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bluebellofbakerstreet · 5 months

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A-Z Sherlock Fan Fiction Tropes Bingo

Many thanks to @swissmissing for creating this bingo card! Because I'm like that, I decided to go for a blackout bingo! And because, even as I was typing these, I kept thinking of more wonderful fics that would fit the brief, I hope to fill in my bingo card again. Writers are amazing and deserve to be lauded, and I have left off so many amazing fics and authors. Besides, we all need fic recs. 💙

AU/Amnesia The Murder of Emory J Amat by chriscalledmesweetie. Sherlock and John in 1920's AgathaChristieLand. It's a WIP but is currently updating weekly. (52k, T)

BDSM/Bodyswap - Certain Skills by NoStraightLine. John expressly told Sherlock that if he stole his gun again he’d get the fucking he was asking for. Sherlock “Boundaries Are Boring” Holmes stole John’s gun. (3k, E)

Crossover/Crack - Repo Men by Anyawen. In which Mrs Turner's married ones are James Bond and Q. Q is kidnapped; everybody is a BAMF. (7k, G)

Domestic/Disability A Building of Bridges by pengke. Alternate first meeting. No one would ever send Sherlock in to defuse a stand-off; but on one unlikely day, that’s exactly what happened. “Congratulations, Lestrade,” he called out sarcastically. “You’re traumatizing a war veteran.” (11k, G)

Established Relationship/Enemies to Lovers - Interview by bluebellofbakerstreet. In which the boys are in an 80's punk band, and are being interviewed by Rolling Stone. (2k, G)

Future/Fluff 50. Be You - No one Else Can by KittenKin. John's had a bad day and Sherlock doesn't know how to help. They both feel better at the end, and you will, too. (1k, G)

Gen/Genderswap - The Art of Communication by stillwaters01. Lestrade is receiving odd texts from Sherlock; he reads between the lines and brings help. (2k, T)

Historical/Humor - Acceptable Behavior by bbcatemysoul. Sherlock isn't really sure why John wants to shag him, but he's certain that if he's careful to behave properly about it, John can be persuaded to keep doing it. (3k, M)

Illness/imprisonment - Radioactive Trees in a Red Forest by Maribor_Petrichor. Harrowing account of John's battle with mental health issues and addiction after - you know - everything. (280k, E)

Jealousy/Jilted - Hungry by LipstickDaddy. John can't figure out why Sherlock is being so nice to that new guy working with the yard. (7k, G)

Kids/Kink - The Alchemy of Sea Glass by reveling_in_mayhem. Salt and air and sand surrounded their little party of three. Crashing waves, gull cries, and the exhilarated exclamations of an excited three-year-old served as the soundtrack to a day filled with blue skies and bright sunshine. (22k, E)

Long/Love Triangle The Edinburgh Problem by snorklepie. “A nice holiday, just a bit more...murdery. ” John said drily. “Yes! The best kind of holiday!” Sherlock beamed. “So we won’t get bored!” (152k, E)

Magical Realism/Major Character Death Left by LifeonMars. John Watson is left-handed. He’s tried not to let it affect his life, but as any Lefty knows, that’s almost impossible. (45k, M)

NSFW/Next Gen. Warzone by abundantlyqueer. Three smutty stories that pick up where the first two episodes left off. (13k, E)

Omegaverse/Only One Bed - Scars Don't Lie by CumberCurlyGirl. The prospect of going undercover as husbands to a couples retreat is just too enticing to refuse. (33k, M)

Parenthood/Platonic The Man With the Cartier Frames by JRow. Sherlock's top priority is The Work, just as it's always been ... in between trips to Putney to help with Rosie, collecting Rosie from school, and preparing for Rosie's sleepover at Baker Street. (32k, T)

Queer/Quest Dance With Me by TotallySilverGirl. Sherlock's queer quest for johnlock requires dancing, and some help from Sally Donovan. (28k, E)

Retirement/Road Trip - The Winter Garden by Callie4180. As Sherlock nears the end of his career, he's given the gift of a cottage in Sussex. The honey from the beehives out back is amazing. Almost...magical. (31k, T)

Soulmates/Slow Burn Soul Mate by Mottlemoth. Mystrade. The words appeared on Mycroft's arm aged fourteen. He's now lived with the unfortunate words all his life, not certain that he even wishes to meet his soul mate if that's how the man talks. (4k, T)

Teen AU/Time Travel - The Curious Adventure of the Drs Watson by ShinySherlock. What if ACD Watson and BBC Watson switched places? (40k, M)

Undercover/Unrequited - Last Call at the Homesick Pub by Chryse. During the hiatus, Sherlock is both undercover and suffering from unrequited love. (3k, T)

Vampires/Villain POV - Nine Tenths of the Law by bendingsignpost. John knows what's his - of course he'll kill for it. (Modern vampire AU) (18k, M)

Whump/Werewolves When Your Belly’s in the Trench by Morgan_Stuart. The next time that door opens, John Watson will kill the person on the other side. (4k, T)

Xenomorphism/Xmas - Ghost Stories by SwissMiss. Sherlock's parents think he and John are a couple. They might be onto something. (22k, M)

Zombies/Zoomorphism - Aim for the Head by Breath4Soul. Sometimes you don't really find yourself until everything has ended.A fic about finding love, healing, and purpose after everything has gone to hell. Still a WIP, but worth it. (44k, M)

#fic recs #I reserve the right to interpret categories as I see fit #writers are amazing

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stitching-in-time · 2 months

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Finished Star Trek: Prodigy season 2! Overall, I loved it, it was everything I hoped for, and then some. I love time travel paradoxes and alternate universes and that kind of stuff, so this season's story arc was right up my alley, and I think they did it just right. From story, to visuals, to character development, this whole season was just mindblowing the whole way through. The very ending leaves me trepidatious for the future, unfortunately, but I still very much want another season, and I want to celebrate what a monumental achievement season 2 is, both as thing unto itself, and as an epic expansion of what Star Trek can be.

Thoughts and analysis (with major spoilers!) below!

The biggest things for me this season were how Dal and Gwyn grew as characters, Janeway and Chakotay's relationship becoming even more of a central thing, and my boy Wesley Crusher returning as basically a Time Lord to help the Protostar kids save the timeline. As a Next Gen fan, I can't begin to describe how much it means to see Wesley again, and know that he's still out there, doing good in the universe, like I always knew he would. Beverly Crusher raised a good kid! As fans, we always joked about how Wesley Crusher is a Time Lord now, and now Prodigy said, yeah, he really is! That's what the Travellers do! They're literally like the Time Lords in Doctor Who, but with more hands on helping and fixing things, and I'm like yes, perfect!! I couldn't have asked for better, honestly, and Wil Wheaton does a terrific job as manic pixie Time Lord Wesley (there's no other way to describe him lol) without losing the essence of the Wesley we knew. After the horrible, hurtful disappointment of what they did with Picard and the rest of the Next Gen crew in the Picard series, seeing at least one of my first Trek crew getting the respectful treatment their character deserves means, so, so much to me, I can't even begin. My boy Wes! I love him!! (But dude- call your Mom ffs! Janeway is such a space mom herself for calling him on that. The scene at the end where Wes and Beverly hug was EVERYTHING to me. I cried. 30 years I have waited for that!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!)

Gwyn and Dal's character arcs this year were great too. Gwyn always had the commanding presence that said 'captain' to me, from the beginning. Much as I like Dal, I felt like it didn't make sense for him to be the captain, given his personality and experience, and it kind of seemed like they gave him that because the lead character always has to be a boy, by default, in any children's media that isn't explicitly aimed primarily at girls. But seeing how it shifted this season was really wonderful. How Gwyn stepped up to be a leader, and how Dal realized that being the right hand of someone you trust and respect is just as important a role as being the one in charge, was lovely, and paralleled the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay. Gwyn and Dal are kind of coming from opposite ends of the childhood trauma spectrum; Gwyn being forced to ignore her own judgement, and obey her father's commands without question; and Dal, being undervalued by his surrogate mother, being told and shown by her that he's unimportant and uneeded. The positions that they came to here, as a Captain and her Number One, and are the direct opposite of the roles their parents forced on them, and the exact places they need to be to overcome those negative beliefs and let their true natures shine through. It's so good!! And they actually talked to each other about their relationship! (or at least tried before they got interrupted.) That's honestly way more emotionally mature of them than almost any other romantic pairing in Trek! The kids are all right!! And I love that Gwyn is taller than Dal, and nobody cares. I can't think of the last time I saw a show where a girl being tall wasn't presented as a problem for her boyfriend to be insecure and crappy about it. Not making girls feel bad for being tall, and not making boys insecure about being short, is so important, especially in a show aimed at kids. Way to break down those gendered stereotypes!!

Janeway and Chakotay got so much to do this season, and I loved every minute of it. I love that Prodigy is basically a Voyager sequel. Janeway in the Captain's chair on a new Voyager is like, a dream come true, and seeing Voyager characters again is a special thrill for those of us who grew up with them and love them. (Ngl I was thrilled that my boy Tom Paris got namedropped twice! And so much yes to having him design the Nova Flyers!!! I've always headcanoned that Tom and B'Elanna stayed on Earth after Voyager and designed ships and warp engines and stuff at Starfleet HQ so they could give their kids a more stable childhood, and I'm beyond thrilled and thankful to have that somewhat canonized!!) I kinda wish it had been Tuvok rather than the Doctor along for this voyage, since he's Janeway's best friend, but the Andorian guy (Tysis? Why can't I remember his name??) does remind me of Tuvok a lot, so it might have been an odd vibe to have two similar characters. And anyway having the Doctor along did prove useful to the mission later on. (Though I don't know what it is, but the voice Robert Picardo uses for the Doctor on Prodigy is off, somehow- it's higher pitched, and the cadence is different. If I didn't know it was him, I'd think it was a different actor, and it's pretty distracting. But luckily the Doctor was mostly just there to be comic relief, and didn't have a ton of scenes.)

The character who surprised me the most here, though, was Chakotay. I like him a lot better on Prodigy than I ever did on Voyager. It's not even that I disliked him before, so much as that I feel the writing wasn't always there for him, and that they didn't really care to fully flesh him out and make his characterization consistent. His love for Janeway was one of the only things about him that was consistent, and they really highlighted that aspect here. I've never been much of a Janeway/Chakotay shipper, but I'm shipping it now. I know the die hard J/C shippers are probably livid that we didn't get a kiss or a direct acknowlegement of their feelings this season, and from the way it was going, I don't blame them, I expected it too. But I feel like Prodigy's writers aren't dumb enough to tease it so heavily without paying it off- I'd wager they're playing the long game and saving it for later, what with all the insanely shippy stuff going on between them here. The pda! The longing! That reunion scene! Heck, even Starfleet command knows they have a thing going on, and that Janeway can't be normal about Chakotay! Even the kids give them looks like they know there's something going on between them! The parallels between them and Dal and Gwyn, who already are a romantic couple, make it pretty obvious that Janeway and Chakotay are like a template for them to emulate. I didn't care one way or another about whether Janeway/Chakotay became a thing when this season started, but now I'm invested. They're in love, just admit it!

I love that they added Ma'jel to the Protostar gang, it's nice to have another girl to balance things more. And the fact that they named her after Majel Barrett hits me straight in the heart. So much love for the OG queen of Star Trek!!

I really appreciated Gwyn getting the chance to meet the younger version of her father, and get the chance to recieve some kindness and care from him, at last. I hope now that the timeline is different, she'll be able to have a better relationship with him at last. (I'm still not entirely sure how Gwyn can exist now that he's not going back to become the Diviner in the new timeline, but I think maybe it's some sort of alternate timeline/parallel universe stuff?? That's the one part of the timey wimey plot I was a little fuzzy on, but honestly the rest of it is so awesome that I don't even care that much.)

One of the few things that I disliked this season was Voyager A having a 'cetacean ops' tank on board. It was fine on Lower Decks because it's a comedy, so I don't take anything that happens there too seriously. (I just thought it was a SeaQuest joke, tbh.) But for a drama series, it really bothers me that Starfleet would take wild animals from their homes and plunk them on a starship. Even though they can communicate with the whales now, so we infer that the whale consented to be there, it seems incredibly unlikely that any wild creature would chose to live in a tiny tank away from their ecosystem and others of their kind. Animal captivity is not a cool thing to be promoting in this day and age, so I hope that will go away, and we won't have to see any more of that.

The biggest problem I had with this season though, was all of the references to stuff from Picard at the very end. Worse still than animal captivity was Picard's horrible storyline about using slaves to build Starfleet ships. It's like the writers on that show had never seen an episode of Star Trek in their lives, and had no idea what it's even about. They literally referenced the Next Gen episode 'The Measure of a Man', so they must have seen it, and yet they totally ignored it's message that androids aren't property, and it's assertion that creating an army of android slaves would abominable, and against everything the Federation stands for. The whole point of that episode was that they established the legal precedent to prevent that. To turn around and have that happen is a huge betrayal of the optimistic spirit of the show, and a shows a deep misunderstanding of all of the characters. You cannot sit there and tell me that any of the characters we know would sit idly by and let the Federation institute slavery. You can't convince me that they would just go on with their lives like everything was fine while that was happening around them. You can't tell me Starfleet wouldn't have a wave of resignations in mass protest, that there wouldn't have been protests all over Earth to stop it. Just casually dropping something as horrific as 'oh, our android slaves rebelled and blew up the fleet we forced them to build for us' in the middle of a show aimed at children is deeply disturbing, and deeply wrong- allowing slavery in the Federation negates everything it is, and demolishes Star Trek as a beacon of hope for the future.

I'm very worried for Prodigy's future if it's going to take place in that awful reality, for which there is absolutely no excuse or explanation that can be had to justify it. I'm absolutely horrified to think that it might become the status quo that we're just supposed to accept, but conversely, if they don't gloss over it, if they look at it head on, in all it's horror, there's no way to deny that everything that Starfleet and the Federation stand for is a lie. There's just no good way forward with it, I fear. If the Protostar gang were to find out that someone was messing with the timeline to create that reality in the first place, and that they had to go back to stop it from happening, and erase that timeline from existence, then I could be okay with it, but I doubt they'd do another time paradox plot so soon. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to love Prodigy anymore either, because it will have let me down, just like Picard did.

I desperately hope this season wasn't Prodigy's pinnacle, and that it will continue to believe in hope and kindness and the possibility of a better future, and to fight against the cruelty and cynicism that Picard's writers poisoned the Star Trek universe with. I care about these characters, and this world, and I want to see more of them. I would love a third season, but only if it lives up to Star Trek's ideals of love and equality and compassion. Prodigy has been such a bright spot for me, I've come to love this new crew, and being able to see my beloved Voyager crew members still out there being heroic, and being happy. I hope it can continue to be that bright spot. Based on what wonderful things I've seen overall in these first two seasons, I'm going to choose to have faith that it will.

Here's hoping we get a season 3 that's just as amazing!

#star trek: prodigy #prodigy spoilers #prodigy season 2 #star trek prodigy spoilers

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thevioletcaptain · 1 month

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Day three of the @spnficrecfest was in fact... several days ago. Apparently I'm destined to run late throughout this entire thing, but better late than never, I guess! Here are five of my favorite Dean/Cas fics over 50k words. Some of these would also fit into other lists, but I'm going to try not to double up.

Clean Air by anactoria Explicit | 121k | 💨

Set in a post-apocalyptic future where what's left of humanity lives deep underground, this is the kind of atmospheric sci-fi that I'm always thrilled to find in fic. This AU was written for the DCBB in 2014, and is a fusion with Hugh Howey's Wool trilogy, which has since been adapted into the Apple series Silo. I'm yet to dig into either the books or the show, so anactoria's fic is still the only version of this particular universe that I'm familiar with, and it's stuck with me for a decade.

For All You Young Hockey Players Out There, Pay Attention by thursdaysfallenangel Explicit | 146k | ⛸️

Listen. If you haven't already read THEE professional hockey player enemies-to-lovers Dean/Cas masterpiece that is this fic, I don't know what to tell you. Go read it. That's all.

PWP: Pie Without Plot by MajorEnglishEsquire & orange_crushed Mature | 82k | 👨‍🍳

Sometimes, you'll read a fic that so perfectly and sensually describes the process of baking that you'll think about it every time you so much as see focaccia for the next eleven years. This is a canonverse fic diverging from season eight, in which Dean goes "undercover" as a . And I'm really not joking about the focaccia thing -- literally every single time. For almost eleven years.

What It Means to Be Alive by LeandraLocke Explicit | 132k | 🏖️

This post-canon fic sees Dean taking a road trip, healing from a lifetime of trauma, grieving for Cas, and figuring some things out through an unexpected relationship with a man he meets in Mexico... and then Cas comes back to life. Definitely one to check out if you've never read it before!

some blueberry pie life by soft_pine Mature | 172k (so far) | 🥧

A sprawling, achy, wonderful character study that fits into all the gaps of canon. I adore the way Pine writes, and this fic is a forever fave. Yes it's a WIP, but as Pine describes it, it's really a bunch of oneshots in a trenchcoat, so don't let that stop you.

Check under the cut for links to all of the rec lists I make for this fest! I'll update with new links as I post them :)

Day One - Purgatory Era Day Two - Dean's Canon Kinks Day Three - Long Fics Day Four - Alternate Universes Day Five - Rare Pairs Day Six - Case Fics Day Seven - Tropes Day Eight - Gen Fics Day Nine - Vintage Fics Day Ten - Coda Fics Day Eleven - Mystery List

#spnficrecfest #dean/cas fic recs #deancas fic recs #destiel fic recs #the deancas of it all #fandom: supernatural

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walnutcookie · 1 month

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Can you give me your Linzer lore I'm now very interested in what it is

IVE PUT THIS OFF FOR SO LONG..... Im gonna be honest my linzer lore is a LOOT to explain so i think that the best way to explain it would be to just give a shorter summary X]

(rbs ok!) SO. this all began from the way that linzer just gets like a prophetic dream in the middle of the holiday express event and it NEVER GETS EXPLAINED?? so i gave it an explanation! though it is more fun than just linzer getting simple visions of the future <3

SO. for those who dont know linzer shes a famous author who is most known for her detective novel series with a character named miss waffle :]c

while i DO think linzer still writes creative stories the miss waffle series is practically a diary where she retells her own experiences being miss waffle!!! Her consciousness is linked between two different alternate universes which i have dubbed universe A and universe B (Averse and Bverse for short) :] how it works is linzer falls asleep in Averse, then wakes up in Bverse as miss waffle, and vice versa. the timelines are in sync of course though the events dont happen at the same time as shes experiencing it - she only switches when she loses consciousness, so if shes asleep for lets say 8 hours in Averse time, she will still wake up 8 hours later, even if she was awake for 19 hours in Bverse. therefore, it could be monday when she falls asleep in one universe and then she wakes up on a friday in the other universe !!! (i hope this makes sense, im not sure how else to explain it but it makes sense in my head FHDSJFKD)

(upside down lady is my interpretation of "miss waffle" :33)

Universe A is of course my headcanon universe though universe B is actually twizzly gummy's universe :]c everything there is Majorly Fucked Up so somehow even though all of the miss waffle books are real stories people often call them dramaticized HFSKJHJDS

SO. The timelines are hardly ever in sync, and even when they are, its INCREDIBLY rare for the same events to occur, especially in places where linzer would be affected by them. when she got the "vision" of the train she had actually woken up from Bverse shenanigans and realized that the situation was nearly identical to the one she was in now ,,, so she was able to predict what would happen next hehe

i will make another post talking abt like my hcs for how this changes her personality n morals and relationships and such and of course im always open to talking abt the other Universe B characters (i do have quite a few ideas) but im going to stop typing before i burn myself out writing HFKJDSHJSKFHS asks with questions/comments are very appreciated and TYSM FOR THIS ONE ANON /GEN !!!! :3333

#🎉 asks #linzer cookie #cookie run #cookie run au #universe a au #universe b au #🎉 rambles

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potat0bag · 7 months

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hey hello! hope you’re having a good one. cccccooould I request some info about your shiver’s sister(s?) maybe? if you feel like it

hi! i'm not doing great so this'll be fun to do (/gen about both things! i'm thankful for this ask) sooo shiver has two sisters! they are each 4 years older than shiver, because they are twins!

i'm not gonna include images cause their designs are constantly changing and i'd rather focus this post around their characters for my own sanity.

Sela Hohojiro is a gossip on the surface and probably comes off as mean. She's very playful and requires a lot of attention due to having this kind of middle-child syndrome going on (even if she is tied for oldest child) due to Shiver being the one raised (and enthusiastically agreeing) to take on clan head duties when the time comes. Same (Shiver's mother) loves all her kids so much, yet Shiver is her youngest and has the most set future of all of them and needs her attention the most in her eyes since her position as clan head was kinda rushed upon her due to unfortunate circumstances. Sela can sort of understand on an objective level why she isn't as intensely nurtured by comparison. However, she is also emotionally aligned to a severe degree, so her own feelings of loneliness regularly cause her to be sassy and act out. She tends to spend a lot of time at their aunt's bar because of this, seeking out her childless older relative's attention instead.

On a cooler level, Sela is drawn to praisable arts much like Shiver. Specifically, she enjoys painting (and is the reason Shiver also picked up the interest) because it's something she can be praised and acknowledged for. The Hohojiro residence is full of paintings she's made. She mainly does landscape art since in her mind it's hard to mess up something that's concrete and dictatable on its objective quality of detail and logic. TL;DR "i can do this thing well and get noticed for it!!" As quiet of a passion it is, she also enjoys alternative music as it tends to have a fueling power behind it for her. She enjoys the electric energy of parties for this reason also. Always happy to meet new people and possibly earn more attention and a tighter support system. Somebody tell her she's doing fine, please.

Chi Hohojiro in comparison to her twin is far more like still waters. Because of how logic-based her reasoning is, she can often appear blunt and seem to lack empathy. When really, she's just tackling it from her own sense of logic and justice. If that person hurts you, why don't you just cut them out? That's- difficult to do? Because of the connection you've built? That's... huh. She didn't think of it like that. She's very clear cut. Which can hurt, but she'll also hold you blatantly accountable. She doesn't really like letting things go until a suitable compromise/payback has been reached. Shiver snuck her snacks? Okay. That's fine. They're buying her more. And that incident'll be tallied against them until they act on her terms. Because of her objective outlook, Chi doesn't face the same feeling of loneliness Sela does. The way Chi sees it, Shiver requires more attention due to their life path being set out for them and requiring guidance. It makes sense for them to need more. And she can see how Same treats them. They aren't being given less. She treats them with a million percent more than the bare minimum. Her love isn't being divided between them, rather being magnified in an educational aspect to Shiver, who she is required to be hands on with.

Chi has the capacity to play the straight man between her and Sela when it comes to teasing Shiver, being a flat one liner kinda gal. She also presses for Shiver to take care of themselves in a very "you quite literally need this objectively" way. If they can't afford to do something crucial one day? They have to do it the next. It's Chi's Law. (One they like to try and fight, but can never truly escape.). Same enjoys Chi's Law. Where do you think Chi got it, after all?

Hope this was articulated well, anon. This genuinely improved my mood. I'd be happy to answer more text-based asks like this (and asks about Sela and Chi <3), they're a lot easier for me to handle than drawing requests I think due to motivation coming and going. Thanks for reading!!

#splatoon #hohojiro clan #shiver hohojiro #shiver splatoon

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decks-writing-blog · 15 days

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Gordon Swap Chapter Six: Remembered

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

[A/N] I finished writing the fic! Yay! It's 14 chapters and an epilogue. I'm pretty sure this is the longest Gen fic I've ever written. Though there are points in which how much I ship Frenrey probably comes through at least a little bit but it's not a major part of the fic.

“Dr. Freeman.” The world froze as the voice echoed oddly around Gordon.

He snapped around to face it, raising his shotgun. It was the man in the suit, the one who’d been following and watching him! His finger tensed on the trigger but… didn’t pull it. Creepy as the man was, he hadn’t done anyone any harm that Gordon knew of. So instead he took his hand off the bottom of the gun to sign a one-handed, “Who are you?”

The guy stared at him in silence for a beat, his face unreadable. “It seems a mix up has occurred while I was occupied. You’re not the one I’d intended to have this little chat with. Fixing this would be… let’s just say, ‘difficult’ for now. I suppose I am curious though. We’ll see what happens, shall we? And as for who I am, that’s not important. We shall met again at some point in the future.”

And with that, just as quickly as he’d appeared, the man was gone again. The world flowed back into motion with his vanishing. Weird. That confirmed something supernatural was up with that guy though. Gordon had suspected as much based off his appearing so often in places not easily accessible.

He glanced around at the group – missing Benrey who’d apparently wondered off for some reason, perhaps to look for this universe’s Gordon – as far as he could tell none of them seemed aware anything had happened. The man had mentioned a ‘mix up’ though. Which meant at seemingly little more than a glance, he’d somehow known that one had occurred. How could he tell so quickly? Did he know the other Gordon that well? Answer likely weren’t coming any time soon.

It did lend more weight to their alternate universe theory though. That was good. Knowing what was going on should make it easier to fix after the more pressing problem was taken care of.

“Why are you just standing there?” Bubby said, snapping Gordon’s attention back onto him frowning at him. “I thought you were from an alternate universe where people never slow down.”

Rolling his shoulders, Gordon turned back towards the exit. There was indeed no time to stand around, wondering about whatever had just happened. Besides, the guy had said he’d be seeing him again later. He could try to get answer then.

Coomer was already at the metal doors as they finished opening. “Look, not-Gordon, a revolving door.” He pointed it at even as he walked into it, his tone similar to what one would use when talking to a small child. The door spun with him for a couple seconds before screeching to a halt, apparently stuck on something or broken somehow. “Help me, not-Gordon.” Perhaps he was claustrophobic.

Gordon quickly pulled out the crowbar and broke the glass in the door, allowing him to step through and break the glass on the next part of the door too. It was surprisingly easy to clear the whole opening by scraping the crowbar along the edges of the glass to knock it all out. One would think the glass used in such a construct would be sturdier. Oh well. Just for good measure, Gordon broke every pane of glass the door had, doubling back through the door to do so, leaving a crunchy glittering carpet of broken glass on the floor. They were all wearing good shoes though so it was fine… hopefully.

“Wow, not-Gordon, I guess that’s what we’re calling you now,” Bubby said once he was finally done and rejoining them on the other side. “Was all that destruction really necessary?”

Gordon shrugged. Probably not but he liked breaking things. Not a new thing, he’d always enjoyed the sound of shattering glass in particular, but the stress of the situation made the outlet of destruction even more appealing. No time to dwell on that though. He turned away and resumed walking.

“I feel bad about our Mr. Freeman.” Tommy spoke softly, not addressing Gordon who lead the way through the tunnel, ears strained for the military – they’d into several already more had to be nearby. “He’s uh… he’s all alone and he probably thinks we abandoned him.”

“And betrayed him.” Coomer didn’t bother lowering his voice. “Which certain members of our group did indeed do.” No obvious bitterness in his voice, seemingly just a statement of fact.

“They lied to me.” Clearly Bubby was among that ‘certain members of our group’. “I didn’t know they were going to do that to him and I certainly didn’t tell them to. So it’s not my fault they cut off his hand.”

So Bubby and at least one other in the group – probably Benrey given the conversation the three of them had had when Gordon met Bubby in the tube – had betrayed their Gordon. A misunderstanding apparently, but still not a great thing to learn about them. They should know better than to pull such a move again though so Gordon was fine. Plus if they did, he could just reset.

Other him was probably going to be pissed if they ever found their way back to him. A future problem though that didn’t really affect Gordon so he wasn’t going to worry about it. Unlike the military encampment up ahead, the sounds of it quickly growing audible as they made their way around the bend in the tunnel. And was that the a… helicopter? Sure sounded like one. Damn it. Things had just got a bit harder. He had companions, some of them super-powered – even if one of which was currently missing – now though so maybe it evened out.

“User death imminent. Seek medical attention.”

“Oh no! Don’t die Mr. Freeman or uh… not-Mr. Freeman. Even though you are him, just a… a different him. But uh… don’t die. Dying’s bad.”

Gordon would’ve liked a choice in that matter but even the HEV suit could only take so much fire from a damn attack helicopter.

“For three Play Coinstm I could heal you to full.”

What was a Play Cointm? It was easier to just keep his eyes closed and just die than try to figure it out. Probably he didn’t have any anyway. So he didn’t fight it as his blood filled his suit.

He blinked open his eyes back in the tunnel, just before the bend leading to the dam.

“They lied to me,” Bubby said. “I didn’t know they were going to do that to him and I certainly didn’t tell them to. So it’s not my fault they cut off his hand. Why are we stopping?”

“Uh… uh… Mr. Freeman… or not-Mr. Freeman,” Tommy said as he rushed ahead to stand in front of Gordon, gesturing excitedly with his hands. “It’s you! You’re uh… doing the thing with time. You died and… and… now we’re here. How’d you do that?”

He remembered?! No one else Gordon had encountered had remembered. Trying to explain had gotten him a pitying look; the kind of look one gave someone who’d lost their mind due to stress. But Tommy remembered!

“Watch out for the helicopter, not-Gordon,” Coomer said. “Its gun can shred through the HEV’s power and medi-gel quicker than normal handheld guns.” Did he remember too?

“There’s a helicopter up ahead?” Bubby asked. “And what was that about Gordon dying, Tommy? He didn’t die… did he?”

“I think he might have,” Coomer said. “I’m… not sure though. And I’m not sure why I’m not sure. I don’t remember it happening but… I have a rather odd feeling that it did. So he might’ve died and there might be a helicopter ahead that killed him.”

“He died,” Tommy said with certainty. “And then time went back. It’s uh… been happening occasionally for a little while now. It wasn’t sure what it was but um, I realized just now because I was watching as he died and then time went back right when he did so it’s gotta be him. Right, Mr. Freeman? Or uh… or do you not remember. Time stuff is weird sometimes.”

Gordon lifted a hand to sign, “Yes,” nodding along with it. “I remember. I think it’s because of the Resonance Cascade.”

“I uh… don’t know what the means, Mr. Freeman, other than the ‘yes’ anyway.”

With a sigh, Gordon switched to spelling, slowly so Tommy could read it.

“C. A. S. C. A. D. E.” Tommy read the letters out as Gordon signed them. “That spells uh… ‘cascade’ so you’re saying that um…”

“It’s got something to do with the Resonance Cascade,” Bubby interrupted. “It gave you superpowers or something?”

“Yes.”

“He said, ‘Yes’,” Tommy translated. Though with how simple and obvious ‘yes’ was, was it really needed?

“Congratulations on your superpowers, not-Gordon. You no longer need to fear death.” Coomer gave him a thumbs up. He didn’t sound or look surprised by it at all. That was fine though because he and Tommy still remembered. Or at least, he sort of remembered which was a lot as far as Gordon was concerned. He could just about hug Tommy for remembering entirely.

“Wait, wait,” Bubby lifted his hands as he stepped forward. “If time resets when he dies that basically undoes it, right? So that makes three of our group, if we still counting Benrey as part of the group anyway, that don’t fucking die. What about you two?” He gestured to Tommy and Coomer.

Coomer raised his hand. “I have built in defibrillators. They’ve brought me back three times since the start of this adventure, four times total.”

“Huh? I guess that makes sense.” Bubby turned to Tommy next. “What about you?”

“Um… you know… I don’t know, maybe. I haven’t died so I guess we’ll see if I ever do.”

Bubby gave him a long hard stare. The silence held long enough to be almost uncomfortable before Bubby casually drew his gun and shot Tommy before Gordon could do more than take a step towards him to try to stop him. Tommy flinched a little but it seemed to be more from the sound than the bullet. There wasn’t a mark on him despite the fact that there was no way Bubby could’ve missed when so close. … A bit too close for comfort but good to know.

“That’s what I thought.” Bubby holstered his gun as he stepped back. “You just don’t fucking die.”

“That’s like an advanced form of coming back from the dead.” Coomer still didn’t sound surprised or even upset that Bubby had tried to kill Tommy.

Bubby turned to Gordon. “What is the likelihood of this? None of us stay dead and Tommy can’t die. That kinda thing’s gotta be rare, right? How’d we all end up traveling together like this?”

Gordon shrugged as Tommy said, “Fate… maybe. It is kinda weird though, huh?”

Were either of them going to ask Bubby about him clearly counting himself as part of the ‘didn’t stay dead’ group? … Probably not. They both seemed to accept it as normal. Gordon was the only one who wanted to know more. Not just about Bubby but Tommy too. And Coomer had to have some pretty high tech implants to not just bring him back several times but still be so hale and hearty afterwards.

More than just others knowing, Gordon wasn’t alone in being able to die and come back from it. The question of how and why for himself had grown banal – death hurt, the less he thought about it, the better. Finally though, he had people he could theoretically talk about it with. But he couldn’t easily do so and none of them seemed surprised by it. If there was a whiteboard nearby… but there wasn’t. And they were on a mission that was best completed as soon as possible. Damn it. Later, Gordon would ask them about the how and why of it all later.

First came getting past the helicopter. Fighting it clearly hadn’t been the way to go. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to turn around and resume travel.

“Taste it, not-Gordon taste it.” Coomer was an odd man but still what an odd request… demand? No it was a request.

It wasn’t sewer water though, no matter what any of them said or what colour it was. Sewer water didn’t go through dams. So once they reached land, after pulling himself up out the water, Gordon turned back to it to cup some of it into his hands and taste it, as requested. … It was gritty with dirt and tasted like mud. Gross and probably not potable but not sewage.

“Holy fuck, not-Gordon,” Bubby said. “You’re even more of a nasty little sewage boi than our Gordon.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually taste it,” Coomer added.

What an odd bunch. Good traveling companions though. The humor they added made everything feel less bleak.

Bending down again, Gordon got some mud on his finger and wrote on the wall next to them. ‘Mudd’ There wasn’t enough for the ‘y’ but it should still get the point across.

“I think he’s saying it’s just muddy water,” Tommy translated. “Not sewage. Which uh… does make more sense. It doesn’t smell as bad as the residue processing place did.”

Bubby gave the water skeptical look. “I guess so. But that makes you a nasty little mud boi instead.”

Gordon was willing to accept that label. He had just taken a sip of muddy water because Coomer had told him to after all. So with a shrug, he turned and resumed going forward.

The sound was enough to make Gordon wish he could turn off his hearing implants but the thing itself was fascinating. Biblically accurate helicopter was the only way to describe it. It was an angel. Oh what Gordon wouldn’t give to be the one in its pilot seat.

“What the hell is that?” was maybe what Bubby shouted. It was hard to tell over the roar of the mechanical angel’s engine. Whatever Coomer responded with was drowned out entirely.

A rocket flew past, getting a direct hit on the flying monstrosity. A glance over confirmed it was Bubby. He’d taken the rocket launcher they’d found in the alcove before Gordon could. Not that he needed it, he had so many guns magnetized to the suit already. And now Bubby was trying to kill the angel helicopter with it.

It wasn’t firing back though. Whatever angelic or perhaps demonic power the military had harnessed to bring this thing into existence clearly couldn’t cover everything. … Unless the noise was it’s whole purpose. A distraction and to drown out other more directly deadly things.

Shifting his hold on the shotgun to a ready stance, Gordon looked all around. Not much to see but a gorgeous view and the angel helicopter. Best not to dawdle though. He got moving, walking as fast as he dared along the thin edge towards the ladder. Reaching it meant he had to put his shotgun back on his shoulder so he climb up, leaving him so, so exposed. He climbed as fast as he possibly could.

Up top, the ledge next to it jutted out further than below, making it a doubly relief to reach. Nothing was up here either.

Looking down gave him a top view of the angel helicopter. How it even steered was a mystery. It went around in a seemingly random pattern, spinning as it did so. Dangerous only in potential hearing damage. That lack of lethalityis part of what made it appealing. Probably it was the only good thing to come out of the US military.

“Let’s get the hell away from that thing,” Bubby said as he reached the top of the ladder.

Alas, Gordon couldn’t make a good argument to stay and find out more about how the odd flying machine functioned instead. So he turned and started marching onwards once more, trusting the others to follow.

Benrey was still missing. How was he going to catch up to them? … Maybe he didn’t intend to. He was off looking for their Gordon. Perhaps Benrey had a special attachment to him or was just the one who happened to volunteer to go back for him in case a swap hadn’t occurred and other-Gordon was instead wondering around alone back there. He’d be okay though, seemingly he couldn’t die after all.

Bubby and Tommy in particular had a tendency to be uncomfortably casual with where they pointed their guns. Bad enough that Gordon, unable to properly say anything to them about it, began pushing the barrels of their guns down every time he caught them at it – especially after Bubby causal shooting of Tommy, he felt justified in doing so. If they accidentally pulled the trigger and shot him, it would suck but between the HEV suit and his time reset, he wasn’t too worried about it.

Coomer was decent about it right up until he wasn’t anymore. Gordon didn’t have time to do more than realize that the scientist hiding in the corner looked distinctly like Coomer before he was dead to a shotgun blast to the face. His head exploded, splattering his brain matter across the wall behind him as his body fell life to the floor.

“Another clone down.” Coomer’s voice was cheery as ever, as he pumped the shotgun. He then started to turn as if to continue onward.

Gordon raised an arm to stop him.

He turned to face him, looking up with the same expression as before. “Hello, not-Gordon! I’m getting thirsty.”

Tapping the back of his hand, where the metal of the HEV suit’s gauntlets was against his forearm, drew the others’ attention. “C.L.O.N.E.?” he spelled out, Tommy repeating each letter.

“He wants to know why you killed your clone?” Bubby said. “I think, maybe, I don’t know.”

Gordon gave him a thumbs up because that was exactly what he wanted to know. Also if that had been Coomer’s clone to begin with. It was possible; rumors sourced from Barney’s guard pals said that a Dr. Coomer had once been involved in a failed cloning project. It might not have failed here and thus, it might’ve indeed been a clone. That didn’t warrant killing though, did it?

“When one of my clones die, I grow stronger.”

Did that warrant it though? Gordon gestured at him to continue. He lowered his other hand towards his pistol. Resetting this was still an option. Right in front of them would make it more uncomfortable but did the clones deserve to die merely for being clones and their deaths providing a benefit to presumably the original?

It was Tommy who answered. “Also the clones get scary and violent sometimes. I ran into a bunch of them when I was looking for Mr. Freeman… uh, our Mr. Freeman, not you… not-Mr. Freeman. It was scary.” He had mentioned that before; when he’d first come in. The following conversation had been a distraction from it but it indeed wasn’t news. “So um, killing them one by one as we run into them is probably easier and safer.”

The clone just killed hadn’t seemed violent though. He’d been hiding much like the normal scientists did. But they were without a doubt Black Mesa experiments and this whole disaster was a result of another experiment. Dangerously violent phenomenon that needed to be stopped wasn’t even all that uncommon; working for Black Mesa had a lot upsides but that didn’t make it an ethical company. So perhaps these guys were well justified in killing Coomer’s clones. Meaning Gordon should probably trust them on it, huh?

So with a sigh, he stepped back and turned to resume going forward.

“A hole,” Bubby said as he caught up, indicating the hole Gordon had found in the roof.

“Look, not-Gordon, a hole!” Coomer announced as he caught up too.

And of course Tommy wasn’t too far behind. “You found a hole, Mr. Freeman.”

He sure had but he was giving it good thorough look before jumping down lest it be another trap. It seemed fine but it was also dark down there. Though big enough to fit a person, it wasn’t much bigger than that, making seeing much in the room below even with the HEV’s flashlight shining down into it difficult.

“What are we waiting for?” Bubby didn’t wait for an answer before jumping down. Coomer and Tommy quickly followed, basically right on his heels. … No sound of gunfire or violence in general so… Gordon jumped down too.

Boxes lined the small room; a storage closest. On one of the boxes sat a skeleton and on one next to it, Benrey. How he’d gotten ahead of them didn’t matter, it was nice to see him again. Gordon walked up and patted on him lightly on the shoulder in way of welcoming him back.

The look Benrey gave him in return was unreadable. Disappointment perhaps? Gordon wasn’t going to try to guess.

“Hey guys,” he said, addressing the group as he broke eye-contact with Gordon. “I made a friend.” He gestured to the skeleton. “He’s uh… he’s cool. Got his passport and everything, all good to go and stuff.”

“You find our Mr. Freeman?” Tommy asked. “Assuming that’s uh… why you left this time. ‘Cause it was right after we found out this isn’t him and I know you uh… like him or something, I think. You seem to anyway. Maybe you just like bothering him.”

“I found a blood trail, starting ‘bout were they jumped him and stuff. Led to a metal closest, then stopped. Nothing inside. It sparked a bit when I closed the door but that’s it. Boring.” Ah, that machine was for sure busted then.

“That’s might be the machine that swapped him with this Gordon,” Bubby said, gesturing to Gordon.

Gordon lifted a hand to sign a quick, “Yes,” in agreement with that idea since that was his theory too, before turning his full attention onto the skeleton. As he approached it, it looked up at him. Weird but stuff was just weird sometimes.

He was going to have to tell Barney about this later. Apparently that rumor he’d heard about someone in Black Mesa trying to summon a ‘Skeleton King’ that resulted in a bunch of skeletons haunting that part of the facility, might hold some truth after all. Assuming that’s what this skeleton was anyway. It might be something else entirely. Regardless, it didn’t seem inclined towards hostility and thus it could stay if it wanted to.

Turning away, Gordon scanned the room until he found the door behind one of the boxes. He had to move another box to make room to move that box – how had the boxes even ended up in this configuration? Benrey must’ve moved them once in here for some odd reason – before he could go over to the other side to actually push it though…

“This is a good place to rest, don’t you think, not-Gordon,” Coomer said.

It was probably a good place to rest. A box in front of the door would mean anything that got in would wake them before accomplishing that task. The hole in the roof was a bit more of a problem but it had been nestled between the air ducts; Gordon had almost missed it and he’d been looking specifically for a way into this building.

But tired as he was, stopping always grated on his senses. He’d caused this he had to fix it and the sooner he could do so, the less people would ultimately die because of it. And stopping to rest for too long always made it so hard to continue. He could go a little bit longer before he collapsed with exhaustion and so… normally he would. He had companions now though and if they wanted to stop then maybe they should. Someone could keep watch. That should make rest a bit easier to bear.

With a sigh, he rejoined them back in the center of the room and sat down, leaning back against one of the boxes. Lying down felt wrong. So since this all started, the few times he’d slept, he’d done so sitting up, leaning back against something, holding his shotgun to his chest. With someone keeping watch, such wasn’t necessary but he had no intention of not doing so anyway.

He’d have volunteered to keep the first watch but didn’t have the means to do so. Meaning whatever the others decided on, he’d go with. Instead of bringing up that discussion though…

“Good night, not-Gordon,” Coomer said before flopping down onto the floor.

Bubby and Tommy followed suit with their own variations of ‘good night’. Neither Benrey nor the skeleton did though. They just continued sitting there. Benrey was watching Gordon but didn’t seem inclined to start a conversation.

Perhaps the group had a set schedule for who kept watch. Benrey was first maybe? He’d wake whoever was next and so the chain would continue until it was Gordon’s turn. … And so he should get rest while he could. Easier said then done but he closed his eyes anyway.

Next Chapter

#hlvrai #half life #gordon freeman #bubby #dr. coomer #tommy coolatta #benrey

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melodic-haze · 28 days

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It's been a while since I last asked you how your day has been. It's doesn't seem like it's going the best, but I hope it gets a lot better.

Just wondering are you familiar with Hi3 characters? Because there has been "dreams" about a new characters that might be an expy. I don't think I could share here because it's leaks, but I could dm you or put it in the doc if you want.

Also just as I was writing this I saw the Gamescom HSR trailer which teased the Fate collab at the end and thought. Who do you think is gonna be apart of the collab? And what do you think or hope their kits will be like? Just wrote this as a fun little question since you seem to really like Fate.

And as always may your week be blessed and your future pulls even more so (Because if leaks are right I'm absolutely COOKED in 2.5)

-🍎

I usually don't like answering stuff out of order but I HOPE FOR DEAR FUCKING LIFE THEY DON'T BUTCHER THE FATE COLLAB LIKE THEY DID WITH HORIZON???? Dude genuinely the way Aloy could've had SUCH a sick kit if it weren't for Hoyo just genuinely not giving a shit. Anyway I wanted to get that off my chest rq

My day at the time was going horrendously. My day TODAY was fairly good :3c I had one of the last band rehearsals I'll ever have with the lot I'm with so. It's a bit bittersweet but also it's fine, I wasn't all that close compared to the rest of them 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Yesss I'm very familiar with HI3 chrs....or at least the ones before the new gen. I only know Thelema and the yoyo girl with Elysia's eyes but otherwise MEI I LOVE YOU IN EVERY UNIVERSE......ANS ELYSIA MY LOML you'll have to tell me ab the dream though bc idk what you're on about

As for the collab though fr this time, I'm guessing if they're collabing with UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS then Archer being there is a GIGANTIC possibility....and REALLY fucking epic dude I HOPE his ult shows his noble phantasm in the same way Acheron's is displayed as well OHHHH PLEAAAAAASE.......and I HOPE they bring Rin in as well idc if she's just an NPC dude KANA UEDA PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAE GRACE ME WITH YOUR PRESENCE

Genuinely though if someone gets turned into a limited chr, it's GOING to be one of the servants.....but not Berserker, unless they do the thing for Clara with Illya but that. That just takes away Clara's thing. And UBW wasn't really that centred towards her anyway. Him and Gilgamesh would PROBABLY end up as bosses let's be real. If they wanna up the money grab, they'd probably put Saber in as another playable chr, though considering this isn't Stay Night then like idk they probably won't

Me personally tjough? I'm actually mildly disappointed it's UBW they're going with. Yk what I would've LOVED to see? Fate/Grand Order. Their whole thing is going through time and space to fix irregularities to prevent the world from ending, and HSR may as well be one of the places they can go to bc maybe it's a limited-time singularity or smth 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ I'm not too fussed though!!! Alternate dimensions and realities are still a thing in UBW anyway (literally HOW would Lancer's spear work otherwise) soooooo......but GOD yeah I adore Fate tbh

I think we're all cooked for the next update though 😭😭😭 but thank you anyway :3c

#hazy segments!#hazy features!#anon fandom: 🍎!

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thiaquiche · 7 months

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Feedback Fest 2024

Since the @transformativeworks is holding a Feedback Fest in honour of International Fanworks Day, I figured I’d join in the fun and put together my own reclist for the occasion! So, in no particular order, here’s ten fics I love and why you should read them! I’ve got a wide spread of fandoms here, so hopefully you’ll find something interesting. I have all of these fics downloaded, so if you’re seeing this in the future and a link to something you’re interested in ends up broken, just let me know and I’ll gladly send you a pdf.

Something’s Wrong with Danny Fenton Vol. I by Perfectly_Inconspicuous

Danny Phantom. Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Gen. 55 065 words.

Danny Fenton.

The enigma of Casper High.

It's the first day of the winter semester when she notices him.

She notices him for what feels like the first time. Maybe because at this point he's the only alternative kid other than her.

Or maybe because boom, there he is: the locker next to hers.

A No One Knows AU where Danny transfers from a different school to Casper during Junior year and ends up befriending Sam and Tucker. Written for Invisobang 2021!

Why you should read it: This fic packs a wonderfully creepy, unsettling atmosphere that really makes this horror!Danny premise come alive (ba dum tss), and makes the development of his friendship with Sam and Tucker feel all the warmer by comparison. It’s incredibly gripping.

Soldier, Poet, King by Stargaze_Sunflower

Ducktales 2017. Teen and Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen. 104 510 words.

Dewey has always felt like something was missing from his life. Something big. And really, it's just like him to get caught up in a kidnapping plot and stumble across the puzzle of his life on complete accident, and now he's got more pieces than he knows what to do with. Luckily, he's got help in the form of new friends, his moderate skills with a sword, and the determination to believe in the impossible.

This gives a whole new meaning to 'Found Family'.

Why you should read it: This fic is an awesome medieval fantasy romp, and it’s just plain fun.

Friendship Games by WhiteBAG

Milo Murphy’s Law. Teen and Up Audiences, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings, Gen. 42 662 words.

Milo and his friends enter the Friendship Games. Dakota and Cavendish time travel to fight the monster.

Why you should read it: Without saying too much, the way the time travel plot winds back on itself is just so much fun. Even now that I’ve left the fandom, and haven’t read this fic in a long time, I still find myself thinking about it.

More Than Legacy by PanellaDePonce

Pokémon. General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen. 11 637 words.

It was time at last for the 150th Annual Convention of Pokémon Sciences to begin. Every year, the brightest minds in the field would gather together to present their findings to an eager audience of burgeoning scientists and casual enthusiasts alike. 150 years ago it started in Jubilife Village, and today, the conference is held in Jubilife City.

Before the conference begins, however, many of the leading researchers gather together to argue and debate, verbally slap fighting and throwing around their theories and ideas. Lucas found this tradition tiring, annoying, and most of all, incredibly boring.

Little does he know, something very interesting is set to happen at the meeting. Something he wouldn't want to miss.

Why you should read it: This thing made me BAWL. I was fucking SOBBING. Waaaaaughhhhhhhhhhh

Give Me Healthy Coping, or Give Me Death by Prince_Enby

OMORI. General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, F/M (past Hero/Mari) and Gen. 5420 words.

There was something weird about how Kel was acting, Hero thought. Hero's thoughts were all over the place these days, though, so that observation probably didn't mean anything.

Still, though, he was curious about that glint in his brother's eyes. It was the look of a man on a warpath - and all over a bowl of soup.

Weird indeed.

Why you should read it: This fic is chicken soup when I’m sad, and I wanna share the comfort, plain and simple.

Mari Suzuki’s Overly Busy Afterlife by ShardOfHope

OMORI. Teen and Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, M/M (Basil/Kel/Sunny), F/F (Aubrey/Kim), and F/M (Hero/Mari). 127 480 words.

Mari never left Sunny after the accident. She forgave him and promised she would stay until he was ready to tell the truth. Until he was strong enough.

Four years of staying with her gremlin shut in brother has made her slightly regret that promise. Well, more then slightly.

A retelling with a ghost, and a brother with no survival instinct.

Why you should read it: This fic is riotously funny. Like, wheezing on the floor funny. Rolling around, falling down the stairs and breaking your neck funny. (Yes I did have to force a stairs joke in there. Sue me, but sue me after you read this fic.)

Coming to Light by Candyland1030 [DeviantArt]

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. PG. 2819 words.

What goes around comes around. Sooner or later, everyone has to pay the piper.

Why you should read it: This is my favourite fic for seeing Bill Hawks get his comeuppance. A delicious dose of justice for a guy who got off far too easily in canon.

Theo’s Surreal Mountain-Climbing Adventure by CelestialHorizons (TerminalMiraculosis)

Celeste. Teen and Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen. 5519 words.

Madeline has been able to dash her whole life. She thinks this is rather mundane. Theo disagrees.

Why you should read it: Extremely funny depiction of speedrunning, also Theo is simply best boy. You agree. Read it.

An Empire of Ice by TimeCloneMike

Frostpunk. Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Gen. 4621 words.

The Great Frost has come and gone. That was the easy part. Rebuilding human civilization? That's when things start to get difficult, even with automatons to do all the heavy lifting.

Why you should read it: Both oneshots are great, but I especially recommend the second chapter. The story of Project Legacy saving New Manchester in the actual game has always been touching to me, and this fic’s depiction of the rescue of New Manchester’s last scout gives me warm fuzzies every time. Both parts of this fic add a human element to the game’s more zoomed-out storytelling that I deeply appreciate.

Marital Bed, by MadameReveuse

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. Mature, No Archive Warnings, Multi (Randall Ascot/Angela Ledore/Henry Ledore). 3526 words.

A comedy in two parts.

The Masked Gentleman imagines all the ways in which Henry and Angela Ledore might have backstabbed him. Later, Randall sees it all with clearer eyes. Maybe his fantasy can still come true - in an altogether better, lovelier way. With himself included.

Why you should read it: I don’t normally talk about, let alone recommend, sexually explicit fics, but I read this one recently and just fell in love with the characterization. Considering sex in the context of Randall’s misguided hatred and Angela and Henry’s deceptive marriage adds an interesting layer to their whole *gestures* everything, and I found all of the headcanon ideas presented very plausible. However, warning for Azran Legacy spoilers offhandedly mentioned right at the beginning.

Bonus:

This awesome Miracle Mask AMV that has been so stuck in my head lately, lol. Editing’s great, song’s great, all around great. (Don’t watch unless you’ve finished Miracle Mask though, it’s spoilers.)

#ifd2024 #feedback fest #international fanworks day #fic recs #thia posts

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bronyinabottle · 1 month

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Formal Cancellation of Geniequestria

Hello there, unfortunately I must put the word out there that the reboot I mentioned back in December for Geniequestria? ...Might not be in the cards either. I said I'd start it in early next year at the time, and... now it's August. I think it's clear to me I just don't have the motivation to continue Geniequestria as sad as it is.

I don't know if plans will change at all in the future. But for now I'm making it official.

Once again, you are all free to ask me what the plans were for the blog. Maybe even after the break, I'll tell on how the original vision of the blog's ending was going to be.

I apologize once again to all who loved Geniequestria and wanted to see more of it. But this was a project that I think needed to have more than one person working on it. Might have been even too much for 2 if I'm being honest.

I still plan on writing up one last story for I Dream of Twilight Sparkle. (When that happens, there will be no more new story posts. Any IDOTS content afterward will depend on new asks) And I might be starting a new blog/project soon. However, a heads up that this one will not be MLP related (But is related to a franchise I've been a fan of long before ponies was)

All I gotta say for now, any further questions you can send to my mod blog's ask box or on my profile on dA. For now, if you want to know how Geniequestria was supposed to end. Check after the break

So the end of Geniequestria, you'd like to know what would have become of the struggle Twilight has against Starlight slowly turning all of Equestria into genies?

Weil, the simple one line answer is: Starlight was going to win

...However, that's only looking at it from a simple glance. Sure, Geniequestria would come into fruition just as Starlight from the beginning has wanted. But over the course of each of the Mane 6 getting genified. Their influence would undo the corruption of Sombra's crystal over her. And Starlight would gradually be reformed and changed from her militaristic, dictatorship vision of Geniequestria

Here's how the rest of the Mane 6 (Besides Fluttershy of course) were planned to be genified in the original vision of the story:

Rarity: Finally give in to her desires to be a genie to wish to be one. But wouldn't ultimately do it until a noble cause arrived at her doorstep. The reason she would wish to be a genie is to fix Kerfluffle's leg (Kerfuffle avoided all pony hospitals because she knew they'd just genify her to fix it instead. But if Rarity actually only fixes the legs, it'd change her view that genies only aim to genify. And ironically would lead to Kerfuffle ask to be personally genified at some point later by Rarity)

Pinkie: Genified during the grand galloping gala that Celestia and Cadence set up. I'm not sure I ever figured out what her exact wish would have been to lead to her genification. But as soon as the party pony of genified. The mass genification would be well underway

Rainbow Dash: Rainbow would attempt to wish for Rainbow Power (the power up that defeated Tirek) as a desperate move. However, Starlight doesn't know what Rainbow Power is. So she interprets the wish as the ol' wish for power.

Applejack: After a long frustrating conversation with AJ, in attempts to get her to make a wish. Starlight would catch wind of a potential weakness in AJ's stubborness: Her parents. Now, Geniequestria genies cannot raise the dead. But what they CAN do, is open portals to alternate dimensions as a loophole. The plan was for Geniequestria Starlight to find an AU of Pear Butter and Bright Mac. In which all of their kids and Granny Smith died but they lived. And in all this happiness in the reunion, Applejack has a slip of the tongue saying she wishes they could be together forever. An easy wish to genify not just Applejack herself. But her parents too

And now finally...

Twilight Sparkle: After all her friends have been genified. And a joint plan with Chrysalis failed sometime after Pinkie was genified failed. Twilight would be left with dwindling chances and hope that she could turn the tide. She becomes desperate enough to free Tirek from Tartaurus.

Only for Tirek to eventually absorb so much genie magic. That it overwhelms him and he's genified too (Although he'd (Or well rather she, since of course he'd be Rule 63'd as well) get trapped inside a huge bottle that replaces the tower of Twilight's castle)

Twilight only had one last gasp yet. She works with Starswirl to get Grogar's Bell. Both her and Starswirl are powered up by it. By this point though, the corruption of Starlight would be just about gone. And together with the "Harem of Harmony". They'd defeat Starswirl and Twilight using the elements (With the mostly reformed Starlight wielding the Element of Magic temporarily). And at that point, Twilight just gives in. Wishing to just be together with her friends again. And she'd get that, once she's genified.

From there, there'd be a sort of post-story where the Harem of Harmony would go around genifying more characters related to them (Ex: Moondancer and/or Twi's family would be saved for after Twilight herself was genified) and even invade non-pony countries to genify them too.

Now of course I did leave out many other details that were planned beyond this but would have taken a while to type out. Might as well leave it to if anyone wants some more detail of how things were supposed to end.

Trust me there was a lot planned with this whole story. And ideas for side stories where many other characters would be genified. May have unironically been a part of the reason it just became more and more daunting over time. (You could probably almost ask me about how any pony you can think of was supposed to be genified and I'd have an answer lol) All these plans and ideas, so little time to really write them and flesh them out.

#mod post

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amagicdoctor · 1 year

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Really quickly I want to return back to Doctor Strange and the Sorcerer Supremes to talk about one of the many many big moments of the series. And that was towards the end when it was revealed that a future version of Valeria Richards would become a antagonistic sorcerer like Doctor Doom.

I absolutely LIVE for– storylines where the next gen takes an unexpected alternative path– preferably one for evil. The Valeria we know is still a kid and has a lot of time to think about her future, and she has a lot of opportunities to pursue different paths based on all the awesome adults around here.

In this particular series though, what I love is that there’s just so much left unsaid in this storyline that you can’t think of all the stories left untold here. But I can imagine a few….. 😏

There’s a seriously cool potential future written here where Valeria wants to become not only a sorcerer, but the one above it all– an actual Supreme.

Just imagine, for a second, her world. Imagine her becoming burnt out with science. The world already has her father (one who is getting older btw) and Lunella (who is already a girl her age who wants to go down the path of good). So she sees that there’s already people in her same category of science/intelligence. She thinks: “the world doesn’t need two of everything, I want to be unique!” Her brother is already phenomenal, maybe by the time he’s in his 20s, and she in her early teens, Franklin is already being scouted by many superhero teams, or becoming a researcher/adventurer of his own right. And Franklin, in comparison to her, has always seen such love and support from his community because of his abilities. But Valeria was never unique in that way, she was never a mutant. Sure, she had intelligence, but so did a hell of a lot of people and they had more practice and recognition than she ever did. So, as I said before, here she is, early teens, burnt out, wanting to be different, wanting someone to want her, to need her like they do with the other members of her family. Now imagine her being this teen, old enough to be independent and choosing her own path and that path being Dr. Doom!!

Regardless of if you’d like to take my headcanons into account or not, Dr. Doom had a lot of influence in both Franklin and Valeria’s formative years. Valeria more so because Marvel has shown a lot of evidence that they become close to one another and form a very special father/daughter bond. Now, taking that into account, perhaps Valeria wanted to abandon becoming a famous researcher, perhaps she’s now interested more in the mystic arts. Yeah, maybe Dr. Strange could have been a choice of mentorship, but Valeria was more so drawn to Victor first and foremost because of that kind of parental bond they shared. If anyone would teach her to master magic, it would be Victor, no doubt about it.

So there she is, a teen, and with Victor, would grow into her late 30s/40s, working strictly and tirelessly under Victor’s demand. And you can imagine it being hell. Victor’s already hard on himself because half of him was always in competition with other people, now he puts that type of thinking into his daughter’s head too.

Now imagine Valeria being molded into the almost perfect sorcerer but it not being enough for the Vishatni’s standards because they already had their eye on another “golden child.” Imagine Valeria growing up in an environment where she’s always being compared to– always underperforming– always letting Victor down– never being good enough in the eyes of the father she betrayed her original family for.

Billy on the other hand, was always supported, always loved, had his original family to stand up for him, to advocate for him. Billy, on the other hand, had Teddy, Tommy, his mother Wanda, Dr. Strange and so many great people fighting for him in his corner. Billy– wasn’t molded, he was elevated. The Vishanti saw this, and wanted him to be their new champion. And he was, and he did. Dr. Strange retired quickly after and the tides of magic had changed on Earth.

A growing resentment came between Victor and Valeria. Except Valeria was still working under the impression that she could still win. So like Baron Mordo and Dr. Strange’s relationship, Valeria and Billy became rivals– mostly one–sided on Billy’s part though. He would have wanted peaceful relations between him and Valeria, and not to repeat the sins of the past that their mentors had between themselves. But a storm had been brewing within Valeria ever since she was a youth, and that would not dissipate with just a few kind words.

I wouldn't say not having a title stopped her from being an amazing sorcerer, whether that was for evil or not. Valeria’s an engineer, a creative, she’s curious, always devoted herself to discovery, never stopped asking questions about anything. So she found the right line of work by dedicating the rest of her life to mastering magic. After all, there’s so many spells, so many worlds and cultures to visit. She hones this knowledge and adds it to her power, becoming as strong as she can be and then even more so. With her kind of drive and passion she’s definitely able to go far.

Just!! AAAH. So many thoughts. Valeria moving away from being an average superhero like her parents or brother and just consuming herself in Doom’s need to make her become a Supreme. Such a juicy story waiting to be unfolded. I hope one day Marvel can return to this storyline and expand upon it.

#doctor strange #fantastic four #valeria richards #billy kaplan #wiccan #doctor strange and the sorcerer supremes #doctor doom #marvel comics #earth 616 #stephen's strange family #im also hitting her with the transgender beam btw #for being a wizard

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capslock3284 · 23 days

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Lizard Thoughts on Goodbye Volcano High

Beware of unmarked spoilers!!!

Goodbye Volcano High is a furry visual novel with rhythm game elements released last year in 2023, nearly to the day. The game has a modern era dinosaurs setting, with the player as a nonbinary pterodactyl named Fang, who is hoping to make it big in the indie rock scene after graduating from their senior year.

However, the tail end of chapter 1 reveals that the same asteroid in the real world that ended the Cretaceous was spotted, with the rest of the story about Fang and friends making the most of what time they have left.

Overall, I liked the story of GVH! The emotional struggles both Fang and their friend group go through feels very close to some things I've gone through this time, including issues regarding transitioning and being socially accepted. For example, multiple times in the story Fang gets deadnamed and misgendered by their parents, which is - at best - waved away as 'trying' (though they get better by the finale). While it kinda stings that there's no option to censor it, I'm also a bit grateful that there isn't because it's a real struggle a lot of trans people have to go through today and it's not right to brush that kind of thing off.

Meanwhile, the overarching plot about the asteroid feels very allegorical to Gen Z anxiety over the future - or rather, feelings of the lack thereof. While it's not literal armageddon in our world, the portrayal of it mirrors sentiment I've seen over modern climate and economical issues.

===

As a game, though... I've got mixed feelings. It's incredibly linear, and while it's presented as a standard 'your choices matter' type game all it does is unlock extra scenes with characters you side with more. Additionally, this same system encourages multiple playthroughs to see all optional scenes, flashback comics, and to 100% the photo gallery. However! You only get one save file, and there is no option to go back to a specific point in the story - you keep going or you start from the beginning.

This doesn't mention the several errors I've noticed in animation, with characters having an extremely limited set of premade poses for them to alternate through, Seth MacFarlane style - not to mention the continuity errors (the most notable one I spotted was partway through chapter 5, where the same guitar changed its model from acoustic, to electric, and back several times.) There were also several times where audio or entire scenes cut out about a half-second early - while this didn't cut out entire words, the sudden cut to the next line without any pause was jarring.

Despite all of these problems, Goodbye Volcano High works very well with its strong points, that being dialogue choices and the rhythm game portions. Even though I mentioned the game is very linear, it feels like it's by design - you're not completely controlling Fang, you're nudging them in specific directions according to how they're thinking, which is represented by different effects around dialogue boxes. Angry thoughts are burning, despair is broken in half, and intrusive thoughts are blurred out by static the moment you hover over them (incidentally, this stops you from picking it with an extra thought from Fang telling themselves to not say that.)

The soundtrack is pretty good. Don't have much to say about it, though I like how it's used diegetically with about 2/3rds of the tracks being written/performed by Fang in the story.

==============================

Overall, I'd recommend Goodbye Volcano High. However, skip it if you're a completionist due to the high number of playthroughs needed to 100% it on steam, or if you just don't like visual novels. Get it on sale, borrow it through Steam library share, or just watch a six hour no commentary playthrough if you're on the fence.

Steam store page here!

#goodbye volcano high

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frostedsketches · 7 months

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I'm not planning on going into full detail over the rest of the Mane Six like I did for Twilight, despite this, I think the Mane Six ships in the Hopes'nDreamsVerse deserve a bit more light and attention. There are some ships that are a bit unconventional and therefore need a little bit of explaning to be believable. I mean c'mon? When do you ever see Soarin and Rarity shipped, or Applejack and Double Diamond, or even Twilight and Star Tracker? ( I already did a thing on them, so go search it out of you're interested! )

So to curb your curiosity and disbelief, I will be explaining these ships, right here, right now.

Alright, well, Pinkie Pie X Cheese Sandwich and Fluttershy X Discord are pretty self-explanatory and don't have much to explain in terms of how they ended up together. The story of Rainbow X Thunderlane and Rarity X Soarin, is a bit more of a complicated discussion, given that it's more widely known for the husband's in these two ships to be swapped, and so you would probably think they would be. Well, I'm going to tell you why they aren't. . .

( Note: I LOVE Soarin X Rainbow and am partial to Rarity X Thunderlane, however they didn't work with the next gen characters I at the time had ideas for and wanted to design. Also Hopes'nDreamsVerse didn't used to be my main and I had never planned for it to be, but things change. My only regret really is that some of the ships I personally prefer didn't get to be a part of the main Next Gen that I strictly think happened after the show, so I can only save those for alternates, but really I'm fine with in the end )

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Being Wonderbolts together, it's natural that ponies within the fleet would form close friendships and sometimes even have romantic feelings bloom. Well that's exactly what happened between Rainbow Dash and Soarin, and Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser.

Rainbow and Soarin became fast friends, and even then, though she'd never admit it, Rainbow had quickly developed a bit of a crush that went slightly beyond her general fascination and hero complex towards the Wonderbolts as a whole, in fact she had always found Soarin to be kind of cute out of the stallions in the fleet.

Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser had already been friends before joining the Wonderbolts, and working together in such close proximity only escaladed their bond into something more. By the time Season 9 ended, in fact the evening after Queen Twilight's Coronation, Thunderlane proposed and the two pegasi got engaged. Only four months later were they married.

Rainbow and Soarin found romance and became in item around the time that Fluttercord and CheesePie were taking off, and though they were together for months and genuinely loved each other, in the end things took a turn for the worse. And that simply was their differing ideas for the future. Rainbow was perfectly content being his girlfriend and working on and rising up in her career, while he had always known that if he were to date he'd want it to be a permanent thing and to escalate, to eventually be something more, be something more to her and have something more WITH her. This is where the argument began, which eventually caused them to break up, though it left them both sore for awhile.

Meanwhile, Double Diamond, Party Favor, and Night Glider often liked to visit Ponyville to see their friend, and in PF's case, sister, Sugarbelle. Them being on the farm so often left room for Applejack to get to know them, and get to know Double Diamond in particular. Party Favor, once he met Miss Cheerilie, often took time to hang out with her in Ponyville while Double Diamond became interested in life on the farm and often snuck away to watch Applejack do her work — though he was genuinely interested in the work itself, he also loved to watch her work in particular, let's just say he has a thing for buff ladies XD.

Friendship and eventually feelings blossomed over the course of months and though they eventually became a couple, they being such good friends and keeping their romance out of topic to others, never really mentioned to anyone else their relationship until someone poking around eventually found out and spilled the beans to everyone.

Eventually when Rainbow decided to move on and stop showing how it still affected her, Rarity, single and by now thinking she'd always be so, took it upon herself to be match maker for her friends instead, and started sending her on blind dates, that is until the day Rainbow finally put her hoof down and told her she wasn't ready yet, that she was still bothered by her breakup and needed a bit more time, when she finally came clean about that, Rarity apologized and ceased. Double Diamond and Applejack are engaged at this point, Pinkie and Cheese are newly married and Fluttershy and Discord have just found out really early on that miraculously they're expecting a foal.

The night of the Grand Galloping Gala came. Rainbow Dash ran into Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser and hung out with them when they weren't performing. Rarity however, after the Wonderbolts show was done, stumbled upon Soarin keeping to himself and conversation struck between them, both getting along well, Soarin opened up about the breakup with Rainbow and Rarity offered some insight on Rainbow's side of the story, they ended up talking until the Gala ended and they both said their goodbyes, walking away strangely with warm, fuzzy feelings in their chests and fond wandering thoughts of each other for the next few days.

Fluttershy and Discord attended the Gala, but were forced to teleport back home when Fluttershy started feeling terribly ill and faint. Later that night Fluttershy miscarries the undeveloped embryo, and though it was so early that it wasn't even living yet, Fluttershy mourned greatly for what had almost been.

Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser's daughter Tornado Racer is born and while Cloud Chaser is on maternity leave, Thunderlane finds himself running into Rainbow more and more at work, and though at first it's all innocent and friendly, both ponies know they've walked into a mess when they start feeling things they shouldn't and Thunderlane's feelings for Cloud Chaser begin to dwindle due to less time with her and more and more arguments and disagreements at home, Cloud Chaser has always had a few red flags that never got resolved and they shine through more than ever these days, so you see it's not only his feelings for Rainbow that are contributing to their falling out.

After a particularly bad fight leaving both ponies with severely damaged feelings, Thunderlane comes to realize he doesn't feel right with Cloud Chaser and comes to realize his feelings for Rainbow are intensifying as she's been a good listening ear and comforting figure to him after fights with his wife.

Though he loves his daughter and has a bad feeling about what would happen if he were to leave her, he needs to get these feelings into words, soon confessing to Rainbow who feels the same way, but despite her feelings she gets mad at him, telling him firmly that if he really wants to act on these feelings, he has to choose, either forget about her and be a faithful husband to Cloud Chaser or get a divorce to avoid being a cheater.

Thunderlane didn't come to work for a few days after that, but when he finally did, he informed Rainbow he had made up his mind; he had told Cloud Chaser how he had moved on and wanted a divorce. Rainbow felt extremely guilty, thinking it's her fault for ruining Thunderlane's prior relationship, but ultimately knows that things were never really harmonious between them and it might've happened even without her muddying the circumstances.

They were married only a few months after the divorce was finalized, Thunderlane never talked of kids to her so she trusts he won't pressure her to have them instead of focusing on her career. He knows that's not what she wants and he doesn't trust that he'd be a good dad after leaving Tornado, the thought of it hurts too much and makes him feel even more guilty.

Cloud Chaser of course does not take this kindly, though she was half of the reason it ended this way, she refuses to believe that she was part of the problem and harbors feelings of abandonment and resentment, she blames Rainbow primarily, a belief and hatred she passed down to Tornado Racer, who's childhood is destroyed by this, though after a few years Thunderlane hears of his ex's spiral and tries his best to gain custody of his daughter, Tornado wants nothing to do with him, Cloud Chaser won't let him take her and after years he ultimately loses the battle. Tornado does have solace with her Aunt Flitter who takes care of her when Cloud Chaser is unable, but of course it's not enough to make how her life is going completely 'okay' and doesn't stop her from being messed up in adulthood.

By this time Soarin and Rarity have started seeing each other and eventually become a couple. Applejack and Double Diamond are married though ponies still wonder how their so chill and non-romantic in public ( they're very affectionate when it's just them, don't get me wrong here ). Rainbow and Soarin, now both with new partners that they love more than anyone, rekindle their previous friendship which spreads between both couples, so all four become good friends, all hurt feelings healed.

Sometime between the birth of Fluttershy's foal and Pinkie's twins, and the birth of Applejack's foal a year later, Soarin proposes to Rarity and Twilight and Star Tracker become great friends, soon to be married as I will soon explain, and soon couples are married not long after each other.

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So there you have the summerized story of how these couples came to be! Hoping to have more out soon, so stay tuned! Now go out and Idk. . . keep being 20% cooler then the poor souls who haven't found joy in MLP :D

#mlp g4 #mlp fim #mlp next gen #mlp ships #fluttercord #cheesepie #applediamond #thunderchaser #rainbow x soarin #rainbowlane #rarity X soarin #backstories #headcanon #hopes'ndreamsverse #married couples #art #frostedsketches

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seerofmike · 9 months

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mike 2023 year in review

whats up, this is something i started last year where i decided at the end of the year i would talk about 7 movies + 7 viddy games i enjoyed this year (the movies will be 2023 releases, the games will be all over the place). this is so i can look back on the future on the things i enjoyed this year but since im posting it publicly most of these will be written as recommendations i guess

also i did not have a lot of money to see movies this year so most of these will be IP movies :( sawi. also also 2023 was a mega good year for gaming. or so i've heard. most of the big 2023 games this year either came out on consoles i don't own (nintendo + sony releases), are next-gen only as far as xbox goes or unable to run on my dinky little laptop (AW2, the finals, re4, etc) or are just games in genres i dont really give a shit about (bg3, starfield, sea of stars). significant 2023 games i did play this year were dave the diver and dredge but not enough to be on the list. maybe next year hehe

anyways without further ado. my top 7 movies and top 7 games this year, in alternating (movie/game/move/game/etc) AND alphabetical order:

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

yeah you knew this shit was going on here. i saw this movie 8(eight) times in theaters. the first two times were because of the audio issues with the first cut but the rest was because the movie fucked babeeeeey. you don't need me to tell you how good this was

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood (2023)

ok listen before i recommend this game i have to be mean to make a point first. if you know anything about me you know i think tarot is stupid as fuck and i think witchy nonsense is. well. just that. nonsense. it makes me roll my eyes especially the particular brand of like. r/WitchesVersusPatriarchy stuff. man i just dont like any sort of spiritualism or religious stuff. with that being said this game fucks tremendously and i cannot recommend it enough

you get to design your own tarot deck and each card will be unique and have meanings based on the templates you're given. you can then use these cards to tell your friends' fortunes. except it goes way deeper than that but i dont want to spoil the twist for you. also it kind of becomes a different game midway through but i like management games so its fine. anyways good game and very repayable with all the card designs you can make and fortunes you can read. art style is also very nice.

(more under da cut)

Barbie

man i know a lot of people dont like this movie after the hype wore off because its Baby's First Feminism. and that's fine. i don't really think it was trying to achieve some uber deep commentary. but the set design and costuming was great and you could tell the actors and crew were having so much fucking fun and as someone who wants to go into movies i will always like movies where the people making them are having fun.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023)

i like the visual novel where everyone dresses in a funny costume and sonic fucking dies ok. it was so cute and had very good characterization for people i didnt think would ever be in the focus of a game again like espio ........go play the murder of sonic thee hedge

Bottoms

this one is probably my 2nd favorite movie of the year tbh. i need more absurdist gay comedies. i wish i could go on about how hilarious this movie is but i dont wanna give away all jokes but anyways go watch the lesbian incel movie and have a good time

Potionomics (2022)

if i had a nickel for every gay witch game i played this year with significant card and management mechanics and appealing art i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

anyways potionomics is absolutely my favorite game that i've played this year. it's not all that similar to cosmic wheel sisterhood despite the basic concept and some gameplay elements. CWS is more like a visual novel. potionomics is a fucking nightmare and i love it SO much.

you brew potions and then sell them by haggling with customers using cards. customers can haggle back and it can get VERY difficult. everything you do takes up limited time slots such as gathering ingredients and brewing potions and visiting your friends and btw you can visit your friends and all of the characters are incredibly charming and i had trouble picking which one to romance. (roxanne my beloved <3) (also the white haired character in the screenshot above is a nonbinary goblin :) ) (this game has CAT PIRATES)

the game also rewards you with befriending the characters and gives you cards the deeper your relationships become and new gameplay mechanics open themselves up to you until the last couple stretches of the game. it's very fun, very stressful, but very rewarding once you figure out how to maximize your profits and use up your time slots effectively. i had a fucking blast.

also the animation is so good. literally the best animation on this sort of stylized 3d model in a game i've ever seen. PLEASE play potionomics.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

god man. i just love the guardians so much. tbh this is my least favorite movie of the trilogy but all three of them are easily better than nearly every other marvel movie regardless. i love nebula and rocket so much and seeing small moments between them like her choking up when she hears he's okay fucking Gets To Me. i loved me asshole mercenaries who become a found family and try to be good people.

Prey (2017)

prey is not my favorite game this year nor my favorite survival sim but the first five or so hours of this game were the most engrossed i was in a game this year. towards the middle and ending portions it starts to lose me a little bit (the game is still good!) but the beginning was absolutely the best part.

being trapped in space with aliens that can mimic items in your surroundings leaves you extremely paranoid, and combing through the station finding recordings and notes and evidence of the lives of the people who were once there, knowing that most of them are probably dead--while monsters lurk around the corner ready to fuck your shit up--was deeply engrossing. i wish i could erase my brain and experience those first hours again being terrified of everything that moved before i got a shotgun and figured out how to win fights pretty regularly lol

Killers of the Flower Moon

if you're gonna watch a 3 hour movie this year about atrocities committed in the past i'd recommend this one over The Other One tbh. i found it deeply engaging and thought lily gladstone gave a great performance that easily outshone leo. the events of the movie are deeply harrowing and i think there is definitely some discussion to be had about how the movie centers on the white men despite scorses's intentions but the technical work was great and i think it really does a good job of showing just how deep this shit went in the community as opposed to being 'just a couple of bad whites' or w/e other narrative people will try to spin.

Psycholonials (2021)

im gonna go ahead and say right now i don't really recommend this game unless you are familiar with andrew hussie and HS/their other work. i think the game was fine but tbh it probably would not have been on my list if it was made by anyone else. that's not to say it's bad, just like. nothing mind blowing.

that being said i did very much enjoy this game in the sense that, as someone who DOES know a thing or two about andrew hussie, the way they feel about their work (especially HS in the years afterward), it was interesting seeing them make a game about starting a cult by accident, with all the gender fuckery and feelings of paranoia about being cancelled and how out of control its become feeling like a little glimpse into them. watching how manic and obsessive the protag gets with several years of Hussie Context(tm) makes this way more interesting than the game itself if im being fully honest.

if the game truly sucked it wouldn't be on here but do take my word for it that you'd probably appreciate it way more if you were a HS fan LMAO

Skinamarink (2022)

ok so technically skinamarink came out in 2022 BUT it got a theatrical release in january 2023 which is when *i* saw it so i'm counting it as a 2023 movie. anyways skinamarink is simultaneously very scary and also boring as shit and i could never actually recommend this movie to anyone but the fact that it was made at all and made a PROFIT is outstanding to me and i'm obsessed with it as an aspiring filmmaker. an hour and fourty minutes of staring at a dark corner to build atmosphere. fuck yeah

Venba (2023)

this one's very short but i found it very compelling despite how short it was. it almost felt TOO short but i like it for what it is. as the son (and grandson) of mexican immigrants who often regretted migrating for cultural and language reasons this really connected with me and the cooking puzzles were fun but i really wisht here was more of them. it's less about the puzzles though and more about the narrative and i thought it was really smart to make the throughline food. very good game. buy it.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

look at my fucking sons. everyone say thank you spider verse for changing the animation industry. i love how the boys' VAs were just goofing off and having fun and bouncing off each other it was great

This War of Mine (2014)

this one is a survival management game where you have to scavenge for materials somewhere in war-torn eastern europe with some stealth mechanics. some of your characters die very easy and some characters have 'negative' traits like being unable to sneak out or fight or drink up all your alcohol and it's not like the best in its genre but i did spend a ton of time in it. i still need to finish like a single scenario and not a custom game LMAO

#mike 2023 in review

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phoebehalliwell · 3 months

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Out of curiosity, (code: I want to drag someone into alt next gen hyperfixation hell with me and you are like the og alt next gen Charmed blogger, y'know?) do you have any thoughts on what kids of the following pairings would end up like? Piper/Coop, Paige/Andy, Prue/Drake, or Phoebe/Simon Marks? (110% fine if you don't wanna dream up some new kiddos, I'm just currently spinning around in circles yelling about alt next gen potential and it's been a minute since someone forcibly threw an alternative next gen thing at you, I think?)

wait omg awwwww 💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💞 also yayyy fun okay okay

so i got to piper & coop and paige & andy. there's 1k words about it under the cut ❤️❤️❤️ but the long and the short of it is

piper/coop

juliet halliwell (temporal manipulation, beaming, sensing love)

esme halliwell (photokinesis, electrokinesis, pyrokinesis, beaming, sensing love)

venus halliwell (empathy, beaming, sensing love

paige/andy

clementine trudeau (empathy, premonition, orbing, telekinetic orbing)

sienna trudeau (orbing, telekineis, telekinetic orbing, healing)

ruby garcia trudeau (nyehehehehehehe)

piper/coop i think would def have three kids and i feel like would maybe be named after different iconic lovers? like coop is obvi a cupid and piper canonically loves rom coms and i think also romance novels so like. i think maybe in a world where we scrap the richard intro episode which was obvs a romeo and juliet allusion and instead create an episode where the pain shared by romeo juliet and everyone else in their families so on and so forth creates a Curse the lover's curse where whenever a feud akin to that form romeo and juliet are essentially reborn, destined to fall in love, and, ultimately, die (thus triggering the end of the feud). so these two spirits just keep getting born over and over again and they keep kind of unlocking the memories blah blah blah and idk maybe coop finds them bc love is his deal and they all save the day the point is we're naming the baby juliet. why tho? like. if she's really just a one off person we helped. i mean, yes, also, juliet of romeo and juliet, but, still, only a person we met once. so let's say that in this au they were witches. or maybe just juliet was. so she cast magic that caught coop or tco's radar. and idk maybe we're very worried about piper's baby. and there's a side plot about that. something bad has happened / is happening idk. and juliet after breaking the curse is thanking piper. then! we are attacked by piper's b plot! juliet saves piper. uses her final words to thank her bc now the curse is broken and i can finally move on instead of being reborn into this cursed life. also, i'm healing ur baby. or i'm seeing into the future about her or something. then idk she turns into butterflies whoosh magical death. and piper's trying to name her firstborn she's holding her and then a little butterfly lands on the baby's nose and the baby cooes as if in recognition BOOM welcome juliet halliwell. her power's included temporal manipulation (she can slow time down "to slip in between the heartbeats" as we see cupid do in heartbreak city and she can freeze time (kind of) like her mama. she cannot move backwards in time (yet)). she can also beam and sense love. the next daughter will be from the plot from piper's favorite book she read as a child that she and coop will get sucked into for an episode (maybe one where they're experience love troubles) and it will help reconnect piper with the concept of love and the first story that really had her wishing to be in love and will help coop understand piper's point of view. the next daughter will be named esme halliwell, after the name of the main charcter in that story. she has fire/lightning/light powers, fire as displayed by p russell (and phoebe) in the line and lightning by the evil enchantress who i do headcanon as a distant ancestor of theirs bc of the whole. you know. paige. is her. thing. and then light powers we sometimes see them do. idk. she can also beam and sense love. the third daughter is gonna conincide with an astrological episode where some demon is trying to warp some astral aligning for evil but the charmed ones stop them and save the day!! look at how beautiful. what's that one star rising so brightly right there? oh, it's venus. meet venus halliwell is an empath (with the empath extension pack ability to impact other people's moods by touching them / being close enough to them) who through that power also unlocks deflection and mimicry. can also beam and sense love.

paige/andy it's not gonna be as detailed as the pipercoop one lol. [a/n: as it turns out i was lying :3] this will be the base text we're using. first born we're going to do an episode tensions have been building between paige and andy because of paige's issues with motherhood and what it means to be a mom and maybe it's a muses episode or a trapped in a painting episode the point is there's something artsy paige is trapped in and she has to create something to get herself out of there meanwhile andy is on the outside fighting to get her out and realizing that they are always stronger together and their fight is stupid blah blah blah. paige makes. a painting. she has to find The Color that is the key to getting her out. it's the color that she uses painting one of her first moments with andy (a paige/henry knockoff) their first stakeout, which is also somewhat tied to a bet. they've been waiting in the car for hours, it's sunset now and the sky is tinged orange and andy's peeled her some baby oranges bc she's complaining about being hungry so on and so forth. paige is freed. andy sees her painting. and the daughter is named clementine trudeau. empathy, premonitions, orbing, telekinetic orbing (but really only on things in her line of sight. maybe we do a color theme for this one. their next daughter is named sienna trudeau. i can't reasonably tell you why so we'll say she pulled a chris and came back from the future, giving her her name. powers are. telekinesis. orbing. telekinetic orbing. welcome back, chris halliwell. except sienna can also heal. the third daughter will be an adopted witch that paige and andy found when she was young and idk on the run kind of a la tyler michaels. she's maybe seven or so when they find her, clem's maybe three and sienna's one. plotline plotline, we take her in. she becomes a part of the family quickly and clem and sienna view her as her older sister almost immediately lol. meet ruby garcia. first name color last name i'm stealing from jerry garcia bc my parents were just at a grateful dead show or whatever call it an homage (jerry was not there, he is dead. rip.) ruby might add trudeau onto her last name as well. tbd. anyways, as it turns out, she is a demon witch (omg!!) powers are. fireballs energy balls telekinesis and flaming. i am actually going to make her zankou's daughter. just for funsies.

#i'm going to try to do the other two tomorrow!!#piper x coop #paige x andy #charmed #next gen #charmed next generation #💌

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