear the extent of Harry's issues, though Hermione had her suspicions, he discovers more about the man than he ever thought he knew before.

As a Neurotypical, I found this fic to be absolutely wonderful. I don’t know much about the typical traits of those who are one the autism spectrum and how they affect their everyday lives, but from what I was reading in the comments from those who are on the spectrum or who have family who are, this fic was pretty accurate and realistic. Harry, who lives with aspergers, goes without a known diagnosis until 8th year and it’s just heightened by his PTSD and anxiety and ugh I just want to hug the boy. The story follows Harry and Draco and the rest of the 8th year gang through the year and has multiple arcs in which the wizarding world are just dumbass bitches who can’t fucking seem to accept people for who they are. Not only is Harry on the spectrum but he’s also Desi with a purpose and not just mentioned and forgotten which is wonderful. The boys go through a lot of trauma in the story but there’s also a lot of teeth-rotting fluff that I live for. This is one of the fics that I have read and reread because I love it so much.

This definitely is not my full list I have a ton more stories in my bookmarks if you are curious. I’ll probably post a part two to this just cause I have so much and read so often. These, however, are definitely the biggest highlights.

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yourdarlingfaux · 4 years ago

Note

lol more asks cuz why not

(u dont have to answer if u dont wanna but idk u did say multiple are okay)

Is there a ship you no longer ship and why?

rant about any ship you love but feel like you don't talk about enough

(ok this aren't listed question) is there any pairing you think is better as a friendship?

if you could rate all your hetalia ships from 1- how ever many you have( 1 being your favourite) what would that list look like?

if you could go to the wedding of one of your ships- which ship would it be? and why

which ship is the most chaotic?

what would your ships be like as parents?(you can do one ship if you want or mulitiple)

anddddddddddddd

give a description of your ship/ships in a nutshell, so like what is their dynamic basically like

oof sorry about so many askssss

l do be curious tho

Dude omg please don't be sorry look you are SPOILING ME with these thank you very much I crave attention lmao

⚜ Is there a ship I no longer ship? Why?

Hm.... there’s none that I can think of! So if I ever dropped shipping something it’s probably because I forgot! :p

I would be putting FrUK/USUK here but I was never really avid about them to be no longer shipped and I still like them on occasion

⚜ Rant about any ship I love but feel like you don't talk about enough

Spaus!!!!!! Spain and Austria!!!! I talk about Fraus but Spaus??? Nationverse Spaus??? They had the same thing going except.. a very different energy. These are two men who married while still trying to find where they fit in the world, they fought wars against each other, they were not perfect in any way, but they were husbands, and they always respected each other as such. Human AUs, same thing, they weren’t perfect, they had to grow so much to get to where they are, and often times they'd go DAYS without speaking to each other, but they'd still sit down and chat with their music, Spain on the guitar and Austria on the piano, sometimes they wouldn't play long, but just a few notes and strums exchanged served as a reminder that when they're ready to talk again, they're both ready for each other

Omg wait brain juice FLOWING Hungary x Belgium.... it’s always been hard for me to like them bc of the ship name (for some reason??) but I’ve been thinking about it and I just... wow...... Horse knight woman(? Woman debatable) and a woman who smells like chocolate :) mm.. that’s a vibe

Also I have very very VERY few Ideas on this but Belarus x Seychelles SLAPS in the most positive way

⚜ Is there any pairing you think is better as a friendship?

Hmm, I’m gonna have to go with USA x N. Italy!! I love them together a lot but I have a hard time seeing them actually being in a romantic relationship :0

Also Estonia x Finland! I think they’re good friends! MAybe tried some intimate stuff in the past but Finland moved on from that and Estonia, in my hc, discovered he’s hetero/aro ace! Which in this case just means Ukraine pretty--

⚜ Rating all my favorite 2p/Hetalia ships from 1-5 because I have way too many ;,)

Hetalia ships in order of how much feeling I have for them when I look at the list

France x Austria

France x Russia

France x Turkey (gee haha I wonder who my favorite character is)

Cuba x Canada

Germany x England (more in human aus tho :) )

Honorable mention!: Romania x Prussia

Honorable mention #2!: Netherlands x Canada

Fav 2p ships in order of how often I think of/write for them

2p France x 2p Austria (wow! shocking!)

2p Sweden x 2p Finland

2p Germania x 2p Ancient Rome

2p Russia x 2p China

2p Germany x 2p Italy

Honorable mention #3!: 2p Egypt x 2p Turkey x 2p Greece [ETG trio]

⚜ If you could go to the wedding of one of your ships- which ship would it be? and why

2p Ancient Greece and 2p Ancient India! I’ve never written them ever and 2p Ancient India is barely a figment of a character but holy shit!!! They would have an amazing wedding!!! No expenses spared and absolutely extravagant!

Or 2pSufin! Cool wedding! Small and cozy because they both have sensory processing issues and it’d just be a very comfortable place to be! :)

⚜ Which ship/s are the most chaotic?

Romania x Prussia (if you can’t imagine why this would be.... I don’t know what to tell you)

Prussia x England (two tired overworked punks)

2p Greece x 2p Japan (half their dates prob consist of running from p!gs for being caught spray painting places that are queerphobic or xenophobic and the others are spent in libraries and museums)

2p Italy x 2p HRE (two kids who don’t know what emotional regulation is)

⚜ What would my ships be like as parents?

Ok! I’ll start out with the ones that I’ve already given children :)

2p Ancient Greece and 2p Ancient Rome (Famous AU): They..... they really tried... they tried so hard to work out their issues for the grandkids, but of course in the end that never works.. they raised the Italy brothers after an accident happened that left them as orphans. Eventually, Melita did leave Cassius, but she also left the grandkids to be looked after by him, and she continued to be absent until the kids were in there mid-20's. Cassius tried his best with what he had, but his best wasn't healthy and was too much self projection because he didn't want them to be hurt as he was, but it backfired, it backfired a lot.

2p Germania and 2p Ancient Rome (Famous AU): Cassius was there to help Berinhart help raise Roland the moment Roland was turned over to Ber's custody, like, that very night. Though Cassius wasn't always present because he was still "with Melita" at that time, but once he was responsible for his own grandchildren, that did start changing in "getting the kids together for socializing" so they could start seeing each other more. Berinhart is a good parent, well rounded and knows how to motivate positively for even the most mundane things

2p Sweden and 2p Finland (most AUs): They adopted two kids: Jack (2pSealand) and Kurt (2pLadonia). Tobbe’s not the best with getting along with children but he’ll be damned if he’s not going to try his best to be with Vaito to raise them with him. Tobbe makes the meals and teaches them to cook and how to clean up after themselves and Vaito teaches them how to clean up bigger messes so Tobbe doesn't have to look at them. Kurt and Jack are in good hands :)

2p France and 2p Austria (however this is only in my Genshin Impact/2ptalia crossover au): François isn’t really interested in a kid of his own and didn't know Roland "had" a kid until he went back to Roland's hometown with him, it's not that Roland didn't talk about Nikki, it's that he never mentioned that he was actually the one raising them until Roland left to travel the world, which left Nikki with Berinhart. François is glad he doesn't have a complete parental role with Nikki but he will fight tooth and nail if harm ever falls on them. And Roland loved taking care of Nikki because they're a founding just as he is but he just didn't feel like he was prepared or good enough to be a good parent for them.

⚜ A description of my ship/s in a nutshell / My ship dynamics in a nutshell

I think I have a wide range of ship dynamics ranging from:

Total of 1 braincell combined and they share it like the three fates in Disney's Hercules (Prussia x America namely)

Socially stunted smol and socially stunted tol

Classy gossip partners apparently

Homophobic bigot because of Unresolved Catholic Trauma and woman who thinks that All woman are bisexual (too niche? It's 2pRome x 2pAncient Greece in human AUs)

I have too many tbh, I don't prefer one type of ship over another so I really can't put all of them here-

Person who's experienced way too much trauma at a young age x person who had a lot of different trauma at a young age and are doing their best to help each other recover (2p France x 2p Austria)

#holy shit this is so long and I didn't even realize until I scrolled up #im-tired-and-queer #asks!#way too much to tag but #famous au #it's my fav au #i love it sm #yourdarlings headcanons

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killervibe · 6 years ago

Text

Cisco happy with the decision to eliminate his powers regresses his character arc...An Essay.

Note: This essay isn’t perfect, and it is riddled with some speculative theory, just trying to wrap my head around season 5 and what exactly was it that they’ve done. I’m emotional. There may be some mistakes. I wrote this kinda all in one sitting. I didn’t edit. We may agree or disagree on some things. That’s fine. But this is my take.

I need to to just to talk about something.

Cisco happy with the decision to eliminate his powers regresses his character arc.

Now, if he took a break from being Vibe, that, I could potentially understand. He had gone through a traumatic experience. He wants to date, wants to try and start a family. Okay. Maybe superhero-ing on the side can cause some difficulty with that. Then hang up the suit. Use your powers instead of your car instead of pew pew machines for a few months. But he’d come back to it. Or at least…In a crisis. They’d be there. That’s his decision. But to completely eliminate that? That’s drastic. It’s never something he had said he wanted to do. Should Cisco want to maintain close ties to Team Flash, which he claims he does “You’re not the problem. You guys are my family” (5x17), he’d be at a bigger risk to threats. In order to properly keep his safety, he’d have to separate from all of them and start somewhere fresh. He’d have to do what Ronnie wanted to do with Caitlin in season 1. To move away completely. It makes no sense! No sense at all! And @nintendo-sixtyvore has pointed out so correctly that every time Cisco has been in serious danger, specifically kidnapped, it had nothing to do with his powers. It had to do with his intelligence!!!!!!! This isn’t going to go away by removing his powers! Read their post here.

Besides, superhero-ing, and being part of Team Flash, although stressful, weird, sometimes crazy is something Cisco LOVES. It’s what holds him together.

He has said so many times, not only this season (“You’re my friend, my family (5x06)” and 5x05, 5x07 5x10) to Caitlin, and to everyone on Team Flash throughout the series.

In fact, after the particle accelerator explosion, having Barry be a coma patient, and later find out a meta-human Is what jump started Cisco’s excitement, his career, and his life again after such a terrible event. Cisco was the one on board with Barry from the very start.

We learn in 3x19, in the 2024 that was dissolved, that Cisco was the only one who remained in Team Flash. Barry was depressed. Iris was dead. Wally was paralyzed. HR skipped town. Julian became Killer Frost’s glorified zoo keeper. Caitlin as Cisco knew it was dead. He had lost his family, his purpose, his passion. He was depressed. He stopped taking care of his hair.

And he had lost his hands. He had lost his powers. “No hands. No Vibe,” he says brokenly.

I mean, first of all, that shouldn’t make all that much sense. His sensory vibes aren’t linked to his hands. He’s had vibes without touching anything, and he has stated that he sometimes gets them randomly (2x11,1x23) but apparently here they’re all gone the moment his hands are lost? Well. Okay. So lets take that for how he said it. No more hands means no more vibe blasts. It means no more breaches. No more Vibe. He can’t be the same hero, he can’t use his hands, he can’t make things the way he used to. He can’t feel any longer. He can’t thrust power from his hands, can’t open the world to the multiverse. But he can still have Vibes because he told Barry “I had a feeling” he’d be there. What does this mean? It means his Vibes are still there. He’s heartbroken over the other half of his powers being gone.

Killer Frost did that purposely. She could have killed him. She could have frosted his feet, his hair, his head…Anything else. But no. Cisco was the link to her humanity, and she wanted to squash it. She knew what would do that, what would officially make Cisco turn her away. Doing the unthinkable. Hurting him the most. Taking away what he loves. His powers.

So she did. And it worked. He understandably withdrew from her, grew sad, despondent, but even then even then he wanted to still work with Team Flash. Even when everything was up in flames, he was the last man standing.

Because he’s strong. He’s strong and he’s a hero. He loves to be a hero.

And Team Flash is his family. Its what he loves to do. Its where he belongs.

Team Flash being his family starts to disintegrate around 5x10. I have another theory that this is elevated by a continued resentment against Frost (explicitly Frost. Not Caitlin. Never Caitlin—which makes things complicated) that has never went away. You can find that here.

His vocabulary about “us” and “we” and “our” has changed to “me” and “my”. When he talks to Frost, he says: “Barry, Iris, Nora, they have a family. Even you and Caitlin have your weird little family. But what about my family?”

He automatically blames his powers as preventing him from having a family (which two episodes before he repetitively said with joy was Team Flash). Preventing him from being safe.

Cisco doesn’t know that. That assumption isn’t quite logical. Doesn’t it make more sense to discuss this with a potential partner. He didn’t make it about his powers there. He never said that “I hate opening breaches.” He never said “I find dimensional hopping repulsive.” He has said he was scared, that he was nervous, that he didn’t understand his powers in season 2 when they were developing, especially his vibes, because they were confusing. But the thing that was the most confusing to him were the visions he saw. The fact he could see other timelines, the fact he could see the future. It didn’t have to do with his hands.

5x22 was Cisco’s first showdown with Thawne since season 1. The Thawne who killed him. The Thawne he knew. But it wasn’t his very first encounter with a Thawne since then. This leads to something that sat badly with me. The conversation between Eobard and Cisco. Yes, Eobard is an ass, so he probably mentioned killing Cisco for shits and giggles because he knew he could, and because he wanted to pull it again with Nora, but…Using this to enhance Cisco’s reasoning for taking away his powers? No.

In fact, in 2x11, called, oh, I don’t remember…Oh yes. THE REVERSE-FLASH RETURNS. 2x11’s B plot was all about Cisco developing his powers, and confronting his fear. Giving himself agency.

At the end of the episode, they have Reverse Flash contained, and Cisco goes up to him and says his killer piece:

“My name is Cisco Ramon. I want you to know that I’m the one who figured out you were back. I helped stop you. Me.”

“And how’d you do that?”

“I have powers. And I helped track you down and I put you in here.”

“That’s quite the ability you have.”

“And here’s what’s so ironic about it. You gave me these powers. Have fun thinking about that while you rot away in this cell that you helped me build. Bye, Felicia.”

Cisco was so proud about that.

Soon after that he had a seizure (the result of Eobard being in their time, not because of anything Cisco did) but even after waking up, asking what was happening, Harry replied “We think you vibed one dimension too many.”

Cisco started to laugh. Not an afraid one or a nervous one. It was genuine, to which Joe joined along, as it was contagious and immediately accurately assessed that “Yeah, I think he’s going to be fine.”

In season 3, Cisco said he was afraid about using his vibrational powers against Caitlin because he was afraid of hurting her. But that was because he loves Caitlin. She’s his best friend. He didn’t want to kill her. And Cisco at the end of season 3 did exactly that. He was able to help Caitlin, fight Caitlin, and do it safely without hurting her. Without killing her. He grew. In season 3, Cynthia told him he could do a lot more with his powers. That she could show him. This was never continued on screen.

Season 4 reveals Cisco spent 6 months as the meta field leader of Team Flash and worked with Wally (which we only got 1 episode to see…Nice.) He did a good job, and was shown being great at it. He was in a really good place, despite the circumstances. He missed Barry. He missed Caitlin. But he had his powers. He had Star Labs. He had Cynthia. He had his purpose.

We know that Cisco was knocked out in the crossover in s4 oh so conveniently because his powers would’ve made the Crisis much less of a threat (…). By 4x16, Cisco purposely pointedly avoids shaking Matthew’s hand because

***“No offence. I like my powers.”***

At this point, Cisco’s powers were a part of who he was.

When Breacher offered Cisco a job at the collection agency, he refused because he wanted to stay. Stay on Earth One. He wanted to stay with Team Flash. He wanted to be Vibe. Before he got the job offer, he had to explain to Breacher that he wasn’t going to get his powers back because they had gone from old age. He explains why he lied because “I know how special our powers are.”

That’s the Cisco Ramon progression we’ve had. That’s where he was.

To have Cisco….Revert? To, what? To Pre 2x11??? It retracts all of this.

Another thing. Cynthia having the same powers as him? He liked that. It added a lot to his attraction. Now, how does that translate after the break-up is curious. It’s possible he’s grown an aversion to them following the split. “If I can’t even make it work with the girl who has the same powers as me, then what’s the point?” But see, even this logic is a relationship issue. Not anything about his ability, exactly. This arguments fits better with why he was so keen to jump ship with Kamilla. “She’s normal!!! No more inter-dimensional long distance!!” Cisco is muddling two separate issues here, pinning them on being a metahuman. Cisco and Cynthia’s relationship didn’t fail because of Cisco’s powers.

By season 5, he was drinking. He was trying to avoid pain. He was feeling down. Caitlin tried to help him. Ralph tried to help him.

Cue 5x03.

He was almost killed in 5x03, and had dark matter sliced into his palms which had remained for several weeks.

Now what other main characters had dark matter wounds? Orlin. Grace. Nora. Cisco. What did they all (except Nora, which I’ll get to in a sec)have in common? The moment they got these wounds, anti-meta sentiments emerged to varying degrees. This degree is in correlation with their wounds.

Remember Grace? The dark matter in her wound was in her head, it was so bad it warped her judgement, her mental state grew dark. Grace's was in her head, so it was the most intense. This was confirmed (By Caitlin’s Doctor-ing/Meta-science-ing) in 5x22 when the cure was in fact being neutralized by the dark matter inside young Grace and it was difficult.

The same thing happened with Cicada I. His dark matter wound in his chest changed his perception as well, going as far as to want to commit suicide once his war on metas was over.

Nora was stabbed in the back, paralyzing her and also taking away her speed. But, she has fast healing, and she eventually returned to normal (debatably. Remember she’s under the influence of negative role models, and later on the negative speed force later on).

Now, Cisco’s hand slices were the most superficial. He was also stabbed in the back but apparently the Flash writers forgot all about that and thought that a stab wound to the back that needed a brace would heal faster than two sliced palms, but alas, I digress.

His hands were sliced with dark matter, and the moment they were…. “The Death of Vibe.”

Cisco wasn’t in 5x04. But he was back in 5x05. And this is when he started to develop a RANDOM CONFUSING dislike towards his powers. Towards being a meta-human. He no longer wanted to be Vibe.

But here’s my thing. He had dark matter stuck in his hands. He’s had them in him for a long time. They were only taken out by 5x10. Caitlin even said, the reason why they took so long to heal was because of the shards stuck in his skin, infused with dark matter. Enough to let this idea about having a cure grow in his mind. Enough to start hating his HANDS. His HANDS were bleeding. HIS HANDS were the source of his sudden self-hatred. Enough to start making him dislike metas. Not to a “let’s kill them all off!” extent. But a “Let’s make a cure for this thing that I’m responsible for (Me: ?? Caitlin: ??) and I’m not sure I like even anymore!”

It’s almost like, this negative cloud took over. Interesting. Isn’t that arguably the same thing that has happened to Orlin? To Grace?

Everyone is complaining that CIsco would never do this. That this is out of character.

That’s right. This isn’t Cisco.

Cisco in season 5 had very little agency. Remember? Agency. That thing he had in season 2. In season 3? Season 4?

Most of the decisions he’s made were through pressure or suggestion by other people. Caitlin and Cisco never had another conversation about the cure following 5x10 with the exception of 5x15 (but that wasn’t about him. Only Shay) until 5x22. Like at the end of 5x10 she offers to help make the cure with him because he wants it. And doesn’t question his feelings again. But then in between those episodes, everyone else is pressuring him to do things he isn’t comfortable or putting negative thoughts in his head.

Sherloque in 5x21, enhancing his insecurities, trying to convince the viewers Cisco never liked being Vibe. Ralph in 5x12, trying to get him to go out and meet people when he didn’t want to. Barry in Elseworlds, insisting on him using his powers. Cisco is bleeding after his vibes on the Monitor and only Kara asks if he’s okay. He says, very strained “No! No I’m not!!!” Nobody checked up on him after this?!?!??!?!?!!?!? (Also He GOT HIT BY A CAR AND JUST WALKED IT OFF?? —Whoops wrong essay). Ralph in 5x14 trying to get Cisco to use his Book of Ralph to impress Kamilla on his date. And Iris and Caitlin pushing Cisco to try again after he said he felt by the 53rd failed first date he shouldn’t bother trying.

Until 5x22 when Caitlin Injects him because he asked her too.

Also, to quote @manjehaal: What’s with him wanting to work on it alone all the time?

Anyway. All this to say.

Let’s go back to 5x03. They called it the death of vibe. But Cisco ended up getting his powers back in that episode. He lived. He was dampened but he survived. BUt. This isn’t about the death of Vibe. This is about the death of Cisco. The death of the part of him that loved vibe. His passion. His excitement. Him.

There was no reason to do that. WHY DOES THIS SHOW LOVE TO KILL CISCO SO MANY TIMES. 5 TIMES THEY’VE KILLED HIM NOW, BECAUSE YOU BETTER BELIEVE I’M INCLUDING THIS.

And!!! And!!!! To make Cisco so badass in that final fight. It was hurtful. To see him so confident. So strong. To see him be Vibe. The Vibe we could have seen all along.

If he doesn’t want to be Vibe. He doesn’t have to be (Also, Cisco was going to lose his powers with age anyway, something we learned through Breacher). It’s painful. But to take a cure. To make it sound like Cisco thinks he’s diseased. There was nothing to warrant that. Nothing. They just destroyed something that so many people love. People love Cisco. They love who he is. They love him as Cisco and they love him as Vibe. They love him as as a latino hero. Watching them axe Vibe like that. Emphasizing its permanence. It was gutting.

And I’m pissed.

#the flash #cisco ramon #5x22 #Vibe #the flash season 5 #meta #tkv rambles

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azurefishnets · 1 year ago

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Yuletide Letter 2023

Hello, friend!

I’m excited to have you join me for this Yuletide Exchange! I hope you find something that resonates with you here and thank you so much for taking this on! Feel free to mix and match as necessary; in all cases, all listed characters do not have to be included. I am 100% open to treats of all kinds, visual/non-writing included; they’ve been marked open for this exchange always.

You can always check out previous letters if the prompts here don’t grab you too. And, as always, please know that my order is alphabetical and doesn't mean I want any one canon or any one prompt over any other. If I've requested it for this exchange, it means I would be ecstatic to receive anything from any of them. My previous letters are also still good if there are prompts that speak to you from there!

Candy Hearts Exchange 2023 - Yuletide Letter (2022)

I am also azurefishnets on Ao3.

LIKES:

worldbuilding

sensory details (textures and smells especially)

unusual interactions (anything from slice of life to full adventure!)

puns and wordplay

cool symbolism & unexpected parallels

relationship level ups, whether that means platonic bonding or friends-to-more, etc

non-mundane AUs (no coffee shop, school, etc)

fandom crossovers or fusions (but taken seriously, not cracky unless specifically requested)

missing moments

emotional support/intimacy

demonstrations of physical caring/loyalty

OKAY WITH:

any tense

any amount of plot or none

out-of-the-ordinary story structures

any amount of dialogue from none to screenplay

character explorations

characters appearing that aren’t requested as long as it doesn’t go against my DNWs

DNWS:

non-requested romantic relationships, or ways of writing requested relationships as infidelity

hurt without comfort

underage relationships, non-canon children

pandemic stuff / terminal illness

any kinds of consent issues as regards developing a relationship

FINAL FANTASY VI

Celes

Terra

Edgar

Sabin

I wasn't expecting to see FFVI back on the list this year but the rules change means I'm going to lean hard into prompting More, since at any given time I’m probably thinking about this game. So many questions and trails left to explore! I still love the cast, the setting, the various unanswered questions, especially surrounding the War of the Magi, relics, and the Warring Triad. Any of these questions explored in context of prompts and characters would be exciting. The World of Ruin, with its reopening of old wounds, is especially interesting to me. Hidden secrets from an obscured past… please lean into this stuff!

This group is probably my most used party (min-maxers don't @ me, I like who I like) and I like it as much for the implied party dynamics as their combat usefulness! Estranged but reunited brothers becoming friends with the weird war crimes magic women is just unparalleled to me. Any moments between any two of them or three of them or four of them in any of the places where they actually could be in canon (or, if they are somehow traveling together post-canon) would be just wonderful. I particularly like caves, ruins, and/or links to the world that was...or the world that was before that, during the War of the Magi. A moment while escaping Kefka's Tower together would be cool, or post-canon reluctant adventurer Terra getting dragged along on some trip by the enthusiastic brothers (like maybe some found War of the Magi ruins or something? Beyond the ancient castle, that is. Or books from the Figaro library? I'd love to see ways Terra could reconnect with some aspect of her heritage via history either known or discovered). Or formerly magic ladies relearning how to do extremely mundane tasks together. Or, just, these extremely powerful and forceful people and then, there's Terra who is also extremely powerful but is also not terribly forceful...the other three might enjoy assertiveness training with her (whether she herself would enjoy that is up to you). Or I'm always happy to see these characters aging and trying to change the world in different ways this time...

Fandom DNW: Any romance between these characters. A lot of focus on slave crown times for Terra. Kefka as redeemable.

GHOST TRICK: PHANTOM DETECTIVE

Alma

Cabanela

Jowd

What I love about this triad, in both the romantic and platonic senses, is the sense of tension and balance; they're always kind of orbiting around each other and the game isn't shy about symbolic parallels, so they're just this incredible push-pull that just so happens to include a frankly amazing amount of (sometimes pretty unrequited) loyalty from Cabanela and, post-game, a lot of what I imagine as extremely awkward gratitude/heretofore unrealized attraction (???) on Jowd's part. Alma just happens to neatly fit in the middle as a fulcrum and (I'd hope anyway) sometime moderator/instigator, and how lucky that both she and Jowd have two hands!

As far as writing them goes, for prompt purposes you can split them, you can write just two of them or one of them and that’s just fine, as long as no infidelity is implied if and when you go in a romantic relationship route. I’m also OK with Cabanela being the world’s most fantastically annoying yet fantastically loyal friend to Alma/Jowd, if romance isn't your bag. All I really ask is that you put them in situations and make them figure it out (and possibly kiss. If so inclined. You know.)

If you're looking for prompts, I'm always excited for worldbuilding, although it's not specifically nominated, but there are so many things about this world they live in that are so interesting! There are robots! There are ghosts! There's some kind of cold war??? There are tiny submarines that can be run by only ten crewmen! I just think there are tons of situations you could throw my OT3 (or, I say conscientiously, my OTP+1) at. But slice of life situations are also extremely good, and I'm happy for fluff any time.

If you prefer visual prompts as a writing starter, I'm particularly taken with these excellent OT3 dynamic charts from @mcnuggy, especially F1, G2, K2 or K3, but really feel free to choose from your heart if you use these! (Jowd being pink (of course), Alma being blue (of course), and Cabanela being yellow (sorry, Cabs!They didn't have white or red!))

Fandom-specific DNWS: Cabanela & Yomiel friendship or reconciliation, having the old timeline be remembered by everyone, unexamined xenophobia if writing any person with blue skin.

LEGEND OF HEROES: CROSSBELL DUOLOGY

Any

I love this whole series! The worldbuilding, the lore, the fantastic slice of life moments… I'm Crossbell-only this time but I'm always fine with pulling in lore from the other arcs, although please mind my DNWs! But anyway, I especially love the interesting locations in Crossbell. The Stargazers’ Tower, the Temple of the Moon, the Ancient Battleground… feel free to explore some of the worldbuilding here! Or go more slice of life: I love the vibe and look of Armorica so much, but I'm also very fond of the west side of Crossbell City, Downtown, the harbor...

I'm fine with anyone or any group of someones from the tag set, and I'm fine with any of them being platonically friendly with each other but no ships here please. As far as dynamics go, I'm really interested in KeA's powers, as it were, as the Zero Child, versus KeA's powers of just being an adorable cutie. For instance: Dudley & KeA growing a reluctant (on his part) friendship, or Sergei becoming de facto uncle before he even really had time to register it... I also like, very much, the growth the SSS experiences in learning to make functional and caring found-familial relationships. Any moment exploring that, and/or exploring the SSS's bonds with each other rather than only theirs with Lloyd, would be great!

Fandom-specific DNWs: Romantic relationships between any of the tagged characters, spoilers from Reverie or Daybreak.

SABLE

Captain Singh

SARIN

Sable

Simoon

Worldbuilding

What I very much enjoyed about Sable, beyond the exploring and collecting elements (although those wonderful locations to explore!! The Eyrie! The Crystal Plateau! The Bridge of the Betrayed!! You could worldbuild me right into delight by merely exploring the setting of Sable and I would love it. Anyway...) was the huge selection of unsolved mysteries, from the revelations at the Watch, the presence of the multitude of remains from the wars against the Wyrms (not to mention the implications about Wyrms and hoverbikes), the Hicaric remains' entire deal, the Chum Queen, the Mask Casters, SARIN...nothing is ever fully explored here and I love that tension of what the player discovers vs what Sable just knows and accepts about her world. As said before, you could worldbuild any amount of things and make implications about Midden and I would be delighted, but if you can also somehow capture that feeling of Sable (or some other Glider) exploring that communal memory and experience. It's really implied that the Gliders don't and can't discover anything particularly new in this little corner of Midden--but the Chums may belie that, at least for Sable? It feels like she has an entirely unexplored path if she goes down the Chum Priestess road.

As far as actual prompts go, there's so much I want to know still that I hardly know where to begin. It was a devastating realization that Simoon had to go back to the Ibexii tribes; it truly felt like Sable had to say goodbye to absolutely everything she knew in order to become an adult. If it's like that for every Glider, it's no wonder that some might choose never to return rather than formally give that up. What might one of those wandering Gliders' lives entail? What does one do when your only purpose is never to have to let go of being a child but in doing so one has to truly let go of everything? It's kind of like Peter Pan and I wonder if there are diegetic tales of wandering Gliders used to teach lessons.

There's also the question of Simoon and her possible sentience; what does she remember of her former companions? When she is reset back to basic parts does she lose that experience? Does she feel any connection to the Wyrms, or to the Hicarics?

I would also like to know more about Captain Singh and SARIN. What was their relationship like as the humans had to fight for survival on Midden, as they had to adapt and learn to live with the Perpetual and the presumable radiation/dust which posed them such a threat that they adopted the mask traditions as first a protectant and then a matter of culture? SARIN's overseen so many generations--did it know when it was forgotten? Does a hologram dream of electric ships?

Finally, I'm awfully interested (and pretty saddened) in what drives these people to maintain a capitalist economy when the land is so harsh and they would be much better served with a mutual aid and support system that does not require currency in order to function...they are so few in number and resources are so sparse. Just...why? It seriously broke my heart when I realized that the Ibexii live where they live because they can't afford anything else. Simply? That's fucked up and I want to know more.

SEA OF STARS

Garl

Valere

Zale

Worldbuilding

Oh, this game grabbed me and it grabbed me hard. Of course the parallels and references to Chrono Trigger and other classic RPGs got me but I also got grabbed pretty hard by Garl/Valere/Zale. Like...the sheer loyalty of them to each other. The saving of a simple clay cookie jar for nearly ten years in the hope they'd see each other again. The sacrifice. BOTH sacrifices. The tearful parting and equally (on my part anyway) teary-eyed reunion, only to be literally star-crossed lovers for most of the rest of Garl's life except for that one day a year and then Solen and Luana doing their immortal duty until they are, at last, forgotten (Although I have my own thoughts on The Messenger continuity tbh). The parallels and paradox of godlike immortality against someone who has seen death and come back. That's one experience they can never share, and man the tension could be delicious... Anyway. Yeah. T-T Do you see my vision. Do you understand their tragedy.

Um, anyway, I'm also really really interested in the world Studio Sabotage appears to be building here. I watched a longplay of The Messenger and I'm catching up with the ARG and man there is a ton of connecting lore! But I'm definitely more interested, at least for now, in the present and near future of both worlds that we see in Sea of Stars. The presence of Garl and the diverging timeline Re'shan created suggests that they're now heading toward a different future than the Messenger's...

Anyway. Exploring one of those birthdays where they're all getting older but only Garl looks it...some kind of slice of life or small adventure there would be cool. Or Mirth over the years? Or Mooncradle, now that there are no more Solstice Warriors to cradle...how does Garl change things there...? Or, heck, vignettes from the Garl & Wentworth world tour after Valere and Zale leave! He barely got to see the Sky Kingdom and that's just unfair.... Or maybe stuff as Garl nears the end of his second life and they meet for the last time... I'm OK with leaning into a bit more tragedy here because it's just so damn compelling to me to explore their changing dynamic over time.

Also, if you enjoy visual prompts, the same dynamics charts from earlier might be helpful here! No specific thoughts on color choices here but I do like Valere and Zale getting to have more character and life than we really see in-game. Them getting to be silly or teasing would be a welcome shift from how serious they have to be all the time (and man, isn't that a tragedy in itself? They never even really got to be kids or even non-Solstice Warriors at all, despite what Erlina and Brugaves tried to achieve with their (really stupid) plan. Aephorul truly won there...)

Or, if you do not want to write the triad, please feel free to lean hard into worldbuilding. I'm fascinated by the Queen That Was, the abandoned bird cult buildings, the Lost Ones enclave... the Docarri ruins, the Clockwork Castle, the swamp... all the locations are honestly so good and so compelling you could do anything set in them or exploring their purposes and I'd be very happy!

Fandom-specific DNWs: Valere and Zale being interchangeable paper-dolls, writing them as though there is huge age-difference after Valere and Zale stop visibly aging, Valere/Zale & Garl, any of the villains (if they even come up) being treated without nuance or acknowledgement of the complexities therein.

I can’t wait to see whatever you do! Thanks again for reading and see you on Yuletide!

#writing af #yuletide letter 2023

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laughingpinecone · 5 years ago

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Yuletide letter!

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (doubly so if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, outsider POV, UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night

Any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, canon divergences, non-mundane AUs (space opera! high fantasy! new weird also), deep lore, unrequested characters popping up - please do go wild with the & combos!

Blanket crossover prompt with Untitled Goose Game: set that goose loose anywhere and ruin anyone’s day. Tariq and select Twin Peaks characters who are not Albert (Margaret, Laura...) may hope to tame and befriend the goose; anyone else better get wrecked. Capitalism may also get wrecked while Kentucky Route Zero characters popcorn.gif nearby

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, canon retellings, unrequested ships (I listed all the ships I like for each fandom. Outside of those, I’d prefer if other canon characters weren’t shipped, unless they’re like, canon engaged/married)

Dark Souls 1: Solaire of Astora

I’m only familiar with the first game! It’s probably relevant to mention that I think that linking the fire is kind of a dumbass move, Gwyn is a jerk, Kaathe has his own agenda and there’s no winning move in this world, or at least no obvious one. And amidst all this nonsense, Solaire just shines, pure of heart and dumb of ass like the best of ‘em. I love his kindness in this cruelest of worlds and I love the sad edge he’s got even earlier on when he admits to being seen as weird.

I would enjoy a bittersweet ending for him but I realize both of his endings are deeply entrenched in his themes so it’s hard to make him steer clear of either of those. If you can figure out how to make him not link the Flame or survive the ordeal, I’m all ears! I like a sense of purpose being the thing that can stave off hollowing, and I like characters helping other characters finding that sense of purpose within themselves. Focus on scenery always welcome, and if you want to make up a location, that’s great too!

I’d be super happy with a story set during Solaire’s time in Lordran that simply doesn’t mention his endings, anyway. Maybe he’s the one who helps someone else while his own tragedy keeps looming on the horizon. Striking up friendships in the face of a crapsack world! Meeting people through Lordran’s temporal/dimensional fuckery, where it’s possible to cross the path of warriors who have been gone for ages… could Solaire meet either or both Catarina knights (there’s so much great art about sun bro and onion bro but where’s the fic?), or do the grumpy grump&ray of sunshine routine with Logan, or meet Artorias or even Gwyn before he linked the Flame - or himself? What if he met Kaathe?

Ships: none really? Solaire/Chosen Undead but I don’t really like to read about customizable protagonists in fic so I’d rather not get fic featuring the CU. I’m all about the & character combos here.

Ghost Trick: Cabanela, Jowd

I love Cabanela being fierce and dazzling bright and determined and loyal to the very end, dancing to his own rhythm, so sure of himself and of his ideas that he doesn’t even need to prove to anyone that he’s right. Too sure of the wrong idea, once, and everything crashed and burned. And I love Jowd being the immovable object to Cabanela’s unstoppable force, a suicidal trainwreck of guilt with the gallows humor to show for it, and also incredibly smart (both jerks figured out Sissel’s powers better than Sissel did, that’s... something) and athletic and with an unsuspected talent for stealth.

I am very interested in various characters finding about the erased timeline, but not getting their memories back, and having to live with being told about what they did but never remembering it. Touch-starved Jowd in the new timeline is a surefire hit (or maybe Cabanela if he’s the one who came back and kept the memories of the old timeline). Touchy-feely Cabanela as kind of his baseline with the people he likes. All what-ifs welcome:what if they managed an acceptable happy ending but didn’t reset the timeline, what if Alma’s ghost stuck around… I’m also wondering about either of them ending up undead via Temsik shard - how would they take these developments (I’m assuming better than Yomiel did but the bar is admittedly low), did Cabanela do it on purpose for whatever sensible-if-you-are-Cabanela reason, what does it change in their relationship, what are the practical pros and cons of the situation here. UFO adventures with Pigeon Man! Lynne teaming up with either of them against the other! Sissel death-averting action if either/both of them die or just regular cat action! Spy stuff! Daring rescues! My forever prompt of Jowd being the one who gets a chance to prove his loyalty to Cabanela for once. Dancing.

Please no Yomiel. Nothing against the guy I’m just getting an overdose of him through RPing.

Ships: Alma/Cabanela/Jowd and all sides thereof, but when it splits the canon couple I only like it when the missing spouse is dead or otherwise unavailable, hopefully with a reset on the horizon. If you want to go for a Cabanela&Alma or Cabanela/Alma who are strongly motivated by a dead or jailed Jowd, I’m good with him not actively appearing in the fic. Alma/Jowd & Cabanela is excellent in all scenarios. I’m good with explicitly non-romantic takes on Jowd&Cabs but please keep their bond strong, and please no conflicting ship for Cabanela. Lynne/Memry!

Kentucky Route Zero: Any (Lula Chamberlain, Joseph Wheattree, Donald kentuckyroutezero, Weaver Màrquez)

(if enough of us request it, will some Murphy corollary guarantee that Act V will come out between now and reveals just to mess with the Yuletide schedule? If it does, I’ll be playing it immediately and probably add a few thoughts and prompts here for kicks, at the end of this section, after a spoiler warning. Obviously feel free to stick to canon up to Un Pueblo De Nada)

I’m all for exploration of any of the game’s themes and for including any staples from adjacent genres - wanna go full-on American Gothic? Dip into surrealism? Take a leaf from Twin Peaks with tulpa / split narratives to explore the characters’ issues? I can’t think of any specific AUs for the disaster trio + disaster soloist here, but I generally love AUs so if you want to sidestep the inconvenience of an incomplete canon that way, be my guest! Or of course there’s Xanadu at the height of its glory, an infinite what-ifs generator. Was Weaver ever part of it, what was this digital Weaver up to? A Xanadu narrative would be great! A good fit for IF, too? I’d love to hear about any new spot along the Zero or the Echo river, or an expansion of some place that’s only mentioned by Will in HATATE or only gets a few paragraphs of text. Lula getting ideas for a new installation, or an article talking about her work? Donald listening to Static between stations somehow (Donald being constantly high as a kite as per this)? Joseph who went back to the surface finds himself near an entrance to the Zero somewhere? A collection of Weaver-isms? Feel free to bring in anyone else from any part of canon.

Ships: “Flipping through the pages, Conway is able to gather that it's a story about three characters: Joseph, Donald, and Lula. It's something like a tragic love triangle, but much more complex. Some kind of tangled, painfully concave love polygon.” 😬 that one, as a full triad, regrettably since they don’t seem too inclined to get reunited and stay that way. If you can nudge them, good. But I’m very open to non-romantic resolutions as well, going past their messy feelings to find each other as friends after so many years maybe. For Weaver, I’m interested in all her & relationships (seriously. Weaver & Cate. Weaver & EmilyBen&Bob. Weaver & Slow Moe Crow.) but nothing shippy. Conway/Lysette, Junebug/Johnny(/Shannon?).

The Last Remnant: David Nassau, Pagus

I’m very interested in post-game exploration, and getting a clearer feeling of any of the cities and assorted places that populate this fascinating world. I like the whole party with their characterization based on battle quotes, red bubble dialogues, and even their unique stat (‘authority’ is a natural fit for David but ‘romance’ tells me something new about Sibal!) Character interaction. Bit of worldbuilding. What’s another festival they celebrate? Do they erect something else instead of the Valeria Heart? Any fun discoveries down in Siebenbur? Where the hell IS Veyriel, anyway, do they go look for it and if so what do they find out? End of an age. Old bonds.

I ache for David who fought so valiantly as a warrior and as a politician only to be slapped in the face with the unexpected loss Emma first and then Rush, right as they were ready to claim their victory and as he would have to start coming to terms with the idea that maybe without the Gae Bolg he wouldn’t die young. At least his Generals are still with him - out of them, all of whom I adore, I picked Pagus because Qsiti are cool. And Pagus in particular is the coolest (”I know that fine qsiti... That large, reticent mouth, the laugh lines around the eyes...“ he’s FINE it’s CANON!). So I’d like to see how David bounces off Pagus in particular, what their bond is like, what he thinks of whatever aspect of Qsiti culture.

Ships: postcanon David/Rush, possibly with an emphasis on Rush’s nature as a remnant? I am also fond of Pagus/Sibal/Maddox, there are more prompts for them in my #letters tag!

Pyre: Volfred Sandalwood, Tariq The Lone Minstrel

Oh the burning found family feelings, the revolutionary passion, the tension between topside social constraints (moreso for liberated exiles, thrust into heroic roles after the revolution) and the kind of freedom allowed by the Downside! I love all the themes, the solemnity, the heart of this game. I’ve been waiting for a character like Tariq all my life, a minstrel who’s otherworldly soft and just a lil bit eldritch. Volfred as well, he just hits my perfect ratio of “noble intentions” to “scheming to a fault”. Like, the percentages in his planner are pointless for gameplay since the ending just depends on the number of Nightwings sent topside at the end - so it’s just there for his characterization, he’s the sort of person who assigns percentages to people, nbd. ...for a good cause! That said, I would die for anyone in that Blackwagon+Dalbert+Celeste, so if you want to write in someone else as well, please do! (otoh if you maybe want to dunk on Brighton or Manley, I don’t like bashing but canon levels of love-to-hate-them would be fun)

Thoughts about finding oneself at the end of an age, as everything crumbles down to form something new. The titan stars. History nerd Volfred, “aye sir, I was there” Tariq. Conversations with Dalbert. Or with Sandra? Any postcanon very welcome with any combination of endings as long as the revolution was peaceful. Please do lean into the xeno headcanons if you enjoy them! Even for gen, I like to read what it’s like to be something other than human and these two are very much not human in different and intriguing ways. Or, Volfred’s zodiac sign is Cancer and Cancer is ruled by the Moon, so there’s that. I also love how they both hold the other in the highest esteem, especially on Tariq’s part since he’s the immortal Herald of the Scribes and Volfred is, all in all, a history teacher, but listen to him and you’d think the roles were inverted. I love my nonviolent canon but could anything happen to either of them that may require a rescue, and/or some good old-fashioned h/c? What’s something that could make Tariq of all people lose it? How’s life 100 years on?

For a funnier mood, picture Volfred trying to figure out how to flirt with Tariq with percentages, planners and all. He could just ask him but no, it’s convoluted plan or bust. Or, conversely, Tariq’s increasingly direct hints that he’s interested, but they’re still ‘increasingly direct’ for Tariq standards, so, not at all, undetectable even by Volfred who can get pretty damningly indirect himself.

Ships: Volfred/Tariq, Volfred/Oralech, some form of Oralech/Volfred/Tariq (more of a Volfred-centric V but I would like to be convinced of the Oralech/Tariq side of things), Celeste/Jodariel, Hedwyn/Fikani and Pamitha/Bertrude.

Twin Peaks: Albert Rosenfield

Case fic but they don’t find out jack shit, someone disappears, David Bowie was there, it’s complicated. Fragmented, shifted, mirrored identities. New Lodge spaces. The risks of staring into the void for too long. Gentle illusions. Transcendence. The moon. Static buzzing. Any title from the s3 ethereal whooshing compilation used as a prompt, actually. Twin Peaks is all about the mystery to me, the awe of mystery and unknowability and the human drive to look beyond and the risks of getting a peek, and about shared consciousness and trauma taking physical form and about the warmth of human connections in an uncaring world. Go wild with the ethereal whooshing!

I love Albert and he breaks my heart, a pacifist who ends his arc shooting his oldest remaining friend after life sucked all the passion and most of the idealism out of him. Is shooting Diane just to see Cooper come back, get her back and disappear with her again trauma enough to make him split? I’d be interested in reading about it, or any other take on his unwavering loyalty to Gordon which should maybe waver after Gordon’s admission that he’s lied to him for 25 years and the aforementioned unmitigated disaster of an ending. But I’m also very interested in his life apart from the disaster that is Blue Rose and his heartbreaking search for Cooper: did he keep in touch with Harry throughout the years, what did they talk about? Was he ever dragged along for a hike in the woods and did something weird happen there? We know he kept in touch with Diane, what did THEY talk about? Does he go on a journey of his own to find her after the ending? Does Tammy come along, do they see each other as friends other than mentor and protégé? What was Phil like as a co-boss back in the day? Did he get a small victory over Windom at some point (maybe even in the present day, given Kenneth Welsh’s recent wonderful interview where he’s adamant that Windom lives)? Does Laura ever visit him in some ghostly manner? He and Denise look like a great duo for a case and/or office shenanigans. We know from TFD that he’s a big jazz enthusiast, something about that? When does he cave in and just accept some aspects of Coop’s investigative method? Just set him loose on another unsuspecting character and I’ll be happy.

If Coop comes back (and I’d love for Coop to come back), I would like it if he came back on his own thanks to having sorted out his crap. After s3, I am not interested in stories about any other character saving Cooper. Albert’s got his wounds to lick dangit. And he’s got friends who can be by his side! ...I do love his dynamic with Coop so much, though. Sigh. I do miss that bastard. Anyway.

Ships: Albert/Coop/Harry and sides thereof, Tammy/Cynthia, Gordon/Phil, Diane/Constance, Lucy/Andy, Chet/Sam.

Canon-specific DNWs: any singular Dreamer being the ‘source’ of canon, BOB (let alone Judy) being forever defeated in the finale, Judy being an active malevolent presence in the characters’ lives, clear explanations for canonical ambiguities, ‘Odessaverse’ being the reality layer, the Fireman’s House by the Sea being the White Lodge, anything that 4 hours video says is the explanation of Twin Peaks

#letter #yuletide 2019

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