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so-much-for-the-seashells · 4 months ago

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The Strawberry, The Sheriff, and the Cartel Sheriff Beau Arlen (Big Sky) x PI!Reader

Chapter One: Welcome to Big Sky, Mt!

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~Before we Begin~

A/N: this is part one of an ongoing series. If you like the story and would like to be part of a tag list: please let me know, either through dm or comments. Still looking for a beta reader, dm if interested! :) Icons are by me! As always, any and all interaction is appreciated!

I really love Big Sky, even for all its faults. And to be honest, I was genuinely hoping for a season four. Since we aren’t getting that, I’m writing this. I’m no expert on PI/Detective work, but I’m doing my best. This is a work of fiction after all.

Anyway, I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to give any background and let the story speaks for itself. :)

Content/Content Warning: Nothing too crazy yet, but I’d rather a 16+ audience on this series for what might happen later. References to drugs and kidnapping. Cursing. Canon typical violence will occur.

~Without further ado, Welcome to Big Sky, Mt!~

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Who commits real crimes in Montana, anyway? I guess I’d always figured that there wasn’t enough of us to do so in the first place. But, as it turns out, no place is too small for shitty people. Go figure.

Part of me has always hoped for a big case. Something high stakes, something that might actually make me think. I had always been resigned to the throes of missing pets and cheating partners. Maybe a B&E or a purse-snatching here and there to spice things up. Sure, those are still crimes, but a kidnapping tied to a cartel?

Now we’re talking.

Wait. That sounds bad. Of course I feel bad for the victims, I’m not a jackass. It’s just that this is where things in my career finally get interesting. Where if I solve the case, I’m solving something bigger than Whitefish. Which would really make me feel better about myself, if I’m being honest. I don’t really feel like I’ve made a difference with any the cases I’ve solved. Sure, it’s good to see Mary-Jane get her cat back or tell Kathy-Lee that James was in fact cheating on her and seeing her so liberated after breaking up with him. But none of that is bigger than Whitefish, where I’ve been since I was born. I needed something important, something big.

And this certainly is that something big.

Something big enough that I’ve had to travel almost seven hours from my hometown to Big Sky. Bertha, my truck, needed to get out of the house anyway. But seven hours… damn. Especially considering Whitefish could be renamed ‘Small Town’- I don’t think I’d had driven more than two hours till then.

Something big enough that literal drug cartels were involved.

No one would expect Montana to have so many ties to cartels. It’s so random, right? I mean, who even thinks about Montana in the first place aside from hikers and outdoorsy people? I know I wouldn’t if I didn’t live here. But I guess that’s the draw for these weird mob families. There’s not much of a radar to be on up here.

Big Sky had barely cleared out the Bhullar family maybe six months ago. A friend of mine, a fellow PI named Cassie Dewell, had told me all about it. She had been involved; her friend Undersheriff Jenny Hoyt had been one of the major players in taking them down. But in the end, as I understood it, the family had more or less taken themselves down. Serves them right.

But when one pot empties you’ve got to fill it with something new, I guess. That’s where I come in.

See, I’m a PI because I couldn’t be bothered with the how rule-abiding proper detectives have to be. Rules don’t get things done in the justice system, in my opinion. I’ve seen too many people either go down or get off when they shouldn’t because of it.

Rules are good guidelines, but just that- guidelines. Something to guide you, but not something that’s always right. If you want to get things done, you need a little more independence.

But with that independence comes cases that folks in the Sheriff’s Department wouldn’t even have come across their desks. Like the cheating, or the missing pets. So be it: I get paid more; and anyway, sometimes the “dumb” stuff is what’s best to get you ready for the “good” stuff.

María Almería had been the one to reach out to me. Her and Felix, her husband; as well as her three kids, Anna, Josue and Carolina; are neighbors of mine. They’re good people, and I’m pretty close with the family. I like them a lot, from the parents to the kids.

Usually I get hunches about people- its why I’m good at my job. When Kathy-Lee asked me to investigate her husband, I could’ve told her off the bat that he was cheating. Not because I’d explicitly seen him, but for whatever reason I could read it on him. It’s like a sixth sense.

That sense must’ve been dormant every time I went to the Almerías’, though, because I had never once gotten a bad vibe about Felix. María’s husband was always kind, a good father- his kids would attest to that, a good husband- María never once had anything bad to say about him, and he actually carried his weight around the house. Cleaned dishes, did laundry… yes, the bar is low, but he is certainly better than most of the fish in the world’s hellhole of a sea. Not to mention that he was always genuine: never a bad word about anyone or anything, not even about cockroaches (those damned things are my mortal enemy). And you could see that genuineness his eyes, which are usually what gives someone’s story away if you know how to look at them.

Honestly, he was the last person I was expecting to go missing. I couldn’t even fathom the thought of him having enemies. With most people in cases like these, there’s at least one aspect about them that makes their disappearance make sense. Maybe it’s in how they act, or maybe it’s in the people they were most often around. I could rule out the first one: Felix has never had any senility issues, nor would be one to be prone to just run away from his family with no explanation. But that leaves the second option, the harder one.

When you know your client and the person that’s gone missing, things are immediately both easier and harder. Easier in that you know the client, and they know and trust you. Sure, that’s not every case, but in this case I was 99% sure that María nor her young children had anything to do with his disappearance. You’ve always got to have that slight doubt though, even if it’s just one percent. That’s detective work rule #1.

But in the same breath, it also makes it harder- the expectations and the stakes are higher. And also, you realize just how much you don’t know about people.

I had exhausted my every resource in Whitefish for a week, but there was absolutely no trace of Felix. María had even called him in missing to me before she could to the police- damn the wait 48 hours rule- and yet I still couldn’t get the jump on the blues.

The story was that María had taken her daughters clothes shopping while Josue was staying over at a friend’s for a sleepover. When they came home, Felix was gone. However, his phone was sitting on the table and his wallet and keys still on their kitchen counter, and the idea of him not taking any of those things was preposterous. He was one to always have them on him. That was why she called him in as missing after he didn’t return for a few hours. Her and her kids’ alibis checked out with both me and eventually the Whitefish Sheriff’s Department.

While researching Felix I had come across the name Bobby Ramirez. They had been in a news article together, set in Big Sky. And something about this Bobby, even from the pictures, didn’t seem right. His smile was just a little too crooked, his eyes betraying something stronger than mischief.

When I had asked María about his next of kin, she had said there was no one. But this Bobby looked so similar to Felix, to the point that I just had to ask. Apparently Bobby Ramirez’s real name is Roberto Almería, and he’s Felix’s estranged brother who lives in Big Sky. Never would’ve guessed.

Apparently the brothers had had a terrible relationship because, in María’s words, Bobby is “a nightmare.” I didn’t really get much more information than that, but the look in her eyes told me more than enough, along with the fact that she was visibly trembling. And the last time she saw him, before she even had kids, he had talked about going into a lucrative business (presumably drugs- fentanyl, maybe?) and promptly dropped off the grid. He’d asked Felix to join him and he had given a hard no, and I guess the falling out was so bad that the kids didn’t even know they had an uncle on their dad’s side. Once she had even gotten the feeling that Bobby could be involved in this, she begged me to back off. Even though her beloved husband was at risk, she begged me to back off. But I couldn’t: this family had shown so me far too much kindness in the past for me to just give up on Felix.

Bobby Ramirez apparently owns a repair shop in Big Sky. Bob’s Motors. Super creative, I know. It’s been open for about ten years- probably since around the time of the falling out. But from the shitty reviews online I have a good feeling it’s a front, since it’s still open, and the best lead I’ve got. María had mentioned that Bobby was in with a weird crowd, and that he was friends with Kory Jefferson. That’s where the presumed drug involvement comes in.

Kory, or KJ as he’s known on the streets, was and is bad news. He’s managed to weasel his way out of at least five arrests despite being a part of multiple drug cases. You know how? By being a CI for the police against his own employers in exchange for full immunity. It’s honestly impressive how many times he’s gotten away with the stunt, but I guess people wrongly figured him to be unimportant. Bobby being tied to him and Felix going missing just as KJ was buying mass property in Big Sky… it’s too much of a coincidence not to investigate.

Hence, the seven hour drive in the truck I’ve had fifteen years. Got it at the end of high school, a gift from my dad. But she was only supposed to last ten years. Emphasis on supposed to, cause my intention is to run her until she drops dead.

Thankfully my dad was a mechanic and he taught me how to fix just about any problem with the engine and the car in general. So, just like a truck that’s actually within its warranty, the only thing I usually have to worry about is me being a dumbass.

And a dumbass I am.

I had wisely decided to test the limits of the infamous last bar of gas- look, I only had to stop once so I was thinking maybe I could make it.

I thought wrong.

“Whoops,” is what I most definitely did not say when my car actually stopped just a few miles beyond the “Welcome to Big Sky, Mt!” sign. What I really said was a string of profanities so colorful and vulgar that I genuinely would rather not repeat them. I had smacked the hazards button, and then stepped outside and kicked the tire with enough force to almost break my toe, because one dumb decision wasn’t enough for me that day.

So yeah, that’s about where we are right now. I’m standing outside of my car with one hand on my hip and the other holding my phone, weighing my options. The nearest gas station is naturally twenty miles away, and one thing’s for sure is that I’m no marathoner. It would probably take me until tomorrow to get there. On the other hand, I could do the normal thing and call a tow truck. But if there’s anything my frugal mother taught me, it’s that you shouldn’t pay for anything unless you absolutely have to. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but it’s sort of ingrained in me, and in this instance, I don’t really want to call a skeevy tow trucker.

Of course; there’s always the third, very rational option: I turn into the Hulk and push the truck. Obviously that’s the most plausible of the three.

Just as I’m getting ready to be a normal person and figure out a towing service to call does a sign of life appear. Up until now, somehow, literally nobody had passed through this road. It’s another truck, burgundy and bulky.

I wave, my face still stuck in a scowl as the driver approaches. It rolls to a halt near me on the opposite side of the road, before the hazards flash and the driver steps out.

“Car troubles, I’m assuming?” a strong Texan drawl greets me.

“You’re assuming correctly,” I smile sarcastically, taking in the stranger. He’s handsome, classically so, and he sure does fill out those Wranglers. Looks straight out of a Clint Eastwood movie, sans the cowboy hat.

“What seems to be the issue?” he cocks his head cordially, taking a step closer. Normally I’d be one to back away, but I don’t have a bad feeling about this guy. He’s wearing sunglasses, so I can’t read his eyes, but something tells me I don’t have to.

“Ran out of gas,” I mumble, more than a little embarrassed to be admitting it out loud.

“Hey, we’ve all been there,” he assures me. “Do you want me to take you to get gas?”

“I don’t usually step into stranger’s trucks,” I tell him warily. As kind as he seems I can never be too sure. Ever.

“Well if it helps any, I’m the Sheriff around these parts.” He pulls his jacket to reveal more of his belt, showing off his Sheriff’s badge pinned to it. He taps it once, for emphasis. Oh, wait, this must be… “Beau Arlen,” he introduces, interrupting my thoughts. He outstretches a hand and I shake it. His hand is huge compared to mine, callused but still soft somehow.

“Your reputation precedes you, Sheriff Arlen,” I tell him, letting go of his hand.

“That so?” It’s endearing how he perks up at that.

“I’m friends with Cassie Dewell,” I explain.

“Oh! Cass is the best! How do you know her?”

“I’m a PI- we all know each other.”

“Huh, y’don’t say.”

“What, you sheriffs aren’t like that?”

“Can’t say we are.”

“Shame,” I say melodramatically. He chuckles.

“Can’t all be PI’s, now can we?”

“True that.”

“Soo, that ride?” he tilts his head towards his truck.

“Yes, thank you,” I say sincerely.

“Anytime.” I follow him back over the middle line of the road to his truck, where he opens the door for me and offers an arm to help me step up. Huh, chivalry. Refreshing.

He stars his truck and drives a little down the road to make a u-turn before presumably heading towards the nearest gas station

“So what brings you to Big Sky?” he asks, making small talk.

“A case, actually… it’ll probably be on your radar soon enough. I’m thinking cartel, not a hundred percent sure yet.” I decide to keep the details to myself; there’s just too much at stake here.

“Another cartel? In this county? Y’know the last one ended with the boy killing his pops. And the pops had left the kid for dead too. Not to mention that the daughter was a pain in our ass, moonlighting as a real estate agent… but don’t get Hoyt started on that Tonya ‘cause she still can’t stand the sight of her… sorry, I’m ramblin,’” there’s a faint blush on the apples of his cheeks, and it’s adorable. But frankly I don’t mind his chatter, he’s nice to listen to. I like how he gets lost in his own stories.

“No worries, I like listening,” I shrug. My dad always said ‘listening lets you hear the things you wouldn’t’a heard if you weren’t.’ It’s sort of a ‘no shit’ phrase, but it’s true.

“There’s a first- Cass and Jenny like to get on me for talking too much,” he muses, no offense in his voice.

“That’s ’cause they don’t know ‘too much.’ I once had a client who told me his entire life story from birth to present day,” I reminisce, not even hyperbolizing. “I learned all about the std he got from a prostitute back in the 60s at Woodstock, and about his five wives: Maryanne, Georgia, Gina, Kevin, and Sade.”

“Kevin?” he laughs incredulously, taking his eyes off the road for a second to look at me.

“Yep. That was during the eighties though, so apparently it doesn’t make him gay,” I laugh, knowing how ridiculous it sounds.

“Wait, what was the STD?”

“Chlamydia,” I answer, without missing a beat.

“Wow, you have a good memory, huh?”

“Just for cases.” Which is true: in my daily life I would probably forget my head if it wasn’t attached to the rest of my body. I genuinely couldn’t tell you what I ate yesterday, but I do know that at 11:25 am I booked the motel I’ll be staying at. You know why I know that? Because I had just made the KJ break. See?

“That’s damn useful in your line of work,” he compliments.

“Yeah.” We ride in silence for a little bit because my dumb ass can’t hold a conversation. It’s not my fault that my only friends are my mom. Well, and Cassie Dewell, I guess, but I don’t see her all that often.

“Okay, so the accent- Texas?” I ask. Trying to bring back the conversation.

“Born and raised,” he confirms, emphasizing his drawl. I smile at the effort. I like his drawl, it compliments the deep and roughness of his voice.

“Cowboy country, nice,” I say.

“Hey, not all of us are cowboys!” he defends playfully.

“The first thing I thought when I saw you was ‘cowboy,’” I tell him matter-of-factly.

“Touché,” he laughs. “Truth be told I was literally raised on a ranch, so I can’t really be talking. Y’know, I had a really nice dog named Juniper. She herded the cattle, while I would pretend to “help.” By “help” I mean stand towards the side, scared of getting stomped on cause I weighed little more than a plastic bag from the grocery store.” More stories- I have a feeling he could write a book.

“Puberty must’ve hit you like a truck,” I mused, referring to the last part of his story.

“That or the gym,” he laughs.

“You a gym rat, Sheriff?”

“More or less,” he takes one hand off the steering wheel to flex his jacket-covered bicep. I wolf whistle, and he laughs. He’s a very large man, from his stature to his statuesque physique.

“Is there even a gym around here? I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere, and I’m from fucking Whitefish,” I joke, referring to the fact that the only signs of life we’ve encountered are the gorgeous trees bordering the open road.

“Preaching to the choir,” he smiles.

“So, why’d you stick around, then? I heard you were just an acting sheriff,” I inquire, wondering why the cowboy-or anyone, for that matter- would want to stay here.

“I’ve got my ghosts in Houston,” his voice turns subtly melancholic, telling me not to pry. So I don’t, knowing the feeling. “But back to your question, there is a gym,” his tone returns back to its lightheartedness.

“It’s abandoned, isn’t it.”

“Well, there’s me. And uh, me. And sometimes Denise, who I think just wants an excuse to see my ass,” he laughs.

“Denise Brisbane? From Dewell and Hoyt?” I only know the name, nothing more.

“Yeah, she’s sweet- she cooks for me too, even though I’m a grown ass man.”

“Someone’s got a fan club,” I tease.

“Population one,” he retorts.

“Well maybe I’ll see you or you and Denise there at some point.”

“I’d like that… hey, you’re not joining the fan club are you?” he raises a brow from behind his sunglasses.

“In your dreams, Sheriff,” we both smile, and sit back for a second, the silence less awkward this time, at least for me.

“Y’can call me Beau, y’know. If you want to, anyway,” he tells me, breaking the half a second of quiet.

“Mk, Beau it is.” I like the way his name feels coming out of my mouth. And what a fitting name it is… he is objectively gorgeous.

“Hey, I just realized I never got yours,” he says suddenly.

“Huh? My what?” I say confused. Look, the road trip’s got me exhausted.

“Your name,” he clarifies.

“Oh. It’s Y/N. Y/N L/N.”

“Y/N- that’s a really nice name,” he compliments.

“Thanks,” I can’t help but be flattered.

“Where’s it from?”

“My dad- it was the name of some book character.”

“Cool! That’s a lot more creative than how my kid got named,” he laughs.

“You have a kid?” I ask, mildly surprised. Not that I think he’d be a bad dad after the half hour of knowing him, but just because since I don’t have kids I don’t usually expect people my age to either.

“Mhm. Emily- she takes after her mom, though.”

“You’re married?” I don’t see a ring, that’s the only reason I’m asking.

“I was.” There’s that melancholy tone again… something tells me there’s more to this cordial cowboy than meets the eye.

“Well in any case, Emily’s a pretty name for what I’m sure is a beautiful daughter,” I say, changing the subject.

“You callin’ me handsome?” he teases.

“All I’m going to say is that your mama was real on the nose with the name… Beauregard.” I decide to mix the compliment a little bit.

“You really think that’s my name?”

“No,” I confess, giggling.

“Good, I was hopin’ I didn’t come across as a”-he shudders comedically-“Beauregard.”

“Cmon, it’s not the worst name,” I chide.

“Well it’s certainly far from the best,” he retorts, and I shake my head with a smile. “Alright, we’re coming up on it now.”

I look up ahead, taking in the sight of this gas station that’s literally the only building in sight. It’s a bit on the dinghy side, half of the letters in the neon sign don’t work, so it says “De Ass Ton” instead of Del’s Gas Station. Go figure for this town.

But wait…

“What the fuck?” we both say in unison, taking in the sight before us.

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Until Part Two, dear reader! <3

#beau arlen #beau arlen x reader #beau arlen x you #beau arlen x female reader #beau arlen x y/n #beau arlen fanfiction #big sky #big sky show #Jensen Ackles #fanfic #ongoing series #hehe #jensen ackles characters #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles fanfiction

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13thdoctorposts · 10 months ago

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I hate that RTD and Tennant and crew can't leave the show alone, that not only does RTD act like his formula is the only/best and not only is Tennant incapable of fucking stepping back from the role even after a grossly egotistical first run in the 00s, but a generation of fans only recognise/like Who when its in that image. And that hurts the show massively, it hurts other actors both in the sense that they aren't allowed from out of his fucking shadow and in that literal workplace abuse and media smear campaigns are excused when it happens around them.

Yeah, considering the most questionable things seem to happen under RTDs watch but the media never has anything to say negative about him compared to the level of shit levered at Moff but then even more so at Chibs, especially when Chibs seems like the most humble of the 3 is crazy.

I've read a lot of comments that Chibs wasnt good enough to Showrun as big a show as Doctor Who he didnt have the skills for it, but lucky RTD is back because he has the skills to do it, the cope from people is crazy!

Especially considering the shit show that seems to exist now, leaks, upon leaks, upon leaks, Ncuti's announcement almost instantly being over shadowed by Tennant's announcement, and the fact that Ncuti's happened on a red carpet... they would have known it was about to be leaked and couldn't have come up with something a bit better even if it was on a short deadline? Didn't really matter I guess Tennent coming back and being announced the following week seemed more important to them. The Bi-regeneration, which within the show lore I don't care about, do canon braking things, but of course that left the 14th Doctor out there doing his own thing with his own TARDIS completely overshadowing Ncuti, the number of comments I've seen about 15th not being the 'real' Doctor or being a clone Doctor etc. and for what to keep Tennent around off camera? So that people would question 15th legitimacy? To make sure Ncuti couldn't have his time alone to shine? Then we have the recent articles saying Millie was dropped/axed... with no evidence spread across the internet and front pages of papers across the UK saying she was dropped/axe for inappropriate behaviour with no elaboration, just trying to ruin a 19 year olds career with nothing to corroborate or evidence given and neither Bad Wolf or The BBC bothered to come out and clarify anything even though these stories also unofficially announced a new companion... one that even Mandip Gill said she has kindly messaged and Radio Times has spoken about, but Bad Wolf and The BBC haven't even announced her and given her that moment. And a side note to that is the new white companion got introduced with the TARDIS by the New Doctor as an official announcement the woman of colour companion got announced in a bunch of papers bad mouthing the former companion, guess like Ncuti not everyone gets to have the same treatment. So Chibs wasnt good enough to Showrun?! No one knew Jodies casting announcement that didnt get leaked, even Dan got his own video announcement as a new companion, nothing to do with his writing but Showrunning the show with the limited BBC budget he had even though he was able to keep his house in order for over 5 years while RTD, with his big BBC/Disney budget doesnt seem to keep anything in order, and Chibs is the one who supposedly doesnt have the skills to Showrun.

I think we really did need a brand new show runner and Tennent should have only returned for the 60th if it was a multi Doctor story, Multi, not as in just with 15 in the last ep but with previous Docs. All the 60th did was give the 10th Doctor a happy ending that was seriously weird for all the Doctors who came after him, so narratively was just a WTF, like you just told a companion you had feelings for them and couldn't settle down and 3 days later settle down with a friend from 1000 years ago (in the doctors time) talk about jarring to watch, the episodes were not celebratory in anyway, wasn't written any better then 13 era despite what we were told we would get and left 14 there so people could make countless videos and write countless blog posts about how 15 isnt legitimate. what a celebration!

I think we needed a brand new show runner, no having 10 and 14 to make Tennent even more special by putting him in every Doctor line up from now on twice and had Ncuti come in. I understand He couldn't film for the 60th, but they managed to put a Christmas Ep out with him 3 weeks later maybe instead of the 60th and Christmas ep it could have been a movie length ep with Ncuti so filming could have started later.

Thats a pretty long rant sorry. But in conclusion we should have just moved forwards instead of bothering to look back, and given the new actors the lime light in the way they deserved.

#anti rtd

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mike-haters-dni · 8 months ago

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Scalding, unnecessary take that I'm going to use as an excuse to yap about my hyperfixation characters more than anything, but El's character is actually impossible to stick into coffee shop fanfiction No Supernatural Shit AUs. That's Jane you're writing about. Jane and El are not the same person. At all. And like, Jane is interesting to think about, don't get me wrong. I have thought about Jane. I love Jane. She's adorable and vaguely autistic. But Jane != Eleven.

Eleven is the way she is almost entirely because of her experience/trauma of growing up in the lab and having supernatural murder powers. Her main characters traits are being a self-sacrificing hero and not being sure who she is due to the fact she grew up in an isolated sterile inhuman environment. Unless you're directly translating those things into something unsupernatural (like growing up in a fucked up cult or something and like fighting her way out and now she'll fight to protect other people from similar experiences or something idk) you're writing about Jane the normal gorl who got to grow up with a normal personality in a normal world. And like, you can do that. It's fine it's fandom do whatever u want. But personally, the first thing I come up with when I birth an AU is what crazy powers and fucked up backstory we give Eleven here. Also how do we make her and everyone else really fucking cool but that...might be beside the point idk.

The powers have to basically ruin or have had ruined her life at one point. They have to be a curse that she either reclaims or gets rid of at the end. If she isn't tortured she isn't Eleven Stranger Things lmao

And then yeah yeah my next step is to figure out how Mike AND THE OTHERS OK but mostly Mike get involved in this. Which brings me to my next point: Jane and Mike have no real reason to talk to each other. Mike x Jane is just Normal Gorl x Normal Boy which is like, fine sure if that's what you want, but also you kinda just erased everything interesting about their dynamic. You wanna know what makes El and Mike's relationship so compelling? Objectively? I'm objectively right about everything I'm about to say here? Ok their dynamic is this: Eleven is the most important person in the world, and Mike is the only boy who will ever love her. And yeah that second one sounds really sad but 1. yeah it kinda is :) 2. its not really true that's just what El thinks which is like a major theme for her character TO ME, her underestimating how 'normal' she is esp in her later years 3. it also is kinda true because he's the only boy romantically interested in her who actually understands and experienced all the supernatural/lab trauma bullshit and is actively fighting beside her through the plot of the show, and 4. he's literally perfect and also the only boy she'll ever love and need so it all works out.

And to explain the first one, I mean, you know she's saved the world twice right? She kinda literally is the most important person in the world considering its up to her to stop the apocalypse probably in the end? But its not the being important exactly that makes Mike love her ok, that's more of a meta character thing. Like she doesn't have to literally be the key to saving the world and the most powerful being in the universe. Its more that she has to have something really special about her that draws Mike specifically to her and binds him to her permanently and inseparably and he belongs to her forever and ever and they die in each other's arms. Like she deserves. In canon I imagine objectively and correctly that it went like this: Mike is a natural outcast collector and protector due to his pervasive unconscious need to be needed and his fear of losing the few people who like him, who meets the ultimate outcast girl who literally has nothing and needs him in a very real way, and this gives him an excuse to just pour his entire self into her, fulfilling one of his deepest interpersonal needs. The best part is that she's super selfless and amazing and she loves him the same right back so its actually a beautiful thing they get going. Basically the idea of being anything less than perfect for her is so sad and horrible due to how fucked her life was that it drives the already caretaking Mike into overdrive to make her happy. Not at the cost of him still being an individual person, mind you. But that's the vibe. Also let me just say, all the self-sacrificing vibes and obsession and desperation can become toxic under certain circumstances and that is absolutely a feature not a bug. Sorry you don't like watching your faves yell at each other but we are not the same.

Anyway what the fuck was I talking about? AUs? Yeah ok so when translating Mike (AND THE OTHERS...and the others) into other stories there's more flexibility u kno because he's mostly just Some Guy. He really just needs (TO ME) an excuse to be fighting with Eleven (she has to be fighting something with the powers I know you gave her). He shouldn't be directly involved with whatever gave her the powers but he should generally know of and be somewhat affected by it. Or become aware of it/involved with it over time. Like in the show. You get it. Honestly his only real consistent character traits are being kinda moody and being the leader of the party in whatever vague or not way. And being intelligent. Like he has to be leader for a reason. I guess that's a decent base for a character right there.

oh right side note: you have to do something fun with her name. like she was basically branded Eleven by the freak that gave her the powers so u gotta take that energy and translate it into another branded name that has el in it because she needs to get the nickname ofc. unless its a cyberpunk au in which case Eleven is a pretty normal name and she can just go by that lmao.

So the point ig is Jane and Mike break up when they go away to different colleges and don't talk to each other again until their next high school reunion, while Mike and Eleven are...well you should know by now.

#this is truly me rambling to myself but ig that's why we're here right #yes i want to discuss mike and eleven's characters more #yes its exhausting writing shit #yes u can ask questions/talk about ur own AUs or whatever #blah blah engage with me or don't ig #one like and i list my AUs tho #if i feel like it #ig ill tag this #mileven #not like theres anything else in the tag rn hahaha

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the-bitter-ocean · 5 months ago

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oceaaaannn hiii! let's go with 3, 5, and 15 for the isat ask game c:

(MAJOR A6SE / 2HATS SPOILERS + FULL GAME SPOILERS AHOY) Thank you for the questions @dekupalace ! Since I’m going to be talking more in depth about the game for one of these questions I’m going to put my responses under a read more:

3- favorite soundtrack?

Oh god that’s such a hard question the whole game has certified bangers. The musicians at Studio Thumpy Puppy were not messing around or pulling any punches. The soundtrack of the game elevates literally every emotional beat. If I was forced to choose only one song out of the soundtrack my favorite track in the whole game has to be “How Can You Help Me, Stardust?” aka the theme that plays when you fight Loop at the Favor tree during act six. Hearing that for the first time while getting the full context of loop’s backstory made me go crazy. It was so fucking emotional and well done. That and it’s just objectively a super intense high energy song that makes me wanna dance around. If anyone deserves the coolest fight theme in the game, it’s Loop.

5- favorite optional event?

Ooh this is also a hard one! I adore a lot of the optional story events because each of them really shed light on Siffrin’s mental state /characterization, as well as gives depth to other aspects like the other character of the world building as a whole which strengthens the themes of the story. Aside from the obvious choice (2Hats Ending/ Act six loop encounter) I think my favorite optional event would have to be the “Who Was Phone” achievement (Change God event). There’s something so fascinating about learning about the Change God. Someone who clearly adores their certified little guy (Mirabelle) and is willing to offer words of kindness and assurance in her identity even if it knows she won’t remember in one instance..and then in the very same breath tell Siffrin that they enjoy watching Siffrin in the timeloop torment nexus because they’re curious to see how they change in a situation where everything is forced to stagnate. It was so genuinely fucked. I will think about it always forever.

15- anything you’d change about the game? be it game mechanics, a new feature, a change in plot, etc

Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the game both in story and gameplay actually. I think Adrienne did a good job writing and expanding on the characters and story that was set up in the prologue. The quality of life in terms of gameplay got improved since the previous game as well ( those who played the prologue can attest to this) . The fact that it was a in universe story reason as to why makes it all the more satisfying (if you want to know what I mean by that please read my mutuals @felikatze analysis about it here.)

I just am happy that Siffrin got to be happy in the end and stay with their family, to be able to talk things out and escape the loops. I know some people didn’t like that or expected a more darker/sadder ending or wanted the gameplay to be more challenging … my response to that is Literally Just Play Start Again: A Prologue. To me it would be extremely reductive to have Siffrin just suffer with no reprieve or escape from the loops (because that’s just a repeat of what happened in its predecessor) or have the group just split off from each other immediately after everything happened. It would have been extremely unsatisfying and ultimately missing the point of the themes of the game as a whole gonna be real lol.

The only things I’d maybe change or add is like it would’ve been cute to see Euphrasie and Claude be together/ reunite on screen in act 6. They should kiss. Lol. (That and just I would’ve personally loved to see Euphrasie in canon expanded on a little more but that’s not necessarily needed she serves her purpose in the narrative. I just like analyzing her and giving her more depth and I like when others do too, but that’s what fanart/ fics and aus are for so I’m not fussed.)

I don’t mind that the game is sort of open ended and doesn’t answer all the questions. I think that gives artists, fanfic writers, Au makers and people who like to analyze the game more freedom to come up with their own interpretations for things that happened in pre canon and post canon which to me is more interesting. I know Loop disappearing at the end of the game in both endings is sad/ bittersweet but I wouldn’t necessarily change the way that was structured either. I like that their fate was ambiguous because it leads the viewer to come up with their own theories as to where they went. ( personally I love seeing stuff where loop gets to travel on their own and form a new life and identity outside of the loops and learn to heal, as well as post game getting to meet back up with the party and learn to navigate this new life/ change one step at a time. )

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oneshortdamnfuse · 1 year ago

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Major Ragnarok Spoilers for Final Episode Discussion

The Ragnarok ending only makes sense if Magne’s delusion is half true. It all being a delusion makes no sense, because doing so would pretty much erase any character development and plot points unrelated to Magne. Whereas, Magne experiencing delusions because of his loss and it becoming stronger because of his obsession with Thor and his embrace of that role is believable. That’s why when the main conflict ends, he can’t move past it. He still sees Ragnarok as inevitable, but his Ragnarok is allowing Thor to die so that he could live as Magne. Putting down the weapons was a way for everyone to process their grief and move on, but Magne needed more time to truly be comfortable with himself and properly mourn Isolde. With that said, it is just completely unbelievable for all of it to be a delusion. It’s just not built into the plot to deserve that ending with the interpretation that is was fully a delusion.

This isn’t like Mr. Robot where all the pieces come together to create a picture that was there right in front of us all along. If it was, then literally none of the conversations and conflict that happened outside of Magne’s view would have happened the way that they did. So, in order to incorporate the ending at all into my understanding of the canon, I can only accept it as half true which is fine. That’s how Legion dealt with the schizophrenia of its main character - some of the superhero fantasies were real and some weren’t. He is a superhero with schizophrenia, not just a man with schizophrenia. We’ve known Magne is neurodivergent, but it was also shown that he was being gaslit into thinking he’s crazy after Isolde’s death because of that neurodivergence. So, maybe it’s a balance of the two. The gods and the jotnar are real, and so was the conflict between them and the impact of that conflict on the town. But. It was distorted in Magne’s mind.

Anyway, I’m going to choose to go the Legion route with this one and interpret it as Magne being both mentally ill and having a special connection with Thor just as Laurits has a special connection with Loki and so on and so forth. It makes the most sense. As I said before, if you want to reject the last episode entirely then you could easily stop at episode five of season three and preserve the integrity of the show. Again, if you were satisfied with the ending then that’s okay too but it really isn’t proven throughout the show that this is all just the fantasy of a sick young man who lost his only friend. It can argued that some of it may be, but definitely not all of it. That’s not congruent with the past two seasons, or anything in season three leading up to it. In order for it to be, other characters would have to play a more active role in dropping hints that it’s not real and that doesn’t happen.

So, yeah. I understand the show was only given three seasons to wrap up. I get that. However, that was a cliché I didn’t expect and it’s not a “wow, they got me!” moment - it’s a wow, that just doesn’t vibe with the rest of the show I’m afraid.

#ragnarok spoilers #ragnarok netflix #there are things i loved about this season #mainly laurits being shamelessly queer #but… yeah…#pouring one out for magne fans #felt that was a bit messy and rushed

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cdroloisms · 4 months ago

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I like messing around with the characters who have nothinburgers of lore its a fun playground

see c!eret doesn't even have nothingburger lore it's just. sighs. inconsistent. especially with what i'm preeetty sure was creator intent, especially near the end of things.

i can take the lore at face value, right, and tell you that c!eret was a character that got supremely fucked over by a vindictive harassment campaign, canonically at least partially fueled by jealousy (as well as c!wilbur obviously being. triggered as hell over the final control room and the loss of control he felt bc of it) that had very real ramifications in character (and outside of it, honestly). and i can tell you that the consequences on the character made them rewrite history in their own head and then like, literally, where they had to redeem themselves of their single sin that they got tempted into by the devil manipulated by c!Dream into committing, when from the beginning while c!Eret was partially motivated by self-interest she ALSO just thought that the FCR was the best way of returning the server to peace??? and either way ... it was a war like yes i'm sure there are ethical and moral ramifications to being a spy in a war yadayada but a lot of the assumptions that emphasize the FCR as being something ~supremely fucked up~ relies on the idea of L'manburg's side in the Revolution being So Much More Moral than the DreamSMP side, never mind that the FCR existed at a time where physical violence with long-lasting ramifications such as canon lives literally wasn't a thing yet and was explicitly a means of stripping them of their gear. that they returned to them after the war.

and it's just so crazy to me, because the actual FCR which became twisted into c!eret's Single Crime is just nawt that big of a deal at all but did become the major talking point for the campaign to treat her fucking terribly on the account of Being A Traitor Hey New Person Did You Hear That Eret SUCKS Because He Betrayed Us !!! but what does feel like more of an issue include a lot of the later actions, such as the excessive gloating towards L'manburgians in ways that were kind of meanspirited (but were hella funny shoutout to the prank war) and then the...kind of tyrannical actions lol umheyyyy do we remember the taxes. also just the knights of hope were ... well they sure were! (i wish wegot that lowkey yesssssssss go hunt c!dream like an animal please ^_^") mexican lmanburg negotiations cough cough anyway. TURNING LOGSTEDSHIRE INTO A MUSEUM EXHIBIT????????????????????GIVING TOURS THERE???????? HEY LOOK HERES THE POLE WHERE THIS KID WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR BTW TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF. LIKE WHY. WHY DID THEY DO THAT.

i don't mind any of this, btw--if i were to give a kind of short explanation to c!eret's character i'd say that she tends to have good intentions overall, but drank so much of the lmanburg kool-aid that it became a whole new thing and also in general has a tendency to act in her personal self-interest and have a pretty short-sighted, self-centered view of the world more often than not. they're not evil, and they certainly don't go out of their way to hurt people, but they also push the blame onto c!Dream a lot, including in ways that don't make sense, and does things like the museum exhibits abt exile and the casual taxing of everyone just cuz and expecting all of dream smp to follow them in supporting a coup against the country they're allied with For Their Redemption Quest in ways that suggest that they tend to prioritize themselves and their wants over a more reasonable. consideration of the people around them. also he got SUPER fucked over by c!wilbur and continues to center their story around him because he thinks that he needs to be redeemed through him, and the thing he thinks he needs redemption for he simultaneously blames on someone else and also just wasn't. A Grand Crime For Her To Need Redemption For. she took the lmanburg story said 'what if i was the main character doe' made a new lmanburg koolaid chugged it and tried to make the whole server fall in line. essentially.

the problem is that i don't think that the character was ... meant to be written like this, and therefore there aren't that many satisfying conclusions. also just in general plot points kept getting set up with little follow through. (i'll limit any cc criticisms here, but i will say that the fandom was an obvious driving point in what happened with the character.) the biggest problem for me was the frequent retconning--it's kind of bad practice in general to Take Back rp frequently, tho c!eret is mostly forgiven bc most of the retcons did happen with solo lore (not ... all of them tho)

but yeagh. i appreciate what is there for c!eret dont get me wrong but ... i do wish it was utilized in a slightly different way

#my asks !!#c!eret critical #c!eret negative #c!eret crit #c!eret neg #like i'd be perfectly fine with literally all of these choices if they were played consistently yaknow #but they weren't . and so we end up with a character that is SUPREMELY not self aware and ... not really in the fun way

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infernal-heart · 11 months ago

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somebody in the comments said “it’s crazy that Asgore can actually tank the real knife” and I know it’s probably just part of the wider glitch going on her but like.

honest to god I think he probably could. like I know he gets btfo’d in real kill everything runs but like. Asgore is not a fucking slack. I see people talking about this a lot but like. despite his kindly demeanor and his malewife boyfailure personality, Asgore is still the king of the fucking monsters for a reason. he is the strongest monster. at least in my mind. he’s just always holding back when we see him fight.

I don’t remember the exact quote but afaik there’s a quote where Undyne says about Asgore training her that she couldn’t even hit him. Which, yeah, makes it sadder that he’s letting himself be stabbed by a child, but it’s also ultimately a credit to his own personal strength in battle when he isn’t deliberately nerfing himself/holding himself back.

I think that’s one aspect of Asgore’s character I don’t see talked about in a lot of circles as much as, I dunno, I suppose I’d like. He’s tragic. He doesn’t want to be killing a kid. He doesn’t want to win. He’s only doing what he is because he thinks it might, somehow, free his people. Another comment I saw says something to the effect of “he even goes so far as to offer to let you be his kid”, which is true! He’s sweet. He doesn’t want to be the monster at the end of the journey.

But he is. And he has to reckon with that. He has to grapple the fact that his decree to kill all humans (note: don’t remember if this is 100% canon) and his momentary vitriol towards them drove his wife away. And, like, that reaction is… ultimately severe, but after seeing both your children, the future of your people, murdered, it’s at least comprehensible how Asgore came to that conclusion, in his blind fury. It’s so very human.

And that’s something Undertale does fantastically. It turns characters literally called monsters into incredibly human, incredibly real people. It’s no wonder why so many people latched onto this game and it’s characters as a fandom, it really has the deep, ensemble cast to support it.

Undertale drops us into a world where the first intro shows us a war between humans and monsters, and then introduces us to monsters as more human than the main protagonist can become. It’s characters react, often, more realistically than we, as players interacting with the world, can. When you kill everybody except for just the tiniest amount, Alphys calls you at the end of the game and says this:

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She’s angry. She’s confused. It’s complicated. She has what she has. It’s somebody trying to deal with stressful, bleak, fucking depressing circumstances, and trying to, for just a moment, find some kind of positive. She still hates you. She still says she should’ve killed you. All of these feelings coexist, she’s not just berating you. She’s a multidimensional character: she’s human.

There are other examples of this, 100%. Asgore and Alphys I think are the easiest examples, given their own personal histories with tragedy and deplorable actions, but god dammit even Flowey, a character who is literally described as having no fucking soul, still… cries before he dies. His true face, Asriel’s face, peeks through in his ever-changing visage, and he pleads with you not to kill him.

You do, of course. Or I suppose Chara does. It’s not important. What is is the point that’s being made: or points, rather.

Undertale, for one, shows us a very simple truth: people who are different are human. It insists that they are, by characterizing these people so intensely, that they are made people by their emotions, their actions, their flaws and stupid jokes, their… realness. It insists upon acceptance for all people. And I love that.

Secondly, Undertale points a finger at its player: it turns that message around in the kill everything route, saying: “you killed everything in the underground except for Asgore. Watch what he says.”

He calls you a monster.

And you are one, in the most… human sense of the word.

The king of the monsters can’t see you as anything but one of his own kind. Because you’ve murdered them all.

Through him, the game is blaming us. Really, the whole point of the kill everything route is yelling at the player to stop, and laughing when we don’t want to. It keeps giving us more, and in the end when we want an ending where we… win?

No. We don’t deserve that, we don’t get to get away from this without consequence.

Undertale creates people for you to befriend, and then lets you kill them. But as players, we don’t expect to be punished for killing these people like.. we would be for murdering someone. We aren’t arrested, sure, aren’t put to trial. But Chara takes our options away. They taint our save file. You can’t forget that kind of bloodshed.

Anyways, there’s one more thing to Asgore’s character that I’d like to bring up:

He know’s about resets.

As a video I watched just now mentions, most people only really consciously expect Flowey and Sans to know about resets. That’s fair, they’re the only characters which explicitly mention them. I’d also wager some people think Alphys has some understanding of them, given Sans’ dialogue about readings and stuff during his fight implying that there’s more than him involved with the apparent detection/research into, what does he call it… fluctuations in the time space continuum? Timelines jumping left and right? I can’t remember the exact wording. You get my point, though.

But during Asgore’s fight, you can tell him he’s killed you before, and he just… nods. He’s very solemn in his fight, but this is just icing on the cake. He remembers killing you multiple times: he has enough awareness to recognize that he’s succeeded before, in his grim task, and been brought back to do it again. It’s another terrible dimension to his torture.

He’s a very compelling character to me, not just because his theme slaps, or because he looks fucking awesome. Asgore is the king, and I think he’s pushed to the side a lot. I dunno. Maybe rightfully, especially in stuff which takes place post-barrier opening, I s’pose. I just think there’s a lot there that I don’t see get talked about much. :) teehee

Credit where credit is due:

Images came from this video

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Idea to talk about Asgore knowing about resets came from this video (not too hard to figure out the video subject lol):

Anyways! Thanks for reading. I love undertale. I could talk about it a million times forever and I probably will. Have a nice day :)

#undertale #asgore #asgore dreemurr #kill everything route #kill everything #undertale kill everything #undertale commentary #I guess is an appropriate tag? lol #undertale analysis #I think also works

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beej-machinations · 8 months ago

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PBA Canon Character Fic Nominees

To help you choose your fave PBA '24 Best Portrayal of a Canon Character Fics, grouped by name!

I've written my own summaries, centred around the nominated character and which of their traits the story explored.

Voting Round ends April 21st (vote here x)

Card Games, Vampires, and a Very Late Letter by TheSailingRabbit Kinch enters the service while hiding a chronic illness; much later, Hogan has finally thought up a way to help him (It's very UnOrthodox). Kinch & Hogan friendship 👍👍🥲

Kinch in Mama Bear by PicassoPenguin 4+1 story of the times Kinch took care of the other bears. what's not to love? Kinch uses his skills in observation and subtlety to watch out for the crew in both direct and indirect ways.

Carter in A Brother's Bond by PicassoPenguin After the war, Little Deer misses his brothers from Barracks 14. He tells Brown Rabbit about them, how much he admires them, and about the first days when he joined the heroes ( !!! )

Carter in Exit, Pursued By A Bear by pronker Carter has questions. The extent to which the gang humors or suffers him is a delicate balance. I think the author captured his voice well :)

Hogan in Decoration Day by Abracadebra Hogan mourns, then honors, the men that have died under his command. He has to lie to Klink to do so, but that's only natural.

Hogan in Sergeant 'Don't You Sass Me, Hogan' Wilson by whatisthismandoinghere Doctors may make the worst patients, but Colonels come in at a close second.

LeBeau Hogan in Well and Truly Got by Cardinal Rose - (Hogan story, i think this was mislabelled in the poll) Hogan's luck runs out. He tries anyway, but the consequences are unavoidable.

Klink in Klink's Brother by Sam Worth Klink talks a little about his family, both real and imagined. Well captured voice and mannerisms

Klink in Yoga Session by Deepbluethinking Klink discovers that kowtowing to Burkhalter leads to kowtowing in a more literal way, to the dismay of his hamstrings.

Klink in Ashes by LightShiner14 Atypically, Klink goes to church. Childhood memories rise unbidden; and Klink reflects on the irony of attending church in the bloodied present day. There's also a question pressing at him: what does he find within himself? Does he dare examine it?

LeBeau in Operation Mother Hen by Tuttle4077 Lebeau is sick. He's miserable, prideful, and Not Happy with the fuss everyone is making - to the point of driving everyone crazy: until they recruit the best nurse (very cute)

LeBeau in Spring Flowers by Tuttle4077 a poetically evocative piece on how Lebeau witnesses the changes to his beloved Rhineland. For better, for worse, for better, for worse. for better? (the imagery is vivid, and Lebeau's love really shines through)

Uneasy Company by dust on the wind Stuck between a rock, a hard place, a Hochstetter, and more troubles on the way, Newkirk is stranded without any backup. We get to see how he thinks and performs under pressure when the crew isn't there. When he needs to use his lockpicking skills, how can he explain them to the paranoid Hochstetter?

Drop Bears by dust on the wind Newkirk makes a bet with an Australian POW, and ends up taking a different gamble and performing some last-minute acrobatics.

A Deserved Gift by Cardinal Rose Newkirk dreams up the perfect plot for springtime. Most of the crew beg off taking part, because its an unnecessary risk, but regardless the victory is sweet and enjoyed by all. (in wartime, even Petty Revenge requires Pro Revenge tactics)

Cracking the Vault by Sierra Sutherwind Reminded of his younger days, Newkirk gives himself an inconveniently timed challenge - much to the dismay of Hogan and Schultz. They support him, but tbh they had their hands tied, what else could they do? (bonus: Schultz and the OCs in this fic go through some interesting developments, but they arent the focus in this category)

Once Is Enough by Abracadebra Newkirk is recruited as the reluctant accomplice in Marya's latest wild scheme. He shows off his skills at bluffing, snarking, and griping >:) i like how the more stressed he gets the funnier he gets haha

Autumn Winds by Fear-Of-The-Cold Newkirk's attitude toward human connection over the years, as it is influenced by his family and the world. we get to see a pre-Heroes POW Newkirk

The Assassin by lonewolfette9846 Newkirk is given the most important job in the war. And he has to do it alone. He does his best to keep his cover, and in the little time he has strategises his next moves. A very tense story - and that tension takes its toll on Newkirk. I like how methodical and tactical Newkirk comes across in this, despite the mission not being remotely in his experience.

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(voting link again)

#hogan's heroes #hogans heroes #papa bear awards #2024 Papa Bear Awards Nominees #fic rec #colonel hogan #robert hogan #wilhelm klink #louis lebeau #andrew carter #peter newkirk #james kinchloe #lol everybody loves putting newkirk in situations #PBA

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minkschasijasi · 1 year ago

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About "disaster twins" there is so much room to play in half brothers of the same age but dont shars a birthday, raised together but not twins both middle children struggling with issues stemming from that but without a particularly strong bond (as compared to the collective) between them. I personally find it a shame how strongly the fandom latched onto the twin idea ignoring what word of god has said about it. Its a unique dynamic as is.

Real. Honestly, idm disaster twins that much ,, i think they’re a great duo ,, heck—it’s a sturdy dynamic. Sometimes i just get struck with the thought that their twin roles are not at all canon and it breaks my perspective of the entire fandom for a moment.

Cause jeez! Mkey’s mystic injuries on his arms didn’t seem canon, by the way they showed it near the end of the sequence where Leo was pulled out of the portal and into Staten Island

Or Raph being partially or becoming fully blind in one eye because of his kraang transformation

Even the entirety of the future family in the kraangpocalypse are non-existent, we only know leo and mikey’s designs, that they are leo and mikey in the future, and that they were one of, if not, the last groups to be alive during the end of that starting scene. Majority (shoutout to Cass Apocalyptic Series and L.O.V.E.!) took deleted scenes from the opening, the actual opening shot as well, and spun a wild story out of it.

No shame though, i love every one of those guys i absolutely die inside out of sheer excitement when these guys post.

Kinda crazy though, how literally 50% of my hyperfixations are complete headcanons and alternate universes

Shows how starved we are as rottmnt fans 😭

More words under cut <3 (duh)

But to follow with anon’s thoughts on the twin shtick with the blue and purple turtles, i guess it just follows the majority’s preferences on how much bullying we can create out of these chaotic middle children. Out of the four turtles, those two are most likely the most popular��and we all probably know the rule with our favorite character/s.

Either we give them the entire world, or we make them suffer tremendously before giving them the entire world.

I see the half-brothers-same-age-but-not-twins idea being a really cool change from the usual disaster twins content ,, they’d both strike me dead, positively.

With them having similar placement issues on the team, i find that without the twin dynamic between them would have to build a more sturdy relationship instead of the route a lot of people, probably including me, take—which is to say they already had that bridge build to each other and are able to confide in each other their said problems and complaints.

Though the twins idea does bring up a more dramatic and conflicting flares between the two when it comes to sibling fights, especially serious ones. Cause, when you’re siblings you got a connection, but when you’re twins (fraternal or not) you’ve probably got a bigger bond than the usual. This is probably one of the reasons why so many rottmnt fanfic writers or even people who don’t do that and just make rando content on the two prefer this connection—it allows that sweet, sweet angst.

I guess, we just play around with this a lot. I mean, thing with cutting shows in half is that it will allow fans the freedom to do whatever they wish with it, especially since this show started growing in popularity a while ago. I just enjoy being in the fray of it all :)))

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt discussion #rottmnt disaster twins #rottmnt fandom #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt leo #rottmnt hcs #save rottmnt #thanks anon for the ask!!#it actually got me thinking for a while about this :)#also—I DO LOVE THE DISASTER TWINS DUO do not get me wrong #i just really like to experiment with these relationships #especially when i start thinking about how these are actually just hcs

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toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp · 10 months ago

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Hello and welcome to Day 13 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

I have been a bit under the weather so this is a bit later than I would have liked to post but oh well...

As I said in yesterday's post, today I will talk about another My Hero Academia System AU, but this time, Izuku is unlucky to be actually trapped (alongside other people - OCs mostly) into a System that gives them a series of tests with the very real possibility of them dying during said tests.

This idea is heavily inspired by the novel (and manhwa) "Global Examination" - which I urge you to check out cause it is awesome.

The title for this fic is: System 16-564-53

(The title is kinda important for the story so if you wanna, try deciphering it)

In this AU, Izuku never went to U.A, thus never becoming a hero nor getting All Might's Quirk - which means Mirio got One for All.

Izuku instead continued his life, getting into college after going into military service for a year or so. While in college, Izuku gets a sketchy email about him being selected as a participant in a contest, which he ignores. At least up until Izuku wakes up in the middle of nowhere (together with 9 more strangers) where System 16-564-53 tells them they are in a series of tests where their lives will be at stake.

Of course, one of the people there doesn't believe an iota of what it was said by the System, which prompted it to kill the "nuisance" as a warning for the other "players".

And so, Izuku finds himself in a position where his insecurities need to be left aside so that he can get out of here alive - and, hopefully, he can help the others survive too.

Unbeknownst to Izuku, the System is actually a part of All For One - one of the many Quirks he stole - which has its own hidden agenda with the tests. One thing is for sure, however, this is CLEARLY not the first time such tests have happened.

Some details:

Most of the people Izuku interacts with in the System are OCs. But there will be mentions of some other characters from the series.

Izuku is badass and has so much knowledge that comes in handy here.

Because Izuku is badass, most of the other "players" actually fall for him. I actually have an OC that I literally called "Simp" in my notes. His name is Yutō and he is my baby.

I actually have an Alternate AU where Hero!Izuku from Canon meets Yutō from the canon dimension, and they fall in love there, too.

Numbers and how things are worded play a very important role here.

All For One is the cause of everything and Izuku, in any universe, still ends up fighting against him. (Poor guy, even in an alternate universe, he can't take a break)

So this is about it. What do you think? Good? Bad? Kinda crazy/crack idea?

Let me know!

Have a great day/night and take care of yourselves!

Till tomorrow,

-TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

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avatarvyakara · 1 year ago

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Presenting the premier Addy Brock collection from Strands of Webbing!

Starting out with diversion of a canon event because, honestly, [bleep] that noise:

52. React

"DON’T!" she screams. But Ven#m is already halfway towards the M.O.R.B.I.U.S. device, a look of determination on its electronic inFace—

Until, with a grunt, all three point one five tons of SP//dr shoves the other mech out of the way of the beam of light just in time. A nearby building fuses into a twisted mess of metal and glass, like a Vonnegut crystogram.

"What the hell was that for?" comes the angry voice of Addy Brock from Ven#m's modulator.

"Rule number one on this team: you don't get yourself killed to prove a point!" snaps Peni.

Ven#m's inFace expresses strong shock.

"…we're a team?"

"I didn't say that."

That chirpy expression looks really weird in black and neon white. It probably doesn't help that the teenager inside has a much more…smug face, and that Peni can see both of them quite clearly.

"You implied it."

"Shut up. Now help me figure out this thing's weak spot. And don’t you dare die."

(Addy survives. But Peni's not sure, after the loud squeal at the end of the fight, whether her eardrums are going to last the week.)

60. Introductions

“You’re welcome to stay longer,” she tells Gray with a little hesitation, as they sit atop the New Chrysler eating putty-cakes from a street vendor below. “You could actually come over.”

His eyes shine, but his brow wrinkles—for once he’s got the mask off. He looks like Peter Parker. He looks nineteen. (Thirty. Eighty.)

“I don’t know if your folks would be okay with that.”

“You already met Addy.”

“Well, yeah.” Admittedly, she did threaten Gray with a fate worse than death and a mech. Neither of which seemed very effective to the other Spider, who had just laughed. One Saturday she’d be very happy to forget, honestly. (But he laughed, so there was some success that day.)

“I’ve been trying to explain this to them, the whole multiverse thing,” she says, and huffs. “They still think I’m crazy. Or that I’m lying and that I’ve actually just gotten myself some shady lowlife koibito to spite them.”

Gray’s face hardens. “If that word means what I think it means, then they should know way better.”

But it softens again when he looks at her. “But a six-foot-three-inch-tall nineteen-year-old with a face like a darned sock isn’t going to be much help to you, kiddo.”

“You’re literally from another dimension—”

“And I look scary. I won’t be making it easier for you on my own, not with how you say your aunt and uncle are. Maybe you can get Miles and Gwen in on this?”

She wants to protest, but then he says: “Maybe Ham and Peter too, Make an outing of it for the whole cluster. That way the others can distract them a little.”

“...I guess that makes sense.” He’s her best human friend, and she wanted to recognize that. But even so...maybe that would be better. She was able to pass off Miguel as a Mercurial pen-pal with a cosplay addiction (most Earthers will believe anything about the decadent and obscenely wealthy and more-than-slightly inhuman Spacers), but the rest are going to be harder—her black-and-white and cartoon counterparts especially. Telling the whole story, with proof, becomes easier if there are kids her age to help soften the blow. (Plus, Peter B couldn’t look threatening if he tried.)

Still.

“You’re not scary, though,” Peni insists. “Not to me.” She grins. “You’re too much of a dork for that.”

He squeezes her shoulder, and gives her a smile no less warm for being in monochrome. “Whereas you frighten the life out of me, doll.”

She hugs him. This time around, he doesn’t resist.

“...seriously, though, what’s in that crispy paste stuff?”

“Sun-fried seaweed, Mercury-style.”

“...it’s not too bad. Tastes kinda like latkes. Like a latke dough, but you can eat it.”

“It’s pretty good. My favourite’s yungay potato.”

“Ah, a lady of quality.”

She laughs at that.

80. Comrade

Adelaide Brock is fourteen when she makes her first two real friends. People who actually get it. Who understand the thrill of the ride, and the joy of the psychic link.

They have their differences, of course. Peni’s more of a drill sergeant in the field, always efficient, applying incredible precision. Addy’s always been more of a performer at heart, and her spider (her spider), Weying, seems to sympathize. Ven#m likes the spotlight, isn’t really up to just fighting and heading home, prefers to mug for the crowds and crow over a few muggers. (And occasionally fantasizes about trapping and eating the monsters they defeat like the oversized prey they are, but that’s spiders for you.) Maybe it’s showboating a little, but hey, if you have a ship, why not display it?

But at the end of the day...Peni saved her life. Soon after, she saved Peni’s. They’re a team. They’re actually talking. And she and Weying have been working together for ages now, and New York loves them. Life is good.

Now, if only Peni would actually let her know who she keeps talking to on that weird 2D group chat of hers...

170. Hardcore

“...until ultimate termination.”

Peni blinks.

“Are you sure we’re the same person?”

Other Peni rolls her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure. Even if your SP//dr is a bit...”

“A bit what?”

“You know...impractical? For fighting bad guys?”

Peni frowns. “Mostly kaiju, actually.”

“You sit in a glass cockpit and punch giant monsters and somehow you’ve survived as SP//dr for...how long now?”

“Three years. How about you?”

“Two. ...oh, no, there is no way you’re older than me. You look twelve!”

“Uh...I’m sixteen.”

“Ah, Peni! I see you’ve met Peni?” says Ham, striding through the workshop with a sandwich and out the other side. “Have fun!”

“I guess,” mutters Other Peni.

“...Dad’s death still bothering you?”

“What? No, that was ages ago.” Other Peni sighs, which helps Peni feel less like yelling at her dismissive tone (which would be counterproductive). “Mostly it’s just the job. It...kinda grinds down on you after a while.”

“...I guess I can relate to that.”

Other Peni coughs. “So...you like listening to music while you work?”

Peni lights up. “Do I? Come on, let’s get the sound started. Have you heard anything by Karam Heiwa?”

For the first time in the entire conversation, Other Peni smiles.

“I can see you’ve got good taste.”

“It’s probably a Peni Parker thing,” says Peni, conversationally. “Gray’s stuck on swing, Peter B’s more Silver Age Electric, and Gwen’s into punk, but you just can’t beat KH for tunes to work with.”

Other Peni cautiously goes through the playlist on the holographic display, as though she’s worried about breaking something. Then her faces lights up.

“Hey, is this ‘Nuke-ular’? I haven’t heard this album in ages!”

...of course Other Peni would choose the most depressing song in the mix. Still, baby steps.

183. Talk

The first time Addy stops by the workshop when Other Peni is there, Other Peni is furious at Peni for suggesting she come and say hi. Genuinely furious.

The second time—after some prompting and a long discussion where Other Peni Parker cries for the first time Peni remembers—Other Peni is there to greet her.

“Uhhhh...Peni? Is that you? You look tired. And...older.”

“...hey, Addy. It’s me. This is gonna sound weird, but...I’m from another dimension and I just...kind of wanted to see you again.”

She sounds so tender.

Addy blinks.

“It’s okay,” says Peni, coming around to the front of the space. “She’s...a friend. Sort of. But you have to keep this a secret. This is beyond mech stuff, it’s insanely important. Swear?”

Addy nods, wide-eyed.

“Good! You two have fun!”

“Peni, you weren’t supposed to—” Other Peni growls, but Peni’s already wheeling herself out.

It should help. She knows it would help her. And she’s about 90% certain Addy will forgive her, and has fifteen different prospective options to hasten that process.

...figures that when she steps back in, Addy and Other Peni give her rather evil grins.

“You know,” says Other Peni casually, “the nice thing about being the same person? It means you’re already well aware of a fair few...embarrassing incidents.”

“...you didn’t.”

“Me? No, no. We just traded life stories. If they match up, it’s just a coincidence, right?”

Addy cackles.

“I’ve created a monster.”

“Aw, lighten up, Choking Hazard.”

“Adelaide Brock, you swore not to tell a living soul—”

“Actually I just said I’d only talk about it with you. And, well...”

Other Peni laughs.

(The sacrifices one makes for the good of one’s fellow Spiders...)

238. Rudolph

“If you think I’m missing this, Peni Parker, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Addy...I don’t know. I mean, yes, you got bitten, but...I’ve never met another Addy Brock out there. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Addy tosses her head back and offers her friend an easy grin. “Then I won’t get hurt. Simple as that. Trust me, Peni. I know when to pull back now.”

Peni sighs. “Fine. But be careful, right? Follow my lead.”

The red SP//dr enters the hole in space just before the black Ven#m does, and leads the way.

And on the other side—

“Hey!” calls Miles happily, coming over to meet them. “Glad you could make it!”

“...hi,” says Addy, blushing quite pinkly all of a sudden.

Peni rolls her eyes. “Excuse my friend. Addy, this is Miles Morales, Spider-Man. Miles, my best friend and coworker Addy Brock and her Spider Weying, alias Ven#m.”

“...how are you pronouncing that?” asks Ham. “Hey, I thought me and Mister Egg Cream over there were your best friends.”

Gray looks like he’s trying not to grin. Peni can feel a blush coming on herself. “I’ve got four best friends. Addy’s the only one you guys haven’t met yet.”

“Well, welcome to the team,” says Miles easily. “And Happy Hanukkah!”

(“Should I tell him you’re a Zuhariyya Muslim?”

“Nah, it’s okay.”)

297. Tea

“So, that’s one Earl Grey for Billy, one Boba for Peni, two Green for Hida and Other Peni, one Black for Cindy, one Lemon Grass for Roshni, and one Masala Chai for me,” says Pavitr, taking notes.

“I feel like we’re inviting stereotypes here,” says Roshni.

“I don’t reckon so,” Billy replies, preemptively reaching for the sugar.

“For Peter...coffee. And a reminder of what civilization looks like when you don’t commit blasphemy.”

Pauker glares. “I told you, that was in Boston!”

“And a Peppermint for Addy.”

On her shoulder, Weying the spider bounces excitedly.

“...no, Addy.” That’s from both Peni Parkers at the same time, exasperated in different ways.

“Aw, man...”

322. Mitosis

“Don’t count on it working,” says Other Peni. “And be careful.”

Peter cracks his knuckles.

“Just gotta give it the ol’ college try.”

And he walks up to the bulky form of Ven#m. Not as nice-looking as Addy’s, honestly. And a cannibal at that. Joke about it though he may, he doesn’t much like cannibalism.

Peter doesn’t entirely know what he’s doing, but there’s always such a thing as giving it the ol’ college try.

(Granted, he never went to college.)

—what are you?—

“Me? I’m just a good buddy here to annoy you into spitting out my friend’s loved ones.”

The capsule opens, revealing a tangled mess of cable-like tentacles that snake towards him.

—is Peni so desperate that she’s sending in cartoons to aid in her futile endeavours?—

—hahahaa—

—don’t make me laugh, little piggy—

—we are Ven#m—

—what are you going to do?—

—“huff and puff and blow my house down”?—

Peter pulls out the giant horn his niece Dahlia sent back from a trip to Switzerland.

“Something like that, yeah.”

362. Celebrity

Do I get one? I get one! Wheeee! ...um. Sorry. Anyway.

My name is Addy Brock. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for five years I’ve been one third of the one and only Ven#m. I’m from New York in the year 3150, I have a psychic link with a spider who lives inside the robot I tried to take for a joyride when I was fourteen, and my best friends in the world are Peni Parker and Weying, the aforementioned radioactive spider.

Pretty sure you know the rest. Saved the city, mugged for the camera, saved the city again and again, had a hundredth-of-life crisis during which I, uh...we don’t really talk about that. (I’m banned from Greater Peru until I’m eighty-five, on a completely unrelated note.) But I got back up. Also, I met an alternate version of my best friend who lost her me and really needed someone to keep her laughing. And that’s me. Addy Brock, clown superhero extraordinaire. (Peter Parker? Never heard of him.) Peni may be the OG, but I’m the sequel that nobody knew they wanted but now can’t get enough of. I’ve even been to Mars on business—you know how difficult it is for an Earther to get direct to Mars, let alone for a job? Usually they hire local, or take on seasonal workers from the ecoships. This is big stuff.

...but at the end of the day, I love being Ven#m. And...I like having friends who get it. I got randomly assigned a last name matching my closest genetic relatives, but Peni and her Aunt May and Uncle Ben are the first real family I’ve ever actually had. So guess what? Ven#m is here to stay, with the Parkers, in the Republic of New York, on Earth.

As long as they’ll have me.

(“Well, then, looks like even reincarnation won’t be enough to let you get away, Addy.”

"And when they get sick of you, me and my aunt and uncle and Other Addy will take over."

“Aw, you guys. Peni Parkers? Ultimate upgrade in superhero mettle. Besides yours truly, of course.”

”How modest.”)

#spider verse #addy brock #peni parker #peter benjamin parker #spider man noir #sp//dr #venom #peter porker #addy x peni #if you squint #pavitr prabhakar #obligatory tea joke #(made PRE-movie thank you!)#strands of webbing #across the spiderverse #happy ending #non canon #because i said so #one shot collection

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cookinguptales · 11 months ago

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So my relisten of Malevolent continues, and my followers know that I’ve been rambling a lot about the connections between s2 of Malevolent and Dante’s Inferno.

Put simply, I believe that Arthur and John are trapped in Dis when they’re in the Dreamlands, which is the area comprising the last four circles of Hell in Dante’s cosmology. There are simply far too many similarities for it to be anything but purposeful.

I’ve started writing this post several times, but it’s hard. There is just so much to talk about that it’s difficult to know where to begin. Initially I thought I’d just go over the dozens of parallels and allusions that I caught while listening before making separate posts with more nuanced discussion of each circle and its implications for Arthur and John, but…

I think, actually, what’s more important to start with is whether it really is Dis at all.

I’m fully convinced that Arthur is exploring Dante’s Hell, but that doesn’t mean that it actually physically is Dante’s Hell. I’m not saying that Dante was describing the Dreamlands in this universe, necessarily. I think what’s more likely, the more I think about it, is that The King in Yellow used Arthur’s conceptualizations of Hell as received from Dante to create the Hell for him that Arthur believed he deserved.

Like… we know that the KIY is familiar with human writers like Shakespeare. I really don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that he knows Dante, too, and can feel that knowledge there in Arthur’s mind as well.

Arthur doesn’t specifically talk about Dante, which is a bit odd for a character who canonically loves poetry as much he does. He never says, “hey, this is weird, this is definitely Dante!” like I did when I was listening to it. But both John and Arthur make some odd statements, Easter eggs almost, that seem to refer to details from the poem.

Things like John saying there might be ice at the bottom of the pit. Things like Arthur bringing up the Minotaur for no real reason. It does feel like, at least subconsciously, this information exists in both of them the same way John subconsciously absorbed information about Arthur’s modern world.

I don’t think that Arthur realizes that the KIY has created a Hell from his memories for him to traverse, purposely creating a narrative of penitence and redemption to make Arthur let go of his guilt, but I think the whole thing is working on him all the same.

I won’t go into too much detail about a lot of my ideas in this post (there’s genuinely just too much for one post) but I think that Arthur needs a Virgil and a Beatrice. He needs to confront his sins and experience the punishments assigned to them. He needs to work through his past and make sense of the guilt he feels.

The King knows that, and he takes advantage of it.

It almost works, too. There are times when Arthur almost gives in and accepts some form of divine forgiveness, so to speak. But due to his own stubbornness, lack of faith, and perhaps some outside influence, he does manage to refuse that temptation and eventually escape the Inferno.

As for the outside influence, I think… I mean, I’ll talk about Kayne and Dante’s Caina more later, but I think that… I don’t think that Kayne was supposed to be a part of the KIY’s Inferno. He think he actually invaded the dream and put his own spin on it, which is partially why the KIY ended up losing control of the situation.

That said, I do think that Kayne was well aware of what was being built and delighted in playing with the themes he found there. I think he was like “hey, crazy how there’s a portion of Dante’s Hell in the lake of ice called Caina that is specifically designed to punish humans who killed their own family members” and decided to use that to his own benefit.

That is in fact a large part of why I believe that the Dreamlands are not fixed in their shape, nor are they actually literally a Dis that Arthur must traverse. Because Kayne was able to use the frame for his own purposes and change it. He was not a permanent part of it, but an interloper who could come and go and who purposefully chose a location and name that would suit the themes. That seems to imply that this is a fiction that outsiders are not beholden to, but can play with as they please -- not an actual physical and immutable space.

There’s also this line in E18…

I’d argue that what Arthur is experiencing is all a dream that the KIY created specifically for Arthur, specifically to try and manipulate him, and that the Dreamlands are not fully fixed. It’s not just his hallucinations in the garden that are the King manipulating his surroundings to drive him to madness; it is everything that he and John experienced from the moment they entered the Dreamlands. It was all designed to resemble a Hell that Arthur would recognize and respond to emotionally.

Noel/Charlie also mentioned the way the Dreamlands appeared to change constantly as the KIY tried to manipulate him, which really feels like the nail in the coffin here. I don’t think the KIY controls every aspect of the Dreamlands, but I do think he can at least control how certain parts of it manifest to those who are trapped within it — and that’s what he’s done to both Noel and Arthur.

So all that, along with the fact that Kayne does not seem to be a permanent fixture in the dream but continues to ape its themes for… fun, I guess, makes me think that Arthur is not literally traversing Dis, but is instead descending through a version of it that the KIY is using to fuck with his concepts of faith, morality, penitence, and guilt.

(And I think meanwhile, John is just genuinely confused.)

I have a lot more to talk about, from all the specific allusions to ideas about psychopompery to the repeated allusions to being separated from one’s body to guilt/salvation to… well, I just have a lot to say. lmao

I’m about to be very pretentious about all this, and I apologize in advance lmao. Next post I'll talk in more depth about the living forest, the burning sands, the lake of ice, the malebolge (evil pouches/pits), and many, many, many more allusions to Dante's Inferno.

#malevolent podcast #I'm sorry guys I'm gonna be so annoying about this #since I graduated from college meta like this is how I get my cage enrichment

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