#and i got another wolf 359 au out of it

[heycerulean]

forgot i was going to yap about the cowboy au here goes SO Your name is Renée Minkowski. you have one dream; own a saloon and pay someone to bartend so you can play piano for the rest of your life. However, that dream of yours never worked out right, and after a certain job offer from that store owner down the road to "help protect the town after the vacancy in the security areas" you find yourself as the sheriff. It's not like it's a bad gig. It's actually fairly enjoyable, most of the time. You've got time alone, the pay is good- and, of course, the station's office radio that started talking to you your first night here. She says her name is Hera, and that she's a gift from Cutter, the guy who offered you the job and your technical boss; neither of you like him very much, but she's nice, and she's better than Eiffel and Hilbert. Eiffel's one of your staff, the improv repairer of your ever decrepit jail cells. He's reckless, but he knows what he's doing- most of the time- and he's nice enough. Hilbert's technically the town doctor, but with the amount of strange emergencies that happen around the town, he's become a first responder of sorts. You've almost started to enjoy your job when the attacks start. A criminal gang, harassing the people you're supposed to protect. It's late nights, long days, and a hell of a lot less peace than you're used to; but you're close to something, you can feel it. You say goodnight to Hera, and since Eiffel and Hilbert have gone home, you walk out for the night. You lock the doors, walk out under the stars, and look down the road. Sitting up on a horse that looks golden in this light is a stranger. They're tall, well dressed, yet look like they're about to kill someone; they sling a revolver out as they step off the horse, and just as you're about to pull out yours, they drop it on the ground. They introduce themselves as Isabel Lovelace, the sheriff of this town. You tell them that's not possible, because you're the sheriff, and they scoff. "That's what they want you to think," they say. They tell you that they've got things you're going to want to hear, and that they'd like to talk. Curiosity beckons you forth, and even though protocol is screaming at you, you ask them what they mean. That's when things start getting more complicated.

[quasi-normalcy]

Every "Nu Trek" (2017- ) Series Ranked from Worst to Best:

Very Short Treks (2023): There's really no words for just how terrible this series is. I mean, I know that it only barely counts because it's explicitly not canon and has a total combined run time of about 15 minutes, but *my god* is it bad! Only one of its episodes is remotely funny, and even that manages to feel like it's driven its main joke into the ground by the end of its 2-minute runtime. The only thing that I can say for it is that is that it gives me an easy, uncontroversial choice for worst Star Trek series, not only of the last 7 years, but of all time.

Picard (2020-2023): Listen; I know that this series is unpopular with the Tumblr Trek fandom, but it actually breaks my heart to have to put it so low on the list. It has, in my own opinion, the best dramatic acting of any Trek series and among the best directing, and almost every individual scene, in isolation, is compellingly watchable. More than that, it has fascinating worldbuilding choices, you can really *see* the passion of the writers for what they're creating (at least in the first and third seasons), and Agnes in particular is among my favourite characters in anything ever. It's got a lot of great moments, too! Picard and Seven bonding over shared Borg trauma; Soji uncovering the truth of her identity; Jurati hacking the Borg Queen's brain; Picard's final farewell to Q; Shaw's Wolf 359 monologue; Geordi's reunion with Data...I could go on. And yet, it just feels like so much *less* than the sum of its parts! Incredible ideas are introduced and then just shrugged off to pursue much more boring ones. Story arcs feel pointless if not actively offensive. Absolutely baffling writing choices are made throughout, with no indication as to why. And the nostalgia baiting , particularly in the final season, becomes so intense that it just chokes the plot to death. One comes away haunted by the feeling that this series should be so much better than it is.

Discovery (2017-2024): Really, this is two separate series: a twisty, grimdark, sci-fi war drama and a gentle queer coffeeshop AU about scientists who talk about their feelings. Both of them have their moments, but they each fall down in the same way: a focus on epic, high-stakes mystery box storytelling that undermines one's ability to really get invested in the characters, or even know who they are when they aren't off saving the universe. Without that, while I liked many of the characters and loved seeing them science the shit out of things using teamwork and the power of math, it's kind of difficult to get invested in this series one way or another. In spite of its absolutely gorgeous visuals, it comes off feeling weirdly...flat.

Short Treks (2018-2020): Not a lot to talk about here; just kind of an anthology series of short films adjacent to Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Mostly they're varying shades of mediocre, but a few of them are as brilliant as any episode of Star Trek ever made, so the series gets to be relatively high on the list.

Strange New Worlds (2022- ): This is the first entry on this list that, in my opinion, belongs on the top shelf with some of the best of the older series. And it achieves it basically by adopting the same formula as the original series or the next generation--socially conscious planet-of-the-week adventures with enough wit, cleverness and joie-de-vivre to keep it interesting. I remember in 2017, there was plenty of discussion of how it's possible to update Star Trek's formula for prestige television; how funny that the solution turned out to be "don't change it at all, just give it modern special effects and actual character arcs." That said, the series is a bit *too* beholden to the original, with focus primarily on a bunch of characters who aren't allowed to grow or change too much because we already know how they'll turn out. It would be even better if it were about a new ship and a new crew full of nobodies who we can come to love. Which brings us to...

Lower Decks (2020-2024): Above, I said that Picard felt like it should have been so much better than it was. Lower Decks, frankly, should have been so much worse. How is an adult animated sitcom with Rick and Morty style animation and constant memberberries this freaking good!?! Every episode is a master class in efficient storytelling, with 22 minute runtimes often feeling like they contain as much story and character work as episodes twice as long. And the characters are incredible--like TOS and TNG, they feel almost archetypal, and even though you've never seen them before, they slide so seamlessly into the Star Trek universe that it's hard to believe that they weren't just *always* there; that there was ever a time when you could imagine the Star Trek universe without just intrinsically knowing that Tendi and Shaxs and Mariner were off somewhere in the background. It's greatest success though, the reason why it's comedy works when it really shouldn't, is that it's only *slightly* sillier than the serious series. What we end up with a fantastic series with an ethos that is pure Star Trek, and in fact, if I had written this list a month ago, it would certainly be in the #1 spot. However...

Prodigy (2021-2024?): The first season of Prodigy is...charming. It's got some fun characters, some spectacular visuals, some interesting premises. And if the plots tend to be a little too simplistic to be engaging to an adult, hey, it's a kids' show. It's good. Solid. Above average. And if I had only the first season to go on, it would probably be in third position on this list. But then, a few weeks ago, it went ahead and dropped the best season of Star Trek in a quarter-century, and I really...I just cannot recommend this series highly enough. The sheer, ambitious scope of the narrative; the arcs it puts its character through; the cleverness of the writing; the fricking GORGEOUSNESS of it! And it does all this while redeeming deeply unpopular characters and plot points from other series, in a way that never feels forced or pandering. Not only is it the best Star Trek series of the 21st century, it's one of the best children's animated series since AtLA. Go. Go! Watch it! Watch it now!

[sabetha]

20 Questions for Writers

tagged by @fandomscraziness22 <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

80 - well on my way to 100

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

299,441 which is actually SO infuriating

3. What fandoms do you write for?

whatever I happen to be hyperfixated on at the time....right now it's Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory, but Lockwood & Co. and The Raven Cycle round out the top 3, followed by Six of Crows and some miscellaneous podcasts

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

do you know i love your tattoo (and you) (l&co)

She's Just a Friend (ML)

just keep your eyes on me (l&co)

Take It From Me (soc)

See Yourself Out (soc)

This list is actually so wild to me wtf

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes it takes me a while, but yes! I try to respond to every comment I get, with varying levels of success

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

this has to be a trick question, right? p much everything I write is angst oops. although to be fair, I do usually try for a happy ending. so the angstiest ending....

based on canon: you were the story i chose for myself (the dreamer trilogy) OR what do you know, this house is falling apart (l&co)

canon divergent: slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace (l&co)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

why is this so hard?? I don't know if these are the happiest, but I'm partial to The Great Gansey (trc), Dream Me the World (trc), and The Plan (ML)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I don't think I've ever gotten any really negative comments on my fics which is great because I would cry

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

not typically? my Dark AU for L&Co features some smut (PLEASE READ THE TAGS IF YOU'RE GONNA READ THIS FIC) yesterday we were just children

10. Do you write crossovers?

nope, i'm not inherently opposed to the idea, but a lot of times they just don't feel natural to me

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Oof I hope not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so? I've had at least one person ask, but I don't know if it ever happened

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I was working on a ML fic with a friend once! we unfortunately did not finish that, but it was a fun experience

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

..... you can't ask me to pick between my children like this

But Ronsey (trc)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Learn to Like The Taste. (soc) - it's started, it's vaguely outlined, it's partially drafted, some of it is posted.... I would love nothing more than to finish this story but its been years and head empty no thoughts

16. What are your writing strengths?

emotional angstttttt, it's basically my lifeblood at this point. I've also been told I'm good at mirroring the writing of the source material? so that, I guess. I'm pretty proud of the phrases I come up with when I put my mind to it

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

dialogue?? action?? don't know her

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i've got some latin in my fics for trc, and te admo adhuc (the college tapes) is a title in a different language, so I'm deciding that counts

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Miraculous Ladybug

20. Favorite fic you've written?

this is a really mean question, actually, so now you get to suffer through me making another list

As Good As Later Gets (Wolf 359)

Something New For Every Night (trc)

trapped in yesterday (l&co)

things we have to do that we can't stand (trc)

slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace (l&co)

tagging anyone else who wants to do it, if you're seeing this, yes you!

[sturmdunkel]

🧡❄️Yay! I'm so excited to get started on this it's really bad. Like I'm participating in another fandom event right now and I have to finish the fic for that first because the deadline for that is coming up soon…but mechanic!Andrew and android!Neil tho 😭

And to my shame I have to admit that I'm really, really bad at reading fanfic so not only don't I have any sci-fi au recommends but like. no recommends in general. I'm sorry. Do you have any recommendations for me tho? I can't promise I'll read them, but maybe there is hope for me yet.

(I have written some sci-fi aftg fic myself, but I'd feel weird passing off my self promo as a genuine rec, so I'll have to wait to tell you about that until December…)

I can probably recommend you some published sci-fi works tho. On the topic of robots/androids/ai I read a short story called "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" by Ted Chiang for a class on AI in literature once that I absolutely adored because the development and then treatment of these AIs just felt super realistic (it's in a collection called 'Exhalation' that i've been meaning to continue since but for some reason haven't). For the same class we read 'Klara and the Sun' by Kazuo Ishiguro which was also really good. Both of them are a little bittersweet tho. Then there's 'A Closed and Common Orbit' by Becky Chambers, who, if you've never read anything by her before, just writes really good spacefaring sci-fi. I adore her worldbuilding because it's so creative and detailed.

Also on the topic of robots: I only watched Studio Trigger's 'Promare' this year and absolutely fell in love so if you want some big robots and haven't seen that one yet I can only recommend that. The same with Evangelion. I'm *obsessed* with Evangelion.

I could probably scrounge up some more general sci-fi recs, but idk what you may or may not have read already. So let me return the question: do you have any recs for me? ❄️🧡

Ough same,,, I have to finish a comic for a fandom event but I'm really excited for it and also for this hehe >:DDD

Also don't worry!!! I think I'm on the opposite side of this spectrum,,,I think I've read most aftg fics on ao3 that are over 50k,,(this is foreshadowing) my favorite sci-fi work on ao3 is probably this monster of a fic called the wonders I've seen by gluupor and it's a farscape au!! Tho I've never actually played the game :")),,,,regarding other reccs I have,,,too many haha but nothing that's short :"

Aaaa thank you so much for the recommendations!!! I will go check out my local bookstore to see if they're in stock >:D I've been in a reading slump lately so I'm really excited to check them out!! I read Klara and the sun when it came out and I felt my brain expand reading it haha :)))

Also I really loved promare!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :DDD studio trigger has such a wonderful animation style and I love their stuff >:) I'm also a really big fan of evangelion,,,,a kaworu figurine has been tempting me for a few months but it's like,,,200 ish euros oughh

On the topic of recommendations!! Have you read/ heard of the murderbot diaries? :O it's got a more satirical approach on the android but it's really wonderful and fun nonetheless!! I can't think of any more books at the moment however!!! If you liked evangelion have you considered watching Pacific Rim (directed by Guillermo del Toro the coolest guy ever) and studio trigger has some more fantastic sci-fi series like kill la kill, cyberpunk: edgerunners and star wars: visions! I also like tiger & bunny (recommended if you like a seemingly more lighthearted mecha pilot series) , gurren lagann is also a wonderful mecha series and one of my favorites BUT if you're to watch one I'd say you should watch Pluto, or read it!!! The mangaka is Naoki Urasawa who also made Monster and 20th Century Boys!! :DDD ah right and Trigun,,,,my timeless obsession :"

Also podcast wise if that's your thing,,,,wolf 359 is really really great, starts out as a comedy and ends up with you staring into space :P

Ok phew I'm so sorry,,,,,I love recommending stuff can you tell,,, :") either way!! I hope you have a wonderful day/ evening depending on your time zone!!! :DDD

[acaciapines]

i know you have your own conlang pronouns but have you considered using "thou" in daemon aus? cause thinking about it, people would probably still use "you" most of the time cause youre talking to a pair, but with "thou" to specify. like "where are you going?" vs "what are thou eating?". fun way for human-daemons to refer to daemonless people too

ooooh ive never considered this but i do really like it! much as i love conlang i think theres something really powerful in using like...the same words we use in english today but twisting their definitions so you gotta really sit n think w/ them for a sec (ex. in pseudalopex i have 'you' specifically meaning the half on their own, while the conlang 'eue' is for human-daemon pair). it adds another layer that is very fun to think on and this touches on that!!

dkdfgdfg YEAH fun fact the daemon pronouns originally were for my wolf 359 daemon au....they got cut for readability (this thing is 280k+ words long. its for a relatively small fandom. i already knew i wasnt getting much of an audience and figured not to make it any worse) and i think the fic honestly works fine w/out them because then later on when i used them in other fics those were more like....directly about that language but i do think sometimes. i think keeping them wouldve added A Lot.

like i was also gonna have pairs be called by last name and then first names are when you're talking to a specific half, but that was also cut bc most of the wolf 359 characters you know more by last name anyways, so. its an idea! i turn it around in my head sometimes but overall i still really like the final product.

where was i going with this. oh right poor daemonless (or humanless) people in daemon aus...there is so MUCH that you can do there!! and your language idea fits perfectly with the stuff i like to explore that i dont really see explored ever elsewhere.

[lemondoddle]

Lane, PLEASE elaborate on which ABBA songs you think are TMA applicable

oh ABSOLUTELY i will!

firstly S.O.S is the ultimate jonmartin song. the motifs about being saved, the lines about wanting the other but they’re out of reach, the wanting to go back to happier days, it is *chefs kiss* perfect for them, ESPECIALLY the line “and the love you gave me nothing else can save me” just screams mag 159 no?

next would be Lay all Your Love on Me, i see this from martin’s perspective bc he’s canonically a Jealous Boy and i always see the “don’t go sharing your devotions” line as jon interacting with different entities and avatars and getting marked

Money, Money, Money is applicable for some pretty obvious reasons vis a vis “fuck captialism”, and the “in my dreams i have a plan, if i got me a wealthy man” makes me picture og!elias and then during the bridge he gets jonah’d and then he’s with peter in the chorus (i visualize animatics to all of these kdjhg) also certain lines apply to a bunch of the characters like “i work all night i work all day” for jon, “to pay the bills i have to pay” for martin and “so i must leave, i’ll have to go” for either basira or sasha

Take a Chance on me is another jm one mostly because of a lovely fic with i believe the same name on ao3, i’ll link it if i can find it, but it just reminds me of martin’s perserverance and not giving up on loving jon, especially the line “my love is strong enough to last when things are rough”

these last few are less easily applicable but i still like them:

-Knowing Me, Knowing You: breakup song, i Beholding Know that one day in s4 jon was found lying on the archives floor wearing one of martin’s found sweaters and blasting this song on his phone and everyone who walked in on that immediately walked out

-When I Kissed the Teacher: a teacher!jon au thing where martin is a student teacher (theyre still both the same age idk if i need to clarify that but it will bug me if i dont) and all the students are painfully aware of martin’s massive crush on poor oblivious jon until the song title happens lol

-finally, the winner takes it all. actually for the most part i see this as a wolf 359 eiffel/hera song because of that finale (ouch) but depending on how s5 ends it could be relevant here too

so thats all of them for now, or at least until i listen to the rest of abba’s discography and find more, but tal thank you so much for asking and letting these thoughts free bc theyve been trapped here for so long

[actingwithportals]

2, 3, 4 for the fandom asks?

2. What fandom(s) did you leave?

I’m not sure I was technically “in” the fandom, but I definitely faded out of a massive hyperfixation over FFXV. Like full-on AU fic planned, outlined, and begun but ultimately lost interest before sharing any of it online. Someday I think I’d like to go back to it, but I’m not sure if the muse will ever quite return there.

Not sure this entirely counts since I haven’t really been an active member for more than a year now, but in a way I left the Portal fandom in the sense of just . . . deciding that I have no interest in creating more content for it, or keeping up with its going-ons in general. Maybe one day that’ll change, but I think for now it won’t.

3. What fandom(s) from the past did you return to?

As with every year when the hiatus ends I focused back into RWBY again, and I did give Wolf 359 another re-listen over the summer. I also revisited Transistor, which was a quick but enjoyable time. Not sure that I really returned to anything in a significant way, though, aside from RWBY - but really not sure that entirely counts when it’s an annual occurrence. 

4. What show/book/movie etc. was your comfort and/or escape this year?

I do have to give Hollow Knight a shoutout here because for the most part it was my biggest comfort story this year, even as something new. And I would say that revisiting Wolf 359 and RWBY both acted as large comforts for me too.

Hmm, but I think I do have to give a small nod to FF7R, simply because it was a game that me and my roommate played together. Even though we didn’t finish it, any games that we got to jointly play (usually with me manning the controls and her giving backseat support and guidance), was always an extremely wonderful time.

Thank you !!

Oh edit: I could totally argue that I completely left the Newsies fandom too because I orphaned almost all of my content I made for it on AO3 (because honestly I just . . . don’t vibe with the experience I had in that fandom at all tbh or the stuff I created for it)

[callunavulgari]

TOP 25 FICS OF 2019

1. these roads will take you into your own country by @notbecauseofvictories | American Gods | Laura Moon/Mad Sweeney | WIP | 33k

Here’s a joke for you: a Muslim, a zombie, and a leprechaun walk into a bar in Misery, Indiana. No one stares, because no one in the puckered, shitty asshole of Misery, Indiana gives a fuck. The Colts are playing.

Heather Says: So. It’s funny that another of @notbecauseofvictories‘s stories is at the top of my list again this year. Keep in mind this list is sorted by when the fic was read rather than favorites (because that would get real complicated real quick). Clearly there must be something about January. There’s just something about the writing that is easy to slip into, be it a Star Wars fic or a Labyrinth fic or even a fic about Johnny and the Devil. This was lovely and I can’t wait until it’s finished.

2. eighteen wheels on an uphill climb by @honkforhankcon | Detroit: Become Human | Hank/Connor | 91k

Hank is going to die. He’s going to die right here in Kentucky, 53 years old, halfway to broke, and tragically sober. Survived only by a nine-year-old St. Bernard and the 31-year-old twink who delivered the fatal blow.

Heather Says: I don’t think that this is the first DBH fic that I sought out after beating the game, but it is the first that I loved enough to make it to this list. I didn’t think that I would go for a modern au for this fandom, certainly not a modern au wihere Hank is a truck driver and Connor is a sex worker (albeit briefly?) but here I am.

3. Fuck pride (pride only hurts, it never helps) by ImogenGotDrunk | Detroit: Become Human | RK900/Gavin Reed | 41k

After the android uprising, Connor becomes a permanent fixture in the DPD. That’s fine. Gavin can accept that. The dipshit’s more human than he used to be, and a decent detective to boot. Gavin can deal with him being around. What Gavin cannot deal with is Connor’s replica; two inches taller, blue-eyed, and with a mouth that Gavin doesn’t know whether to punch or take between his teeth. The RK900 model has been assigned as his partner for the foreseeable future.

Heather Says: I also never thought that I’d like a fic with Gavin in it. But I got curious about all the Reed900, and well, this fic really won me over. The writing is fantastic, and it softens Gavin while still keeping him believable. Also, well, I like the enemies to lovers thing.

4. Almost Cool by @blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 30k

While filming the Yuma Territorial Prison episode, Shane gets bitten by what he thinks is a bat. Spoiler alert: it's not.

Heather Says: This is actually the first thing that I read for this fandom. In fact, this is the fic that got me into Buzzfeed Unsolved in the first place. I’d seen a lot of art and gifs and fics pass my way, but I was only ever slightly interested in what I saw until this fic came through my inbox and piqued my curiosity. 

5. Pride by @astolat | Game of Thrones | Jaime/Brienne/Cersei | 22k

Jaime didn’t understand why Cersei suddenly insisted on trimming his hair and shaving his beard, but he also didn’t care to fight her on it, even though he’d just as soon have kept the beard: it was bitterly cold in the small tower room with its arrow-slits. 

Heather Says: Wowza. This fic was intense. I’ve always loved Jaime and Brienne. I’ve loved them since the second book, which was read at least a few years before I started loving them in the show. Adding Cersei to their dynamic would have probably been almost impossible to pull off if it was anyone else, but @astolat lives to surpass my expectations.

6. Skin and Scales by Ernmark | The Penumbra Podcast | Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla | 18k

The man glares, and this time, Damien is certain it isn’t a trick of the light: those eyes are violet as amethyst. He wears disdain like a second skin–- or, perhaps, like the scales that he is missing. “Lord Arum?”

Heather Says: I was one of those people who skipped through all of the Second Citadel episodes during my first listen through of Penumbra. The stories were good, but the pull of Juno was too great. A couple months after I finished, I went back and listened to everything I didn’t. And let me tell you. Lizard monster. Honorable knight. Bookish girlfriend. Poly. It hit every single button I had and then some. This fic really hit the spot when I ran out of story.

7. someone you like by caela | She-Ra | Adora/Catra | 5k

catwithabat u think ur so hipster but u just look like a lesbian 27m she_ra @catwithabat bc… i’m a lesbian. lmao 5m

Heather Says: Noooot usually a big fan of high school fics. Namely because I’m not in high school anymore and well, after you read so many in your teenage years they sort of lose their luster. This one was phenomenal enough to change my mind.

8. Sands of Time by @tirsynni | Legend of Zelda | Ganondorf/Link | WIP | 98k

Link awakens in the desert with no idea how he got there, to encounter his worst enemy...except it was the King of the Gerudo, not the King of Evil, he faced.

Heather Says: I have seen a lot of really good Link/Ganondorf art over the years, but never really stumbled across a fic that didn’t have judicious amount of non-con involved. But the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer happened, and everybody started drawing really pretty art, so I went looking. And lo and behold, @tirsynni saved the day with this gorgeous time travel/fix-it fic. 

9. killed with kindness by veterization | Persona 5 | Akechi/Akira | 52k

Goro can't quite figure out why so many people keep acting like they're his friend. (Or: the one where the Phantom Thieves decide to know thy enemy, befriend thy enemy, love thy enemy, crush on thy enemy).

Heather Says: I’ve read a couple of veterization’s fics over the years, and to date they have never disappointed me. They published this in June, and I think I clicked on it mostly because I was bored and hadn’t read any good P5 fic yet. This was basically just what the doctor ordered, and I was really happy to find something where Akechi’s story went ever so slightly different.

10. paper thin by @ebonybow | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | 9k

Shane’s new neighbors are a morning-sex kind of couple.

Heather Says: So I went into this one knowing very little about how Sara fit into things. I didn’t know she was Shane’s girlfriend. I’d never even seen her, but I clicked because I like poly and I trust the author. I was 100% not disappointed. There’s also another fic with a very similar dynamic here, which is also aces.

11. damn.nation, now available on itunes by @kaikamahine | Good Omens | Aziraphale/Crowley | 11k

When lowly tempt-pusher Amphora (formerly of Stairwell 7B North, before she Fell,) gets the notice that end times are nigh, she gleefully quits her job and cancels her Netflix subscription and takes her place among the legions of hell. This, it turns out, was a bad plan.

Heather Says: Elizabeth may have only written one fic this year, but she made it a damn good one. I’ve always loved her OCs especially, so I was pretty tickled that this is 10k+ of outsider pov. Also, demons! Demons are great! This demon is great! I want like 9 seasons and a movie about Amphora, just saying.

12. The Dragon and Her Wolves by hapakitsune | Game of Thrones | Jon/Sansa/Daenarys | 60k

When the truth of Jon's birthright is revealed, control of the North and Daenerys's claim to the Iron Throne are both called into question. To preserve their tenuous alliance and secure her rule, Daenerys puts aside her personal feelings to arrange a marriage of political convenience between Jon and Sansa Stark.

Heather Says: What do you mean season 8 didn’t exist and the show totally ended with a three way relationship between the two most powerful women in Westeros and Jon Snow? Never been a big fan of Jon/Sansa before this, but this is another of those writers that I would literally trust if they wrote a fic about a fork and a spoon.

13. never tell me the odds by @wildehacked | Wolf 359 | Eiffel/Hera | 9k

“I tried Star Wars," he says, adjusting the phone under his neck, "and it was way underwhelming.”

A shaky breath from her end. “Well, where did you start?”

Heather Says: I don’t remember which of @wildehacked‘s fandoms I started reading first. Most recently it’s been The Magnus Archives (more on this later). The point is, they’d written Wolf 359 fic and it had Hera and Eiffel and it was literally everything that I’ve been looking for since the series ended.

14. Find Me Somebody by raiining | Good Omens | Warlock/Adam Young | 11k

“You left me,” he said. “You both left me, for him. And I can’t even blame you, because I’d have left me for him too.”

Heather Says: There was an Art. The art was lovely. So I went looking, because that’s what I do when faced with beautiful art depicting a rare pairing. And I found the holy grail. Like, possibly my favorite Good Omens fic? Ever? 

15. flirting with fire by @brawlite | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | WIP | 7k

Steve's a cop, Billy's a firefighter. It's not a grudge, it's just a regular old small town rivalry.

Heather Says: Okay so brawlite has written a lot of great stuff this year (more on that later), but I read this in bed at the beach house this August while I was reeling from both a horrible sunburn and like seven hours of mild to moderate day-drinking while everyone else was still throwing back shots right outside my bedroom door. Jaws was playing on the tv and I wasn’t even paying attention to it, because THIS. Long story short, I’ve been thirsty for more ever since.

16. gold, when you find me by mmtion | The Flash | Iris/Barry | 53k

It's not that Iris hates The Flash, per say - more that she hates writing about The Streak in a weekly, pun-heavy comic based on The Flash.

Heather Says: I never would have thought that a canon pairing would make it to my Top 25 list, but here we are. I like Iris/Barry a lot better when they don’t grow up together and spend a lot of time playing the Superman game, apparently. Also, this was really well-written, and sexual tension has never been something I’ve felt from Barry and Iris, but I felt it in this fic. Just. Damn.

17. never gets old by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger| Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 78k

Falling in love with a cam boy named KingSteve isn't the smartest thing Billy Hargrove has ever done, nor is it the most healthy -- but the good choice is rarely ever the fun choice, and Billy is all about living life fast and loose.

Heather Says: Told you I’d come back to it. brawlite and toastranger are a fantastic team. last year was cherry pie and under the covers, this year it’s camboys and cop/firefighter dynamics. Also, I have a really strange fascination with fics where a character has an instragram. It’s really, incredibly strange. Also also, every time I see this fic title I get that one Discovery Channel song stuck in my head. And no, it probably isn’t the one you’re thinking.

18. ways to save the world by @wildehacked | The Magnus Archives | Martin Blackwood/Jon Sims | 19k

“I left you,” Martin says softly.

Heather Says: And we’re back at wildehacked too! The Magnus Archives was a thing that happened to me. This is I think the first fic I read for it while listening, and it was so very close to what we got in canon. I think when it comes down to it though, I still prefer this fic, even if the ending of this season was pretty fantastic.

19. The Denial Twist by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 35k

“This is kind of surreal,” Shane says, taking a sip of his tea. It’s piping hot and delicious, except it tastes like hot chocolate and not like tea at all. “Sort of—Wonka-esque, right? Or Alice in Wonderland.”

Heather Says: While the vampire one is my favorite both because it is excellent and because it was my first, this one was bizarre and sexy and also I read it like only a month or so ago! The dancing was my favorite part, but having dreams to work with made this story fantastically interesting and I loved every second of it.

20. silver in our lungs by taywen | Spinning Silver | Miryem/The Staryk Lord | 4k

The marks had been with Miryem for as long as she could remember. There were a number of them, all the same shade, following one after the other around her left wrist. They were pale as old scars, though they felt no different from the rest of her skin, and her mother claimed that Miryem had been born with them.

Heather Says: I really like soulmate aus. There’s so many different ways to twist them and the way they can sometimes change the dynamic entirely and other times not change them at all is just fascinating. I’ve been hoping there would be more Spinning Silver content on ao3 and running into this while I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for yuletide was a real treat.

21. you got me begging, begging, i'm on my knees by plalligator | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 5k

Costis has a particularly enlightening evening. (or, that struggle when you're a guard who's in love with your rulers and it turns out you would kind of like it if they bossed you around a little)

Heather Says: I accidentally re-read the King of Attolia and it made me consider ships I had perhaps not previously considered. This was really lovely and just steamy enough.

22. something more alive than silence by pageleaf | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 21k

It was a good thing that six months after the king had promised to halve the guard, he still hadn’t done it, because since then, there had been two attempts on the king’s life.

Heather Says: I want to only type the words AGONIZED NOISES to describe this fic because that’s basically my headspace when I get 21k of a shiny new ot3, but I mean. Really. This is super good and maybe my favorite yet? Why didn’t I start reading this fandom when I first read the books?

23. Timing it Right by DragonBandit | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 14k

The dragon chooses, Mark knows that as well as any boy born in a weyr. He'd never considered what that would mean if the dragon picked someone you hated. He's starting to think that was a mistake.

Damien's gold rises at Whitney. Mark tries to make things right.

Heather Says: This should actually be somewhere back in March, but I apparently closed out of the tab at some point. I never really got into Pern much. I have the first three books, but got most of the way through the first one a long time ago and then never picked it back up. I didn’t think I would like this, mostly because of the fact that I hadn’t gotten into the books, but was surprised to find that I absolutely loved it.

24. Keep It In Your Sights Now by LuckyDiceKirby | Shades of Magic | Lila/Kell/Holland | 9k

Holland travels with Lila and Kell. Somewhere along the way, they reach an equilibrium.

Heather Says: I love the new things I’ve discovered during my yuletide trompings. I don’t think I ever actually considered this pairing when I first read the books, but I am just so enamored with the idea of the three of them together. Like, why did I not realize that potential back then? This was lovely, and I loved it, and I want so much more out of this pairing than what ao3 has to offer me.

25. Charioteer by petrichoral | The Queen’s Thief | Gen & Costis | 13k

Captured in battle and stuck in the Mede capital, Costis has given up all hope of seeing his country again. But Eugenides has a habit of turning up where he's least expected.

Heather Says: Technically this shouldn’t be on here because I only read it today, but it was really wonderful and so canon typical. Gen and Costis were perfect in it, Irene was perfect in it. Everyone was perfect and nothing hurts.

[geejaysmith]

so Kat and I were talking on Discord again and you know what that means

Kat [Yesterday at 6:49 PM] bad end where Hilbert subdues Eiffel leaving Minkowski out to die and she either drifts into the star or gets flared before she suffocates and Hilbert gets clobbered by a really pissed off Minkowski 2 possibly accompanied by Lovelace if the DL wanted to indicate how peeved they were that he messed with Their Boy Eiffel: Commander I thought you were dead. And who's that? Minkowski: I have no idea but she also wants to kill Hilbert and right now that's good enough for me.

Gill [Yesterday at 6:53 PM] ...angry alien gfs. I might just have to write that AU.

And so, like most things inevitably do with me, this got out of hand, so:

WOLF 359 SPEEDRUN/FUNHOUSE MIRROR UNIVERSE/ALIEN MINKOWSKI AU:

Eiffel can’t get to his oxygen mask in time and gets KO’d; Hera might be able to cause an electrical fire on her own to activate the loophole in her programming, but not fast enough to let Minkowski back into the station in time. 

Kat [Yesterday at 6:58 PM] Dear Listeners: he's hurting our boy!!!! D : Dear Listeners: unleash the hounds

Minkowski comes to aboard Lovelace’s shuttle while Lovelace is waking up from cryo and getting her bearings. Since she’s understandably disorientated, Minkowski assumes Lovelace must’ve pulled her onboard just in time to save her life - Lovelace knows this isn’t the case, but for now, doesn’t correct her.

Having no idea who each other are, they’re obviously suspicious about one another, but both know the command authentication codes so that at least checks out. Radioing the Hephaestus itself gives the two more evidence to back up their respective stories; Minkowski takes some satisfaction in Hilbert’s shock when he picks up and hears her voice on the line, only to look over at Lovelace and see her expression darken with white hot fury. 

Gill [Yesterday at 7:20 PM] "Minkowski, how the hell did you-" "Selberg. I hope killing off your crew didn't turn into a habit while I was away." And like, as much as Minkowski can just about feel the rage radiating off of the alleged captain, Lovelace is using her calm, measured Menacing Voice, and that plus the way Hilbert's stunned silence turns into disbelieving terror lifts a few of Minkowski's doubts about Lovelace being who she says she is. Kat [Yesterday at 7:20 PM] ofc a wrinkle is that hilbert would've had plenty of time to get in touch with cutter by now

Okay, schadenfreude aside, now they have a problem: there’s no way Hilbert’s about to let the shuttle dock with the station, yet alone open the airlocks for them. 

This might be where Lovelace tells Minkowski “so is now a good time to mention the bomb I have wired to my heart rate?” The details on that plot point are foggy still.  Kat [Yesterday at 7:46 PM] Maybe hilbert overrode Minkowski's command authentication but 'hey Hera if Lovelace is the Hephaestus' commanding officer shouldn't you do what she says' or something

(Personally I’m a fan of this working to get the shuttle docked but not to get the doors open and that’s when Minkowski goes the full Carol Danvers. Doesn’t even realize anything Weird is going on, she’s far too focused on stopping Hilbert and saving Eiffel and Hera to notice she just blasted that door open)

(let me have my superpowered alien space commando chicks ok)

(It is very badass and Lovelace finds herself quite taken with the Commander.)

(I’m gay and I ship it)

Hilbert still wrecks Hera’s hardware but Minkowski has control of the station back, Eiffel is still loopy on laughing gas but largely unharmed, and they have a new potential ally in Lovelace (and the audio files she left on the station plus Hilbert both confirm her story) except tension still rises between them because Minkowski and Eiffel need Hilbert alive to fix Hera (and because Decima virus but they don’t know that yet) and Lovelace is in favor of killing him because he’s too dangerous to leave alive. Once she’s back online, Hera sides with Lovelace.

Hilbert got a message thru to Cutter about the alien transmissions, but may not be able to establish a connection to talk to the crew directly due to stellar interference. Either way, the crew gets to speedrun season 2 because they have every reason to assume a Goddard Futuristics Kill Squad is on it’s way.  

Nobody knows about Minkowski and anything strange about her since getting space-marooned has some reasonable explanation. Lovelace and the rest roll with the explanation that she got the Commander onto the shuttle; Hera might know Minkowski’s vitals flatlined and stayed that way for hours but Minkowski is the only one she tells about it. With no reasonable alternatives, they chalk it up to stellar interference disrupting the signals from her spacesuit. When SI-5 arrives Kepler knows right off the bat that there’s Something Up with Lovelace, but given Hilbert jumped the gun in pronouncing Minkowski and Eiffel dead, he doesn’t suspect Minkowski. 

Maxwell and Jacobi swap a few plot-beats; Maxwell is the one who meets her double in Time to Kill and Jacobi is the one taken hostage by the crew in Desperate Measures, the fallout of which leads to  D a r k   V e n g e a n c e   M a x w e l l . 

However, because Maxwell is smart and figured a few things out, her real aim with her countercoup is yeeting Jacobi’s body into the star to get him back, and shaking sense into Kepler so he doesn’t shoot him once they do. 

She probably also figured out Minkowski’s a duplicate too and so shocks her out of her denial. Probably by spacing her. 

She’ll be fine, don’t give me that look. 

Full chat transcript below ft. WAY more details that haven’t shaken out into something coherent just yet, nonsequitor Adventure Zone jokes, and at least one Spider-Verse reference:

Kat [Yesterday at 6:58 PM] Dear Listeners: he's hurting our boy!!!! D : unleash the hounds

Gill [Yesterday at 6:58 PM] "send in the most competent of More Competent Women we have" my brain is taking this idea and running with it, I'm picturing Minkowski hazily slipping into unconsciousness as her air supply runs out only to very suddenly come to, realizing after a few good deep breaths that she's not back in the station. This craft looks like something somebody put together in their garage, it's too much of a mess even for the Hephaestus. meanwhile Lovelace steps out of cryo to find there is suddenly a stranger in a spacesuit aboard her ship, hyperventilating her way back to proper consciousness. Out the front window is a station that looks kind of like the Hephaestus, but she's probably just been out here too- you're the commander of the USS what now, ma'am

Kat [Yesterday at 7:08 PM] bonus points since Hera monitors their suits so Minkowski gets back on structure and is like I lived?? somehow? and Hera's like Commander your vitals flatlined hours ago

Gill [Yesterday at 7:08 PM] after taking a moment to sort out exactly how impossible the situation they've found themselves in is, back on the station, Hilbert gets an unexpected comms hail from Minkowski, who should've been dead more than an hour ago, and she wishes she could see the look on his face when he hears her voice. Though she does get to see how Lovelace reacts when she hears Hilbert, and if hearing from one dead commanding officer gives Hilbert pause, it's a whole different ball game when Lovelace gets on the receiver.

Gill [Yesterday at 7:20 PM] "Minkowski, how the hell did you-" "Selberg. I hope killing off your crew didn't turn into a habit while I was away." And like, as much as Minkowski can just about feel the rage radiating off of the alleged captain, Lovelace is using her calm, measured Menacing Voice, and that plus the way Hilbert's stunned silence turns into disbelieving terror lifts a few of Minkowski's doubts about Lovelace being who she says she is.

Kat [Yesterday at 7:20 PM] ofc a wrinkle is that hilbert would've had plenty of time to get in touch with cutter by now

Gill [Yesterday at 7:21 PM] hm, maybe the Dear Listeners run interference so the signal doesn't get back to Earth, or at least Cutter can't get a response in which ofc might just make him send a goon squad up there anyway, so Wolf 359 Speedrun My other concern would be "there's no way Hilbert's letting those two onto the station" which may require DL Godmodding anyway

Kat [Yesterday at 7:23 PM] eiffel just strapped to a table the whole time like the damsel in distress he is maybe he can still talk hera through some sort of hack if hilbert didn't bother to gag him

Gill [Yesterday at 7:24 PM] Dear Listeners: /metaphorically playing rock paper scissors to see which duplicate gets to go full Captain Marvel and BAMF her way back onto the station also Minkowski going full Commander Mama Bear and blasting a door or three open is a wonderful mental image Eiffel, half-conscious, strapped to a lab table, extremely sure Minkowski is dead by now and Hilbert is going to dissect him- and then the door is kicked open and there she is, so full of Righteous Fury she's literally glowing. also: Eiffel blabbering something about "oh my god Commander they made you my guardian angel, I am SO sorry, you didn't do anything that warranted being stuck with that job in this life or the next but if it's any consolation it's probably not gonna be a problem much longer" "Eiffel. Eiffel I'm not dead, Hilbert's been deposed, you can stop crying now."

Kat [Yesterday at 7:37 PM] Hera like Commander but you should be dead though.

Gill [Yesterday at 7:42 PM] Minkowski headed up to the bridge, carrying Eiffel over her shoulder (he is still slightly convinced this is his dying dream and now Hera is with them here in whatever afterlife this is, so perhaps he is not, in fact, in Hell) : Well radio transmissions shouldn't come from deep space and my second-in-command shouldn't try to kill me, a lot of very strange things are happening today. "also please tell me Captain Lovelace didn't kill Hilbert while they were alone, I have questions for him." (Hera: no but I wouldn't drag your feet, also who the hell is she and how did she get on this station.)

Kat [Yesterday at 7:46 PM] to preserve elements of using Hera's loopholes to outwit Hilbert though I do like the idea of them finding some hack to let the ship dock. Maybe hilbert overrode Minkowski's command authentication but 'hey Hera if Lovelace is the Hephaestus' commanding officer shouldn't you do what she says' or something Eiffel like you forgot to disarm my only weapon doc and that's my mouth

Gill [Yesterday at 7:51 PM] makes sense, also maybe Lovelace overriding Hilbert's override buys them enough time to cook up an emergency that activates Hera's emergency protocols, since that strikes me as a more secure foothold (Lovelace: I'm overriding your override! Hilbert: Well, I'm overriding you overriding my override!) (meanwhile, Eiffel starts a fire while strapped to a table, somehow)

Kat [Yesterday at 7:53 PM] Eiffel: Hey Hera remember when you ran a cleaning cycle on the something or other on the aft deck to try to be helpful and started an electrical fire? Hera: Yeah? Eiffel: This would be a great time to be helpful

Gill [Yesterday at 7:56 PM] Hera: oops, there's a fire! looks like we gotta open all the airlocks to vent the fire, including the one to the docking bay! He's locked himself into the bridge, Commander. (Lovelace: dibs on punching him first. Minkowski: not if I get there before you do.)

Kat [Yesterday at 8:00 PM] SI 5 gets there at some later point and Kepler is like ah yes, captain lovelace, definitely an alien. surprise bitch. there's 2 ofc hilbert lied in his message and said he'd terminated both Eiffel AND minkowski so maybe Kepler's like... a whole crew... all aliens

Gill [Yesterday at 8:02 PM] Kepler: okay, so what're the odds Hilbert jumped the gun vs I am now walking into a station full of aliens. shitpost brain chiming in with: Kepler: ok, is anyone in this crew not an alien? Hera: Me.

Kat [Yesterday at 8:03 PM] Eiffel's like an honorary adopted alien

Gill [Yesterday at 8:04 PM] alt version that could potentially be serious: Kepler: ok, fess up, I know there's at least one alien onboard. Eiffel: It's me extra meme'd version: Jacobi: She's an alien, she's an alien, he's an alien - I'm an alien! Are there any other aliens I should know about??? duplicate!Maxwell: (^:

Kat [Yesterday at 8:05 PM] Minkowski: Ok, we need to take out Hilbert. We have the element of surprise, but what other assets do we have? Lovelace: Is this a bad time to mention the bomb strapped to my heartrate.

Gill [Yesterday at 8:06 PM] Minkowski: The bomb. Lovelace: Yup. Minkowski: The bomb that is presumably armed. Lovelace: Yup. Minkowski: ...and where in this small, enclosed shoebox of a deep space vessel is this device? Lovelace: Wired into the shoebox's engine. Minkowski: Of course it is.

Kat [Yesterday at 8:09 PM] minkowski: I get launched off the good ship crazy and find the only person crazier within the next 8 light years. Lovelace: That's because I'm the only bitch that can handle it.

Gill [Yesterday at 8:12 PM] also, Minkowski: Could this day get any weirder. Lovelace: Uh ...as a matter of fact, it can. Minkowski: Please don't tell me you have superpowers or anything like that. Lovelace: Well, I don't, but tell me Minkowski, do your hands... normally glow? alternatively Minkowski is just too Righteous Fury to even notice the Dear Listeners trying to get a word in and now Eiffel is convinced she's secretly been an X-Man the whole time

Kat [Yesterday at 8:19 PM] Lovelace like so... cons? woke up back at the Hephaestus. pros? got a hot girl airdropped

Gill [Yesterday at 8:23 PM] Lovelace, initially: who the hell are you and how did you get on my ship and what the hell is happening, explain before my escalating heartrate kills us both Lovelace, watching Minkowski go full Captain Marvel after teaming up with her and the rest of The New Gang to stop her mutinous ex-friend: potential enemies to potential lovers inside of 20 minutes, that must be some kind of land speed record

Kat [Yesterday at 8:25 PM] heart rate is still a problem

Gill [Yesterday at 8:25 PM] better get a handle on those feelings or else my escalating heartrate will kill us both they could keep that ace up their sleeve for when SI-5 turns up early, if only for the irony of having an explosive device that can be potentially triggered by Gay Feelings and Daniel Jacobi in the same space station

Kat [Yesterday at 8:29 PM] gay bomb chicken Jacobi: my bomb was fake Minkowski: My gun was empty Lovelace: My bomb is very real

Gill [Yesterday at 8:33 PM] a concept: Jacobi figuring out Lovelace has a crush because combination of explosives expertise and gaydar, his reaction is something along the lines of "no, no, NO!! Nobody told me there was gonna be relationship drama on this boat ride, what the hell" also, Lovelace: in my defense my gun was also empty but my bomb is still very real

Kat [Yesterday at 8:35 PM] Jacobi you have no room to talk Jacobi like ok we've got the human/alien or maybe alien/alien going on but I misread the human/AI deal so that's one scifi trope we've avoided so far.

Gill [Yesterday at 8:36 PM] Jacobi, probably: I keep my workplace drama and my relationship drama separate, like a professional ought to. Minkowski: why do you people keep saying I'm an alien Eiffel: Honestly Commander I'm still holding out hope for the "mutant" route, do you perchance know a Charles Xavier?

Kat [Yesterday at 8:37 PM] re: your last I'm imagining Jacobi being like 'I'm upset about this for personal reasons but i'm going to be professional about it.' *clocks out* *screams*

Gill [Yesterday at 8:39 PM] (1) I'm laughing and (2) I mean Hera's the one that clocked out for break but that is technically still what happened in Dirty Work

Kat [Yesterday at 8:42 PM] My union contract says when I'm not clocked in I can be as dramatic as I want Kepler: remember rule # 8. No complaints. Jacobi: My shift ends in 30 seconds. They both watch the clock. 30 seconds later Jacobi: Son of a biTCH

Gill [Yesterday at 8:43 PM] Kepler: what union Jacobi: I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you before you could get Cutter's anti-union hitsquad involved

Kat [Yesterday at 8:43 PM] The Jacobi Union

Gill [Yesterday at 8:44 PM] "help my Jacobis have unionized" though Gay Bomb Chicken + Lovelace almost puts me in mind that this AU is like an almost-mirror of canon and so Lovelace is the one who ends up talking Jacobi down somehow and it's Maxwell who does get Xerox'd in Time To Kill

Kat [Yesterday at 8:49 PM] this does raise. Questions about Cutter vs Minkowski and Lovelace can he only control 1 at a time

Gill [Yesterday at 8:51 PM] or they just actually succeed at covering up that one of them (Minkowski, probably) is a duplicate

Kat [Yesterday at 8:51 PM] also if you're saying everything's switched is Maxwell still the one who gets shot in desperate measures

Gill [Yesterday at 8:53 PM] Lovelace: I'll take one for the team, I'll be the alien. Minkowski: you really think they'll buy it /cue season 3 finale

Kat [Yesterday at 8:53 PM] honestly if jacobi got shot and maxwell went feral she'd probably win tbh

Gill [Yesterday at 8:55 PM] hm... Maxwell going full Rage Mode, getting to deal with the tasty dramatic emotions of Genuine Loss AND the consequences of turning on Hera, or Maxwell does still get shot but then a few hours later they find her walking around like nothing happened with no memory of the past two weeks both are delicious

Kat [Yesterday at 8:57 PM] I feel like instead of goading the others into it dark!Maxwell would either take out kepler herself or force Hera to do it Hera like, I'm not particularly morally distressed about this I would've killed him if you'd asked but you're making me so I'm mad

Gill [Yesterday at 9:00 PM] Alternatively Maxwell looks at the situation, remembers the Implications Hera might've let slip that, as far as appearances go, Minkowski came back from the dead to stop Hilbert and protect her crew, and says "okay, no. Not when it's her finger on the trigger and Jacobi's life on the line, let's back off and regroup." Kepler is not pleased with this decision of hers.

Kat [Yesterday at 9:02 PM] alternatively alternatively Minkowski: I'm sorry I killed your friend I guess? Maxwell: Actions speak louder than words. Help me yeet his body into the star. I think I've figured this out.

Gill [Yesterday at 9:04 PM] Lovelace comes back but the Dear Listeners decide it's more energy efficient if they drop off the new Jacobi while they hold their Contact Event so in this timeline it's Jacobi who's had enough of Kepler's whamma-jamma. Lovelace: doesn't it freak you out that they can just puppet you around?? Jacobi: yes but I'm very good at compartmentalizing. Also blowing off Kepler's hand? Strangely satisfying.

Kat [Yesterday at 9:08 PM] given the symbolism in play in canon there that's some sort of mobius double metaphor reacharound

Gill [Yesterday at 9:12 PM] canon timeline: "Disarming" = removing Kepler's right hand, foreshadowing his right hand man turning against him and no longer being a weapon in his arsenal Funhouse-Mirror timeline: Jacobi, Kepler's right hand man, can now be controlled by the Dear Listeners, so maybe Kepler gets a Replacement Alien Hand that the Dear Listeners can communicate through via sign language or writing wasn't sure where trying to work out THAT tangle of thought was gonna go but "help my right hand is possessed" is an a-okay destination by me

Kat [Yesterday at 9:13 PM] tbf many ASL signs are two handed, albeit often a doubled similar sign idk about other languages

Gill [Yesterday at 9:14 PM] hey my first thought was "the animatic with the sockpuppets is now a PROPHECY" I'm in full Insane Troll Logic mode

Kat [Yesterday at 9:14 PM] pryce is gonna have a hell of a time lobotomizing everyone depending on how far you want to take this but yeah the robot hand = getting ur robot lobotomy second in command so idk where u go there

Gill [Yesterday at 9:18 PM] hey, you've got so many duplicates walking around now, why save the psi-wave regulator trick for the finale? I mean there might not be enough if the star isn't blue but... I mean they had to test that thing somehow, right do they have a psi-wave generator lying around somewhere?

Kat [Yesterday at 9:20 PM] I assume it goes both ways, since it seems to be an increase that causes the possession, and cutter was essentially doing that to lovelace

Gill [Yesterday at 9:21 PM] or: Cutter challenges the known aliens (Jacobi and Lovelace, if they do successfully keep Minkowski on the down-lo) to a board game, and whoever comes in last place is gonna be the first one to get dissected!

Kat [Yesterday at 9:22 PM] Lovelace: What if you lose

Gill [Yesterday at 9:23 PM] Cutter: Then I throw one of your friends out the airlock while you watch! maybe they still tried to put Jacobi thru Processing first while unaware he'd been alien'd so he broke the neural scanner, and they just restraining bolted Eiffel, Maxwell, and Minkowski. Minkowski's restraining bolt is running but doesn't do shit, and she's stuck putting on the performance of a lifetime while she comes up with a Plan

Kat [Yesterday at 9:28 PM] time to use your acting chops I have another long day tomorrow, I should probably go to bed. Enjoy figuring out which of the like 500 strands of spaghetti we flung at the wall is the one that sticks.

Gill [Yesterday at 9:31 PM] o/ night night, I'll probably be typing at you to get some coherent Ideas out so enjoy THAT wall of text in the morning

Kat [Yesterday at 9:32 PM] I Will

Gill [Yesterday at 9:36 PM] shaking up the Contact Event aside I kinda like the idea of Maxwell's Rampage Of Revenge ending up being just one big gambit to get somebody to chuck Jacobi's body into the star... and then I thought "what if Minkowski has been stubbornly dodging that she got alien-resurrected this entire time and can keep finding explanations around the weird shit happening to her, and Maxwell's plan ALSO has her forcing Minkowski to face the truth?"

Gill [Yesterday at 9:45 PM] "Yes, all of this was a ploy to trap you in the decompression chamber, but it was also a ploy to get you to throw Jacobi's body into the star. I just thought to myself, hey, if I'm gonna go to the trouble of going Dark Vengeance Maxwell, I might as well multitask."

Gill [Yesterday at 9:52 PM] Minkowski: Did we NOT just agree that killing me or Kepler isn't gonna solve anything?? Maxwell: Oh you're right, it won't! Don't worry Commander, you've gotten lucky with airlocks in the past, right? Like how the Captain found you just in time? And that hour you spent with your vitals all flatlined was just a glitch, caused by "stellar interference"? I have a funny feeling your luck hasn't run out just yet.

Gill [Yesterday at 10:00 PM] so Minkowski gets to process that she was An Alien The Whole Time while Eiffel is probably off on his visionquest, Jacobi is Back and having a similar Bad Time, and Maxwell's escaped into the vents to keep Hera from killing her as violently as possible. Kepler and Lovelace are having the least amount of Crisis. slight alteration to this: by some Process Of Events, Eiffel gets to play out the Dramatic Rescue that happened offscreen in Box 953 and that's how he ends up outside and decides to jump into the star, or Minkowski goes on his adventure with him (though not as a frozen corpse the whole time if I can find a way to wrangle it even if I do have to invoke my right as a fanfic writer to jump this shark and say Fuck It, Alien Clones Can Breathe In Space Sometimes)

Gill [Yesterday at 10:26 PM] Minkowski, totally not freaking out herself: Eiffel, you still need to worry about conserving your oxygen supply, so I am giving you a direct order to not freak out. Eiffel, who I must note has not seen The Last Jedi: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! THIS IS LIKE IF PRINCESS LEIA KILLED JABBA THE HUTT BY FORCE-LIFTING HIM INTO THE SARLACC PITT FROM STRAIGHT OUTTA THE WILD BLUE NOWHERE! yes it did take me getting ready for bed to realize that sound can't travel in space if no air so Minkowski would have to Dear Listener-commandeer his comms channel to talk to him, unless we want to get into my Found Family Psychic Link conspiracy theories additionally a TAZ joke popped into my head and it's not gonna leave til I say it no matter how little sense it makes without twisting the narrative into a logic-pretzel Bob, after witnessing Minkowski just out-stubborn physics: how... what in the world are you? Minkowski: I'm bisexual. Bob: And do all... bisexuals have this power? Minkowski: /glances at Eiffel, raises an eyebrow Eiffel: ...I'm personally partial to the pansexual label myself, sooooo... Minkowski, @ Bob: Yes.

Gill [Yesterday at 10:47 PM] alternatively after a brief and entirely physically impossible conversation about what he's about to do, Eiffel's like, okay, I'm gonna cut my tether while you keep ahold of it, then you push off from me, I push off from you, I go see what our friends want while you go take command of your station. bc then that lets me do this: Minkowski: Okay, on three. You ready? Eiffel: ...no. You? Minkowski: ...not really. But maybe that's all it is, a- Eiffel: A leap of faith, right. Okay, on three. [muffled What's Up Danger playing from the Dorado constellation in the distance]

Gill [Yesterday at 11:01 PM] I still don't know what happens to Hilbert, sorry m'dude

Gill [Yesterday at 11:12 PM] Last thought before I succumb to unconsciousness for the night: I'm just gonna drive a monkey wrench right into those gears and toss out "instead of Hera manifesting a humansona in mental space she gets herself a custom meatsuit 3D printed, made from the DNA of her friends" and then just not think through the implications of that at all right now

Kat [Today at 6:21 AM] "brief and entirely physically impossible conversation" yknow you can't talk in space but you could sign in space I was also thinkin maybe the Lovelace/crew tension is that Hilbert still rips Hera's personality out and they want to keep him around to fix her and Lovelace wants to kill him bc he's too dangerous

Kat [Today at 6:42 AM] Maybe and/or instead of trying to kill him Maxwell's rampage involves trying to convince Kepler that the duplicates still count as people since she's going to all the trouble of getting Jacobi back and he better not just fucking shoot him again. and instead of his heel-face turn getting kicked off by a betrayal making him rethink his entire life it's Maxwell reading him the riot act like 'maybe you've told yourself these aren't real people so you can do more terrible shit to them but I'm getting my best friend back and you're going to like it' Maxwell: Repeat after me: I will not rekill Jacobi. Kepler, droning at gunpoint: I will not rekill Jacobi. Maxwell: And if I'm an asshole Lovelace takes another limb. Lovelace: Oh, I like Dark Maxwell.

Kat [Today at 7:06 AM] Kepler like, You want to invite one of these monsters on board just because it has a face you know. Maxwell: for god's sake, you've been living with the captain for months and you're telling me you really still believe that? (Idk how they'd actually make the delivery once maxwell asks for it, maybe they'd send him back as a peace offering when spitting Eiffel out?) Jacobi, recently returned from the dead in space: what the fuck upon getting back to the Hephaestus and immediately being apprehended by Cutter and co: what the fuck

Kat [Today at 7:14 AM] like Maxwell's real pissed and upset until the funeral and then once she sees Lovelace resurrect she's like Hey she starts off ranting @ Kepler for keeping secrets the same way as Jacobi did but then she's like "don't you get it, that's how we can get him back" Kepler, about 2 exits behind on the freeway: wait what

Gill [Today at 7:15 AM] Maxwell: I'm gonna need some help to get rid of a body Kepler: I mean I'm not following but ok Maybe the Dear Listeners have the presence of mind to just put Jacobi back on the Hephaestus directly He has a few minutes to reboot in peace before Maxwell leaps on him from the vents for Happy Reunion Time

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Author Meme! tagged by @purplepencilshades, thank you!!

Author name: Swift~ Ao3 link is on my blog already but im SwiftIsHere there (and p much everywhere) 

Fandoms you write for: whatever im hyperfixating on atm! which is mystery skulls rn and hopefully for a good while longer. the one wolf 359 fic i have up is leftover from.... That

Where I post: Ao3! i usually crosspost to here too, either as a link or the full fic. 

Most popular one-shot: uhhhh, lemme check... in terms of hits, that would be for all the friends that we have lost. only one for me is technically more popular, but I don’t count that and I’m p sure it’s just bc it’s been up longer. 

Most popular multi-chap story: only got the one! it’s Little Magenta Lies. i’d like to post more multichap stuff but none of it is... done per se...

Favorite story you wrote: ah geez... published, i think i’d probably say The Darkest Place. it’s so soft and i really like the characterization. as for unpublished, i really like the royalty au that i keep talking about and am working on in theory 

Story you were nervous to post: ooh, this is a good one. magenta lies makes me nervous every time i update it lmao, but Step in the Right Direction might actually be the one i was most nervous about initially posting. it’s so small and i didnt know if it would. count?? i guess?? it’s barely even a story and more of a retelling of canon events?? i really like it but?? 

How do you choose your titles: i dont choose the titles the titles choose me. seriously tho? i dont know i just kinda go with whatever string of words comes to mind. i like to follow what i call the “world of goo” naming theme, which is “just throw some word spaghetti at the canvas it’s fine just go with it” (this is a DIRECT call out for world of goo, whose names i love so much for being completely inane) 

Do you outline: i try to? i don’t as much for oneshots, but id never be able to continue anything long if i didnt. i just can’t think the story through in my head. i dont know how some people do it. 

Complete: i dont know that word sorry

In progres: yeah

Coming soon: i have over 40 wips in my msa writing folder. does that answer your question. more specifically: 

-some writing prompts i’d really like to finish

-aforementioned royalty au which has the most in-depth plot i think ive ever written? its VERY good i really want to share it but unfortunately i have to actually write it first

-some more drabbles, including but not limited to: another “first time something goes very wrong” fic along the lines of darkest place, some self indulgent “rsd is a Grade A Bitch” arthur stuff, a sickfic bc this fandom doesnt have nearly enough, some post-canon stuff about lewis and arthur making up, the list goes on

-a longer post-hellbent thing about lewis killing art, coming back to the rest of the group, and erasing vivi’s memories of arthur (i think ive either posted about that or talked abt it w/ someone? i dont remember exactly tho, anyway its ANGSTY)

Do you accept prompts: yes!! whether i will finish them is another question entirely

Upcoming story you are most excited for: royalty au again. also i forgot to mention for “in progress” but im also writing a very canon divergent fic where after the cave, lewis knows what happened as soon as he wakes up and he goes home and doesnt blame art at all... its good

i’m tagging @doodletrashcan, @ghostly-business, and @yepiamthesmileyface! (sorry if any of yall have been tagged already, & you dont have to do it if you dont want to!) 

[tcrmommabear]

Temporal Shift (TCR B-Day Bash)

Hey demons, it’s me, ya girl, coming back from the depths of depression and anxiety to throw this at you for TCR Week. In all seriousness, I’m finally in a really good place. It’s not all sunshine and roses, but for once in my life, I can actually think. I can actually love and enjoy things again.

But with that sappiness over with, I’m back, and better than ever, with some angst that’ll really kill ya ;)

For those familiar with Wolf 359, yes, I am giving you the AU you never knew you wanted, let alone was possible. To those not familiar with W359, it’s a space audio-log style podcast that @catsafarithewriter and I have been in love with lately. It’s funny, it’s dark, it’s exciting, it’s brilliant. If you don’t mind the spoilers, take a read down below! If you’re interested in it now, maybe skip this prompt until you get up to episode 47, past Special Episode “Change of Mind”.

For those who don’t care, enjoy down below :)

(Bonus: Here’s the song that Persephone listens to)

The station port creaked open, swinging in to reveal the deep expanse laid out before them. She stepped forward, trusting the heavy boots to hold her steady. There was no hesitation, the feeling of weight settled at her feet, the smell of stale, cycled air familiar.

Comforting.

She glanced back at her companion, watching as they took fearful steps forward, hesitating to lift and step. She laughed, stepping back to offer a hand. The other accepted, grip tight even between the stiff rubber gloves of their suits.

“So-o-o-o-o,” she began, breathless, never letting go of her hand, “how often do you do this?”

She shrugged, glancing back and meeting sapphire eyes. She flushed, nervous laughter tumbling out. “Oh, three or four times a week. Mostly when everyone is asleep.”

“I see,” the other hummed, grip tightening on her hand as they stopped walking.

“Louise,” she watched her jump, a smirk spreading, “is this your first space walk?”

She didn’t need much beyond the immediate silence, the way the taller tried to duck her head and hide.

“You were supposed to do ten hours our first week here!”

“I know, I know-!”

“Shock, scandal, utter betrayal!”

“Please don’t tell-!”

She waved a hand, cutting off Louise’s plea, “Your secret’s safe with me. So, let’s go.”

Louise paused, cocking her head. “Go where? What?”

She grinned, raising her hand to point at the stars. “Let’s go free float for a bit, c’mon.”

She smiled sheepishly, taking a step away from her. “You go ahead, Persephone. I’ll get there just… Not tonight.”

They shared a smile, though looked away when they felt each had stared a moment too long.

“Suit yourself,” she said, deactivating her boots. The sensation took her slowly, creeping upwards. She felt a tug, and realized her and Louise had never let go of each other. She twisted to face her, floating just barely above her. Louise reach her other hand out, which she easily took, their helmets gently knocking against each other.

Even as she was floating in space, she could have never felt so light, so free. She gave a giddy giggle, memorizing the pattern of her freckles, the way one eye looked greener than the other.

“Go on,” Louise breathed, “float with the rest of the stars.”

She could only nod, letting go, turning to face the vast expanse. Wolf 359 glowing, bright, shimmering. There was a crackle of music, her cassette playing through the comms. The only song that felt like home.

“So-o-o… What did we learn, Persephone?” he purred, creeping into the corner of her vision. She stood on her ship, never breaking eyes with the twirling ball of fire.

“You just… Had to ruin the moment, didn’t you, Duke?”

His suit was too finely pressed, the whites sharp enough to kill. He was difficult to look at, his voice really the only clue to who he was. He hummed, “Sorry. Just the way it goes, sometimes.”

She nodded, fists clenching. Let her chest expand, meeting eyes with her star. Fiery, bright, blinding.

“You know you can’t stay here…”

“I know,” she answered, firmly, “I just… Needed to remind myself of something. To see… To see her again.”

“But, humor me here, why this moment? Why here?”

“Maybe because… She was the real star. Because I knew, for sure, here. How much I would do for her.”

He was silent this time, watching as her star, out of focus and blurred, suddenly came into focus, stark and clear. Warping into a deep blue.

“It’s almost time,” he sing-songed, voice grating, tearing her further away from her moment, her precious memory.

“Was any of this real,” she suddenly asked, “Was this… Really mine? Or was this the story I was told so I’d think I-?”

“A question with an answer only you can determine for yourself, Persephone. Ready?”

She sighed, glaring, blurred as her world melted.

“I’m going to mess you-!”

“Clear!” giggled out.

Electricity surged through her, igniting her senses. The entirety of her body washed over her with the shock, washing away as quickly as it came. Another bolt, twice as strong, froze her in a snapshot, memories siphoning into her brain.

Moments of the life she lived.

Young, lips tight, fire in her eyes.

Nose bleeding, fist cocked, army written all over her.

Heart broken, family, friends, all lost, station echoing behind her.

Grim determination, false confidence, curling fear overtaken with frost from cryo.

Ice bathed in flames.

Electricity surged, surged, surged, overloaded her until she was hacking half her lungs out. Her world came to her in puzzle pieces and tsunami waves, understanding far from her mind. Voices called, pressure on her skull that she didn’t know how to process.

“I’d say we’re about… Half way there. After that kids? Training wheels come off.”

***

He locked Machida and Muta separately, hands still shaking as he entered the locking code. He took the long way through the station, working through the damaged and hollow halls until he came back to the medbay.

Persephone slept on the bed, chest rising and falling like it had never stopped. Like a bullet didn’t paint the back wall of the comms room with her grey matter. The shaking returned with fervor, but he sucked in an unsteady breath, digging his nails into the flesh of his palm. Let his chest expand.

No time for fear. No time for fear, for revulsion, for outright grief. He packed the feelings away, stored them in a little box out of sight, and set about to look for Haru. He scoured what remained of the ship, bunks, bathrooms, the mess, only to find her in the first place he thought she’d be, and the last place he wanted to find her.

Even with one less full body bag on the floor, the feeling of death weighed the room down heavy, obscuring the beauty of the stars with the cruelty on man. She didn’t look at him, staring out the observation deck window to the blue star haunting their station. He took a seat beside her, studying her face, following the tear tracks, examining the flecks of blood Persephone coughed onto her.

“Haru…” he began, but what do you say? What do you tell someone, when they’ve witnessed the craziest, most miraculous, most insane thing possible and called it their friend? Nothing. You say their name and sit like a fool with nothing to say. God, they needed to send out a better manual.

She turned to look at him, took in his own mess of an appearance, of a life, and turned away. Tried, measured, and found wanting.

“You can say it, you know…” she mumbled, never breaking eyes with the star.

“Say what?”

She laughed, rubbing her eyes as more tears began to build. “That… That all of this is my fault.”

He froze, heart cracking between his ribs. She watched as she started to cry anew, her hands pressing against her face. He packed everything away, his own sadness, his own guilt, his fiery rage at the world that’d make her feel like that. She was the only one that mattered.

“Haru, none of this is your fault!”

“I was the one who found the signal! The one who didn’t want to kill Toto, the one who got stranded and needed a dumb rescue, bringing the others here! It’s my fault she got shot!”

She wouldn’t- couldn’t- stop shaking, warmth and hope draining out her eyes and down to the floor.

“Stop that, stop that right now,” Yuki commanded, her sweet voice furious, echoing in the makeshift morgue. Haru jumped, looking around for the camera Yuki used to see.

“Yuki?” she called out.

“I won’t have my best friend thinking she’s the sole cause of this hell. It was all of us. It was none of us. It was a chain reaction of horrible decisions and the cruelty of monsters disguised as people. None of us could have prevented, or even predicted this. Not even me. It’s wasn’t you, Haru.”

“She’s right,” he jumped in, taking her hands between his, pulling her attention, “None of this is your fault. Persephone… Persephone made her choice. Machida, Muta, Hiromi… Toto… They all made their choices. You are not responsible for the actions of monsters.”

Haru hiccuped, gasping for breath to find an argument between their truths, but he wouldn’t have it.

“Haru, you are the bravest, the smartest, the kindest person I had the joy to meet. A regular, golden-orange sun will shine on us, one day.”

She nodded, and kept nodding, until he pulled her tight against his chest. He reached a hand, pressed it against the wall, hoping to do something to include Yuki in their human matters.

“I’ll get us all home safe,” he promised, “I’ll make Goddard pay for everything.”

She shook her head, pulling away. He saw the fury burning beneath her skin, jaw set in determination, “No, not before I burn them all to the ground.”

He nodded, rubbing his other hand down her back. She leaned back against him, warm and hurt and vulnerable.

“I’ll take care of you, Haru. And you, Yuki,” he said, confused when Haru pulled away again. Her hands found his cheeks, holding him in place, forcing him to look at her.

“Commander Baron, you can’t carry all of this yourself,” Yuki said, worry laced in her words. He sputtered, tried to reel back, prove he was fine, assure them that he could, but Haru stopped him.

“Baron,” she pleaded, soft, gentle, “let yourself grieve. Let it all process- Besides, I know about you and Toto.”

He jerked, glaring at Yuki’s camera accusingly. Her voice came out nervous, but not regretful.

“My duty is to protect my crew. And, according to my code that I had to bend for a loophole, that means spilling secrets to my best friend to keep her heart from breaking.”

“I pressed her for it, Baron,” she told him, tilting her head with a rueful smile. He didn’t like that look, that train of thought that’d keep him from… A wonderful chance, one day.

“Once, in the beginning, Haru. There was something, a wonderful and… Strange something. But that ended a long time ago. Died, when he hurt you and Yuki.”

She gave a shuddering sigh, shoulders sagging. She pulled him down, arms tight around her neck, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

“It’s okay, Baron,” she soothed, nervous laughter freezing in his throat. His breath hitched, lost in brown hair, the smell of metal and… That damn seaweed shampoo Toto made. The tears fell, Haru whispering kindly in his ear.

“Just let go.”

[princegabriel]

Dear FFFX writer

Woo, okay! Let’s get into it!

Just so you don’t have to keep clicking back and forth, here again are my general likes:

Matter-of-fact declarations of love/friendship.

People being productive while pining–either acknowledging their feelings but realizing they still have important things to do, or straight up burying the feelings in work. Women And Nonbinary People Getting Stuff Done Fake dating Black comedy Silly comedy and bad puns Conversely, people being very extra and having THE MOST feelings, in the style of 19th century romance Stories where STUFF happens due mostly to people just being people Places with secrets Game narratives, as in, the MC(s) are playing some kind of immersive, fantastical, high-stakes game. See: The Game of Sunken Places, Doctor Who: The Ghost Monument. IDK how that would apply here, but they are neat and if you come up with a concept that you think would work, I bet it would be cool!

aaand DNWs:

Rape/dubcon/torture porn Major character death Tooth injuries Misgendering Characters’ defining characteristic being “in love with this person” Focus on unrequested non canonical ships Pregnancy/kidfic Diet talk A/B/O dynamics Any bodily waste products being used for sex Unrequested AUs

I’m providing some (not very specific) prompts, but if you have another idea that doesn’t include any of my DNWs, go for it!

The Locked Tomb Trilogy/Gideon the Ninth (Contains spoilers for Harrow the Ninth)

I love Gideon and Harrow, both separately and together, and I love the evolution of their relationship. From “I completely fucking hate you” to “I cannot conceive of a universe without you in it.” Thank you for stabbing me right in the heart Tamsyn Muir I love it. 

Specific prompts: 

For just Gideon the Ninth: I’d love to see other potential Lyctor tests, if you’d like to invent those. 

Taking into account Harrow the Ninth: I’m hoping for Harrow and Gideon to figure out the full and correct Lyctor conversion, with or without Palamedes and Camilla, because I love the four of them working together, but Harrow’s sharp enough to get there eventually. I’d love to see how any of the “canon AUs” would have played out if Harrow had stayed in them.

The Old Guard (movie)

I’ve never read the comics, so I’d prefer fic to be based on movie canon, but if you know the comics and want to borrow some canon for things that didn’t get so fleshed out in the movie, that’s fine! 

Prompts/Ideas: 

Immortal family adventures with Andy, Quynh, Joe, and Nicky; 

Immortal family adventures with Andy, Nile, Joe, and Nicky; 

Andy helping Nile get used to immortality, as Nile adjusts to the idea of having a brand new family and a life she never imagined; 

Joe and Nicky enemies to lovers (please no “both sides were wrong” w/r/t the Crusades)

The Magnus Archives

Prompts: 

Melanie doesn’t take for granted that people are being rude to her just because it’s a boy’s club and conducts her own investigations

Gertrude Robinson in the early days as Head Archivist 

Gertrude Robinson later in her career as Head Archivist (how has her outlook changed over the years, what’s it like working with Gerard)

For ships, I prefer Gertrude/Agnes and Gertrude & Adelard Dekker, though I don’t hate Gertrude/Dekker 

What’s Martin’s domain? I know he got caught in the Lonely but I don’t thiiiink that’s necessarily his domain? [Hardly an original opinion, but I think it’s the Web? Possibly the Eye, but in a different location, not the Institute?] Anyway, whichever you want to make a case for is good!

Apocalypse adventures vs. trying to have a healthy, functional relationship

Wolf 359

Prompts/Ideas:

Jacobi and Kepler’s first missions together—How does Jacobi feel about this weird, suave, kinda murder-y guy who essentially appeared out of nowhere and changed his life for the better? How does Kepler feel (as deeply buried as any of his feelings may be) about Jacobi?

Maxwell joining the team, her developing friendship with Jacobi—what horrible things could these two morally gray, highly and specifically skilled people accomplish together? What’s Kepler and Maxwell’s specific dynamic like? 

The progression of Kepler and Jacobi’s relationship

The Penumbra Podcast

Prompts/Ideas:

Beach episode that actually turns into a case or heist—may or may not feature a literal beach

Juno and Peter undercover as a married couple! Again!

Juno and Rita post-SotP investigating the THEIA corporation and taking smaller jobs and Juno learning how to be a good friend to Rita

Juno and Rita trying to learn how to be criminals (not that they were totally lawful anyway?)

Whew! Happy writing!

[moonsymptom]

Alright with a little bit of prep out of the way. First thing’s first; I decided to just give all the skeleton OCs that I got. It’s honestly up to you whether any of them, IF they even make the cut at all. Also, I’ll admit I’ve modified them a bit as some were originally based off Undertale AUs but also to try and fit your setting a bit more. I’m not sure if this will be taking place pre-war at Castle Clawbone or if you have other plans- but I digress. Here you are!

Note 1: If you have any more questions or need more description, please ask! 

Note 2:  Sorry for comparisons to other series and things, it’s the easiest way I can think to describe without making this even longer than it is.

Rojo

Physical Description: Male. Entire 3rd of his skull gone. Body absolutely littered in scars- deep gouges and notably many dog bites, a star-shaped hole in the back of his skull and another in the roof of his mouth. Lowest right rib torn off. Red eyelights. Nordic war paint honestly optional but he likes it. Sharp, filed down and cracked teeth and fingertips.

Magic: None, actually. Lost it with half his skull. Fights more like a dog than anything- biting and clawing. (If you want visual references, like a weird combo between Kiba (Wolfs Rain) and Shinra (Fire Force) His main advantage is his keen nose. Also quite skilled with firearms.

Personality: Depending on his mood he can either be- 

1. Confident. Outgoing. Rambunctious. Constantly cracking jokes. For more character comparisons; a lot like Mark Watney (The Martian) or Doug Eiffel (Wolf 359)

2. Primal. Hardly speaking at all beyond growls, whimpers, yips, barks and snarls. When he does speak, well honestly the best description I can give is similar to the Wildlings in Game of Thrones and honestly I believe he would live very similarly to them as a whole. On his own in the forest, outside any encampment, surrounded in pelts and bones. Very Nordic/Viking-esk.

Background Notes: He was/is a Corporal in the Delta/Royal Infantry, 7th Division, D Company, nickname ‘Mad Dog’ and his training shines through quite a bit. His spiritual beliefs are a weird mix of Nordic and Native American. Is always wearing fur of somesort.

Hei Yue

Pronounced like ‘Hey You’, Hei being first but always is referred to with an honorific and his last. ex: Mr.Yué.

Physical Description: Male. Rather ordinary, considering. Beyond his eyes which have actual eyeballs rather than sockets and eyelights. However, when deeply aggravated his voice... Splits. As if there are 2 voices speaking, one much lower and more gritty (If you’d like a song example: Come Catch a Body- Na$tii) Will almost outright refuse to wear anything but Asian-style clothing, especially with low quality fabrics.

Magic: ...Unconfirmed. He has used magic in the past- 4 giant tentacles sprouting from his spine, he can feel through them although sensations are dulled and have enough strength to stop a car or throw a horse, however he only uses it very very occasionally. Primarily, he fights with a weapon similar to the Rakuyo. If you want a good visual representation, the fight between Oberyn Martell and The Mountain (Game of Thrones) is the best I’ve found yet.

Personality: God Complex. Seriously, he reeks of the stuff. Very prim, proper, and regal at all times. Like a rooster with it’s chest puffed out. That doesn’t mean he’s demeaning to people, though, he can actually be rather quite soft. (especially around the love of his life, the next character down) Stern, but forgiving. He operates under a traditional Asian-style code of ethics and is all around the most diplomatic of all of them.

Background Notes: He is Taiwanese. This is incredibly important to him. If this were a modern setting, he survived The White Terror by joining the Chinese forces and sabotaging what he could. He speaks Taiwanese, clearly, but for sake of ease also Chinese... Because of that he struggles greatly reading English and his sentence structures while speaking are.. Off. (i.e. doesn’t use contractions such as don’t, can’t, won’t, speaks them out fully and the sentence structure gets mixed up) its not a requirement for writing, though. Loves. LOVES. Tea. Will murder anyone who brews it incorrectly or chooses low quality tea.

Rei

Physical Description: Female. Is paralyzed for the waist down. Very, very important note there (especially since its not shown in the picture) 4 eyes- only her right is traditional eye socket and purple eyelight, the others are more human, purple, and always moving independently. Similar to Rojo, he body is covered in scars, from deep gouges to dog bites, her right radius and ulna are fractured entirely and often leaves dust as she moves, a star-ish shaped hole is on the left side of her temple and a giant crack up the left eye. The biggest scar is a giant gouge in her 1st and 2nd lumbar vertebrae (hence the paralysis).

Magic: Hardly any. Used to be able to summon a small blaster, Magnus, but since the accident that ability is in question. In extreme circumstances she can summon 2 tentacles, similar to Yue’s but it is incredibly taxing. However. She can still use a bow/firearm. Coupled with her brilliant intelligence and an almost supernatural ability to.... Know things. Makes her a brilliant tactician. 

Personality: Similar to Rojo, it depends on the mood and who she’s with. Alongside Yue, she is very prim and proper, quiet most of the time, acting like royalty. With friends, incredibly soft and motherly especially with children. Very nerdy, LOVES science and sweets. However she’s prone to extreme depressive tendencies and will occasionally go catatonic if left alone for long. While angry, though..... She is cold. Precise. Absolutely will not hesitate to even go as far as torture to obtain information. Another comparison; Tanya Degurechaff (The Saga of Tanya the Evil). 

Background Notes: Also previously army, Specialist (Radio Operator to Medic) Delta/Royal Infantry, 7th Division, D Company, nickname ‘Dingbat’ served with Rojo. Only character canonically pre-war, her family located in medieval Sussex who attempted to be diplomatic with both monsters and humans, they paid dearly for it. Serves a god she refers to as ‘The Watcher’ or ‘The Eye’. Finally she was paralyzed by a horrendous fall while climbing.

Akira

Not gunna lie, I don’t know if you can use her because she’s hardly even a skeleton. Still she’s Yue and Rei’s beautiful eldritch child.

Physical Description: Female. 5 Eyes, all actual eyeballs and all move independently from eachother. A giant... Mark across the left side of her face. Her mouth may appear normal however when it opens it splits her skull in half to reveal anglerfish like teeth. A ‘crown’ of bone from her skull. Her form is skeletal, black bones with  black purple-ish ectoflesh stretches across her bones at all times. Missing arms, her actual hands formed from tentacles from her spine. Tentacles covered in even more eyes. Long tail 2x her body length, one cloven foot and the other more similar  to a rabbit’s.

Magic: Of all sorts, however she typically attacks using her claws, teeth and tail. Her arms have a great deal of strength as well, able to launch her up in the air giving her more vertical movement. She can also shrink to the size of a cat (her preferred size) and grow up to 10ft. tall, however it’s incredibly taxing. Also has a tendency to just... Know things.

Personality: Almost never, ever speaks. Primarily communicates through squeaks, mews and trills. (if you want a song: kyOresu - Neko 7th Loliment) Very mischievous little one, always playing pranks and able to slip into the shadows to avoid getting caught. Honestly she’s like a weird eldritch cat. For a character comparison Hika and Hina (Fire Force)

Background Notes: Honestly, it’d be much to complicated to describe everything. Basically, she’s just a cat. 

Callout for Skeleton Undertale OCs

When I was initially making my outline for HTBAB I wanted to keep skeletons rare, and I still kinda do, but I realized that I still need a few for when Gaster is fighting in the war.

So if you’ve got Undertale skeleton OCs that aren’t related to the skelefam, or can be reworked to fit in a non-related war setting, send them my way! Can be links to their bios thru messenger or asks or whatever.

I can’t promise they’ll make it into the story, but if they do you’ll be given credit. :)

[gemsofthegalaxy]

due to some discussion unrelated to this idea, Wolf 359 and *Heathers The Musical has been on my mind so now I’m thinking like..... college or local theatre AU where Renee is cast as Veronica, and Doug (who only auditioned because he needs to prove he’s trying to get involved in the campus life/community ) is cast as the understudy for JD. He’s got a natural flare for dramatics, good projecting ability, he can sing (and dance)

(I’m not super knowledgeable about the behind-the-scenes work of theatre or the process of putting on musicals so forgive me if any of this sounds wrong but I’m just really enamored with the idea of the two of them playing opposite one another so more under the cut) 

Doug doesn’t take it all that seriously because he’s just the understudy, right? He hasn’t really been involved in theatre since middle school Christmas plays (which he hated) and doesn’t quite care to figure it all out. Renee can tell, and it pisses her off to no end, though nobody else has enough time to gripe him about it she makes time to nag him about being more on the ball. He doesn’t really care about that either.  That is, until the lead JD has to drop out halfway through the rehearsal period. He suddenly needs a better grip on his lines and the ability to sing in front of a crowd (he’s not SUPER worried about that because he makes a fool of himself in front of people all the time but intentionally and unintentionally, but he could use some work).  After spending one or two weeks trying to get everything he neglected to learn well enough up until this point nailed down, he realizes he may be in over his head, so... he crawls to Renee and asks her for help. At first she’s a little difficult. He begs (as per her non-verbal request). She finally agrees, though she states it’s only because SHE’S also the lead and if he looks bad, the whole fucking production does and she cannot be involved in a shitty production. She also makes him agree to listen to her, attentively, at all time and to do exactly as she says. He begrudgingly agrees. 

It’s actually not so bad when they get down to it. His panic-induced two weeks of learning his lines a lot better than he had previously helped a lot, and it’s not like he hadn’t been required to do anything during rehearsal up to this point, so he actually does have a better grasp on what’s happening than he thought. She mainly just helps him with extra, one-on-one rehearsals and tips and tricks she’s picked up on the way to solidify cues and combat stage fright. 

They get close in the process, getting to know each other on a little more personal level. Doug learns Renee actually does have some semblance of a sense of humor and she’s actually pretty cool, and she learns to appreciate his brand of humor at least a little better. 

And by the time they’re on stage together, they’re pretty fucking good. They’ve got good chemistry and can both bring some good life to the characters and they get some pretty great reviews and comments from people who went to see the show. 

*And with this I suppose this could be any musical with a guy and girl lead, I just really friggen like imagining Doug singing “Freeze Your Brain” and I think he would be really good in the animated JD role and I think Renee would play the constantly “this close to done” Veronica very well [also imagining them in the Dead Girl Walking scene?? sorry but my shipper heart]

[ihaveapencilbehindmyear]

“His friends are safe. They have a new shelter. But everything is still so loud, like a battle. Frankly, Doug is sick of it. And Hilbert says he has a cure.”

Finally, the Wolf 359 Bright Sessions AU you’ve all been waiting for! Wait, you haven’t been waiting for it? Well, check it out anyway, and all the other Wolf 359 2017 Big Bang works!!

It’s starting to get either cramped or cozy in here, Doug isn’t sure which. Cozy because they’re settled into a comfortable schedule, him and Hera and Minkowski. Hilbert is still hanging around the sidelines of everything- he hasn’t quite figured out what to do with all his guests yet, even though he’s the one who let them in. He mostly stays in the lab except for meals, and sometimes, Doug hears him pacing around the safe house. The Hephaestus he calls it. Doug calls it ‘the-way-too-damp-cave-system-in-an-uncharted-mountain’, but hey, whatever floats his science boat. Doug isn’t about to piss him off and get thrown outside into the elements. Minkowski said it wouldn’t be half bad here if everything didn’t keep breaking- luckily, Hera always knows what’s going on. That’s the schedule. Wake up, breakfast, alarms go off, Hera tells them what’s going on and the rest of them fix it. Eat some more and go to sleep. It’s better than what they were doing before, that’s for sure.

Cramped because, as usual, he can hear everything. Everything. Every alarm, every sigh, every complaint, every creak and groan of the old floorboards and bang and clash of the shitty pipes. Now normally, Doug isn’t one to pop out of bed straight away. He can and will longue with the best of them. But these days, his headaches have gotten so bad, he can’t even get up for a hour or two. He wakes up because something is too loud and can’t sleep again, so he stays laying down, eyes shut until he hears Minkowski get up. Nothing, of course, can be easy for Superhero-in-Training Doug Eiffel.

God, he wishes. Just maybe, if this was a super power, he could learn to live with it.

No. Instead, Doug is an Atypical. Humans with special talents. Gifts. Superhuman mutations, if you will. Minkowski, for instance, can make things levitate, which would be lame, if that didn’t include herself, which means Rene Minkowski, the uncoolest person in the world, can technically fucking fly. Then there’s Hera. Who can predict the future. Because who doesn’t want to do that? Even Dr. Alexander Hilbert has some kind of super genius gene floating around in his DNA.

What does Doug do? Wait for it.

Super hearing.

So yes, before you ask, he can hear you pee a mile away.

It was useful when they were on the run. He could tell when danger was coming, but not where it was coming from unless it was an especially quiet night. You don’t know how many sounds there are. You try pinpointing exact ones where everything in the world is either humming, buzzing, or banging these days. It hurts. A lot. Being closed off in a mountain doesn’t help, because everything has some kind of echo-y quality to it, so each sound comes back. And comes back. And comes back. And Doug wants to cut his own ears off sometimes. You’d think he’d be used to it by now.

Maybe earplugs would help, now that they’re safe-

Wait. Someone is approaching his room. By the heavy, shuffling footsteps, and the tense breathing pattern, it’s definitely Hilbert. Yeah, Minkowski and Hera are still in the dining hall, Hera prepping breakfast and Minkowski chatting with her about today’s repairs/future disasters. Hera is laughing, maybe it’ll be a good day. He can hear the hint of a smile in Minkowski’s voice as she leans back in her chair at the table and the boiling water from the stove, aw man, Hera is making grits again? -

“Eiffel. If I may have a word.”

Doug swings his legs off the side of his bed, the fullness of Hilbert’s voice bringing back to his own room with a wince.. “You know, it’s typically considered polite to knock, doc.”

“You hear me coming. No need.”

They stay there for a second, awkwardly. Hilbert clears his throat after a moment, and Doug winces. “That is what I’m here about.” Hilbert says, beaming- well, as much as Hilbert can beam. More like his eyes lightened slightly, and his typical frown wasn’t as hard as stone.

Doug blinks. “Your- your cough?”

“No no. You.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I’m here to help. With your power. Each sound too loud, affecting your mental and physical states, yes? I’ve been working on a few experimental trials regarding the nature of powers, how to control them better. Your gift is not a matter of learning like Minkowski’s and Hera’s. You already know how to hear things. You need to learn how to tune out the unimportant sounds.”

Like that hasn’t occurred to Doug before. He may not be a super genius, but he’s not a complete moron. “Look doc, I’ve tried that-”

“I’m sure you have. That’s why I’m suggesting these trials. I’ve been developing this drug for a long time now, and I assure you, it’s perfectly safe. Perfectly. I was in the middle of testing it with other Atypicals when the AM caught wind of us and captured them all. I got lucky. So I can continue to help Atypicals, either by providing shelter or providing treatment. I understand your skepticism. But I do mean well.” He’s walking away, and the footsteps are too loud again, and a pipe just burst in the bathroom and Minkowski is swearing under her breath and it’s so loud and he says, “Doc, wait.”

“We’re too comfortable.”

“That’s the idea,” Doug says, because he’s still in bed, surrounded by at least ten blankets, and frankly, is too tired to be confused as to why both Minkowski and Hera are hanging over him like they’re waiting for something.

“No Eiffel. Not what I meant.” Minkowski continues.

“Alright, well if you don’t want to join the cuddle puddle, I’ll just ask Hera. Hera baby? What do you say?” Without waiting for an answer, he grabs her hand and drags on on top of the pile of blankets. Hera squeals happily, which is still too shrill for Doug’s ears, but the rush of the stream running in the caverns over their heads is less insistant. He doesn’t even want to see the look Minkowski is giving him right now. If he focuses, he can hear her teeth grinding behind her pursed lips.

“Eiffel, focus. I’m trying to say I think something suspicious is going on here.”

He rolls his eyes. “You always think something suspicious is going on everywhere. Commander, you’re the one who was saying it’s not a bad place to stay. Why shouldn’t we be comfortable here? What, do you not trust Hilbert?”

“Doug, I don’t trust anyone.” she said, which didn’t answer his question, and kind of stings. It’s like she’s saying Doug is wrong is let Hilbert experiment on him. It’s like she’s saying she doesn’t trust Doug .

“She doesn’t mean that,” Hera murmurs to him, not directly in his ear but more into his shoulder, so it’s muffled and not as loud. She’s sweet like that.

“Well if you’re so nervous, what do you propose?” Doug finally says.

“Hilbert is going to be busy today, she wants to explore the places in the base we haven’t seen yet. Just in case he’s hiding something.” Hera explains, and Minkowski nods. “I know you’re going to say no Doug, so I’m going to say, please? For me? For the thrill of the adventure? And you’re going to say-”

“Well I can’t argue with someone who knows exactly what I’m going to say. But-”

“Why can’t you just look into the future and tell us what we’ll find?” Hera puffs out her chest and lowers her voice, trying to copy his signature shit-eating grin. “And I’ll say future events can all be different, because there are many different outcomes to all things. I can’t say with one hundred percent confidence what we’ll find. Soooo-”

“It’s adventure time then.” Doug finishes for her, and she grins.

Hera seems excited, at least. It’s enough to perk him up. He feels kind of weary, but it’s not from the echo of their footsteps this time. Secret experiments at night really drain a guy.

I wonder if Hera knows.

No, probably not for sure. There are many different outcomes to all things and all that. If something were to go wrong with even the slightest possibility of it, she’d tell him. He’s sure of it. So they explore. They find nothing but old files. Other Atypicals who have stayed in the safehouse before. Someone named Lovelace, someone named Lambert. Nothing interesting, and if Hilbert knows they were snooping, he doesn’t say anything as he sticks another needle in his arm.

Weeks pass, not without incidents. They’re just not as noticeable to Doug anymore. He can still hear them, but it’s. So nice. Not to have everything crowd his thoughts all at once. He doesn’t even mind the alarms at this sound level. They’re almost soothing.

Well, the normal ones might be. Then there’s this powerful one that would have brought him to his knees if it wasn’t for Hilbert’s drug. He groans, and Hera jumps, and Minkowski barks, “Hilbert, what the hell?”

“That’s the intruder alarm!”

“Intruders?! Eiffel, didn’t you hear them coming?”

“Forget why he did not hear, why did Hera not see?!” Hilbert snaps, then runs out of the room, calling back, “I’ll see if I can enhance security in time!”

With a real emergency, and Hilbert out of the way, Minkowski finally blooms back into her commanding, uptight, perfectly prepared and ready to face a shitstorm self. “Head to the entrance. Hera, what do you see?”

“N-nothing Minkowski, I didn’t see anything like this-”

“Eiffel, what’s your take?”

Even with Hilbert’s help, he can’t hear a thing over the alarms. “Uuuuuuuugh, no good commander, too loud to hear anything.”

“Then we need to act fast. I’m going to-”

There’s a crash, and Doug screams, he thinks he’s screaming, he can’t tell over the rush of air pouring in and the sound of grunts and groans, as if there’s a whole army on the other side of the door. Instead there stands a woman, bathed in gold light. There’s blood on her lips and dirt on her dark skin. She spits red on the ground, and the glow around her fades. “Who the hell are you?”

“I believe we should be asking you that.” Minkowski says stiffly, and Doug can see her fist tightening. A desk behind the intruder is now hovering a few inches off the ground, just in case.

“Alright. If that’s how you want to play it, fine. I’m Isabel Lovelace, and I’m here to destroy all of you.”

“Isabel Lovelace.” Minkowski repeats, and Hera says, “That’s not possible.”  

Doug, ever the sensible one, squeaks out, “Whoa whoa whoa, destroy us?!”

“It is possible, because I’m here, and I’m going to kill you.” Her eyes are burning. “And when your precious backup gets here, I’m going to kill them too. And I’ll make my way to the AM, free all the innocent people have hurt, and burn the building to the fucking ground. You can’t get rid of me. I just. Keep. Coming back.”

Then, everything happens at once. For once, Doug sees it instead of hears it.

Hilbert stumbled back into the room, and he’s letting out choked gasps.

Isabel is glowing gold and then suddenly, there’s two of her, and one is dashing at Hilbert.

The other is knocked out cold, because Minkowski put her floating desk to good use.

The second Isabel grabs Hilbert, she’s tackling him to the ground, but when the first is on the ground, she blinks, and multiplies again. The third Isabel Lovelace is more visibly relaxed. “Atypicals?”

“What did you think we were?” Hera demands, vibrating with anger. She normally doesn’t fight, when they were on the run all they needed was Minkowski and a really big boulder, but she seems ready now. “Agents in a safe house?”

“Kid, this is the worst safe house you could possibly be in. Selberg over there is an agent, hiding innocent Atypicals before the AM sweeps in and kidnaps them. He did that to my old crew. And the agents on my tail are the ones who tormented them.” “You lead AM agent's here?!”

Minkowski’s snarl is waved away. “You got caught up in my war. But I can help you when it’s over. What am I working with here? Levitation,” she says, glancing away from Minkowski’s glower.

“Future sight and regular human.” Hilbert growls.

“ What was that. ” Could have been Minkowski, but he isn’t sure which because he can’t hear anything for some reason. He can see Hilbert’s grave face, Hera’s shaking hands, and Lovelace’s look of pity as Hilbert mentions the drugs, but all he can hear is the blood in his ears.

“C’mon Doug,”

It’s so loud, everything else isn’t coming through, it’s just his voice taking over his thoughts. That’s never happened before, why isn’t anything else coming through? C’mon Doug, focus.

“Selberg did that to you, didn’t he?”

He couldn’t even hear Lovelace come in. “What?”

She clears her throat. “Sorry, Hilbert. He tested on you. Didn’t he?” Doug pulls his hands away from his head, stunned into silence. She nods. “That’s what I thought. Stay back here. You’re not going to want to be around when the AM agents get here.”

Doug took that to mean ‘you have some time, but you should stay out of the way you weak little human’.

Doug did not take that to mean ‘they’re on the way and you’re going to be ambushed in the kitchen, so grab a snack on the way to hiding’.

“Put your hands where I can see them, Eiffel.”

Doug raises his arms slowly, still holding a frosty hot pocket. He knows that voice. He’s been running from it for years.

Warren Kepler stands in the kitchen with a gun, flanked by his trusty partners, Daniel Jacobi, boy on fire, and Maxwell, not a mutant super genius but might as well be. “Howdy. Surprised you didn’t hear us coming and get the door for us.”

With Doug as a hostage, it’s easy to get Minkowski and Hera to stand down. Lovelace is feisty, but the threats eventually get to her.

“I don’t think so, Isabel. We wired this place before we came in. One spark from Mr. Jacobi here and this whole place goes up in flames.” “Even your friends here?” Lovelace snarls, and Kepler laughs. “I take it you have it all figured out, now don’t you?”

“I always do Lovelace. And if you want to stay alive to, you know, kill us, you might want to back down. Maxwell, escort her out. Hilbert, old friend, tell me what you got here.”

Hilbert clears his throat, looking uncomfortable for the first time Doug has ever seen. “The same Atypicals I mentioned in my reports. Future sight, levitation, and our former Class C. I’ve been testing on him, and now he’s basically a human with above average hearing.”

“As usual, your choice of subjects is astounding. Still. Jacobi, take him to the back. I’m not interested in his kind.”

“Just relax Doug. I won’t hurt you. Unless you want me too,” Jacobi winked, which was not as charming as it would have been, considering his shoulders were on fire and he was holding a harpoon. Scary shit.

It was so tiring, dealing with all the scary shit.

No, don’t go there Doug. Stay focused. Keep him talking. Be cool. “Why would I want you to hurt me, Jacobi?”

“I don’t know, maybe you’re into that-”

“Don’t- why are you doing this? Don’t talk to me like we’re friends.” Shit, he lost his cool.

“Aww, Dougie, I thought we were friends. We’re pretty similar, you and I.”

“We are nothing alike .”

He smiles. “Huh. You know I was gonna say something about our loyalty to our friends, our general tomfoolery, but instead, I think I’ll agree with you. We’re nothing alike. Because I’m Atypical. And you’re not anymore.”

For a moment there, he believed him.

Then he could hear Hera’s quiet sobs from the other room.

Doug gritted his teeth. He couldn’t hear anything else.

[acaciapines]

I started listening to wolf 359 so I could read your daemon au and I'm having a great time, the podcast is amazing in and of itself but it's also fun seeing the daemon side of things while the episodes are still fresh in my mind. plus hera my beloved, I love the way you write her POV. cannot wait to see Kepler, jacobi, maxwell, and their daemons

also what's your meta take on bat daemons / what bats symbolize? I changed one character in one of my own AUs recently from a bat to a mantis because I didn't have a concrete idea of what a Bat daemon would mean beyond surface level… which is a shame because his specific bat species paralleled two other characters' daemons and the whole dark creature of the night thing contrasted with other parts of his story

okay first off: YES! ANOTHER ONE!! wolf 359 is such a good podcast and i am so honored that me and ada's fic got you to listen to it. in an ideal world the fic would be a podcast but alas. we are just the one person and cannot make an entire podcast. i hope you enjoy it!! no idea where you are but oh BOY does wolf go some places.

the hera stuff is all ada <3 she works out her shit and i get amazing banger fic content to read. hera's story is proooobably one of my favorite parts of the entire thing! it intersects with a lot of other things i love (it is. obvious that hera was a big reason we started writing this dfkjgdfg her and lovelace both)

we will be seeing out besties the si-5 soon...i think we get a peak at like, 3/4 of them in the next chapter!

as for bat daemons, some of this is nemiza-specific (brandt's bat) since that's where all my research went, but specifically i picked bat because they have a lot of conflicting portrayals across cultures: there's negatives, sure, but there's a lot of places where they're portrayed in a more positive light. so, someone who can be viewed in different angles: it's up to the audience to decide which portrayals they want to take, and which they want to discard. for hilbert specifically bats also have their tie to being reservoirs for pathogens (aka decima). brandt's bats also USED to be known for their long life expectancy, but apparently since finishing the fic that particular trait has been split off into a new species. who knew. but wolf takes place in like, 2014ish, so, yknow. still stands for hilbert.

im glad youre enjoying the fic! im always happy to talk about my daemon choices, though some of them are more spoiler-y than others djkfngdfg.